Assessing the effectiveness of marine reserves on unsustainably harvested long-lived sessile invertebrates

Although the rapid recovery of fishes after establishment of a marine reserve is well known, much less is known about the response of long-lived, sessile, benthic organisms to establishment of such reserves. Since antiquity, Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum) has been harvested intensively for use in jewelry, and its distribution is currently smaller than its historical size throughout the Mediterranean Sea. To assess whether establishment of marine reserves is associated with a change in the size and number of red coral colonies that historically were not harvested sustainably, we analyzed temporal changes in mean colony diameter and density from 1992 to 2005 within red coral populations at different study sites in the Medes Islands Marine Reserve (established in 1992) and in adjacent unprotected areas. Moreover, we compared colony size in the Medes Islands Marine Reserve, where recreational diving is allowed and poaching has been observed after reserve establishment, with colony size in three other marine protected areas (Banyuls, Carry-le-Rouet, and Scandola) with the enforced prohibition of fishing and diving. At the end of the study, the size of red coral colonies at all sampling sites in the Medes Islands was significantly smaller than predicted by growth models and smaller than those in marine protected areas without fishing and diving. The annual number of recreational dives and the percent change in the basal diameter of red coral colonies were negatively correlated, which suggests that abrasion by divers may increase the mortality rates of the largest red coral colonies within this reserve . Our study is the first quantitative assessment of a poaching event, which was detected during our monitoring in 2002, inside the marine reserve. Poaching was associated with a loss of approximately 60% of the biomass of red coral colonies.     

Determinants of sustainability in solid waste management - The Gianyar Waste Recovery Project in Indonesia

According to most experts, integrated and sustainable solid waste management should not only be given top priority, but must go beyond technical aspects to include various key elements of sustainability to ensure success of any solid waste project. Aside from project sustainable impacts, the overall enabling environment is the key feature determining performance and success of an integrated and affordable solid waste system. This paper describes a project-specific approach to assess typical success or failure factors. A questionnaire-based assessment method covers issues of: (i) social mobilisation and acceptance (social element), (ii) stakeholder, legal and institutional arrangements comprising roles, responsibilities and management functions (institutional element); (iii) financial and operational requirements, as well as cost recovery mechanisms (economic element). The Gianyar Waste Recovery Project in Bali, Indonesia was analysed using this integrated assessment method. The results clearly identified chief characteristics, key factors to consider when planning country wide replication but also major barriers and obstacles which must be overcome to ensure project sustainability. The Gianyar project consists of a composting unit processing 60tons of municipal waste per day from 500,000 inhabitants, including manual waste segregation and subsequent composting of the biodegradable organic fraction.     

Consistent effects of nitrogen fertilization on soil bacterial communities in contrasting systems

Ecosystems worldwide are receiving increasing amounts of reactive nitrogen (N) through anthropogenic activities. Although the effects of increased N inputs on plant communities have been reasonably well studied, few comparable studies have examined impacts on whole soil bacterial communities, though they play critical roles in ecosystem functioning. We sampled soils from two long-term ecological research (LTER) experimental N gradients, both of which have been amended with NH4NO3; a grassland at Cedar Creek (27 years of N additions) and an agricultural field at Kellogg Biological Station (8 years of N additions). By examining shifts in bacterial communities across these contrasting ecosystem types, we could test competing hypotheses about the direct and indirect factors that might drive bacterial responses to elevated N inputs. Bacterial community structure was highly responsive to N additions. We observed predictable and consistent changes in the structure of the bacterial communities across both ecosystem types. Our results suggest that bacterial communities across these gradients are more structured by N and/or soil carbon availability than by shifts in the plant community or soil pH associated with the elevated nitrogen inputs. In contrast to the pronounced shifts in bacterial community composition and in direct contrast to the patterns often observed in plant communities, increases in N availability did not have consistent effects on the richness and diversity of soil bacterial communities.     

