State of the marine environment reports--a need to evaluate their role in marine environmental protection and conservation

Study on the influence path of public participation in marine ecotourism under the perspective of conspicuous consumption - Analysis of fsQCA based on VBN theory

Marine ecological tourism has become a popular topic in recent years, and the public's conspicuous consumption behavior is also a hot topic studied by many scholars. How to explore and stimulate the public's conspicuous consumption behavior in marine ecological tourism is an important issue that we need to address. Based on the "value-belief-norm" (VBN) theory and using the fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) method, this article analyzes 462 valid samples collected through a questionnaire to explore whether the combination of VBN theory's conditional elements affects the public's conspicuous consumption behavior in marine ecological tourism. The study found that the path of public conspicuous consumption behavior has the characteristics of "different paths leading to the same destination," that is, the combination of conditional elements from different dimensions can stimulate the goal of public conspicuous consumption behavior, and a single-dimensional conditional element is not a necessary condition to increase public conspicuous consumption behavior. Environmental values, such as biosphere values and altruistic values, significantly affect the public's conspicuous consumption behavior.

Occurrence, source and ecological assessment of petroleum related hydrocarbons in intertidal marine sediments of the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada

Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), n-alkanes, petroleum-related biomarkers of terpanes and steranes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in the intertidal sediments in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia/New Brunswick, Canada. Sites close to the harbour and more densely populated areas had higher TPH levels than other pristine areas. n-Alkanes presented a typical single bell-shape in n-C₁₆ to n-C₃₅ range and an obvious odd to even carbon preference. Most sites had trace amounts of petroleum biomarkers. Abundant non-alkylated PAHs and lower amounts of alkylated PAHs represented the major input of the incomplete combustion of solid (e.g., coal, coke, biomass, and coal tar) and liquid fuels. The toxicity estimation for PAHs indicates that they did not have potential toxicity to benthic organisms at most sampling sites. However, possible to probable negative effects from the measured PAH concentrations were found for the two samples from Courtenay Bay and Saint Andrews.

Managing ocean information in the digital era--events in Canada open questions about the role of marine science libraries

Information is the foundation of evidence-based policies for effective marine environmental protection and conservation. In Canada, the cutback of marine science libraries introduces key questions about the role of such institutions and the management of ocean information in the digital age. How vital are such libraries in the mission of studying and protecting the oceans? What is the fate and value of the massive grey literature holdings, including archival materials, much of which is not in digital form but which often contains vital data? How important is this literature generally in the marine environmental sciences? Are we likely to forget the history of the marine pollution field if our digital focus eclipses the need for and access to comprehensive collections and skilled information specialists? This paper explores these and other questions against the backdrop of unprecedented changes in the federal libraries, marine environmental science and legislation in Canada.

Microbial indicators of faecal contamination in waters and sediments of beach bathing zones

This study presents the results obtained of the microbial characterization of waters and sediments of 18 coastal bathing zones of the south-western coast of the Iberian Peninsula. To make this characterization, two indicators of faecal contamination have been selected: faecal coliforms (FC) and Clostridium perfringens (CP). The results show that low concentrations of FC and CP in water not necessarily implies that their concentration in sediment and elutriates has to be low as well. The highest concentrations were found in locations close to the mouth of rivers, and in beaches of low energy and hence low water renewal, and high accumulation of fine sediments. The concentrations of FC were lower than those obtained for CP in most of the sampling locations. Although quality standards for bathing waters do not take the parameter CP into account, it has been demonstrated that it should be a good indicator of faecal contamination.