Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-61).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Montana, 2007. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed Sept. 9, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 52-55).

There are many benefits to using citizen science in scientific research, however, there are several perceived limitations. One being that citizen science data are often viewed as inferior or unusable by the broader science community. A primary concern to the usability and accuracy of this data depends on the level of training a participant receives. Another limitation is the recruitment and retention of volunteers participating in the data collection process. To further understand how training level affects the accuracy of citizen science and how demographics may influence participation, this study evaluated 73 volunteers trained in two different marine debris data collection protocols. This exploration allowed for the determination of best practices in recruiting and training future citizen scientists to collect litter data that yields the most accurate, time-effective, and cost-effective results. Training level, recruitment motivations, and retention factors all had statistically significant impacts on their respective variables.

The fast coastal development has caused serious marine pollution with powerless policy and inappropriate management scheme, especially in dealing with the marine debris. The marine debris has been the major coastal problems over the year because of human related activities and nature disasters frequently occurring during the monsoon season or typhoon period each year around the coastal Taiwan. These make the marine debris issues to become the top priority for the government of Taiwan in dealing the marine pollution especially after the 8th of August, 2009. The present study is initiated to assess the current data information, policy, and regulation of Taiwan¡¦s coastal area debris management. This study uses comparative analysis, integrations of internal and external monitoring and management of marine debris-related researches. This thesis reports that Taiwan administration must undertake all three aspects of integration, monitoring and management to effectively managing the marine debris. As the aspect of integration, because marine debris come from land-based emissions, ocean currents carry and sea-based activities, the government needs to consolidate the entire river, rain water drainage systems, ports, ships and fishing areas, to establish an inter-ministerial and responsible agency, to truly develop and implement the bill of marine debris management. As the aspect of monitoring, the central and local government as well as civil society must do their best together to develop the monitoring operations format which needed both considering national unity and local differences, to take long-term continuous monitoring of all major coastal areas, to clarify the source of marine debris, so that government could effectively control the sources of marine debris. As the aspect of management, since the a variety of marine debris sources and diversity of monitoring, the inter-ministerial and responsible agency not only coordinates the various related fields, but also combines the public and private sectors, to truly implement the bill of marine debris management. Overall, Taiwan government must use a variety of economic incentives, cooperation issues and the law, as well as combines the strength of the IV private sectors to effectively manage the management of marine debris.

Mexico is home to almost 2.9 million square kilometers of land and water surface area that is affected by water pollution and environmental degradation. While geographically more prevalent to pollution threats as well as one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, it is important to coordinate the management and regulation of coastal zones effectively to safeguard these ecosystem from degradation. However, because of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, nations view the problem of living resources and their management as a national priority instead of an international cooperation initiative. Mexico's fragmented, overlapping, and sometimes corrupt domestic institutions for environmental policy yield ineffective and inadequate pollution control, a result of which is a high level of marine debris presence on the coasts, as evidenced by a recent study in Veracruz, Veracruz. This marine debris, the most abundant of which is composed of plastics, is detrimental to marine life, leading to death, starvation, debilitation, reduced quality of life and lowered reproductive performance. While several avenues are being explored to mitigate marine debris in the environment, such as decreasing knowledge gaps, increasing pollution prevention measures, and education, degradation issues have compounded globally, revealing a clear picture of inadequate international regulation and convention. A stricter Mexican national regulatory system that incorporates private and public waste management organizations to incentivize and facilitate waste cleanup is needed to improve the health of the global ocean.

