Combining gut fluorescence technique and spatial analysis to determine <Emphasis Type="Italic">Littorina littorea</Emphasis> grazing dynamics in nutrient-enriched and nutrient-unenriched littoral mesocosms

Spatiotemporal distribution patterns in relation to feeding behavior of herbivorous gastropods have been studied extensively, but still knowledge about small-scale patterns is limited in relation to eutrophication. This experimental study aimed to describe the small-scale distribution of Littorina littorea in nutrient-enriched and nutrient-unenriched mesocosms in a merely atidal region and relate the distribution to food abundance and possible competing organisms, while checking simultaneously for feeding activities. The latter part was accomplished through the “gut fluorescence technique” GFT (which, to our knowledge, has not previously been used for benthic grazers) to estimate per capita grazing rates and the former part through monitoring of spatial heterogeneity of L. littorea and co-variation with sessile organisms (using semivariograms and cross-semivariograms, respectively). After 5 months of nutrient addition, the abundance and biomass of L. littorea had increased in enriched systems, which also had significantly higher total biomass of green algae. Gut pigment content was higher in L. littorea from enriched mesocosms, and gut depletion rate was higher in L. littorea from unenriched mesocosms. Spatial analysis showed that L. littorea exhibited generally random patterns (suggesting feeding activities) but sometimes (often in the morning) spatial patchiness (clumped distribution) in both enriched and unenriched conditions. There was mainly positive co-variation between L. littorea and biofilm, while different nutrient conditions exhibited contrasting co-variation between L. littorea and barnacles (positive co-variation in enriched and negative co-variation in unenriched mesocosms). The study offered insights into how feeding behavior and spatial distribution of a species may interact with community components differently under different nutrient regimes. The applied methodology can be useful for purposes of faster examination of grazing effects among different regions and also to compare grazing intensities and interactions between grazers and the benthic communities in disturbed (including pollution and nutrient enrichment) and non-disturbed systems, as well as in up-welling versus non-upwelling areas.     

Dangerous climate change and water resources in Australia

Water resources in Australia are sensitive to changes in rainfall. Ongoing droughts in south-west and south-east Australia are stressing water resources in the major cities and in agricultural regions. Climate change scenarios for Australia include reasonable prospects of long-term drying, which would exacerbate these issues. The dryer scenarios would entail major readjustments and costs on natural and human systems.     

Exporting natural capital: the foreign eco-footprint on Costa Rica and implications for sustainability

As the world economy ‘globalizes’, trade has become a major mechanism by which much of the human population supports its needs. While trade in resource commodities (natural income) can increase the well-being of people in both exporting and importing countries, it can also lead to depletion of natural capital and the loss of ecosystems integrity. In recent years, various researchers have attempted to address this problem using a consumption-based perspective on ecological change. Their work shows that the loss of ecosystem integrity in almost any region of the world can be attributed to both local and international consumer demand. This paper illustrates the utility of modified eco-footprint analysis in assessing export-related ecological change in Costa Rica. We quantify ecological footprint of consumers around the world on the productive ecosystems of Costa Rica, document the changing character of this footprint and highlight some of the linkages between production for export in Costa Rica and ecological degradation. We then discuss the implications of the increasing trade-based entanglement of nations for ecosystems and global sustainability.     

Freshwater stress on small island developing states: population projections and aridity changes at 1.5 and 2 °C

Small island developing states (SIDS) face multiple threats from anthropogenic climate change, including potential changes in freshwater resource availability. Due to a mismatch in spatial scale between SIDS landforms and the horizontal resolution of global climate models (GCMs), SIDS are mostly unaccounted for in GCMs that are used to make future projections of global climate change and its regional impacts. Specific approaches are required to address this gap between broad-scale model projections and regional, policy-relevant outcomes. Here, we apply a recently developed methodology that circumvents the GCM limitation of coarse resolution in order to project future changes in aridity on small islands. These climate projections are combined with independent population projections associated with shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) to evaluate overall changes in freshwater stress in SIDS at warming levels of 1.5 and 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. While we find that future population growth will dominate changes in projected freshwater stress especially toward the end of the century, projected changes in aridity are found to compound freshwater stress for the vast majority of SIDS. For several SIDS, particularly across the Caribbean region, a substantial fraction (~?25%) of the large overall freshwater stress projected under 2 °C at 2030 can be avoided by limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. Our findings add to a growing body of literature on the difference in climate impacts between 1.5 and 2 °C and underscore the need for regionally specific analysis.     

Reducing external costs of nitrogen pollution by relocation of pig production between regions in the European Union

This paper tests the hypothesis that relocation of pig production within the EU27 can reduce the external costs of nitrogen (N) pollution. The external cost of pollution by ammonia and nitrate from agriculture in the European Union (EU27) in 2008 was estimated at 61–215 billion € (0.5 to 1.8% of the GDP). Per capita it ranged from more than 1000 € in north-west EU27 to 50 € in Romania. The average contribution of pig production was 15%. Using provincial data (224 NUTS2 regions in EU27), the potential reduction of external N cost by relocation of pig production was estimated at 14 billion € (10% of the total). Regions most eligible for decreasing the pig stock were in western Germany, Flemish region, Denmark, the Netherlands and Bretagne, while Romania is most eligible for increasing pig production. Relocating 20 million pigs (13% of the total EU stock) decreased average external costs per capita from 900 to 785 € in the 13 NUTS2 regions where pigs were removed and increased from 69 to 107 € in 11 regions receiving pigs. A second alternative configuration of pig production was targeted at reducing exceedance of critical N deposition and closing regional nutrient cycles. This configuration relocates pigs within Germany and France, for example from Bretagne to Northern France and from Weser-Ems to Oberbayern. However, total external cost increases due to an increase of health impacts, unless when combined with implementation of best N management practices. Relocation of the pig industry in the EU27 will meet many socio-economic barriers and realisation requires new policy incentives.     

Assessing the implications of a 1.5 °C temperature limit for the Jamaican agriculture sector

Despite recent calls to limit future increases in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C, little is known about how different climatic thresholds will impact human society. Future warming trends have significant global food security implications, particularly for small island developing states (SIDS) that are recognized as being among the most vulnerable to global climate change. In the case of the Caribbean, any significant change in the region’s climate is likely to have significant adverse effects on the agriculture sector. This paper explores the potential biophysical impacts of a +?1.5 °C warming scenario on several economically important crops grown in the Caribbean island of Jamaica. Also, it explores differences to a >?2.0 °C warming scenario, which is more likely, if the current policy agreements cannot be complied with by the international community. We use the ECOCROP niche model to estimate how predicted changes in future climate could affect the growing conditions of several commonly cultivated crops from both future scenarios. We then discuss some key policy considerations for Jamaica’s agriculture sector, specifically related to the challenges posed to future adaptation pathways amidst growing climate uncertainty and complexity. Our model results show that even an increase less than +?1.5 °C is expected to have an overall negative impact on crop suitability and a general reduction in the range of crops available to Jamaican farmers. This observation is instructive as increases above the +?1.5 °C threshold would likely lead to even more irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes to the sustainability of Jamaica’s agriculture sector. The paper concludes by outlining some key considerations for future action, paying keen attention to the policy relevance of a +?1.5 °C temperature limit. Given little room for optimism with respect to the imminent changes that SIDS will need to confront in the near future, broad-based policy engagement by stakeholders in these geographies is paramount, irrespective of the climate warming scenario.