Ecosystem-based Management Plans Research Articles

Angler’s sense of place as an indicator for perceived vulnerability to shifting stock distributions

Climate change continues to warm ocean waters and cause fish stocks to redistribute to untraditional locations, prompting changes in angler behavior and destabilizing the connection they have built with particular places in order to fish successfully. This research evaluates recreational anglers’ sense of place in New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island (USA), as an indicator to assess perceptions of vulnerability in relation to shifting fish stock distributions through a mixed-methods research design. The findings of this research suggest that recreational anglers’ sense of place can be significantly associated with vulnerability perceptions as environmental conditions continue to shift. Sense of place is a key component of an angler’s identity and therefore must be preserved to promote community resilience, encourage sustainable behavior, and help anglers better adjust to change. Implementing sense of place as an indicator within vulnerability and well-being assessments may contribute to the robustness of the socio-cultural data collected within recreational saltwater angler populations to build holistic and adaptive ecosystem-based management plans, as well as assist with the movement towards climate-ready fisheries policy.

Multi-Use as the Next Iteration of Ecosystem-Based Management Planning and Implementation

In the not-so-distant future, it may be entirely possible for an aquaculture farmer to harvest robust crops of seaweeds and shellfish safely within the leased area of an offshore wind farm. Likewise, a charter boat captain may tap into turbine sensors for weather and traffic data needed to navigate a boatload of recreational anglers to productive fishing grounds. Or, perhaps, commercial fishermen deploy innovative gear types on modified vessels to safely and lucratively fish within wind farms.

Conceptualising Marine Biodiversity Mainstreaming as an Enabler of Regional Sustainable Blue Growth: The Case of the European Atlantic Area

After recognizing the importance of marine and coastal resources and the use of marine space for economic growth, the European Union (EU) created and implemented a long-term Blue Economy (BE) strategy that supports the development of traditional and emerging marine and maritime sectors, aiming at the enhancement of Blue Growth (BG). However, despite the existence of a robust policy framework that supports the expansion of BE sectors at both an EU Sea Basin and state level, scholars have been sceptical as to whether the pursuit of BG adequately addresses the challenges that usually come with economic development, including those of climate change and marine biodiversity loss. Various frameworks for integrating sectoral goals with each other and with environmental goals that could facilitate the transition towards Sustainable Blue Growth (SBG) already exist and have been suggested and promoted by the European Commission, such as Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP). They require the consideration of marine ecosystems and biodiversity and their protection as one of the BE sectors to be integrated via planning and management, which in turn requires the estimation of the value of ecosystem services and the spatial implications thereof. Nonetheless, there is little evidence or real-world examples on whether and how ecosystems, and within them coastal and marine biodiversity, are actually integrated (i.e., mainstreamed) when developing sectoral policies and planning and implementing economic activities at sea at various scales, i.e., local, national, and regional, and what the necessary steps and actions are that would facilitate such mainstreaming. By seeking evidence in EU and Atlantic Arc (AA) member states’ sectoral policies on marine tourism, ports and shipping, marine renewable energy, and fisheries and aquaculture (as promoted by the Atlantic Maritime Strategy and its corresponding action plans) and in the outcomes of the Interreg Atlantic Funded Research Project MOSES (aiming at valuating a Sustainable Blue Economy at the national and regional scale of the EU AA), the present article focused on understanding if and how marine biodiversity is taken into consideration by EU and AA BE and/or BG policies, strategies, and sectoral developments. Τhe selected sectoral policies demonstrate a good uptake of marine-ecosystem- and biodiversity-related challenges; however, at both the EU and the AA member-state level, it is unclear whether and how marine ecosystems and biodiversity are addressed as a separate BE sector. As such, we argue why and how Marine Biodiversity Mainstreaming (MBM) could address this gap, and hence it could contribute to planning, implementing, and managing maritime economic activities towards SBG at the Sea Basin level. This is demonstrated by illustrating the central role of MBM in enabling (and being further enabled by) the above integrative frameworks (i.e., MSP and EBM) and by presenting the key elements and actions required for such facilitation.

