Sightings of minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata were recorded in waters off the Isle of Mull between March and November each year from 1992 to 1999. Survey effort amounted to 42 342.5 km, and 850 minke whale encounters were recorded. Data were analysed in relation to undersea topography and seabed sediment type using multiple logistic regression. The effect of potential minke whale prey distribution was inferred from maps predicting suitable habitats for the lesser sandeel Ammodytes marinus and herring Clupea harengus constructed using a Geographical Information System (GIS). Whale distribution changed with season, and this may be a response to a shift in prey preferences. In spring, sediment type was a significant predictor of whale presence and sightings predominated over mixtures of gravel/sand seabed sediments. This distribution closely matched that of the sandeel, which is dependent on suitable winter settlement grounds. Throughout summer, the distribution of the minke whale underwent considerable change. In June, minke whales were predominately distributed over the sandeel habitat, but in July they dispersed to the predicted pre-spawning herring habitat, clustering in that area by August. In the waters around Mull, shifts in prey distribution and abundance occur between March and November and are the most likely factor governing the distribution and abundance of the minke whale.KEY WORDS: Minke whale · Bathymetry · Seabed sediment · Herring · Sandeel · Geographical Information SystemResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

Using large-scale market survey data from 1989 and 1995, the authors examine the distinguishing characteristics of Japanese package tourists in comparison to nonpackage tourists. While there is a decline in package tourism for Japanese overseas tourists, there are many attributes of the package tourist that suggest the continuing demand for this form of travel.

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In North America, competition for land in urban localities has often been considered as driven by growth machines (Logan and Molotch, 1987;Molotch, 1976;. According to this concept, those who stand to gain directly as landowners, speculators, or investors form local growth coalitions with service providers (such as realtors, bankers, and local media) to promote overall growth (Canan and Hennessy, 1989). These local growth elites play a major role in supporting local politicians, who also view growth as a key function of local government. As Logan and Molotch (1987) point out, the political autonomy of place and the land-use planning power this entails provides a key institutional underpinning which supports the growth machine. However, this power results in the uneven distribution of growth benefits within the community (Green, 1995).In response to global economic and political restructuring, local economic development has now become the arena for many development decisions at the local level. This has led to increased place competition between localities and the emergence of various forms of coalition (Cox and Mair, 1988;Keating, 1993), including public^privatesector partnerships (Jacobs, 1995;Pierre, 1995), to enhance growth opportunities. At the same time, public participation in planning has become accepted practice, offering a formal arena for public input into development processes. Under these changed circumstances growth machines are undergoing transformation (Molotch, 1993), as economic imperatives in land-use decisionmaking are moderated by social and environmental considerations. In recent years, the inequitable benefits of unbridled urban growth have been challenged in some places with the introduction of growth-management practices which offer a`guidance system' to implement a desirable community vision by attempting to capture the benefits of growth while mitigating the consequences (Chapin and Kaiser, 1979). Here, local residents gain influence as a new governance structure is established and services and infrastructure required by local residents emerge.This purpose of this paper is to illustrate how the concepts of the growth machine and growth management apply (and are extended by this application) to resort settings