Stakeholder engagement in the processes of planning local adaptation to climate change faces many challenges. The goal of this work was to explore whether or not the intention of engaging could be understood (Study 1) and promoted (Study 2), by using an extension of the theory of planned behaviour. In Study 1, stakeholders from three European Mediterranean case studies were surveyed: Baixo Vouga Lagunar (Portugal), SCOT Provence Méditerranée (France), and the island of Crete (Greece) (N = 115). Stakeholders' intention of engaging was significantly predicted by subjective norm (which was predicted by injunctive normative beliefs towards policy-makers and stakeholders) and by perceived behavioural control (which was predicted by knowledge of policy and instruments). Study 2 was conducted in the Baixo Vouga Lagunar case study and consisted of a two-workshop intervention where issues on local and regional adaptation, policies, and engagement were presented and discussed. A within-participants comparison of initial survey results with results following the workshops (NT1 = 12, NT2 = 15, NT3 = 12) indicated that these were successful in increasing stakeholders' intention of engaging. This increase was paired with a) an increase in injunctive normative beliefs towards policy-makers and consequently in subjective norm, and to b) a decrease in perceived complexity of planning local adaptation and an increase in knowledge regarding adaptation to climate change.

Lipid-soluble arsenicals, so called arsenolipids, occur in appreciable quantities in various marine organisms including fish. In this study, arsenolipids as well water-soluble arsenic species were investigated in brain (9.1–17.4 mg As per kg; dry mass) and muscle (4.0–5.8 mg As per kg; dry mass) tissues in five specimens of the marine fish skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis). For this purpose, we developed a sequential extraction method whereby the freeze-dried tissue was first treated with pyridine (organic extract) followed by aqueous ammonium bicarbonate (water extract) to extract arsenolipids and water-soluble species, respectively. When the method was applied to the tuna tissues, the arsenic distribution for brain was 55% (organic extract), 30% (water extract) and 15% (pellet), whereas for muscle tissue the corresponding values were 20%, 55%, and 25%. Arsenic species in water and organic extracts of muscle and brain tissues were investigated by HPLC/mass spectrometry. For both tissues, the water extracts contained arsenobetaine as the major arsenic species together with small amounts of dimethylarsinate and trimethylarsine oxide; trace amounts of dimethylarsinoyl propionic acid were found only in brain tissues. Arsenic-containing hydrocarbons (AsHCs), were the major arsenolipids in both tuna brain and muscle. The arsenolipid content in brain ranged from 3.8–5.9 mg As per kg, whereas it was substantially lower in muscle (0.3–0.8 mg As per kg) reflecting arsenolipids' potential to cross the blood brain barrier and accumulate in the fish brain.

Environmental context: Although arsenic-containing lipids are widespread in marine environments, their origin remains unknown. We show that the arsenolipids in a filter-feeding bivalve mollusc closely match those found in marine food sources, including unicellular algae and bacteria. The results demonstrate the role of lower trophic levels in determining the forms of arsenic found in higher organisms. Arsenic-containing lipids, arsenolipids, are widely found among marine organisms, but their origin and possible biochemical roles remain unknown This work describes the diversity and abundance of arsenolipids in the digestive gland and mantle of nine specimens of the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis. By using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to both elemental and high-resolution molecular mass spectrometry, we identified 36 arsenolipids including arsenic derivatives of fatty acids, hydrocarbons, sugar-phospholipids and sugar-phytol; 21 of these arsenolipids were identified for the first time and included a new group comprising ether-phospholipids. The arsenic compounds in the mussels show distinct profiles depending on the tissue type, which provide insight into the arsenolipid origin. The results suggest that the presence of some arsenolipids in the mussels is from direct uptake of the compounds, presumably from food, rather than biogenesis within the mussels.