Uninhabited Islands Research Articles

Detection and assessment of marine litter in an uninhabited island, Arabian Gulf: A case study with conventional and machine learning approaches

In 2018, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Qatar removed 90 t of marine litter (ML) from the Ras Rakan Island (RRI), a remote uninhabited island in the Arabian Gulf (hereinafter referred to as Gulf). To identify the sources of ML and understand the post-cleaning ML accumulation rate, a ML survey was conducted around RRI in 2019. A total of 1341 ML items were found around RRI with an average abundance of 3.4 items/m2. In addition, a machine learning approach was applied to extract the quantity and types of ML from 10,400 images from the sampling sites (beaches) to make the ML clean-up process and monitoring effort more efficient. The image coordinates of ML objects were used to train an object detection algorithm ‘You Only Look Once (YOLO-v5)’ to automatically detect ML from video data. An image enhancement technique was performed to improve the quality of unclear images. The best performing YOLO-v5 model had 90% of mean Average Precision (mAP) while maintaining near real-time processing speeds at 2 ms/image. The abundance of ML around RRI was higher than that found on the coast of mainland Qatar. 61.5% of the sampling locations are considered as ‘extremely dirty’ based on Clean Coast Index. Windward beaches had higher ML concentrations (derived from neighbouring countries) than the leeward beaches. Like RRI, most of the uninhabited islands in the Arabian Gulf are home to many seabirds and sea turtles, and could act as major sinks for ML deposition. Therefore, implementation of this machine learning technique to all islands allows estimating and mitigating the load of ML for achieving a sustaining and a cleaner ocean.

“A Missile to the Future”: The Theatre Ecologies of Caryl Churchill’s Far Away on Spike Island

Abstract This article considers how processes associated with reviving well-known plays can offer new theatrical approaches to the climate crisis. Such revivals can make visible ecological or environmental features that might have gone unnoticed in the past, but which can inspire agency and instil knowledge in the present. This idea is explored in relation to an Irish production of Caryl Churchill’s Far Away (2000), which was staged on an uninhabited island off the South Coast of Ireland in 2017 by Corcadorca Theatre Company. This production can be seen as offering a practical illustration of many of the theoretical ideas associated with theatre ecologies, especially for how Corcadorca blurred distinctions between audience and performers, indoors and outdoors, performance and spectatorship, past and present, and much more. This production should thus be seen as a case study that is worthy of analysis in its own right but which also allows for the identification of viable practices for the staging of theatrical revivals more generally.

Comparison of technical measures in the Aegean Sea to support harmonization of fisheries management policies

The Aegean Sea features an important archipelago in the Eastern Mediterranean, consisting of 60 inhabited islands, more than 1400 uninhabited islands, about 60–70 commercial marine taxa, along many vulnerable species. Fisheries are mainly coastal and are exploited by Greek and Turkish fishers. The multi-species and multi-gear fisheries operate within each country’s 6-nautical mile territorial sea and in the international waters of the Aegean Sea. As the fisheries resources are currently declining in this region, it is clear that current management initiatives are ineffective and would benefit from a new regime aiming to improve the state of the commercial marine resources. This study offers a comparative analysis of certain fishing gear technical measures applied by Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea. Identified differences can provide clear and helpful insights for decision-makers for the development of a new and productive management approach in Aegean waters. The fishery regulations were shown to be highly variable, sharing few similarities and stressing many more differences, thus rendering the current management of the shared fish stocks unsustainable. The resources of both states would greatly benefit from the harmonization of management measures focusing on an ecosystem approach to fisheries, and incorporating fishers as stakeholders.

Early successional trajectory of benthic community in an uninhabited reef system three years after mass coral bleaching

