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ASCOBANS
Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas, often abbreviated to ASCOBANS, is a regional agreement on the protection of small cetaceans that was concluded as the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas under the auspices of the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species, or Bonn Convention, in September 1991 and came into force in March 1994. In February 2008, an extension of the agreement area came into force which changed the name to “Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas”. ASCOBANS covers all species of toothed whales (''Odontoceti'') in the Agreement Area, with the exception of the sperm whale (''Physeter macrocephalus''). Background Numerous species of small cetaceans live in the Baltic, Irish and North Seas and the North East Atlantic, including dolphins, whales and harbour porpoises. The harbour porpoise is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convention On Migratory Species
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention, is an international agreement that aims to conserve migratory species throughout their ranges. The agreement was signed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme and is concerned with conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale."Amendments, done at Bergen on 25 November 2011,to Appendices I and II to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn, 23 June 1979) – ATS 10 of 2012" Australasian Legal Information Institute, Australian T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bradnee Chambers
Bradnee Chambers (19 July 1966 – January 23, 2019) was an expert on international environmental governance, law and politics. In March 2013 he was appointed as the Executive Secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), a main United Nations multilateral conservation treaty He was also the acting Executive Secretary of the Gorilla Agreement and the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans in the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS) both administered under the UN Environment Programme. These agreements form the global framework for conservation of wild animals migrating between countries. The agreements cover an immense scope of wildlife including whales, dolphins, sharks, elephants, big cats (e.g. Cheetahs, snow leopards), bats, monarch butterflies, saiga antelope, waterbirds (e.g. Ducks, geese, flamingoes), and migratory fish (e.g. Sturgeons, the European eel). Chambers was born in Haliburton, Ontari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Year Of The Dolphin
The year 2007 (extended to 2008) was proposed and declared as the (International) Year of the Dolphin (YoD) by the United Nations and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), along with the UN Convention on Migratory Species, and its specialized agreements on dolphin conservation ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS and the WDCS. Background Dolphins are threatened marine mammals with close ties to human history and culture. Living in oceans and rivers, their survival is becoming increasingly difficult. Dolphins need clean and quiet oceans and protected areas. With their variety of almost 40 species, dolphins are quintessential flagship species for their ecosystem. An ocean in which dolphins can do well is an ocean where all other lifeforms can do well too. The Year of the Dolphin was part of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The campaign was also a tangible contribution towards meeting targets to reduce the loss of wildlife by 2010 which all Governments h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Risso’s Dolphin
Risso's dolphin (''Grampus griseus'') is a dolphin, the only species of the genus ''Grampus''. Some of the closest related species to these dolphins include: pilot whales (''Globicephala'' spp.), pygmy killer whales (''Feresa attenuata''), melon-headed whales (''Peponocephala electra''), and false killer whales (''Pseudorca crassidens''). Taxonomy Risso's dolphin is named after Antoine Risso, whose study of the animal formed the basis of the recognised description by Georges Cuvier in 1812. The holotype referred to specimen at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, an exhibit using preserved skin and skull obtained at Brest, France. The type and sole species of the genus ''Grampus'' refers to ''Delphinus griseus'' Cuvier 1812. A proposition to name this genus ''Grampidelphis'' in 1933, when the taxonomic status of 'blackfish' was uncertain, and conserving the extensive use of "''Grampus''" for the 'killer' ''Orcinus orca''", also suggested renaming this species (''Grampidel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-beaked Dolphin
The white-beaked dolphin (''Lagenorhynchus albirostris'') is a marine mammal belonging to the family Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins) in the suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Taxonomy The species was first described by the British taxonomist John Edward Gray in 1846. Due to its relative abundance in European waters, it was among the first of the genus ''Lagenorhynchus'' (''lagenos'', Latin for "bottle" or "flask"; ''rhynchos'', "beak" or "snout") to be known to science. Its specific name, ''albirostris'', translates to "white beak", a reference to the color of the species' beak, a diagnostic (albeit variable) trait useful in identification. Description The white-beaked dolphin is a robust species of dolphin with a short beak. Adults can reach long and weigh . Calves are long at birth and probably weigh about . The upper body and flanks are dark grey with light grey patches, including a 'saddle' behind the dorsal fin, while the underside is light grey to almost white in colo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harbour Porpoise
