Life Cycle Considerations for Improving Sustainability Assessments in Seafood Awareness Campaigns

It is widely accepted that improving the sustainability of seafood production requires efforts to reverse declines in global fisheries due to overfishing and to reduce the impacts to host ecosystems from fishing and aquaculture production technologies. Reflective of on-going dialogue amongst participants in an international research project applying Life Cycle Assessment to better understand and manage global salmon production systems, we argue here that such efforts must also address the wider range of biophysical, ecological, and socioeconomic impacts stemming from the material and energetic throughput associated with these industries. This is of particular relevance given the interconnectivity of global environmental change, ocean health, and the viability of seafood production in both fisheries and aquaculture. Although the growing popularity of numerous ecolabeling, certification, and consumer education programs may be making headway in influencing Western consumer perceptions of the relative sustainability of alternative seafood products, we also posit that the efficacy of these initiatives in furthering sustainability objectives is compromised by the use of incomplete criteria. An emerging body of Life Cycle Assessment research of fisheries and aquaculture provides valuable insights into the biophysical dimensions of environmental performance in alternative seafood production and consumption systems, and should be used to inform a more holistic approach to labeling, certifying, and educating for sustainability in seafood production. More research, however, must be undertaken to develop novel techniques for incorporating other critical dimensions, in particular, socioeconomic considerations, into our sustainability decision-making.     

Relationship between types of urban forest and PM2.5 capture at three growth stages of leaves

Particulate matter diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) causes direct harm to human health. Finding forms of urban forest systems that with the ability to reduce the amount of particulate matter in air effectively is the aim of this study. Five commonly cultivated kinds of urban forest types were studied in Beijing city at three stages of leaf growth. Results show that the urban forest system is capable of storing and capturing dust from the air. The types of shrubs and broadleaf trees that have the ability to capture PM_2.5 from the air are most effective when leaves have fully developed. In the leafless season, the conifer and mixed tree types are the most effective in removing dust from the air. For all kinds of forest types and stages of leaf growth, the PM_2.5 concentration is highest in the morning but lower in the afternoon and evening. Grassland cannot control particles suspended in the air, but can reduce dust pollution caused by dust from the ground blown by the wind back into the air.     

Beyond the cage: Ecosystem modelling for impact evaluation in aquaculture

An ecosystem modelling approach was used in two areas of the Eastern Mediterranean in order to examine the effects of aquaculture on the ecology of the water column. Aquaculture expansion to meet demands of a growing population is followed by concerns about keeping impacts within socially acceptable limits. Primarily the study aimed at investigating the fate of nutrients from finfish culture and evaluating changes in chemical and biological characteristics of the water body. The model used, Aquaculture Integrated Model (AIM), is based on a complex generic biogeochemical model coupled to a 3D hydrodynamic model. Selected areas included a finfish farm in the Northern Aegean, Greece and an aquaculture development area in Vassiliko, Cyprus. Ecosystem effects were evaluated on the basis of scale and importance. Scenarios under different production levels and hydrodynamic conditions were explored at the sites. Model results showed that farm discharges are rapidly dispersed from their point source in addition to a tendency for effluents to accumulate at distances not normally associated directly with farming activity. The wide range of parameters available in the model helped identify parameters more likely to be affected by the farming activities. There was a satisfactory correlation between observed and predicted model outputs. This study demonstrates the importance of approaching aquaculture impacts at an ecosystem level and the utility of a modelling tool to this end.     

A simple model to assess selection for treatment-resistant sea lice

Sea lice are damaging marine copepod parasites that infest wild and farmed salmon. Lice are controlled largely by the application of medicines; however resistance has evolved to several such treatments. A simple model is used to explore situations under which treatment-resistant lice are likely to emerge. The model consists of farmed and wild populations of hosts that are infected with lice that exist in treatment-sensitive and treatment-resistant morphs. Resistance is assumed to impose costs on lice fitness, so the sensitive morphs have a selective advantage in the absence of treatment. Larval lice are exchanged between treated farmed hosts and untreated wild hosts by variable water currents. The model finds that resistance is most strongly selected under moderate levels of treatment on farms. High levels of treatment remove both sensitive and resistant lice from farms and, leave the wild untreated fish as a source of lice. The treatment per fish required to eradicate the resistant morphs increases as hydrodynamic mixing rates increase and so controlling emergence of resistance becomes less cost effective when mixing rates are high.     

Cd2、Hg2+、Cr6+和pb2对黑点青鳉(Oryzias melastigma)早期生活阶段的毒性效应研究

近岸海域重金属污染不容乐观,作为“一种潜在的海洋模式鱼种”黑点青鳉(marine medaka,Oryzias maelastigma)对不同重金属胁迫的响应水平却鲜有报道.为探究并比较海水鱼种黑点青鳉早期生活阶段对Cd2+、Hg2+、Cr6 +和pb2 +等不同重金属胁迫的响应,在实验室通过半静态方式,对黑点青鳉受精...     

