Mapping spots: fishing areas or territories among islanders of the Atlantic Forest (Brazil)

This study analyzes the fishing areas or spots used by artisanal fishers of the Atlantic Forest coast. Fishers include inhabitants of islands of the SE Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Data on fish landings were collected for different islands, in 1986 and 1989–1990, for species caught, technology used and fishing time. Fishing spots were marked or rechecked using GPS in 1997–1999. Fishing is performed in paddled, motorized canoes or in small boats with set gillnets or hook and line. Marine animals caught vary from place to place and include fish, shrimp, squid and crab. Spots used are very stable in time, since they did not change for about 10 years. Among other factors, technology limits the range of access of the fishers to the spots. An informal division of fishing areas or spots is observed, based on the locality of residence of the fishers. The mapping and observed division of fishing spots may be used in local management, helping to control the intrusion of industrial fishers in artisanal areas. Local rules and discrimination of spot users may be helpful for artisanal fishers, especially in areas where conflicts with trawlers occur. The observed long-term stability of the use of fishing spots by artisanal fishers and conflicts with other users indicate the urgency of considering local rules for conservation purposes in Atlantic Forest coastal areas. Electronic Publication     

Reliability of Indicators of Decline in Abundance

Abstract: Although there are many indicators of endangerment (i.e., whether populations or species meet criteria that justify conservation action), their reliability has rarely been tested. Such indicators may fail to identify that a population or species meets criteria for conservation action (false negative) or may incorrectly show that such criteria have been met (false positive). To quantify the rate of both types of error for 20 commonly used indicators of declining abundance (threat indicators), we used receiver operating characteristic curves derived from historical (1938–2007) data for 18 sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) populations in the Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada. We retrospectively determined each population's yearly status (reflected by change in abundance over time) on the basis of each indicator. We then compared that population's status in a given year with the status in subsequent years (determined by the magnitude of decline in abundance across those years). For each sockeye population, we calculated how often each indicator of past status matched subsequent status. No single threat indicator provided error‐free estimates of status, but indicators that reflected the extent (i.e., magnitude) of past decline in abundance (through comparison of current abundance with some historical baseline abundance) tended to better reflect status in subsequent years than the rate of decline over the previous 3 generations (a widely used indicator). We recommend that when possible, the reliability of various threat indicators be evaluated with empirical analyses before such indicators are used to determine the need for conservation action. These indicators should include estimates from the entire data set to take into account a historical baseline.     

Trends in Pesticide Concentrations in Streamsof the Western United States, 1993‐20051

Johnson, Henry M., Joseph L. Domagalski, and Dina K. Saleh, 2010. Trends in Pesticide Concentrations in Streams of the Western United States, 1993‐2005. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 00(0):1‐22. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00507.x Abstract: Trends in pesticide concentrations for 15 streams in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho were determined for the organophosphate insecticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon and the herbicides atrazine, s‐ethyl diproplythiocarbamate (EPTC), metolachlor, simazine, and trifluralin. A parametric regression model was used to account for flow, seasonality, and antecedent hydrologic conditions and thereby estimate trends in pesticide concentrations in streams arising from changes in use amount and application method in their associated catchments. Decreasing trends most often were observed for diazinon, and reflect the shift to alternative pesticides by farmers, commercial applicators, and homeowners because of use restrictions and product cancelation. Consistent trends were observed for several herbicides, including upward trends in simazine at urban‐influenced sites from 2000 to 2005, and downward trends in atrazine and EPTC at agricultural sites from the mid‐1990s to 2005. The model provided additional information about pesticide occurrence and transport in the modeled streams. Two examples are presented and briefly discussed: (1) timing of peak concentrations for individual compounds varied greatly across this geographic gradient because of different application periods and the effects of local rain patterns, irrigation, and soil drainage and (2) reconstructions of continuous diazinon concentrations at sites in California are used to evaluate compliance with total maximum daily load targets.     