Severe thermal stress events occurring on the backdrop of globally warming oceans can result in mass coral mortality. Tracking the ability of a reef community to return to pre-disturbance composition is important to inform the likelihood of recovery or the need for active management to conserve these ecosystems. Here, we quantified annual, temporal changes in the benthic communities for the three years following mass coral mortality at Jarvis Island—an uninhabited island in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. While Jarvis experienced catastrophic coral mortality in 2015 due to heat stress resulting from the 2015/16 El Niño, significant annual shifts were documented in the benthic community in the three years post-disturbance. Macroalgal and turf dominance of the benthos was temporary—likely reflecting the high biomass of herbivorous reef fishes post-bleaching—giving way to calcifiers such as crustose coralline algae and Halimeda, which may facilitate rather than impede coral recovery. By 2018, indications of recovery were detectable in the coral community itself as juvenile densities increased and stress-tolerant genera, such as Pavona, exceeded their pre-disturbance densities. However, densities of Montipora and Pocillopora remain low, suggesting recovery will be slow for these formerly dominant taxa. Collectively, the assemblage and taxon-specific shifts observed in the benthic and coral community support cautious optimism for the potential recovery of Jarvis Island’s coral reefs to their pre-disturbance state. Continued monitoring will be essential to assess whether reassembly is achieved before further climate-related disturbance events affect this reef system.

Realism and Power in Mark Twain's

Realism and Power in Mark Twain's

Validating the 6 year (2016–2021) anthropogenic induced small island wildfire hazards in Pulau Seribu archipelago, Indonesia

Due to their specific characteristics, small islands tend to face unique challenges, including the challenges posed by wildfire threats caused by the presence of volatile vegetations and anthropogenic influences. This study aims to validate the impacts of the anthropogenic influence on wildfire risks for the period of 2011–2021 in several occupied small islands in Pulau Seribu archipelago, including Tidung and Pari Islands. An uninhabited island, Tidung Kecil Island, was used as control. To validate the anthropogenic influences on wildfire presences, the ANOVA one-way and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) methods were used. Results show that human occupancy has significantly contributed to the wildfire frequency and burnt area size (F = 4.413, p = 0.001), with the occupied islands have the highest wildfire frequencies of 0.45 cases annually, and the highest burn area average of 4076 m2 annually. The uninhabited island only experiences 0.09 wildfires per year. Wildfires occur both day and night. Daytime wildfires were mostly caused by improper disposal of cigarette butts or smoking activities. In contrast, nighttime wildfires were caused by open waste burning and camping activities.The validation using the ROC, with an area under the ROC curve value (AUC) of 0.671 (95%CI: 0.301–1), has validated the accuracy that the anthropogenic factors are proxies for wildfire hazards in Tidung Island. However, the accuracy of the anthropogenic influence-wildfire hazard association in Pari Island is slightly lower with an AUC of 0.633 (95%CI: 0.321–0.946). These confirm the potential of anthropogenic influences as a proxy for wildfire, especially in Tidung Island.

Floristic analysis of Vascular plants in Sanzhou Island, Zhuhai, China

The uninhabited island in Guangdong is rich in vascular plant flora. In order to enrich the understanding of the zonal vegetation, a comprehensive survey of the plant resources of Sanzhou Island was carried out by using the survey method of the combination of sample line method and quadrat method. The vegetation types, floristic composition of vascular plants and the distribution types of families, genera and species were analyzed. The natural vegetation of Sanzhou Island could be divided into three types: coastal semi-mangrove, evergreen shrub and evergreen seasonal rainforest. The results showed that there were 68 species of vascular plants in 39 families, 62 genera. There were 4 families, 4 genera and 5 species of pteridophytes, accounting for 10.26%, 6.45% and 7.35% of the vascular plants; 63 species of angiosperms, 58 genera and 35 families, accounting for 89.74%, 93.55% and 92.65% of the vascular plants in the island. The floristic composition of the island showed obvious tropical nature. The main flora of the island was composed of 4 distribution types: pantropic, old world tropical, tropical Asia to tropical Australasia and tropical Asia. It showed the floristic components were diverse with strong adaptability which was suitable for the poor soil and harsh environment of the island. This study could provide a theoretical basis for the protection, development and management of plant resources in Sanzhou Island.

First inventory of marine debris on Alegranza, an uninhabited island in the Northeast Atlantic

Alegranza is the most northerly island of the Canary Islands archipelago, the first obstacle crossed by the Canary Current. From July to October 2020, six expeditions were led to the island to make a first inventory of marine debris and its possible source and origin. In total, 3667 objects weighing 321 kg were removed, excluding wooden objects. Of these, 97.7% were plastics, the most abundant being drink bottles (25.4%). While knowing the origin, source and pathway of debris is difficult, legible labels provided valuable information. In Alegranza, 66.7% of the legible bottle labels indicated Asian countries of manufacture, which is evidence that the source is maritime traffic in the region. The lobster trap license labels from the east coast of the United States and Canada were dated from 1999 to 2018, supporting both the exogenous origin and long lifetime in the ocean of these debris.

