The importance of monitoring and evaluation in adaptive maritime spatial planning

Adaptive maritime spatial planning (MSP) uses monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of spatial and temporal management measures to promote understanding and improve planning and decision-making. An adaptive approach to MSP involves exploring alternative ways to meet management objectives, predicting the outcomes of alternative management measures, implementing one or more of these alternative management measures, monitoring to learn about the effects of management measures, and then using the results to update knowledge and adjust management actions. A monitoring and evaluation plan should be designed to be both cost effective and comprehensive. The process of setting and assessing performance metrics requires that the ecological and socio-economic objectives of the spatial management plan must be clearly stated up front for management actions to reflect those objectives accurately. To evaluate the effectiveness of a MSP plan, a range of ecological, socio-economic and institutional indicators need to be developed and monitored.     

Modelling short-term effects of ozone on morbidity: an application to the city of Milano,Italy, 1995–2003

In this paper, we explore a range of concerns that arise in measuring short-term effects of ozone on health. In particular, we tackle the problem of measuring exposure using alternative daily measures of ozone derived from hourly concentrations. We adopt the exposure paradigm of Chiogna and Bellini (Environmetrics 13:55–69, 2002) extending it to ozone concentrations, and we compare its performances with respect to traditional exposure measures by exploiting model selection. To investigate the stability of model selection, we then apply the idea of bootstrapping the modelling process.     

Effects of salinity on multiplication and transmission of an intertidal trematode parasite

Salinity levels vary spatially in coastal areas, depending on proximity to freshwater sources, and may also be slowly decreasing as a result of anthropogenic climatic changes. The impact of salinity on host–parasite interactions is potentially a key regulator of transmission processes in intertidal areas, where trematodes are extremely common parasites of invertebrates and vertebrates. We investigated experimentally the effects of long-term exposure to decreased salinity levels on output of infective stages (cercariae) and their transmission success in the trematode Philophthalmus sp. This parasite uses the snail Zeacumantus subcarinatus as intermediate host, in which it asexually produces cercariae. After leaving the snail, cercariae encyst externally on hard substrates to await accidental ingestion by shorebirds, which serve as definitive hosts. We found that at reduced salinities (25 or 30 psu), the cercarial output of the parasite was lower, the time taken by cercariae to encyst was longer, fewer cercariae successfully encysted and encysted parasites had lower long-term survival than at normal seawater salinity (35 psu). The strong effect of salinity on the replication and transmission of this parasite suggests that there may be sources and sinks of transmission to birds along coastal areas, depending on local salinity conditions. Also, unless it evolves to adapt to changing conditions, the predicted reduction in salinity as a consequence of climate change may have negative impact on the parasite’s abundance.     

Do corals select zooxanthellae by alternative discharge?

Loss of zooxanthellae (dinoflagellate Symbiodinium) from corals will sometimes lead to mass mortality of corals. To detect and quantify Symbiodinium released from corals, we developed a zooxanthellae “trap” and a quantitative PCR (qPCR) system with Symbiodinium clades A–F-specific primer sets. The trap was attached to a branch or the surface of several wild stony corals, and the water samples within the traps, including released Symbiodinium, were subjected to qPCR. All tested corals released clade C Symbiodinium at estimates of ~5,900 cells h⁻¹ cm⁻² of coral surface. Although all tested Pocillopora eydouxi harboured both clades C and D, some of these colonies released only clade C or released a lesser amount of clade D than that in the tissues. Our Symbiodinium quantification system revealed that wild hermatypic corals constantly release Symbiodinium to the environment. Our result suggests that some corals may discharge certain clades of Symbiodinium alternatively.     

