Environmental Issues in Brackish Water Shrimp Aquaculture in Sri Lanka

Shrimp exports are one of Sri Lanka's major foreign exchange earners and account for 40%–50% of total aquaculture exports. There has been a recent and rapid expansion of the industry in the Northwestern Province (NWP) of Sri Lanka but the industry has suffered from disease outbreaks and environmental problems. Currently, shrimp farms cover nearly 3000 ha of the coastal area of the NWP. The environmental impacts of shrimp cultivation in general are well known and numerous research studies have been done. However, little work has been carried out in Sri Lanka. This study provides some necessary background to brackish water shrimp aquaculture in Sri Lanka. It focuses briefly on the development of shrimp aquaculture and the current status of the industry. Emphasis is placed on two broader aspects—impacts on the existing wetland ecosystem and on the environment. These impacts are presumed to be the main causes hindering the growth of the industry and raising widespread public protest. Current ecosystem and environmental management practices are discussed. Finally, strategic issues for management and sustainable growth are discussed.     

From the ground up: holistic management and grassroots rural adaptation to bovine spongiform encephalopathy across western Canada

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has been documented in 28 countries and adversely affected farmers and rural communities around the world. Our study examines the impacts of and adaptive responses of producers to BSE in western Canada. Moreover, it explores the role that holistic management (HM), and its combined focus on environmental, social, and economic sustainability, might play in mitigating the effects of BSE. One survey was sent to 835 HM producers and another to 9,740 producers across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The disease, and concomitant climate change and low commodity prices, had devastating impacts on both groups. Yet, HM producers were much more optimistic about their ability to adapt to BSE and the future of agriculture than their non-HM counterparts. Social networks, namely HM clubs and the larger HM community, enabled these producers to mitigate the impacts of BSE. Agronomic responses, especially those associated with rotational grazing and increases in on-farm biodiversity were also important. That HM has been such an effective adaptive response to BSE indicates the importance of this and other grassroots responses to rural crises, whether they be associated with zoonotic diseases or indeed environmental change as a whole.     

代谢组学方法在生态毒理学中的应用进展

代谢组学方法越来越多地用于研究有机体与生态环境的相互作用。近年来,该方法已被应用于化学物风险评价和野生动物的疾病诊断,成为环境科学,特别是生态毒理学中充满活力的研究方向之一。本文介绍了应用于代谢组学研究的核磁共振波谱和质谱2种检测技术,着重讨论了生态毒理学研究中代谢组学方法在生物标志物的发掘和毒性评价,以及有机体对环境影响因子的代谢响应、野生水生动物疾病的诊断和监测等方面的应用。这些代谢组学在生态毒理学领域的应用将促进对有机体与环境相互作用的认识。     

面向疫情危机的城市公共卫生系统韧性

为有效应对城市公共卫生危机,公共卫生系统韧性至关重要。以武汉新冠肺炎(COVID-19)疫情防控成功经验为例,运用扎根理论分析政府、社区、医疗机构、媒体、非政府组织在COVID-19疫情防控中的观念与行为,解析出反映系统韧性特征的疾病监测体系、防疫资源管理、合作治理能力等10个主范畴及对应的52个子范畴,由此将系统韧性细分为功能韧性、过程韧性和整体韧性。运用解释结构模型(ISM)构建提升公共卫生系统韧性的层次结构模型,揭示多元社会主体通过前述韧性要素集合:社会防疫基础、防疫科技与文化、疫情风险综合治理的层级递进应急准备,实现城市公共卫生系统韧性提升目标。     

The Case of Sarno River (Southern Italy). Effects of geomorphology on the environmental impacts (8 pp)

Background, Aim and Scope Analysis of the morphological, geological and environmental characteristics of the Sarno River basin has shown the present degraded condition of the area. Over the past thirty years, the supply of untreated effluent of domestic, agricultural and industrial origin has ensured the presence of high concentrations of pollutants, including heavy metals. The geological context of the catchment area has played a major part in determining the current ecological conditions and public health problems: while human activity has modified the landscape, the natural order has indirectly contributed to increasing the environmental impact. Results and Discussion The health situation is precarious as the basin's inhabitants feed on agricultural and animal products, and use polluted water directly or indirectly. The hazard of contracting degenerative illnesses of the digestive or respiratory apparatus, bacterial infections or some neoplasia has gradually increased, especially in the last five years. Moreover, polluted basin waters flowing into the Bay of Naples increase sea water contamination, thereby damaging tourism, public health and degrading the local littoral quality. Conclusion The overview presented shows how the environmental state of the Sarno River basin gives considerable cause for concern. The basin's complex geomorphologic setting has a direct bearing on local environmental and health conditions. The analysis of the available data demonstrates how the physical aspects of the area are closely linked to the diffusion and concentration of the pollutants, and how the latter ones have a large influence on the hygienic-sanitary conditions of the local population. Recommendation and Perspective Specific interventions need to be undertaken to monitor and improve the chemical, physical and microbiological conditions of water and sediments, especially in light of the geomorphological vulnerability of the river basin.     