Using the Entropy and TOPSIS Models to Evaluate Sustainable Development of Islands: A Case in China

China is a major maritime country with numerous islands, which are rich in natural resources. Island resources exhibit excellent development potential; in this regard, the market demand for uninhabited island development has been strong. The scientific and reasonable utilization of the resources of uninhabited islands can create huge economic value for the region and the country, inject vitality into the national economy, and enhance the stability of the overall sustainable development of the national economy. However, previous research on islands focused on a limited area of economy or ecology, and few studies provide a comprehensive evaluation of uninhabited island development. Such development requires enormous investment and has a profound impact. Therefore, a comprehensive and scientific evaluation system is necessary for uninhabited island development planning. This paper accordingly develops an island planning and evaluation indicator system based on multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), and entropy analysis method, and the approach of Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). A validation analysis was conducted to prove the effectiveness of the evaluation system. The evaluation system comprehensively considers both economic and ecological factors, which makes up for the one-sidedness of the previous evaluation focusing on economy or ecology, and effectively ensures the sustainable development of island development. In this regard, the evaluation system can provide important guidance for the government’s island planning management and the investment decision-making of enterprises. This system can also provide new ideas for the sustainable development of islands.

Island development suitability evaluation for supporting the spatial planning in archipelagic areas

The study of island development suitability can provide important reference for island ecosystem-based management and sustainable development, as well as technical foundation for land development suitability evaluation and spatial planning in other areas. In this study, two typical China's archipelagos, namely, Miaodao Archipelago and Dongtou Archipelago, were selected to demonstrate the study. The carrying capacities of the three major development types, that is, ecological conservation, agricultural production, and urban construction, served as basic data; the controlling factors of island development suitability were identified in aspects of terrain, sea, and soil, and their influences on the three development types were separately measured in the two archipelagos and on different types of islands; and the island development suitability index (IDSI) was established for each of the three development types. Then, four schemes, namely, Schemes A–D, were designed based on the IDSIs and for purposes of free development, ecological conservation, agricultural production, and coordinated development, respectively, to conduct the island functional zoning, and the optimum scheme was finally selected. The results indicated that the influence natures and degrees of controlling factors showed distinct spatial heterogeneities across different archipelagos and across different types of islands within the same archipelago. Area proportions of the planned zones varied in different schemes for different purposes, and the optimum scheme was generated by assigning Schemes A, B, C, and D to the reclamation areas within the islands, the uninhabited islands, the sandy island, and the remaining islands, respectively. The present study validated two hypotheses: First, the factual influences of controlling factors on the land development suitability varied across different areas and might not be in accordance with the empirical cognitions. Second, the method of multiple schemes for different development purposes could contribute to solving the problem of disconnection of land development suitability with spatial planning.

Peopling island rainforests: global trends from the Early Pleistocene to the Late Holocene

ABSTRACTThis paper is a cross-comparative examination of how tropical forested islands were populated by humans. It first describes the unique ecological conditions of these environments, how they fluctuated during glacial cycles, and the challenges and affordances they provided people. The paper then explores the global archaeological record, classifying modes of colonisation that led insular tropical forests to be populated. These modes include terrestrial colonisation followed by insularisation (Mode A), maritime colonisation followed by major landmass reconfiguration (Mode B), maritime colonisation of uninhabited islands that always remained insular (Mode C), and maritime colonisation of already inhabited islands (Mode D). Finally, the paper discusses how, amongst Homo sapiens, ongoing dynamism between human adaptive behaviours and environmental flux stimulated processes of diversification, specialisation, and connectivity in these crucial ecologies; by contrast, archaic hominins like Homo erectus, Homo floresiensis, and Homo luzonensis may have found changes associated with forest expansion and insularity extremely challenging.

