The occurrence of mobulid rays at St Helena Island, Cardno seamount and Bonaparte seamount in the South Atlantic and its significance for conservation

Data from 369 sightings of mobulid rays from St Helena Island, Cardno and Bonaparte seamounts in the South Atlantic are summarised. 50 % (183) of sightings were observed from a boat, 48 % (176) of sightings were encountered in water, of which 95 % (168) were whilst actively scuba diving. 2 % (10) of mobulid ray sightings were observed from land. Sightings data indicate that the Chilean devil ray Mobula tarapacana (Philippi, 1892) is a frequent visitor to St Helena and is present all year. We document the first photographic evidence of the presence of oceanic manta, Mobula birostris (Walbaum, 1792) at St Helena. Two solitary individuals were photographed off the north coast of St Helena in June 2018. These sightings confirm previous unverified reports on the species occurrence and extend the known distribution range of M. birostris in the open South Atlantic Ocean to 16°S.

NAPOLEON ON ST. HELENA: SYMBOLS OF RUSSIAN POETRY

В статье рассматриваются символические структуры наполеоновского мифа, касающиеся пребывания свергнутого императора на острове Св. Елены. Устойчивый символический комплекс, сложившийся в европейской поэзии, проник в русскую поэзию, которая осмысляла его по-своему, одно перенимая практически без изменений, другое категорически отвергая. Рассмотрение ряда известных поэтических текстов первой четверти XIX - первой трети XX вв., позволило показать преемственность образов, сформировавших в русской поэзии данную часть наполеоновского мифа. The article examines the symbolic structures of the Napoleonic myth concerning the stay of the deposed emperor on the island of St. Helena. The stable symbolic complex that developed in European poetry penetrated into Russian poetry, which interpreted it in its own way, adopting one thing virtually unchanged and categorically rejecting another. Consideration of a number of well-known poetic texts of the first quarter of the 19 century - the first third of the 20century made it possible to show the continuity of the images that formed this part of the Napoleonic myth in Russian poetry.

Cetaceans Sightings During Research Cruises in Three Remote Atlantic British Overseas Territories

Marine mammal sightings were recorded during research cruises to three remote, mid-ocean British Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean. In March to April 2018 and 2019, the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of tropical St Helena and temperate Tristan da Cunha were surveyed. The sub-polar waters of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) were surveyed in February to March 2019. At St Helena in 2018, five species were recorded during 11 sightings, and in 2019, four species, with one additional unidentified species, during seven sightings. Most of these sightings were of dolphin species, which are known to be resident around the Island and seamounts. In Tristan da Cunha in 2018, a total of five identified and one unidentified species were recorded during six sightings, half of which were associated with the Islands or seamounts. In 2019, due to rough weather, no sightings were recorded in the Tristan da Cunha waters. Around SGSSI, 162 sightings of 236 cetaceans were made in 2019, mostly of baleen whales, with seven species identified with certainty. Sightings around the southern South Sandwich Islands included beaked whales and large dolphins, whereas baleen whales dominated in the northern South Sandwich Islands. These results provide new data for rarely surveyed regions, helping to build a spatial picture of important areas for marine mammals, which will help inform marine spatial protection strategies.

Redescriptions of Neanthes Kinberg, 1865 (Annelida: Errantia: Nereididae) species from worldwide regions

The present study redescribes four species of Neanthes Kinberg, 1865 (Nereididae de Blainville, 1818) based on their type specimens collected from different worldwide localities: Neanthes chilkaensis (Southern, 1921) from India, N. galetae (Fauchald, 1977) from Panama, N. helenae (Kinberg, 1865) from St Helena Island, and N. mossambica (Day, 1957) from Mozambique. The morphology of the types was re-examined for the first time after the species were originally described, and incorporated the recent improvements in the standards and terminology for describing nereidid features. The arrangement of paragnaths on area VI stood out among the diagnostic features used to distinguish these four species. Neanthes chilkaensis and N. helenae are the unique nereidids bearing p-bar paragnaths on the area VI. Both species are also distinctive as the former species only exhibited p-bar paragnaths on the area VII–VIII and the latter ventrolateral projections on the apodous segment. Further examination revealed that N. nanciae (Day, 1949) from St Helena is a junior synonym of N. helenae. Moreover, N. galetae and N. mossambica are distinguishable from other species also by the development of dorsal cirri, neuropodial postchaetal lobe and ventral ligule, the presence/absence of merged paragnaths on area IV, paired oesophageal caeca, among other features. This study has further contributed to the morphological delimitation of the species in Neanthes as a first step towards revising the genus.

