The role the Great Barrier Reef plays in resident wellbeing and implications for its management

Improvements in human wellbeing are dependent on improving ecosystems. Such considerations are particularly pertinent for regions of high ecological, but also social and cultural importance that are facing rapid change. One such region is the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Although the GBR has world heritage status for its ‘outstanding universal value’, little is known about resident perceptions of its values. We surveyed 1545 residents, finding that absence of visible rubbish; healthy reef fish, coral cover, and mangroves; and iconic marine species, are considered to be more important to quality of life than the jobs and incomes associated with industry (most respondents were dissatisfied with the benefits they received from industry). Highly educated females placed more importance on environmental non-use values than other respondents; less educated males and those employed in mining found non-market use-values relatively more important. Environmental non-use values emerged as the most important management priority for all.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0554-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Importance of dispersal routes that minimize open‐ocean movement to the genetic structure of island populations

Islands present a unique scenario in conservation biology, offering refuge yet imposing limitations on insular populations. The Kimberley region of northwestern Australia has more than 2500 islands that have recently come into focus as substantial conservation resources. It is therefore of great interest for managers to understand the driving forces of genetic structure of species within these island archipelagos. We used the ubiquitous bar‐shouldered skink (Ctenotus inornatus) as a model species to represent the influence of landscape factors on genetic structure across the Kimberley islands. On 41 islands and 4 mainland locations in a remote area of Australia, we genotyped individuals across 18 nuclear (microsatellite) markers. Measures of genetic differentiation and diversity were used in two complementary analyses. We used circuit theory and Mantel tests to examine the influence of the landscape matrix on population connectivity and linear regression and model selection based on Akaike's information criterion to investigate landscape controls on genetic diversity. Genetic differentiation between islands was best predicted with circuit‐theory models that accounted for the large difference in resistance to dispersal between land and ocean. In contrast, straight‐line distances were unrelated to either resistance distances or genetic differentiation. Instead, connectivity was determined by island‐hopping routes that allow organisms to minimize the distance of difficult ocean passages. Island populations of C. inornatus retained varying degrees of genetic diversity (N_A = 1.83 – 7.39), but it was greatest on islands closer to the mainland, in terms of resistance‐distance units. In contrast, genetic diversity was unrelated to island size. Our results highlight the potential for islands to contribute to both theoretical and applied conservation, provide strong evidence of the driving forces of population structure within undisturbed landscapes, and identify the islands most valuable for conservation based on their contributions to gene flow and genetic diversity.     

Risk communication and sustainability science: lessons from the field

Sustainability science aims to help societies across the globe address the increased environmental and health crises and risks that range from poverty to climate change to health pandemics. With the increased magnitude and frequency of these large-scale risks to different societies, scientists and institutions have increasingly recognized the need for improved communication and collaboration among researchers, governments, businesses, and communities. This article argues that risk communication has fundamentally important contributions to make to sustainability science’s mission to create use-inspired, “actionable science” that can lead to solutions. Risk communication research can advance the mission of sustainability science to engage a wide range of stakeholders. This kind of engagement is especially important in the context of addressing sustainability problems that are characterized by high levels of uncertainty and complexity. We introduce three core tenets of risk communication research that are fundamental to advancing sustainability science. Risk communication specifically offers an increased understanding of how system feedbacks, human perceptions, and levels of uncertainty influence the study and design of solutions within social ecological systems.     

Interdependence of ecological risk and economic profit in the exploitation of renewable resources

A new stochastic optimal control approach is introduced which quantifies the risk of extinction of a population associated with its optimal exploitation. In addition the maximization of the profit can be performed subject to the constraint that the mentioned risk does not exceed a given limit. As a first example for this general method an exponentially growing population is investigated. The interdependence of the risk and the profit is discussed. This model reveals the possibility of reducing the risk considerably without a substantial decrease of profit.     

A contact anti-aphrodisiac pheromone supplied by the spermatophore in the rove beetle Aleochara curtula: mode of transfer and evolutionary significance

By reducing the attractiveness of their mating partner via an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone, males can prevent a remating of the female and thus reduce the risk of sperm competition. For females, the main benefit from allowing the chemical manipulation of their attractiveness is probably the avoidance of sexual harassments from rival males. While mating plugs generally constitute a physical barrier which hinders male mating attempts, chemical manipulations must trustfully inform the responding male of the female's reluctance to mate; otherwise, it would be beneficial to ignore the repellent information. In our experiments, males of the polyandrous rove beetle Aleochara curtula chemically manipulated the attractiveness of their mating partner. Coincident with the deposition of a spermatophore into the female genital chamber, an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone was transferred and readily spread onto the female surface, where it was subsequently perceived by rival males via parameres, the claspers of the male genitalia. Males aborted contact with the mated female to avoid further time- and energy-consuming elements of the mating sequence. The chemical mode of action was demonstrated inter alia by spicing virgin females with spermatophore extracts. The action of the anti-aphrodisiac correlated with the persistence of the spermatophore in the female genital chamber and corresponded to the length of stay of the mated female at a carcass, where the density of rival males is highest. The ensuing benefits for all three parties involved in this communication system, which render this post-copulatory mate guarding strategy evolutionary stable, are discussed.     