Delineating the fish-based ecosystem services of a small tropical Indian estuary: Identification, evaluation and management

In this study, we evaluate the fish-based ecosystem services (ES) of Chettuva, a small tropical estuary (CE) on the south-west coast of India. Besides the direct benefits (provisioning and cultural), the primary regulatory and supporting services provided by fish in estuaries were also documented using secondary data and focused group discussions (FGD). The major obstacles impeding the fisheries-based ES were also identified, and priority-based management options were proposed. The annual economic value of the major fish-based ES of the estuary was estimated to be ₹814.55 million (₹36.96 million for provisioning, ₹569.52 million for supporting, ₹177.6 million for regulating and ₹30.47 million for cultural and information services including recreation, tourism, scientific and information services, respectively). The estuarine fishery in CE is still traditional, employing non-motorized boats and supporting the livelihood of about 300 active fishers. Our findings revealed that stakeholders rated higher values on provisioning, supporting, and cultural services while providing little significance on the regulating services. The current findings indicated that, as the primary means of livelihood, fisheries not only provide a pragmatic overview of the economic value of estuarine systems but also signifies the use of fisheries-based ES as a valuable tool in developing an ecosystem-based management plan. Based on the findings, it would be reasonable to highlight the need for ES-based approach for resource conservation in fisheries management of the small tropical estuaries.

Strategic agency and learning in sustainability initiatives driving transformation: the symphony tool for ecosystem-based marine spatial planning

Ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning (MSP) represent novel approaches intended to transform marine governance and improve ecosystems. The transformation can be supported by sustainability initiatives such as decision-support tools, which inform changes in management strategies and practices. This study illustrates the potential and challenges of such sustainability initiatives to promote deliberative transformative change in marine governance systems. Specifically, it focuses on the amplification processes of the Symphony tool for ecosystem-based MSP in Sweden. Our findings suggest that the amplification of sustainability initiatives is driven by informal networks, coalition forming, resource mobilization skills, a shared vision, trust, experimentation, and social learning. Our results also highlight that in the face of institutional challenges such as sparse financial resources, uncertain institutional support, and divided ownership, a strategic way forward is to simultaneously work on parallel amplification processes, as they may enable each other. Further, we find that a key challenge in amplification across governance scales is the need for significant adjustments of the original innovation, to meet differing needs and competences. This highlights the broader challenge of achieving transformative change across scales in heterogenous and fragmented multilevel governance systems. Co-production of knowledge and early stakeholder interaction to ensure accessibility and availability can improve the chances of successful amplification. To move beyond a mechanistic understanding of steps and processes, future research on sustainability initiatives should consider the interplay between strategic agency, social learning, and institutional context in driving amplification processes.

Métricas alimentarias de dos condrictios meso-bentónicos en aguas de Chile central

Little has been studied of the food metrics of most chondrichthyans, which provide baseline information for the assessment of fishing status to guide the development of ecosystem-based management plans. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to approach the isotopic niche of Dipturus chilensis and Callorhinchus callorynchus in Valparaíso (central Chile). The main findings showed that C. callorynchus presented a narrow ellipse (E= 0.79; RC= 4.14; θ= 1.39), meanwhile D. chilensis, presented an ellipse with greater extension (E= 0.95; RC= 8,23; θ= -0.11), therefore a wide isotopic niche.

Spatialized ecological network analysis for ecosystem-based management: effects of climate change, marine renewable energy, and fishing on ecosystem functioning in the Bay of Seine

Abstract Integrative and spatialized tools for studying the effects of a wide variety of ecosystem drivers are needed to implement ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning. We developed a tool for analyzing the direct and indirect effects of anthropic activities on the structure and functioning of coastal and marine ecosystems. Using innovative modelling techniques, we ran a spatially explicit model to carry out an ecological network analysis (ENA) of the effects of climate change (CC), of an offshore wind farm (OWF) and of multiple fishing scenarios on the Bay of Seine (eastern part of the English Channel) ecosystem. ENA indices described the effects of those different drivers in a holistic and spatial way. The spatial analysis of ecosystem properties revealed local and global patterns of modifications attributed to CC, while the OWF resulted in localized changes in the ecosystem. This ability of ENA indicators to detect human-induced changes in ecosystem functioning at various spatial scales allows for a more integrative view of the effects of human activities on ecosystems. ENA indices could be used to link both local and global ecosystem changes, for a more cross-scale approach to ecosystem management.

