Ocean Conservancy

Plastic debris ingestion poses an important and escalating threat to marine biodiversity. This includes both impacts from macro- and from microplastics. For macroplastics, impacts can, for example, stem from entanglement or ingestion of plastic pieces. In sustainability assessment tools, such as Life cycle assessment (LCA), attempts to include impacts from entanglement exist. However, although ingestion has been extensively documented across taxa and ocean basins, this critical impact pathway remains largely absent from Life Cycle Assessment. To contribute to closing this gap, we developed a global effect factor (EF) that quantifies the potentially affected fraction (PAF) of species impacted by macro- and micro-plastic ingestion in marine air-breathing vertebrates (seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles).We compiled and harmonized population-level ingestion data from 284 peer-reviewed studies encompassing 308 species and over 55,000 individuals. Based on the known distribution ranges of individual species, exposure to floating marine plastic debris was estimated across eight major ocean basins. Species-specific dose–response relationships linking ingestion prevalence to plastic concentration were then established and used to construct a field-based Species Sensitivity Distribution (SSD). From this, we derived a hazardous concentration affecting 20 % of species above a 10 % ingestion threshold (HC20 = 51.7 kg km⁻³) and a corresponding EF of 3.87 × 10⁻³ PAF km³ kg⁻¹.Sensitivity analyses confirmed that the EF remained consistent within the same order of magnitude under varying modeling assumptions, supporting its robustness and transferability. This EF enables the explicit inclusion of plastic ingestion impacts in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) as a new distinct pathway of physical harm, complementing existing models for entanglement and ingestion of microplastics.By translating empirical field data into a quantifiable biodiversity impact metric, our study provides an essential bridge between measurements, indicators, and decision-making tools. Integrating such metrics will enhance the capacity of sustainability assessments to reflect the true ecological costs of plastic pollution.

Passive acoustic data can be used to estimate animal density. A key step is quantifying the range-specific detection probability for vocalizations from the target species. A method developed to estimate cetacean density from single hydrophones was applied to pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) "Sri Lankan" song recorded near Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean during May 2002. Detection probability was estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation using information about transmission loss, ambient noise levels, song source levels, and the efficiency of the automatic detection process. The effect of varying source levels was explored. Song density estimates were 0.14 song units/1000 km2 h-1 [coefficient of variation (CV), 0.16; mean source level: 179 dB re 1 μPa @ 1 m] and 0.024 song units/1000 km2 h-1 (CV, 0.12; mean source level, 189 dB re 1 μPa @ 1 m). Estimating whale density additionally requires an estimate of the song production rate, which was not available. Nevertheless, estimating song unit density enables different datasets to be compared in a standardized framework. This simulation method is useful for data collected by sparsely distributed instruments, where wide instrument spacing may exclude the use of standard density estimation methods such as spatial capture-recapture and distance sampling.

The global ocean faces unprecedented challenges from overfishing, pollution, and climate change. The Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement is a rare, if not unprecedented, example of precautionary action in marine management. Further action is needed to address other forms of industrial activity in the region. Done well, this example can provide a model for sustainable ocean management around the world, based on sound evidence, inclusive governance, and long-term thinking.

ABSTRACT The lack of information on what constitutes suitable habitat for native freshwater mussels can limit restoration efforts. While many species reside in silt–sand–gravel substrates, species such as the Spectaclecase ( Cumberlandia monodonta ) and Salamander ( Simpsonaias ambigua ) mussels are thought to be associated with rock structures (e.g., wing dams and rock outcrops) in rivers. Our objective was to assess if hydroacoustic technology could be used to quantify physical habitat features for C. monodonta and S. ambigua . Multibeam echosounder, acoustic Doppler current profiler, sidescan sonar and underwater videography were used to quantify water depth, substrate hardness, bed roughness and bed slope of the riverbed, water velocity, shear velocity and the degree of rock clustering at six sites in the Saint Croix River, Minnesota. The sites varied in type of rock structures and relative abundances of both species. The strength of the associations among physical habitat features and mussel abundance was weak; R 2 values were typically < 0.5. However, species‐specific differences in microhabitat were observed. For example, C. monodonta was typically observed at sites with higher velocity and shear velocity compared to S. ambigua . Mussel abundance was greatest at sites that contained crevices of sand surrounded by boulders and bedrock. Future refinements in hydroacoustic methods and post‐processing computations could improve predictions. Information on habitat features from occupied and unoccupied sites could help resource managers characterize existing occupied habitats, identify potential reintroduction areas and implement restoration programmes.

