IHB Prof. WANG Ding gave a keynote speech at the World Marine Mammal Conference 2019.

The World Marine Mammal Conference 2019 was held in Barcelona, Spain during December 7 and 12, 2019. At the invitation of Dr. Manel Gazo, chair of the organizing committee of WMMC2019, nine researchers and students from Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of Chinese Academy of Sciences attended the conference.

The WMMC2019 was jointly hosted by the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM) and the European Cetacean Society (ECS). It is the largest and most authoritative academic conference in the field of aquatic mammal research, bringing together more than 2,700 scientists, managers, policy-makers, educators and students from across the globe to discuss the world’s most exciting science and most pressing conservation issues.

The conference focused on the research and conservation of marine mammals. 11 topics including acoustics, distribution and abundance, anatomy, physiology, behavioral ecology and conservation were featured.

IHB Prof. WANG Ding gave a keynote speech with the title of “A reserve network of translocation brings hope and offers opportunities for the recovery of the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise”. The attendees fully affirmed China’s successful conservation of the Yangtze River finless porpoise and its implications for the protection of endangered cetaceans in the world. They also highly praised the great contributions made by IHB in the scientific research and conservation of the Yangtze river finless porpoise over the years.

Dr. HAN Yi, a post-doctoral research fellow at IHB gave an oral presentation with the title of “Impacts of sand mining on the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise in its major inhabited lake”. IHB doctoral student ZHENG Yang gave an oral presentation with the title of “Inbreeding and inbreeding avoidance in Yangtze finless porpoise”. Dr. MEI Zhigang and four graduate students presented posters at the conference, showcasing their progress made in the population ecology, molecular biology and behavior of the Yangtze finless porpoise.

IHB doctoral student ZHOU Lu was awarded the 2018-2019 Student Grants in Aid of Research which is awarded to students in developing countries who study Marine mammals. At the WMMC2017 which was held in Canada, Dr. HAN Yi was awarded the first Stephen J. Leatherwood Award which was given to researchers who conduct study of marine mammals in Asia regions and made great achievements.

 
IHB attendees gave oral presentations and presented their posters at the World Marine Mammal Conference 2019.

IHB doctoral student ZHOU Lu was awarded the 2018-2019 Student Grants in Aid of Research which is awarded to students in developing countries who study Marine mammals.

 
At the WMMC2017 which was held in Canada, Dr. HAN Yi was awarded the first Stephen J. Leatherwood Award which was given to researchers who conduct study of marine mammals in Asia regions and made great achievements.