Conservation Benefits of Temperate Marine Protected Areas: Variation among Fish Species

Abstract:  Marine protected areas, and other fishery management systems that impart partial or total protection from fishing, are increasingly advocated as an essential management tool to ensure the sustainable use of marine resources. Beneficial effects for fish species are well documented for tropical and reef systems, but the effects of marine protected areas remain largely untested in temperate waters. We compared trends in sport-fishing catches of nine fish species in an area influenced by a large (500-km²) towed-fishing-gear restriction zone and in adjacent areas under conventional fishery management controls. Over the period 1973–2002 the mean reported weight of above-average-sized (trophy) fish of species with early age at maturity and limited home range was greatest within the area influenced by the fishing-gear restriction zone. The reported weight of trophy fish of species that mature early also declined less and more slowly over time within the area influenced by the fishing-gear restriction zone. Importantly, the mean reported weight of trophy fish of species that mature late and those that undertake extensive spatial movements declined at the same rate in all areas. Hence these species are likely to require protected areas >500 km² for effective protection. Our results also indicated that fish species with a localized distribution or high site fidelity may require additional protection from sport fishing to prevent declines in the number or size of fish within the local population.     

气象产品及其商品化的理论与实证分析

本文创造性地把气象产品分类为气象新能源产品、气象信息服务业和咨询业产品、一般气象服务产品和气象业附属产品四种类型,从多角度进行了气象产品商品化可行性问题的理论和事实论证;并对比中国与世界气象产品商品化的现状,提出了实现气象产品商品化所必须具备的一系列条件     

北方海洋生态站几种经济动物体内5种重金属残留量

对北方海洋生态站生态监测海域几种贝类、鱼类体内Hg、Cd、Pb、As、Cu残留量及季节变化进行了调查、分析,并且评价了这些经济动物的生物质量。结果表明:贝类Hg的含量(×10-6湿重以下同)为未检出～0.026,As为0.330～1.361,Cu为0.67～14.04,Pb为0.022～1.02,Cd为0.086～3.90;鱼类的Hg含量为0.001～0.017、As为0.672～0.998、Cu为1 35～5.90、Pb为0.016～0.57、Cd为0.006～0.45。扁玉螺体内重金属残留量季节变化明显;生物体内Hg和Cu的含量均符合中华人民共和国国家标准中关于食品中限量卫生标准,其他重金属含量均有超标现象,Cd最严重。     

Chemical characteristics of fine particulate matter emitted from commercial cooking

The chemical characteristics of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) emitted from commercial cooking were explored in this study. Three typical commercial restaurants in Shanghai, i.e., a Shanghai-style one (SHS), a Sichuan-style one (SCS) and an Italian-style one (ITS), were selected to conduct PM_2.5 sampling. Particulate organic matter (POM) was found to be the predominant contributor to cooking-related PM_2.5 mass in all the tested restaurants, with a proportion of 69.1% to 77.1%. Specifically, 80 trace organic compounds were identified and quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), which accounted for 3.8%–6.5% of the total PM_2.5 mass. Among the quantified organic compounds, unsaturated fatty acids had the highest concentration, followed by saturated fatty acids. Comparatively, the impacts of other kinds of organic compounds were much smaller. Oleic acid was the most abundant single species in both SCS and ITS. However, in the case of SHS, linoleic acid was the richest one. ITS produced a much larger mass fraction of most organic species in POM than the two Chinese cooking styles except for monosaccharide anhydrides and sterols. The results of this study could be utilized to explore the contribution of cooking emissions to PM_2.5 pollution and to develop the emission inventory of PM_2.5 from cooking, which could then help the policymakers design efficient treatment measures and control strategies on cooking emissions in the future.     

太原市工、商业区PM10中PAHs碳同位素组成及来源

利用中流量大气综合采样仪采集太原市工业区和商业区PM₁₀样品,使用GC/IRMS技术分析了PAHs的δ13C值(碳同位素组成),并根据碳同位素质量平衡计算了煤烟尘和机动车尾气对2类功能区的贡献率. 结果表明:工业区PM₁₀中PAHs的δ13C值在-26.0‰~-24.5‰之间,随环数增加呈贫13C趋势,与煤烟尘δ13C值的变化趋势一致,表明煤烟尘是工业区的一个主要污染源;商业区PAHs的δ13C值在-26.6‰~-26.2‰之间,较工业区显著贫13C,商业区与工业区的污染源有明显差异;除机动车尾气和煤烟尘外,工业区和商业区还有其他污染源输入,其中工业区有生物质燃烧排放输入,商业区有机动车曲轴箱润滑油残渣输入;煤烟尘和生物质燃烧对工业区的贡献率分别为59.3%~70.8%和29.2%~40.7%,表明工业区煤烟污染严重;机动车对商业区PAHs的贡献率在86.1%~95.8%之间,是商业区PM₁₀中PAHs的主要排放源,其中润滑油残渣的贡献率(在40.9%~85.3%之间)最大,机动车尾气的贡献率在8.3%~54.9%范围内,而煤烟尘的贡献率(在4.2%~13.9%之间)最小.      

膜-生物反应器在我国的研究与应用新进展

膜-生物反应器(MBR)作为一种污水处理新技术,其研究和应用在我国受到了广泛关注.主要以1995-2006年发表在国内中文期刊上的关于MBR研究与应用的700多篇文献为基础,分析了与MBR构型、应用领域和研究机构等相关的文献数量分布,综述了在MBR新工艺、膜污染及其控制技术和污水处理类别等方面的研究进展,总结了MBR在污水再生利用中的应用概况,指出了未来MBR技术研究的挑战和工业应用的发展方向.     

