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Abstract: Growth and body condition can be used as indices of health and fitness, but are difficult to collect for populations of conservation concern where individuals cannot be captured. We incorporated a laser photogrammetry system into boat‐based photo‐identification surveys that underpin individual‐based studies of cetacean populations. These data were integrated with >25 years of observations from a temperate bottlenose dolphin population in Scotland to investigate the influence of sex on growth patterns, effects of birth order on calf size and the longer term consequences of variation in early growth. Field measurements of the distance from the blowhole to the dorsal fin were made in multiple years from 87 dolphins that had been followed from birth, ranging in age from newborn to 26 years. These estimates were validated against direct measurements of 12 individuals that had previously been captured and released in Florida and two study individuals that subsequently stranded. Using relationships derived from other stranded individuals, age‐specific body lengths were used to produce growth curves that were based entirely on remote observations. Multilevel regression growth curve analyses suggested males and females showed similar patterns of growth, unlike bottlenose dolphins in sub‐tropical areas, and growth was best described by a Richards’ growth curve. Newborn length was unrelated to sex; however, females’ first calves were shorter than subsequent calves. Sample sizes remain small, yet there was evidence of fitness consequences of variation in calf length; calves that died in their first winter were significantly shorter than those that survived. The incorporation of this simple‐to‐use and inexpensive method into individual‐based photo‐identification studies provides new opportunities to non‐invasively investigate drivers of variation in growth and the demographic consequences of variation in early growth in cetaceans from protected populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation efforts are often constrained by uncertainty over the factors driving declines in marine mammal populations. In Scotland, there is concern over the potential impact of unrecorded shooting of seals, particularly where this occurs near Special Areas of Conservation. Here, we show that the abundance of harbour seals Phoca vitulina in the Moray Firth, north-east Scotland, declined by 2–5% per annum between 1993 and 2004. Records from local salmon fisheries and aquaculture sites indicated that 66–327 harbour seals were shot each year between 1994 and 2002. Matrix models and estimates of potential biological removal indicate that this level of shooting is sufficient to explain observed declines. Nevertheless, uncertainty over the number and identity of seals shot means that other factors such as changes in food availability may be contributing. Recent conservation measures markedly reduced the recorded levels of shooting in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, a coordinated management plan was developed to protect salmon fisheries interests while minimizing impacts on local seal populations. Comprehensive monitoring of future population trends and improved regulation of culls are now required to provide more robust assessments of the impact of human persecution on harbour seal populations in the Moray Firth and in other parts of the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between interpersonal skills and sexual activity among female adolescents in Zambia. Data from 390 females in seven schools were analyzed. Results indicated that the inability to say no was associated with coital and noncoital sexual activity. The findings suggest that family planning programs should consider the role of interpersonal skills in controlling adolescent fertility.