Bird Species' Tolerance of Secondary Forest Habitats and Its Effects on Extinction

Abstract:  Intense deforestation causes massive species losses. These losses occur because the habitats supplanting primary forest are inadequate to sustain viable populations of forest-dependent species. Despite this, certain species do seem to persist within the secondary habitats that replace original forest. This implies that there is a special class of species that might survive the loss of primary forest. Such a result would significantly influence conservation plans and extinction predictions. We tested whether species that tolerate secondary habitats survive extensive habitat loss and whether the same degree of loss threatens species that are forest obligates. To identify purported "survivors," we compared the remaining range sizes of endemic birds, their abundances, and their degree of extinction threat. We did this within the remaining Atlantic Forest of Brazil, a region extremely rich in endemics but with only approximately 10% of its forest remaining. We found no survivors. Habitat loss threatens forest-obligate birds and those using secondary habitats equally.     

Climate change,adaptive capacity and policy direction in the Canadian North: Can we learn anything from the collapse of the east coast cod fishery?

Scientific evidence gathered over the past five years suggests that northern Canada and the Arctic have undergone, and are undergoing, formidable environmental changes linked to global climate change. Environmental change in the north is expected to persist and intensify over the course of the next century. When large-scale environmental changes take place, they inevitably affect people, especially when the cultures and livelihoods of those people depend on their relationship with the environment. Managing the local impacts of these changes is a matter of adaptation. This paper discusses some of the policy implications of adaptation––government interventions aiming to build communities’ and regions’ capacities to adapt to environmental changes. Three arguments for adaptive capacity building interventions in the north are discussed, and these arguments are augmented by a comparative review of government reactions to the collapse of the cod fishery in Atlantic Canada. Reactive and proactive policy approaches are discussed, and it is suggested from the comparison that proactive approaches to intervention are desirable for building adaptive capacity.

Protective shade, tree diversity and soil properties in coffee agroforestry systems in the Atlantic Rainforest biome

Sustainable production and biodiversity conservation can be mutually supportive in providing multiple ecosystem services to farmers and society. This study aimed to determine the contribution of agroforestry systems, as tested by family farmers in the Brazilian Rainforest region since 1993, to tree biodiversity and evaluated farmers’ criteria for tree species selection. In addition, long-term effects on microclimatic temperature conditions for coffee production and chemical and biological soil characteristics at the field scale were compared to full-sun coffee systems. A floristic inventory of 8 agroforests and 4 reference forest sites identified 231 tree species in total. Seventy-eight percent of the tree species found in agroforests were native. The variation in species composition among agroforests contributed to a greater γ-diversity than α-diversity. Monthly average maximum temperatures were approximately 6 °C higher in full-sun coffee than in agroforests and forests. Total soil organic C, N mineralization and soil microbial activity were higher in forests than in coffee systems, whereas the chemical and biological soil quality in agroforests did not differ significantly from full-sun coffee after 13 years. Given its contribution to the conservation of biodiversity and its capacity to adapt coffee production to future climate change, coffee agroforestry offers a promising strategy for the area.     

Direct comparison of 210Po, 234Th and POC particle-size distributions and export fluxes at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site

Particle-reactive, naturally occurring radionuclides are useful tracers of the sinking flux of organic matter from the surface to the deep ocean. Since the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) began in 1987, the disequilibrium between ²³⁴Th and its parent ²³⁸U has become widely used as a technique to measure particle export fluxes from surface ocean waters. Another radionuclide pair, ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb, can be used for the same purpose but has not been as widely adopted due to difficulty with accurately constraining the ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb radiochemical balance in the ocean and because of the more time-consuming radiochemical procedures. Direct comparison of particle flux estimated in different ocean regions using these short-lived radionuclides is important in evaluating their utility and accuracy as tracers of particle flux. In this paper, we present paired ²³⁴Th/²³⁸U and ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb data from oligotrophic surface waters of the subtropical Northwest Atlantic and discuss their advantages and limitations. Vertical profiles of total and particle size-fractionated ²¹⁰Po and ²³⁴Th activities, together with particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations, were measured during three seasons at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site. Both ²¹⁰Po and ²³⁴Th reasonably predict sinking POC flux caught in sediment traps, and each tracer provides unique information about the magnitude and efficiency of the ocean's biological pump.     

