21.   Scientists worry about the declining numbers of otters, and the quality of the natural world to which these otters return.

22.   Soaring health care costs and declining numbers of new members have presented a bleak financial forecast for U.S. religious orders.

23.   Such a steady pace will be enough to employ the declining number of people entering the job market, experts say.

24.   The declining number of young people choosing to enter the profession and an increasingly graying population are headed for a demographic collision, the report concludes.

25.   The declining numbers of people receiving the sacrament is only part of the change.

26.   The declining number of American newspapers is an old story.

27.   The declining number of welfare recipients is only temporary, they say, the result of a robust economy.

28.   The dramatic increase comes after a decade of declining numbers.

29.   The company says it is losing money on the cards because of the declining number of people on welfare.

30.   The declining numbers in Los Angeles mirror nationwide improvements in child safety.