Composition and Intraspecific Variability in Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) Diets in a Eutrophic Estuary

This study assessed the diet of Summer flounder (SF,Paralichthys dentatus) in Shinnecock Bay, NY. Summer flounder are a recreationally and commercially important marine flatfish species found along the Eastern United States coastline. Despite their importance, few studies have examined the trophodynamics of a broad size spectrum of this species. Diet composition of summer flounder (n= 88) was assessed from 2014 to 2016 throughout Shinnecock Bay, a eutrophic bar-built estuary in New York. Species consumed and diet species richness differed significantly amongst SF size classes, with large [≥375 mm total length (TL)] and medium (>225: <375 mm) summer flounder showing higher levels of piscivory and more diverse diets than small-sized (≤225 mm) conspecifics. As voracious plastic predators, trends in annual and monthly diet variation generally followed prey availability in Shinnecock Bay. One exception to this general pattern occurred for winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus). Despite their low relative abundance in the bay, winter flounder was highly preferred as prey by summer flounder (Chesson index, α = 0.35) and was their predominant prey item accounting for 12.3% (SD ± 3.9%) of the diet by weight. Other factors that explained the variability of the diet of summer flounder were year, month, dissolved oxygen concentration, bay region and habitat, with a cumulative variance of 10.3%. Interestingly, clear differences in the diet (i.e., species richness and abundance) of summer flounder were found within regions of Shinnecock Bay, with a decrease in teleost biomass and species richness observed in the western region where water quality is more degraded and less seagrass is available compared to the more pristine eastern region. Distinct trophic dynamics in degraded habitats suggests fundamentally different food webs that could have important consequences to ecosystem stability and resilience. As coastal areas continue to experience degradation, diet studies of economically and ecologically important species can aid in the development of effective ecosystem-based management plans.

A decision making approach for assignment of ecosystem services to forest management units: A case study in northwest Turkey

In general, studies are carried out to determine the location and to resolve trade-offs in the management of forests according to ecosystem services. The government of Turkey also has been advancing this type of analysis in the practical management of forests. The creation of ecosystem services (ES) suitability map for forests through a participatory approach can provide forest managers valuable information that informs ecosystem-based management plans. The objective of this paper is to formulate and solve the problem of assigning management actions to forest stands in order to optimally provide ecosystem services that are consistent with, and based on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). We outline a model for a participatory process that has seven steps: (1) determine the possible ES that can be supported on the landscape, (2) create a suitability map for each management unit (stand of trees), (3) define SDG for each ES, (4) create the stakeholder groups, (5) determine the importance of each SDG, (6) determine the contribution of ES to each SDG, and (7) assign ES to each management unit in an optimal manner. We used pairwise comparisons and the Delphi method to determine stakeholder preferences. This information guided the assignment of management actions to management units when optimizing ES outcomes. This approach was applied to a case study centered on the Belgrad Forest, located in northwest Turkey. The percent of land assigned to ES was respectively, water regulation (71%), cultural heritage (17%), education (9%), water supply (2%), and carbon (1%). Through this process, for this case study area, there were no assignments for recreation and aesthetic quality services. As a result, the Belgrade Forest was zoned into management classes unlike the current situation. The pairwise comparisons and the Delphi method can help formalize public participation in the decision-making process. Results from these can inform a resource allocation optimization model through the development of coefficients and constraints.

Assessing trophic position quantification methods for three piscivorous freshwater fish using stable isotopes and stomach contents

Accurate trophic position (TP) estimates are important for the development of ecosystem-based management plans. TPs can be quantified by carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes in tissues, but these can disagree with observed and perceived feeding ecology. A recent method that has used a scaled diet-tissue discrimination factor (DTDF), reflecting the inverse relationship between DTDF and δ15N, was found to better describe TPs of predatory fish species in marine ecosystems, but this has not been tested in freshwater ecosystems. Here, we compare methods of TP estimations in the Lake Huron-Erie corridor (HEC), a system where high diversity of prey items has contributed to the concern that foraging ecology of piscivorous fish species is poorly understood. Using δ15N and δ13C, we quantified TP of longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), and northern pike (Esox lucius) to assess the efficacy of a scaled DTDF compared to traditional DTDF isotope methods and stomach content analysis (SCA). The scaled DTDF method produced TP estimates that were at times consistent with SCA and were generally higher and with a greater range among individuals than non-scaled DTDFs. The scaled method was not sensitive to baseline choice nor influenced by incorporating carbon source in the model. Greater variability of TP estimates using a scaled DTDF suggests more complex trophic structuring in the upper trophic level guild of the HEC. These results, particularly the lack of baseline sensitivity, provide support for using the scaled DTDF in freshwater food web characterization.

