DATE OF BIRTH: April 10, 1977
PLACE OF BIRTH: Dordrecht, South Holland, the Netherlands
CITIZENSHIP: Dutch
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
2010 - present Research assistant in Dept. of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, involved in a project to assess dynamics in bottlenose dolphin populations worldwide.
2009 - present Independent contractor, involved with finalising the upcoming DEFRA-commissioned report Charting Progress II on state of UK seas (available in 2010).
2007-2009 Marine Assessment Officer/Marine Mapping Scientist at the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC; United Kingdom); lead author of Benthic Habitats chapter in upcoming DEFRA-commissioned report Charting Progress II on state of UK seas (available in 2010).
2002-2007 Various short-term contracts during/ after Ph.D., including university lecturing; marine mammal monitoring, cetacean age assessment, and bycatch assessment for Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO); literature reviews for the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC).
2001 Junior research scientist at the Netherlands Institute for Fisheries Research (RIVO-DLO), IJmuiden, the Netherlands; involved in implementing a bycatch observer program on EU pelagic trawlers in Mauretania (West Africa).
2000 Research assistant at the Danish Institute for Fisheries Research (DIFRES), Charlottenlund, Denmark; involved in managing a harbour porpoise bycatch monitoring program.
EDUCATION
2002-2007 Ph.D. Degree, Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Programme, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Degree awarded on May 23, 2007.
1994-1999 Masters’ Degree in Marine Biology, University of Groningen, the Netherlands (N.B.: The Dutch Doctorandus Degree is equivalent to a combined Bachelor-Master of Science Degree in the Canadian system). Degree awarded on November 30, 1999.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2010 Assistant instructor, “Biology and Behaviour of Marine Vertebrates” (Marine Science Department), “Conservation of Marine Mammals” (Zoology Department), University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
2005-2007 Instructor/assistant instructor, “Biology of Marine Mammals” field course, Biology Department, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St.John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, and Huntsman Marine Science Centre, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada.
2002–2006 Graduate Teaching Assistant in various undergraduate courses, Biology Department, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St.John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
- Experience undertaking status assessments of marine ecosystems
- Competence in analysing large and complex datasets
- Experience in marine governance and policy settings
- Marine mammal observer experience during multispecies aerial and ship-based surveys of coastal and offshore waters of Atlantic Canada
- Knowledge of biopsy sampling of large whales at sea
- Experience in collecting images of large whales for photo-ID purposes
- Experience in acoustic monitoring of cetaceans using autonomous data recorders
- Experience in collecting bycatch data through interviewing fishermen
- Experience in necropsy and sample collection of marine megafauna, including pinnipeds, cetaceans and marine turtles, including stomach content analysis
- Experience in age determination of cetaceans and pinnipeds through tooth reading
- Experience collecting oceanographic data using standard sampling equipment
- Experience using GIS software (MapInfo v7, ArcGIS v9.2)
- Trained Marine Mammal Observer on seismic survey vessels (JNCC-approved)
- Small Vessel Operator License (trained by Canadian Coast Guard)
CURRENT PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
2010 Member of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS)
LANGUAGES
Dutch (first language) Danish (good)
English (proficient) German (fair; speaking, reading)
French (good) Swedish (poor; speaking, reading)
PUBLICATIONS
Benjamins, S., and Ledwell, W. (In press). Vagrant sociable monodontids in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. In: Goodwin, L. (Ed.): Proceedings of the ECS Workshop ‘Protection and management of solitary sociable cetaceans’, ECS Special Publications Series.
Benjamins, S., Kulka, D. W., and Lawson, J. 2010. Recent incidental catch of sharks in gillnet fisheries of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Endangered Species Research 11(2): 133-146.
Benjamins, S., Kulka, D. W., and Lawson, J. 2008. Incidental catch of seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador gillnet fisheries, 2001-2003. Endangered Species Research 5(2-3): 149-160.
Benjamins, S., Lawson, J., and Stenson, G. 2007. Recent Harbor Porpoise Bycatch in Newfoundland, Canada’s Gillnet Fisheries. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 9(3): 189-199.
