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Presents a study that documented the changes in the number of nesting pairs of Glaucous-winged gulls at several breeding colonies in the southern Strait of Georgia in British Columbia. Background on the increase in the breeding population; Methodology; Possible sources of disturbances at gull colonies.

National marine conservation areas (NMCA) are a type of marine protected area designated and managed by Parks Canada. Before establishment, the agency undertakes a feasibility study involving public feedback on the proposal, however there is no systematic analysis done on this feedback. This article provides such analysis for a proposed NMCA in southern British Columbia using the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) management evaluation effectiveness framework to determine potential performance indicators identified by the public. This data source was supplemented by a survey questionnaire distributed to the main groups invited to the feasibility workshops. Performance indicators were identified for all stages of the management cycle; however, most expected performance indicators fell into NMCA outcomes and planning performance. The most frequently expected outcomes are biophysical ones with reduced water pollution being the most frequently cited. Other often cited outcomes are an increase in fish resources and marine mammals. Ironically all these outcomes are very vulnerable to influences outside the boundaries of the NMCA and suggest the need to embed the NMCA in a wider coastal management strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

British Columbia hosts Canada’s most rapidly developing coastal communities along the semi-enclosed waterways of the Strait of Georgia. This region also is Canada’s most seismically active zone. In 1946, the Vancouver Island M7.3 earthquake caused a number of submarine failures of sand and gravel shoreline deposits, destroying coastal facilities, shearing submarine cables and causing large, destructive waves. Multibeam and sidescan sonar technologies have been used to map three submarine landslides at Goose Spit, Mapleguard Spit and Grief Point. These sites are 32–55 km from the epicentre. The data image the failures in great detail, providing important information on size and style of mass-wasting. The total combined area affected by these three failures is over 1.3 × 106 m². Submarine cores show the spit failures consisted of well-rounded beach gravel, cobble and sand, in some cases suspended in a cohesive mud matrix, while the Grief Point failure was likely a debris flow avalanche. Cone penetration tests at Goose Spit show soil profiles prone to liquefaction, lateral spreading and post-liquefaction landsliding with reasonably low ground accelerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Focuses on the scale of aggregative response of Harlequin Ducks to seasonally and locally superabundant prey at Pacifi herring spawning sites in the northern Strait of Georgia, British Columbia during 1995-2002. Average duration of stay at spawning sites; Percentage of the total population moving to spawning sites.