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.     

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     

近50a来三亚鹿回头石珊瑚物种多样性的演变特征及其环境意义

2005～2006年三亚鹿回头珊瑚礁现状调查共记录石珊瑚13科24属69种,礁坪以滨珊瑚占绝对优势(重要值百分比>50%),礁坡以鹿角珊瑚最占优势(28.33%).Pielou、Simpson和Shannon-Wiener多样性指数值均高于礁坪.对比历史资料发现近50 a来该岸段珊瑚礁呈衰退趋势:七世纪五六十年代该岸段珊瑚种类繁多、群落垂直分带,生物多样性较高;20世纪七八十年代礁坪已不见成片的活珊瑚,礁坡繁茂程度降低;20世纪90年代珊瑚种类虽仍比较丰富,但总体多样性下降;本次研究显示澄黄滨珊瑚已成为礁坪优势种,鹿角珊瑚在礁坡的优势度降低,物种多样性继续缩减.过度捕捞、大规模挖礁、海上和沿岸养殖等人类活动是造成该岸段珊瑚礁现有衰退的主要原凶,三亚河和近海上程建设带来的泥沙和污染物以及正向鹿回头扩展的潜水旅游可能是影响其发展的潜在威胁.     

基于文献计量分析的珊瑚礁生态修复技术研究现状及发展趋势

珊瑚礁是海洋生态系统的重要组成部分,具有食物资源、药用价值、海岸防护等生态功能.近年来受到自然气候及人类活动的影响,珊瑚礁生态系统发生了大规模的退化,因此,珊瑚礁生态修复技术逐渐成为研究热点.本文从Web of Science核心合集、CNKI、德温特数据库等获得相关文献,对全球及国内珊瑚礁生态修复技术研究热点进行全面...     

热带海洋环境中5083铝合金腐蚀行为研究

目的 研究某岛礁不同海洋区带环境中5083铝合金的腐蚀规律。方法 在某岛礁进行海洋多区带腐蚀试验,利用表面微观形貌观测、腐蚀产物分析、质量损失测试及点蚀深度测量等手段,对比分析铝合金在不同海洋区带中的腐蚀形貌、腐蚀速率和点蚀深度。结果 5083铝合金在某岛礁海洋全浸区带环境中的腐蚀速率最大,大气区带中的腐蚀速率最小,在潮差区带的腐蚀速率介于二者之间。试样在海洋不同区带主要发生局部腐蚀,大气区试样的最大点蚀深度最大,而潮差区试样的最大点蚀深度最小。在不同海洋区带,铝合金腐蚀产物和附着物的混合物中均含有钙元素,大气区钙元素含量远低于潮差区和全浸区,潮差区和全浸区铝合金表面的腐蚀产物和附着物混合物中主要含有CaCO₃、CaSiO₃和Al₂O₃。结论 不同海洋区带环境中,5083铝合金的腐蚀速率差别较大,潮差区和全浸区材料表面附着大量污损生物和矿物质。     

岛礁环境下航空电连接器的腐蚀及其对信号传输的影响

目的 通过腐蚀加速试验,研究航空电连接器在某岛礁环境下的腐蚀特点和规律,并在此基础上,进一步研究航空电连接器腐蚀后对信号传输的影响。方法 根据该岛礁环境特点,设计腐蚀加速试验环境谱,基于此环境谱开展腐蚀加速试验,观察不同试验周期航空电连接器的腐蚀形貌,测量其接触电阻,研究腐蚀机理。然后设计电路,测量方波信号通过不同腐蚀程度电连接器的波形特征,通过对比分析研究腐蚀对信号传输的影响。结果 5个腐蚀循环周期后,电连接器插针表面开始出现微孔,接触电阻位于3～11m?;10个周期后,插针表面微孔数量增多,且坑蚀变深变大,接触电阻位于7～19 m?;15个周期后,插针表面部分镀金层脱落,接触电阻位于15～36 m?。电连接器腐蚀程度越深,信号相位差、上升时间和过冲的测量值就越大;信号频率增加,这3个测量参数也相应变大。结论 盐雾和交变湿热加电应力环境对航空电连接器接触表面腐蚀作用明显。潮湿盐雾侵入电连接器内部是导致接触电阻升高的直接原因。接触电阻并不能完全反映出腐蚀对信号传输的影响。当接触电阻较小时,电连接器腐蚀程度越大,信号失真就越明显;信号频率越高,信号失真越明显。     

