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The authors analyse the complexity of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and explore the role that simulation gaming (SG) could play in addressing it. They present the set-up of and insights from a game-based, quasi-experimental study and policy intervention involving MSP. The simulation game MSP Challenge 2011 was played in Lisbon on 3 November 2011 by 68 international MSP professionals – mainly scientists, policy advisers and marine spatial planners – from 16 countries. Data on MSP in the various countries, as well as on the effectiveness of the policy intervention, were collected using pre-game, in-game and post-game questionnaires, combined with the analysis of MSP processes and outcomes in a digital map tool and observations. The analysis shows that MSP lends itself to comparative assessment in real and simulated environments. Observed variety and changes in the game-based intervention provide evidence that the participants engaged in experimentation with different strategies, policy change and policy-oriented learning. The game-based intervention proved an effective and promising method for national/international experimentation and exchange among professional MSP planners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Misund, O. A., and Olsen, E. 2013. .Lofoten–Vesterålen: for cod and cod fisheries, but not for oil? – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70: 722–725.Over the last decade, the most controversial issue regarding the management of Norwegian marine waters has been about opening the Lofoten–Vesterålen areas for offshore oil and gas exploration. This paper outlines the political and management processes and reviews the arguments for and against. Our conclusion is that these valuable areas should not be opened for such activity because of their high biological significance as the main spawning grounds for northeast Arctic cod (Gadus morhua) and other important fish stocks in the northeast Arctic waters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: A workshop of over 100 participants, balanced between fisheries management and biodiversity conservation backgrounds, reviewed and synthesised experiences regarding policy and institutional frameworks for use of MPAs in the contexts of fisheries management and conservation of biological diversity. The workshop concluded that although fisheries managers and biodiversity conservation agencies may give differing and sometimes opposing weights to the many objectives that could be set for MPAs, only 25% of fisheries objectives and 30% of biodiversity objectives were considered to be potential sources of conflict. MPAs that segregate activities in space could contribute to resolving all but one of the potential conflicts over objectives associated with desired ecological outcomes. Conflicts over social or economic objectives could be improved, made worse, or not be affected by MPAs, depending on how the MPAs were developed and managed. Seven features of planning processes and six features of the governance processes for MPAs were identified that could help find broadly supported solutions to the conflicts that did occur. Once established, the management of the MPA should be inclusive and participatory, as well as continuously learning and adaptive. Approaches to ensure management had those properties were identified, including twelve specific mechanisms that should be available to the MPA managers. On the basis of these conclusions about objectives, planning, and management, a general framework for the governance of MPAs for both fisheries and biodiversity conservation was developed. Its ten general characteristics and twelve steps necessary for progress were identified. We discuss the special challenges of establishing and managing MPAs for fisheries and biodiversity conservation on the high seas that deserve further attention include information-sharing, coordination and defining jurisdictions and stake-holding. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In 2011, 100 new nuclides were discovered. They joined the approximately 3,000 stable and radioactive nuclides that either occur naturally on Earth or are synthesized in the laboratory. Every atomic nucleus, characterized by a specific number of protons and neutrons, occupies a spot on the chart of nuclides, which is bounded by 'drip lines' indicating the values of neutron and proton number at which nuclear binding ends. The placement of the neutron drip line for the heavier elements is based on theoretical predictions using extreme extrapolations, and so is uncertain. However, it is not known how uncertain it is or how many protons and neutrons can be bound in a nucleus. Here we estimate these limits of the nuclear 'landscape' and provide statistical and systematic uncertainties for our predictions. We use nuclear density functional theory, several Skyrme interactions and high-performance computing, and find that the number of bound nuclides with between 2 and 120 protons is around 7,000. We find that extrapolations for drip-line positions and selected nuclear properties, including neutron separation energies relevant to astrophysical processes, are very consistent between the models used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the authors' insights on sustainability beyond Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) and benchmarking systems. The authors say that at LEED, they recognize that significance of prescriptive system based on construction practices of building designs and creates incentives for marginal improvements. They add that LEED created a momentum for sustainable design and led to the improvements of buildings.

