The Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM) gives students members of the Society the opportunity of creating Student Chapters. Until 2015, there were 7 chapters, five of them based in North America, one in the UK and one in Australia and New Zealand. In December 2015 the "SOLAMAC Students & SMM Student Chapter South America (SCSA)," was created, which was presented at the 21st Biennial Conference in San Francisco, California.

The goal of this Chapter is to promote the connection between students who are investigating cetaceans, pinnipeds and sirenians throughout South America and nearby Latin America areas. This chapter will bring together students to share ideas in an academic and professional context. The chapter will be open to undergraduate and graduate students from South America, as well as masters and PhD students, post-docs and early career professionals in marine mammal-related studies. This chapter is preliminary represented by student and graduate members of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. However, the contribution of members from other countries will be encouraged and strengthened.

The chapter activities (e.g. workshops, courses, and others) will be related to diverse interests of student members including exchange between  institutions, field surveys, expeditions, aerial and shipboard sightings, necropsies, and museum collections. The Facebook web page "SOLAMAC Students & SMM Student Chapter South America" was created to facilitate communication and engagement among students. All those activities will be in agreement with the SMM Student Chapter guidelines.

PRIMARY CONTACT/ADMINISTRATORS

MSc Fernando Lopes (PhD student, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil), PhD. Iris Cáceres-Saez (Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” - CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina), MSc. Daniela Haro Díaz (PhD student, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile) y BS. Carolina Liñan Rojas (Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, Lima, Perú).

PROFESSIONAL SPONSORS

PhD. Carolina Loch Silva (University of Otago, New Zealand; Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brasil), PhD. Larissa Rosa de Oliveira (Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Brasil) and PhD. Ricardo Bastida (Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - CONICET, Argentina).