Stocks of Dolphins (Stenella spp. and Delphinus delphis) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific: A Phylogeographic Classification

Current information is reviewed that provides clues to the intraspecific structure of dolphin species incidently killed in the yellowfin tuna purse-seine fishery of the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP). Current law requires that management efforts are focused on the intraspecific level, attempting to preserve local and presumably locally adapted populations. Four species are reviewed: pantropical spotted, Stenella attenuata; spinner, S. longirostTis; striped, S. coeruleoalba; and common, Delphinus delphis, dolphins. For each species, distributional, demographic, phenotypic, and genotypic data are summarized, and the putative stocks are categorized based on four hierarchal phylogeographic criteria relative to their probability of being evolutionarily significant units. For spotted dolphins, the morphological similarity of animals from the south and the west argues that stock designations (and boundaries) be changed from the current northern offshore and southern offshore to northeastern offshore and a combined western and southern offshore. For the striped dolphin, we find little reason to continue the present division into geographical stocks. For common dolphins, we reiterate an earlier recommendation that the long-beaked form (Baja neritic) and the northern short-beaked form be managed separately; recent morphological and genetic work provides evidence that they are probably separate species. Finally, we note that the stock structure of ETP spinner dolphins is complex, with the whitebelly form exhibiting characteristics of a hybrid swarm between the eastern and pantropical subspecies. There is little morphological basis at present for division of the whitebelly spinner dolphin into northern and southern stocks. However, we recommend continued separate management of the pooled whitebelly forms, despite their hybrid/intergrade status. Steps should be taken to ensure that management practices do not reduce the abundance of eastern relative to whitebelly spinner dolphins. To do so may lead to increased invasion of the eastern's stock range and possible replacement of the eastern spinner dolphin genome.(PDF file contains 24 pages.)

Fish farming in Anambra State: economic criteria

The paper is based on the premise that an understanding of the role and potentials of fish farming entrepreneurs in terms of their activities and expectations would enhance fish production and productivity. To this end, the present paper investigates the activities of 24 fish farmers in Anambra State, Nigeria. Based on the fish farmers' experience, the paper presents fish farming investments, budgets and recommendations that could ensure fish farming development as a profitable business venture and at the same time ensure greater fish production in the country

Limited resources? Let the habitat priority planner help!

In this time of scarce resources, coastal resource managers must find ways to prioritize conservation, land use, and restoration efforts. The Habitat Priority Planner (HPP) is a free geospatial tool created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Services Center that has received wide praise for its ease of use and broad applicability to conservation strategic planning, restoration, climate change scenarios, and other natural resource management actions. Not a geographic information system (GIS) user? Don’t worry―this tool was designed to be used in a team setting. One intermediate-level GIS user can push the buttons to show quick results while a roomful of resource managers and stakeholders provide input criteria that determine the results. The Habitat Priority Planner is a toolbar for ESRI’s ArcGIS platform that is composed of three modules: Habitat Classification, Habitat Analysis, and Data Explorer. The tool calculates basic ecological statistics that are used to examine how habitats function within a landscape. The tool pre‐packages several common landscape metrics into a user‐friendly interface for intermediate GIS users. In addition, HPP allows the user to build queries interactively using a graphical interface for demonstrating criteria selections quickly in a visual manner that is useful in stakeholder interactions. Tool advocates and users include land trusts, conservation alliances, nonprofit organizations, and select National Estuarine Research Reserves and refuges of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Participants in this session will learn the basic requirements for HPP use and the multiple ways the HPP has been applied to geographies nationwide. (PDF contains 5 pages)

Income, inequality, and criteria air pollutants in the CAMA counties

Socioeconomic factors have long been incorporated into environmental research to examine the effects of human dimensions on coastal natural resources. Boyce (1994) proposed that inequality is a cause of environmental degradation and the Environmental Kuznets Curve is a proposed relationship that income or GDP per capita is related with initial increases in pollution followed by subsequent decreases (Torras and Boyce, 1998). To further examine this relationship within the CAMA counties, the emission of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, as measured by the EPA in terms of tons emitted, the Gini Coefficient, and income per capita were examined for the year of 1999. A quadratic regression was utilized and the results did not indicate that inequality, as measured by the Gini Coefficient, was significantly related to the level of criteria air pollutants within each county. Additionally, the results did not indicate the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. Further analysis of spatial autocorrelation using ArcMap 9.2, found a high level of spatial autocorrelation among pollution emissions indicating that relation to other counties may be more important to the level of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions than income per capita and inequality. Lastly, the paper concludes that further Environmental Kuznets Curve and income inequality analyses in regards to air pollutant levels incorporate spatial patterns as well as other explanatory variables. (PDF contains 4 pages)

Marine and estuarine ecosystem and habitat classification

The Ecological Society of America and NOAA's Offices of Habitat Conservation and Protected Resources sponsored a workshop to develop a national marine and estuarine ecosystem classification system. Among the 22 people involved were scientists who had developed various regional classification systems and managers from NOAA and other federal agencies who might ultimately use this system for conservation and management. The objectives were to: (1) review existing global and regional classification systems; (2) develop the framework of a national classification system; and (3) propose a plan to expand the framework into a comprehensive classification system. Although there has been progress in the development of marine classifications in recent years, these have been either regionally focused (e.g., Pacific islands) or restricted to specific habitats (e.g., wetlands; deep seafloor). Participants in the workshop looked for commonalties across existing classification systems and tried to link these using broad scale factors important to ecosystem structure and function.