| 1. |
- Knief, Ulrich, et al.
(författare)
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Highly pathogenic avian influenza causes mass mortality in Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis breeding colonies across north-western Europe
- 2024
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Ingår i: Bird conservation international. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0959-2709 .- 1474-0001. ; 34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2022, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus clade 2.3.4.4b became enzootic and caused mass mortality in Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis and other seabird species across north-western Europe. We present data on the characteristics of the spread of the virus between and within breeding colonies and the number of dead adult Sandwich Terns recorded at breeding sites throughout north-western Europe. Within two months of the first reported mortalities, 20,531 adult Sandwich Terns were found dead, which is >17% of the total north-western European breeding population. This is probably an under-representation of total mortality, as many carcasses are likely to have gone unnoticed and unreported. Within affected colonies, almost all chicks died. After the peak of the outbreak, in a colony established by late breeders, 25.7% of tested adults showed immunity to HPAI subtype H5. Removal of carcasses was associated with lower levels of mortality at affected colonies. More research on the sources and modes of transmission, incubation times, effective containment, and immunity is urgently needed to combat this major threat for colonial seabirds.
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| 2. |
- Sundström, Johan, Professor, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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Risk factors for subarachnoid haemorrhage : a nationwide cohort of 950 000 adults
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 48:6, s. 2018-2025
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is a devastating disease, with high mortality rate and substantial disability among survivors. Its causes are poorly understood. We aimed to investigate risk factors for SAH using a novel nationwide cohort consortium.METHODS: We obtained individual participant data of 949 683 persons (330 334 women) between 25 and 90 years old, with no history of SAH at baseline, from 21 population-based cohorts. Outcomes were obtained from the Swedish Patient and Causes of Death Registries.RESULTS: During 13 704 959 person-years of follow-up, 2659 cases of first-ever fatal or non-fatal SAH occurred, with an age-standardized incidence rate of 9.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) (7.4-10.6)/100 000 person-years] in men and 13.8 [(11.4-16.2)/100 000 person-years] in women. The incidence rate increased exponentially with higher age. In multivariable-adjusted Poisson models, marked sex interactions for current smoking and body mass index (BMI) were observed. Current smoking conferred a rate ratio (RR) of 2.24 (95% CI 1.95-2.57) in women and 1.62 (1.47-1.79) in men. One standard deviation higher BMI was associated with an RR of 0.86 (0.81-0.92) in women and 1.02 (0.96-1.08) in men. Higher blood pressure and lower education level were also associated with higher risk of SAH.CONCLUSIONS: The risk of SAH is 45% higher in women than in men, with substantial sex differences in risk factor strengths. In particular, a markedly stronger adverse effect of smoking in women may motivate targeted public health initiatives.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Mathias, et al.
(författare)
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Management Measures to Reduce Continuous Underwater Noise from Shipping
- 2023
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Rapport (refereegranskat)abstract
- Underwater radiated noise (URN) from commercial ships is a significant source of elevated noise levels in the oceans and can have a negative impact on marine wildlife. Noise from commercial shipping places additional stress on the oceans, but is one of the least studied environmental pollutants, and there is an urgent need to reduce the aggregate stress levels. Until recently, reduction of underwater noise has not been prioritised by ship designers, shipowners, or crews. Even within the field of marine management, noise has received limited interest. However, the International Maritime organization (IMO) has adopted global guidelines on URN reduction, which are currently being updated. Within the EU, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD 2008/56/EC) Descriptor 11 criteria 11.2, now provides a framework for marine administrators to manage noise by establishing threshold values. Marine management focuses on the total noise load on the marine environment. Management entails several considerations before recommendations can be made. As a first step, interdisciplinary teams need to assess the aggregated noise levels and determine acceptable thresholds based on the local ecosystem, then assess which existing mandates and management tools can be used, and finally assess how effective these mandates have been in improving the environment. These activities must also be managed in a way that is acceptable to various relevant stakeholders, who would need to follow the decisions. The URN from a ship can be affected by the vessel’s design, either during its construction or during upgrades, and balances a trade-off against fuel efficiency. However, the URN can also depend on how the ship is operated. Regulating ship speed is one potential management tool, and its effectiveness needs to be assessed. Other management measures include how shipping lanes are drawn, areas to avoid, financial