Tissue bioaccumulation patterns, xenobiotic biotransformation and steroid hormone levels in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fed a diet containing perfluoroactane sulfonic or perfluorooctane carboxylic acids

In the present study, groups of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were fed gelatine capsules containing fish-food spiked with PFOA or PFOS (0.2 mg kg⁻¹ fish) and solvent (methanol). The capsules were given at days 0, 3 and 6. Blood, liver and whole kidney samples were collected prior to exposure (no solvent control), and at days 2, 5, 8 and 14 after exposure (Note: that day 14 after exposure is equal to 7 d recovery period). We report on the differences in the tissue bioaccumulation patterns of PFOS and PFOA, in addition to tissue and compound differences in modulation pattern of biotransformation enzyme genes. We observed that the level of PFOS and PFOA increased in the blood, liver and kidney during the exposure period. Different PFOS and PFOA bioaccumulation patterns were observed in the kidney and liver during exposure- and after the recovery periods. Particularly, after the recovery period, PFOA levels in the kidney and liver tissues were almost at the control level. On the contrary, PFOS maintained an increase with tissue-specific differences, showing a higher bioaccumulation potential (also in the blood), compared with PFOA. While PFOS and PFOA produced an apparent time-dependent increase in kidney CYP3A, CYP1A1 and GST expression, similar effects were only temporary in the liver, significantly increasing at sampling day 2. PFOA and PFOS exposure resulted in significant decreases in plasma estrone, testosterone and cortisol levels at sampling day 2, and their effects differed with 17α-methyltestostrerone showing significant decrease by PFOA (also for cholesterol) and increase by PFOS. PFOA significantly increased estrone and testosterone, and no effects were observed for cortisol, 17α-methyltestosterone and cholesterol at sampling day 5. Overall, the changes in plasma steroid hormone levels parallel changes in CYP3A mRNA levels. Given that there are no known studies that have demonstrated such tissue differences in bioaccumulation patterns with associated differences in toxicological responses in any fish species or lower vertebrate, the present findings provide some potential insights and basis for a better understanding of the possible mechanisms of PFCs toxicity that need to be studied in more detail.     

International cooperation around the North Sea basin

During the past 25 years, the management of marine ecosystems has evolved significantly. Due to the increased use of the sea and the increased awareness of adverse impacts of certain human activities in and around the sea, which has been a common good for a long time—‘Mare Liberum’—an international and integrated approach has become increasingly important to regulate the use of our common seas. From the late 1960s onwards, intergovernmental meetings have taken place in order to tackle the problems of international pollution of seas and oceans. One reason for this attention was the Torrey Canyon accident in 1967, which triggered the start of the Bonn Agreement in 1969 for coordinating the combat mission against oil and chemical spills in the North Sea. After the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, with the involvement of the European Union, the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), other regional and global Conventions, as well as the North Sea Ministerial Conferences were established. These continuous international efforts have resulted in a considerable reduction of the input of certain contaminants and of nutrients (in particular phosphate) into the marine environment. However, not all problems have yet been solve. The North Sea Ministers agreed at the Conference in Esbjerg (1995) to aim at a reduction of the input of all hazardous substances within one generation, in order to reach the goal of negligible risks of pollution. Furthermore, there is a general aim to minimize adverse effects of disturbing activities. The challenge, now and in the future, is to find a balance between economic development and environmental protection of our international marine waters aiming at a sustainable development of the marine resources by employing scientifically based measures and, in situations where there are reasonable grounds for concern but no conclusive links between cause and problem, applying the precautionary principle with respect to pollution and disturbing activities.     

Heavy metal concentrations in marine molluscs from the Moroccan coastal region

Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), clams (Venerupis decussatus) and oysters (Crassostrea gigas) were sampled seasonally during 2004-2005, from different coastal environments of Morocco in order to measure their accumulated heavy metal concentrations. The concentrations of Hg and Pb were determined by AFS and ICP-MS methods, respectively, whilst the remaining metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Zn and Ni) were quantified by AAS. The soft tissue concentrations of the mussels were on average 7.2 mg kg(-1) (Cd), 9.6 mg kg(-1) (Pb), 0.6 mg kg(-1) (Hg), 26.8 mg kg(-1) (Cu), 8.8 mg kg(-1) (Cr), 292 mg kg(-1) (Zn), 20.8 mg kg(-1) (Mn) and 32.8 mg kg(-1) (Ni). The highest tissue heavy metal concentrations were recorded in the south from the industrial area of Jorf Lasfar. The relationships between metal concentration and season in each species showed very similar annual profiles with a peak observed around spring-summer. Statistical analysis indicated that different species showed different bioaccumulation of metals depending on study site and season.