Short-term variability and control of phytoplankton photosynthetic activity in a macrotidal ecosystem (the Strait of Dover, eastern English Channel)

Short-term changes in phytoplankton photosynthetic activity were studied during different periods of the years 2009 and 2010 in the coastal waters of a macrotidal ecosystem (the Strait of Dover, eastern English Channel). During each sampling period, samples were taken every 1.45 h., from sunrise to sunset, during at least 5 days distributed along a complete spring–neap tide cycle. The photosynthetic parameters were obtained by measuring rapid light curves using pulse amplitude modulated fluorometry and were related to environmental conditions and phytoplankton taxonomic composition. The maximum quantum yield (F _v/F _m) showed clear light-dependent changes and could vary from physiological maxima (0.68–0.60) to values close to 0.30 during the course of 1 day, suggesting the operation of photoprotective mechanisms. The maximum electron transport rate (ETR_m) and maximal light utilization efficiency (α) were generally positively correlated and showed large diel variability. These parameters fluctuated significantly from hour to hour within each day and the intraday pattern of variation changed significantly among days of each sampling period. Stepwise multiple linear regressions analyses indicated that light fluctuations explained a part of this variability but a great part of variability stayed unexplained. F _v/F _m, ETR_m and α were not only dependent on the light conditions of the sampling day but also on those of the previous days. A time lag of 3 days in the effect of light on ETR_m and α variation was highlighted. At these time scales, changes in phytoplankton community structure seemed to have a low importance in the variability in photosynthetic parameters. The photoacclimation index E _k showed a lower variability and was generally different from the incident irradiance, indicating a limited acclimation capacity with a poor optimization of light harvesting during the day. However, in well-mixed systems such as the Strait of Dover, the short-term photoacclimation is disrupted by the high level of variability in environmental conditions. Also, the variability observed in the present study can be associated with a particular kind of photosynthetic response: the “E _k-independent” variability. The physiological basis of this photosynthetic response is largely unresolved and further researches on this subject are still required to better explain the dynamics of phytoplankton activity in the Strait of Dover.     

Investigating cervical muscle response and head kinematics during right, left, frontal and rear-seated perturbations

Objective: Whiplash research has largely focused on rear collisions because they account for the majority of whiplash injuries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of 4 perturbation directions (anterior, posterior, right, and left) on muscle activity and head kinematics to provide insight into the whiplash mechanism of injury. Methods: The effects of 4 perturbation directions induced by a parallel robotic platform, with peak acceleration of 8.50?m/s(2), were analyzed on 10 subjects. Surface electromyography (EMG) measures were collected from the sternocleidomastoid (SCM), trapezius, and splenius capitus muscles. Kinematics of the head, thorax, and head relative to thorax were also measured. Results: We observed stereotypic responses for kinematics and SCM EMG for the various perturbation directions; the trapezius and splenius capitus muscles showed amplitudes that were less than 5 percent maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Rear perturbations elicited the smallest onset latencies for the SCM (30?ms) and kinematic variables and greatest linear head center of mass (COM) accelerations. Frontal perturbations resulted in an average SCM onset latency of 143?ms and demonstrated the greatest magnitude of head translations and rotations relative to the thorax. Left and right perturbations demonstrated similar kinematics and SCM onset latencies (55 and 65?ms, respectively). Conclusions: Compared to frontal, left, and right directions, rear perturbations showed smaller SCM onset latencies, greater SCM amplitudes, and larger head accelerations, relating to a greater potential for injury. We suggest that the greater contact area and stiffness of the seatback, in the posterior direction, compared to restrictions in other directions, led to increased peak head accelerations and shorter SCM onset latencies.     

Hydrocarbons in the antennal gland secretion of female European beewolves, Philanthus triangulum (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae)

The antennae of female European beewolves (Philanthus triangulum, Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) contain unique gland reservoirs that are inhabited by the symbiotic bacterium ‘Candidatus Streptomyces philanthi’. The reservoir content is secreted into the subterranean brood cells where it serves a dual function: (1) It provides the larvae with spatial information about the orientation of cocoon spinning, and (2) it supplies the larva with the symbiotic bacteria that are needed for the protection of the cocoon against pathogenic microorganisms. We analyzed the hydrocarbon composition of the antennal gland secretion (AGS) by solid phase micro-extraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. We detected 28 substances, the majority of which were saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, with minor amounts of some branched alkanes, two ketones, and three unknown substances. There was a strong dimorphism in the chemical composition of the AGS among beewolf females. The two morphs had either (Z)-9-pentacosene (C₂₅-type) or (Z)-9-heptacosene (C₂₇-type) as the main component, and they differed significantly in the relative amounts of most of the other AGS substances. The hydrocarbon composition of the AGS is very similar to that of the postpharyngeal gland of female beewolves, suggesting that the hydrocarbons are universally used for different purposes and transported into the gland from the hemolymph. The putative function of the hydrocarbons in the AGS is discussed.     

Species-specific effect of macrobenthic assemblages on meiobenthos and nematode community structure in shallow sandy sediments

Three functionally different macrofaunal species (the filter- and/or surface deposit-feeding polychaete Hediste diversicolor, and the suspension-feeding bivalves Mya arenaria and Cerastoderma glaucum) were introduced as single- and two-species treatments into microcosms containing sandy sediment with a natural meiofaunal community. H. diversicolor is a burrowing species building a system of galleries, C. glaucum lives actively near the sediment surface acting as a biodiffuser and M. arenaria buries deeply and leads a sessile lifestyle. It is shown that H. diversicolor extended the vertical distribution of meiofauna into deeper sediment layers compared to the control and non-Hediste treatments. The response of the nematode community varied significantly among treatments and was dependant on the macrobenthic species composition but not on the species number. Nematode assemblages in all treatments with the polychaete, both in monoculture and with either bivalve, differed significantly from those recorded in other treatments and were more similar than replicates within any other single treatment. H. diversicolor also appeared to have stimulated nematode species diversity. The present study demonstrated that the impact of macrobenthic assemblages on meiofauna is not a simple summation of individual species effects but is species specific.     

A performance-based tabular approach for joint systematic improvement of risk control and resilience applied to telecommunication grid,gas network,and ultrasound localization system

Environment Systems and Decisions - Organizational and technical approaches have proven successful in increasing the performance and preventing risks at socio-technical systems at all scales....