Mass balanced and dynamic simulations of trophic models of kelp ecosystems near the Mejillones Peninsula of northern Chile (SE Pacific): Comparative network structure and assessment of harvest strategies

Mass balanced trophic models for kelp ecosystems which include subsystems dominated by Macrocystis integrifolia, Lessonia trabeculata and areas of barren ground (BG) were constructed for subtidal areas near the Mejillones Peninsula (SE Pacific), Chile. Information on biomass, P/B ratios, catches, food spectrum, consumption and dynamics of commercial and non-commercial populations was obtained and examined using Ecopath with Ecosim software analyses. The biomass of blades of L. trabeculata and M. integrifolia represented the compartments most relevant to the subsystems studied. Within the herbivores, the sea urchin Tetrapigus niger was dominant, followed by the snails Turritella sp. and Tegula sp. The fishes Pinguipes chilensis and Cheilodactylus variegatus were the dominant predators, followed by the asteroids Heliaster helianthus and Meyenaster gelatinosus. The highest system throughput (72,512 g wet weight m⁻² year⁻¹) was calculated for the subsystem dominated by M. integrifolia. The mean trophic level of the catch ranged from 1.1 (subsystem dominated by L. trabeculata) to 1.3 (subsystem dominated by M. integrifolia) to 3.2 (barren ground subsystem), showing that harvesting in each system was concentrated either on primary producers (blades of kelp species) or top predator fishes. Although the values for the Relative Ascendency (A/C) fluctuated from 36.5 to 45%, suggesting that all the systems were immature, the subsystem dominated by M. integrifolia emerged as the least resistant to external disturbances (e.g. fisheries). This result agreed with the high value of the system recovery time (SRT) for the M. integrifolia subsystem as a response to combined fisheries scenarios. The results obtained using mixed trophic impact (MTI) and Ecosim [increasing the fishing mortality F_i by 4×] showed that in most of the cases the predictions had the same qualitative tendencies. One of the most important results obtained in this study was that exploitation of kelp blades as an alternative strategy to harvesting the whole plants appeared to be ecologically sustainable, since harvesting the blades propagated only small effects on the entire subsystem. The fish P. chilensis may be considered as a top predator species with a strong top-down control since an increase in its fishing mortality in the subsystem dominated by M. integrifolia produced a high SRT value, and the F_MSY was less than the originally entered F_i in Ecopath. Based on the results obtained, it was concluded that the trophic mass balanced models and simulated management scenarios offered good possibilities for the planning of interventions and manipulations or the planning of more sustainable management strategies in highly disturbed natural systems.     

Sources and distribution of sedimentary organic matter along the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas

In this study, lignin-derived phenols were used to determine the sources and distribution of sedimentary organic matter along the northern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea of the Arctic Ocean. The lignin parameter syringyl/vanillyl (S/V) and cinnamyl/vanillyl (C/V) ratios are used to indicate vegetation sources; and the ratios of vanillic acid/vanillin, (Ad/Al)v and syringic acid/syringaldehyde, (Ad/Al)s are used as indicators of lignin diagenesis. Results showed the predominance of woody gymnosperm signal at the easternmost location in the northern Bering Sea, a mixture of refractory non-woody angiosperm and fresher gymnosperm tissues in the Chukchi Sea, and signal of fresher woody gymnosperm tissues in the northernmost locations in the Chukchi Sea. The lignin materials showed gradual increase in decomposition stage during transport along the northern Bering Sea. Hydrodynamic sorting process, which is the retention of coarser materials nearshore and transportation of finer particles farther offshore, most probably occurred along the east coast of the northern Bering Sea. In Chukchi Sea, the non-woody angiosperm tissues could have originated from the Canadian Arctic and gymnosperm tissues could be from the Russian Arctic side. The fresher materials in the northernmost Chukchi Sea could have been transported here via the ice-rafting process. Detection of fresh lignin materials and the occurrence of lignin decomposition mean that this region could be sensitive to the impact of climate change.     

A simple plankton model for the Oregon upwelling ecosystem: Sensitivity and validation against time-series ocean data

Simple plankton models serve as useful platforms for testing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying ecosystem dynamics. A simple, one-dimensional plankton model was developed to describe the dynamics of nitrate, ammonium, two phytoplankton size-classes, meso-zooplankton, and detritus in the Oregon upwelling ecosystem. Computational simplicity was maintained by linking the biological model to a one-dimensional, cross-shelf physical model driven by the daily coastal upwelling index. The model sacrificed resolution of regional-scale and along-shore (north to south) processes and assumed that seasonal productivity is primarily driven by local cross-shelf Ekman transport of surface waters and upwelling of nutrient-rich water from depth.Our goals were to see how well a simple plankton model could capture the general temporal and spatial dynamics of the system, test system sensitivity to alternate parameter set values, and observe system response to the effective scale of potential retention mechanisms. Model performance across the central Oregon shelf was evaluated against two years (2000-2001) of chlorophyll and copepod time-series observations. While the modeled meso-zooplankton biomass was close in scale to the observed copepod biomass, phytoplankton was overestimated relative to that inferred from the observed surface chlorophyll concentration. Inshore, the system was most sensitive to the nutrient uptake kinetics of diatom-size phytoplankton and to the functional grazing response of meso-zooplankton. Meso-zooplankton was more sensitive to alternate parameter values than was phytoplankton. Reduction of meso-zooplankton cross-shelf advection rates (crudely representing behavioral retention mechanisms) reduced the scale of model error relative to the observed seasonal mean inshore copepod biomass but had little effect of the modeled meso-zooplankton biomass offshore nor upon phytoplankton biomass across the entire shelf.     

