The role of fish and fisheries in recovering from natural hazards: Lessons learned from Vanuatu

Coastal fisheries provide staple food and sources of livelihood in Pacific Island countries, and securing a sustainable supply is recognised as a critical priority for nutrition security. This study sought to better understand the role of fish for Pacific Island communities during disasters and in disaster recovery. To evaluate community impacts and responses after natural disasters, focus group discussions were held with men and women groups at ten sites across Shefa, Tafea, Malampa and Sanma provinces in Vanuatu. The combined impacts of category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam (TC-Pam) in March 2015 and prolonged El-Niño induced drought have had a profound impact across much of Vanuatu. Terrestrial systems had been disproportionately impacted with substantial shortages in drinking water, garden crops, cash crops and damage to infrastructure. Localized impacts were noted on marine environments from TC-Pam and the drought, along with an earthquake that uplifted reef and destroyed fishing grounds in Malampa province. Communities in Malampa and Shefa provinces also noted a crown-of-thorns outbreak that caused coral mortality. The significant reduction in terrestrial-based food and income generation capacity generally led to increased reliance on marine resources to cope and a shift in diets from local garden food to rice. However, limited market access, lack of fishing skills and technology in many sectors of the community reduced the capacity for marine resources to support recovery. A flexible management approach allowed protected areas and species to be utilized as reservoirs of food and income when temporarily opened to assist recovery. These findings illustrate that fish and fisheries management is at the center of disaster preparedness and relief strategies in remote Pacific Island communities. High physical capital (e.g. infrastructure, water tanks and strong dwellings) is key for disaster preparedness, but supporting community social capital for the purpose of natural resource management and human capital for diverse adaptation skills can also improve community resilience. Recognizing the humanitarian value that well managed fisheries resources and skilled fishers can play to disaster relief adds another dimension to the imperative of improving management of coastal fisheries and aligning policies across sectors.     

Geographic range size and extinction risk assessment in nomadic species

Geographic range size is often conceptualized as a fixed attribute of a species and treated as such for the purposes of quantification of extinction risk; species occupying smaller geographic ranges are assumed to have a higher risk of extinction, all else being equal. However many species are mobile, and their movements range from relatively predictable to‐and‐fro migrations to complex irregular movements shown by nomadic species. These movements can lead to substantial temporary expansion and contraction of geographic ranges, potentially to levels which may pose an extinction risk. By linking occurrence data with environmental conditions at the time of observations of nomadic species, we modeled the dynamic distributions of 43 arid‐zone nomadic bird species across the Australian continent for each month over 11 years and calculated minimum range size and extent of fluctuation in geographic range size from these models. There was enormous variability in predicted spatial distribution over time; 10 species varied in estimated geographic range size by more than an order of magnitude, and 2 species varied by >2 orders of magnitude. During times of poor environmental conditions, several species not currently classified as globally threatened contracted their ranges to very small areas, despite their normally large geographic range size. This finding raises questions about the adequacy of conventional assessments of extinction risk based on static geographic range size (e.g., IUCN Red Listing). Climate change is predicted to affect the pattern of resource fluctuations across much of the southern hemisphere, where nomadism is the dominant form of animal movement, so it is critical we begin to understand the consequences of this for accurate threat assessment of nomadic species. Our approach provides a tool for discovering spatial dynamics in highly mobile species and can be used to unlock valuable information for improved extinction risk assessment and conservation planning.     