Relative impacts of multiple human stressors in estuaries and coastal waters in the North Sea–Baltic Sea transition zone

The objectives of this study are 1) to map the potential cumulative impacts of multiple human activities and stressors on the ecosystems in the transition zone between the North Sea and Baltic Sea, for Danish waters 2) to analyse differences in stressor contribution between the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, off-shore waters) and Water Framework Directive (WFD, coastal waters), and 3) to assess the local relative importance of stressors for 14 areas along a land-sea gradient, from inner fjords or coastal areas to offshore waters. The mapping of cumulative impacts is anchored in 35 datasets describing a broad range of human stressors and 47 ecosystem components ranging from phytoplankton over benthic communities to fish, seabirds and marine mammals, which we combined by means of a widely used spatial human impact model. Ranking of the stressor impacts for the entire study area revealed that the top five stressors are: ‘Nutrients’, ‘Climate anomalies’, ‘Non-indigenous species’, ‘Noise’ and ‘Contaminants’. The gradient studies showed that some stressors (e.g. ‘Nutrients’, ‘Shipping’ and ‘Physical modification’) have a relatively higher impact within the fjord/estuarine systems whilst others (e.g. ‘Fisheries’, ‘Contaminants’ and ‘Noise’) have relatively higher impact in the open waters. Beyond mapping of cumulative human impacts, we discuss how the maps can be used as an analytical tool to inform ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning, using the MSFD and WFD as examples.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge Supports Ecosystem-Based Management in Disturbed Coastal Marine Social-Ecological Systems

A growing number of studies suggest a participatory ecosystem approach to support decision-making towards resilience and sustainability in social-ecological systems. Social-ecological resilience (SER) principles and practices are recommended to manage natural crises. However, it is necessary to broaden our understanding of SER on human-induced disturbances driven by economic development projects. In this paper we present the social-ecological system of Araca Bay (Brazil), a small-scale fishery community that has experienced successive disturbances due to development projects since the 1930s. There was a lack of studies about the impacts of development projects in this bay. As part of a major project that aimed to build an ecosystem-based management plan for Araca Bay through a participatory planning process, we focused on investigating fishers’ traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) to understand Araca Bay’s small-scale fisheries social-ecological system. The objectives were to: (1) investigate fishers’ TEK regarding management practices and linked social mechanisms, human-induced disturbances and their consequences for the social-ecological system, ecosystem goods and services, and future threats; and (2) provide information based on TEK to the participatory planning process and analyze its contribution to Araca Bay’s ecosystem-based management plan. Combined methods were used during 3 years of intense research-action (2014-2017): in-depth ethno-oceanographic interviews with expert fishers; monitoring Araca Bay participatory meetings; and participant observation. Genuine local practices and social mechanisms from traditional culture were recorded, as well as TEK about 57 target fish species and methods to protect habitats and natural resources. Fishers also reported ecosystem disturbances and recovery processes. TEK was codified through SWOT analysis to assist the participatory planning process. Ecosystem services and threats based on TEK were brought to the participatory process, acknowledged by the participants, and incorporated into the management plan. TEK analysis proved to be an important methodology to provide historical environmental data regarding the impacts of development projects and support planning in disturbed ecosystems. In order to support coastal marine ecosystem-based management strategies towards SER and sustainability, researchers and practitioners should consider traditional territories in planning, recognize local practices and social mechanisms, and consider TEK on ecosystem goods and services and on historical human-induced disturbances.

Feeding Access of Eastern Oysters to the Winter–Spring Phytoplankton Bloom: Evidence from Jamaica Bay, New York

The filtering capacity of dense bivalve populations can exert strong controls on phytoplankton biomass, leading to increased water clarity and reduced hypoxia. Bivalves, particularly oysters, therefore are the focus of many restoration efforts and ecosystem-based management plans. The hypothesis is tested that oysters have feeding access to the classic major phytoplankton bloom of the year in winter–spring. Jamaica Bay is a highly eutrophic urban estuary where oyster restoration is being considered as a means to improve water quality. Strong winter–spring and summer phytoplankton blooms occur in Jamaica Bay, and oyster feeding rates and oxygen consumption were examined to see if oysters would be able to feed during both seasonal pulses of phytoplankton. Temperature-related feeding rates were found to vary to the degree that feeding did not occur at the cold temperatures that exist during the winter–spring blooms. Indeed, feeding rate and proportion feeding were found to be zero at 10°C, which corresponds to March–April. But feeding would be vigorous in late spring and summer. Oysters, therefore, do not have the ability to regulate a major fraction of phytoplankton during the year in Jamaica Bay and likely in the rest of the mid-Atlantic states region and New England. Feeding rates are much higher during the time of the summer blooms, and oysters in shallow well-mixed waters would, therefore, have access to feeding and possibly control of phytoplankton biomass at this time.

