Net negative growth detected in a population of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptogorgia sarmentosa</Emphasis>: quantifying the biomass loss in a benthic soft bottom-gravel gorgonian

Gorgonian species may contribute to the three-dimensional seascape in soft bottom-gravel areas, but the information on their biology and ecology is very scarce. The biometry and secondary production of the Mediterranean soft bottom-gravel passive suspension feeder Leptogorgia sarmentosa (Cnidaria: Octocorallia) was studied using photographic monitoring of the primary branches from May 1998 to September 2000. The primary branches observed had a high density of polyps (2.2 ± 0.2 SD polyps mm⁻¹) and a high organic matter content (63.2 ± 9.1 SD %). During the two-year sampling period, there was a net negative growth in 90% of the gorgonian population. The mean loss during the 27-month period was −2.9 ± 0.9 SD cm per branch (5.7 mg C branch⁻¹). However, considering only the initial and final diameters and maximum height in the 27 months elapsed time, the gorgonians showed positive growth, which meant that photographic sampling of single branches was a more appropriate method for gorgonian secondary production monitoring. A water mass anomaly detected in 1999 in the north-western Mediterranean Sea may have been the cause of the net negative growth in L. sarmentosa in the studied area. Partial mortality due to different factors, such as strong currents, predation, disease, etc., could be a common strategy in sessile colonial benthic populations that would facilitate their maintenance even during very stressful circumstances.     

The Establishment of Marine Protected Areas in Senegal: Untangling the Interactions Between International Institutions and National Actors

International institutions, understood as sets of rules contained in international agreements, are aimed at orienting national governments towards specific policy options. Nevertheless, they can determine a change in national policies and practices only if states are willing and capable of incorporating international obligations into their national legislations and ensuring their application and enforcement in areas that follow completely under national jurisdiction. The establishment of marine protected areas promoted by international agreements as a tool for the protection of marine resources represents an interesting case for revealing the complex interactions between international institutions and national actors. Particularly, the establishment of these areas in Senegal shows the salience of domestic constellations of actors who may support or undercut national commitments to international regimes: political elites, bureaucracies, the general public and target groups. By anchoring the empirical analysis to an actor-centred institutionalist perspective, the article explains how dynamic constellations of actors can distort the penetration of international objectives in the national policy framework. Different constellations of national actors can indeed bend international institutions at different moments: during the formulation of a new law in line with international obligations; in the definition of its implementation framework; and in the enforcement of national policies.     

Atlantic storminess and historical sand drift in Western Europe: implications for future management of coastal dunes

Historical records of sand drift and dune-building along the coastline of Western Europe provide insights into the natural processes of sand dune accretion and both the impacts of, and human responses to, sand incursions. The analysis of documentary records, instrumental data and proxy records over the last 1,000 years indicates that this period, which included the Little Ice Age (AD 1570–1900), featured numerous episodes of sand drift and dune development driven by strong winds associated with Atlantic storms. It is estimated that sand drift affected over a quarter of a million hectares of coastal land in Western Europe. The widespread use of vegetation to stabilise coastal dune systems and prevent sand drift is documented across Europe from AD 1100 and by the start of the 20th century all of the larger coastal dune systems in Portugal, France, Britain and Denmark were comparatively inactive. Given that Atlantic storminess has remained more or less unchanged over the last 200 years, modern dune management strategies which consider dune devegetation, driven by an increasing focus on ‘naturalness’, may give rise to a recurrence of sand drift problems. Predictions of increased storm frequencies by the end of the 21st century, coupled with sea level rise and potential changes in sand supply will present further challenges for the more ‘dynamic’ dune management strategies.     

An in vitro bioassay to assess the potential global toxicity of waters on spermatogenesis: a pilot study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Many toxicants are present in water as a mixture. Male infertility is one of the environmental impacts in developed countries. Using our rat...     

Production of plant growth–promoting bacteria inoculants from composting leachate to develop durable agricultural ecosystems

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Composting process of residual organic material generates considerable amounts of liquid leachate which contains high organic load. This waste stream...     

