Using Ecological Footprints as a Policy Driver: The Case of Sustainable Construction Planning Policy in London

The heuristic value of the ecological footprint (EF) conceptual device has met with considerable political and civic buy-in at national, regional and local levels. It is seen as particularly valuable for visualizing ecological overshoot but debates about methodological soundness have undermined this potential. This paper examines the emerging opportunities for advanced footprinting approaches that use input-output analysis to test 'what if?' policy scenarios and hence turn EF into a proactive driver for sustainability-oriented policy development. It focuses on the London case and the specific arena of planning policy for sustainable construction.     

Using Ecological Footprints as a Policy Driver: The Case of Sustainable Construction Planning Policy in London

Abstract

The forests of Nepal, which in the past were at least nominally under the direct control of the state, are today increasingly entrusted to local people in the name of community forestry (CF). CF is considered a successful endeavour in managing forest resources, conserving biodiversity and supplying people with basic economic needs. In order to assess to what extent the two goals of biodiversity conservation and meeting economic needs of people have been integrated through CF, four community forestry user groups (CFUGs) were studied in the Mid-hills ecological zone. Based on a participatory survey and a critical review of the statutes and operational plans of these CFUGs, it was found that integration of biodiversity conservation was still insufficient, and that improvements in the policy and management regimes of CF are necessary to achieve a balance between biodiversity conservation and economic use of the forest resources.     

利用厌氧颗粒污泥处理氯代有毒有机物

用能进行还原脱氯的微生物富集物接种，在小型试验装置内成功地培养出了具有还原脱氯功能的颗粒污泥。五氯苯酚能被这种颗粒污染完全脱氯并进一步分解为甲烷和二氧化碳。四氯乙烯和其他氯代乙烯能被颗粒污还原脱氯为乙烯。这种脱氯的颗粒污泥可用来处理含有五氯苯酚和氯乙烯类的废水和地下水。     

Nutritional value of Phaeocystis pouchetii (Prymnesiophyceae) and other phytoplankton for Acartia spp. (Copepoda): ingestion,egg production,and growth of nauplii

Ingestion and egg production by Acartia hudsonica (5°C) and A. tonsa (10°C) from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA, was measured in the laboratory over a range of concentrations of the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis pouchetii and the diatom Skeletonema costatum. Both Acartia species reproduced well when fed unialgal diets of S. costatum. Egg production by females fed P. pouchetii, either as gelatioous colonies (primarily >200 m in diameter) or solitary cells (3 to 5 m), was not significantly different than that of starved females. Acartia spp. fed selectively on S. costatum in multialgal treatments. The presence of P. pouchetii did not reduce ingestion of S. costatum; the availability of S. costatum did not increase ingestion of P. pouchetii. Nauplii of A. hudsonica grew equally well on separate diets of P. pouchetii and Isochrysis galbana, two flagellates of similar size. Adult Acartia spp. reproduced poorly when fed these phytoplankton, suggesting that particle size may be more important than food quality in describing the responses. Grazing by Acartia spp. does not directly impact the dynamics of P. pouchetii, but may indirectly contribute to blooms of this prymnesiophyte by removal of competing phytoplankton.     

Effects of Olisthodiscus luteus on the growth and abundance of Tintinnids

The effects of the red tide flagellate Olisthodiscus luteus Carter on the growth of two tintinnid species, Tintinnopsis lubulosoides Meunier and Favella sp. (Clap. & Lach.) Jorg., were measured in batch culture. T. tubulosoides and Favella sp. grew at rates equivalent to 1.2 (10°C) and 2.0 (20°C) population doublings per day, respectively, when offered nutritionally adequate phytoplankton species. The growth rates of both tintinnid species were reduced in the presence of 10²–10³ O. luteus cells · ml^-1 in multialgal treatments. Growth rate inhibition was proportionately greater at higher O. luteus densities. Lethal effects were observed for both tintinnid species at O. luteus concentrations of 5x10³ cells · ml^-1 in multi-algal treatments. T. tubulosoides mortality occurred at all O. luteus concentrations in unialgal culture. O. luteus-conditioned medium did not substantially inhibit tintinnid growth when combined with acceptable food species, suggesting that toxicity is induced by ingestion or direct contact with O. luteus cells, or by exposure to a short-lived exudate. In agreement with these results, an inverse relationship between O. luteus concentration and tintinnid abundance was observed in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, over a two year period. The small lorica diameter of the species apparently inhibited by these O. luteus blooms suggests a detrimental effect independent of cell ingestion. In addition to the absolute concentration of O. luteus cells, the availability of nutritionally adequate algal food may be an important factor determining the impact of O. luteus blooms on tintinnid populations.Contribution no. 5048 from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution     

Seasonal patterns in size and abundance of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phyllorhiza punctata</Emphasis>: an invasive scyphomedusa in coastal Georgia (USA)

Phyllorhiza punctata, commonly called the Australian white spotted jellyfish, invaded the Caribbean in the 1960s, becoming established there and subsequently in the United States in the northern Gulf of Mexico (by 2000) and eastern Florida (2001). With the prevailing Loop Current flowing clockwise around the Gulf of Mexico and joining the Gulf Stream along eastern Florida, potential transport of P. punctata along the eastern seaboard of the USA could be facilitated. P. punctata medusae were collected in small numbers along the entire Georgia coast during May–November in 2007 and 2008. Medusa bell diameters increased both years from ca. 10 cm in May to ca. 33 cm in autumn. Specimens lacked zooxanthellae, as reported for medusae in the northern Gulf of Mexico and Florida. It is possible that the P. punctata medusae observed were transported from established populations to the south; however, whether or not this species is established along the Georgia coast has yet to be determined.     

Reproductive ecology of a hippolytid shrimp,Lebbeus virentova (Caridea: Hippolytidae) at the Von Damm Vent Field,Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre

Elucidation of life-history traits is essential to understand larval dispersal and population dynamics in marine benthic assemblages. This study is the first investigation of the life history of a recently described hippolytid shrimp from a deep-sea chemosynthetic environment, Lebbeus virentova Nye, Copley, Plouviez and Van Dover, 2013 at the Von Damm Vent Field (18°22N, 81°47W, ~2,300 m depth, Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre, Caribbean), using samples collected in February and June 2013. Lebbeus virentova is gonochoric and iteroparous. The sex ratio of L. virentova was significantly female biased (1:3) in February and June. The sampled population of L. virentova had a unimodal size–frequency distribution pattern in February and June, consistent with continuous recruitment and mortality. Continuous reproduction is indicated by a lack of synchrony in oocyte size–frequency distributions within both months, and asynchronous development of embryos among females, which may result in asynchronous larval release. A large embryo size in this species (2.65 ± 0.28 mm diameter) compared with other caridean shrimps suggests possible abbreviated larval development, as described in other species of the genus from non-chemosynthetic environments. Fecundity (26–94 embryos female^?1) was lower and embryo size larger in L. virentova compared with alvinocaridids at chemosynthetic environments. This suggests that there are phylogenetic constraints on reproductive features of decapods at hydrothermal vents.