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Seaweed beach-casts are a seasonal phenomenon that regularly deposits tons of algae biomass on beaches, which are usually disposed of in landfills. The present work aimed to contribute to the valorization of this biomass by studying bioactivities that reveal its potential in the pharmaceutical and/or cosmeceutical industries. Methanol and ethanol extracts and fractions from 15 beach-casts biomass were tested for a range of bioactivities. Eight of the most active samples exhibit IC50 values between 11.38 µg/mL and 19.28 µg/mL and selectivity indexes higher than 3.8, against NCI-H1299 (lung cancer) and T47D (breast cancer). Concerning antiaging potential, all the extracts tested presented UV protection, with SPF values above 30, like the standard sunscreen. Regarding aging-related enzymes, 24 samples were tyrosinase inhibitors exhibiting IC50 values from 9.01 µg/mL to 200.09 µg/mL. Eight extracts inhibited collagenase (IC50 < 248.76 µg/mL), two of them more actively than positive control EDTA (IC50 = 59.26 µg/mL). In addition to UV protection, the cumulative effect of antityrosinase and anticollagenase activities shown by the samples suggest that they may play a significant role in preventing skin photoaging. The results obtained demonstrate the high potential of beach-cast seaweed biomass as sources of cosmetic bioproducts with antiaging effects, and of selective cytotoxic metabolites. ; This research was funded by project MACBIOBLUE (MAC/1.1b/086), program Interreg MAC 2014-2020, namely supporting G.P.R.'s grant, co-financed by DRCT (Azores Regional Government), as well as by FCT-Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, the European Union, QREN, FEDER, and COMPETE, through funding the cE3c center (UIDB/00329/2020) and the LAQV-REQUIMTE (UIDB/50006/2020). S.T. acknowledges funding from Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria, Spain (project 01010311480000120). This work was supported also by the program PO Madeira 14-20, ref. M1420-01-0145-FEDER-000011, through ISOPlexis Center, and ARDITI. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

As accumulation zones, sandy beaches are temporal sinks for beach wrack and litter, both often seen as nuisances to tourists. Consequently, there is a need for beach management and an enhanced political interest to evaluate their ecosystem services. We applied a new online multidisciplinary assessment approach differentiating between the provision, potential, and flow at German and Lithuanian beaches (Southern Baltic Sea). We selected a set of services and assessed four beach scenarios developed accordingly to common management measures (different beach wrack and litter accumulations). We conducted comparative assessments involving 39 external experts using spread-sheets and workshops, an online survey as well as a combined data-based approach. Results indicated the relative importance of cultural (52.2%), regulating and maintenance (37.4%), and provisioning services (10.4%). Assessed impact scores showed that the removal of beach wrack is not favorable with regard to the overall ecosystem service provision. Contrarily, the removal of litter can increase the service flow significantly. When removing beach wrack, synergies between services should be used, i.e., use of biomass as material or further processing. However, trade-offs prevail between cultural services and the overall provision of beach ecosystem services (i.e., coastal protection and biodiversity). We recommend developing new and innovative beach cleaning techniques and procedures, i.e., different spatio-temporal patterns, e.g., mechanical vs. manually, daily vs. on-demand, whole beach width vs. patches. Our fast and easy-to-apply assessment approach can support decision-making processes within sustainable coastal management allowing us to show and compare the impacts of measures from a holistic ecosystem services perspective.

As accumulation zones, sandy beaches are temporal sinks for beach wrack and litter, both often seen as nuisances to tourists. Consequently, there is a need for beach management and an enhanced political interest to evaluate their ecosystem services. We applied a new online multidisciplinary assessment approach differentiating between the provision, potential, and flow at German and Lithuanian beaches (Southern Baltic Sea). We selected a set of services and assessed four beach scenarios developed accordingly to common management measures (different beach wrack and litter accumulations). We conducted comparative assessments involving 39 external experts using spread-sheets and workshops, an online survey as well as a combined data-based approach. Results indicated the relative importance of cultural (52.2%), regulating and maintenance (37.4%), and provisioning services (10.4%). Assessed impact scores showed that the removal of beach wrack is not favorable with regard to the overall ecosystem service provision. Contrarily, the removal of litter can increase the service flow significantly. When removing beach wrack, synergies between services should be used, i.e., use of biomass as material or further processing. However, trade-offs prevail between cultural services and the overall provision of beach ecosystem services (i.e., coastal protection and biodiversity). We recommend developing new and innovative beach cleaning techniques and procedures, i.e., different spatio-temporal patterns, e.g., mechanical vs. manually, daily vs. on-demand, whole beach width vs. patches. Our fast and easy-to-apply assessment approach can support decision-making processes within sustainable coastal management allowing us to show and compare the impacts of measures from a holistic ecosystem services perspective.

