This review summarizes and synthesizes the significant amount of data which was generated on mercury (Hg) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Canadian Arctic marine biota since the first Canadian Arctic Contaminants Assessment Report (CACAR) was published in 1997. This recent body of work has led to a better understanding of the current levels and spatial and temporal trends of contamin...

Radiological protection of non-human biota is being addressed by several national jurisdictions, including Canada, which is soon to set guidelines for radiation protection of the environment in accordance with the principle of sustainable development (AECB, 1998; IAEA, 1999). The development of regulatory policies and standards recognizes the environment as a complex system, and now incorporate...

Due to climate warming and consequently due to ice and snow melting of the Arctic Ocean, the highly biologically active ocean surface area has been expanding quickly making possible longer marine biota growth seasons during polar summers. That increase the probability of the remote marine environment secondary contribution, especially secondary organic contribution, to the particle production a...

Point and nonpoint sources of nutrients, sediments, metals, and organic compounds from industrial, agricultural, and urban land uses are important water-quality issues in the Study Unit. Degradation of streams, including the loss of riparian habitat, reduction in fish populations, loss of habitat for bottom-dwelling organisms, eutrophication, and deterioration of the sanitary quality of streams...

A robust method was developed to cluster similar NMR spectra from partially purified extracts obtained from a range of marine sponges and a plant biota. The NMR data were acquired using microtiter plate NMR (VAST) in protonated solvents. A sample data set which contained several clusters was used to optimize the protocol. The evaluation of the robustness was performed using three different clus...

An annotated compendium is presented of 102 species of marine algae and animals that have been reported as introduced into Western Australian marine and estuarine waters, four of which arc on the Australian national list of targeted marine pest species, For each species the authority, distribution (both in Western Australia and elsewhere), voucher specimen(s) and remarks are given, Sixty specie...

In southern California, most estuarine wetlands are gone, and what little habitat remains is degraded. For this reason, it is often of interest to assess the condition of estuaries over time, such as when determining the success of a restoration project. To identify impacts or opportunities for restoration, we also may want to know how a particular estuary, or area within an estuary, compares w...

J. J. Elser*, K. Acharya, M. Kyle, J. Cotner, W. Makino, T. Markow, T. Watts, S. Hobbie, W. Fagan, J. Schade, J. Hood and R. W. Sterner School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA Center for Insect Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA Department of Biology...

Exposure to natural environments can have calming and stress-reducing effects on humans. Moreover, previous studies suggest that these benefits may be greater in areas with higher species richness. Our study took advantage of a “natural experiment” to examine people’s behavioral, physiological, and psychological reactions to increases in levels of marine biota in a large aquarium exhibit during...