Evaluation of Phutoplankton Community Indices for Detecting Eutrophic Trends in the Marine Environment

Twenty two diversity, evenness and dominance indices based on phytoplankton community structure were examined for their sensitivity to assess eutrophic conditions. Data from two sampling sites, one eutrophic and one oligotrophic, were used as reference data-sets for evaluating the indices. McNaughton's dominance index, cell number, species number (Hill's N0), Kothe's species deficit, Odum's species per thousand individuals and Evenness E2, E3 seemed to be the most sensitive indices for discriminating between eutrophic and oligotrophic conditions. A case study was also performed using a data-set from ten stations spaced along the coastal area of the city of Rhodes, Aegean Sea, Greece to find out which of the indices were appropriate to assess different levels of eutrophication. Kothe's species deficit, Hill's N0 (species number), Margalef's and Gleason's indices have shown the highest sensitivity to resolve oligotrophic, mesotrophic and eutrophic conditions.     

Restoration of the Marine Ecological Environment Along the Charting Coast: Primary Productivity and Biomass Study

Since 1986, when green oysters occurred due to the copper and organic pollution in the Charting coastal area, the government banned all maricultural activity. It has been claimed that growing algae in a polluted environment may clean the water of pollutants and restore the marine ecosystem. to test this hypothesis, in the Charting coastal area a three-year programme (from August 1992 to July 1995) was carried out. the survey programme included environmental components such as salinity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand (BOD), particulate organic carbon (POC), heavy metals and ecological indicators such as nutrients, chlorophyll-a, primary productivity. in the first year study, the environmental background data collected was used to select the suitable season and locations for growing large algae transferred from the laboratory to the field study area. Since September 1993, various species of large algae have been cultured. Although some of the growing algae were damaged by a typhoon in August 1994, the impact of the growing algae on the environmental conditions in the area has been monitored throughout. Elsewhere, we have reported that in the algae growing area higher dissolved oxygen with lower values of BOD and POC were found, and the concentrations of heavy metals in both water and sediments decreased. the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the possible impact of growing large algae on the ecological conditions in Charting coastal waters through the period from August 1983 to May 1995. As a result of the positive results obtained, large amounts of algae have again been cultured in the same area during the period from April 29 to May 25, 1995. We expect that inorganic and organic pollutants will be reduced by the algal growth, oyster mariculture will be restored and finally, the fishery resources potential will be increased.     

我国海洋环保产业的现状及发展对策

随着沿海经济和海洋开发活动的快速发展 ,海洋环保问题日益突出 ,海洋环保产业有望成为新的经济增长点。本文论述了发展海洋环保产业的必要性 ,界定了海洋环保技术及其产业的内涵 ,概述了我国海洋环保技术和产业的发展现状 ,并提出了发展我国海洋环保产业的建议     

Effect of Polymeric Coatings On Phytoplankton Standing Crop

Some polymeric marine coatings based on vinylcopolymer and linseed oil have been prepared in the laboratory and their efffect on phytoplankton standing crop was tested. the coating is prepared either from vinylcopolymer or linseed oil or a mixture of both binders with 1:1, 1:2 and 2:1 ratios in the presence or absence of a soluble resin. the coatings were applied to glass slides and tested in a sea water medium. Also, correlations between the weight of the coating film and numbers of phytoplankton species were calculated. the results showed no correlation between the weight of films of either vinylite or oil binders and the total number of all phytoplankton species, but significant correlation was found for some phytoplankton species, such as Thalassiosira decipiens. the weight of the film coating of vinylcopolymer in the presence of soluble resin with 1:1, 1:2 and 2:1 ratios is significantly correlated to the total number of phytoplankton and some other dominant species. Formulations of linseed oil and a soluble resin with 1:1, 1:2 and 2:1 ratios are correlated to the numbers of Chaetoceros affinis, Bellorochea malleus and Skeletonema costatum.     

清洁柴油生产技术进展

对比中国和美国柴油标准的变化,介绍了清洁柴油的生产技术及其进展,包括柴油加氢及非加氢脱硫、脱芳烃等技术,重点论述了非加氢脱硫技术,并指出加氢脱硫技术仍是目前国内生产清洁柴油的重要手段。     

Effects of the Presence of Official‐Looking Volunteers on Harassment of New Zealand Fur Seals

Abstract: An increased number of tourists viewing animals in the wild have increased stress on these animals (hereafter wildlife). Many wildlife‐viewing locations rely on voluntary compliance with posted regulations to protect animals from tourists because of the expense of employing on‐site enforcement personnel. Voluntary compliance, however, is ineffective. The presence of official‐looking volunteers may decrease the incidence of wildlife harassment by tourists. To test this possibility, we observed tourists interacting with 5‐ to 12‐month‐old New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) at the popular Ohau Stream waterfall while in the absence or presence of a young woman in plain sight wearing a neon vest (i.e., observer) and when an observer was not present. We observed 254 tourist groups at the waterfall when young seals were present. The percentage of groups in which at least one person harassed (approached, touched, or threw objects) a young seal was two‐thirds lower when the official‐looking observer was present. Frequency of harassment was inversely related to observer presence. Programs in which volunteers work at tourist sites are popular in countries with high tourism rates, such as New Zealand. Our results show that a relatively inexpensive and effective tourism‐management strategy may be to post such volunteers as observers at sites where tourists view wildlife.     