As accumulation zones, sandy beaches are temporal sinks for beach wrack and litter, both often seen as nuisances to tourists. Consequently, there is a need for beach management and an enhanced political interest to evaluate their ecosystem services. We applied a new online multidisciplinary assessment approach differentiating between the provision, potential, and flow at German and Lithuanian beaches (Southern Baltic Sea). We selected a set of services and assessed four beach scenarios developed accordingly to common management measures (different beach wrack and litter accumulations). We conducted comparative assessments involving 39 external experts using spread-sheets and workshops, an online survey as well as a combined data-based approach. Results indicated the relative importance of cultural (52.2%), regulating and maintenance (37.4%), and provisioning services (10.4%). Assessed impact scores showed that the removal of beach wrack is not favorable with regard to the overall ecosystem service provision. Contrarily, the removal of litter can increase the service flow significantly. When removing beach wrack, synergies between services should be used, i.e., use of biomass as material or further processing. However, trade-offs prevail between cultural services and the overall provision of beach ecosystem services (i.e., coastal protection and biodiversity). We recommend developing new and innovative beach cleaning techniques and procedures, i.e., different spatio-temporal patterns, e.g., mechanical vs. manually, daily vs. on-demand, whole beach width vs. patches. Our fast and easy-to-apply assessment approach can support decision-making processes within sustainable coastal management allowing us to show and compare the impacts of measures from a holistic ecosystem services perspective.

As accumulation zones, sandy beaches are temporal sinks for beach wrack and litter, both often seen as nuisances to tourists. Consequently, there is a need for beach management and an enhanced political interest to evaluate their ecosystem services. We applied a new online multidisciplinary assessment approach differentiating between the provision, potential, and flow at German and Lithuanian beaches (Southern Baltic Sea). We selected a set of services and assessed four beach scenarios developed accordingly to common management measures (different beach wrack and litter accumulations). We conducted comparative assessments involving 39 external experts using spread-sheets and workshops, an online survey as well as a combined data-based approach. Results indicated the relative importance of cultural (52.2%), regulating and maintenance (37.4%), and provisioning services (10.4%). Assessed impact scores showed that the removal of beach wrack is not favorable with regard to the overall ecosystem service provision. Contrarily, the removal of litter can increase the service flow significantly. When removing beach wrack, synergies between services should be used, i.e., use of biomass as material or further processing. However, trade-offs prevail between cultural services and the overall provision of beach ecosystem services (i.e., coastal protection and biodiversity). We recommend developing new and innovative beach cleaning techniques and procedures, i.e., different spatio-temporal patterns, e.g., mechanical vs. manually, daily vs. on-demand, whole beach width vs. patches. Our fast and easy-to-apply assessment approach can support decision-making processes within sustainable coastal management allowing us to show and compare the impacts of measures from a holistic ecosystem services perspective.

Iodine plays an important role in human metabolism and its deficiency is particularly harmful in pregnancy and childhood. It remains a major public health concern in many countries, especially in Portugal. The main purpose of this work was to develop a validated spectrophotometric analysis for a fast and reliable iodine quantification in algal samples. Absorbance was determined at 410 nm demonstrating a good linearity (R2 ≈ 1.0) in the range of 0–0.06 mg I/100 g. LOD and LOQ were 1.7 × 10−3 and 5.0 × 10−3 mg I/100 g, respectively. Accuracy was determined using recovery and varied between 101 and 118%. For precision analysis, an intra-day test performance (RSD = 8.7%) and a repeatability assay (RSD = 3.8%) were performed. Matrix effect assessment demonstrated that this had a negligible effect (3.2%) in the iodine quantification. The spectrophotometric method was externally validated, for iodine quantification in algal samples, by INSA certified laboratory. The correlation coefficient between external iodine quantification and our work was R2 ≈ 0.9, showing a good correlation. Applicability was assessed in 25 macroalgae species (5 green, 9 red and 11 brown), 12 seaweed casts, collected in Canary Islands and 1 microalga (Isochrysis galbana) provided by ITC (Instituto Tecnologico de Canarias). ; This work was financially supported by ISOPlexis, University of Madeira; DemoBlueAlgae "Desenvolvimento de metodologias e optimização dos processos de cultivo e processamento de macroalgas para a indústria e economia azul" PROCiência 2020 (M1420-01-0247- FEDER000002); MACBIOBLUE "Proyecto demostrativo y de transferencia tecnológica para ayudar a las empresas a desarrollar nuevos produtos y procesos en el ambito de la Biotecnología Azul de la Macaronesia" (MAC/1.1b/086), program Interreg MAC 2014–2020; ARDITI - Regional Agency for the Development of Research Technology and Innovation (M14-20-09-5369-FSE-000001) Doctorate in Business and UBQ II, Unidade de Bioquímica (UBQ II company). Also, the authors present their acknowledgment to DRCT (Azores Regional Government) for co-financing, the Portuguese National Funds, through FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, and as applicable co-financed by the FEDER within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement by funding the cE3c centre (UID/BIA/00329/2013) and to DRCT for funding Azorean Biodiversity Group. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

