We present an update of the ‘key points’ from the Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE) report that was published by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) in 2009. We summarise subsequent advances in knowledge concerning how the climates of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean have changed in the past, how they might change in the future, and examine the associated impacts on the marine and terrestrial biota. We also incorporate relevant material presented by SCAR to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, and make use of emerging results that will form part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report.

Background: Reports that death notices in the Times-Picayune, the New Orleans daily newspaper, increased dramatically in 2006 prompted local health officials to determine whether death notice surveillance could serve as a valid alternative means to confirm suspicions of excess mortality requiring immediate preventive actions and intervention.

Methods: Monthly totals of death notices from the Times-Picayune were used to obtain frequency and proportion of deaths from January to June 2006. To validate this methodology the authors compared 2002 to 2003 monthly death frequency and proportions between death notices and top 10 causes of death from state vital statistics.

Results: A significant (47%) increase in proportion of deaths was seen compared with the known baseline population. From January to June 2006, there were on average 1317 deaths notices per month for a mortality rate of 91.37 deaths per 100,000 population, compared with a 2002–2004 average of 924 deaths per month for a mortality rate of 62.17 deaths per 100,000 population. Differences between 2002 and 2003 death notices and top 10 causes of death were insignificant and had high correlation.

Discussion: Death notices from local daily newspaper sources may serve as an alternative source of mortality information. Problems with delayed reporting, timely analysis, and interoperability between state and local health departments may be solved by the implementation of electronic death registration. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2007;1:15–20)

This paper describes a rare sighting of an anomalously white harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in the coastal waters of the outer Moray Firth in north-east Scotland. The recording provides the first photographs of such an individual from the northern North Sea. At an estimated body length of 1.5 m, the present animal had evidently survived to adulthood, in spite of its condition, confirming the potential longevity of such hypo-pigmented individuals in the wild. Further recaptures of this naturally-marked animal may provide valuable information on the site fidelity and long-term spatial movements of these notoriously difficult to study cetaceans.

The short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is regarded as notably rare or absent from the northern North Sea, but recent evidence suggests a rising frequency of the species in these waters with increasing regional sea temperatures. The following paper documents the presence of D. delphis in the Moray Firth in north-east Scotland and provides the first evidence for the sustained occurrence of these delphinids in this region during the warmer summer months at least. Sightings were collated during systematic surveys of the outer Moray Firth between 2001 and 2009 by independent research teams from the CRRU and WDCS. A total of 13 encounters (with group sizes ranging from 2 to 450+ animals) were recorded with the species across this period, the first of which was in June 2006, with annual encounters being logged thereafter between the months of May and August from 2007 to 2009 inclusive. The animals were recorded in water depths of 51 to 209 m (mean depth: 88.6±42.2 m) and at a distance from shore of 5 to 32 km (mean distance: 16.6±8.0 km). New born calves were observed in June and July, and photographic recaptures of identifiable ‘marked’ adults were determined in 2009. The consistent presence of common dolphins in the outer firth post 2005 and the recapture of recognizable individuals suggest a comparatively recent colonization of these waters by the species over a relatively short period of time. The impacts resulting from such a range expansion upon the existing cetacean community and the subsequent implications for management are discussed.

In the first seven months of 2008, eighteen Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), four Sowerby's beaked whales (Mesoplodon bidens), five unidentified beaked whales and twenty-nine long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) were reported stranded in the UK and Ireland. Decomposition of those animals investigated puts the predicted time of death at mid-January. Concerns that an unusual mortality event had taken place prompted further investigations. Most carcasses were too decomposed for necropsy. A summary of findings is presented here. Although the initial stranding of five Cuvier's beaked whales in Scotland shared some similarities with atypical mass stranding events linked in time and space to mid-frequency naval sonars, there were two important differences with the remaining strandings during this period. First, the geographical range of the event was very wide and second, the strandings occurred over a prolonged period of several months. Both of these factors could be related to the fact that the mortalities occurred offshore and the carcasses drifted ashore. The cause(s) of this high number of strandings of mixed offshore cetacean species during this period remain undetermined.

On 25 March 2008, a stranded Cuvier's beaked whale was discovered on the southern coast of the Moray Firth in north-east Scotland. Whilst strandings of the species are not uncommon in Scotland, the vast majority occur along the Atlantic coasts to the west of Scotland and Ireland. By comparison, records from the North Sea coast are notably absent, and this event is believed to be the first documented stranding of a Ziphius cavirostris from this mainland coastal region until now. Due to the severe state of decomposition of the specimen, no necropsy was made and therefore the cause of death could not be determined. However, this event may have been linked to a number of other beaked whale strandings in Scotland at this time. Whilst the North Sea region is considered to be an entrapment area for several species of oceanic whale, the Cuvier's beaked whale is rarely thought to travel far enough north to enter this trap. However, the phenology of these and other recent Cuvier's beaked whale strandings would suggest a possible northern range expansion for this species in UK waters, which may explain the increasing number of incidental events now being observed.

In a four year study of bottlenose dolphins along the southern shore of the outer Moray Firth we show that whilst dolphins were encountered along the majority of the survey area, there was a significant preference to the western section, which is the area directly adjacent to the current Special Area of Conservation (SAC). We also show that 80% of all groups encountered (N = 62) included calves, and that neonates were seen throughout the months of July, August, September and October. The mark–recapture abundance estimates for the southern outer Moray Firth were variable, with a highest annual estimate of 108 (95% CI = 79–129), which is similar to previous estimates for the number of animals using the entire Moray Firth. In contrast, the lowest annual estimate of 61 (95% CI = 48–74) suggests that not all individuals regularly use the entire geographical range of the population and that individual ranging patterns may vary across years. The findings of this study indicate that the southern outer Moray Firth is an important area for this population and that it should not simply be considered as a corridor to other areas of more importance. For this reason, we believe that further consideration of the current management of this population in areas outside the existing SAC is necessary.

The minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) is a widespread, opportunistic species showing spatial and seasonal variations in diet according to local availability of prey. Although previous research has been conducted on the foraging strategies of this small rorqual whale, in terms of prey aggregation and assimilation, relatively little has been published on the foraging association of this species with coastal seabirds. Over the past five years, minke whales occurring along the outer coastline of the southern Moray Firth in north-east Scotland during the summer and autumn months have been recorded foraging in the presence of seabirds, such as kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), herring gulls (Larus argentatus), guillemots (Uria aalge) and shearwaters, which form dense feeding rafts at the water's surface. The formation of bird rafts notably occurs independently of the presence of B. acutorostrata, believed instead to be the successive result of prey concentrated at the surface by predatory schooling fish from below rather than by activities of the whales themselves. In this area of the North Sea, schooling mackerel (Scomber scombrus) constitute the most significant component of the summer fish biomass and are believed to perform the role of compacting targeted sandeel (Ammodytes spp.) prey into concentrated bait balls almost exclusively. The resulting ball of prey is consequently available to the foraging whale, which can be seen opportunistically utilizing successive bird rafts rather than expending unnecessary energy corralling the Ammodytes prey by traditional, active entrapment methods. The role of the mackerel in increasing both the rate and density of sandeel ball formation (as indicated by the presence and activity of associated bird rafts) is therefore thought to be very significant in this inshore Scottish location. Changes in oceanographic variables such as water temperature have been directly correlated with the migration of S. scombrus. The observed inter-annual variability in B. acutorostrata distribution in the outer Moray Firth may subsequently be related to the respective distribution and abundance of these migratory, pelagic fish species.