Diluted Seawater and Ammonia-N Tolerance of Two Mangrove Crab Species. New Insights to Understand the Vulnerability of Pristine Islands Ecosystems Organisms

Mangrove ecosystems are the primary receptors of anthropogenic pollution in tropical areas. Assessing the vulnerability of these ecosystems can be expressed, among other indicators, by studying the health of ‘ecosystem engineers’. In this study, mangrove forests facing opposing anthropogenic pressures were studied (i) in the uninhabited island of Europa (Mozambique Channel), considered as a pristine ecosystem, and, (ii) on the island of Mayotte, facing regular domestic wastewater discharges. Using an ecophysiological approach, the effects of diluted seawater (DSW) and increased ammonia-N were studied for two fiddler crab species: Gelasimus tetragonon (GT) on the island of Europa and Paraleptuca chlorophthalmus (PC) on the island of Mayotte. Osmoregulation curves and osmoregulatory capacity were determined along with O2 consumption rates after a 96 h exposure period. Histological analyses were also carried out on two important metabolic organs: the hepatopancreas and the posterior gills. Results indicate that both crab species are good hyper-hypo-osmoregulators but only PC can maintain its osmoregulatory capacity when exposed to ammonia-N. Oxygen consumption is increased in GT after 96 h of exposure to ammonia-N but this does not occur in PC. Finally, a thickening of the gill osmoregulatory epithelium was observed after 96 h in PC when exposed to ammonium but not in GT. Therefore, the two species do not have the same tolerance to DSW and increased ammonia-N. PC shows physiological acclimation capacities in order to better manage nitrogenous enrichments. GT did not show the same physiological plasticity when exposed to ammonia-N and could be more at risk by this kind of stress. These results along with those from other studies regarding the effects of domestic effluents on mangrove crabs are discussed. Therefore, the greater vulnerability of organisms occupying pristine ecosystems could induce major changes in mangrove functioning if crabs, that are engineer species of the ecosystem, are about to reduce their bioturbation activity or, even, disappear from the mangrove forests.

CORAL BIODIVERSITY IN PULAU MIANG, EAST KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA

This study aims to discover the potential of resources and diversity of hard corals of Pulau Miang island (118°0'20"E, 0°44’0"N) located in Sangkulirang District, East Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan. This island is also called Pulau Miang Besar by locals to distinguish it from an uninhabited island to the northeast from this island. The coral reef in Pulau Miang has formed a fringing natural barrier protecting the island from erosion. Pulau Miang is part of the world’s coral triangle region, with very high coral diversity. Since this island is a remote area, very little literature related to its coral biodiversity, and this study became the first article that revealed this coral reef ecosystem. Quadrat transects were used to calculate the percentage of coral life covering this island. Transects lay down 100 times at two different depths and were photographed to measure the coral area within transects. An ImageJ software was used to count and mark coral colonies. The result showed that the average percentage of coral cover area in Pulau Miang was 21.39%, categorized as poor condition, while the coral biodiversity index was 1.98 or in an intermediate state. Two genera dominated coral taxa – Acropora and Porites. Based on the number of colonies and coral cover area, Acropora and Porites are the dominant coral genera in Pulau Miang among coral taxa.

A Virtual Necropsy: Applications of 3D Scanning for Marine Mammal Pathology and Education.

Simple SummaryMost whale biologists spend their careers in boats, getting a glimpse at whales only when they come up to the surface to breathe or occasionally to feed. Being able to walk right up to a whale, and even look inside its body, offers scientists and stranding network volunteers a rare and meaningful opportunity to learn from whales at close range. On 14 March 2021, a female adult humpback whale was found dead on a beach near Sitka, Alaska. A team of volunteers performed a necropsy, meaning they dissected the whale to gather information about its cause of death and collected samples for further research (NOAA Fisheries permit 18786-01). Before, during and after the necropsy, the whale was three-dimensionally (3D) scanned using a drone and an iPad. These scans were annotated and arranged into a free publicallyavailable resource known as the 4D virtual necropsy (with time as the 4th dimension). After one month, we documented broad interest in this resource from researchers, educators, community members, and volunteers who respond to marine mammal strandings. We believe 3D scanning of future stranded animals will be useful for a wide range of applications.Stranded large whales represent an opportunity to learn about the anatomy and health of these cryptic free-ranging animals. However, where time and access is frequently limited, law enforcement and management priorities often take precedence over research, outreach, and educational uses. On 14 March 2021, a dead female adult humpback whale was reported stranded on an uninhabited island 15 miles west of Sitka, Alaska. The whale was three-dimensionally scanned using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and photogrammetry before, during, and at multiple time points after a necropsy, including full decomposition 17 days later (NOAA Fisheries permit 18786-01). These scans were organized and displayed on the site Sketchfab with annotations and made publically available as a “4D virtual necropsy” (the fourth dimension is time). After one month, our user survey indicated widespread interest in the platform by both the local community and worldwide by stranding professionals, researchers, and educators. We are unaware of another 3D scan involving a large whale with soft tissue for teaching, research, or public display, despite the ease of 3D scanning with current technologies and the wide-ranging applications.