A population of belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) inhabiting the estuary of the St Lawrence river in Quebec, Canada, was depleted by unregulated hunting, not closed until 1979. Surveys in 1977 showed only a few hundred in the population. Surveys since then have produced increasing estimates of population indices. An estimate of the population, fully corrected for diving animals, was 1,238 (SE 119) in September 1997. The population was estimated to have increased from 1988 through 1997 by 31.4 belugas/yr (SE 13.1). Observations of population age structure, as well as data on age at death obtained from beach-cast carcasses, do not indicate serious problems at the population level, although there are indications that mortality of the oldest animals may be elevated. Few animals appear to live much over 30 years. From examination of beach-cast carcasses, it appears that most deaths are due to old age and disease; hunting is illegal, ship strikes and entrapments in fishing gear are rare, ice entrapments and predation are unknown. Among beach-cast carcasses recovered and necropsied, about 23% of the adults have malignant cancers, while most of the juveniles have pneumonia; other pathological conditions are diverse. No factors are known to be limiting numbers of this population. Habitat quality factors, including persistent contaminants, boat traffic and harassment, may affect the population's rate of increase, but these effects have not been quantitatively evaluated. Comprehensive legislation exists with powers to protect the population and the environment of which it is a component, but application and enforcement of the laws is not without problems.

For a hundred years Palm Beach has been a fantasy land nurtured by, and maintained for, the megawealthy. Leave it to Laurence Leamer, the author known for getting the inside story on his elusive subjects, to take us behind the walls of America's most exclusive enclave. He tells a braided story involving a socialite determined to make it to the top of Palm Beach society, two infamous murders, and a powerful society reporter. As a backdrop, Leamer tells the story of the clash between old money and new, religion and status, and the love, lust, and fatal hatreds that determine the shape of a fiercely protected society. The cast of characters include trophy wives, trophy husbands, purported gigolos, glamorous widows, a pioneering gay couple, a wildly irreverent event planner, a sociopathic multimillionaire, and an elegant society queen.--From publisher description

"Since late 2014, the Mexican Caribbean coast has periodically received massive, atypical influxes of pelagic Sargassum spp. (sargasso). Negative impacts associated with these influxes include mortality of nearshore benthic flora and fauna, beach erosion, pollution, decreasing tourism and high management costs. To understand the dynamics of the sargasso influx, we used Landsat 8 imagery (from 2016 to mid-2020) to record the coverage of sargasso in the sea off the Mexican Caribbean coastline, with a maximum reported in September 2018. Satellite image analysis also showed local differences in the quantity of beached sargasso along the coastline. Over the years, good practice for collection on the beach and for off-shore collection of sargasso have been established through trial and error, and the Mexican Government and hotel industry have spent millions of dollars on removal and off-shore detention of sargasso. Notwithstanding, sargasso also has various properties that could be harnessed in local industries. The stimulation of local industrial growth would offer alternatives to the dependence on tourism, as a circular economy, based on sargasso, is developed."