Is naïveté forever? Alien predator and aggressor recognition by two endemic island reptiles

The disproportionate impacts of invasive predators are often attributed to the naïveté (i.e., inefficient or non-existing anti-predator behavior) of island native species having evolved without such predators. Naïveté has long been regarded as a fixed characteristic, but a few recent studies indicate a capacity for behavioral adaptation in native species in contact with alien predators. Here, we tested whether two reptiles endemic to New Caledonia, a skink, Caledoniscincus austrocaledonicus, and a gecko, Bavayia septuiclavis, recognized and responded to the odor of six introduced species (two rodents, the feral cat, and three species of ants). We used an experimental design in which reptiles had a choice of retreat sites with or without the odor of predators or aggressors. Skinks avoided two or three of the predators, whereas geckos avoided at most one. These results suggest that diurnal skinks are more responsive than nocturnal geckos to the odor of introduced predators. Neither skinks nor geckos avoided the three species of ants. Thus, the odors of alien predators are shown to influence retreat site selection by two native island reptiles. Moreover, the study suggests that this loss of naïveté varies among native species, probably as a consequence of the intensity of the threat and of time since introduction. These findings argue for re-thinking the behavioral flexibility of ectothermic reptiles in terms of their responses to biological invasion.     

Governance of seed and food security through participatory plant breeding: Empirical evidence and gender analysis from Syria

This paper presents the findings of a study on the governance of seed conducted in the framework of a participatory plant breeding (PPB) programme, based on a multi‐year inquiry with a panel of ten Syrian households. The study assessed the interactions between governance regimes regulating the rights to access and control genetic resources at international and national level, compared to the actual ability of the respondent women farmers to access and control the seed of varieties they co‐developed with the PPB programme. The paper argues that gender equal access to seed can “optimally” contribute to enhancing household food security in small scale farming. The paper also argues that to support a gender‐equal access to seed in the respondent households legislation needs to explicitly protect the rights of women farmers to access and share the benefits of genetic material and draw from empirical evidence of the actual access to and control of seed at ground level.     

Forest Management Devolution: Gap Between Technicians’ Design and Villagers’ Practices in Madagascar

In the 1980s, tropical forest-management principles underwent a shift toward approaches giving greater responsibilities to rural people. One argument for such a shift were the long-term relations established between rural people and their natural resources. In Madagascar, a new law was drawn up in 1996 (Gelose law), which sought to integrate rural people into forest management. A gap was observed between the changes foreseen by the projects implementing the Gelose law and the actual changes. In this article, we use the concept of the social-ecological system (SES) to analyze that gap. The differences existing between the planned changes set by the Gelose contract in the village of Ambatoloaka (northwest of Madagascar) and the practices observed in 2010 were conceptualized as a gap between two SESs. The first SES is the targeted one (i.e., a virtual one); it corresponds to the designed Gelose contract. The second SES is the observed one. It is characterized by the heterogeneity of forest users and uses, which have several impacts on forest management, and by very dynamic social and ecological systems. The observed SES has been reshaped contingent on the constraints and opportunities offered by the Gelose contract as well as on other ecological and social components. The consequences and opportunities that such an SES reshaping would offer to improve the implementation of the Gelose law are discussed. The main reasons explaining the gap between the two SESs are as follows: (1) the clash between static and homogeneous perceptions in the targeted SES and the dynamics and heterogeneity that characterize the observed SES; and (2) the focus on one specific use of forest ecosystems (i.e., charcoal-making) in the targeted SES. Forest management in the observed SES depends on several uses of forest ecosystems.     

Micropollutant content of Sargassum drifted ashore: arsenic and chlordecone threat assessment and management recommendations for the Caribbean

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Massive Sargassum beachings occurred since 2011 on Caribbean shores. Sargassum inundation events currently involve two species, namely S. fluitans and...     

Characterization of Lipopeptides Biosurfactants Produced by a Newly Isolated Strain Bacillus subtilis ZNI5: Potential Environmental Application

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Aiming the production of lipopeptides biosurfactants (BioS), we isolated a new strain identified as Bacillus subtilis ZNI5 from a hydrocarbon contaminated...