Preventing the Spread of Invasive Species: Economic Benefits of Intervention Guided by Ecological Predictions

Abstract:  Preventing the invasion of freshwater aquatic species is the surest way to reduce their impacts, but it is also often expensive. Hence, the most efficient prevention programs will rely on accurate predictions of sites most at risk of becoming invaded and concentrate resources at those sites. Using data from Vilas County, Wisconsin (U.S.A.), collected in the 1970s, we constructed a predictive occurrence model for rusty crayfish ( Orconectes rusticus ) and applied it to an independent data set of 48 Vilas County lakes to predict which of these were most likely to become invaded between 1975 and 2005. We nested this invasion model within an economic framework to determine whether targeted management, derived from our quantitative predictions of likely invasion sites, would increase the economic value of lakes in the independent data set. Although the optimum expenditure on lake protection was high, protecting lakes at this level would have produced net economic benefits of at least $6 million over the last 30 years. We did not attempt to determine the value of nonmarket benefits of protection; thus, our results are likely to underestimate the total benefits from preventing invasions. Our results demonstrate that although few data are available early in an invasion, these data may be sufficient to support targeted, effective, and economically rational management. In addition, our results show that ecological predictions are becoming sufficiently accurate that their application in management can produce net economic benefits.     

Impact of the Saharan dust outbreaks on the ambient levels of total suspended particles (TSP) in the marine boundary layer (MBL) of the Subtropical Eastern North Atlantic Ocean

Six years (1998–2003) of measurements of ambient air concentrations of total suspended particulate (TSP) measured at a rural background monitoring station in Tenerife (Canary Islands), the El Río station (ER, 28°08′35″N, 16°39′20″W, 500 m a.s.l.) were studied. African dust outbreaks were objectively identified using a new quantitative tool, called the African Index. This index indicates the percentage of time that an air mass remained over an African region at one of three possible height intervals of the lower troposphere. After identifying these episodes, a study of the background TSP levels at the ER station and of direct and indirect (those which cause vertical deposition of dust) African air mass intrusion impacts was performed. Taking into account both direct and indirect episodes, a total of 322 days of African dust intrusion were objectively identified (a mean of 54 episodes per year) in the period 1998–2003, some of them caused by “transition episodes” or “return African air masses”. A subjective method confirmed that 256 of these days were caused by direct impacts of African dust on the ER station. A mean TSP value of 21.6 μg m⁻³ was found at the station during this period. All the episodes occurred when the TSP concentration was >28.5 μg m⁻³. The TSP background (14 μg m⁻³) can be assumed to be representative of the MBL of the Eastern North Atlantic subtropical region. The highest number of dust gravitational settlement (or indirect) episodes occurs in summer, but the highest contribution of these episodes to the TSP levels is in March with a monthly mean TSP contribution of up to 30.5 μg m⁻³.     

Microtubule integrity and cell viability under metal (Cu,Ni and Cr) stress in the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa

The effects of increasing Cu, Ni and Cr concentrations (0.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg L⁻¹) on microtubule organization and the viability of leaf cells of the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa for 13 consecutive days were investigated under laboratory conditions. Increased oblique microtubule orientation, microtubule depolymerization at the 5–40 mg L⁻¹ Ni treatments after 3 d of exposure, and a complete microtubule depolymerization at all Ni treatments after 5 d were observed. Cu depolymerised microtubules after three to 7 d of exposure, while Cr caused an extensive microtubule bundling after 9 or 11 d of exposure, depending on metal dosage. Fluorescence intensity measurements further consolidated the above phenomena. Cell death, occurring at later time than microtubule disturbance, was also observed at all Cu and Ni treatments and at the 10–40 mg L⁻¹ Cr treatments and adding to the above quantification of the number of dead cells clearly showed that only a portion of the cell population studied died. The data presented, being the first assessment of microtubule disturbance in seagrasses, indicate that microtubules in seagrass leaf cells could be used as a valuable and early marker of metal-induced stress in biomonitoring programmes.     