Since late 2014, the Mexican Caribbean coast has periodically received massive, atypical influxes of pelagic Sargassum spp. (sargasso). Negative impacts associated with these influxes include mortality of nearshore benthic flora and fauna, beach erosion, pollution, decreasing tourism and high management costs. To understand the dynamics of the sargasso influx, we used Landsat 8 imagery (from 2016 to mid-2020) to record the coverage of sargasso in the sea off the Mexican Caribbean coastline, with a maximum reported in September 2018. Satellite image analysis also showed local differences in the quantity of beached sargasso along the coastline. Over the years, good practice for collection on the beach and for off-shore collection of sargasso have been established through trial and error, and the Mexican Government and hotel industry have spent millions of dollars on removal and off-shore detention of sargasso. Notwithstanding, sargasso also has various properties that could be harnessed in local industries. The stimulation of local industrial growth would offer alternatives to the dependence on tourism, as a circular economy, based on sargasso, is developed.

Available data on the genus Sousa are reviewed for the Arabian region. Nominal usage of Sousa plumbea (G. Cuvier 1828) is retained as a pragmatic measure, based on geographic and morphologic affiliation. Distribution is described for the region to include much of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, but notably excludes the Gulf of Oman. This discontinuous distribution suggests the possible presence of discreet populations within the region. Most available information on Sousa plumbea in the region originates from the Sultanate of Oman, where this species is among the most commonly recorded cetacean. However, there is no absolute measure of abundance here or elsewhere in the region and the status of the species is unknown. Beach cast individuals represent nearly two-thirds of all records (n=269) of this species in Oman. Live sightings indicate unusually large group sizes (up to 100 individuals) in the Arabian Sea and Arabian Gulf. Occasional association with Tursiops sp. and Delphinus sp. is documented. Mating behaviour and the presence of calves are recorded in the months of April and May and calves are additionally reported in October and December. Little is known about the ecology of this species in the region.Threats to Indian Ocean humpback dolphins in the Arabian region include incidental capture in fishing nets, general coastal and offshore development (e.g. land reclamation, dredging, port and harbor construction), pollution, boat traffic, oil and gas exploration (including seismic surveying), military exercises and toxins associated with red tide events. Evidence for historic and current directed catches of Sousa plumbea is presented.Intraspecific variation in cranial measurements is presented for cranially adult skulls originating from the Arabian Sea coast of Oman and initial comparison with limited data from the Saudi Arabian Gulf coast are drawn. Cranial abnormalities in skull specimens from Oman are discussed. Curated specimens from the Arabian region are listed.

Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- The Oystercatchers' Island -- Gull Trouble -- New Life -- Storm Tide -- Lift Off -- Danger on the Beach -- Marsh Refuge -- Tangled -- Treasure -- Estuary Food Web -- Cast of Characters -- Glossary -- Resources.

Until the 1990s, beaked whales were one of the least understood groups of large mammals. Information on northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus) and Baird's beaked whales (Berardius bairdii) was available from data collected during whaling, however, little information existed on the smaller species other than occasional data gleaned from beach-cast animals. Recent research advances have been plentiful. Increasing global survey effort, together with morphometric and genetic analyses have shown at least 22 species in this group. Longitudinal field studies of at least four species (H. ampullatus, B. bairdii, Ziphius cavirostris, Mesoplodon densirostris) have become established over the last three decades. Several long-term studies support photo-identification catalogs providing insights into life history, social structure and population size. Tag-based efforts looking at diving, movements and acoustics have provided detail on individual behavior as well as population structure and ranges. Passive acoustic monitoring has allowed long-term and seasonal monitoring of populations. Genetic studies have uncovered cryptic species and revealed contrasting patterns of genetic diversity and connectivity amongst the few species examined. Conservation concern for these species was sparked by mass strandings coincident with military mid-frequency sonar use. Fat and gas emboli have been symptomatic indicators of mortalities related to sonar exposure, suggesting that their vulnerability stems from the physiological exertion of extreme diving for medium-sized whales. Behavioral response experiments have now shown that beaked whales appear to cease foraging and delay their return to foraging and/or leave the area in association with exposure to mid-frequency signals at low acoustic levels. Future priorities for these species will be to (1) continue field-studies to better understand smaller-scale habitat use, vital rates and social structure; (2) develop better detection methods for larger-scale survey work; (3) improve methodology for monitoring energetics, individual body condition and health; (4) develop tools to better understand physiology; (5) use recent genetic advances with improved sample databanks to re-examine global and local beaked whale relationships; (6) further quantify anthropogenic impacts (both sonar and other noise) and their population consequences (7) apply acquired data for realistic mitigation of sonar and other anthropogenic impacts for beaked whale conservation. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed