Marine Mammals Occurring in the Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area, Philippines

The Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area (NOCWCA) is the Philippines’ 7th Ramsar Site of Wetlands of International Importance. It spans 89,607 ha comprising the municipal waters of 10 adjacent towns and municipalities. Its waters are part of the Guimaras Strait in the north and the Panay Gulf in the south. This research aimed to assess marine mammal diversity in these coastal wetlands. Marine mammal species here were documented through strandings, interview surveys, and boat surveys. Ten species of marine mammals, including the dugong (Dugong dugon), have stranded in the NOCWCA for the past ten years. Three species were encountered in the boat surveys: Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus), Long-snouted spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris longirostris), and Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris). All species were encountered in close proximity to fishing boats, indicating possible interactions. The presence of these marine mammals here highlights the importance of these areas as essential habitats.

Advances in Mountain and Mediterranean Wetlands Conservation

It is well known that wetlands are one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world, being also considered as environments with great natural, economic, and socio-cultural values [...]

Spatial Relationship between Natural Wetlands Changes and Associated Influencing Factors in Mainland China

Many studies have explored the dynamic change of wetlands distribution which play an important role in wetlands conservation and its sustainable management. However, given an uneven distribution of natural wetland resources in the context of global change, little is known about the spatial relationship between natural wetlands changes and associated influencing factors in mainland China. In this study, Moran-based spatial statistics are an effective methodology to examine the spatial patterns of natural wetlands and associated influencing factors at the province level, and GIS mapping is applied to help visualize spatial patterns. Results show that 1) significant spatial agglomeration and regional differences of natural wetlands distribution have been captured by Moran’s I statistics, and the agglomeration level has increased over the past ten years; 2) Seven of the eight factors show significantly strong and positive spatial autocorrelation except for water consumption, and spatial patterns of them show significant spatial clusters or spatial outliers; 3) Spatial coordination between natural wetlands distribution and the associated influencing factors is higher in the western region than in east China and northeast China. Moreover, spatial coordination between a cultivated area or water consumption and natural wetlands distribution is weaker than that of other factors. Finally, the influences generated by neighboring provinces should not be neglected in the implementation of wetlands conservation. This study could provide a scientific basis for the policy making of wetlands conservation and sustainable management systems.

Transnational research for coastal wetlands conservation in a Cuba–US setting

Non-technical summary Sharing information between different countries is key for developing sustainable solutions to environmental change. Coastal wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico are suffering significant environmental and human-related threats. Working across national boundaries, this research project brings together scientists, specialists and local communities from Cuba and the USA. While important advances have been made in strengthening collaborations, important obstacles remain in terms of international policy constraints, different institutional and academic cultures and technology. Overcoming these limitations is essential to formulating a comprehensive understanding of the challenges that coastal socioecological systems are facing now and into the future.