#imata2014

[brinnons]

September 16, 2014

(written at 6:40AM local time on September 17, 2014)

I'm at the airport right now for my ridiculously early flight. I have about an hour until we start boarding so I'm going to crank out this post about my day at IMATA yesterday while jamming out to Jordin Sparks.

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At 10:00AM I went to my first presentations of the day, the IMATA Behavior Presentations (my favorite of the three types):

Above, Below, and Beyond: Training South American Sea Lions for Open Ocean Interactive Program

The Last of the Leopard Seals: A History of the Captive Management and Training of Taronga Zoo's Leopard Seals

Starting a Water Based Training Programme with Adult Female Patagonian Sea Lions at Colchester Zoo, UK

Meeting in the Middle

There was an IMATA Business Meeting at 11:45PM directly following the presentations, but it took up the entire lunch block and was mostly meant for people who actually work in the industry already, so I skipped that to eat some leftovers in my room with Elise and Kyrrahaf. 

At 1:00PM there was a really exciting presentation by Michael Scarpuzzi of SeaWorld:

A Comparison Review of the Northern & Southern Resident Wild Orca to the SeaWorld Orca

Right after that presentation, the IMATA Behavior Presentations started at 2:00PM. 

Working with 0.5 Asian Small-Clawed Otters in a Free Contact Setting (Cat's presentation!)

A Sea Lion Rides on a False Killer Whale - Training Multispecies Cooperative Behavior

There were two more presentations after those two, but we got really hungry so we went to the hotel's restaurant for some more food. At 3:30PM we went and saved ourselves seats for the next set of presentations which started at 4:00PM: The IMATA Education Presentations.

An Exploration of the Superstitious Behaviors of Animal Trainers

An Orca And A Tiger: Comparing Two Case Studies With a Decade of Data

Dolphinaris: Dolphin Trainer Boot Camp

Effectiveness of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy among Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

This was probably my favorite set of presentations overall, because all 4 of them were really interesting and engaging. Most of the other sections had a mix of really engaging and funny presentations with more serious and scientific data-type presentations. 

Following that (at 5:30PM) was a poster reception in the exhibit hall, which we checked out for about 45 minutes. We talked to some of the poster presenters and ate some free food (popcorn and soft pretzels). Then we went back to the IMATA room again to save our seats for the 7:00PM Informal Pesentations. However the doors were still closed, so Kyrrahaf and I talked to some of the presenters from the last block, who were outside the doors at the "Meet the Speaker" table. 

At 6:45 they opened the doors and we went in. This was also a dessert social so we got free cookies, cupcakes, brownies, and ice cream bars. The informal presentations were as follows:

Update on the Beluga Whale Project by Georgia Aquarium

White Whale Mascot Expo 2012 Yeosu: The First Introduction on Korea, Basic Biological Research, and Physiological Research. 

Minimally Invasive Surgery - Trust and Relationship

Care of a Neonate Grey Seal at Smithsonian's National Zoological Park

Investigating the Effects of Applied Learning Principles on the "Create" Response in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins

Analysis of Pinniped Behavior Before and After Cataract Surgery

Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin Responses to an Artificial Stimulus: Impacts of Novelty and Demographic Variation

What a Difference Differentiation Makes: Patty, the Picky Sea Lion

These presentations went on until about 9:30PM, at which point they switched over to the live auction. It was mostly expensive trips and dolphin swims, but the very first item was a painting by Beethoven (the beluga), which sold for only $45. I was expecting there to be more, but there weren't and now I really wish I had bid on his painting, I would definitely pay $45 for that!

After the auction, I said goodbye (for real this time) to Kyrrahaf and Elise and I went back to the room. We both had to get up early for our flights so we went to bed pretty soon after that, and that was the end of our conference! Next year's conference is in the Bahamas, and if I don't have a job by then I'm going to try to go!

[brinnons]

September 15, 2014

11:51PM, local time.

(written on September 16, 11:45 AM)

Wow! It was such a long day that I couldn't even muster the energy to write about it last night. I'm on lunch now so hopefully I'll be able to get most of this written before I have to leave to go watch more presentations!

As many of you know, this is not a traditional IMATA conference. It is actually a joint AZA & IMATA conference. Since this is my first time going to the conference, I'm not sure what is the norm as far as IMATA-only conferences go. I'm just going to write about my experiences, because I took advantage of it being a joint conference and checked out some AZA stuff as well. If you have any questions about the conference, or anything I didn't write about, I'll be happy to answer them!