南京北郊秋冬季相对湿度及气溶胶理化特性对大气能见度的影响

为了解南京北郊秋冬季相对湿度与气溶胶理化特性对大气能见度的影响,利用2012年秋冬季气象要素资料、颗粒物浓度及其主要成分和气溶胶粒子谱分布等观测数据,分析了南京北郊大气能见度与气象要素、颗粒物污染之间的关系.结果表明,南京北郊秋冬季节平均大气能见度仅为4.76 km.颗粒物浓度与能见度存在一定的负相关关系,尤其细粒子对能见度的影响更为显著.随细粒子质量浓度和相对湿度(RH)的增大,低能见度出现的频率呈现上升趋势.能见度从5~10 km衰减到5km时,PM10和PM2.1质量浓度分别增加了7.56%和37.64%;其中SO2-4和NO-3质量浓度均有显著增加.气溶胶粒子数浓度对能见度的影响与相对湿度有关,粒径0.5~2μm的气溶胶数浓度随RH增加增长缓慢,而2~10μm范围内的粒子数浓度随RH增加而减小;结合气溶胶表面积浓度与能见度进行相关性分析,表明0.5~2μm的细粒子及相对湿度是导致南京北郊秋冬季大气能见度下降的主要因素.     

CO2 dynamic of Lake Donghu highlights the need for long-term monitoring

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Inland freshwater lakes have been widely considered as significant sources of CO2 to the atmosphere. However, long-term measurements of CO2 dynamics...     

1999年与2014年贡嘎山峨眉冷杉枝和叶中常见重金属的生物富集特征对比

经济的快速发展使得生态环境的承载力日益接近上限,而关于偏远地区森林系统的重金属污染的时间变化趋势却鲜有报道.本文测定了贡嘎山1999年与2014年采集的峨嵋冷杉枝、叶中的Pb、Hg、Cr、As、Cd、Mn、Cu、Zn与Ba.结果表明：11999年枝、叶样品中Pb、Hg、As、Cd、Mn与Cu显著高于2014年的量,而2014年枝、叶样品中Cr、Zn和Ba高于1999年的量;2枝中Pb、Hg、Cr、As、Cd、Mn、Cu、Zn和Ba与生长龄无统一的变化趋势,而在叶中的含量随着生长龄的增加有增加的趋势;3Hg易在叶中富集,而其它元素更易在枝中富集;通过在主成分分析的基础上进行多元线性回归判断常见重金属元素的来源,枝、叶中的Pb、Cr、As、Cd、Cu、Zn和Ba有42.3%~92.2%的含量来自于土壤,而枝、叶中的Hg有70.6%的含量来自于大气.这说明Hg存在与其他重金属在森林系统不同的累积机制.     

On the effect of Fe(III) on proliferation of Microcystis aeruginosa at high nitrate and low chlorophyll condition

The impact of Fe concentrations on the growth of Microcystisaeruginosa in aquatic systems under high nitrate and low chlorophyll conditions was studied. The responses of cell density, total and cell chlorophyll-a intracellular Fe content and organic elemental composition of M. aeruginosa to different concentration gradients of Fe(III) in the solutions were analysed. The results showed that the proliferation speeds of M. aeruginosa were: (1) decelerated when the Fe(III) concentration was lower than 50 μg/L in the solutions, (2) promoted and positively related to the increase of Fe(III) concentration from 100 to 500 μg/L in the solutions over the experimental period, and (3) promoted in the early stage but decelerated in later stages by excess adsorption of Fe by cells when the Fe(III) concentration was higher than 500 μg/L in the solutions. The maximum cell density, total and cell chlorophyll-a were all observed at 500 μg Fe(III)/L concentration. The organic elemental composition of M. aeruginosa was also affected by the concentration of Fe(III) in the solutions, and the molecular formula of M. aeruginosa should be expressed as C_7–7.5H₁₄O_0.8–1.3N_3.5–5 according to the functions for different Fe(III) concentrations. Cell carbon and oxygen content appeared to increase slightly, while cell nitrogen content appeared to decrease as Fe(III) concentrations increased from 100 to 500 μg/L in the solutions. This was attributed to the competition of photosynthesis and nitrogen adsorption under varying cell Fe content.