The stranding anomaly as population indicator: the case of Harbour Porpoise <i>Phocoena phocoena</i> in North-Western Europe

Ecological indicators for monitoring strategies are expected to combine three major characteristics: ecological significance, statistical credibility, and cost-effectiveness. Strategies based on stranding networks rank highly in cost-effectiveness, but their ecological significance and statistical credibility are disputed. Our present goal is to improve the value of stranding data as population indicator as part of monitoring strategies by constructing the spatial and temporal null hypothesis for strandings. The null hypothesis is defined as: small cetacean distribution and mortality are uniform in space and constant in time. We used a drift model to map stranding probabilities and predict stranding patterns of cetacean carcasses under H-0 across the North Sea, the Channel and the Bay of Biscay, for the period 1990-2009. As the most common cetacean occurring in this area, we chose the harbour porpoise <i>Phocoena phocoena</i> for our modelling. The difference between these strandings expected under H-0 and observed strandings is defined as the stranding anomaly. It constituted the stranding data series corrected for drift conditions. Seasonal decomposition of stranding anomaly suggested that drift conditions did not explain observed seasonal variations of porpoise strandings. Long-term stranding anomalies increased first in the southern North Sea, the Channel and Bay of Biscay coasts, and finally the eastern North Sea. The hypothesis of changes in porpoise distribution was consistent with local visual surveys, mostly SCANS surveys (1994 and 2005). This new indicator could be applied to cetacean populations across the world and more widely to marine megafauna

Beached bachelors: An extensive study on the largest recorded sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus mortality event in the North Sea

Between the 8th January and the 25th February 2016, the largest sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus mortality event ever recorded in the North Sea occurred with 30 sperm whales stranding in five countries within six weeks. All sperm whales were immature males. Groups were stratified by size, with the smaller animals stranding in the Netherlands, and the largest in England. The majority (n = 27) of the stranded animals were necropsied and/ or sampled, allowing for an international and comprehensive investigation into this mortality event. The animals were in fair to good nutritional condition and, aside from the pathologies caused by stranding, did not exhibit significant evidence of disease or trauma. Infectious agents were found, including various parasite species, several bacterial and fungal pathogens and a novel alphaherpesvirus. In nine of the sperm whales a variety of marine litter was found. However, none of these findings were considered to have been the primary cause of the stranding event. Potential anthropogenic and environmental factors that may have caused the sperm whales to enter the North Sea were assessed. Once sperm whales enter the North Sea and head south, the water becomes progressively shallower (<40 m), making this region a global hotspot for sperm whale strandings. We conclude that the reasons for sperm whales to enter the southern North Sea are the result of complex interactions of extrinsic environmental factors. As such, these large mortality events seldom have a single ultimate cause and it is only through multidisciplinary, collaborative approaches that potentially multifactorial large-scale stranding events can be effectively investigated

Kontrollmärket : Förlegat eller nödvändigt?

Syftet med studien var att undersöka huruvida borttagandet av kontrollmärket påverkade ordningspolisens dagliga arbete eller inte, samt vilka eventuella övriga följder det skulle kunna få. En enkätundersökning genomfördes bland ordningspoliserna på Uppsalas polismyndighet för att ge oss en bild, om än en begränsad sådan, av polisernas åsikt. Denna bild ligger dessutom delvis till grund för vårt arbete och det är polisernas egna åsikter som utgör en stor del av det empiriska materialet som vi använt oss av, detta eftersom väldigt få arbeten tidigare gjorts kring ämnet. Inom ramen för rapporten visas de olika polisernas åsikter och det visar sig att det råder ett relativt unisont tänkande kring ämnet. Slutsatserna vi drar är att det finns viss problematik som borttagandet av kontrollmärket medfört, vissa uppenbara och andra lite mer långsökt

Utbyte mellan Polishögskolan i Umeå och Tegs centralskola.

Tegs central skola har tidigare varit en s.k. problemskola, men har numer ett mycket bättre rykte. Vi har fått antydningar om att det finns ett stort intresse från skolan och föräldrarna till eleverna, att polisen ska komma till skolan och informera ungdomarna om t.ex. alkohol/droger och mobbing. Tyvärr har polisen i dagens läge vare sig resurser eller tid att fullt ut tillmötesgå dessa önskemål. Tanken med vårt arbete är att skaffa oss en uppfattning om det är möjligt, och om intresse finns att starta ett förhoppningsvis långvarigt samarbete mellan Tegs central skola och polisutbildningen i Umeå. Vi vill ta reda på vilka problemområden som finns på skolan och i slutändan kunna presentera idéer om hur man tillsammans ska kunna arbeta för att minimera dessa problem. Arbetet kommer att visa på olika faktorer som ligger bakom ungdomars inträde i kriminaliteten, och även idéer om hur ett samarbete mellan skolorna skulle kunna se ut kommer att presentera