The access and benefit sharing (ABS) concept was originally intended to promote the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of biological resources and traditional knowledge for research and development (R and D). Many anecdotal studies suggest that global regulatory models are failing to deliver expected outcomes, with increasing calls to rethink ABS governance. Through the first nationwide survey of Australian scientists, this article aims to fill a significant gap in empirical research about biological resource user perspectives on the effectiveness of ABS regulation. The survey results include insights into: (a) the nature and diversity of bioscience activities; (b) bioscience researcher engagement with benefit sharing and ABS procedures; (c) perspectives of effectiveness (impacts and efficiency); and (d) ideas for regulatory reform. The study finds that participants support benefit sharing goals but generally perceive current approaches to ABS to be ineffective. Highlighting a thriving benefit sharing culture in R and D but low levels of engagement with ABS processes, the study reveals insights into motivations for benefit sharing and indicators of effectiveness for regulatory regimes. The findings offer lessons for countries that are developing ABS measures to achieve conservation, sustainable use, and equity outcomes.

Jellyfish blooms pose significant challenges to net-based fisheries, causing economic losses and operational difficulties. This study reviews existing strategies and proposes novel methods for mitigating jellyfish for netbased fisheries. A systematic literature search identified 35 publications that specifically discussed jellyfish mitigation for net-based fisheries, which were categorised into coping, adapting, and transforming strategies. Coping strategies include relocating vessels to avoid jellyfish; manually removing jellyfish bycatch and repairing fishing gear; government subsidies; and processing facilities imposing financial penalties when receiving catches contaminated with jellyfish. Adapting strategies involve the use of Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRDs), reconfiguring nets, and using predictive models to provide advanced warnings of jellyfish blooms. Transformative strategies encompass attempts to remove medusae and jellyfish polyps from the environment and pivoting fisheries to harvest jellyfish. Most methods used by fishers to mitigate jellyfish have remained largely unchanged for many decades. Technological advancements, such as intelligent nets and real-time monitoring, however, are beginning to offer innovative solutions but may be prohibitively expensive for small-scale fisheries. The study highlights the need for collaboration among stakeholders to develop sustainable jellyfish mitigation strategies; and to resolve and forecast the causes of jellyfish blooms.

Jellyfish provide essential ecosystem services and some are commercially valuable but, when abundant, they can negatively impact human health and enterprise. Long-term monitoring of jellyfish populations is needed to better understand their population dynamics and potentially mitigate their impacts. We reviewed jellyfish monitoring programs worldwide to 1) identify how, where, and which types of jellyfish are monitored, the spatial scales and durations of the programs, and the types of data collected, and 2) develop a guide for designing fit-for-purpose jellyfish monitoring programs. The 95 programs identified focused primarily on Scyphozoa and Hydrozoa taxa and were categorised as plankton surveys, fisheries surveys, citizen science, Ships of Opportunity, beach stranding surveys, dock counts, and sting records. There was a geographic bias towards monitoring jellyfish in Europe, the United States, Asia, and Australia, and citizen science programs were heavily concentrated in the Mediterranean Sea. The spatial scales of the programs encompassed point source (e.g. dock counts) to 300,000 km2 and 82 % of programs had monitored jellyfish for >10 years. Most programs (76 %) collected quantitative data. To design fit-for-purpose jellyfish monitoring programs, researchers and managers need to balance the requirement to collect data at spatial and temporal scales appropriate for addressing their research questions, with the logistical constraints associated with managing and paying for the program in the long-term.

Given the rising global use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by professional sport organisations, this paper acts to consolidate the state of scholarly research using a systematic quantitative literature review. Our aim was to critically analyse the literature on CSR and professional sport organisations and in doing so ask, how is the global research at the nexus of sport and CSR poised to deliver social good? Our findings indicate the presence of variability in approaches to investigating CSR in professional sport, and the lack of discrete reporting of target audiences and initiatives evidenced across our sample. We suggest there is potential to learn from other disciplinary approaches to CSR research and to push towards conceptual clarity. Finally, sport organisations can lever sports' unique qualities to deliver, engage and unite people across a range of boundaries, and to promote and create social value which is even more important as we navigate the post-COVID-19 environment of uncertainty and resource constraints.

Increasing global wildfire frequency and intensity due to climate change has led to increasing use of fire-fighting chemicals (FFCs). While there is information relating to the environmental impacts of these FFCs in some regions, to date, there is little information on the impacts of FFCs on native fauna species and ecosystems in an extremely fire-prone country, Australia. We elicited input from a national-level interdisciplinary cohort of experts in fire research and management to identify fundamental gaps in knowledge and research priorities in the use and ecological impacts of FFCs in Australia. We used an anonymized online survey consisting of 21 close-ended, Likert-style and open-ended questions to collect expert opinion on the impacts and management of fire in Australia, focusing on the key knowledge gaps and research priorities relating to FFC use. Knowledge gaps and research priorities were identified in the areas of (1) the different types of FFCs recommended for use in Australia, (2) short and long-term effects of FFCs on fauna species and ecosystems, particularly in aquatic systems, and (3) interactions between FFCs and other environmental stressors. Addressing these knowledge gaps and research priorities will provide scientific-based evidence and recommendations for FFC use to inform future fire management practice and policy in Australia and can guide similar approaches in other countries requiring extensive FFC use for wildfire management.