邻菲罗啉对蒙脱石吸附镍离子性能影响

利用镍离子能与邻菲罗啉反应生成螯合物的性质,研究了加与未加邻菲罗啉条件下,蒙脱石对金属镍离子的吸附行为,考察了镍离子浓度、吸附时间、温度和溶液pH值等因素对吸附性能的影响.结果表明:加入邻菲罗啉后,蒙脱石对镍的螯合离子的吸附量明显增大;吸附平衡时间约为120min;蒙脱石对[Ni(phen)n]2+的吸附性基本不受pH值的影响.动力学研究表明该吸附过程符合准二级反应动力学模型,吸附量随温度升高而增大.二级动力学参数证明加入邻菲罗啉可显著提高蒙脱石对Ni2+的吸附性.蒙脱石对简单Ni2+的吸附符合Langmuir的单层吸附等温式;而蒙脱石对镍的螯合离子的吸附则符合Freundlich等温式.蒙脱石对Ni2+和[Ni(phen)n]2+的吸附均为自发、吸热和更无序的;XRD及FTIR研究表明,蒙脱石对[Ni(phen)n]2+的吸附以层间的物理吸附为主.     

潮土施镍对小白菜的生物效应及其临界值研究

研究潮土施Ni对盆栽蔬菜的生态效应,并通过小白菜生物量的变化、地上部茎叶Ni质量比及土壤有效态Ni质量比来表征土壤Ni污染的毒性临界值.结果表明,潮土施Ni对蔬菜未表现出增产效应.施Ni量低于25 mg/kg,其生物产量无明显降低.随施Ni量的增加,生物产量呈显著下降,生物量变化与Ni质量比呈高度负相关.潮土施Ni增加茎叶和根系中Fe,Mn,Ca,Mg元素质量比,降低Cu,Zn元素质量比.4种性质不同的提取试剂提取的土壤有效态Ni质量比与植物Ni吸收均呈高度正相关,较好地反映了植物的危害状况,且以DTPA提取效果最佳.以生物减产量突变点为依据,确定潮土施Ni毒害临界值为:土壤全量Ni为41.86 mg/kg,有效态Ni质量比为2.55mg/kg(DTPA)和茎叶Ni质量比为22.39 mg/kg.     

Diverging response patterns of terrestrial and aquatic species to hydromorphological restoration

Although experiences with ecological restoration continue to accumulate, the effectiveness of restoration for biota remains debated. We complemented a traditional taxonomic analysis approach with information on 56 species traits to uncover the responses of 3 aquatic (fish, macroinvertebrates, macrophytes) and 2 terrestrial (carabid beetles, floodplain vegetation) biotic groups to 43 hydromorphological river restoration projects in Germany. All taxonomic groups responded positively to restoration, as shown by increased taxonomic richness (10–164%) and trait diversity (habitat, dispersal and mobility, size, form, life history, and feeding groups) (15–120%). Responses, however, were stronger for terrestrial than aquatic biota, and, contrary to our expectation, taxonomic responses were stronger than those of traits. Nevertheless, trait analysis provided mechanistic insights into the drivers of community change following restoration. Trait analysis for terrestrial biota indicated restoration success was likely enhanced by lateral connectivity and reestablishment of dynamic processes in the floodplain. The weaker response of aquatic biota suggests recovery was hindered by the persistence of stressors in the aquatic environment, such as degraded water quality, dispersal constraints, and insufficient hydromorphological change. Therefore, river restoration requires combined local- and regional-scale approaches to maximize the response of both aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Due to the contrasting responses of aquatic and terrestrial biota, the planning and assessment of river restoration outcomes should consider effects on both components of riverine landscapes.     

纳米铁系材料与反硝化细菌复合去除地下水硝酸盐氮研究

采用不同液相还原法制备了纳米Fe、纳米Fe/Ni和油酸钠包覆型纳米Fe粒子,并将其与反硝化细菌复合应用于地下水中硝酸盐氮的去除研究中.分别考察了不同纳米铁系材料与反硝化细菌复合体系去除硝酸盐氮的反应速率及对脱氮产物生成的影响.同时,从核糖核酸(RNA)水平考察了不同纳米铁系材料对反硝化细菌的影响.结果表明,纳米Fe/Ni复合体系脱氮速率最快,6d内对硝酸盐氮的去除率可达到100%,最终产物主要为氨氮,占体系总氮的69%;而纳米Fe和油酸钠包覆型纳米Fe复合体系9d可将硝酸盐氮100%去除,氨氮的转化率分别为52%和16%.另外,从反应前后反硝化细菌总RNA浓度的变化情况看,纳米Fe/Ni复合体系、纳米Fe复合体系和油酸钠包覆型纳米Fe复合体系的反硝化细菌总RNA浓度分别降低了93%、40%和34%,可见3种纳米铁系材料对反硝化细菌毒性大小顺序为:纳米Fe/Ni纳米Fe油酸钠包覆型纳米Fe.     

