Impact of anions on the heavy metals release from marine sediments

Marine sediments from Lianshan Bay in Huludao, China, were studied in laboratory. A series of simulated experiments were carried out to investigate the influences of three kinds of anions CL^-, SO4^2- and HCO3^- on the release ofCd, Pb, Cu and Zn from the sediments. The results showed that the sequences about the impact of the three anions were Cl^-〉HCO3^-〉SO4^2＋. The release potential of heavy metals in the presence of each anions was in the following order： Cd≥Cu 〉Zn≈Pb. The correlations were positive between CI content and the quantity of Cd released from the marine sediment, whereas there was no significant relationship between CI content and amount of Cu and Zn released. For SO4^2- and HCO3^-, the release of the heavy metals from marine sediments was not obvious.     

海洋沉积物中的天然气水合物与海底滑坡

天然气水合物是一种由天然气和水形成的类似冰状的固体物质 ,主要存在于在低温高压背景下的海底沉积物和陆地永久冻土地带中。赋存于海底沉积物中的天然气水合物虽然本身能作为准稳定的胶结物对海底有建造作用 ,但由于其稳定性对特定温度和压力的严格依赖 ,海平面的下降、海底的连续沉积、地震等自然因素以及海洋钻探等人为因素造成的海底温压条件的改变会引起其分解 ,从而使海底沉积物失稳甚至导致海底滑坡。本文详细介绍了海底天然气水合物分解导致滑坡的机制、实例以及该种海底滑坡体的特征 ,并对以后的研究进行了展望     

基于DEMATEL方法的海运行为形成因子影响关系分析

为揭示并量化海运人因可靠性分析(HRA)中行为形成因子(PSF)间复杂的影响关系,采用DEMATEL方法对航海人员值班任务中9个PSF的依赖关系进行建模和分析,并验证该方法的有效性。结果表明:船上组织的完善程度、驾驶台班组成员的合作质量、可用时间等PSF在系统中的作用大;船上组织的完善程度、人机界面(MMI)与运行支持的完善性、值班区间以及培训和准备的充分性4个PSF为原因因素,驾驶台班组成员的合作质量、同时出现的目标任务数量、可用时间、船上工作及船舶航行条件和操作规程/计划的可用性5个PSF为结果因素。安全管理人员应针对作用大或原因因素中的PSF制定安全管理措施,改善情景环境,提高人因可靠性。     

基于云模型的海上交通系统风险蒙特卡罗仿真

为扩展海上交通系统(MTS)风险的数据样本,更好地开展海上交通系统风险评估研究,有必要研究系统风险仿真中的模型与算法问题。在讨论不确定性信息中随机性和模糊性的基础上,引入云模型来取代概率分布参数下的蒙特卡罗仿真模型。经对无确定度的原始云特征参数求解,获得海上交通系统风险的还原云滴,有效增加海上交通系统风险数据样本,进而分析出风险数值仿真下的海上交通系统风险特征。通过有效性检验,云模型下仿真的变异系数比基于对数正态分布下仿真的结果更稳定。云模型下的仿真结果更准确地逼近原始样本的特性。风险的模糊性和随机性信息量化问题得到解决。     

航运公司安全管理有效性组合赋权评价模型

为提高航运公司安全营运管理的决策科学性,需要对其安全营运管理的有效性进行过程跟踪评价。基于安全管理的运行过程与安全结果 2种评估指标,提出2种指标相结合的安全管理有效性评价模型。在熵权法(EVM)和层次分析法(AHP)计算的基础上,通过一致性检验确定有效性评价体系指标的权重。提出以组合赋权法确定优化权重数值。经案例应用,得出某航运公司安全管理有效性评价定量化结果。分析结果表明,当前该公司安全管理体系中操作管理是安全管理绩效的关键,而人力资源方面和管理体系方面的改善措施需要与之协调。     

Shared governance arrangements and social connectivity: advancing large-scale coastal and marine conservation initiatives in the Dominican Republic

Increasingly, large-scale conservation initiatives (e.g. through protected area networks and transboundary connectivity initiatives) are growing in prevalence as their diverse sustainability benefits are further understood. Conventional, centralized approaches to conservation, often featuring unconnected discrete ‘patches’, are no longer sufficient for achieving effective, long-term protection. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how to achieve effective large-scale conservation initiatives by addressing the following objectives: (1) To assess the degree to which local actors are involved in coastal and marine conservation practices, with a focus on large-scale conservation initiatives (LCIs); and, (2) To identify barriers and opportunities for achieving effective large-scale conservation. This paper presents findings from research in the Dominican Republic where social-ecological components of coastal and marine systems are considered from multiple perspectives to advance management and increase effectiveness of LCIs. Data were acquired through semi-structured interviews with 35 coastal and marine actors (e.g. fishers, ministers, non-governmental organizations, practitioners, academics) working at local to international scales. Interview data were analysed through thematic coding using QSR-Nvivo 12 software. Respondents expressed that non-governmental actors (e.g. private organizations, coastal communities) should have an increased role in developing, implementing and managing coastal and marine LCIs. Additionally, respondents commented on strategies to enhance social connectivity (i.e. sharing experiences, programs and expertise) within coastal and marine practices to enhance effectiveness and facilitate learning. Findings contribute to the understanding of complex coastal and marine social-ecological systems of the Dominican Republic and provide further support for involving multiple actors in governance processes.     