The prospects of rapid climate change and the potential existence of tipping points in marine ecosystems where nonlinear change may result from them being overstepped, raises the question of strategies for coping with ecosystem change. There is broad agreement that the combined forces of climate change, pollution and increasing economic activities necessitates more comprehensive approaches to oceans management, centering on the concept of ecosystem-based oceans management. This article addresses the Norwegian experience in introducing integrated, ecosystem-based oceans management, emphasizing how climate change, seen as a major long-term driver of change in ecosystems, is addressed in management plans. Understanding the direct effects of climate variability and change on ecosystems and indirect effects on human activities is essential for adaptive planning to be useful in the long-term management of the marine environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper derives the Marxian social accounting aggregates, including surplus value, using a social accounting matrix. The derivation assumes a three sector economy and consists of a set of discrete operations applied to conventional national aggregates. It demonstrates that the Marxian aggregates are fully consistent at the economy-wide level, and that the mapping from conventional to Marxian aggregates is well-defined. This mapping relies on Marxian class theory, and it is this class theory that distinguishes the Marxian aggregates from the conventional and Sraffian alternatives. It is shown that the Marxian surplus has no necessary relation to the conventional measures of either net operating surplus or net product, and hence that neither of these serve as useful proxies for the Marxian aggregates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Place-based management is any management action having implications for a specified area. Place-based management is seen as a key component to practical implementation of ecosystem approach to management, with marine spatial planning (MSP) being the currently most promoted approach. In the present paper we address the challenges of place-based management at local, regional and global (oceanic) spatial scales using case studies from the Northeast Atlantic with examples from Norway. Both ecological, governance and management complexity increases with increasing geographic scale, with associated increases in uncertainty and thus increasing need for managing under the precautionary approach. A process where (ecologically) valuable and vulnerable areas are defined early on is essential to successful place-based management under the ecosystem approach. Integrating across sectors and achieving necessary cooperation between involved institutions and stakeholders is also necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

marine spatial planning (MSP) initiative-if to be successful-has to be rooted in a thorough understanding of the tradition and structures of the governance system in the area targeted for the initiative. After decades of a mainly sectoral approach towards maritime affairs, governments began to recognised the need for a governance framework that applies a more integrated approach to maritime policy. The new Integrated Maritime Policy of the European Union is only one example for such a changed way of policy and decision making. The assembly of a governance baseline can help to identify the crucial hindering and success factors for the implementation of MSP. A governance baseline has two parts. Part One focuses upon the past and current performance of the governance system as it has responded-or failed to respond-to changes in the condition of ecosystems in a specific locale. Part Two of a baseline outlines a strategic approach to the design of a new program and records the goals, objectives and strategies of MSP implementation. Focus on both governance processes and their outcomes is essential and forms the core justification for documenting governance responses to ecosystem change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A White Paper on a new integrated management plan for the Norwegian Sea was launched by the Norwegian government in May 2009. Following international guidelines for ecosystem-based management, the plan provides an overall framework for managing all human activities (mainly oil and gas industry, fishing, and shipping) in the area to ensure the continued production and function of the ecosystem. The plan is based on an assessment of the present and projected future impact of human activities and of the interactions between them, taking into account deficits in current knowledge of ecosystem state and dynamics. Areas of particular value in terms of biodiversity or biological production were identified. In each of these valuable areas, any access for substantial human activity is to be carefully managed. To monitor the overall development of the Norwegian Sea, a set of indicators with associated environmental quality objectives have been selected. The approach used builds upon experience gained from the first integrated Norwegian management plan for a marine area, the Barents Sea–Lofoten region, developed in 2002–2006. Work towards a Norwegian management plan for the North Sea, including Skagerrak, was initiated in 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of class conflict on industrial location both theoretically and empirically. It demonstrates that there is a sound theoretical basis and empirical support for the conclusion that U.S. industries have chosen to abandon agglomeration and scale economies in order to secure a distribution of income that favors capital at the expense of labor. The decline of the U.S. manufacturing belt is examined with reference to union density, bargaining power, and the effects that large-scale production plants have on these factors. The meat packing industry in the postwar United States serves as a case study to establish the specific ways that class conflict has shaped the scale profile and geographic distribution of production plants. The paper builds upon the class conflict approach to urban and regional economics pioneered by Matthew Edel and David Gordon and aims to demonstrate its explanatory power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dolgov, A. V., Johannesen, E., Heino, M., and Olsen, E. 2010. Trophic ecology of blue whiting in the Barents Sea. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 483–493.Blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) are distributed throughout the North Atlantic, including the Norwegian and Barents Seas. In recent years, both abundance and distribution of blue whiting in the Barents Sea have increased dramatically. Therefore, to evaluate the trophic impact of this increase, we analysed the diet of the species. In all, 54 prey species or taxa were identified, the main prey being krill. However, the diet varied geographically and ontogenetically: the proportion of fish in the diet was higher in large blue whiting and in the north of the range. Blue whiting overlap geographically with other pelagic species at the edge of their distribution in the Barents Sea, with juvenile herring in the south, with polar cod in the north, and with capelin in the northeast. The overlap in diet between blue whiting and these other pelagic species ranged from 6 to 86% and was greatest with capelin in areas where both species feed on hyperiids and krill. The importance of blue whiting as prey for predatory fish was highest in the areas of greatest abundance, but overall, blue whiting were seemingly unimportant as prey of piscivorous fish in the Barents Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Olsen, E., Aanes, S., Mehl, S., Holst, J. C., Aglen, A., and Gjøsæter, H. 2010. Cod, haddock, saithe, herring, and capelin in the Barents Sea and adjacent waters: a review of the biological value of the area. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 87–101.Cod, haddock, saithe, herring, and capelin are the most important fish species in the Barents Sea and adjacent waters. Ecosystem-based management requires species-specific knowledge of the biological value and vulnerability throughout their life history and distributional range. For each of the five species and four annual quarters, the spawning (egg) areas, nursery areas for larvae and juveniles, and feeding grounds for adults are described and mapped. Areas of eggs (spawning) and larvae were the most important because these are the life stages when fish are most vulnerable to anthropogenic impact. The greatest overlap of spawning areas was from Røstbanken in the south to the Varanger Peninsula in the northeast, and overlap of larval distribution was more extensive. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Doksæter, L., Godø, O. R., Olsen, E., Nøttestad, L., and Patel, R. 2009. Ecological studies of marine mammals using a seabed-mounted echosounder. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1029–1036.A seabed-mounted, upward-looking, 38 kHz echosounder (Simrad EK60) was used to monitor cetaceans for 128 d between July 2004 and June 2005. The echosounder was placed at 52°N 30°W at a depth of 910 m, in a frontal area with continuous upwelling creating a hotspot of marine life at all trophic levels. Echo tracks were observed, apparently resulting from one or more animals in close temporal and spatial proximity. The 69 “acoustic detections” were examined with a principal component analysis (PCA) considering mean target strength (TS), group size, and maximum dive depth and duration. The PCA conservatively classified 45 of the acoustic detections as “cetaceans”. Their mean TS values varied between −5 and −36 dB, in agreement with earlier TS measurements of whales and dolphins. Several of the supposed cetaceans were apparently feeding in the “deep-scattering layer” when this ascended at night. This study demonstrates that cetacean behaviour, including swimming, feeding, and vocalizing, can be observed and monitored with stationary active-acoustic instrumentation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a study which focused on cetacean distribution and density estimates from the first systematic survey conducted along the mid-Atlantic Ridge. It showed that the most common sighted species were sei whale and sperm whale. It also revealed that density of cetaceans ranged form 0.018 to 0.238 animals and the precision of estimates was low ranging from 40% to 61%. The study also indicated that common dolphins and striped dolphins were most commonly sighted south of the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ).

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The mild UK climate makes many low-energy cooling systems both technologically and economically feasible. In this study, EnergyPlus, the newest US energy simulation program, is used to evaluate the potential energy savings of several different systems for a recently built building outside of London, UK. Results from validation studies are briefly presented with the conclusion that EnergyPlus provides sufficient accuracy for most energy simulation applications. Systems evaluated include chilled ceilings, displacement ventilation, natural ventilation, night cooling, and a traditional VAV system. Unusual features of the building model are presented. Results show that systems that maximize free cooling from outside air have the best energy performance, and that natural ventilation alone cannot provide year-round comfort in the building studied, but would be effective as part of a hybrid system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The relative importance of direct and indirect effects in ecological communities remains unresolved. Indirect effects may diminish as they propagate through highly reticulate food webs. We tested this hypothesis by assembling replicate food webs of different complexity in laboratory microcosms, and comparing the transmission of indirect effects through these webs. By providing the top predator (Didinium ) with either one (Paramecium ) or two (Paramecium and Colpidium ) species of protists as prey, we created linear or reticulate food webs where we could examine the transient response of predators to an indirect effect. Addition of Chlamydomonas , a small alga consumed by Paramecium , but not by Colpidium , perturbed the system and generated an indirect effect on Didinium . We expected the proportional response of Didinium to Chlamydomonas addition would be smaller in the reticulate web containing alternative, unperturbed prey (Colpidium ). We measured predator response as predator yield, the maximum number of predators produced prior to overexploitation of prey and subsequent predator decline. The ratio of yield in perturbed bottles to yield in unperturbed bottles measures the proportional response of Didinium to Chlamydomonas addition. We expected this ratio to be smaller with Colpidium present. Contrary to expectations, alternative prey enhanced rather than diminished predator response to the perturbation. This resulted from competition between the prey species, a factor ignored in some simple verbal arguments. Food web complexity may have unanticipated consequences for the strength of indirect effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First survey of fisheries resources along the entire Sudanese Red Sea Coast. • Highest catch rates and biodiversity found in the north close to Dungonab Bay MPA. • Important baseline information for sustainable management. On the western shore of the semi-enclosed coral-reef rich Red Sea, the 850 km coastline of the Red Sea State of the Republic of Sudan provides livelihoods to artisanal fishers, but the present state of the living natural resources and the impact of fisheries are poorly known. To provide a baseline on the biodiversity and fish abundance three fisheries research surveys spanning the entire Sudanese coast were carried out in 2012−13 designed around the seven Sudanese fisheries management areas. Baited traps and gillnets were employed to sample the various reef habitats and fish assemblages from inshore to deeper outer reef archipelagos. The highest species richness, functional diversity, as well and the highest catch rates with both traps and gillnets were observed in the protected Dungonab Bay area in the north, while the management area closest to the main population center along the coast – Port Sudan – showed the lowest levels of biodiversity and catch rates. The Dungonab bay area and adjacent northern areas therefore seem more pristine than areas closer to the main human population center. Thus the present study has provides a necessary knowledge baseline and highlights the opportunity for establishing effective ecosystem-based management before the resources and habitats are irreversibly impacted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]