support, information, etc. This report focuses on possible policy measures that the Swedish authorities could adopt to lower URN by regulating the speed of ships. The report presents an interdisciplinary analysis, using a case study of an area in the southern Kattegat that covered several maritime zones, different national jurisdictions, intensive traffic, and high natural values. An important part of the work was to assess whether existing source models for ship noise could be used for the type of ships that are common in waters around Sweden. In this study, the JOMOPANS-ECHO (J-E) model was used.The J-E model was validated by comparing measurement data from a hydrophone station at Vinga on the Swedish coast that collected data from ships (254 passages) that used the port of Gothenburg. The analysis showed some deviation between the J-E model and measurement data, which could be due to differences in the length and speed of ships in waters around Sweden compared to the ships used in the development of the J-E model. However, this was likely to have negligible impact on the outcome of the case study.Analyses of ship traffic in 2021 showed that 4,511 unique vessels visited the study area at least once. Most ships followed the main routes, but no part of the study area was completely free from ship traffic. About 68% of the ships visited the study area for 1-4 days, while about 32% visited the area more regularly. The most common ship types were General Cargo Ships, Dry Bulk Ships, and Tankers. The ships that on average travelled at highest speeds were RoPax Ships, RoRo Ships, Vehicle Carriers, and Container Ships. The ships were registered in 64 countries. About two percent of the ships were registered in Sweden and about four percent in Denmark.Legal analysis showed that Sweden has the right and the responsibility to take measures to reduce underwater noise from ships to the extent that the noise can be deemed to pollute the marine environment. However, this mainly applies to Sweden’s territorial seas, which cover roughly half the area being studied for this report. In the portion that constitutes Danish territorial sea, Denmark has comparable opportunities for managing URN. In areas that are Swedish or Danish exclusive economic zones (EEZs), the ability to introduce mandatory speed limits is significantly limited. There, the most realistic option would be to request the IMO to establish speed limits, or alternatively to issue a recommendation to navigate at lower speeds, although such guidance could not be enforced on ships that do not voluntarily reduce their speed.It was estimated that lowering the ships' speeds to a hypothetical limit of 11 kn would reduce the average URN levels by 4.4 ± 2 dB, as registered by local receivers in the study area. This speed limit would affect approximately 44% of the ships in the area. A maximum speed of 13 kn would instead reduce the level by 1.9 ± 0.5 dB and would affect 11% of the ships on average. The reduction in noise levels may temporarily be much higher in the immediate vicinity of individual fast ships, and there might be a high degree of variation between different ships.The study and report make it clear that it is a complex task to assess the feasibility and benefit of introducing a specific marine management tool, in this case an enforceable local speed limit. But it is also clear that there are reliable methods to make the preliminary assessments, and that it requires interdisciplinary analyses and competence.
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| 4. |
- Boom, Michiel P., et al.
(författare)
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Postnatal growth rate varies with latitude in range‐expanding geese : The role of plasticity and day length
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Animal Ecology. - : British Ecological Society. - 0021-8790 .- 1365-2656. ; 91:2, s. 417-427
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. The postnatal growth period is a crucial life stage, with potential lifelong effects on an animal's fitness. How fast animals grow depends on their life-history strategy and rearing environment, and interspecific comparisons generally show higher growth rates at higher latitudes. However, to elucidate the mechanisms behind this gradient in growth rate, intraspecific comparisons are needed. 2. Recently, barnacle geese expanded their Arctic breeding range from the Russian Barents Sea coast southwards, and now also breed along the Baltic and North Sea coasts. Baltic breeders shortened their migration, while barnacle geese breeding along the North Sea stopped migrating entirely.3. We collected cross-sectional data on gosling tarsus length, head length and body mass, and constructed population-specific growth curves to compare growth rates among three populations (Barents Sea, Baltic Sea and North Sea) spanning 17° in latitude.4. Growth rate was faster at higher latitudes, and the gradient resembled the latitudinal gradient previously observed in an interspecific comparison of precocial species. Differences in day length among the three breeding regions could largely explain the observed differences in growth rate. In the Baltic, and especially in the Arctic population, growth rate was slower later in the season, most likely because of the stronger seasonal decline in food quality.5. Our results suggest that differences in postnatal growth rate between the Arctic and temperate populations are mainly a plastic response to local environmental conditions. This plasticity can increase the individuals' ability to cope with annual variation in local conditions, but can also increase the potential to re-distribute and adapt to new breeding environments.
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| 5. |
- Hassellöv, Ida-Maja, et al.