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Elise and I got up at 9AM (we skipped breakfast so that we could sleep. I was up until 12:30 the night before to fix my resume), after breakfast, the first thing we did was find seats in the IMATA room for the Education Presentations, starting at 10:30AM. First there was an introduction and a video of trainers working with animals. Then there were four presentations in a row:

(IMATA) The Reproductive Management of Discovery Cove's Bottlenose Dolphins while Maintaining Quality Guest Interactions

(IMATA) Magic's Story: Neonatal Critical Care and Hand-Rearing of a Bottlenose Dolphin Calf

(IMATA) Prenatal Monitoring and Care of a Neonate Grey Seal

(IMATA) Successful Reintroduction of a Beluga Whale and Calf Based on Observational Learning, Surrogate Rearing and Husbandry Training Techniques

I took notes on all the lectures I watched, by the way, so if you want to know anything about a specific one just shoot me a message!

After the first 4 presentations we had lunch in the Exhibit Hall, which was free and delicious! It was a sandwich (on fancy bread) with a free drink, cookie, and chips. 

At 2:00 PM my 3 friends (Elise, Kyrrahaf, and CetaceanNerd) went back to the IMATA room to watch the Behavior Presentations, but I really wanted to see two of the AZA Conservation Presentations, so I went to watch those and joined back up with my group for the last IMATA presentation:

(AZA) 96 Elephants Campaign

(AZA) Shark Conservation Advocacy

(IMATA) Increasing Motivation during Dolphin Interactive Programs by Utilizing, and Mixing, Concepts and Providing Participation Opportunities

I have to say that last IMATA one was my favorite so far. The facility (Dolphin Adventure) had some really innovative ideas, and the presentation had a lot of videos to clearly explain what they were! I also noticed that there was a big difference between AZA and IMATA presentations. The IMATA folks are (for the most part) younger, mostly women, and the presentations are longer and more lighthearted (they make jokes, include a lot of videos, etc.). The AZA folks are mostly older men who are the heads of their zoos/institutions and have been in the field for many years. They also tended to be more serious and focused on talking rather than showing ideas with photos and videos. Nevertheless, both were interesting to watch!

at 3:30 PM, there was a refreshment break in the Exhibit Hall with snacks (even gummy worms!), and several types of drink coolers. We walked around to some of the exhibitors and then headed back to the IMATA room once again for the Research Presentations at 4:00 PM. Kyrrahaf and I decided we wanted to check out the Public Opinion Panel from the AZA folks so we caught the first half of that before heading over for the last two IMATA presentations. During the panel, they talked about what negative media zoos and aquariums have been getting lately, how it affects us, and what we can do to disprove those negative comments. Blackfish was also mentioned twice, which is the main reason we wanted to see the panel, to see what they would say about it. Again, if you want to know details just shoot me a message!

(AZA) Public Opinion Panel

(IMATA) Directed Research Training in Marine Mammals - The Benefits of Working Collaboratively

(IMATA) Bridging the Gap of Public Perception, Trainers as Advocates of Dolphin Research

At 5:30 PM, there was a "Party" on the Exhibit Hall Floor, with wine and cheese as well as some other snacks. On our way there, we actually met up with @oh-macaw-ed and talked as a group for a while. (Congrats on the new job, lady!) 

By that time we were exhausted, so the 4 of us (me, Kyrrahaf, Elise, and CetaceanNerd) went back to the hotel room and I took a little mini-nap. We also had to change into interview clothes because the Career Fair was later that night. When we got back to the Conference at 7:45 PM, we caught the tail end of a presentation, and we were able to see Mark Simmons give a short presentation on his book about Keiko. I met him later that night too and got a photo!

At 8:00 PM the Career Fair started. I was expecting it to be a large room with tables for a lot of marine parks, and I was expecting to be able to have long-ish conversations with the employees/trainers of those marine parks about their positions, their programs, and what would be good for my future. I was a little disappointed with how the fair actually went. It was a small room with tables for a few marine parks (only some of which had cetaceans/pinnipeds) and a few colleges. I had very short, uninteresting conversations with the employees, and only two of the marine parks had actual paid job openings. The rest of them were only looking for interns, or not hiring at all. I didn't feel like, at the end, the career fair really put me any closer to being able to land a job in the field, which was disappointing. HOWEVER, some good things did happen. I said hi to my old Gulf World friends and got some updates on their park/dolphins, I gave my resume to several other marine parks, and I saw Cat again and she gave me some good advice about what to do if I don't get a marine mammal job right away. (Turns out I also met trainingisteaching, but I didn't realize it was her at the time because I didn't know what she looked like. Oops!)

We spent almost 3 hours at the career fair: we took off on our own to talk to the facilities we were interested in, and met up outside at the end. At the end of the night, around 11, I picked up a quick to-go dinner and the four of us met up in the hotel room again. Elise and I said by to Kyrrahaf and CetaceanNerd because they weren't planning on coming back the next day, and after eating my dinner, I went to sleep. 

[brinnons]

September 14, 2014

11:55PM, local time.

It's really late and I'm really exhausted from a really long day that was really fun. I might elaborate on this post a bit more later on, but I'll try to briefly explain everything I did today!

