Polychlorinated biphenyls in freshwater salmonids from the Kerguelen Islands in the Southern Ocean

The Subantarctic Kerguelen Islands (49°S, 70°E) contain freshwater ecosystems among the most isolated in the world. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were assessed in the muscle of 48 brook trout and 38 brown trout caught during summer and spring 2006 in the rivers, lakes and ponds of Kerguelen. The sum of 29 PCBs averaged 404 and 358 ng g⁻¹ lipid, and dioxin-like PCB was 19 and 69 ng g⁻¹ lipid, in brook and brown trout, respectively. The values showed a high variability and some fish accumulated PCBs at levels similar to those of fish from impacted areas. While inter-sex differences were limited, the season and the morphotype appeared to have the most influence. Fish captured in summer had muscle PCB concentrations about three times higher than those caught in spring and the ‘river’ morphotype of brook trout showed the highest PCB levels.     

The Role of Faith-based Organizations in Environmental Governance: the Case of Forestry in Solomon Islands

Faith-based organizations (FBOs) have played a significant role in environment-related forms of development and governance in Melanesia, including the Solomon Islands. Yet despite their centrality, there remain significant gaps in understandings of processes and outcomes associated with FBO engagement in environment-related development interventions. This paper addresses this gap by analysing the place of the Christian Fellowship Church (CFC), an indigenous FBO active in plantation forestry (and other activities) in the Western Province in the Solomon Islands. We find that the CFC possesses impressive income-generating potential and political networks; however this does not always translate into positive social, economic or environmental outcomes at the village level. While FBOs such as CFC are often championed as playing an important role in environmental governance in an under-resourced nation state, the reality is that they can fall well short in delivering appropriate outcomes for poor communities or the environment despite, and because of, their close ties to target communities.     

Study of metals concentration levels in Patella piperata throughout the Canary Islands, Spain

In order to assess the extent of metal contamination at rocky shores of the Canarian Archipelago, metal concentrations have been measured in Patella piperata (Gould, 1846), using the standard atomic absorption spectrophotometer technique. Ranges of elements concentrations measured (in μg g⁻¹) found in the biota were: Cd (0.36 ± 0.26 μg g⁻¹ dry wt.), Cu (2.05 ± 0.91 dry wt.), Pb (1.57 ± 1.14 μg g⁻¹dry wt.) and Zn (10.37 ± 4.60 μg g⁻¹ dry wt.). Variation in metal concentrations in Patella, was tested by using non-parametric statistical methods. Cd content had a maximum in the Archipelago Chinijo, northward of Lanzarote Island. The metal concentrations recorded at the clean stations may be considered carefully if they are used like background levels.     

游客低碳旅游认知、意愿和行为特征分析——以厦门鼓浪屿为例

以厦门鼓浪屿游客为调查对象,收集游客的人口学特征、低碳旅游认知、意愿和行为特征等相关信息,利用调查得到的数据进行描述性统计分析结果表明:游客低碳旅游认知不够深入,相关概念存在认知差异,年龄、收。入、受教育程度、职业类别对游客的低碳旅游认知具有不同程度的影响;游客对于举手之劳的、不需耗费财力或可以获益的、无需太多精力的低碳项目的参与意愿程度比较高,而对于比较繁琐、需要耗费财力精力、影响自己便利性、关系到自身洁净等低碳项目的参与意愿程度比较低,受教育程度、收入对游客的低碳旅游意愿有明显影响;游客低碳旅游行为效果较低,因为游客更多考虑自身支付能力、舒适和方便等因素。最后,从政府、旅游社区、旅游企业、旅游者4个体系给出了落实低碳旅游发展的相关建议。     

Indigenous People's Detection of Rapid Ecological Change

When sudden catastrophic events occur, it becomes critical for coastal communities to detect and respond to environmental transformations because failure to do so may undermine overall ecosystem resilience and threaten people's livelihoods. We therefore asked how capable of detecting rapid ecological change following massive environmental disruptions local, indigenous people are. We assessed the direction and periodicity of experimental learning of people in the Western Solomon Islands after a tsunami in 2007. We compared the results of marine science surveys with local ecological knowledge of the benthos across 3 affected villages and 3 periods before and after the tsunami. We sought to determine how people recognize biophysical changes in the environment before and after catastrophic events such as earthquakes and tsunamis and whether people have the ability to detect ecological changes over short time scales or need longer time scales to recognize changes. Indigenous people were able to detect changes in the benthos over time. Detection levels differed between marine science surveys and local ecological knowledge sources over time, but overall patterns of statistically significant detection of change were evident for various habitats. Our findings have implications for marine conservation, coastal management policies, and disaster‐relief efforts because when people are able to detect ecological changes, this, in turn, affects how they exploit and manage their marine resources. Detección del Cambio Ecológico Rápido por la Población Indígena     