Relative Importance of Landscape and Climate Factors to the Species Diversity of Plant Growth Forms along an East Asian Archipelago

Previous studies on island biogeography theory have limitations in that they are mostly focused on total plant species and the landscape factors of the islands. Our study was conducted to overcome these limitations by dividing the plants into five growth forms and analyzing climate and landscape factors on inhabited islands, uninhabited islands, and overall. This was achieved using plant data from 578 islands of an archipelago in South Korea. To test the relationship between the species richness of each growth form and environmental factors, we performed ordinary least squares regressions and multi-model inference tests. The results showed that the island area had the largest influence on species richness of all growth forms in overall and uninhabited islands. Moreover, climate factors, in addition to island area, significantly affected species richness of all growth forms on inhabited islands. However, the effect and of isolation-related landscape factors (i.e., distance from the mainland and structural connectivity) were different among growth forms and island categories. Our study reveals that there are differences in the effects of environmental factors on the growth forms of plants among island categories. This suggests that biodiversity management and conservation strategies should be applied separately to different growth forms and islands.

Integrated monitoring and assessments of marine energy for a small uninhabited island

Marine renewable energy (wind energy, wave energy, and tidal current energy) has important application potential for the construction and development of uninhabited islands, however, it is necessary to assess the richness and stability of resources before energy development. In this study, a marine renewable energy integrated monitoring system was deployed on a small island, Dongluo Island, in the northwestern South China Sea. Based on the observation data over one year, the energy density and availability are systematically assessed. The results show that the renewable energy resources in the sea area around the island have a certain utilization potential, in which the average wind energy density is 81 W/m2 and the available frequency is 44.6%, the average wave energy density is 1.74 kW/m and the available frequency is 29.2%, and the average tidal current energy density is 32.4 W/m2 and the available frequency is 18.4%. All three types of energy propagation directions are relatively uniform. In addition, because the seasonal variations of the intensity and stability of the three types of energy are different, the three energy resources show obvious complementary advantages. Although the available frequency of single energy is relatively low, the available frequency will be significantly improved by comprehensively superimposing the three resources. Therefore, for the energy development of the island, it is necessary to integrate and optimize the allocation of different types of marine energy resources.

Influence of coastal engineering on the intertidal macrobenthic community in the Dongtou Islands, China

Abstract Coastal areas have been intensively urbanized in Asia, causing changes to the structure and function of intertidal macrobenthic communities. In this study, the intertidal assemblages on two natural rocky shores, two rocky shores disturbed by construction works, and two shores with mixed artificial seawalls and mudflats in the Dongtou Islands were studied. We examined the influence of coastal engineering by comparing macrobenthic community structures in different transects. The statistical results revealed significant differences between macrobenthic community structures in natural and influenced transects, although all the high tidal zones shared common species. The most common species on mudflats were opportunistic polychaetes; however, historical evidence suggests that the mudflats in Dongtou used to be dominated by Mollusca. We inferred that this change in community structure occurred when the seawalls were constructed five5 years previously. The macrobenthic community does not appear to have subsequently recovered. We also observed an absence of habitat-forming macroalgae in our study area, although similar investigation results revealed that they still prevail on an uninhabited island in Dongtou. The increasing disturbance caused by construction work may explain the decline in brown algae, which are mainly distributed in the low tidal zone.