Not All Animals are Equal Differences In Moral Foundations For The Dutch Veterinary Policy On Livestock and Animals In Nature Reservations

The Netherlands is a small country with many people and much livestock. As a result, animals in nature reservations are often living near cattle farms. Therefore, people from the agricultural practices are afraid that wild animals will infect domestic livestock with diseases like Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease. To protect agriculture (considered as an important economic practice), very strict regulations have been made for minimizing this risk. In this way, the practice of animal farming has been dominating the practices of nature management completely. If, for instance, Foot and Mouth Disease strikes an agricultural area, all wild pigs and cattle living in the nearby nature reservations have to be killed, whether infected or not. This dominant position of one practice over the other has now become problematic. While the morality of the practice of nature management seems to be very different from the morality of agriculture and agriculture has become less important from an economic point of view, the public as well as those involved in nature management no longer seem to accept the dominant position of agriculture. Besides a literature study, we performed a field study with in-depth interviews with experts from both practices to analyze the dynamics of the internal moralities of both practices in the previous century, in order to clarify the contemporary situation. The conclusion was that the traditionally strong position of agriculture is not only weakening; it also appears that the internal values of agriculture are changing. The experts from both sides agreed that, in case of a disease outbreak, it is neither ethically justified nor necessary (because of the estimated low risk of disease transfer) to destroy the animals in nature reservations as a routine preventive measure. This is a major shift in morality.     

Ecology of Chytridiomycosis in Rainforest Stream Frog Assemblages of Tropical Queensland

Abstract:  In the wet tropics of Queensland, Australia, eight species of stream-dwelling frogs have experienced population declines. Some declines were associated with an emerging infectious disease of amphibians (chytridiomycosis) caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. We examined the spatial and temporal pattern of infection prevalence in a sample of frog populations. Infected adults and tadpoles of all species were found, and infections occurred at every site. Infection prevalence varied among species and was always < 10.0% in adults but ranged from 0.75 to 76.0% in tadpoles. In this system tadpoles and adults of some species may act as disease reservoirs, experiencing avirulent infections, whereas other hosts (declining species) experience virulent infections. Infection prevalence was higher during the cool, dry winter season (May to September) and at high elevations (600–800 m), suggesting regulation by environmental conditions, including temperature and precipitation. We found no relationships between infection prevalence and mean body condition, fluctuating asymmetry of hind limbs, population density, or the presence of metamorphosing tadpoles and juvenile frogs. Although it is not certain whether chytridiomycosis was responsible for past frog population declines in the wet tropics of Queensland, the pathogen is now endemic. Our data indicate that at the landscape level, environmental conditions have strong effects on host-pathogen dynamics. These effects interact with species-specific behavior or immune function and may be important underlying determinants of chytridiomycosis epizootics and emergence.     

Toward an integrative molecular approach to wildlife disease

Pathogens pose serious threats to human health, agricultural investment, and biodiversity conservation through the emergence of zoonoses, spillover to domestic livestock, and epizootic outbreaks. As such, wildlife managers are often tasked with mitigating the negative effects of disease. Yet, parasites form a major component of biodiversity that often persist. This is due to logistical challenges of implementing management strategies and to insufficient understanding of host–parasite dynamics. We advocate for an inclusive understanding of molecular diversity in driving parasite infection and variable host disease states in wildlife systems. More specifically, we examine the roles of genetic, epigenetic, and commensal microbial variation in disease pathogenesis. These include mechanisms underlying parasite virulence and host resistance and tolerance, and the development, regulation, and parasite subversion of immune pathways, among other processes. Case studies of devil facial tumor disease in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) and chytridiomycosis in globally distributed amphibians exemplify the broad range of questions that can be addressed by examining different facets of molecular diversity. For particularly complex systems, integrative molecular analyses present a promising frontier that can provide critical insights necessary to elucidate disease dynamics operating across scales. These insights enable more accurate risk assessment, reconstruction of transmission pathways, discernment of optimal intervention strategies, and development of more effective and ecologically sound treatments that minimize damage to the host population and environment. Such measures are crucial when mitigating threats posed by wildlife disease to humans, domestic animals, and species of conservation concern.