电镀污泥脱水稳定剂制备及应用研究

针对电镀污泥脱水过程中金属离子大量溶出带来的处理难题,以四甲基乙二胺、二硫化碳为主要原料,以氢氧化钾为引发剂,采用聚合法制备了一种脱水稳定剂,并考察了稳定剂投加量、污泥pH值、反应温度和反应时间对电镀污泥离心脱水时重金属溶出的影响。结果表明,在稳定剂投加量(稳定剂与污泥的质量比)为1%、反应温度为20℃、pH=1、反应时间为30 min、转速为3 000 r/min条件下对含Ni(Ⅱ)电镀污泥离心脱水后,Ni(Ⅱ)脱水稳定率达96.88%,且脱水稳定剂对混合电镀污泥中Ni(Ⅱ)、Cu(Ⅱ)的选择性大于Zn(Ⅱ)。脱水稳定剂的脱水稳定机理是其中的二硫代氨基甲酸盐与重金属离子M(Ⅱ)(Ni(Ⅱ)、Cu(Ⅱ)、Zn(Ⅱ)等)形成配位键,从而形成稳定的交联网状结构,达到化学稳定,实现了离心脱水极少重金属离子溶出(即脱水稳定)的效果。所合成的脱水稳定剂可广泛用于含镍、铜、锌等金属离子的电镀污泥脱水处理。     

Change in Fish Fauna as Indication of Aquatic Ecosystem Condition in Río Grande de Morelia–Lago de Cuitzeo Basin, Mexico

Chirostoma charari and C. compressum, and they are presumed extinct. Twelve (63%) of the remaining species had declines in distribution. Sixteen (80%) of the 20 localities sampled had lost species. The greatest declines occurred in Lago de Cuitzeo proper and in the lower portion of the Río Grande de Morelia watershed. Species losses from the lake were attributable to drying and hypereutrophication of the lake because of substantial reductions in the amount and quality of tributary inputs, whereas losses from the Río Grande de Morelia watershed were the result of pollution from agricultural, municipal, and industrial sources, especially in the region around the city of Morelia. Three localities in the upper portion of the Río Grande de Morelia watershed—Cointzio reservoir, La Mintzita spring, and Insurgente Morelos stream—contained most of the remaining fish species diversity in the basin and deserve additional protection. Fish faunal changes indicated major declines in the health of aquatic ecosystems in the Morelia–Cuitzeo basin.     

Temporal variation of the concentration and biochemical composition of seston within the Humboldt Current System off northern Chile (21°S)

Seasonal differences in the concentration and biochemical composition of seston have been assessed for the first time in the Humboldt Current System off northern Chile (21°S). The study comprised four seasonal surveys in the Bay of Chipana, including the summer and winter of 2006 and 2007, when El Niño 2006 and La Niña 2007 developed. Protein, lipid, carbohydrate and biogenic silica contents were measured in samples collected at four selected depths. The highest protein, lipid and carbohydrate concentrations were found at the fluorescence maximum (between 10 and 15 m depth), whereas the highest biogenic silica concentration was found 1 m above the seabed. When El Niño started developing, every variable showed low values throughout the water column; however, the lowest values were found when La Niña conditions dominated, together with low oxygen concentrations. Samples collected within the oxygen minimum zone (65 m depth) showed the lowest values for the water column and the lowest seasonal variations. After the evident decline coincident with El Niño 2006, the abundance and biochemical quality (high protein and lipid contents) of seston recovered earlier in the surface layer (upper 15 m) than at other depths.