长江上游干流春季禁渔前后三年渔获物结构和生物多样性分析

根据2000～2005年长江上游干流宜宾、巴南和万州3个江段三层流刺网的监测资料,分析了春禁前后3年渔获物结构和鱼类生物多样性的变化,对长江上游春禁效果进行了初步评价.春禁前后3年共监测到鱼类51种,隶属于3目18科(亚科)36属,以鲤科鱼类为主,占60.8%.春禁后,渔获物主要种类优势度有所下降,部分江段单位捕捞努力量渔获量表现出一定上升趋势,3个江段Margalef指数、Pielou指数和Wilhm改进指数有一定升高,表明种类丰富度有所提高,群落结构趋于复杂,春季禁渔有一定效果.春禁前后渔获物种类的波动,可能与这些种类种群数量少,难以采到有关;春禁后主要种类平均体长、体重仍表现出下降趋势,可能与过度捕捞及资源在短期内难以恢复有关.建议延长禁渔期、严格控制禁渔结束后的捕捞强度等措施来提高禁渔效果,并采取恢复江湖联系、保护重要渔业水域水质、实施水利工程生态调度等措施来配合春禁制度的实施.长江渔业资源的恢复和保护是一个长期而复杂的过程,对长江禁渔效果的准确评估还需要长期监测和深入研究.     

A Global Baseline for Spawning Aggregations of Reef Fishes

Abstract: Species that periodically and predictably congregate on land or in the sea can be extremely vulnerable to overexploitation. Many coral reef fishes form spawning aggregations that are increasingly the target of fishing. Although serious declines are well known for a few species, the extent of this behavior among fishes and the impacts of aggregation fishing are not appreciated widely. To profile aggregating species globally, establish a baseline for future work, and strengthen the case for protection, we (as members of the Society for the Conservation of Reef Fish Aggregations) developed a global database on the occurrence, history, and management of spawning aggregations. We complemented the database with information from interviews with over 300 fishers in Asia and the western Pacific. Sixty‐seven species, mainly commercial, in 9 families aggregate to spawn in the 29 countries or territories considered in the database. Ninety percent of aggregation records were from reef pass channels, promontories, and outer reef‐slope drop‐offs. Multispecies aggregation sites were common, and spawning seasons of most species typically lasted <3 months. The best‐documented species in the database, the Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus), has undergone substantial declines in aggregations throughout its range and is now considered threatened. Our findings have important conservation and management implications for aggregating species given that exploitation pressures on them are increasing, there is little effective management, and 79% of those aggregations sufficiently well documented were reported to be in decline. Nonetheless, a few success stories demonstrate the benefits of aggregation management. A major shift in perspective on spawning aggregations of reef fish, from being seen as opportunities for exploitation to acknowledging them as important life‐history phenomena in need of management, is urgently needed.     

A method to estimate pre-exploitation population size

Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) were commercially exploited on the subantarctic island of South Georgia for over 100 years and nearly driven to extinction. Since the cessation of harvesting, however, their populations have rebounded, and they are now often considered a nuisance species whose impact on the terrestrial landscape should be mitigated. Any evaluation of their current population requires the context provided by their historic, pre-exploitation abundance, lest ecologists fall prey to shifting baseline syndrome in which their perspective on current abundance is compared only with an altered state resulting from past anthropogenic disturbance. Estimating pre-exploitation abundance is critical to defining species recovery and setting recovery targets, both of which are needed for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's recent efforts to develop a green list of recovering species. To address this issue, we reconstructed the South Georgia fur seal harvest from 1786 to 1908 from ship logbooks and other historical records and interpolated missing harvest data as necessary with a generalized linear model fit to the historical record. Using an approximate Bayesian computation framework, harvest data, and a stochastic age-structured population model, we estimated the pre-exploitation abundance of Antarctic fur seals on South Georgia was 2.5 million females (95% CI 1.5–3.5 million). This estimate is similar to recent abundance estimates, and suggests current populations, and the ecological consequences of so many fur seals on the island, may be similar to conditions prior to human harvest. Although the historic archive on the fur sealing era is unavoidably patchy, the use of archival records is essential for reconstructing the past and, correspondingly, to understanding the present. Article impact statement: Defining species recovery requires an understanding of baseline population state, which can be estimated through statistical methods.     

Tracking the response of industrial fishing fleets to large marine protected areas in the Pacific Ocean

Large marine protected areas (MPAs) of unprecedented size have recently been established across the global oceans, yet their ability to meet conservation objectives is debated. Key areas of debate include uncertainty over nations’ abilities to enforce fishing bans across vast, remote regions and the intensity of human impacts before and after MPA implementation. We used a recently developed vessel tracking data set (produced using Automatic Identification System detections) to quantify the response of industrial fishing fleets to 5 of the largest MPAs established in the Pacific Ocean since 2013. After their implementation, all 5 MPAs successfully kept industrial fishing effort exceptionally low. Detected fishing effort was already low in 4 of the 5 large MPAs prior to MPA implementation, particularly relative to nearby regions that did not receive formal protection. Our results suggest that these large MPAs may present major conservation opportunities in relatively intact ecosystems with low immediate impact to industrial fisheries, but the large MPAs we considered often did not significantly reduce fishing effort because baseline fishing was typically low. It is yet to be determined how large MPAs may shape global ocean conservation in the future if the footprint of human influence continues to expand. Continued improvement in understanding of how large MPAs interact with industrial fisheries is a crucial step toward defining their role in global ocean management.