Estimating abundance of killer whales in the nearshore waters of the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands using line-transect sampling

Killer whale (Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758) abundance in the North Pacific is known only for a few populations for which extensive longitudinal data are available, with little quantitative data from more remote regions. Line-transect ship surveys were conducted in July and August of 2001–2003 in coastal waters of the western Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. Conventional and Multiple Covariate Distance Sampling methods were used to estimate the abundance of different killer whale ecotypes, which were distinguished based upon morphological and genetic data. Abundance was calculated separately for two data sets that differed in the method by which killer whale group size data were obtained. Initial group size (IGS) data corresponded to estimates of group size at the time of first sighting, and post-encounter group size (PEGS) corresponded to estimates made after closely approaching sighted groups. ‘Resident’-type (fish-eating) killer whales were more abundant than the ‘transient’-type (mammal-eating). Abundance estimates of resident killer whales (991 [95% CI = 379–2,585] [IGS] and 1,587 [95% CI = 608–4,140] [PEGS]), were at least four times greater than those of the transient killer whales (200 [95% CI = 81–488] [IGS] and 251 [95% CI = 97–644] whales [PEGS]). The IGS estimate of abundance is preferred for resident killer whales because the estimate based on PEGS data may show an upward bias. The PEGS estimate of abundance is likely more accurate for transients. Residents were most abundant near Kodiak Island in the northern Gulf of Alaska, around Umnak and Unalaska Islands in the eastern Aleutians, and in Seguam Pass in the central Aleutians. This ecotype was not observed between 156 and 164°W, south of the Alaska Peninsula. In contrast, transient killer whale sightings were found at higher densities south of the Alaska Peninsula between the Shumagin Islands and the eastern Aleutians. Only two sightings of ‘offshore’-type killer whales were recorded during the surveys, one northeast of Unalaska Island and the other south of Kodiak Island. These are the first estimates of abundance of killer whale ecotypes in the Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula area and provide a baseline for quantifying the role of these top predators in their ecosystem. Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.

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Spatial patterns of tungsten and cobalt in surface dust of Fallon,Nevada

Spatial patterns of tungsten and cobalt are described for surface dust of Fallon, Nevada, where a cluster of childhood leukemia has been ongoing since 1997. In earlier research, airborne tungsten and cobalt was shown to be elevated in total suspended particulates in Fallon. To fine-tune the spatial patterns of tungsten and cobalt deposition in Fallon, surface dust was collected in a grid pattern within as well as outside of Fallon to establish background concentrations of metals. In surface dust, tungsten and cobalt show sharp peaks (934 ppm and 98 ppm, respectively) within Fallon just north of highway 50 and west of highway 95. These two peaks overlap spatially, and given the grid pattern used for collecting surface dust, the source area of these two airborne metals can be pinpointed to the vicinity of hard-metal industry located north of highway 50 and west of highway 95. Fallon is distinctive in west central Nevada because of high airborne tungsten and cobalt particulates, and given its cluster of childhood leukemia, it stands to reason that additional biomedical research is in order to test directly the leukogenicity of combined airborne tungsten and cobalt particulates.     

爱尔兰海岸夏季空气颗粒物水溶性离子粒径分布研究

研究了爱尔兰西海岸国际海洋大气研究站夏季（2002年8月12～22日）大西洋气团颗粒物中水溶性无机离子的含量与其粒径关系.海盐成分（Cl^-、SO4^2-、Na^＋、Ca2＋、Mg^2＋、K^＋）含量在粗颗粒物中随粒径呈双峰分布（0.8～30 μm）,但Ca^2＋和K＋受陆域源影响,在亚微米颗粒区间出现另一分布峰（0.1～0.8 μm）.二次颗粒物成分在所有颗粒物中均有检出;NO^3-呈广域宽带分布,其中大部分出现在海盐主峰区（0.8～8 μm,存在Dp 1.4 μm和Dp 4.4 μm两种模态）;nss-SO4^2-（非海盐硫酸根）和NH^4＋呈相关三峰分布（Dp 0.44 μm、Dp 1.4 μm和Dp 4.4 μm）,CH3SO3-也呈相似三峰分布（Dp 0.44 μm、Dp 1.4 μm和Dp 8 μm）,三者在亚微米颗粒区间同位出现主峰.二次颗粒物成分Dp 1.4 μm模态在海岸空气颗粒物研究文献中尚少见报道.讨论了亚微米区间二次颗粒物盐类的化学形态.TSP中nss-SO4^2-、NO^3-、NH^4＋和CH3SO^3-的日均浓度分别为0.279、0.171、0.158和0.041 μg/m^3.     

