Larval supply and juvenile recruitment of coral reef fishes to marine reserves and non-reserves of the upper Florida Keys,USA

For marine organisms, decoupling between the planktonic larval stage and the benthic-associated juvenile stage can lead to variable patterns of population replenishment, which have the potential to influence the effectiveness of marine reserves. We measured spatial and temporal variability in larval supply and recruitment of fishes to coral reefs of different protection levels and tested whether protection level influenced the relationship between supply and recruitment. We sampled pre-settlement larvae and newly settled recruits from four reefs (two reserves and two non-reserves) in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, USA. Replicate point measures of larval supply over 14 months and 17 monthly measurements of recruitment varied significantly among months and sites. Sites with the same protection level had significantly different patterns of larval supply as well as larval and recruit diversity, but recruitment magnitude differed only by protection level, where densities were greater at reserves. Differences in larval supply among sites included two particularly large peaks in larval abundance at one site, possibly associated with the observed passage of small-scale oceanographic features. To examine whether relationships between larval supply and recruitment varied by protection level, we selected one species that was present in both the light trap samples and the monthly recruitment surveys. Recruitment of the bicolor damselfish Stegastes partitus was significantly and positively related to larval supply at three of the four sites thus, protection level did not influence this linkage. Since local variability among sites can lead to spatial differences in population replenishment, characterization of larval supply and recruitment to potential marine reserve sites may help to identify optimal locations in a region and contribute to more effective reserve design.     

Teil IV: Nachwachsende Rohstoffe als Alternative zu Kunststoffen

This paper presents a Life Cycle Assessment of a hemp fibre reinforced component for automotive parts. Its aim is to identify the optimisation strategies within the product system and also provide decision support for automotive engineers for or against the employment of renewable raw materials within the production process. The investigated life cycle contains the agricultural cultivation of the fibre plant, the method of harvesting and the processing of the crop. The analysis includes the further processing of the fibre, i.e. the manufacturing of the fibre composite matrix, on which the production of form press components for the automotive industry is based. Manufacturing the required preproducts is also taken into account. The differences of energy demand (CED) and emission amount during the use phase of a passenger car and different disposal options for the end of the life cycle (deposition or incineration) are assessed as well. It is shown that the natural fibre composite is ecologically preferable to the injection moulded reference as the results of the Eco-indicator 95 method show. Optimisation is necessary for the epoxy-resin-hardener system, although the cultivation of fibre plants is ecologically an insignificant process regarding the system boundaries. The weight difference and resulting energy savings during the use phase of a car reveal further advantages of a fibre panel.     

The influence of cosolvent and heat on the solubility and reactivity of organophosphorous pesticide DNAPL alkaline hydrolysis

The presented research concerned the compatibility of cosolvents with in situ alkaline hydrolysis (ISAH) for treatment of organophosphorous (OPP) pesticide contaminated sites. In addition, the influence of moderate temperature heat increments was studied as a possible enhancement method. A complex dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) of primarily parathion (~50 %) and methyl parathion (~15 %) obtained from the Danish Groyne 42 site was used as a contaminant source, and ethanol and propan-2-ol (0, 25, and 50 v/v%) was used as cosolvents in tap water and 0.34 M NaOH. Both cosolvents showed OPP solubility enhancement at 50 v/v% cosolvent content, with slightly higher OPP concentrations reached with propan-2-ol. Data on hydrolysis products did not show a clear trend with respect to alkaline hydrolysis reactivity in the presence of cosolvents. Results indicated that the hydrolysis rate of methyl-parathion (MP3) decreased with addition of cosolvent, whereas the hydrolysis rate of ethyl-parathion (EP3) remained constant, and overall indications were that the hydrolysis reactions were limited by the rate of hydrolysis rather than NAPL dissolution. In addition to cosolvents, the influence of low-temperature heating on ISAH was studied. Increasing reaction temperature from 10 to 30 °C provided an average rate of hydrolysis enhancement by a factor of 1.4–4.8 dependent on the base of calculation. When combining 50 v/v% cosolvent addition and heating to 30 °C, EP3 solubility was significantly enhanced and results for O,O-diethyl-thiophosphoric acid (EP2 acid) showed a significant enhancement of hydrolysis as well. However, this could not be supported by para-nitrophenol (PNP) data indicating the instability of this product in the presence of cosolvent.

     

A Quantitative Review of Urban Ecosystem Service Assessments: Concepts,Models, and Implementation

Although a number of comprehensive reviews have examined global ecosystem services (ES), few have focused on studies that assess urban ecosystem services (UES). Given that more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, understanding the dualism of the provision of and need for UES is of critical importance. Which UES are the focus of research, and what types of urban land use are examined? Are models or decision support systems used to assess the provision of UES? Are trade-offs considered? Do studies of UES engage stakeholders? To address these questions, we analyzed 217 papers derived from an ISI Web of Knowledge search using a set of standardized criteria. The results indicate that most UES studies have been undertaken in Europe, North America, and China, at city scale. Assessment methods involve bio-physical models, Geographical Information Systems, and valuation, but few study findings have been implemented as land use policy.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0504-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Development based climate change adaptation and mitigation—conceptual issues and lessons learned in studies in developing countries

