Current logistical capacity is sufficient to deliver the implementation and management of a representative Antarctic protected area system

Antarctica’s terrestrial ecosystems are vulnerable to impacts resulting from climate change and local human activities. The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) provides for the designation of protected areas through the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. Unsystematic use of agreed management tools, including Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs), has resulted in a protected area system lacking representation across the full range of Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems and Antarctic Conservation Biogeographic Regions (ACBRs). Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP) methods provide established mechanisms to fulfil ATS protected area designation goals. However, how would a continent-wide ASPA system be delivered should appropriate sites be identified using SCP or other methods? Although the rate of area protection has slowed recently, we show that newer Consultative Parties to the Antarctic Treaty are increasingly active as ASPA proponents and may have scope for further engagement with protected area management activities. Furthermore, all 16 ACBRs were found to be within the operational footprint of at least two Parties, indicating that this current logistical footprint could support the implementation and management of a continent-wide ASPA system. Effective management of a representative Antarctic protected areas system could be delivered through greater participation by those Parties with currently more limited protected area management esponsibilities and greater use of remote-sensing technologies for protected area monitoring, where appropriate. Crucially, political will to implement an ASPA system identified through SCP approaches may be greater once a pragmatic means of delivery and effective management has been identified

Bridging the Krill Divide: Understanding Cross-Sector Objectives for Krill Fishing and Conservation

In June 2014, the ICED programme, the British Antarctic Survey and WWF co-hosted a two day workshop entitled “Understanding the objectives for krill fishing and conservation in the Scotia Sea and Antarctic Peninsula region” which involved participants from the science, conservation, and fishing industry sectors. The workshop used structured dialogue, led by an independent facilitator, to explore each sector’s objectives and information requirements for the krill-based ecosystem and to identify constructive ways for the three sectors to work together. The issue of krill fishing has previously provoked passionate debate but participants in this workshop showed broad crosssector accord. This included shared commitment to maintaining a healthy ecosystem and support for management of the krill fishery that minimises the risk of negative impacts on ecosystem health. Participants generally agreed that current levels of fishing have a low risk of significant impacts but that there is no need to increase catch limits. Participants also agreed that the objectives of management must include a healthy krill stock and a healthy ecosystem. However, they were not able to define ecosystem states that are desirable or healthy. This reflects the gaps in the currently available information and the indirect nature of the links between the krill-based ecosystem and human well being. The workshop produced a range of recommendations including the need to articulate a clear research and development strategy to support progress in the management of the krill fishery, and to improve communication between the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and its stakeholders. The workshop also revealed a cooperative and productive relationship between the various sectors. Further cross-sector work could progress some key tasks such as identifying priority information requirements and assessing the potential future demand for krill catch

Hope, despair and transformation: Climate change and the promotion of mental health and wellbeing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This article aims to provide an introduction to emerging evidence and debate about the relationship between climate change and mental health.</p> <p>Discussion and Conclusion</p> <p>The authors argue that:</p> <p>i) the direct impacts of climate change such as extreme weather events will have significant mental health implications;</p> <p>ii) climate change is already impacting on the social, economic and environmental determinants of mental health with the most severe consequences being felt by disadvantaged communities and populations;</p> <p>iii) understanding the full extent of the long term social and environmental challenges posed by climate change has the potential to create emotional distress and anxiety; and</p> <p>iv) understanding the psycho-social implications of climate change is also an important starting point for informed action to prevent dangerous climate change at individual, community and societal levels.</p

Stakeholder perspectives on ecosystem-based management of the Antarctic krill fishery

Information about stakeholder aspirations is a fundamental requirement for ecosystem-based management, but the detail is often elusive, and debates may focus on simplistic opposing positions. This is exemplified by the Antarctic krill fishery, which, despite a current operational catch limit equivalent to just 1% of the estimated biomass and actual annual catches much lower than this, is the subject of a high-profile debate framed around ambiguous concepts such as sustainability. Q methodology was applied to explore the detailed views of representatives of three stakeholder sectors (the fishing industry, conservation-focused non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and scientists from seven countries involved in research on the krill-based ecosystem). The analysis distinguished two clear groupings, one of which included the views of all NGO participants while the other included the views of fishing industry participants and a subset of the scientists. Key differences between the groups included the priority given to different management measures, and to continued commercial fishing. However, the results also revealed considerable overlap between viewpoints. Both groups prioritised the maintenance of ecosystem health and recognised the importance of defining management objectives. Also, neither group prioritised a decrease in catch limits. This suggests that most participants in the study agree that management should improve but do not perceive a major problem in the ecosystem's ability to support current catch levels. Cooperation to identify shared management objectives based on stakeholder aspirations for the ecosystem might enhance progress, whereas polarised discussions about preferred management measures or ambiguous concepts are likely to impede progress

The spatial distribution of Antarctica's protected areas: a product of pragmatism, geopolitics, or conservation need?

