Mapping the intertidal vegetation of the harbours of southern England for water quality management

This paper discusses a research project dealing with the mapping of the intertidal vegetation of several harbours along the southern coastline of England. It describes in detail the methods used to map the vegetation and gives examples of the results from these studies. This paper then goes on to explain how these results are applied by the Environment Agency of England and Wales to improve water quality in the harbours. This type of vegetation mapping is useful in monitoring the development of the intertidal species includingSpartina, Zostera and of particular importance to this study the green algaeUlva andEnteromorpha. The work was undertaken with funding from the Environment Agency and at present has taken place over a four year period. The data collected will be used by the Environment Agency to assess macro-algae covervalues for the intertidal area of the harbours concerned. This forms part of the Agency's commitment to the EU Nitrates Directive and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. Some of the species mapped act as suitable indicators of water quality and are symptoms of entrophication. Other species are of interest for nature conservation and were recorded to provide a record for longer-term trends in vegetation patterns within the harbour. This paper aims to provide readers with an understanding of the techniques involved as well as an evaluation of the methodology.     

Equipment failures and their contribution to industrial incidents and accidents in the manufacturing industry

Accidental events in manufacturing industries can be caused by many factors, including work methods, lack of training, equipment design, maintenance and reliability. This study is aimed at determining the contribution of failures of commonly used industrial equipment, such as machines, tools and material handling equipment, to the chain of causality of industrial accidents and incidents. Based on a case study which aimed at the analysis of an existing pulp and paper company's accident database, this paper examines the number, type and gravity of the failures involved in these events and their causes. Results from this study show that equipment failures had a major effect on the number and severity of accidents accounted for in the database: 272 out of 773 accidental events were related to equipment failure, where 13 of them had direct human consequences. Failures that contributed directly or indirectly to these events are analyzed.     

Exploring the potential of otolith microchemistry to enhance diet analysis in pinnipeds

Increasing the scope and accuracy of information about pinniped diets obtainable from non-invasive techniques is increasingly important, particularly in cases where pinniped species are threatened or endangered. This study is the first to explore the potential for using elemental analysis of the otoliths found in scat to enhance the information available for diet analyses. We investigated the effects of pinniped digestion on otolith microchemistry using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). We compared the elements contained in the edges (adult stage) and cores (larval/juvenile stage) of otoliths from Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), Atka mackerel (Pleurogrammus monopterygius), and Walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) recovered from the scat of captive Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) to elements in a sample of pristine (undigested) otoliths. We found that digestion had a significant effect on four of the six sampled combinations of species and otolith region (herring edges and cores, mackerel edges, and pollock cores), and that Rb most frequently showed significant differences in concentration after digestion. We could significantly discriminate among species of both pristine and digested otoliths using either otolith edges or cores with the elements Ba, Rb, Sr, Y, and Mg. When compared to previously identified digested otoliths, unknown samples of the three species of digested otoliths could be discriminated with 55–100% accuracy depending on species and otolith region. When compared to a library of previously identified pristine and digested otoliths, unknown samples of digested otoliths could be discriminated to species with 65–88% accuracy. When the group of unknown digested otoliths was compared to known pristine otoliths, discrimination ranged from 45 to 65%. These results indicate that elemental analysis could be used to supplement visual identification of otoliths from scat. However, further research is required to determine whether elemental analysis of digested otoliths could be useful for prey fish population studies.     

Impact of the FTSE4Good Index on firm price: an event study

This paper examines whether corporate financial performance is affected by public endorsement of environmental and social performance. Event study methodology, which relies on the notion of market efficiency, is used to examine the relationship between positive and negative announcements and changes in share prices or daily returns. Inclusion in and deletion from the FTSE4Good UK Index is used as a proxy measure for good (poor) corporate social responsibility. The abnormal or unexpected daily returns associated with an event are calculated and their significance tested. The results show a trend towards positive and negative announcements having the expected effects on daily returns. But these movements are not significant and the data do not suggest that a firm's presence on the index brings it any significant financial return for signalling its corporate social responsibility.     

Benefits Transfer and Low Flow Alleviation: What Lessons for Environmental Valuation in the UK?

Use of environmental valuation and benefits transfer in a recent legal ruling in the UK between Thames Water Utilities and the Environment Agency over water abstraction costs appeared to set an unfortunate precedent. In the first attempt to fulfil its statutory duties, the Agency was thwarted in its use and interpretation of non-market valuation techniques, in particular, the vexed issue of how to aggregate the results of valuation studies in original sites or those to where values might be transferred. The ruling has broader implications for water pricing and resource development by the industry. Far from being a blow for either cost-benefit analysis or environmental valuation, the decision highlights some of the research imperatives for the derivation of non-market values by economists and their translation for use in government decisions.     

News from the SETAC Europe Student Advisory Council - September 2012

The Student Advisory Council is the speaking tube of SETAC Europe??s students aiming to support young researchers in becoming fully-fledged members of the Society. In this article we report our latest activities during the 6^th SETAC World Congress/SETAC Europe 22^nd Annual Meeting in Berlin, Germany, and the upcoming 3^rd Young Environmental Scientists (YES) Meeting in Krakow, Poland.     

Social dimensions of science–humanitarian collaboration: lessons from Padang,Sumatra, Indonesia

This paper contains a critical exploration of the social dimensions of the science–humanitarian relationship. Drawing on literature on the social role of science and on the social dimensions of humanitarian practice, it analyses a science–humanitarian partnership for disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia, an area threatened by tsunamigenic earthquakes. The paper draws on findings from case study research that was conducted between 2010 and 2011. The case study illustrates the social processes that enabled and hindered collaboration between the two spheres, including the informal partnership of local people and scientists that led to the co‐production of earthquake and tsunami DRR and limited organisational capacity and support in relation to knowledge exchange. The paper reflects on the implications of these findings for science–humanitarian partnering in general, and it assesses the value of using a social dimensions approach to understand scientific and humanitarian dialogue.