This paper discusses the conceptual basis for linking development policies and climate change adaptation and mitigation and suggests an analytical approach that can be applied to studies in developing countries. The approach is centred on a broad set of policy evaluation criteria that merge traditional economic and sectoral goals and broader social issues related to health and income distribution. The approach is inspired by institutional economics and development paradigms that emphasise human wellbeing, resource access, empowerment, and the arrived freedoms. It is outlined how indicators of wellbeing can be used to assess policies that integrate development and climate change policy objectives, and this approach is discussed in comparison with other work that rather have been inspired by sustainable development aspects of manmade, natural, and social capital. The experiences and results from case studies of development and climate that have done a first attempt to use human wellbeing indicators are reported and discussed. The studies include work from India, China, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Senegal. A number of policy examples in the energy-, food-, and water sectors in these studies have shown up to demonstrate numerous linkages between development policies and climate change. Various analytical tools have been used in the studies including quantitative and qualitative scenario work as well as detailed micro-based analysis. The methodological conclusion that can be drawn from these studies, is that it is possible to apply wellbeing indicators to the more detailed policy assessment, but a link to more general national and regional scenario work is not yet established.     

Leaching and degradation of 21 pesticides in a full-scale model biobed

Filling and cleaning of pesticide sprayers presents a potential risk of pollution of soil and water. Three different solutions for handling sprayers have been suggested: Filling and cleaning in the field, filling and cleaning on hard surfaces with collection of the waste water, and filling and cleaning on a biobed, which is an excavation lined with clay and filled with a mixture of chopped straw, sphagnum and soil with turf on top, and with increased sorption capacity and microbial activity for degradation of the pesticides. In the present study the degradation and leaching of 21 pesticides (5 g of each) was followed in an established full-scale model biobed. Percolate was collected and analysed for pesticide residues, and the biobed material was sampled at three different depths and analysed by liquid chromatography double mass spectrometry (LC-MSMS). During the total study period of 563 days, no traces of 10 out of 21 applied pesticides were detected in the percolate (detection limits between 0.02 and 0.9 μg l⁻¹) and three pesticides were only detected once and at concentrations below 2 μg l⁻¹. During the first 198 days before second application, 14% of the applied herbicide bentazone was detected in the leachate with maximum and mean concentrations of 445 and 172 μg l⁻¹, respectively. About 2% of the initial mecoprop and fluazifop dose was detected in the percolate, with mean concentrations of 23 μg l⁻¹, while MCPA and dimethoate had mean concentrations of 3.5 and 4.7 μg l⁻¹, respectively. Leachate concentrations for the remaining pesticides were generally below the detection limit (0.02–0.9 μg l⁻¹, below 1% of applied). Sorption studies of five pesticides showed that compounds with a low K_d value appeared in the leachate. After 169 days, all pesticides in the biobed profile were degraded to a level below 50% of the calculated initial dose. Pesticides with K_oc values above 100 were primarily found in the uppermost 10 cm and degraded slowest due to the low bioavailability. The 11 most degradable pesticides were all degraded such that less than 3% remained in the biobed after 169 days.

Following second pesticide application of the biobed, leachate was sampled 215 and 365 days after the treatment. This showed the same pesticides to be leached out and at concentrations comparable to those of the first treatment. The same pesticides as after the first treatment were retained in the biobed.     

Converging disciplinary understandings of social aspects of resilience

Resilience thinking has developed separately in the bodies of literature on social-ecological systems, and that published principally within developmental psychology and mental health on the resilience of individuals. This paper explores what these bodies of literature might learn from the other towards a more integrated and enriched understanding of both social-ecological systems and social resilience. The psychology-based literature recognises a strong set of factors that enhance the strengths of individuals and communities, but lacks a sophisticated integration of the physical environmental context. The social-ecological systems literature offers an excellent foundation in complex adaptive systems, but tends to superimpose ecological concepts of system function onto the human domain, and needs to include an array of core social science concepts that are important to a full understanding of social-ecological systems. An example on north eastern Australia suggests how a converged understanding of social resilience could assist managers to acknowledge, enhance and foster social resilience in linked social-ecological systems.     

The Regionalization of National‐Scale SPARROW Models for Stream Nutrients1

Schwarz, Gregory E., Richard B. Alexander, Richard A. Smith, and Stephen D. Preston, 2011. The Regionalization of National‐Scale SPARROW Models for Stream Nutrients. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(5):1151‐1172. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00581.x Abstract: This analysis modifies the parsimonious specification of recently published total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) national‐scale SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes models to allow each model coefficient to vary geographically among three major river basins of the conterminous United States. Regionalization of the national models reduces the standard errors in the prediction of TN and TP loads, expressed as a percentage of the predicted load, by about 6 and 7%. We develop and apply a method for combining national‐scale and regional‐scale information to estimate a hybrid model that imposes cross‐region constraints that limit regional variation in model coefficients, effectively reducing the number of free model parameters as compared to a collection of independent regional models. The hybrid TN and TP regional models have improved model fit relative to the respective national models, reducing the standard error in the prediction of loads, expressed as a percentage of load, by about 5 and 4%. Only 19% of the TN hybrid model coefficients and just 2% of the TP hybrid model coefficients show evidence of substantial regional specificity (more than ±100% deviation from the national model estimate). The hybrid models have much greater precision in the estimated coefficients than do the unconstrained regional models, demonstrating the efficacy of pooling information across regions to improve regional models.