Remote Antarctic feeding ground important for east Australian humpback whales

Understanding the dynamics of population recovery is particularly complex when an organism has multiple, remote breeding and feeding grounds separated by one of the longest known migration routes. This study reports on the most comprehensive assessment of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) movements between remote Antarctic waters south of New Zealand and east Australia (EA), and the migratory corridors and breeding grounds of Australia and Oceania. A total of 112 individual whales were identified; 57 from microsatellites and 61 by fluke with 23 % (n = 26) matched to sites outside Antarctica. Despite large datasets from other southern regions being included in the comparison, the whales were predominantly linked to EA (n = 24). Only two matches to the Oceania catalogues directly north was surprising; therefore the primary feeding grounds of these endangered whales still remain unknown. The confirmation of the Balleny Islands as an important feeding ground for EA whales could provide an insight into reasons behind the rapid recovery of this population. Determining the feeding grounds of Oceania’s whales may explain whether prey energetics or migration length are limiting factors to their recovery and will allow an understanding of future ecosystem changes in these whales.     

Applying DPSIR to sustainable development

The DPSIR framework was devised in the late 1990s as a tool for the reporting and analysis of environmental problems, ranging in scale from global systems to localized watersheds. Since then, international organizations have begun to apply this framework to the evaluation of sustainable development initiatives, to better understand and overcome barriers to sustainability. While this may seem a logical application for an integrated environmental assessment tool, the use of DPSIR in sustainable development will likely perpetuate the least satisfactory outcomes of development. DPSIR cannot address the impact of aggregated, informal responses on the drivers and pressures related to environmental problems and sustainability challenges. This problem is not merely an oversight of the framework, but an issue that emerges within the structure of DPSIR itself through the unexamined, unacknowledged hierarchy of actors that this framework implicitly creates with its typology. Therefore, a DPSIR-centered approach is not a new direction for development within international organizations, but instead, a reproduction of existing inequalities between actors and stakeholders within current approaches.     

A novel method for investigating the collective behaviour of fish: introducing ‘Robofish’

Collective animal behaviour has attracted much attention recently, but cause-and-effect within interaction sequences has often been difficult to establish. To tackle this problem, we constructed a robotic fish (‘Robofish’) with which three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) interact. Robofish is a computer-controlled replica stickleback that can be programmed to move around a tank. First, we demonstrated the functioning of the method: that the sticklebacks interacted with Robofish. We examined two types of interaction: recruitment and leadership. We found that Robofish could recruit a single fish from a refuge and could initiate a turn in singletons and in groups of ten, i.e. act as a leader. We also showed that the influence of Robofish diminished after the first 30 min that fish spent in a new environment. Second, using this method, we investigated the effects of metric and topological inter-individual distance on the influence that Robofish had on the orientation of fish in a shoal of ten. We found that inter-individual interactions during this turn were predominantly mediated by topological, rather than metric, distance. Finally, we discussed the potential of this novel method and the importance of our findings for the study of collective animal behaviour.     

Spatial and temporal variability of the overall error of National Atmospheric Deposition Program measurements determined by the USGS collocated-sampler program, water years 1989-2001

Data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collocated-sampler program for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) are used to estimate the overall error of NADP/NTN measurements. Absolute errors are estimated by comparison of paired measurements from collocated instruments. Spatial and temporal differences in absolute error were identified and are consistent with longitudinal distributions of NADP/NTN measurements and spatial differences in precipitation characteristics. The magnitude of error for calcium, magnesium, ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate concentrations, specific conductance, and sample volume is of minor environmental significance to data users. Data collected after a 1994 sample-handling protocol change are prone to less absolute error than data collected prior to 1994. Absolute errors are smaller during non-winter months than during winter months for selected constituents at sites where frozen precipitation is common. Minimum resolvable differences are estimated for different regions of the USA to aid spatial and temporal watershed analyses.     

Participatory development for regional sustainability in Western Australia: an enabling state?

Regionally specific sustainability processes that account for diverse environments and populations and that integrate social, economic, political and ecological spheres are being developed in Western Australia. A coordinated commitment to sustainability principles and a participatory philosophy by the state and local governments is necessary. This requires a transformation of the public service, from a director of passive programmes and laws to a facilitator of community projects and outcomes, towards an enabling state. An international participatory paradigm provides an array of concepts and methods for local and regional communities in partnership with government and industry to achieve this. Participatory methodologies are utilised successfully around the globe to create an institutional framework that facilitates a process of dialogue, partnership, networking, learning and managing change. This paper examines the potential contribution of a participatory approach to improve the participatory capacity of regional communities and both local and state governments towards the facilitation of regional sustainability processes.