Climate change requires managers to bolster long-term resilience of fisheries and concurrently improve short-term responsiveness of management systems to prevailing ecological conditions, all while avoiding unintended harm to stocks in a highly uncertain context. There has been substantial effort dedicated to developing the scientific information and tools needed to inform climate-ready fisheries, yet implementation of these approaches has been limited in the United States management system. Meanwhile, climate impacts on fisheries are already occurring, making fish and fishing communities highly vulnerable to sudden, and often detrimental, changes. There is a need to accelerate adaptation efforts, and near-term action is critical even without the full complement of information and tools in hand. Here, existing climate-ready approaches were compiled and synthesized to offer a comprehensive and structured perspective on priority actions that can be taken in the next 1-2 years to increase the resilience and adaptability of fish stocks and communities that rely on them. From the review there are three main findings: 1) 45% of the management actions can be implemented in this short timeframe, 2) Nearly all actions identified can be implemented in the current fishery and regulatory framework, and 3) While new approaches are needed, managers should proceed with caution to avoid maladaptation and choose a no- or low- maladaptation risk approach wherever possible.

Plastics pollute all environmental compartments because of human activities and mismanagement. Public perceptions and knowledge about plastic pollution differ among individuals and across different jurisdictions. Targeted survey-based research tools can help measure consumer awareness about the impacts of mismanaged plastics and help identify trends and solutions to reduce plastic use and plastic pollution. This review primarily focused on survey-based research from presenters at the scientific track session TS-2.15 Plastic Pulse of the Public at the 7th International Marine Debris Conference (www.7imdc.org) and supplemented by contemporary literature. Survey-based research helps provide new insights about public opinions related to the pervasiveness of plastic pollution. This review includes results about consumer use and perceptions of plastic pollution impacts from diverse studies from nine countries including Ghana,

The tricolored blackbird, Agelaius tricolor, is a gregarious species that forms enormous breeding and foraging colonies in wetland and agricultural habitats, primarily in California, USA. Once extremely abundant, species numbers have declined dramatically in the past century, largely due to losses of breeding and foraging habitats. Tricolored blackbirds are currently listed as Endangered by the IUCN, and Threatened under the California Endangered Species Act. Increased genetic information is needed to detail the evolutionary consequences of a species-wide bottleneck and inform conservation management. Here, we present a contiguous tricolored blackbird reference genome, assembled with PacBio HiFi long reads and Dovetail Omni-C data to generate a scaffold-level assembly containing multiple chromosome-length scaffolds. This genome adds a valuable resource for important evolutionary and conservation research on tricolored blackbirds and related species.

Despite global efforts to monitor, mitigate against, and prevent trash (mismanaged solid waste) pollution, no harmonized trash typology system has been widely adopted worldwide. This impedes the merging of datasets and comparative analyses. We addressed this problem by 1) assessing the state of trash typology and comparability, 2) developing a standardized and harmonized framework of relational tables and tools, and 3) informing practitioners about challenges and potential solutions. We analyzed 68 trash survey lists to assess similarities and differences in classification. We created comprehensive harmonized hierarchical tables and alias tables for item and material classes. On average, the 68 survey lists had 20.8% of item classes in common and 29.9% of material classes in common. Multiple correspondence analysis showed that the 68 surveys were not significantly different regarding organization type, ecosystem focus, or substrate focus. We built the Trash Taxonomy Tool (TTT) web-based application with query features and open access at openanalysis.org/trashtaxonomy. The TTT can be applied to improve, create, and compare trash surveys, and provides practitioners with tools to integrate datasets and maximize comparability. The use of TTT will ultimately facilitate improvements in assessing trends across space and time, identifying targets for mitigation, evaluating the effectiveness of prevention measures, informing policymaking, and holding producers responsible.