(författare)
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Effekter på havsmiljön av att flytta över transporter från vägtrafik till sjöfart
- 2019
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Rapport (refereegranskat)abstract
- Antagandet av en nationell godstransportstrategi 2018 innebär att Sverige strävar efter att ”främja en överflyttning av godstransporter från väg till järnväg och sjöfart”. Ett delmål är att minska negativ miljöpåverkan från godstransporter. Men, om en överflyttning av gods från väg till sjöfart innebär ökat antal fartyg, eller ökad tillryggalagd distans med fartyg, innebär överflyttningen en ökad belastning på havsmiljön. Här föreligger därför en målkonflikt mellan transportpolitiska mål och flera miljömål. Tillståndet i havsmiljön runt Sveriges kuster uppnår idag inte god miljöstatus med avseende på exempelvis näringsämnen, miljögifter och främmande arter; för samtliga dessa belastningar bidrar sjöfarten till den negativa situationen. För att nå god miljöstatus behöver istället den totala belastningen på den marina miljön minska. Vid en eventuell överflyttning av godstransport från väg till sjöfart, är det därför angeläget att säkerställa att den ökade belastningen på den marina miljön minimeras. Ett sätt är att visa geografisk hänsyn genom att undvika sjöfart inom miljömässigt känsliga havsområden. Ett annat sätt är att ställa hårdare krav på fartygens prestanda. Miljöpåverkan från fartyg varierar framför allt mellan, men också inom, olika fartygstyper. Men att skapa nya regelverk med syfte att förbättra fartygens prestanda är en långsam process eftersom sjöfarten primärt regleras genom internationella konventioner där tillämpning av regionala eller nationella särregler undviks. Några förslag till åtgärder för att säkerställa att havsmiljön kring Sverige inte försämras till följd av överflyttning av godstransporter från väg till sjöfart är: Tillse att det skapas högkvalitativt och jämförbart underlag för sjö- och landtransporters påverkan på havsmiljön. Analysera och kommunicera samtliga typer av utsläpp, inte bara utsläpp av koldioxid. Utsläppsmängder och påverkan bör anges och jämföras i absoluta tal och relevanta enheter. Minimera antalet transporter genom att öka fyllnadsgraden. Optimera fartygens hastighet för att minimera drivmedelsförbrukningen och emissioner. Dagens fartygstrafik i Sveriges mest känsliga och skyddade havsområden måste minska. När- och kustsjöfart bör kanaliseras bort från havs- och kustområden med höga naturvärden. Skapa tydliga incitament så att fraktköpare enbart anlitar fartyg som har högsta miljöprestanda avseende såväl utsläpp av växthusgaser som av andra förorenande eller övergödande ämnen till luft och vatten. Säkerställ att införandet av ett NECA (kvävekontrollområde) i Östersjön och Nordsjön innebär att fler fartyg installerar kväverening och att införandet inte leder till att fler äldre fartyg utan regelstadgad effektiv kväverening trafikerar området. • Stärk samordningen mellan myndigheter så att framtidsfrågor som rör sjöfart och dess miljöpåverkan behandlas och åtgärdas i linje med ekosystembaserad förvaltning. Relaterat till sjöfartens striktare svavelregler som träder i kraft 2020-01-01: Förbjud utsläpp av skrubbervatten till havet då utsläppen innebär en stor risk för försämrad miljöstatus och överskridna miljökvalitetsnormer enligt vattendirektivet, med avseende på exempelvis koppar och zink. Utred konsekvenserna av den förväntade ökade användningen av lågsvavliga hybridoljor som fartygsbränsle. Då befintlig saneringsutrustning är mindre effektiv för hybridoljor innebär detta en ökad risk vid kommande olyckor och oljeutsläpp.
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| 6. |
- Hassellöv, Ida-Maja, et al.