Combining eight research areas to foster the uptake of ecosystem‐based management in fresh waters

Abstract Freshwater ecosystems are under a constant risk of being irreversibly damaged by human pressures that threaten their biodiversity, the sustainability of ecosystem services (ESs), and human well‐being. Despite the implementation of various environmental regulations, the challenges of safeguarding freshwater assets have so far not been tackled successfully. A promising way forward to stop the loss of freshwater biodiversity and to sustain freshwater‐based ESs is by implementing ecosystem‐based management (EBM), an environmental planning and adaptive management approach that jointly considers social and ecological needs. Responsible for considerable recent success in sustainably managing and conserving marine ecosystems, EBM has not yet been championed for fresh waters. A major reason for the delayed uptake of EBM in fresh waters is likely to be its complexity, requiring planners to be familiar with the latest developments in a range of different research areas. EBM would therefore benefit from becoming more tangible to receive attention on the ground. To facilitate uptake, eight core research areas for EBM and their innovations are introduced, and the way in which they feed into the workflow that guides the EBM planning stage is explained. The workflow links biodiversity distributions with ES supply‐and‐demand modelling and SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely) target planning, including scenario‐ and cross‐realm perspectives, the prioritization of management alternatives, spatial prioritization of biodiversity conservation and ES areas, and the quantification of uncertainties. Given the extensive resources, time, and technical capacity required to implement the full workflow, a light and an ultralight version of the workflow are also provided. Applied in concert, the eight well‐known research areas allow for better planning and operationalizing, and eventually for implementing EBM in freshwater ecosystems. EBM has great potential to increase public acceptance by introducing the consideration of human needs and aspirations into typically biodiversity‐driven conservation and management approaches. This will ultimately improve the integrity of freshwater ecosystems.

Achieving forest conservation in Fiji through payment for ecosystem services schemes

Most forests in Fiji are on native land owned by communities with tenure rights that are held largely with clans. Although there are examples in Fiji of local communities setting up conservation areas to protect their valuable forest resources, many are under pressure to issue leases to logging or mining companies for much-needed income. With inadequate legislation and government resources to secure the long-term protection of natural forests, conservation practitioners are looking at alternative models for establishing forest conservation areas in Fiji. One such model is the application of a forest payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme to deliver both ecological and socioeconomic outcomes for local communities. A case study from Kilaka village, Fiji, is presented where the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has worked with traditional land owners to secure a 99-year conservation lease for 402ha of pristine native forest in Vanua Levu. The lease, which was brokered through the government iTaukei Land Trust Board, provides an alternative source of income to logging and mining. The management plan which is nested within a larger ecosystem-based management plan for the district, sets out the comanagement arrangements between the community and WCS, with the day-to-day management of the forest, enforcement, monitoring and evaluation led by the traditional landowning clan. This PES model and co-management arrangement has potential for replication to other priority forest areas to meet Fiji’s obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, but at an estimated financial cost ranging from US$69.0–287.8 million.

Ecosystem-based management planning across aquatic realms at the Ria de Aveiro Natura 2000 territory

Ria de Aveiro represents a coastal territory, in which its natural capital, mostly classified under a Natura 2000 network of protected areas, is of paramount importance for the regional and national economy, supporting harbour activities and maritime traffic, agriculture, commercial fisheries, aquaculture, manufacturing, tourism, sports and recreational activities. Current and foreseen changes connected to human activities, namely land and water uses and potential conflicts, in frame of environmental policies, sustainable economic development and human well-being require the implementation of ecosystem-based management (EBM) planning processes considering the connectivity across marine, transitional, freshwater, and terrestrial domains. The main objective is to elaborate on the co-development of the EBM planning process across the three water domains, all characterized by high biodiversity and by the wide range of services provided by ecosystems and their abiotic components, for the mitigation of impacts from the management plan under implementation. The approach used follows a stepwise procedure in frame of resilience principles, considering the analysis of the relationship between the social and ecological components and on how these can be connected through risk assessment and a spatial multi-criteria analysis based on the delivery of ecosystem services. Stakeholders' perception matched the ecosystem services provisioning risk assessment and supported the planning EBM response that consist in saltmarshes and seagrasses meadows restoration programs. Compliance of the proposed measures is achievable regarding policies (policy targets and policy instruments) and feasibility (scientific and technological knowledge and financial resources). The EBM response can support the Vouga estuary management plan and regional smart specialization (RIS3 Centro).