热带海水养殖清洁生产技术模式探讨

采用太阳光化学修复原理对典型热带地区--海南省某养殖场废水进行清洁闭环生态养殖技术初步探讨.采用现场定位观测实验研究方法,探讨高位池光化学循环净化装置对养殖废水中COD、SS等污染物的去除效应、脱氮解毒效应以及增氧效应等.结果表明,本实验装置能有效地实现热带地区高位池循环水养殖及养殖污水的"零排放",是满足环保要求的一种多功能、低成本、效果好的水体净化方法.     

Phosphorus sorption on marine carbonate sediment: phosphonate as model organic compounds

Organophosphonate, characterized by the presence of a stable, covalent, carbon to phosphorus (C-P) bond, is a group of synthetic or biogenic organophosphorus compounds. The fate of these organic phosphorus compounds in the environment is not well studied. This study presents the first investigation on the sorption of phosphorus (P) in the presence of two model phosphonate compounds, 2-aminothylphosphonoic acid (2-AEP) and phosphonoformic acid (PFA), on marine carbonate sediments. In contrast to other organic P compounds, no significant inorganic phosphate exchange was observed in seawater. P was found to adsorb on the sediment only in the presence of PFA, not 2-AEP. This indicated that sorption of P from phosphonate on marine sediment was compound specific. Compared with inorganic phosphate sorption on the same sediments, P sorption from organic phosphorus is much less in the marine environment. Further study is needed to understand the potential role of the organophosphonate compounds in biogeochemical cycle of phosphorus in the environment.     

Physical-chemical and ecotoxicological evaluation of water based drilling fluids used in Italian off-shore

In order to evaluate the effects on the marine ecosystem caused by an eventual discharge into sea of water based drilling fluids, as current legislation allows, chemical and ecotoxicological analyses were performed on the most common drilling muds and products used in Italian off-shore activities. The chemical analysis on drilling fluids involved the leaching test and the measurement of total content of heavy metals, whereas biodegradation tests were performed on the products used in mud's formulations. As for ecotoxicological evaluation, two marine organisms, the crustacean Artemia salina and the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, were selected to determine the LC₅₀ and the EC₅₀ respectively.     

2020—2022年温岭市近岸海域海洋垃圾分布特征研究

2020-2022年在浙江省温岭市近岸海域布设监测断面,采集海洋垃圾,分析其分布和组成特征,解析其来源,并使用清洁海岸指数(CCI)及危险物品指数(HⅡ)对海滩垃圾质量进行评估.结果表明:温岭市近岸海域海面漂浮大块及特大块垃圾年平均数量密度为37.7个/km2;海面漂浮小块及中块垃圾年平均数量密度为3 568.2个/km2;海滩垃圾数量密度为5 813.5个/km2.海洋垃圾主要材料类型为塑料类和聚苯乙烯泡沫塑料类,其主要来源于陆地人类生产活动.近岸海域CCI和HII指数年均值分别为0.11和0.66,表明温岭市洞下沙滩处于非常清洁且安全水平.     

海洋灾害系统研究及预测预报

海洋灾害研究是一个庞大的系统工程,其研究领域绝不能局限于海洋,应该从地球整体乃至包括整个地球的宇宙空间去认识海洋灾害的发生、发展机制、各种灾害类型在全球变化中的位置,进而最大限度地达到预测、预报、预防的目的。     

Efficient management of marine resources in conflict: An empirical study of marine sand mining, Korea

This article develops a dynamic model of efficient use of exhaustible marine sand resources in the context of marine mining externalities. The classical Hotelling extraction model is applied to sand mining in Ongjin, Korea and extended to include the estimated marginal external costs that mining imposes on marine fisheries. The socially efficient sand extraction plan is compared with the extraction paths suggested by scientific research. If marginal environmental costs are correctly estimated, the developed efficient extraction plan considering the resource rent may increase the social welfare and reduce the conflicts among the marine sand resource users. The empirical results are interpreted with an emphasis on guidelines for coastal resource management policy.