Designing Climate-Smart Conservation: Guidance and Case Studies

Abstract:  To be successful, conservation practitioners and resource managers must fully integrate the effects of climate change into all planning projects. Some conservation practitioners are beginning to develop, test, and implement new approaches that are designed to deal with climate change. We devised four basic tenets that are essential in climate-change adaptation for conservation: protect adequate and appropriate space, reduce nonclimate stresses, use adaptive management to implement and test climate-change adaptation strategies, and work to reduce the rate and extent of climate change to reduce overall risk. To illustrate how this approach applies in the real world, we explored case studies of coral reefs in the Florida Keys; mangrove forests in Fiji, Tanzania, and Cameroon; sea-level rise and sea turtles in the Caribbean; tigers in the Sundarbans of India; and national planning in Madagascar. Through implementation of these tenets conservation efforts in each of these regions can be made more robust in the face of climate change. Although these approaches require reconsidering some traditional approaches to conservation, this new paradigm is technologically, economically, and intellectually feasible.     

徐闻珊瑚礁保护区海水中多环芳烃的初探

2006年8月,对徐闻珊瑚礁自然保护区中多环芳烃的污染现状进行调查和研究,采用固相萃取,GC-MS检测,分析其中16种多环芳烃（PAHs）单体的含量,结果表明该海域海水中16种PAHs的总平均含量为87.06±90.62 ng·L^-1,变化范围为43.31～435.64 ng·L^-1,与世界其它一些近岸海区海水中的PAHs含量相比污染较为严重。A1站位的PAHs含量偏高,主要来源于陆地的工业废水和生活污水以及渔船油污。PAHs含量的增多对珊瑚礁生态系统具有一定影响,最终将影响到人类的自身健康。     

Impact of excess and harmful radiation on energy budgets in scleractinian corals

Using dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory, this paper explores the potential of excess and harmful radiation, notably UV, to cause changes in performance and, ultimately, bleaching in scleractinian corals for a range of ambient nitrogen and (beneficial) photosynthetically active radiation levels. Two negative impacts of radiation are considered: a reduction in the capacity of the symbiont to generate energy through photosynthesis (defined in this paper as photoinhibition); an increase in the costs for the symbiont to remain viable due to repair of damage (defined in this paper as photodamage). Model predictions indicate that although both types of impact reduce the growth potential of host and symbiont, photoinhibition predominantly affects host features, except at very low ambient nitrogen levels, under which conditions the severity of nitrogen limitation is so strong that a reduction in photosynthetic rates due to photoinhibition has minimal impact. In steady state, photoinhibition leads to a reduction in host biomass, and an increase in symbiont density, implying that photoinhibition (as defined in this paper) is unlikely to cause bleaching. In contrast, the impact of photodamage is mostly affecting symbiont features, including a decline in symbiont density. Thus, photodamage may contribute to coral bleaching. Furthermore, the model predicts that, with both photoinhibition and photodamage, an increasing ratio of harmful to beneficial radiation accelerates the suppression of growth rates of symbiont and host, implying that coral health deteriorates progressively faster with increasing harmful radiation, such as UVb.     

The role of sponge competition on coral reef alternative steady states

Sponges constitute an abundant and functionally important component of coral reef systems. Given their demonstrated resistance to environmental stress, it might be expected that the role of sponges in reef systems under modern regimes of frequent and severe disturbance may become even more substantial. Disturbances have recently reshaped the community structure of many Caribbean coral reefs shifting them towards a state of persistent low coral cover and often a dominance of macroalgae. Using competition and growth rates recorded from Glover's Atoll in Belize, we parameterise a mathematical model used to simulate the three-way competition between sponges, macroalgae and coral. We use the model to determine the range of parameters in which each of the three species might be expected to dominate. Emergent properties arise from our simple model of this complex system, and these include a special case in which heightened competitive ability of macroalgae versus coral may counter-intuitively prove to be advantageous to the persistence of corals. Importantly, we show that even under scenarios whereby sponges fail to invade the system, inclusion of this third antagonist can qualitatively affect the likelihood of alternative stable states - generally in favour of macroalgal dominance. The interplay between multi-species competition and predation is complex, but our efforts highlight a key process that has, until now, remained unexplored: the extent to which sponges dissipate algal grazing pressure by providing generalist fish with an alternative food source. We highlight the necessity of identifying the extent by which this process takes place in tropical systems in order to improve projections of alternative stable states for Caribbean coral reefs.