(författare)
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Use of port State control inspection data from the Paris MoU to assess pressure from shipping on the marine environment : A study of ships operating in the Baltic Sea region
- 2020
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this report we analyse the relation between the Port State Control (PSC) system, as implemented by Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MoU), and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), which obligates EU member States to achieve a Good Environmental Status of their marine waters. The deficiency codes in the Paris MoU PSC THETIS list were reviewed to explore how the codes relate to, i.e. directly or indirectly affect, the marine environment. We further sorted these identified deficiency codes into different, partly overlapping, categories based on their relation to MSFD descriptors. The number of deficiencies in the different categories were thereafter used as indices to infer pressures on the marine environment from different classes of ships. The approach was applied on a PSC inspection data set of ships that operated in the Baltic Sea or Skagerrak in 2018 to investigate if the number of deficiencies in four deficiency categories differed among ship types, ships of different ages and ships from different flag states. We also analysed how deficiencies related to five different MSFD descriptors were distributed among ship classes. General cargo, container and dry bulk ships had on average more deficiencies per ship than other ship types. The youngest ships had on average fewer deficiencies per ship than older ships and ships from black and grey listed flag states had on average more deficiencies per ship than ships from white listed flag states. Ships registered in Sweden had on average fewer deficiencies per ship than average ships from white-listed flag states. The number of all deficiencies per ship was generally correlated with the number of deficiencies related to the marine environment. Thus, on a general level, the total number of registered deficiencies also reflected the relative environmental performance of different ship classes. However, on a more detailed level, when deficiencies related to specific MSFD descriptors were analysed, some deviances from this general pattern were observed. The number of ships, as well as the total travelled distance, differed greatly among the different classes of ships. The total pressure on the Baltic marine environment, will, therefore, be larger from the more common middle-aged ships than from older ships, even though older ships on average performed worse than young and middle-aged ships. Similarly, because ships from white listed flag states are much more common, the total number of deficiencies of ships registered in white listed flag states, and hence, the total pressure on the marine environment, is much higher than the total number of deficiencies of, and total pressures from, ships from black and grey listed flag states. The insight that the total pressure of a class of ships is affected not only by the average performance of the ships in that class, but also by the number of ships and the total travelled distance, does not in any way reduce the need to stop the operation of the worst performing individual ships, and by various means to improve the average performance of ships in the low performing general cargo and dry bulk ship classes. From a marine environment management perspective, it is also important to recognize that also continuous smaller improvements of the performance of the more numerous middle-aged ships and of ships registered in white listed flag states will increase the possibility to achieve Good Environmental Status of the marine environments in Europe. We conclude that although the Paris MoU scheme for Port State Controls is an important measure to prevent pollution from ships, there is no harmonization between the work of Paris MoU and the marine environmental management in the EU including the implementation of MSFD. At least eight of the eleven descriptors of the MSFD are influenced by shipping but at least three of them cannot be evaluated by the present scheme for PSC. It is possible, according to our view, to develop the present PSC system to also include control measures that focus on these three descriptors, that is, on the effect on biodiversity, sea-floor integrity and on the production of underwater noise. It is also important to investigate ways to add or modify deficiency codes that would capture the chemical composition of waste streams and remnant chemicals after tank cleanings. An additional development of the PSC system could be to also investigate the behaviour of ships during the period between PSC inspections, e.g. through the use of logged AIS-data. The proposed system development would likely require both new financial resources and competencies.
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| 7. |
- Herrmann, Christof, et al.
(författare)
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Population Development of Baltic Bird Species : Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis)
- 2019
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- During the 19th century, the Great Cormorant was exterminated as a breeding bird in several Baltic countries. The persecution continued until the mid of the 20th century, and in the early 1960s the European breeding population of the continental subspecies sinensis had declined to 4,000 breeding pairs (bp) only, of which Germany and Poland hosted more than the half. During the following two decades, the population development apparently has also been affected by the harmful effects of DDT and PCB.As a result of protection measures, and seemingly also due to the ban of DDT and PCB, breeding pair numbers started to increase during the second half of the 1970s. During the 1980s, the Cormorant started to expand its range towards the northern and eastern parts of the Baltic. Currently, the species is present in the whole Baltic Sea area, including the northern parts of the Gulf of Bothnia.Baltic-wide surveys in 2006, 2009 and 2012 showed that the Baltic population had stabilized at a level of 155,000 – 170,000 bp during that period. However, after 2012 breeding pair numbers have still increased in the eastern and northern Baltic. Hence, the current population is estimated at 190,000-210,000 bp.The highest population densities are found around the highly eutrophic estuaries of the southern Baltic (Odra-, Vistula-, and Curonian lagoon).
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| 8. |
- Larsson, Kjell, Professor, 1958-
(författare)
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Age and sex ratios in the declining West Siberian/North European population of Long-tailed Duck wintering in the Baltic Sea : Implications for conservation
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ornis Fennica. - : BirdLife Finland. - 0030-5685. ; 99:4, s. 117-131
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The West Siberian/North European population of Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), which breeds in the Russian Arctic and northern Fennoscandia and winters in the Baltic Sea, has declined rapidly since the 1990s. To identify the causes of the decline and initiate effective conservation measures information on basic demographic parameters is needed. A photo survey method was used to estimate female age ratios and the proportion of males among adults in wintering Long-tailed Ducks at coastal and off-shore areas in the Baltic Sea. Female age ratios were defined as the number of first winter males, assumed equal to the number of first winter females, per adult female. Several thousand individuals were sampled each winter from 2008 to 2021. Female age ratios fluctuated between years and were consistently lower in the southern than in the central Baltic Sea. The proportion of males among wintering adults birds was male-biased, more so in the southern Baltic Sea than in other regions. A population model was used to analyse if low female age ratios between 2008 and 2021 has constrained population growth. Given that the estimated weighted mean female age ratio of 0.153 was representative at the population scale, an extremely high adult female mean annual survival rate of 0.872 would have been needed to maintain a stable population. Considering known sources of anthropogenic mortality in the Baltic Sea, and instead assuming a more realistic survival rate of ca. 0.80, a population decline of ca. 7.7% per year should have occurred during the study period.