Developing Human Well-being Domains, Metrics and Indicators in an Ecosystem-Based Management Context in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) encompasses both ecological integrity and human well-being, although it remains unclear how human well-being should be measured in an EBM context. Despite efforts to view EBM holistically, the human component is often overlooked or reduced to economic indicators that do not capture the full range of values held by the people affected by EBM policies. This study explored human well-being metrics of importance to local residents in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia (B.C.), Canada. The selection of this particular forest-dependent community was pragmatic since Haida Gwaii has recently participated in EBM planning and policy implementation that includes co-management between the Haida Nation and the Province of B.C. Using semistructured key informant interviews, we identified seven domains and 46 human well-being metrics important to measure on Haida Gwaii. Communities working to develop human well-being metrics in similar EBM contexts may find these concepts useful in their work.

Pre-fire forest remnants affect post-fire plant community structure and composition

Abstract The vegetation of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.)-dominated ecosystems in northern Lower Michigan is maintained by large, frequent, stand-replacing fires that often leave unburned forest strips (hereafter called “stringers”) which may persist for decades on the post-fire landscape. Regional fire suppression practices have altered the fire regime, however, and structural variability has been further disrupted by extensive plantations designed to provide habitat for the federally-endangered Kirtland’s warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii Baird). Jack pine plantations lack stringers and other structural heterogeneity found in fire-regenerated forests, and older live trees that comprise stringers are often harvested for timber. However, ecological effects of stringers on adjacent vegetation patterns and processes are poorly understood. We hypothesized that stringers act as post-fire refugia for plant species and provide a prolonged jack pine seed source for reseeding the burned landscape, and thus should be considered for inclusion in ecosystem-based management plans. We sampled data from four post-fire areas of different times-since-fire to investigate effects of stringers on post-fire plant community composition and stand structure. We evaluated plant community composition and compared stand density and age distributions at increasing distances from stringers to determine stringer effects on post-fire regeneration. In several burned areas, ground cover plant communities farthest from stringers differed from those both adjacent to and within stringers; areas burned relatively recently (12 and 32 years post-fire) showed the most pronounced differences. Structurally, several burned areas displayed broader sapling age distributions closer to stringers, suggesting that mature trees in stringers act as a prolonged seed source to the adjacent burned area. Thus, stringers not only influence immediate post-fire heterogeneity by retaining living trees on the burned landscape, but they also continue to provide inputs to the regenerating post-fire forest. Because the Kirtland’s warbler population has recovered, and the warbler’s delisting from endangered status is imminent, our results may be useful for guiding future ecosystem-based, adaptive forest management practices and, more broadly, retention patterns in stand-replacing fire-prone areas.

Environmental management frameworks for offshore mining: the New Zealand approach

The New Zealand region contains untapped natural mineral, oil, and gas resources while also supporting globally unique and diverse faunal communities that need to be managed sustainably. In this paper key information from the international literature is reviewed that can underpin an Environmental Mining Management System which includes elements of Environmental Risk Assessment, Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Planning. This paper focuses on four developing areas of seafloor mining activities presently being undertaken or planned in the New Zealand region: hydrocarbons (oil and gas), minerals, ironsands and phosphorite nodules. A number of issues with the implementation of environmental management systems are identified including the difficulty of assessing new marine activities or technologies and the need for standardised reporting metrics. Finally, the development of ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning is discussed which will be required to enhance environmental mining management frameworks in New Zealand.

Temporal and spatial distribution patterns of toothed whales in Massachusetts Bay using passive acoustics from ocean gliders

Basic information on marine mammal habitat use is necessary for informing ecosystem-based management plans and for mitigating human impacts. Massachusetts Bay is an important marine mammal foraging area in the Gulf of Maine and a region of high human activity, but little is known about toothed whale habitat use, particularly during winter months. Passive acoustic monitoring, particularly from autonomous platforms, provides advantages in studying habitat use in unfavorable conditions. The goal of this work is to use acoustic monitoring to investigate temporal and spatial occurrence patterns of toothed whale species in Massachusetts Bay during late fall/early winter using ocean gliders equipped with passive acoustic recorders. Slocum gliders were deployed in western Massachusetts Bay in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Toothed whales were detected on 92 (72%) of 128 deployment days. Detections occurred more often at night. Ongoing work includes acoustic identification of species and assessing relationships between detections and environmental conditions. These data provide the first evidence of a consistent presence of toothed whales in Massachusetts Bay during late fall and winter, and demonstrate the potential for ocean gliders as a tool to detect toothed whales in areas/times that are difficult to survey with traditional visual methods.