Playing Lotto with Rotto? Tourism,the environment and gambling with the ethos of a Western Australian island

Rottnest Island is a popular holiday destination offshore from Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. Rottnest (or Rotto) attracts approximately 500 000 visitors annually. The island is managed by a statutory government authority, the Rottnest Island Authority (RIA), for the purposes of providing recreation and holiday facilities and services, and protecting its natural and cultural values. While there are advantages in management by one body, there appears to be a conflict in managing both the tourism business and the environment, largely as a result of funding issues. While further tourism development would boost the RIA's self-funded operating budget, increased pressures may compromise the island environment and the Rottnest ethos, which revolves around a relaxed and casual social ambiance. The RIA aims to develop Rottnest as a model for sustainability, but are dilemmas surrounding economic sustainability potentially risking the island's environmental and social sustainability? This paper concludes that in the pursuit of economic returns from tourism, Rottnest Island's environmental and social values face an uncertain future.     

Conceptual models for carbonate aquifers. 1969

The very diverse types of ground‐water behavior in carbonate terrains can be classified by relating the flow type to a particular hydrogeologic environment each exhibiting a characteristic cave morphology. The ground water may move by diffuse flow, by retarded flow, or by free flow. Diffuse flow occurs in less soluble rocks such as extremely shaley limestones or crystalline dolomites. Integrated conduits are rare. Caves tend to be small, irregular, and often little more than solutionally widened joints. Retarded flows occur in artesian environments and in situations where unfavorable stratigraphy forces ground water to be confined to relatively thin beds. Network cave patterns are characteristic since hydrodynamic forces are damped by the external controls. Solution occurs along many available joints. Free flowing aquifers are those in which solution has developed a subsurface drainage system logically regarded as an underground extension of surface streams. These streams may have fully developed surface tributaries as well as recharge from sinkholes and general infiltration. Characteristic cave patterns are those of integrated conduit systems which are often truncated into linear, angulate, and branchwork caves. Free Flow aquifers may be further subdivided into Open aquifers lying beneath karst plains and Capped aquifers in which significant parts of the drainage net lie beneath an insoluble cap rock. Other geologic factors such as structure, detailed lithology, relief, and locations of major streams, control the details of cave morphology and orientation of the drainage network.     

Updated Expressions for Determining Temperatures and Emission Measures from Goes Soft X-Ray Measurements

{We investigate the conversion of the 0.5–4 and 1–8 Å soft X-ray flux measurements made by detectors on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) into temperature and emission measures of coronal plasma using modern spectral models and modern understanding of coronal abundances. In particular, the original analysis by Thomas, Starr and Crannell (1985) is updated to take into account the realization that coronal abundances may be quite different from photospheric abundances. An important result of this analysis is that the derived temperatures and emission measures depend strongly on the assumed abundances even at high temperatures where continuum rather than spectral lines dominates the Sun’s X-ray spectrum. This occurs because the higher coronal abundances mean that most of the continuum is due to free–bound emission processes, not free–free emission, and thus is abundance-dependent. We find significant differences between modern calculations of the temperature response of the flux measurements and the versions currently in use: for a typical flare, emission measures may be up to a factor of 4 smaller than the current software suggests. Derived temperatures are similar for both photospheric and coronal abundances for cool flares (e.g., 15 MK), but for hot flares (e.g., 35 MK) coronal abundances can lead to significantly (~25%) lower temperatures being derived.     

The multiple chronological techniques applied to the Lake Suigetsu SG06 sediment core,central Japan

The varved sediment of Lake Suigetsu (central Japan) provides a valuable opportunity to obtain high‐resolution, multi‐proxy palaeoenvironmental data across the last glacial/interglacial cycle. In order to maximize the potential of this archive, a well‐constrained chronology is required. This paper outlines the multiple geochronological techniques being applied – namely varve counting, radiocarbon dating, tephrochronology (including argon–argon dating) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) – and the approaches by which these techniques are being integrated to form a single, coherent, robust chronology. Importantly, we also describe here the linkage of the floating Lake Suigetsu (SG06) varve chronology and the absolute (IntCal09 tree‐ring) time scale, as derived using radiocarbon data from the uppermost (non‐varved) portion of the core. This tie‐point, defined as a distinct (flood) marker horizon in SG06 (event layer B‐07–08 at 1397.4 cm composite depth), is thus derived to be 11 255 to 11 222 IntCal09 cal. years BP (68.2% probability range).     

Stress-induced apoptosis in sea urchin embryogenesis

We find that early sea urchin embryos have the capability to induce programmed cell death, or apoptosis, in response to chemical and physical stress. Strongylocentrotus purpuratus embryos (fertilized, 4 cell, 16 cell, 64 cell, and early blastula) were exposed to known cytotoxins, in order to determine when apoptosis occurs naturally and in response to stress. Using cell permeability as an indicator of early stage apoptosis, caspase activation as a mid-stage indicator, and DNA fragmentation as a late stage indicator, we find that during the cleavage stage of embryogenesis apoptosis is almost completely absent. However, a statistically significant (p<0.001) rise in apoptosis in stressed embryos is evident around 24 h after fertilization, during the early blastula stage and shortly after hatching. Before this stage, exposed embryos show no statistically significant increases in apoptosis in comparison to the controls. This pattern of apoptosis in development is similar to that seen in lower vertebrate models in which stress-induced apoptosis occurs only around the mid-blastula transition. We conclude that apoptosis may be used to rid embryos of aberrant or damaged cells in early development, but this response is stage-dependant. Repair, rather than apoptosis, may be utilized during earlier stages, or alternatively, embryos exposed to such stressors may continue development with damaged cells and perhaps damaged DNA. Our continued studies will focus on these alternative hypotheses.     