Combined use of eDNA metabarcoding and video surveillance for the assessment of fish biodiversity

Monitoring communities of fish is important for the management and sustainability of fisheries and marine ecosystems. Baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs) are among the most effective nondestructive techniques for sampling bony fishes and elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, and skates). However, BRUVs sample visually conspicuous biota; hence, some taxa are undersampled or not recorded at all. We compared the diversity of fishes characterized using BRUVs with diversity detected via environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding. We sampled seawater and captured BRUVs imagery at 48 locales that included reef and seagrass beds inside and outside a marine reserve (Jurien Bay in Western Australia). Eighty-two fish genera from 13 orders were detected, and the community of fishes described using eDNA and BRUVs combined yielded >30% more generic richness than when either method was used alone. Rather than detecting a homogenous genetic signature, the eDNA assemblages mirrored the BRUVs’ spatial explicitness; differentiation of taxa between seagrass and reef was clear despite the relatively small geographical scale of the study site (∼35 km²). Taxa that were not sampled by one approach, due to limitations and biases intrinsic to the method, were often detected with the other. Therefore, using BRUVs and eDNA in concert provides a more holistic view of vertebrate marine communities across habitats. Both methods are noninvasive, which enhances their potential for widespread implementation in the surveillance of marine ecosystems.     

Spatial cost–benefit analysis of blue restoration and factors driving net benefits globally

Marine coastal ecosystems, commonly referred to as blue ecosystems, provide valuable services to society but are under increasing threat worldwide due to a variety of drivers, including eutrophication, development, land-use change, land reclamation, and climate change. Ecological restoration is sometimes necessary to facilitate recovery in coastal ecosystems. Blue restoration (i.e., in marine coastal systems) is a developing field, and projects to date have been small scale and expensive, leading to the perception that restoration may not be economically viable. We conducted a global cost–benefit analysis to determine the net benefits of restoring coral reef, mangrove, saltmarsh, and seagrass ecosystems, where the benefit is defined as the monetary value of ecosystem services. We estimated costs from published restoration case studies and used an adjusted-value-transfer method to assign benefit values to these case studies. Benefit values were estimated as the monetary value provided by ecosystem services of the restored habitats. Benefits outweighed costs (i.e., there were positive net benefits) for restoration of all blue ecosystems. Mean benefit:cost ratios for ecosystem restoration were eight to 10 times higher than prior studies of coral reef and seagrass restoration, most likely due to the more recent lower cost estimates we used. Among ecosystems, saltmarsh had the greatest net benefits followed by mangrove; coral reef and seagrass ecosystems had lower net benefits. In general, restoration in nations with middle incomes had higher (eight times higher in coral reefs and 40 times higher in mangroves) net benefits than those with high incomes. Within an ecosystem type, net benefit varied with restoration technique (coral reef and saltmarsh), ecosystem service produced (mangrove and saltmarsh), and project duration (seagrass). These results challenge the perceptions of the low economic viability of blue restoration and should encourage further targeted investment in this field.     

Incorporating putatively neutral and adaptive genomic data into marine conservation planning

The availability of genomic data for an increasing number of species makes it possible to incorporate evolutionary processes into conservation plans. Recent studies show how genetic data can inform spatial conservation prioritization (SCP), but they focus on metrics of diversity and distinctness derived primarily from neutral genetic data sets. Identifying adaptive genetic markers can provide important information regarding the capacity for populations to adapt to environmental change. Yet, the effect of including metrics based on adaptive genomic data into SCP in comparison to more widely used neutral genetic metrics has not been explored. We used existing genomic data on a commercially exploited species, the giant California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus), to perform SCP for the coastal region of British Columbia (BC), Canada. Using a RAD-seq data set for 717 P. californicus individuals across 24 sampling locations, we identified putatively adaptive (i.e., candidate) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based on genotype–environment associations with seafloor temperature. We calculated various metrics for both neutral and candidate SNPs and compared SCP outcomes with independent metrics and combinations of metrics. Priority areas varied depending on whether neutral or candidate SNPs were used and on the specific metric used. For example, targeting sites with a high frequency of warm-temperature-associated alleles to support persistence under future warming prioritized areas in the southern coastal region. In contrast, targeting sites with high expected heterozygosity at candidate loci to support persistence under future environmental uncertainty prioritized areas in the north. When combining metrics, all scenarios generated intermediate solutions, protecting sites that span latitudinal and thermal gradients. Our results demonstrate that distinguishing between neutral and adaptive markers can affect conservation solutions and emphasize the importance of defining objectives when choosing among various genomic metrics for SCP.     

Impact of conservation areas on trophic interactions between apex predators and herbivores on coral reefs

Apex predators are declining at alarming rates due to exploitation by humans, but we have yet to fully discern the impacts of apex predator loss on ecosystem function. In a management context, it is critically important to clarify the role apex predators play in structuring populations of lower trophic levels. Thus, we examined the top‐down influence of reef sharks (an apex predator on coral reefs) and mesopredators on large‐bodied herbivores. We measured the abundance, size structure, and biomass of apex predators, mesopredators, and herbivores across fished, no‐take, and no‐entry management zones in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia. Shark abundance and mesopredator size and biomass were higher in no‐entry zones than in fished and no‐take zones, which indicates the viability of strictly enforced human exclusion areas as tools for the conservation of predator communities. Changes in predator populations due to protection in no‐entry zones did not have a discernible influence on the density, size, or biomass of different functional groups of herbivorous fishes. The lack of a relationship between predators and herbivores suggests that top‐down forces may not play a strong role in regulating large‐bodied herbivorous coral reef fish populations. Given this inconsistency with traditional ecological theories of trophic cascades, trophic structures on coral reefs may need to be reassessed to enable the establishment of appropriate and effective management regimes. El Impacto de las Áreas de Conservación sobre las Interacciones Tróficas entre los Depredadores Dominantes y los Herbívoros en los Arrecifes de Coral