Commercial shrimpers in the Mississippi Sound frequently encounter marine debris in their nets, which results in loss of time, loss of catch, and added repair costs. Yet, the spatial and temporal distribution of this marine debris and the economic impact faced by shrimpers in the Mississippi Sound is not well known. This study measured the quantity and economic impact of marine debris by surveying 20 commercial shrimpers. Participants logged marine debris encounters, fishing data, and damage to fishing gear during the July 2020 through December 2020 shrimping season. It was found that shrimpers encounter marine debris 19% of all tows, and the majority of all marine debris encountered by shrimpers (79%) was derelict crab traps. Additionally, 10% of all tows reported direct impacts.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

L'objectif général de cette thèse est d'étudier les mécanismes de transport des déchets marins flottants ainsi queleur accumulation potentielle en Méditerranée, en s'appuyant sur la modélisation numérique de leur dérive ainsique sur des observations in-situ de leur distribution. La dynamique du transport des déchets marins y estnotamment analysée en terme d'échelles caractéristiques du bassin, en partant de la grande échelle jusqu'auxéchelles côtière et littorale.Dans un premier temps, l'examen d'un ensemble d'expériences Lagrangiennes numériques a permis d'identifierdans le bassin des zones probables d'accumulation non permanentes à grande échelle (Mansui et al., 2015a).L'impact à l'échelle côtière d'un courant de bord (Courant Nord) et des forçages atmosphériques sur ladistribution locale et l'échouage des déchets marins flottants a ensuite pu être estimé en utilisant notammentdes données originales recueillies en mer et à terre (Mansui et al., 2015b, en révision). / The main objective of this work is to study the floating marine debris transport mechanisms and their potentialaccumulation in the Mediterranean Sea, using numerical modelling and in-situ observations of debris. Thetransport dynamics is analysed in terms of typical scales in the basin, from the large scale to the coastal andlocal scales.First, the analysis of a Lagrangian experience data set show the potential existence of non-permanent and largeretention areas (Mansui et al., 2015a). In a second stage, the coastal impact of a boundary current (the NorthernCurrent) and atmospheric forcings on the local distribution and stranding of floating marine litter has beenestimated (Mansui et al., 2015b, under revision), using an original set of data combining offshore sightings andbeaching surveys.

Climate change has a wide range of effects with the potential to cause broad changes in marine ecosystems. The Arctic is predicted to be one of the most highly impacted areas, with average temperatures increasing by as much as 3-5°C. As temperatures rise, Arctic sea ice is disappearing earlier each year, leading to changes in the ocean environment. Thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) (TBMU) and northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) were collected at colonies in the eastern Canadian Arctic to examine potential changes in Arctic marine food webs over the past three decades. Otoliths and invertebrates were examined in the murre stomachs, and the results compared to data collected from the same colonies in the 1970s and 1980s. Few changes were observed in the diets of the high Arctic thick-billed murres where the ice-associated Arctic cod continue to dominant the prey items found in the thick-billed murres. Significant changes were found in birds sampled from the low and mid-Arctic. In the low Arctic, Arctic cod has declined across all of the colonies sampled, while the capelin, which is a sub-Arctic species, has become dominant in the diets of the birds in the low Arctic and a common prey species mid-Arctic where it was not observed in the diet of TBMUs previously, indicating a northward expansion of this species. The proportion of invertebrate species has changed in some zones and mysids now constitute a large proportion of the murre diet in the low and mid Arctic where hyperid and gammarid amphipods used to be the main invertebrate consumed. The birds can be used as samplers of the marine environment, and as integrators of the environmental changes that are occurring, but prey were not the only items found in the stomachs on birds sampled. Marine plastic debris was also found in the stomach contents of both murres and fulmars from every colony sampled indicating plastic ingestion is becoming a widespread problem for Arctic seabirds. Plastics found in northern fulmars indicate that marine plastic debris is increasing in the Arctic Archipelago, and monitoring of this recognized indicator species of plastic debris will allow long term monitoring of man-made debris in Canada’s north. Plastic debris was also found in thick-billed murres from all of the colonies sampled. Although murres are not useful indicators of general marine plastic debris the presence of plastics at all the colonies sampled indicate that plastics are not just a problem for surface feeding seabirds, but a threat to a number of species found in Canadian waters.