Comparison of Outcomes of Permanently Closed and Periodically Harvested Coral Reef Reserves

Abstract: In many areas of the developing world, the establishment of permanent marine reserves is inhibited by cultural norms or socioeconomic pressures. Community conserved areas that are periodically harvested are increasingly being implemented as fisheries management tools, but few researchers have empirically compared them with permanently closed reserves. We used a hierarchal control‐impact experimental design to compare the abundance and biomass of reef fishes, invertebrates, and substrate composition in periodically harvested and permanent reserves and in openly fished (control sites) of the South Pacific island country of Vanuatu. Fished species had significantly higher biomass in periodically harvested reserves than in adjacent openly fished areas. We did not detect differences in substratum composition between permanent reserves and openly fished areas or between permanent reserves and periodically harvested reserves. Giant clams (tridacnids) and top shells (Trochus niloticus) were vulnerable to periodic harvest, and we suggest that for adequate management of these species, periodically harvested community conservation areas be used in conjunction with other management strategies. Periodic harvest within reserves is an example of adaptive and flexible management that may meet conservation goals and that is suited to the social, economic, and cultural contexts of many coastal communities in the developing world.     

Science, Policy Advocacy, and Marine Protected Areas

Abstract:  Much has been written in recent years regarding whether and to what extent scientists should engage in the policy process, and the focus has been primarily on the issue of advocacy. Despite extensive theoretical discussions, little has been done to study attitudes toward and consequences of such advocacy in particular cases. We assessed attitudes toward science and policy advocacy in the case of marine protected areas (MPAs) on the basis of a survey of delegates at the First International Marine Protected Areas Congress. Delegates were all members of the international marine conservation community and represented academic, government, and nongovernmental organizations. A majority of respondents believed science is objective but only a minority believed that values can be eliminated from science. Respondents showed only partial support of positivist principles of science. Almost all respondents supported scientists being integrated into MPA policy making, whereas half of the respondents agreed that scientists should actively advocate for particular MPA policies. Scientists with a positivist view of science supported a minimal role for scientists in policy, whereas government staff with positivist beliefs supported an advocacy or decision-making role for scientists. Policy-making processes for MPAs need to account for these divergent attitudes toward science and advocacy if science-driven and participatory approaches are to be reconciled.     

Review on the Progress of Marine Ecosystem Management

Along with the industrial development, adverse impacts on the natural environment become more serious, and ecosystem health and ecological security have also been deteriorated. The traditional environment management focused on the shorterm and economic benefits. Such managing pattern is not accommodating to the new situation of increasingly global environment problems and large scale marine environment problems. This paper introduces the advance and definition of a new managing patternecosystem management. Meanwhile, the con- notation of ecosystem management was summarized as seven points： Sustainability; Human is an important aspect of ecosystem management; Cooperation is the foundation of ecosystem management; Maintain health and security of ecosystem; Ecological diversity protection characters ecosystem management; Maintain the integrity of ecosystem; Ecosystem management must be founded on scientific theories and precise information. Somebody said Ecosystem Management is ＂a new label of old ideas＂. However, there is an essential difference between ecosystem management and traditional environmental management. In the last part of this paper, the differences of the approaches between ecosystem management and traditional environmental management are compared.     

Endocrine Disruptors in Mediterranean top marine predators

- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2006.01.018 Background, Aims and Scope Man-made Endocrine Disruptors (EDs) range across all continents and oceans. Some geographic areas are potentially more threatened than others: one of these is the Mediterranean Sea. Levels of some xenobiotics are much higher here than in other seas and oceans. In this paper we review the final results of a project in which the hypothesis that Mediterranean top predator species (such as large pelagic fish and marine mammals) are potentially at risk due to EDs was investigated. Methods In a four-year survey on the Mediterranean population of swordfish (Xiphias gladius), the potential toxicological effects of organochlorine compounds (OCs) on specimens of swordfish and tuna fish (Thunnus thynnus thynnus), caught in the spawning seasons from 1999 to 2002 in the Straits of Messina, Sicily (Italy), were investigated using vitellogenin (Vtg), Zona radiata proteins (Zrp), and cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) activities (EROD, BPMO). Tissues (skin and blubber) were obtained from Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus, Delphinus delphis and Balaenoptera physalus from the western Ligurian Sea, between Corsica and the French-Italian coast, and Ionic Sea using biopsy darts launched with a crossbow. Benzo(á)pyrene monoxigenase (BPMO) activity was mesured in biopsies and cholrinated hydrocarbon levels were detected. Results and Discussion We illustrate the need to develop and apply sensitive methodological tools, such as biomarkers (Vitellogenin, Zona Radiata proteins and CYP1A activities) for evaluation of toxicological risk in Xiphias gladius and Thunnus thynnus thynnus), and nondestructive biomarkers (CYP1A activities and fibroblast cell culture in skin biopsy), for the hazard assessment of threatened marine mammals species (Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus, Delphinus delphis and Balaenoptera physalus) exposed to EDs. Conclusion The present research shows that: a) Vtg and Zrp can be used as diagnostic tools for fish stocks hazard assessment in the Mediterranean Sea; b) that CYP1A1 (BPMO) induction in cetaceans skin biopsy may be an early sign of exposure to EDs such as OCs and a potential alert for transgenerational effects. Recommendation and Outlook This research represents a warning signal of the potential reproductive alterations in marine top predators and suggest the need for continuous monitoring to avoid reductions in population and biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea.