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Up to 50% of autistic people experience co-occurring anxiety, which significantly impacts their quality of life. Consequently, developing new interventions (and/ or adapting existing ones) that improve anxiety has been indicated as a priority for clinical research and practice by the autistic community. Despite this, there are very few effective, evidence-based therapies available to autistic people that target anxiety; and those that are available (e.g., autism adapted Cognitive Behavioural Therapy; CBT) can be challenging to access. Thus, the current study will provide an early-stage proof of concept for the feasibility and acceptability of a novel app-based therapeutic approach that has been developed with, and adapted for, autistic people to support them in managing anxiety using UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended adapted CBT approaches. This paper describes the design and methodology of an ethically approved (22/LO/0291) ongoing non-randomised pilot trial that aims to enrol approximately 100 participants aged >=16-years with an existing autism diagnosis and mild-to-severe self-reported anxiety symptoms (trial registration NCT05302167). Participants will be invited to engage with a self-guided app-based intervention—‘Molehill Mountain’. Primary (Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and secondary outcomes (medication/ service use and Goal Attainment Scaling) will be assessed at baseline (Week 2 +/- 2), endpoint (Week 15 +/- 2) and three follow-ups (Weeks 24, 32 and 41 +/- 4). Participants will also be invited to complete an app acceptability survey/ interview at the study endpoint. Analyses will address: 1) app acceptability/ useability and feasibility (via survey/ interview and app usage data); and 2) target population, performance of outcome measures and ideal timing/ duration of intervention (via primary/ secondary outcome measures and survey/ interview)–with both objectives further informed by a dedicated stakeholder advisory group. The evidence from this study will inform the future optimisation and implementation of Molehill Mountain in a randomised-controlled trial, to provide a novel tool that can be accessed easily by autistic adults and may improve mental health outcomes., This study received funding from the MRC Confidence in Concept award 2019 (1118148) - awarded to BO, ES. DM, ES, BO report grants during the conduct of (but unrelated to) this study from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 777394 for the project AIMS-2-TRIALS. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA and SFARI, Autistica, Autism Speaks. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, MRC, nor IHI-JU2. The funders had no role in the conceptualisation of this study, nor the development of this publication.

The assessment of the cumulative impacts of multiple human activities is an increasingly important yet complex part of managing the marine environment. Despite this, as yet, there is no consistent approach to considering these in assessments and/or management (e.g. environmental impact assessment, marine spatial planning). Current and previous approaches to the assessment of cumulative impacts have limitations and shortcomings e.g. double counting of impacts or avoiding, complicating and confounding impacts, which need to be addressed to allow for pragmatic decisions to be made. Here, an innovative, practical approach to marine CIA is presented that considers the three dimensional nature of the marine environment, and the spatial and temporal effects-footprints likely to occur during the lifetime of a development. The new approach is tested within a GIS platform and shows an effective visual representation for decision makers, managers and policy makers on which to base their decisions. While showing potential, the approach indicates the need to incorporate temporal data and assessing temporal trends. Despite this limitation, the tool markedly improves on previous approaches due to the national and practical application, and the incorporation of 3D nature of pressures and receptors.

1. Connectivity of marine populations and ecosystems is crucial to maintaining and enhancing their structure, distribution, persistence, resilience and productivity. Artificial hard substrate, such as that associated with oil and gas platforms, provides settlement opportunities for species adapted to hard substrates in areas of soft sediment. The contribution of artificial hard substrate and the consequences of its removal (e.g. through decommissioning) to marine connectivity is not clear, yet such information is vital to inform marine spatial planning and future policy decisions on the use and protection of marine resources. 2. This study demonstrates the application of a social network analysis approach to quantify and describe the ecological connectivity, informed by particle tracking model outputs, of hard substrate marine communities in the North Sea. Through comparison of networks with and without artificial hard substrate, and based on hypothetical decommissioning scenarios, this study provides insight into the contribution of artificial hard substrate, and the consequence of decommissioning, to the structure and function of marine community connectivity. 3. This study highlights that artificial hard substrate, despite providing only a small proportion of the total area of hard substrate, increases the geographic extent and connectivity of the hard substrate network, bridging gaps, thereby providing ‘stepping stones’ between otherwise disconnected areas of natural hard substrate. Compared to the baseline scenario, a decommissioning scenario with full removal of oil and gas platforms results in a nearly 60% reduction in connectivity. Such reduction in connectivity may have negative implications for species’ distribution, gene flow and resilience following disturbance or exploitation of marine hard substrate communities. 4. Synthesis and applications. Social network analysis can provide valuable insight into connectivity between marine communities and enable the evaluation of impacts associated with changes to the marine environment. Providing standardized, transparent and robust outputs, such a tool is useful to facilitate understanding across different disciplines, including marine science, marine spatial planning and marine policy. Social network analysis therefore has great potential to address current knowledge gaps with respect to marine connectivity and crucially facilitate assessment of the impacts of changes in offshore substrate as part of the marine spatial planning process, thereby informing policy and marine management decisions.

The marine environment is a complex system, and with growing human demand, the sustainable use of multiple marine resources is continually challenged. The increasing complexity of overlapping marine activities causes pressures on the environment. Here, we review the fundamental aspects for effective marine management, particularly the role of science and scientific evidence to inform marine policy and decision making. The outcomes of internal expert workshops were used to analyse currently applied marine management practices in the UK using four marine sectors in English waters based on the expertise: environmental impact assessments; dredge and disposal operations; marine protected areas; and offshore renewable energy. Strengths, weaknesses, and commonalities between these sectors were assessed in terms of their effectiveness for marine management. Finally, we make recommendations based on the outputs to better inform effective yet sustainable marine management. The importance of increasing accessibility to data, hypothesis-driven environmental monitoring, streamlining funding opportunities and ensuring effective dissemination of data to ensure scientific outcomes and achieve increased robustness of assessments is emphasised. We also recommend that assessment drivers align with the outputs and approaches should be holistic and engage with the public to ensure a shared understanding and vision.

Exploring the origins of the Ecosystem Approach and Natural Capital Accounting and considering the core elements we recommend a simple schema to both demonstrate the similarities in the core data and approach and help facilitate collaborative and integrated analyses by natural scientists, social scientists and economists. Using the unifying framework of Drivers, Activities, Pressures, State, Impact, Welfare, Response and Measures we propose that the requisite steps and underlying data to assess environmental status or natural capital status are broadly the same and that efficiency, transparency and utility of assessments will be improved if these concepts converge.

The term “cumulative effects assessment” is frequently used yet the underlying principles and definitions are poorly specified. Consequently, there is no consistency or standardisation in approaches leaving marine managers and developers perplexed on how best to discharge their legal obligations to undertake cumulative effects assessment. This paper explores some of the origins of the terminology and re-interprets how these may best be applied to standardise the vocabulary and approaches to cumulative effects assessment. We define cumulative effects assessment as a systematic procedure for identifying and evaluating the significance of effects from multiple sources/activities and for providing an estimate on the overall expected impact to inform management measures. The analysis of the causes (source of pressures and effects), pathways and consequences of these effects on receptors is an essential and integral part of the process. Environmental risk assessment concepts, in particular sound problem formulation, have been used to provide a clear structure for cumulative effects assessment. We recommend that risk screening, prioritisation and evaluation should be a critical component of cumulative effects assessment to facilitate a filtering of the complex issues for consideration of the likelihood of exposure of receptors to pressures and the likelihood of a receptor responding to those pressures. This paper is intended to provide practical assistance to marine environmental impact assessment practitioners, marine environmental regulators and policy makers.

Our oceans are heavily utilized by a wide variety of human activities that exert pressures which negatively impact marine ecosystems, occasionally leading to unsustainable rates of exploitation. A linkage framework approach can be used to make independent associations between sectors, activities, and the pressures they introduce. However, in reality, many different sectors and their associated activities overlap in time and space, potentially changing the severity of their impact as pressures combine, and undermine the efforts of environmental managers to mitigate the harmful effects of those activities. Here, we present a spatially resolved approach to assess the potential for combined effects using a linkage framework assessment. Using illustrative examples from the Northeast Atlantic, we show the likelihood of changes in pressure severity as a result of multiple overlapping activities. Management options to limit pressure introduction are explored and their benefit—measured as a reduction in the area of seabed impacted—assessed. In its simplest form, the approach can be used to develop potential precautionary management options in areas where data availability is poor and more comprehensive management measures where data are more widely available.

Monitoring and mitigation reports from 19 UK and 9 other European Union (EU) offshore wind farm (OWF) developments were reviewed, providing a synthesis of the evidence associated with the observed environmental impact on marine mammals. UK licensing conditions were largely concerned with mitigation measures reducing the risk of physical and auditory injury from pile driving. At the other EU sites, impact monitoring was conducted along with mitigation measures. Noise-mitigation measures were developed and tested in UK and German waters in German government-financed projects. We highlight some of the review’s findings and lessons learned with regard to noise impact on marine mammals.

Monitoring and mitigation reports from 19 UK and 9 other European Union (EU) offshore wind farm (OWF) developments were reviewed, providing a synthesis of the evidence associated with the observed environmental impact on marine mammals. UK licensing conditions were largely concerned with mitigation measures reducing the risk of physical and auditory injury from pile driving. At the other EU sites, impact monitoring was conducted along with mitigation measures. Noise-mitigation measures were developed and tested in UK and German waters in German government-financed projects. We highlight some of the review's findings and lessons learned with regard to noise impact on marine mammals.

(2008). POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF OFFSHORE WIND FARM NOISE ON FISH. Bioacoustics: Vol. 17, No. 1-3, pp. 221-223.

Global energy demand continues to grow and tidal and wave energy generation devices can provide a significant source of renewable energy. Technological developments in offshore engineering and the rising cost of traditional energy means that offshore energy resources will be economic in the next few years. While there is now a growing body of data on the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms, the scientific basis on which to make informed decisions about the environmental effects of other offshore energy developments is lacking. Tidal barrages have the potential to cause significant ecological impacts particularly on bird feeding areas when they are constructed at coastal estuaries or bays. Offshore tidal stream energy and wave energy collectors offer the scope for developments at varying scales. They also have the potential to alter habitats. A diversity of designs exist, including floating, mid-water column and seabed mounted devices, with a variety of moving-part configurations resulting in a unique complex of potential environmental effects for each device type, which are discussed to the extent possible.