The motive of initiation and the problem of evil in W. Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies”

The article explores traces of the motive of initiation in the given literary work. The relevance of the study is that the motive of initiation in the novel “Lord of the Flies” has not yet been traced by any of the researchers of the writer’s literary path. The aim of the research is to reveal the motive of initiation in the novel, which, owing to the revealed motive of the ritual transition, acquires a new in-depth coverage. The authors of the study trace in the work allusions to certain symbolic signs of the initiation ritual, in particular, the allocation of a group of adolescent boys, a territory closed to outsiders (in this case it is an uninhabited coral island), the performance of a ritual dance (dance of the hunters), the application of signs to the initiating persons (painted faces – masks in Jack’s tribe) etc. The novel even features the image of a beast’s head (a boar’s head), and the writer casually uses a phrase that is important for the symbolic meaning of initiation: swallowing by the mouth (at the moment when Simon loses consciousness). This article draws attention to the specifics of initiation in the work: we have a group initiation of adolescents without a mentor, without a shaman. Instead, two leaders appear among the boys, two chiefs who lead the teenagers in completely opposite directions in the development of their small island society. One of them, Ralph, tries to worry about their possible rescue by adults, tries to take care of the little ones, and is also based on a completely democratic version of governance and humanity. The second boy, Jack Meridue, is offended that he was not chosen as the leader; he becomes the leader of hunters’ group. He is very ambitious, gaining prestige by hunting wild pigs and holding meat-eating banquets; he violates Ralph’s orders regarding the boys doing their duty (for example, maintenance of a fire on a mountain for a smoke signal when a ship appears on the horizon), incites them to games and entertainment etc. As a result, most of the boys follow Jack and create a tribe in which the boys paint their faces, dance ritual dances, hunt wild pigs, and tolerate a tyrant little chief, who hates dissent. Eventually, the tribe kills Piggy, and then hunts the only “dissident”, the only owner of “common sense” Ralph. In order to “smoke” Ralph out of the forest, the jungle is set on fire, turning the green island into black ashes. Before us there is the degradation of well-bred English boys into a tribe of cruel savages. Such degradation is confirmed both by the religious motifs present in the novel and by the symbolic features of the ritual – an initiation that turned out to be unsuccessful. Instead of developing and improving, a group of boys on a deserted island degrades as a result of life’s trials, turning into a herd of selfish and cruel savages. Looking for an answer to the question of where evil comes from in the world and why even cultured European nations often forget about spirituality and culture and become cruel killers and often even sadists (as it happened to the SS in World War II), the writer in his novel-experiment comes to the conclusion that evil is created not only by society, the environment, but it is inherent in the potential state of human nature; and under certain conditions, when indulging mundane desires and interests, a person becomes a carrier of evil, which we see in the novel “Lord of the Flies”.

Migration and wintering of vulnerable adult Chinese Egrets (Egretta eulophotes) revealed by GPS tracking

Knowledge of migratory bird requirements is critical to developing conservation plans for vulnerable migratory species. This study aimed to determine the migration routes, wintering areas, habitat uses, and mortalities of adult Chinese Egrets (Egretta eulophotata). Sixty adult Chinese Egrets (31 females and 29 males) on an uninhabited offshore breeding island in Dalian, China were tracked using GPS satellite transmitters. GPS locations recorded at 2 ​h intervals from June 2019 to August 2020 were used for analysis. A total of 44 and 17 tracked adults completed their autumn and spring migrations, respectively. Compared with autumn migration, tracked adults displayed more diverse routes, higher number of stopover sites, slower migration speed, and longer migration duration in the spring. Results indicated that migrant birds had different behavioral strategies during the two migratory seasons. The spring migration duration and stopover duration for females were significantly longer than those for males. A positive correlation existed between the spring arrival and spring departure dates, as well as between the spring arrival date and stopover duration. This finding indicated that the egrets that arrived early at the breeding grounds left the wintering areas early and had a shorter stopover duration. Adult birds preferred intertidal wetlands, woodlands, and aquaculture ponds during migration. During the wintering period, adults preferred offshore islands, intertidal wetlands, and aquaculture ponds. Adult Chinese Egrets showed a relatively low survival rate compared with most other common ardeid species. Dead specimens were found in aquaculture ponds, indicating human disturbance as the main cause of death of this vulnerable species. These results highlighted the importance of resolving conflicts between egrets and human-made aquaculture wetlands and protecting intertidal flats and offshore islands in natural wetlands through international cooperation. Our results contributed to the hitherto unknown annual spatiotemporal migration patterns of adult Chinese Egrets, thereby providing an important basis for the conservation of this vulnerable species.

Distribution pattern of plant species richness of uninhabited islands in the Bohai Sea area

Distribution pattern of plant species richness of uninhabited islands in the Bohai Sea area