Changes in abundance and distribution of marine top predators can indicate environmental change or anthropogenic pressure requiring management response. Here, we used an extensive dataset (21 years) to conduct a spatial and temporal analysis of grey seal strandings in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, close to the southern edge of the breeding range of the species. A total of 2007 strandings were reported from 2000 to 2020, increasing by 474% from 35 to 201 individuals per year during this period. The continued rise in strandings was consistent across all life stages and timeframes (5, 10 and 20 years), underpinning the suggestion of increasing abundance in the region. The observed seasonality differed by life stage, coinciding with the increased presence of animals near the coast for key life phases such as breeding, moulting and pupping. Strandings are widely distributed across the coast of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly; however, most strandings were recorded on the north coast of Cornwall (70%) where major pupping and haul out sites are found. Despite hosting several pupping and haul out sites, a small proportion was recorded on the Isles of Scilly (5%) where it is thought that strandings are particularly underreported. Describing baselines in magnitude of strandings and life-stage compositions across space and time allows future deviations in frequency, demographic composition or spatial distribution to be detected and investigated. We demonstrate the utility of long-term citizen science data to provide valuable and cost-effective information on the distribution and abundance of a highly mobile marine mammal.

Much has been written about the so-called Franklin expedition (1845–52?), but not about the master mariners, who joined as “Greenland pilots,” as experienced whaling masters on Royal Navy expeditions were usually called in the 19th century. Having been on no Royal Navy expeditions before, next to nothing was known about Scottish whaling master James Reid, the ice master of HMS Erebus in Franklin’s expedition. Putting together all the available biographical information about him for the first time, the goal of this article is not only to tell who he was but also to tell how and why he joined the expedition, and as far as this is possible to say – what he experienced in its course.

Predicting whether a species is likely to go extinct (or not) is one of the fundamental objectives of conservation biology, and extinction risk classifications have become an essential tool for conservation policy, planning and research. This sort of prediction is feasible because the extinction processes follow a familiar pattern of population decline, range collapse and fragmentation, and, finally, extirpation of sub-populations through a combination of genetic, demographic and environmental stochasticity. Though less well understood and rarely quantified, the way in which science and society respond to population decline, extirpation and species extinction can also have a profound influence, either negative or positive, on whether a species goes extinct. For example, species that are highly sought after by collectors and hobbyists can become more desirable and valuable as they become rarer, leading to increased demand and greater incentives for illegal trade – known as the anthropogenic Allee effect. Conversely, species that are strongly linked to cultural identity are more likely to benefit from sustainable management, high public support for conservation actions and fund-raising, and, by extension, may be partially safeguarded from extinction. More generally, human responses to impending extinctions are extremely complex, are highly dependent on cultural and socioeconomic context, and have typically been far less studied than the ecological and genetic aspects of extinction. Here, we identify and discuss biocultural aspects of extinction and outline how recent advances in our ability to measure and monitor cultural trends with big data are, despite their intrinsic limitations and biases, providing new opportunities for incorporating biocultural factors into extinction risk assessment.

Droughts are a major global natural hazard, creating negative environmental and socio-economic impacts across a broad spectrum of sectors. However, agriculture is often the first sector to be impacted due to prolonged rainfall shortages reducing available soil moisture reserves with negative consequences for both rainfed and irrigated food crop production and for livestock. In the UK, recent droughts in 2018 and 2022 have highlighted the vulnerability of the agricultural and horticultural sectors since most production is rainfed and entirely dependent on the capricious nature of summer rainfall. Surprisingly, despite recognition of the agronomic and economic risks, there remains a paucity of evidence on the multi-scalar impacts of drought, including the impacts on crop yields and quality, the financial implications for farming and the consequences for fresh produce supply chains. Drawing on published grey and science literature, this review provides a comprehensive synthesis of drought impacts on U.K. agriculture, including characterisation of the sensitivity of the main sub-sectors to different types of drought, a critique of the short-term coping responses and longer-term strategies and identification of the main knowledge gaps which need to be addressed through a concerted effort of research and development to inform future policies focussing on climate change risk assessment for agriculture. Although the review focuses predominantly on U.K. evidence, the insights and findings are relevant to understanding drought impacts and risk management strategies in other temperate and humid regions where agriculture is a fundamentally important component of the economy.

The epibenthic euryhaline hydromedusa Vallentinia gabriellae Vannucci Mendes, 1948 is an olindiid species native to tropical Atlantic waters. Here, we describe the cryptic introduction of this species in an estuary along the coast of Kerala, in southwestern India. This study records the existence of V. gabriellae outside of Atlantic waters for the first time and documents its geographical range expansion. Our identification was based on a combined morphological and DNA barcoding assessment using the COI and 28S markers. Although we noted some morphological differences between our specimens and those from their native range, our findings were conclusive. We suggest that phenotypic plasticity may result from differences such as prey availability between the native and introduced habitats. V. gabriellae medusae are epibenthic and cling to a variety of hard and soft substrates, including bivalves. Our specimens were associated with the invasive fouling mussel Mytella strigata, and we suggest that V. gabriellae could have been transported along with these mussels to the Kerala coast.

The emergence of the Sámi Parliament has lifted Norwegian Sámi politics into an international discourse on indigenous peoples. The clearest imprints of the new Sámi political space are found in the High North region of Norway, where the Sámi account for a significant proportion of the population. The article shows to what extent and how Sámi agency affects governance structures and business development in the north in an increasingly globalised economic setting. From its origin, Sámi agency has influenced development in the High North through three processes: the first is through the Sámi institution building and strengthening of Sámi communities; the second is through its links to local and regional societal development; and the third is through the role of Sámi politics in globalised development processes. One main finding is that the boundaries between these links to the surrounding environment have become more diffuse. Sámi agency is taking a more important role in the economic development processes in the High North, often in terms of the local and regional processes, and now also within the increasingly important globalised economic modernisation processes in which inclusion in new multi-level governance structures is important.