Profiling unauthorized natural resource users for better targeting of conservation interventions

Unauthorized use of natural resources is a key threat to many protected areas. Approaches to reducing this threat include law enforcement and integrated conservation and development (ICD) projects, but for such ICDs to be targeted effectively, it is important to understand who is illegally using which natural resources and why. The nature of unauthorized behavior makes it difficult to ascertain this information through direct questioning. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, has many ICD projects, including authorizing some local people to use certain nontimber forest resources from the park. However, despite over 25 years of ICD, unauthorized resource use continues. We used household surveys, indirect questioning (unmatched count technique), and focus group discussions to generate profiles of authorized and unauthorized resource users and to explore motivations for unauthorized activity. Overall, unauthorized resource use was most common among people from poor households who lived closest to the park boundary and farthest from roads and trading centers. Other motivations for unauthorized resource use included crop raiding by wild animals, inequity of revenue sharing, and lack of employment, factors that created resentment among the poorest communities. In some communities, benefits obtained from ICD were reported to be the greatest deterrents against unauthorized activity, although law enforcement ranked highest overall. Despite the sensitive nature of exploring unauthorized resource use, management‐relevant insights into the profiles and motivations of unauthorized resource users can be gained from a combination of survey techniques, as adopted here. To reduce unauthorized activity at Bwindi, we suggest ICD benefit the poorest people living in remote areas and near the park boundary by providing affordable alternative sources of forest products and addressing crop raiding. To prevent resentment from driving further unauthorized activity, ICDs should be managed transparently and equitably.     

Using DNA barcoding to track seafood mislabeling in Los Angeles restaurants

Seafood mislabeling is common in both domestic and international markets. Studies on seafood fraud often report high rates of mislabeling (e.g., >70%), but these studies have been limited to a single sampling year, which means it is difficult to assess the impact of stricter governmental truth‐in‐labeling regulations. We used DNA barcoding to assess seafood labeling in 26 sushi restaurants in Los Angeles over 4 years. Seafood from 3 high‐end grocery stores were also sampled (n = 16) in 2014. We ordered 9 common sushi fish from menus, preserved tissue samples in 95% ethanol, extracted the genomic DNA, amplified and sequenced a portion of the mtDNA COI gene, and identified the resulting sequence to known fish sequences from the National Center for Biotechnology Information nucleotide database. We compared DNA results with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) list of acceptable market names and retail names. We considered sushi‐sample labels that were inconsistent with FDA names mislabeled. Sushi restaurants had a consistently high percentage of mislabeling (47%; 151 of 323) from 2012 to 2015, yet mislabeling was not homogenous across species. Halibut, red snapper, yellowfin tuna, and yellowtail had consistently high (<77%) occurrences of mislabeling on menus, whereas mislabeling of salmon and mackerel were typically low (>15%). All sampled sushi restaurants had at least one case of mislabeling. Mislabeling of sushi‐grade fish from high‐end grocery stores was also identified in red snapper, yellowfin tuna, and yellowtail, but at a slightly lower frequency (42%) than sushi restaurants. Despite increased regulatory measures and media attention, we found seafood mislabeling continues to be prevalent.     

Environmental impacts of tobacco product waste: International and Australian policy responses

The health risks of tobacco consumption are well established, but there is less awareness of the global environmental impacts of smoking. The by-products of the 6.3 trillion cigarettes smoked annually are filters (butts) that contain benzene, nicotine, cadmium, and dozens of other chemicals. It is estimated that between one- and two-thirds of all filters are discarded on roads, pavements, and green spaces. Butt litter as an environmental and public health hazard is a relatively new field of study, but recent research and findings have clear global implications. While this article focuses specifically on the situation in Australia, where cigarette butts are consistently the most littered item identified in national clean-up campaigns, the material reviewed has clear international environmental implications. The article first reviews existing literature on filter composition and toxicology, clean-up costs, regulatory response, and key policy actors. It then describes the scale of the butt litter problem in Australia using existing data, and analyses potential remedies at both the domestic and international levels.     

Designing individualisation of eco information: a conceptual framework and design toolkit

Eco-labelling is the practice of eco information provision that most directly addresses consumer behaviour. Nowadays, consumers are facing difficulties in perceiving and understanding existing eco labels. In previous work, we proposed the conceptual framework of eco information individualisation which tailors eco labels according to the specific needs of individual users using contextual technologies. This paper extends the conceptual framework by introducing a more structured way of considering the personal data and product data requirements, and reports the development of a design toolkit that aims to support designers in the designing of individualised eco information. A design workshop was carried out to introduce the concept to designers, and evaluate the usability and usefulness of the toolkit. Positive responses were received. The design outputs generated from the workshop were considered largely feasible and have the potential to be developed into digital prototypes. These indicate that it is possible for designers to learn to design eco information individualisation in a short time. This paper is a step towards a greater understanding of designing individualised eco information.