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| 9. |
- Larsson, Kjell, Professor, 1958-
(författare)
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Age and sex ratios of wintering Long-tailed Ducks Clangula hyemalis can be determined by analysis of photos of flying flocks at sea : A method description
- 2023
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Ingår i: Ornis Svecica. - : BirdLife Sweden. - 1102-6812 .- 2003-2633. ; 33, s. 1-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The West Siberian / North European population of Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis that breeds in Fennoscandia and Northwestern Russia, and winters in the Baltic Sea, has declined by at least 65 % since the 1990s and is classified as globally vulnerable. To propose effective management actions to stop the decline, knowledge about demographic parameters is required. A photo survey method by which it is possible, in winter, to collect data on sex ratios and production of first-winter birds is presented here. The plumage traits and bill patterns, which are detectable in photos taken at a distance, are described. The traits can be used to discriminate between three categories of birds: adult males, first-winter males, and females. To extrapolate results from several photo surveys and obtain population-wide estimates of demographic parameters, knowledge about non-random distributions of different bird categories is needed. It was found that different age and sex categories were distributed differently across flocks of different sizes. The required sample sizes and the possible constraints and biases related to the photo survey method are discussed.
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| 10. |
- Larsson, Kjell, Professor, 1958-, et al.
(författare)
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Fartygstrafik i och nära skyddade och känsliga havsområden runt Gotland och Öland
- 2018
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Den internationella fartygstrafiken i Östersjön och inte minst i havsområdet runt Gotland och Öland är mycket intensiv och förväntas öka i omfattning under kommande år. Sjöfarten behöver tillgång till utrymme på havet i form av ändamålsenliga och säkra fartygsrutter. Intensiv fartygstrafik medför dock påverkan på havsmiljön på grund av driftsrelaterade utsläpp till luft och vatten. Intensiv trafik medför även risker för kollisioner, grundstötningar och andra fartygsolyckor som kan ge upphov till mycket stor miljöpåverkan. Sverige har liksom de flesta av världens länder i enlighet med internationella konventioner ett uppdrag att skydda minst 10 % av havet. Införandet av marina reservat och nationalparker innanför svensk territorialgräns, och av marina Natura 2000-områden innanför territorialgräns och i svensk ekonomisk zon enligt nationell lagstiftning och EU-direktiv, är ett led i uppdraget. Andra internationella konventioner reglerar vilka åtgärder som kan vidtas för att styra fartygstrafik eller för att rekommendera sjöfarten att undvika vissa havsområden. Havsplanering är ett verktyg för att styra det rumsliga nyttjandet av havet och för att reducera konflikter mellan olika samhällsintressen, t.ex. mellan behovet av sjöfart och behovet av att skydda havsmiljön och marin biologisk mångfald. För att på ett effektivt sätt kunna havsplanera och förbättra och utöka skyddet av värdefulla marina områden krävs kunskap om den påverkan som mänskliga aktiviteter, bland annat sjöfart, har på områdena. Ett första steg är att identifiera de havsområden där fartygstrafiken är mycket intensiv, där fartyg passerar genom eller nära särskilt känsliga områden, där fartyg med särskilt farlig last passerar eller där många fartyg ankrar under längre perioder. Syftet med rapporten är att sammanställa information om fartygstrafik i och nära skyddade och känsliga havsområden runt Gotland och Öland. I rapporten beskrivs först hur analyser av fartygstrafik kan genomföras med hjälp av lagrade AIS-data. Därefter beskrivs fartygstrafiken i centrala Östersjön och i särskilda fokusområden runt Gotland och Öland. Avslutningsvis diskuteras risker med fartygstrafik i känsliga havsområden och hur konflikter mellan sjöfartens behov och marint områdesskydd kan reduceras. Rapporten har producerats inom projektet ”Marina skyddsvärden runt Gotland och Öland ” som letts av Länsstyrelsen i Gotlands län.
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