St Helena Marine Water Quality: Background Conditions and Development of Assessment Levels for Coastal Pollutants

St Helena is an isolated oceanic island located in the tropical South Atlantic, and knowledge of broadscale oceanography and productivity in its surrounding waters is limited. This study used model outputs (2007-2017), remote sensing data (1998-2017) and survey measurements (April 2018 and 2019) to determine background conditions for nutrients, chlorophyll and suspended particulate matter (SPM) in offshore waters and propose standards (thresholds) for assessing inshore water quality based on 50% deviation from seasonal (usually June to November) or annual averages. Seasonal thresholds were proposed for surface nitrate (average 0.18 μM), phosphate (average 0.26 μM), silicate (average 2.60 μM), chlorophyll (average 0.45 μg chl l–1), and SPM (average 0.96 mg l–1). Associated background values for most surface parameters (phosphate 0.17 μM, silicate 1.57 μM, chlorophyll 0.30 μg chl l–1; from model outputs and remote sensing) were slightly higher than offshore observations (April 2019). For nitrate, the average background value (0.12 μM) was lower than the observed average (0.24 μM). At depth (150-500 m), annual background values from model outputs were high (nitrate 26.8 μM, phosphate 1.8 μM, silicate 17.3 μM). Observed water masses at depths >150 m, identified to be of Antarctic and Atlantic origin, were nutrient-rich (e.g., 16 μM for nitrate, April 2019) and oxygen deficient (<4-6 mg l–1). A thermocline layer (between ca. 10 and 230 m), characterized by a sub-surface chlorophyll maximum (average 0.3-0.5 μg chl l–1) near the bottom of the euphotic zone (ca. 100 m), is likely to sustain primary and secondary production at St Helena. For assessing inshore levels of chemical contaminants and fecal bacteria estimated from survey measurements, standards were derived from the literature. A preliminary assessment of inshore observations using proposed thresholds from surface offshore waters and relevant literature standards indicated concerns regarding levels of nutrients and fecal bacteria at some locations. More detailed modeling and/or field-based studies are required to investigate seasonal trends and nutrient availability to inshore primary producers and to establish accurate levels of any contaminants of interest or risk to the marine environment.

Islands, Voyaging and Empires in the Age of Sail

Successful transoceanic voyages relied on networks of islands. Some provided places where crew and passengers could rest; where ships could replenish their supplies of fresh food and water; and where dockyards allowed vessels to be repaired. Islands were thus often employed as way stations in this world of maritime endeavour. St Helena, in the South Atlantic Ocean, was one of the first islands to be put to such use in the burgeoning English overseas empire of the seventeenth century. Other islands were of value for what they could produce. They were not acquired to facilitate or protect British operations elsewhere; they themselves were the prizes. The contribution of islands to the geography of the British Empire in the age of sail was significant, and certainly of more importance than their mere physical size would suggest.

Developing an Ecological Risk Assessment to Effectively Manage Marine Resources in Data-Limited Locations: A Case Study for St Helena Sand Extraction

Maritime states are faced with the challenge of effectively managing their marine spaces to use resources sustainably, maximise economic potential and simultaneously protect their marine environments. Anthropogenic activities, whether in isolation or combination, all have effects on the natural environment. Each of these effects has a footprint in time and space. Assessing the distribution and intensity of human activities and their effects on marine biodiversity, and all other human uses and users is necessary for effective spatial planning, as well as to harmonise conservation with sustainable development. Assessing and managing combined pressures from human activities can be achieved using risk assessment and risk management processes. There are multiple examples of environmental risk assessments which propose a similar formula. However, standardised approaches to ecological risk assessment in data-limited locations that relate to sand extraction are limited. Also most assessments require a certain level of information to produce meaningful outcomes, that enable subsequent management action to appropriately reflect the identified level of risk. Here we outline an approach to assess the risk to the marine environment of sand extraction activity within the Exclusive Economic Zone and Marine Protected Area of St Helena Island in the Atlantic. The proposed risk assessment tool has supported the development of a sand extraction management strategy on St Helena, and will be used to inform future management plans and policies that allow anthropogenic activities to take place in a way that balances local management, monitoring and enforcement capability, in line with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Category VI designation. Both the tool and strategy promote sustainable use of resources and protection of the marine environment, which are key objectives stated in the St Helena Marine Management Plan.

Yellowfin Tuna Behavioural Ecology and Catchability in the South Atlantic: The Right Place at the Right Time (and Depth)

The yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares: YFT) is a widely distributed, migratory species that supports valuable commercial fisheries. Landings of YFT are seasonally and spatially variable, reflecting changes in their availability and accessibility to different fleets and metiers which, in turn, has implications for sustainable management. Understanding the dynamics of YFT behaviour and how it is affected by biological and ecological factors is therefore of consequence to fisheries management design. Archival and pop-up satellite tags (PSAT) were used in the South Atlantic Ocean around St Helena between 2015 and 2020 to collect information on the movements, foraging and locomotory behaviour of YFT. The study aimed to (1) identify vertical behaviour of YFT within St Helena’s EEZ; (2) assess the timing and depth of potential feeding events and (3) to use the information to inform on the catchability of YFT to the local pole and line fishing fleet. Results indicate that the YFT daytime behaviour shifted between shallow with high incidence of fast starts in surface waters in summer months (December to April), to deep with high incidence of strikes at depth in colder months (May to November). Catchability of YFT was significantly reduced between May and November as YFT spent more time at depths below 100 m during the day, which coincides with a reduction in the quantity of YFT caught by the inshore fleet.