Responsible Marine Wildlife Viewing in Alaska

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Johnson
EDIS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelly A. Johnson ◽  
Timm Kroeger ◽  
Josh Horn ◽  
Alison E. Adams ◽  
Damian C. Adams

Animals in Florida provide a variety of benefits to people, from recreation (fishing, hunting, or wildlife viewing) to protection of human life and property (oysters and corals provide reef structures that help protect coasts from erosion and flooding). By measuring the economic value of these benefits, we can assign a monetary value to the habitats that sustain these species and assess the value that is lost when development or other human-based activities degrade animal habitat. This 5-page fact sheet presents the results of a study that assessed the value of protecting five animal species in Florida and showed the economic value of protecting animal habitat.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-248
Author(s):  
Valeria Senigaglia ◽  
Lars Bejder

Marine wildlife tourism attractions often use food rewards to ensure close-up encounters with freeranging animals. In Bunbury, Western Australia, the Dolphin Discovery Centre (DDC) conducts a foodprovision program where bottlenose dolphins (N = 22; between 2000 and 2018) are offered food rewards to encourage their visitation at a beach in front of the DDC. We used historical records on individual beach visits by adult female dolphins collected by the DDC from 2000 to 2018 to develop generalized mixed effects models (GLMM) to test whether the frequency of beach visitation was influenced by their reproductive status (pregnant, lactating, nonreproductive) or climatic events (El Niño-Southern Oscillation phases) that could affect prey availability. We also quantified the behavioral budget of dolphins during food-provisioning sessions and documented intra- and interspecific aggressive behaviors using individual focal follows collected in 2017–2018. Provisioned females spend most of the time resting within the interaction area (66.3%) and aggressive interactions arise as a consequence of dominance behavior over food access. Visitation rates were most influenced by reproductive status with pregnant and lactating females visiting the provisioning area more frequently (z = 2.085, p = 0.037 and z = 2.437, p = 0.014, respectively). Females that frequently visit the provisioning area expose their dependent calves to regular human interactions at an early age when they are more susceptible to behavioral conditioning. Such experiences could cause the loss of awareness towards humans and promote maladaptive behaviors such as begging that increase risk of entanglement in fishing gear, boat strikes, and propeller injuries.


2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (2&3) ◽  
pp. 132 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.E.S. Higham ◽  
D. Lusseau ◽  
W. Hendry
Keyword(s):  

2003 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-240

AbstractThis article explains the provisions of the Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and its subsidiary marine wildlife instruments as they relate to bycatch management. The CMS was primarily developed with the purpose of protecting and conserving migratory species and their habitats. The Convention was initially regarded as little more than a paper accord. Since its inception the CMS has undergone gradual significant changes not only in its scope but also in its geographical coverage. There are ten subsidiary instruments currently in force under the CMS which include regional accords on a wide range of marine species such as cetaceans, marine turtles and pinnipeds. These agreements have considerable potential for regulating the incidental capture of marine wildlife in fisheries. Issues of interest in regard to these agreements include the use of non-binding instruments, and mechanisms for coordination between accords. This article examines the CMS and its subsidiary instruments; it identifies challenges facing the Convention, and provides options for the development of more comprehensive approaches to the management of bycatch.


Fluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Emmanuele D’Andrea ◽  
Maurizio Arena ◽  
Massimo Viscardi ◽  
Tommaso Coppola

An increasing attention has recently been paid to the effect of the underwater noise field generated by ship activities on the marine environment. Although this problem is widely discussed in international treaties and conventions, it has not yet found a consolidated technical-scientific treatment capable of quantifying the level of underwater noise emissions produced by naval systems. As part of a national research collaboration, a novel code has been developed to predict noise propagation according to the Ray Tracing approach. Such optical geometry-based technique allows for calculating the Transmission Loss (TL) trend in its respective contributions: geometrical loss (due to the distance between the source and receiver), dissipation loss (due to the characteristics of the propagation environment), and reflection loss (due to the surfaces that delimit the field). The simulation requires as input parameters the source info as spatial position, frequency, and sound pressure level (SPL) as well as the sea properties like seabed depth, the speed of sound profile, the layers thickness the water column is divided into, the sea salinity, temperature, and pH. The simulation code provides the SPL spatial distribution useful as a fast industrial tool in the future studies addressed to identify the emission limits for the protection of marine wildlife.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Baxter ◽  
Martin Coombes ◽  
Heather Viles

<p>Maritime built heritage is threatened by natural hazards and human activities around the world. Likewise, marine wildlife is increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change and human development. Due to their age and traditional construction, maritime built heritage (e.g. historic harbours) may provide unique habitats for diverse assemblages of marine wildlife. Yet, as aspects of built heritage are often missing in assessments of marine infrastructure, identifying which heritage assets have the potential to provide the greatest ecological benefits remains a challenge. An improved understanding of the ecological importance of maritime built heritage can enhance arguments for its continued protection, maintenance and repair. At the same time, this may present new opportunities to conserve important and largely unidentified hotspots of marine biodiversity.</p><p>Using preliminary results from the Isles of Scilly, UK, this study presents a novel method for quantifying the full extent of marine engineering structures (including heritage assets) at a regional scale, and for identifying priority structures for joint biodiversity and heritage conservation.</p><p>Remote sensing data were considered alongside historic environment data and records of modern coastal defences in a rapid desk-based assessment to create a complete inventory of marine structures along the entire coastline of the Isles of Scilly. In total, 68 structures were recorded (6,180 m in length), with over half registered as heritage assets. LiDAR and aerial photography were used to determine the site characteristics of each structure (e.g. shore position). This allowed for an initial assessment of the potential ecological importance of these structures when considered alongside structural information, including building age and material. By evaluating the ecological potential and heritage value of each structure using a novel scoring system, priorities for conservation and other managed interventions are identified. This includes listed buildings and scheduled monuments that due to their construction features and shore position are most likely to support diverse marine assemblages.</p><p>Combined ecological-heritage evaluations incorporating remote sensing datasets allow for the identification of those structures with the greatest potential for the integrated conservation of built heritage and marine wildlife. Research is now needed to develop this method further, ground-truth its outputs, and test its application in other geographical locations and at varying scales.</p>


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