Skin lesions and physical deformities on coastal and offshore bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were assessed during a photo-identification study conducted between 1997 and 2007 in Santa Monica Bay and adjacent areas in California. During 425 boat surveys, 647 individuals were identified based on marks on their dorsal fins. Of 637 individuals examined for skin lesions and deformities, 79.0% exhibited at least one type of lesion. Offshore animals showed more lesions than coastal animals (offshore: 87.8%, n = 209; coastal: 73.4%, n = 270). Only one individual showed a physical deformity. Results show that skin lesions affect a large portion of the coastal and offshore dolphin populations in the study area. When considering that lesions and physical deformities can be a sign of disease and may be related to anthropogenic factors, their high presence on dolphins must be a cause of concern.

Coral reef ecosystems have been declining at an alarming rate during recent decades, despite increasing numbers of marine protected areas (MPAs) encompassing coral reefs. However, many MPAs have not met reserve objectives, inhibiting effective protection. This study focuses on the potential effectiveness of a Hotel Managed Marine Reserve (HMMR) at enhancing reef fish stocks. Biannual visual fish census surveys were conducted at two marine reserves adjacent to Whale Island Resort, Vietnam, October 2005 to April 2007. The 6-year protected Whale Island Bay Reserve (11 ha) showed significantly higher fish densities, richness, average size, and number of fish >15 cm compared with two unprotected control sites. Fish stocks at a second newer reserve, Whale Island Bay Peninsula (5 ha), quickly increased after protection. This study has demonstrated the effectiveness of HMMRs, suggesting a global network of such privately managed reserves could play a part in the conservation of the world's coastal resources, while alleviating financial pressure on governments.

Blooms of Cyanobacteria are a major concern during the summer period in the Baltic Sea Proper. The nitrogen-fixing Nodularia spumigena forms massive toxic blooms in the surface layers, with a concentration of biomass in the uppermost 1-m water layer. This pilot study describes the construction and test of a Nodularia collecting device during the summer of 2006. Oil booms were modified so that their dragging skirt was replaced with a water-permeable forming fabric used in the pulp and paper industry. The results showed that the modified oil booms worked and operated in an effective way when towed in the sea. Calculations showed that the collecting device used in this study has a theoretical capacity of cleaning 0.055 km² (5.5 ha) of sea surface hr⁻¹, compared with the 6600 km² of the Baltic Sea that were covered by Nodularia blooms during the summer of 2005. Future possibilities for Nodularia harvesting are discussed.

Seagrasses have declined in many places around the world, and the Swedish Skagerrak coast is no exception. Between the 1980s and 2000, the cover of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) on the Swedish Skagerrak coast decreased about 60%. In the present study, the sites that were investigated in the 1980s and 2000 were revisited (1655 ha) in 2003 and 2004 to investigate long and short term temporal and spatial differences in eelgrass coverage. The distribution of eelgrass was mapped from a small boat using an aquascope and a GPS receiver. No variation in total (about 150 km) or regional (about 20 km) eelgrass cover was found between 2000 and 2004, but there were substantial changes (both losses and gains) in meadow size on a local (less than about 2 km) scale. The results have implications for management of shallow soft bottoms, particularly because it was shown that even though no eelgrass is found in a single survey in a specific area, there could be eelgrass growing there in the following years.

Control of plant invasions requires regional knowledge of invasive species' distribution and the factors that promote their spread. We studied the distribution of invasive alien plants in Denmark at 2 spatial scales (“site” and “municipality”) based on habitat descriptions and species lists from 2343 sites recorded within environmental assessments for planned infrastructure projects and conservation management. We created a Geographic Information System database of the sites and supplemented the field data with information on traffic routes, water courses, and socioeconomic indicators from the respective municipalities. The percentage of invaded sites within a municipality decreased with increasing tax percentage and it increased with (sub-)urbanity. The number of invasive species at the sites was positively correlated with resident plant diversity, disturbance, and proximity to traffic routes. We conclude that current plant invasions in Denmark are mainly an anthropogenic(sub-)urban phenomenon. The results are discussed with respect to the utility of environmental assessment data for studying plant invasions and improving control of invasive species.

The Khangchendzonga National Park is a part of the eastern Himalaya global biodiversity hotspot and is located in the Sikkim state of India. Increasing livestock populations coupled with the government policy to ban grazing and its selective implementation resulted in conflict. Hence we undertook this multidisciplinary study involving consultations with traditional resource users, field surveys, and remote sensing. We found that in the greater Himalayan part, over the past 6 decades sheep have been increasingly replaced by yaks (and their crossbreeds), who descend only up to the multilayered temperate and subalpine forests during winter. These forests have been extensively manipulated by the yak herders to increase the fodder availability. In terms of economics and equity in benefit sharing, we found that a few yak herders earn high incomes by maintaining large herds while the sheep and pack animal herders earn subsistence level incomes from small herds. We propose a reduction in yak (and their female crossbreed) numbers with adequate alternative livelihood support for the herders.

Forestry as an important industry has both direct as well as indirect effects on the Estonian economy. It is therefore essential that it is sustainably managed so that it can continue to contribute to the economy in the future. The first aim of this article is to establish the situation regarding felling and regeneration in Estonia. As the available forestry statistics display discrepancies and lack consistency, it was as a necessary first step to gather information about and analyze the validity and reliability of the prime data to make the data sets useful for comparison over time and establish the current trends in Estonian forestry. However, with the help of interviews we are able to show that economic instability in Estonia brings with it increased logging rates and hinders investments into regeneration and maintenance. The problems are particularly pronounced in private forestry. Second, the article seeks to explain the socioeconomic reasons behind this situation. Economic problems among private owners, a liberal forestry policy, together with rapid land reform and weak enforcement of forestry legislation are some of the reasons that can explain the forestry trends in Estonia.

Due to great population pressure, China's government has always pursued a very strict policy to prevent decreases in arable land quantity and quality. Even so, a great deal of arable land has been converted to other uses. Economic development and population growth are two main driving forces of arable land loss. China's gross domestic product per capita was over USD 1000 in 2003, and USD 2000 in 2006, which means that China's economy is entering a stage of rapid development; further, the population of China increased sharply during this time, from 1.22 × 10⁹ in 1996 to 1.31 × 10⁹ in 2005. Against the backdrop of issues such as “who will feed China?” and global food security (1, 2), the decrease in quantity and changes in the use of arable land have attracted attention from the government and society.