Abstract The use of wildlife imagery in society is highly varied and could contribute to reinforcing national identity. Standard depictions of wildlife include photographs, video, artwork and symbols or icons, including on currency. We investigated the representation of native fauna on 4541 banknotes from 207 countries between 1980 and 2017, to identify geographic hotspots and taxonomic patterns and determine whether threatened and endemic species were more readily represented. Native fauna was depicted on 15.2% of banknotes reviewed (352 unique species) with a strong bias towards terrestrial species (89%) and a dominance of bird and mammal species (83% combined). African banknotes had the highest mammal representation while birds were favoured in South America. Globally, threatened species were commonly depicted on banknotes with 30% of all imagery representing these species. The fauna species depicted on banknotes generally perpetuate existing perceptions about these species (i.e., charismatic species). We recommend several avenues for further investigation to explore relationships between perceived value and wildlife representation. These include longitudinal studies of how representation changes over time, the inclusion of flora and/or coin imagery, identifying species‐specific traits for selected wildlife and examining the decision‐making processes governing wildlife imagery on banknotes. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Seagrasses increase sediment complexity by trapping particulates and influencing biogeochemical cycles via root oxygen loss and organic matter exudation. However, their impact on trace metal sequestration is poorly studied. We found significantly higher trace metal concentrations in seagrass sediments compared to adjacent bare sediments, correlating with total organic carbon, iron, and fine sediments. Sequential extractions showed that most trace metals were dominated by recalcitrant fractions (oxidizable and residual fractions), representing phases such as organic matter, iron sulfides, and crystalline iron oxides. Depth-dependent trends in trace metal partitioning were evident. For example, arsenic in the oxidizable fraction only weakly correlated with Fe in surface sediments (rsp = 0.55) but correlated strongly in deeper sediments (rsp = 0.87), consistent with iron sulfides being a dominant host-phase. Overall, these results suggest that the unique geochemical conditions facilitated by seagrasses play an important role in sequestering trace metals in urban estuarine sediments.

In higher education, the role of assessment has evolved from serving only the purpose of evaluation of the outcomes of the learning process to assessment as part of the learning purposes. Summative or formative, the potential of assessment to facilitate learning is now recognised. Feedback is one of the most influential factors on learning but is also one of the least satisfactory elements of the student experience. How has interest in, understanding of, and implementation of feedback changed over time? What are the general characteristics of feedback implementation found in literature? To what productive directions might future research feedback on assessment take? To gain these insights, a systematic quantitative review of literature on feedback on written assessment in higher education was undertaken, revealing that feedback as a field of inquiry, despite burgeoning interest, remains nascent, mostly ‘stuck in old ways'.

In higher education, the role of assessment has evolved from serving only the purpose of evaluation of the outcomes of the learning process to assessment as part of the learning purposes. Summative or formative, the potential of assessment to facilitate learning is now recognised. Feedback is one of the most influential factors on learning but is also one of the least satisfactory elements of the student experience. How has interest in, understanding of, and implementation of feedback changed over time? What are the general characteristics of feedback implementation found in literature? To what productive directions might future research feedback on assessment take? To gain these insights, a systematic quantitative review of literature on feedback on written assessment in higher education was undertaken, revealing that feedback as a field of inquiry, despite burgeoning interest, remains nascent, mostly 'stuck in old ways'.

Context Skinks comprise the dominant component of the terrestrial vertebrate fauna in Oceania, New Guinea, and Eastern Wallacea (ONGEW). However, knowledge of their diversity is incomplete, and their conservation needs are poorly understood. Aims To explore the diversity and threat status of the skinks of ONGEW and identify knowledge gaps and conservation needs. Methods We compiled a list of all skink species occurring in the region and their threat categories designated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. We used available genetic sequences deposited in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s GenBank to generate a phylogeny of the region’s skinks. We then assessed their diversity within geographical sub-divisions and compared to other reptile taxa in the region. Key results Approximately 300 species of skinks occur in ONGEW, making it the second largest global hotspot of skink diversity following Australia. Many phylogenetic relationships remain unresolved, and many species and genera are in need of taxonomic revision. One in five species are threatened with extinction, a higher proportion than almost all reptile families in the region. Conclusions ONGEW contain a large proportion of global skink diversity on <1% of the Earth’s landmass. Many are endemic and face risks such as habitat loss and invasive predators. Yet, little is known about them, and many species require taxonomic revision and threat level re-assessment. Implications The skinks of ONGEW are a diverse yet underexplored group of terrestrial vertebrates, with many species likely facing extreme risks in the near future. Further research is needed to understand the threats they face and how to protect them.

Seagrasses provide crucial ecosystem services in the coastal environment, but are under increasing threat associated with anthropogenic activities. Seagrass meadows effectively trap suspended sediment, a key vector for trace metal transport, by altering local hydrodynamic conditions around their leaves and stems. As a result, seagrass meadows often have different geochemical sediment characteristics compared to adjacent bare sediments and may accumulate higher concentrations of trace metals. The aim of this systematic review was to identify research trends and knowledge gaps in the relationships between metals and seagrasses. The systematic search of the literature identified a total of 191 relevant articles. Although seagrasses have a broad geographic distribution, the highest diversity and endemism exists in the Indo-Pacific region, yet most studies (40%) were conducted in the Mediterranean Sea. There were also taxonomic gaps with some common species groups, including Amphibolis and Thalassodendron spp., being poorly studied. The reviewed studies examined the relationship between seagrass and 39 metal elements. There were no studies examining rare-earth elements (REEs) or platinum-group elements (PGEs), both of which are critical classes of metals in emerging technologies. Furthermore, the review determined that all 191 studies focused on the impact of metals on seagrasses, while only six also considered the effect of seagrasses on metal geochemistry in sediments. We conclude that further research is necessary to address these key gaps in knowledge to better understand the role(s) of seagrasses in the distribution, immobilization, and release of trace metals in coastal ecosystems.