The harbour porpoise (''Phocoena phocoena'') is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar porpoise to whale watchers. This porpoise often ventures up rivers, and has been seen hundreds of kilometres from the sea. The harbour porpoise may be polytypic, with geographically distinct populations representing distinct races: ''P. p. phocoena'' in the North Atlantic and West Africa, ''P. p. relicta'' in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, an unnamed population in the northwestern Pacific and ''P. p. vomerina'' in the northeastern Pacific. Taxonomy The English word porpoise comes from the French (Old French , 12th century), which is from Medieval Latin , which is a compound of ''porcus'' (pig) and (fish). The old word is probably a loan-translation of a Germanic word, compare Danish ''marsvin'' and Middle Dutch ''mereswijn'' (sea swin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long-finned Pilot Whale
The long-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala melas'') is a large species of oceanic dolphin. It shares the genus '' Globicephala'' with the short-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala macrorhynchus''). Long-finned pilot whales are known as such because of their unusually long pectoral fins. Taxonomy and naming Etymology Pilot whales get their name from the original belief that there was a "pilot" or lead individual in their groups.Olson, P.A. (2008). "Pilot whale ''Globicephala melas'' and ''G. muerorhynchus''". pp. 847–52 in ''Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals''. Perrin, W. F., Wursig, B., and Thewissen, J. G. M. (eds.). Academic Press; 2nd edition. Ridgway, S. H. (1998). ''Handbook of Marine Mammals: The second book of dolphins and the porpoises''. Volume 6, Elsevier. pp. 245–69. The name for the genus, "''Globicephala''" is derived from a combination of Latin ''globus'' ("globe") and Greek ''kephale'' ("head"). The specific name "''melas''" is Greek for "black". This species h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10°E to 30°E longitude. A marginal sea of the Atlantic, with limited water exchange between the two water bodies, the Baltic Sea drains through the Danish Straits into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, Great Belt and Little Belt. It includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga and the Bay of Gdańsk. The " Baltic Proper" is bordered on its northern edge, at latitude 60°N, by Åland and the Gulf of Bothnia, on its northeastern edge by the Gulf of Finland, on its eastern edge by the Gulf of Riga, and in the west by the Swedish part of the southern Scandinavian Peninsula. The Baltic Sea is connected by artificial waterways to the White Sea via the White Sea–Baltic Canal and to the German ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Striped Dolphin
The striped dolphin (''Stenella coeruleoalba'') is an extensively studied dolphin found in temperate and tropical waters of all the world's oceans. It is a member of the oceanic dolphin family (biology), family, Delphinidae. Taxonomy The striped dolphin is one of five species traditionally included in the genus ''Stenella''; however, recent genetic work by LeDuc ''et al.'' (1999) indicates ''Stenella'', as traditionally conceived, is not a natural group. According to that study, the closest relatives of the striped dolphin are the Clymene dolphin, the common dolphins, the Atlantic spotted dolphin, and ''Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, "Tursiops" aduncus'', which was formerly considered a subspecies of the common bottlenose dolphin. The striped dolphin was described by Franz Meyen in 1833. Description The striped dolphin has a similar size and shape to several other dolphins that inhabit the waters it does (see pantropical spotted dolphin, Atlantic spotted dolphin, Clymene dolp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin
The Atlantic white-sided dolphin (''Lagenorhynchus acutus'') is a distinctively coloured dolphin found in the cool to temperate waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. Description The dolphin is slightly larger than most other oceanic dolphins. It is just over a meter in length at birth, growing to about (males) and (females) at maturity. It weighs 180–230 kg (400- 510 lb) once fully-grown. Females reach sexual maturity at between 6 and 12 years, and males between 7 and 11 years. The gestation period is 11 months and lactation lasts for about 18 months — both typical figures for dolphins. Individuals are known to live for at least 17 years. The key distinguishing feature is the white to pale yellow patch found behind the dorsal fin of the dolphin on each side. This colour variation is unique amongst the mixtures of white, greys and blues of other pelagic cetaceans. The rest of the body's coloration is well demarcated: the chin, throat and belly are white; the flippe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Dolphin
The common dolphin (''Delphinus delphis'') is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with that distinction belonging to the bottlenose dolphin due to its popular appearances in aquaria and the media. However, the common dolphin is often depicted in Ancient Greek and Roman art and culture, most notably in a mural painted by the Greek Minoan civilization. It is presently the only member of the genus ''Delphinus''. The common dolphin belongs to the subfamily Delphininae, making this dolphin closely related to the three different species of bottlenose dolphins, humpback dolphins, striped dolphins, spinner dolphins, clymene dolphin, spotted dolphins, fraser's dolphin and the tucuxi and guiana dolphin. The common dolphin was originally categorized into two different species (now thought to be ecotypes), the short-beaked common dolp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
60th Parallel North
The 60th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. Although it lies approximately twice as far away from the Equator as from the North Pole, the 60th parallel is half as long as the Equator line, due to the cosine of 60 degrees being 0.5. This is where the Earth bulges halfway as much as on the Equator. At this latitude, the Sun is visible for 18 hours, 52 minutes during the June solstice and 5 hours, 52 minutes during the December solstice. The maximum altitude of the Sun is 53.44° on 21 June and 6.56° on 21 December. The maximum altitude of the Sun is > 15.00º in October and > 8.00º in November. The lowest latitude where white nights can be observed is approximately on this parallel. Around the world Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 60° north passes through: : Canada In Canada, the 60th parallel forms the sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