Plasticity versus repeatability in seabird migratory behaviour

Pelagic seabird populations can use several discrete wintering areas, but it is unknown if individuals use the same wintering area year after year. This would have consequences for their population genetic structure and conservation. We here study the faithfulness of individuals to a moulting area within and among years in a small pelagic seabird, the Thin-billed prion, which moult their primary feathers during the early part of the non-breeding period. According to stable carbon isotope ratios (δ¹³C) of these feathers, 90% of Thin-billed prions moult in Antarctic and 10% in South American waters. Repeated samples from individuals in 2 or 3 years indicated that several birds changed between Antarctic and South American moulting areas or vice versa. However, individuals moulting in an area in one year were more likely to do so again. Four out of five adults maintained highly conserved δ¹³C over the extended moulting period. One bird, however, had systematic changes in δ¹³C indicating latitudinal movements between the two areas during moult. Thus, the present data show that this seabird species has a highly flexible migratory strategy, not only at the population level, but also at the individual level, enabling these seabirds to exploit a highly unpredictable environment.     

德国公司环境报告评估

1994年进行了德国公司环境报告的第一次排名.1995年和1998年又进行了两次排名,以确定环境报告和陈述的数目已增加的程度,及其质量是否有所改善.基于所使用的基准,已经显示公司报告的质量有颇大差异.虽然总体质量有了改善,但大多数报告都有许多重要不足.     

Oxidoreductases provide a more generic response to metallic stressors (Cu and Cd) than hydrolases in soil fungi: new ecotoxicological insights

The present study investigates the effect of metals on the secretion of enzymes from12 fungal strains maintained in liquid cultures. Hydrolases (acid phosphatase, β-glucosidase, β-galactosidase, and N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase) and ligninolytic oxidoreductases (laccase, Mn, and lignin peroxidases) activities, as well as biomass production, were measured in culture fluids from fungi exposed to Cu or Cd. Our results showed that all fungi secreted most of the selected hydrolases and that about 50 % of them produced a partial oxidative system in the absence of metals. Then, exposure of fungi to metals led to the decrease in biomass production. At the enzymatic level, Cu and Cd modified the secretion profiles of soil fungi. The response of hydrolases to metals was contrasted and complex and depended on metal, enzyme, and fungal strain considered. By contrast, the metals always stimulated the activity of ligninolytic oxidoreductases in fungal strains. In some of them, oxidoreductases were specifically produced following metal exposure. Fungal oxidoreductases provide a more generic response than hydrolases, constituting thus a physiological basis for their use as biomarkers of metal exposure in soils.     

Future agriculture with minimized phosphorus losses to waters: Research needs and direction

The series of papers in this issue of AMBIO represent technical presentations made at the 7th International Phosphorus Workshop (IPW7), held in September, 2013 in Uppsala, Sweden. At that meeting, the 150 delegates were involved in round table discussions on major, predetermined themes facing the management of agricultural phosphorus (P) for optimum production goals with minimal water quality impairment. The six themes were (1) P management in a changing world; (2) transport pathways of P from soil to water; (3) monitoring, modeling, and communication; (4) importance of manure and agricultural production systems for P management; (5) identification of appropriate mitigation measures for reduction of P loss; and (6) implementation of mitigation strategies to reduce P loss. This paper details the major challenges and research needs that were identified for each theme and identifies a future roadmap for catchment management that cost-effectively minimizes P loss from agricultural activities.     

Phosphorus management in Europe in a changing world

Food production in Europe is dependent on imported phosphorus (P) fertilizers, but P use is inefficient and losses to the environment high. Here, we discuss possible solutions by changes in P management. We argue that not only the use of P fertilizers and P additives in feed could be reduced by fine-tuning fertilization and feeding to actual nutrient requirements, but also P from waste has to be completely recovered and recycled in order to close the P balance of Europe regionally and become less dependent on the availability of P-rock reserves. Finally, climate-smart P management measures are needed, to reduce the expected deterioration of surface water quality resulting from climate-change-induced P loss.