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.

近年渤海与黄海北部沿岸底栖贝类体内微污染物的分布特征

根据近几年的海洋常规监测数据,确定渤海及黄海北部沿岸底柄贝类体内典型微污染物的含量及其空间分布.结果表明,在36%以上的站点中,贝类体内石油烃含量超过国家海洋生物质量第1类标准(15μg/g,湿重,下同),尤其是大连湾和河北新村附近海域贝类体内含量甚至高出第Ⅲ类标准(80μg/g,以湿重计),并且,近年来大部分海域贻贝...     

Simulating future land use and ecosystem services in Northern Thailand

Enhancing ecosystem services is important as it provides foundation for the wellbeing of people. This paper presents the future land use simulation for enhancing ecosystem services using CLUMondo dynamic spatial model. The land use change was assessed from 1989 to 2013 in Wang Thong watershed of Northern Thailand using GIS and a set of ecosystem services was assessed using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. Future land uses until 2030 were projected for three policy scenarios, namely business-as-usual, integrated land use development, and enhancing environmental services with different levels of emphasis on ecosystem services. In business-as-usual scenario, it was observed that ecosystem services will decline by 2030 from the base year of 2013, whereas in integrated land use development scenario, the ecosystem services will increase by 5% compared to base year due to anticipated effective protection of remaining forests in all existing and proposed protected areas of the study area. In enhancing environmental services scenario, the ecosystem services will increase by 15%. Such results can serve as useful information in policy formulation in developing land use options, which help enhance ecosystem services in future.     

The Northwest Forest Plan: Origins, Components, Implementation Experience, and Suggestions for Change

Abstract:  In the 1990s the federal forests in the Pacific Northwest underwent the largest shift in management focus since their creation, from providing a sustained yield of timber to conserving biodiversity, with an emphasis on endangered species. Triggered by a legal challenge to the federal protection strategy for the Northern Spotted Owl ( Strix occidentalis caurina ), this shift was facilitated by a sequence of science assessments that culminated in the development of the Northwest Forest Plan. The plan, adopted in 1994, called for an extensive system of late-successional and riparian reserves along with some timber harvest on the intervening lands under a set of controls and safeguards. It has proven more successful in stopping actions harmful to conservation of old-growth forests and aquatic systems than in achieving restoration goals and economic and social goals. We make three suggestions that will allow the plan to achieve its goals: (1) recognize that the Northwest Forest Plan has evolved into an integrative conservation strategy, (2) conserve old-growth trees and forests wherever they occur, and (3) manage federal forests as dynamic ecosystems.     

天山北坡经济带经济发展与污染减排潜力以及工业绿色发展策略

天山北坡经济带是"一带一路"倡议中最大的综合经济带之一,其经济与环境协调发展模式可为"一带一路"沿线国家实现区域绿色发展提供借鉴.通过引入区位熵的概念,从空间维度对天山北坡经济带各经济区主导行业进行分析,并采用情景分析方法从时间维度对天山北坡经济带不同经济发展情景下的污染物减排潜力进行分析.结果表明:①区位熵分析结果显示,石化、冶金、食品饮料、纺织服装、煤炭、能源供应等行业是天山北坡经济带的主导行业,占天山北坡经济带工业总产值的84%.②情景分析结果显示,与2014年相比,情景1（现状情景）下天山北坡经济带2020年COD_Cr和SO₂排放量将会增加90.86%和194.26%,情景2（产业结构调整情景）下将分别增加66.48%和84.97%,情景3（科技创新情景）下将分别增加42.34%和113.77%,情景4（生态工业园情景）下则分别降低8.39%和8.77%.③在污染物减排方面,情景4下COD_Cr和SO₂排放量分别较情景1降低52.00%和69.00%.④根据情景分析结果,特别是生态工业园情景下的减排潜力,结合目前天山北坡经济带6个经济区主导行业发展现状,从空间维度、时间维度和产业维度提出天山北坡经济带的工业绿色发展策略,主要包括积极创建生态工业示范园区、发展循环经济、调整产业结构、开展技术创新等.      

Agent based simulation of a small catchment water management in northern Thailand: Description of the CATCHSCAPE model

Due to mounting human pressure, stakeholders in northern Thailand are facing crucial natural resources management (NRM) issues. Among others, the impact of upstream irrigation management on downstream agricultural viability is a growing source of conflict, which often has both biophysical and social origins. As multiple rural stakeholders are involved, appropriate solutions should only emerge from negotiation. CATCHSCAPE is a Multi-Agent System (MAS) that enables us to simulate the whole catchment features as well as farmer’s individual decisions. The biophysical modules simulate the hydrological system with its distributed water balance, irrigation scheme management and crop and vegetation dynamics. The social dynamics are described as a set of resource management processes (water, land, cash, labour force). Water management is described according to the actual different levels of control (individual, scheme and catchment). Moreover, the model’s architecture is presented in a way that emphasises the transparency of the rules and methods implemented. Finally, one simulated scenario is described along with its main results, according to different viewpoints (economy, landscape, water management).     

我国北方沙尘暴及其防治初探

利用卫星遥感等资料结合我国沙尘暴灾害的情况，分析研究了我国沙尘暴的基本特征、产生原因、时间分布、空间分布、未来的发展趋势及其造成的灾害，借鉴美国等国外治理沙尘暴的经验。为我国治理沙尘暴提出初步对策建议。