Conservation Director, Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation
Department of Biodiversity, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska

E-mail: peter.mackelworth@blue-world.org
Web: http://www.famnit.upr.si/en/about-faculty/staff/peter.mackelworth/

Asst. Prof. Peter Mackelworth is a social scientist and conservation biologist with expertise in two main fields; the marine policy-research interface, with particular interest in human dimensions of conservation and decision-making; and, the legal, political and socio-economic process facilitating marine transboundary conservation, with particular interest in the use of soft law mechanisms to integrate with maritime spatial planning.

Education

• Ph.D. – University College London, Department of Geography. 2007. Dissertation title: Convergence of Marine Protected Area Policy with Common Pool Resource Theory, a Case Study: Lošinj Dolphin Reserve, Croatia.
• M.Sc. – Heriot-Watt University, Department of Offshore Engineering. 1998. Thesis title: A Review of the Factors Affecting the Proposed Cres-Lošinj Marine Park, with Particular Reference to the Recreational Diving Industry.
• B.Sc. - University of Wolverhampton, Department of Environmental Science. 1990.

Adjunct appointments

• University of Primorska, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, Koper, Slovenia
• Bowdoin College, Maine, U.S.

Classes taught

• Human Dimensions of Conservation (University of Primorska, Slovenia)
• Marine Protected Areas (University of Primorska, Slovenia)
• Marine Conservation Biology (University of Primorska, Slovenia)
• Marine Protected Areas: a Social Phenomenon (Bowdoin College, Maine, U.S.)

Selected references

Mackelworth, P., ed., (2016) Marine Transboundary Conservation and Protected Areas. Routledge, London and New York. Pp.314. ISBN: 978-1-13-885113-9.

Picciulin, M., Sebastianutto, L., Fortuna, C.M., Mackelworth, P., Holcer, D. & Rako Gospić, N. (2016). Are the 1/3-Octave Band 63-and 125-Hz Noise Levels Predictive of Vessel Activity? The Case in the Cres–Lošinj Archipelago (Northern Adriatic Sea, Croatia). The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life II, pp 821-828.

Katsanevakis, S., Levin, N., Coll, M., Giakoumi, S. Shkedig, D., Mackelworth, P., Levy, R., Velegrakis, A.,  Koutsoubas, D., Caric, H., Brokovich, E., Ozturk, B. & Kark, S. (2015) Marine conservation challenges in an era of economic crisis and geopolitical instability: The case of the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Policy, 51: 31-39.

Gaspari, S., Holcer, D., Mackelworth, P., Fortuna, C., Frantzis, A., Genov, T., Vighi, M., Natali, C., Rako, N., Banchi, E., Chelazzi, G. and Ciofi, C. (2015). Population genetic structure of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Adriatic Sea and contiguous regions: implications for international conservation. Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst., 25: 212–222.

Carić, H. & Mackelworth, P. (2014). Cruise tourism environmental impacts – the perspective from the Adriatic sea. Ocean and Coastal Management, 102: 350-363.

Batel, A., Basta, J. & Mackelworth, P. (2014). Valuing visitor willingness to pay for marine conservation – the case of the proposed Cres-Lošinj Marine Protected Area, Croatia. Ocean and Coastal Management, 95: 72-80.

Fortuna, C. M., Kell, L., Holcer, D., Canese, S., Filidei, E., Mackelworth, P., Donovan, G. (2014). Summer distribution and abundance of the giant devil ray (Mobula mobular) in the Adriatic Sea: baseline data for an iterative management framework. Scientia Marina, 78(2).

Mackelworth, P., Holcer, D.  & Fortuna, C.M. (2013). Unbalanced governance: the Cres-Lošinj Special Marine Reserve, a missed conservation opportunity. Marine Policy, 41: 126–133.

Mackelworth, P., Holcer, D. & Lazar, B. (2013). Using conservation as a tool to resolve conflict, establishing the Piran Savudrija International Marine Peace Park. Marine Policy 39: 112–119.

Becker, E., Pavlovic, A., Nemet, S. & Mackelworth, P. (2013). Legal Issues Concerning the Cres-Lošinj Marine Habitat and Protected Area Legislation in Croatia. Environs, UC Davis, Environmental Law and Policy Journal 37(1): 1-24.

Pleslić, G., Rako. N., Mackelworth, P., Wiemann, A., Holcer, D. & Fortuna, C. (2013). The abundance of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the former marine protected area of the Cres-Lošinj Archipelago. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 25: 125–137.

Micheli, F., Levin, N., Giakoumi, S., Katsanevakis, S., Abdulla, A., Coll, M., Fraschetti, S., Kark, S., Koutsoubas, D., Mackelworth, P., Maiorano, L. & Possingham, H. (2013). Setting priorities for regional conservation planning in the Mediterranean Sea. PLoS One, 04/2013; 8(4):e59038. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0059038.

Rako, N., Picciulin, M., Fortuna, C.M., Nimak-Wood, M., Mackelworth, P., Pleslić, G., Holcer, D., Wiemann, A., Sebastianutto, L. & Vilibić, I. (2013). Leisure boating noise as a trigger for the displacement of the bottlenose dolphins of the Cres-Lošinj archipelago (northern Adriatic Sea, Croatia). Marine Pollution Bulletin, 68(1–2): 77–84.

Holcer, D., Lazar, B., Mackelworth, P. & Fortuna, C.M. (2013). Rare or just unknown? The occurrence of the giant devil ray (Mobula mobular) in the Adriatic Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 29(1):138-144. Doi: 10.1111/jai.12034.

Mackelworth, P. (2012). Peace parks and transboundary initiatives: implications for marine conservation and spatial planning. Conservation Letters 5: 90-98.

Rako, N., Picculin, M., Mackelworth, P., Holcer, D. & Fortuna, C.M. (2012). Long-Term Monitoring of Anthropogenic Noise and Its Relationship to Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Distribution in the Cres–Lošinj Archipelago, Northern Adriatic, Croatia. In: Popper, A. & Hawkins, A. (eds.). The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 730, DOI 10.1007. Pp 323-325.

Mackelworth, P., Holcer, D., Jovanović, J. & Fortuna, C. (2011). Marine conservation and accession, the future for the Croatian Adriatic. Environmental Management, 47(4): 644-655.

Mackelworth, P. & Carić, H. (2010). Gatekeepers of Island Communities - Exploring the Pillars of Sustainable Development. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 12(4): 463-480.