Material flow analysis for a sustainable resource management in island ecosystems

The Galapagos Archipelago (Ecuador) is one of the most well-known natural sites in the world for its unique biodiversity. This sensitive ecosystem is at risk due to a problematic equilibrium between its conservation policy and development demand. To contribute to implementing integrated sustainable resource management in the Galapagos Islands, a material flow analysis (MFA) of Santa Cruz – the island with the highest anthropic pressure in the archipelago – has been performed, outlining a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the direct flow of goods throughout the system. MFA outcomes have been used to evaluate and forecast the impact of some policies and strategies on the local system, focusing in particular on fossil fuel consumption and local agricultural production. This case study stresses the need to introduce a local MFA protocol to decision-makers’ toolbox, as it provides quantitative assessments on a broad spectrum of local development issues.     

Marine gold and atoll livelihoods: The rise and fall of the bêche‐de‐mer trade on Ontong Java,Solomon Islands

The rise and fall of the bêche‐de‐mer trade in Solomon Islands is an example of how small, remote island communities are influenced by drivers of change on both the national and international scales. This susceptibility leads to local economic collapses and changed livelihoods. This article focuses on small‐island livelihoods, socio‐economic responses to fluctuating markets and the instability caused by internal and external forces of change. Quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews and participant observation have been used to explore the development trajectories of Ontong Java, a Polynesian outlier in Solomon Islands, in the context of the bêche‐de‐mer trade over the past forty years. The main findings can be captured in four distinct periods that demonstrate the transformation of this atoll community from subsistence‐oriented strategies to specialization in marine resource extraction to economic collapse and return to subsistence. It is concluded that this atoll population has shown a remarkable ability to adjust and cope with processes of globalization.     

Adaptive Units for Conservation: Population Distinction and Historic Extinctions in the Island Scrub-Jay

Abstract:  The Island Scrub-Jay ( Aphelocoma insularis ) is found on Santa Cruz Island, California, and is the only insular bird species in the continental United States. We typed seven microsatellite loci and sequenced a portion of the mitochondrial DNA control region of Island Scrub-Jays and their closest mainland relative, the Western Scrub-Jay ( Aphelocoma californica ), to assess levels of variability and effective population size and to examine the evolutionary relationship between the two species. The estimated female effective population size, N _ef, of the Island Scrub-Jay was 1603 (90% confidence interval: 1481–1738) and was about 7.5% of the size of the mainland species. Island and Western Scrub-Jays have highly divergent control-region sequences, and the value of 3.14 ± 0.09% sequence divergence between the two species suggests a divergence time of approximately 151,000 years ago. Because the four northern Channel Islands were joined as one large island as recently as 11,000 years ago, extinctions must have occurred on the three other northern Channel islands, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Anacapa, highlighting the vulnerability of the remaining population. We assessed the evolutionary significance of four island endemics, including the Island Scrub-Jay, based on both genetic and adaptive divergence. Our results show that the Island Scrub-Jay is a distinct species of high conservation value whose history and adaptive potential is not well predicted by study of other island vertebrates.     

Change in environmental stability and the use of resources on small islands: The case of Formentera,Balearic Islands,Spain

Since the beginning of the 1960s, mass tourism has been the most important menace to the environmental stability of fragile and vulnerable Mediterranean microinsular systems. The socioeconomic changes introduced by tourism have produced important variations in the use of resources, including land. The result usually has been an increase in the level of artificiality of the territory, particularly in coastal areas. The intensity and frequency of change in the use of resources and the induced changes in the level of artificiality may be used as an estimation of environmental stability. The northern area of Formentera, Balearic islands, Spain, being the most environmentally important area of the island and simultaneously the most threatened by mass tourism development, has been chosen as a study case. Forty types of vegetation and land use have been estimated and mapped in the area. The stability level of each land use type has been estimated, before and after the development of tourism, and the main environmental processes have been identified. An attempt is made to predict some future trends and their variations.     

Culture and the environment on the Cape Verde Islands

The Cape Verde Islands originally supported a limited island ecology which, since the arrival of settlers 500 years ago, has been steadily altered or destroyed. Today, deforestation and overfarming, combined with the natural conditions of aridity and strong winds, have rendered the islands barren and eroded. The current government of the Republic of Cape Verde is attempting to alter traditional attitudes and customs of environmental neglect and mismanagement, while at the same time striving to restore or create self-sustaining ecosystems. The introduction of plants, animals, and physical structures enhancing soil and water conservation may create a more viable total ecosystem than existed before humans arrived.