IAN is committed to producing practical, user-centered communications that foster a better understanding of science and enable readers to pursue new opportunities in research, education, and environmental problem-solving. Our publications synthesize scientific findings using effective science communication techniques.

Groundwater resources at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park (Page 1)

Groundwater resources at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park

Tim Carruthers, Jane Hawkey, Rebecca Most ·
18 November 2010

The fragile natural and cultural resources such as anchianline pools, fishponds, and the nearshore marine areas are reliant to varying degrees on the groundwater that filters into Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. Excessive withdrawal of groundwater by development wells upslope and outside the park may threaten those resources with drying out and saltwater intrusion, thereby putting native plant and animals that live in those environments at risk. This brochure outlines these issues.

Read more

2009 Nanticoke River Report Card (Page 1)

2009 Nanticoke River Report Card

Sara Powell, Heath Kelsey ·
27 October 2010

The first comprehensive Nanticoke River Report Card shows good news, giving overall health of the river a "B-minus." The report card, based on data collected by volunteer Nanticoke Creekwatchers, is designed to help local residents better understand the health of the Nanticoke River. From April through November, more than 30 volunteers monitor water quality at 37 sites across the 725,000-acre watershed.

Read more

USS Arizona: once a site of human devastation, now a haven for marine life (Page 1)

USS Arizona: once a site of human devastation, now a haven for marine life

Jane Hawkey, Tim Carruthers, Tracey Saxby ·
18 October 2010

The National Park Services' World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument features the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. This poster, intended for visitor and school audiences alike, presents a side of the historic Memorial often overlooked: the artificial reef that the submerged wreck has become. Five aspects of this natural ecosystem are described.

Read more

Blue Crab Status Report (Page 1)

Blue Crab Status Report

Sara Powell, Heath Kelsey ·
12 October 2010

Blue crabs are one of the best-known and most celebrated symbols of the Chesapeake. Their populations in the Bay have hovered near historic lows for much of the last decade, but have recently begun to show signs of improvement. This newsletter reviews the current status of the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay as well as the management systems in place to monitor and protect this iconic species.

Read more

Economic incentives motivate human behavior change (Page 1)

Economic incentives motivate human behavior change

Jane Hawkey, Tim Carruthers ·
30 September 2010

Encouraging local marine resource users to adopt sustainable practices that conserve biodiversity and habitat is the challenge faced by all marine managed areas worldwide. Using three different approaches to motivating behavior changes, 27 case studies were selected for review. This newsletter focuses on the design and success of those approaches as they were employed in three locations: Morro Bay, California; Laguna San Ignacio, Mexico; and Kubulau, Fiji.

Read more

Adapting to climate change (Page 1)

Adapting to climate change

Jane Hawkey, Tim Carruthers ·
17 September 2010

This report represents the climate change vulnerability assessment project conducted by Conservation International in the Verde Island Passage in 2009. It reviews the multiple impacts that threaten the marine biodiversity of this area, while focusing in particular on climate change effects.

Read more

Adapting to climate change (Page 1)

Adapting to climate change

Jane Hawkey, Tim Carruthers ·
17 September 2010

This newsletter summarizes the report by the same name that represents the climate change vulnerability assessment project conducted by Conservation International in the Verde Island Passage in 2009. It reviews the multiple impacts that threaten the natural resources of this area, while focusing on climate change effects in particular.

Read more

MMAs: What, why, and where (Page 1)

MMAs: What, why, and where

Orbach M, Bunce Karrer L ·
13 September 2010

One approach to the development of better coastal and marine policy and management is the concept of marine managed areas (MMAs). A MMA is an area of ocean, or a combination of land and ocean, where all human activities are managed toward common goals. MMAs are a form of ecosystem-based management, where all elements—biophysical, human, and institutional—of a particular system are considered together. This document describes what MMAs are, why they are important, and where they are implemented.

Read more