Improving collaboration in the implementation of global biodiversity conventions

Eight conventions make up the biodiversity cluster of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) that provide the critical international legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of nature. However, concerns about the rate of implementation of the conventions at the national level have triggered discussions about the effectiveness of these MEAs in halting the loss of biodiversity. Two main concerns have emerged: lack of capacity and resources and lack of coherence in implementing multiple conventions. We focused on the latter and considered the mechanisms by which international conventions are translated into national policy. Specifically, we examined how the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and the associated Aichi Biodiversity Targets have functioned as a unifying grand plan for biodiversity conservation. This strategic plan has been used to coordinate and align targets to promote and enable more effective implementation across all biodiversity-related conventions. Results of a survey of 139 key stakeholders from 88 countries suggests streamlining across ministries and agencies, improved coordination mechanisms with all relevant stakeholders, and better knowledge sharing between conventions could improve cooperation among biodiversity-related conventions. The roadmap for improving synergies among conventions agreed to at the 13th Convention on Biological Diversity's Conference of Parties in 2016 includes actions such as mechanisms to avoid duplication in national reporting and monitoring on conventions and capacity building related to information and knowledge sharing. We suggest the scientific community can actively engage and contribute to the policy process by establishing a science-policy platform to address knowledge gaps; improving data gathering, reporting, and monitoring; developing indicators that adequately support implementation of national plans and strategies; and providing evidence-based recommendations to policy makers. The latter will be particularly important as 2020 approaches and work to develop a new biodiversity agenda for the next decade is beginning.     

Fauna of the green alga Cladophora glomerata in the Baltic Sea: density, diversity, and algal decomposition stage

The green alga Cladophora glomerata (L.) is a common macrophyte in the northern Baltic Sea, where it forms drifting mats during summer. We studied the effect of its stage of decomposition on the density, diversity, and resource usage of associated meio- and macrofauna. We hypothesised that mobile species would show small variation in food preferences among decomposition stages, while high variation was expected in stationary species, as reflected in their stable isotope signatures. The assemblage structure of the fauna differed between the 3 studied algal degradation stages, Green (attached, healthy), Degraded (attached, but starting to decay), and Drift (detached, decaying). C/N ratios were highest in green algae and decreased in decaying algal stages. Variation in stable isotope ratios of stationary and mobile species supported our resource use hypothesis. The decomposition stage of C. glomerata significantly affected the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of both the alga and its main grazer species. Higher invertebrate diversity in the more decaying stages was probably facilitated by decomposer microbes adding resource types and by the proximity of the detached algal mats to the sediment.     

Extreme phase sensitivity of afferents which innervate mormyromast electroreceptors

The Science of Nature -     

Does the wood-borer Sphaeroma terebrans (Crustacea) shape the distribution of the mangrove Rhizophora mucronata?

Field surveys were conducted to evaluate the occurrence of the isopod borer Sphaeroma terebrans (Crustacea) in aerial roots (prop roots) of the red mangrove Rhizophora mucronata on several different spatial scales (m to 100 km) in East Africa. In 6 out of 17 sites studied in Kenya and on Zanzibar Island, Tanzania, no signs of the isopods were found. When the isopods were present the frequency of infestation was high. Trees in muddy substrates in the lower intertidal, in particular at fringing channels or the open sea, showed high prevalence and intensity of infestation, with large part of their roots damaged or dead. Trees at the upper range of Rhizophora, in sandy and muddy areas, showed no signs of isopod infestation. This pattern recurred in mangrove forests on large spatial scales and there was no indication that island forests differed from the mainland forests. This indicates that sediment characteristics, vertical height in the tidal zone, and direct exposure to incoming water are the major factors controlling the abundance of S. terebrans. The isopod may play an important role in determining the lower intertidal limits of R. mucronata. Trees with numerous dead or nongrowing roots, as result of Sphaeroma attack, are likely to tumble due to a lack of root support and this is most likely to occur along channels at the lower, muddy intertidal. Tumbled trees were frequently observed along channels in the lower, muddy intertidal, but rarely in the mid or high intertidal. Implications for management of mangrove forests are discussed.     

Uptake and distribution of 137Cs and 90Sr in salix viminalis plants

Agricultural areas in middle and northern parts of Sweden were contaminated with radionuclides after the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Alternative crops in these areas are biomass plantations with fast-growing Salix clones for energy purposes. The uptake and internal distribution of 137Cs and 90Sr in Salix viminalis were studied. Plants were grown in microplots under field conditions. The soils in the experimental site had been contaminated in 1961 with 35.7 and 13.4 MBq m(-2) of 137Cs and 90Sr, respectively. The experiment was carried out during three years. The plots were fertilised with 60 kg N ha(-1) and three treatments of K, consisting of 0, 80 and 240 kg K ha(-1) during the first two years. The activity concentration of 137Cs in the different plant parts varied between 140 and 20,000 Bq kg(-1) and was ranked in the following order: lowest in stems < cuttings < leaves < roots. The fine roots (0-1 mm) had the highest 137Cs activity concentration. One-year-old stems had higher 137Cs activity concentrations than two-year-old stems. The activity concentration of 137Cs in the plants was significantly affected by K-supply and was higher in the 0 kg K treatment than in the 80 or 240kg K treatment. Leaves contained more 90Sr than stems and cuttings.