Circulation on the north central Chukchi Sea shelf

Mooring and shipboard data collected between 1992 and 1995 delineate the circulation over the north central Chukchi shelf. Previous studies indicated that Pacific waters crossed the Chukchi shelf through Herald Valley (in the west) and Barrow Canyon (in the east). We find a third branch (through the Central Channel) onto the outer shelf. The Central Channel transport varies seasonally in phase with Bering Strait transport, and is 0.2 Sv on average, although some of this might include water entrained from the outflow through Herald Valley. A portion of the Central Channel outflow moves eastward and converges with the Alaskan Coastal Current at the head of Barrow Canyon. The remainder appears to continue northeastward over the central outer shelf toward the shelfbreak, joined by outflow from Herald Valley. The mean flow opposes the prevailing winds and is primarily forced by the sea-level slope between the Pacific and Arctic oceans. Current variations are mainly wind forced, but baroclinic forcing, associated with upstream dense-water formation in coastal polynyas might occasionally be important.Winter water-mass modification depends crucially on the fall and winter winds, which control seasonal ice development. An extensive fall ice cover delays cooling, limits new ice formation, and results in little salinization. In such years, Bering shelf waters cross the Chukchi shelf with little modification. In contrast, extensive open water in fall leads to early and rapid cooling, and if accompanied by vigorous ice production within coastal polynyas, results in the production of high-salinity (>33) shelf waters. Such interannual variability likely affects slope processes and the transport of Pacific waters into the Arctic Ocean interior.     

Closely related thyasirid bivalves associate with multiple symbiont phylotypes

Species of thyasirid bivalves are considered to be representative of early stages of chemosymbiosis, given that bacterial symbionts occur outside gill epithelial cells, vary among species in their abundance and nutritional importance, and are environmentally acquired. For these reasons, assessing the extent of host–symbiont specificity in thyasirids could provide valuable information on the evolution of chemosymbiosis. We show that individuals of two closely related and sympatric Thyasira cf. gouldi operational taxonomic units collected from three sites in a fjord in Newfoundland, Canada, associate with one of three distinct, closely related symbiont phylotypes. While associations show some site‐specificity, there is flexibility in host–symbiont pairings within the fjord, further supporting an early and relatively unspecific stage of chemosymbiosis in this family. Morphologic differences observed both within and among symbiont phylotypes suggest physiologic variation, possibly induced by small‐scale differences in sedimentary conditions.     

Developing a conceptual model of marine farming in New Zealand

Survey and Geographic Information System (GIS) data analysis describes the relative influence of biophysical and human variables on site choices made by marine farmers in New Zealand. Community conflicts have grown in importance in determining farm location and different government planning strategies leave distinct signature patterns. Recent legislation empowers local governments to choose among three strategies for future regional aquaculture development. This paper suggests each strategy could result in different spatial outcomes. Simulation modelling of the type described here can provide a better understanding of farmer responses to management approaches and the range of futures that could result from planning choices made today.     

Applicability of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) in Japanese fisheries: A comparison of rights-based fisheries management in Iceland, Japan, and United States

ITQs have not yet been introduced by the Government of Japan. In coastal areas, fishery cooperative associations have traditionally played an important role in managing fisheries through self-imposed rules and peer-monitoring systems. Recently, however, the economic competitiveness of Japanese fisheries in the international market is being questioned. In this paper, a detailed examination of the pros and cons of the current system in Japan is compared to the current fishery management measures of Iceland and the United States, where attaining economically or biologically efficient outcomes may be prioritized in making fisheries management decisions. For many coastal fisheries in Japan, maintaining a management scheme in which stakeholders play an active role in determining fisheries measures seems more relevant if their priority is to maintain the stability of coastal communities and equity of stakeholders. Intensive dialog among stakeholders would be necessary to identify shared objectives of their fishery operations and to make decisions to establish specific steps toward the goal of increasing economic efficiency, environmental sustainability, or stability of communities and equity of stakeholders.     

Physical determinants of intertidal communities on dissipative beaches: Implications of sea-level rise

Sea-level rise is likely to cause significant changes in the morphodynamic state of beaches in the higher latitudes, resulting in steeper beaches with larger particle sizes. These physical changes have implications for beach invertebrate communities, which are determined largely by sediment particle size, and hence for ecosystem function. Previous studies have explored the relationships between invertebrate communities and environmental variables such as particle size, beach slope and exposure to wave action, and often these physical variables can be integrated in various indices of morphodynamic state. Most of these studies incorporated a full range of beach types that included wave-dominated surf beaches, where the wave action is harsh enough to enable reliable estimates of breaker height, a parameter included in several of the indices, and concluded that more dissipative beaches with gentler slopes and finer particle sizes often support a higher number of species and greater abundance than more reflective beaches. Whether these predictions remain valid for less wave-dominated beaches, where breaker height is more difficult to determine, is uncertain. In the present study, the abundance of meio- and macrofauna was quantified across a range of beaches in the UK, which are generally towards the lower energy end of the morphodynamic gradient, and their relationships with beach physical properties explored. No significant relationships were found between abundance and the standard morphodynamic indices, but significant relationships were found for both macro- and meiofaunal abundance when these indices were combined with an exposure index (derived from velocity, direction, duration and the effective fetch). All the relationships identified between abundance and combined morphodynamic indices indicated a higher abundance of both macro- and meiofauna on the more dissipative beaches. The reverse was however found for species richness. If predictions that accelerated sea-level rise will move beaches towards a more reflective morphodynamic state are correct, this could lead to declines in the abundance of meio- and macrofauna, with potential adverse consequences for ecosystem functioning.