分期布液生物滴滤床净化H2 S废气性能研究

采用分期布液式生物滴滤床净化H2S废气,以实验室驯化的复合微生物菌群挂膜于滴滤床,考察了挂膜启动及不同负荷运行对H2S的降解性能.结果表明,生物滴滤床在进气浓度110～230 mg.m-3,停留时间30 s的条件下,H2S去除率可达到99%,3 d内即完成挂膜.进气负荷对于滴滤床降解性能和微生物种群都有影响.低进气负荷时,净化效率90%,降解作用主要发生于反应器的前段,占85%以上.前段各种类微生物数量上均多于后段,尤其是硫化氢降解菌;进气负荷较高时,前段微生物数量没有明显变化;后段去除负荷增加明显,由0.04 g.h-1增长到0.67 g.h-1.微生物数量由4.5×107个.g-1增长到5.17×108个.g-1.采用扫描电镜观察填料表面,稳定运行时优势菌主要为短杆菌,高负荷状态下,填料表面被大量的代谢产物覆盖.对运行产物分析发现,大部分H2S被氧化为S,只有小部分彻底氧化分解为SO24-.     

不同生育期Cd胁迫对水稻生长及镉累积的影响

采用水培试验方法,从水稻移栽至某特定生育期之间添加外源镉(Cd),通过递推减法,研究了湘晚籼13号水稻不同生育期Cd胁迫对其生长和不同部位中Cd含量的影响.结果表明,50μg·L~(-1)外源Cd胁迫不会影响水稻的正常生长发育,糙米中的Cd主要来源于水稻分蘖期吸收的Cd在后期的迁移、灌浆期吸收的Cd和成熟期吸收的Cd,这3个关键生育期对糙米中最终Cd含量的贡献率分别为36.4%、18.2%和16.4%.因此,与灌浆期和成熟期相比,在水稻分蘖期采用一些植物阻隔技术可能对水稻籽粒中Cd含量的削减更为重要.     

Nutrient-Balance Modeling as a Tool for Environmental Management in Aquaculture: The Case of Trout Farming in France

The control and prevention of nutrient pollution from fish farming plays an essential role in the French regulatory framework. Assessing nutrient emissions from fish farms is important in terms of farm authorization, taxation, and monitoring. Currently employed strategies involve both water sampling and empirical modeling. This article reports the work and outcomes of an expert panel that evaluated existing methodologies and their possible alternatives. The development and evaluation of a nutrient-balance approach was assessed as a potential alternative to currently used methodologies. A previously described nutrient-balance model was suggested and parameterized using expert choice, and its validity and applicability were assessed. The results stress that the nutrient-balance model provides more robust and relatively conservative waste estimates compared to the currently used methodologies. Sensitivity of the approach to the uneven data quality available at farm level, difficulties of on-farm measurements, as well as model requirements and limitations are discussed.     

三阶段温度控制接种法对堆肥有机物质变化影响

为提高堆肥效率,利用生活垃圾,采用三阶段温度控制技术进行微生物接种堆肥试验,并对堆肥过程中有机物的动态变化进行分析.结果表明,在堆肥336 h,与普通接种法(CK)比较,三阶段温度控制接种法(TSCT)堆肥总有机碳(TOC)、水溶性有机碳(DOC)含量依次降低6.37%、6.57%;而腐殖质(HS)、胡敏酸(HA)、腐殖化指数(HI)分别增加了8.61%、16.75%、18.40%.通过对胡敏酸分子元素组成分析证实,堆肥后,普通接种法处理胡敏酸分子中C/H、O/C依次增加8.33%、6.25%;而三阶段温度控制法堆肥中胡敏酸C/H、O/C依次增加了18.33%、11.48%.以上结果表明,三阶段温度控制法可明显加快堆肥腐殖化进程,进而提高堆肥效率.     

Ten years of international scientific cooperation in fisheries,aquaculture and coastal zones: some preliminary lessons

The paper examines preliminary experiences with international scientific cooperation in fisheries, aquaculture and coastal zone issues through 90 projects in successive European Research Framework Programmes (FP4–FP6: 1994–2006). FPs had increasingly ambitious objectives in response to international commitments, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Millennium Development Goals, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and dialogue with partner regions. Sustainable aquatic food production in the context of respect for ecosystems was a central concern. Engagement with different social actors and attention to investment in education, people and institutions enabled uptake of research results in education, innovation and some impact. The emphasis in several recent projects on more integrated analyses and knowledge products in the public domain is an encouraging response to the growing crisis of aquatic resource systems. It is suggested that significant up-scaling will be required. This might be done through institutional internalisation and better translation of research results into policy developments supportive of transitions towards sustainable production systems and ecosystem rehabilitation. Capacity building to use research in novel ways and other enabling mechanisms need to be put in place to increase societal and environmental benefits of the research.