Last Sunday and Monday I attended a sirenian genetics conference in Orlando put on by Bob Bonde and others from USGS Sirenia Project and University of Florida. It was a very successful meeting, not only to hear about ongoing work from around the world for both manatees and dugongs, but also because it wasn't too technical for those of us who are just getting involved with genetics. It is really impressive how far genetics work for manatees has come in the past few years. I gave a presentation on the collaborative effort I'm trying to set up for West African manatee genetics with folks from 11 countries in Africa (so far) and it was well-received.
Most of the conference group assembled for a photo. Hopefully another workshop will be convened in a couple years. (Photo courtesy of USGS)
Bonde was awarded a lifetime manatee conservation award which was really nice considering everything he's done for sirenians throughout his career. I don't have a picture of him receiving the award, so I'm posting this older photo taken a few years ago, which will give you an idea of his flair for fashion. Congratulations Bob!
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