Ledwell, W., Benjamins, S., Lawson, J., and Huntington, J. 2007. The most southerly record of a bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus, from the western north Atlantic Ocean. Arctic 60(1): 17-22.
Sjare, B., Walsh, D., Stenson, G.B., and Benjamins, S. 2005. An update on harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) bycatch estimates in the Newfoundland lumpfish fishery. Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Research Document 2005/49: 23 pp.
Lawson, J., Benjamins, S., and Stenson, G.B. 2004. Harbour porpoise bycatch estimates for Newfoundland’s 2002 nearshore Cod fishery. Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Research Document 2004/066: 32 pp.
Benjamins, S. 2002a. Catch composition of the EU pelagic fleet in Mauritania in 1999. RIVO-DLO report # C042/02: 46 pp.
Benjamins, S. 2002b. Catch composition of the EU pelagic fleet in Mauritania in 2000. RIVO-DLO report # C035/02: 33 pp.
Benjamins, S. 2002c. Incidental catches of pelagic megafauna by pelagic trawlers from the European Union in Mauritanian waters during 1999–2000. RIVO-DLO report #C036/02: 17 pp.
Lockyer, C., Benjamins, S., and Hohn, A.A. 1999. The potential use of tooth morphology and ultrastructure in stock differentiation in Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas). Document IWC/SC/51/SM5 submitted to the IWC Scientific Committee, Grenada, May 1999, 23 pp.
CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION
Benjamins, S., Ledwell, W., and Huntingdon, J. 2009. Thirty years of changing gears: Assessing changes in numbers and distribution of large whale entrapments in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Oral presentation at the 18th Biennial Conference of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, Quebec City, QC, Canada, October 2009.
Benjamins, S., Ledwell, W., Huntingdon, J. and Hood, C. 2009. The Cost of Changing Gears: Large whale entanglements in Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada), 1979-2008. Poster presented at the 23rd Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Istanbul, Turkey, March 2009.
Ledwell, W., Benjamins, S., Huntingdon, J., and Hood, C. 2008. Incidental entrapments of large whales in Newfoundland and Labrador, 1979-2007. Poster presented at the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) symposium “The Role of Marine Mammals in the Ecosystem in the 21st Century”, Dartmouth, N.S., Canada, September 2008.
Benjamins, S., and Ledwell, W. 2008. Vagrant sociable monodontids in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Oral presentation at the workshop ‘Protection and management of solitary sociable cetaceans’ at the 22nd Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Egmond aan Zee, the Netherlands, March 2008.
Benjamins, S., and Lawson, J. 2007. Management of harbour porpoise incidental catch in Newfoundland and Labrador: The Canadian approach. Poster presentation at the 21st Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain, April 2007.
Benjamins, S. 2005. Harbour porpoise bycatch management in Denmark, 2005. Oral presentation at the workshop ‘Science and Implementation Considerations of Mitigation Techniques to Reduce Small Cetacean By-Catch in Fisheries’ at the 16th Biennial Conference of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, San Diego, CA, USA, December 2005.
Benjamins, S., Lawson, J., Stenson, G., and Lien, J. 2005. Current and historic bycatch of small cetaceans and other megafauna in Newfoundland gillnet fisheries. Poster presentation at the 16th Biennial Conference of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, San Diego, CA, USA, December 2005.
Benjamins, S., Lawson, J., and Lien, J. 2004. The potential benefit of resampling statistics in marine mammal bycatch studies: the example of the Newfoundland Cod fishery. Poster presentation at the 18th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Kolmården, Sweden, April 2004.
Benjamins, S., Lawson, J., and Lien, J. 2003. Small cetacean bycatch in fisheries of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Poster presentation at the 15th Biennial Conference of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, Greensboro, NC, USA, December 2003.
Benjamins, S., and Lockyer, C.H. 2001. Histological studies on beluga whale teeth: Preliminary results. Poster presentation at the 15th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Rome, Italy, May 2001.
Résumés Details
