Editorial: Impacts of shipping on marine fauna

About 80% of international trade goods are transported by ships (UNCTAD, 2019)..

Quantitative assessment of the relative risk of ship strike to humpback whales in the Great Barrier Reef

There is global recognition that ship strike represents a significant risk to some populations of whales around the world. Analysis of ship strike records worldwide demonstrates that humpback whales are the second most frequently reported whale species to be struck by a ship. In Australia, both the east and west coast populations of humpback whales are strongly recovering from commercial whaling during the mid-20th century which resulted in populations nearing extinction. On the east coast of Australia the main breeding ground for humpback whales is within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA). Both the east and west coast of Australia have also in the past decade experienced considerable coastal and port development associated with an increase in natural resource projects. It is due to substantial coastal development and port expansions related to the mining industry that UNESCO were considering listing the GBRWHA on the 'List of World Heritage in Danger' and are currently monitoring Australia's commitment to its sustainability. Along with considerable port expansion along the GBRWHA coastline to meet increasing global demands for coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), there is projected to be substantial increases in shipping traffic. Conservative estimates are predicting a doubling of shipping traffic by 2025, albeit not for all Queensland ports. Considering the rapid rate of increase of the east Australian population of humpback whales (approximately 10.9% increase per annum), there is potential for increased interaction between humpback whales and shipping traffic and increased risk of ship strikes to the whales on their breeding ground. To understand the risk of ship strike to humpbacks in the GBRWHA, it is necessary to understand the distribution and densities for both whales and shipping. This report uses current knowledge on the distribution of humpback whales within the GBRWHA from aerial survey data from 2012 and 2014 and contemporary (2012-2014) shipping traffic data of ships travelling within the GBR to provide estimates of relative risk of ship strike to humpback whales within the GBR

Quantifying ship strike risk to breeding whales in a multiple-use marine park: The Great Barrier Reef

Spatial risk assessments are an effective management tool used in multiple-use marine parks to balance the needs for conservation of natural properties and to provide for varying socio-economic demands for development. The multiple-use Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) has recently experienced substantial increases in current and proposed port expansions and subsequent shipping. Globally, large whale populations are recovering from commercial whaling and ship strike is a significant threat to some populations and a potential welfare issue for others. Within the GBRMP, there is spatial conflict between the main breeding ground of the east Australian humpback whale population and the main inner shipping route that services several large natural resource export ports. The east coast humpback whale population is one of the largest humpback whale populations globally, exponentially increasing (11% per annum) close to the maximum potential rate and estimated to reach pre-exploitation population numbers in the next 4-5 years. We quantify the relative risk of ship strike to calving and mating humpback whales, with areas of highest relative risk coinciding with areas offshore of two major natural resource export ports. We found females with a dependent calf had a higher risk of ship strike compared to groups without a calf when standardized for group size and their inshore movement and coastal dependence later in the breeding season increases their overlap with shipping, although their lower relative abundance decreases risk. The formalization of a two-way shipping route has provided little change to risk and projected risk estimates indicate a three- to five-fold increase in risk to humpback whales from ship strike over the next 10 years. Currently, the whale Protection Area in the GBRMP does not cover the main mating and calving areas, whereas provisions within the legislation for establishment of a Special Management Area during the peak breeding season in high-risk areas could occur. A common mitigation strategy of re-routing shipping lanes to reduce risk is not a viable option for the GBRMP due to physical spatial limitations imposed by the reef, whereas speed restrictions could be the most feasible based on current ship speeds

High-resolution imaging of Virgo cluster galaxies. I - Observational techniques and first results

We investigate the potential of the image sharpening technique for making high-resolution images of Virgo cluster galaxies, in order to obtain new estimates of this cluster's distance. We have used both the Galway Image Sharpening Camera (Redfern et al.) and the MARTINI instrument (Doel et al.) at the William Herschel Telescope to confirm Fried's almost-equal-to 4r0 optimum aperture for image sharpening. We have further used the MARTINI image sharpening instrument to observe the Virgo galaxy, IC3583. The resulting image has 0.60-arcsec FWHM seeing but to a limiting magnitude of R = 21.7 mag the brightest stars in IC3583 are not resolved. This tentatively suggests a lower limit to the Virgo distance modulus of m - M > 30.7 mag

Evaluating the Impact of Primary Nursing Practice on the Quality of Nursing Care: A Nigerian Study .

NoThis paper is abstracted from an action research project on promoting family-centred care in Nigeria through the practice of Nigerian Primary Nursing (NMPN). This article will present results of comparative evaluation of the impact of primary nursing on the quality of care received by patients in a 37-bedded acute medical-surgical, mixed sex ward in a specialist hospital in eastern Nigeria. A total of 44 nurses' interactions with 10 patients in the pre-NMPN period and 58 nurses' interactions with eight patients in the post-NMPN period were assessed using QUALPACS (Quality Patient Care Scale.). Results showed a significant improvement in the quality of nursing care with primary nursing practice. The greatest improvement in quality of nursing appeared to be in the elements that address the individual needs of the patient, while the smallest improvements were in the area of physical care--elements of routine, technical nursing care. Implications of the study and recommendations for further studies are made