I woke up bright and early at 7:15 this morning and got dressed to start the conference. I had an appointment at 8:20 to have my resume reviewed by a person in the field, so I headed over to the conference rooms to check in. I gave them my name and was assigned to table number 13. When I walked in, who should I find sitting at table 13 ready to look at my resume? None other than Cat! (themiddleflipper) My day was already made at that point because I've been wanting to meet her ever since I started reading her blog! She was really helpful with my resume, and gave me some tips to make it better and more eye-catching. (I just finished editing it, actually. It's like a piece of art.)

After the resume review I grabbed some breakfast with my roommate Elise and my friend/former co-worker "AM" (because I don't know if she wants to be named). Then I picked up my IMATA shirt and couldn't resist buying a second one, plus the "Killing Keiko" book (photos later).

By then it was about 10:30 so I met up with @kyrrahaf and she so kindly drove me and Elise to SeaWorld! We got in free with our IMATA badges and the first thing we did was see a special private presentation at Shamu Stadium. Some of the trainers talked to us and welcomed us to SeaWorld, and then we watched a few videos about SeaWorld and EED's. After that we got the opportunity to watch 5 of the whales play with puzzle toys! These toys are made by "gluing" existing EED's together with thick jello.

After that we had "free time" in the park. On our way out of Shamu Stadium we saw cetaceannerd so we became a group of four! We went to UV but it was empty, so we made our way over to the dolphin area. At the nursery on the way there, we played peekaboo with some of the juveniles which they found very entertaining! The dolphins in the adult habitat were less impressed with us, probably because it was so busy. 

After we visited the dolphins we decided it was time for lunch. SeaWorld was amazing and gave us all free lunch vouchers earlier in the day, which could be used at any of the restaurants! I got a huge sandwich, watermelon slices, a fruit cup, and a drink all for free. We ate pretty fast and then headed back to the dolphin area for a behind-the-scenes tour. We learned about the SeaWorld Rescue team and saw some turtles and manatees that had been rescued! We even were able to see an orphaned baby manatee being bottle-fed, which was by far the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Post-tour we were all supposed to see the Blue Horizons show, but since I'd seen it a million and a half times already, I went to Shamu Stadium to check out UV while my friends stayed for the dolphin show. That turned out to be the best decision I'd made all day, because even though there was nobody in UV, there was a One Ocean show starting soon. And guess who was in it.

The splash segment started, and I saw that second gate open, and my heart was pounding so hard I think I could actually hear it. When I caught a glimpse of Tilly I was instantly in tears. It's been about 5 years since I last saw him in person, and he's always been special to me because he was my favorite when I was little, and he's the reason I'm so into the ocean, conservation, and wanting to work with animals. I took about a billion pictures of him, and I was crying like a baby the whole time! It was one of the best days I've had since last summer at Gulf World.

After the show, I met up with all the other IMATA people again and we had another presentation in the Nautilus Theater. They surprised us with a little live section of the Clyde and Seamore take Pirate Island show, which officially ended a few weeks ago. It was great to get to see it one last time, but it was also a very sad and emotional moment for everyone in the room, since the show ran for 15 years and all of us knew it well. While we were in this presentation, the park was closing to the public, and we got to meet some really cool animal ambassadors in the Sea Gardens!

After that it was time for dinner, which was also free, to my surprise. We had some food, Kyrrahaf and I rode Kraken twice, and we tried to mingle with other IMATA guests. It's hard to know who to mingle with unless you've seen them or met them before, so it wasn't all that successful, but I did shake hands with several new people. I think over the next couple days I'll be able to meet some more, especially at the career fair. I've heard that's a great place to network and get your name out there.

To conclude our night, we had a special AZA/IMATA-only One Ocean show. We sat in the 2nd row right in front of the slide out, because we didn't think they would do the splash segment since so many people were dressed nicely. We were wrong. Kayla came out at the beginning of the segment and lined up her flukes right in front of us. Luckily Kyrrahaf had a poncho with her that we were able to hide behind with our cameras, so we only got a little drizzle. The people in front of us were downright drenched!

Then we took the bus back to the hotel, I wrote this post, and now I'm going to try and get as much sleep as possible before another long day of fun tomorrow!

[brinnons]

September 13, 2014

8:16PM local time. I just landed in Orlando and its kind of hitting me now how lucky I am to be here. Not many people can just take 3 days off of school and 5 days off of life and decide to travel to the other side of the country for 3 days of fun filled conference fun! I'm on the Disney Magical Express bus now waiting to go to the hotel (Coronado Springs Resort). The whole bus experience so far has been very smooth and Disney-like (organized to the finest detail), just the way I like it. I think this is the first time that I'm visiting Orlando and not going to Disney World, so its kind of nice and familiar that I'll be staying at a Disney resort. There's all these older people on the bus talking about their jobs and their lives and their PhD's and its kind of funny that I'm suddenly surrounded by many versions of a future me. Who knows, maybe a couple decades from now I'll be one of those people reminiscing about college and going to speak at the conference about my own findings with marine mammals. The possibilities are endless!