Blue whales and seismic surveying in Australia

Blue whale populations were devastated in the last century by commercial whaling, which reduced blue whales from a quarter of a million to just a few hundred animals. Australian waters are home to both the Antarctic blue whale and a smaller sub- species, the pygmy blue whale. Blue whale numbers have increased a little since whaling ended but their recovery has been slow and numbers still remain in the few thousands. This analysis looks at the scale of seismic testing by the offshore oil and gas industry in important blue whale habitat in Australia. Blue whales in Australian waters Blue whales come to Australian waters to feed in just a few unique locations. There are three main areas: the Perth Canyon (March – May), the Bonney Upwelling off Victoria and South Australia (November – April) and the waters off Kangaroo Island extending into the eastern Great Australian Bight (November – May). Feeding is also thought to take place elsewhere off the WA coast from Cape Naturaliste northwards and also off Ningaloo Reef as pygmy blue whales migrate northwards (March – August) from Australia to Indonesian waters where they go to give birth to and nurse their young, before returning south (October – December) to feeding grounds in Australian waters. Blue whales are listed as endangered under Australian federal legislation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act)

Joint Position Statement on \u27Project Wild\u27

Because of the strong biases reflected in the Project WILD materials and the lack of balancing which should be provided by alternate viewpoints and representative data, we oppose the use of public funds for the future purchase, distribution, and/or promotion and use of Project WILD materials without the addition of substantial acceptable balancing material. In those States and Provinces where the materials have already been purchased and distributed, we believe the States and Provinces accepting this material should promptly distribute acceptable balancing material and have it used by those teachers who are using the Project WILD guides. We also believe that animal-welfare organizations must be included on State and Provincial steering committees and as resource people at workshops designed to introduce the materials to teachers. In the unfortunate event that a State or Province refuses to use necessary balancing material, we believe that the Project WILD material should not be used in the interests of the integrity of the educational process

Prey availability and intraguild competition regulate the spatiotemporal dynamics of a modified large carnivore guild

Effective conservation management requires an understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics driving large carnivore density and resource partitioning. In African ecosystems, reduced prey populations and the loss of competing guild members, most notably lion (Panthera leo), are expected to increase the levels of competition between remaining carnivores. Consequently, intraguild relationships can be altered, potentially increasing the risk of further population decline. Kasungu National Park (KNP), Malawi, is an example of a conservation area that has experienced large‐scale reductions in both carnivore and prey populations, leaving a resident large carnivore guild consisting of only leopard (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Here, we quantify the spatiotemporal dynamics of these two species and their degree of association, using a combination of co‐detection modeling, time‐to‐event analyses, and temporal activity patterns from camera trap data. The detection of leopard and spotted hyena was significantly associated with the detection of preferred prey and competing carnivores, increasing the likelihood of species interaction. Temporal analyses revealed sex‐specific differences in temporal activity, with female leopard activity patterns significantly different to those of spotted hyena and male conspecifics. Heightened risk of interaction with interspecific competitors and male conspecifics may have resulted in female leopards adopting temporal avoidance strategies to facilitate coexistence. Female leopard behavioral adaptations increased overall activity levels and diurnal activity rates, with potential consequences for overall fitness and exposure to sources of mortality. As both species are currently found at low densities in KNP, increased risk of competitive interactions, which infer a reduction in fitness, could have significant implications for large carnivore demographics. The protection of remaining prey populations is necessary to mitigate interspecific competition and avoid further alterations to the large carnivore guild

Whale watching 2000 Worlwide tourism numbers, expenditures, and expanding socioeconomic benefits

Includes bibliographical referencesSIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:9309. 55435(2000) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Report of the international workshop on the educational values of whale watching Provincetown, Massachusetts, USA 8th May - 11th May, 1997

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:98/27711 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Assessing the extent and nature of wildlife trade on the dark web

Use of the internet as a trade platform has resulted in a shift in the illegal wildlife trade. Increased scrutiny of illegal wildlife trade has led to concerns that online trade of wildlife will move onto the dark web. To provide a baseline of illegal wildlife trade on the dark web, we downloaded and archived 9852 items (individual posts) from the dark web, then searched these based on a list of 121 keywords associated with illegal online wildlife trade, including 30 keywords associated with illegally traded elephant ivory on the surface web. Results were compared with items known to be illegally traded on the dark web, specifically cannabis, cocaine, and heroin, to compare the extent of the trade. Of these 121 keywords, 4 resulted in hits, of which only one was potentially linked to illegal wildlife trade. This sole case was the sale and discussion of Echinopsis pachanoi (San Pedro cactus), which has hallucinogenic properties. This negligible level of activity related to the illegal trade of wildlife on the dark web relative to the open and increasing trade on the surface web may indicate a lack of successful enforcement against illegal wildlife trade on the surface web

Joint Position Statement on \u27Project Wild\u27

Because of the strong biases reflected in the Project WILD materials and the lack of balancing which should be provided by alternate viewpoints and representative data, we oppose the use of public funds for the future purchase, distribution, and/or promotion and use of Project WILD materials without the addition of substantial acceptable balancing material. In those States and Provinces where the materials have already been purchased and distributed, we believe the States and Provinces accepting this material should promptly distribute acceptable balancing material and have it used by those teachers who are using the Project WILD guides. We also believe that animal-welfare organizations must be included on State and Provincial steering committees and as resource people at workshops designed to introduce the materials to teachers. In the unfortunate event that a State or Province refuses to use necessary balancing material, we believe that the Project WILD material should not be used in the interests of the integrity of the educational process