Dear Colleagues, My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the publication of the following article in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK: Mariel T.I. ten Doeschate, Andrew C. Brownlow, Nicholas J. Davison, and Paul M. Thompson *Dead useful; methods for quantifying baseline variability in stranding rates to improve the ecological value of the strandings record as a monitoring tool. *JMBA. doi:10.1017/S0025315417000698 *ABSTRACT: **The ecological value of the stranding record is often challenged due to the complexity in quantifying the biases associated with multiple components of the stranding process. There are biological, physical and social aspects that complicate the interpretation of stranding data particularly at a population level. We show how examination of baseline variability in the historic stranding record can provide useful insights into temporal trends* *and facilitate the detection of unusual variability in stranding rates. Seasonal variability was examined using harbour porpoise strandings between 1992 and 2014 on the east coast of Scotland. Generalised Additive Mixed modelling revealed a strong seasonal pattern, with numbers increasing from February towards a peak in April. Profiling seasonality this way facilitates detection of unusual elevations in stranding frequencies. With this study we aim to demonstrate that a described baseline in strandings allows the detection of abnormalities at an early stage. This methodology thereby provides means to quantify and partition the variability associated with strandings data and is a useful first step towards improving the stranding record as a management resource.* If you would like a PDF of this article or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on marielten.doeschate@sac.co.uk or marieltdoeschate@gmail.com Cheers, *Mariel ten Doeschate *Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme SRUC Veterinary Services Inverness IV2 4JZ +44 (0) 7990513589 www.strandings.org