Globally, few protected areas exist in areas beyond the jurisdiction of a single state. However, for over 50 years the Antarctic protected areas system has operated in a region governed through multi-national agreement by consensus. We examined the Antarctic Treaty System to determine how protected area designation under a multi-party framework may evolve. The protected areas system, now legislated through the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and the Convention on the Conservation of Marine Living Resources, remains largely unsystematic and underdeveloped. Since the Antarctic Treaty entered into force in 1961, the original signatory Parties – and Parties with territorial claims in particular − have dominated work towards the designation of protected areas in the region. The distribution of protected areas proposed by individual Parties has largely reflected the location of Parties’ research stations which, in turn, is influenced by national geopolitical factors. Recently non-claimant Parties have become more involved in area protection, with a concurrent increase in areas proposed by two or more Parties. However, overall, the rate of protected area designation has almost halved in the past 10 years. We explore scenarios for the future development of Antarctic protected areas and suggest that the early engagement of Parties in collaborative area protection may strengthen the protected areas system and help safeguard the continent’s values for the future. Furthermore, we suggest that the development of Antarctica’s protected areas system may hold valuable insights for area protection in other regions under multi-Party governance, or areas beyond national jurisdiction such as the high seas or outer space

Manufacture of electrical and magnetic graded and anisotropic materials for novel manipulations of microwaves

Spatial transformations (ST) provide a design framework to generate a required spatial distribution of electrical and magnetic properties of materials to effect manipulations of electromagnetic waves. To obtain the electromagnetic properties required by these designs, the most common materials approach has involved periodic arrays of metal-containing subwavelength elements. While aspects of ST theory have been confirmed using these structures, they are often disadvantaged by narrowband operation, high losses and difficulties in implementation. An all-dielectric approach involves weaker interactions with applied fields, but may offer more flexibility for practical implementation. This paper investigates manufacturing approaches to produce composite materials that may be conveniently arranged spatially, according to ST-based designs. A key aim is to highlight the limitations and possibilities of various manufacturing approaches, to constrain designs to those that may be achievable. The article focuses on polymer-based nano- and microcomposites in which interactions with microwaves are achieved by loading the polymers with high-permittivity and high-permeability particles, and manufacturing approaches based on spray deposition, extrusion, casting and additive manufacture

Understanding the structure and functioning of polar pelagic ecosystems to predict the impacts of change

The determinants of the structure, functioning and resilience of pelagic ecosystems across most of the polar regions are not well known. Improved understanding is essential for assessing the value of biodiversity and predicting the effects of change (including in biodiversity) on these ecosystems and the services they maintain. Here we focus on the trophic interactions that underpin ecosystem structure, developing comparative analyses of how polar pelagic food webs vary in relation to the environment. We highlight that there is not a singular, generic Arctic or Antarctic pelagic food web, and, although there are characteristic pathways of energy flow dominated by a small number of species, alternative routes are important for maintaining energy transfer and resilience. These more complex routes cannot, however, provide the same rate of energy flow to highest trophic-level species. Food-web structure may be similar in different regions, but the individual species that dominate mid-trophic levels vary across polar regions. The characteristics (traits) of these species are also different and these differences influence a range of food-web processes. Low functional redundancy at key trophic levels makes these ecosystems particularly sensitive to change. To develop models for projecting responses of polar ecosystems to future environmental change, we propose a conceptual framework that links the life histories of pelagic species and the structure of polar food webs

Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment: A Decadal Synopsis and Recommendations for Action

Scientific evidence is abundantly clear and convincing that due to the current trajectory of human-derived emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, the atmosphere and ocean will continue to warm, the ocean will continue to acidify, atmospheric and ocean circulation patterns will be altered, the cryosphere will continue to lose ice in all forms, and sea level will rise

Factors affecting the survival of harbor ( Phoca vitulina ) and gray seal ( Halichoerus grypus ) juveniles admitted for rehabilitation in the UK and Ireland

From Wiley via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2021-06-15, accepted 2022-09-13, pub-electronic 2022-10-14Article version: VoRPublication status: PublishedAbstract: The UK shores are home to approximately 40% of the world's population of gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) and 40% of Europe's harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). Stranded juvenile seals of both species are frequently rescued and admitted for rehabilitation. This study investigates the causes of P. vitulina and H. grypus admittance to rehabilitation centers in the UK and Ireland and identifies factors that can affect juvenile seal survival. Rehabilitation records for 1,435 P. vitulina and 2,691 H. grypus were used from five rehabilitation centers from 1988 through 2020. The most common nonexclusive reasons for seal admission to rehabilitation centers included malnourishment (37%), injuries (37%), maternal abandonment (15%), lethargy (12%), and parasite infections (8%). A mixed effects logistic regression model showed that H. grypus had 4.55 times higher survival odds than P. vitulina and that the odds of survival to release multiplied by 1.07 for every kilogram over their age‐predicted weight. This weight‐dependent survival could be attributed to the importance of fat in thermoregulation, hydration, and buoyancy during foraging. We recommend that seal rehabilitators pay special attention to the weight of admitted juvenile seals during triage and treatment to enhance their odds of survival and consequent release to the wild