How U.S. ocean policy and market power can reform the coral reef wildlife trade

As the world’s largest importer of marine ornamental species for the aquaria, curio, home décor, and jewelry industries, the United States has an opportunity to leverage its considerable market power to promote more sustainable trade and reduce the effects of ornamental trade stress on coral reefs worldwide. Evidence indicates that collection of some coral reef animals for these trades has caused virtual elimination of local populations, major changes in age structure, and promotion of collection practices that destroy reef habitats. Management and enforcement of collection activities in major source countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines remain weak. Strengthening US trade laws and enforcement capabilities combined with increasing consumer and industry demand for responsible conservation can create strong incentives for improving management in source countries. This is particularly important in light of the March 2010 failure of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to take action on key groups of corals.     

Coral assemblages and reef growth in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Western Pacific Ocean)

Reef development varies considerably around the high, raised‐limestone islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Here we examine the modern assemblages at 30 sites for coral composition, colony density, colony size, and fidelity. We defined four reef types and hypothesize the presence of environmentally driven ecological stasis, whereby the environment continuously selects for coral species membership, defines colony sizes, and over time creates the noted reef types. Our results show that constructional spur‐and‐groove reefs supported significantly larger coral‐colony sizes and higher coral species richness compared with high‐relief interstitial framework, low‐relief incipient, and non‐constructional coral assemblages. Non‐constructional reefs supported much smaller coral colony sizes, despite similar population densities, and were consistently found in association with high wave exposure. The distinct coral assemblages found on interstitial framework and low‐relief incipient reefs were not affiliated with any wave exposure regime, but were located adjacent to large watersheds and on islands with unique geological history. These assemblages were nested within the spur‐and‐groove species pool. Overall, modern coral cover was well predicted by bathymetric slope and watershed size, while species richness was additively influenced by two proxies of pollution, suggesting the latter is better suited for establishing management targets. In contrast with previous studies that suggested modern assemblages were biologically controlled in the CNMI, we show reef assemblages and reef development are highly influenced by long‐term environmental forcing.     

A collective approach to Pacific islands fisheries management: Moving beyond regional agreements

The sustainable management and profitable development of the Pacific island tuna fisheries is the key ocean governance challenge for the Pacific islands region in the short and medium term. Resolving these challenges is fundamental to the long term future of the region and its ability to implement oceans governance across all resource and conservation concerns.     

厦门同安湾鳄鱼屿海岸侵蚀与防护对策

在2009年3月对鳄鱼海岸线测量的基础上,利用ArcGIS软件分析比较了现有海岸线与厦门市集美区地形图（1988年版,图号：7-50-129甲-）中鳄鱼屿海岸线位置的变化.结果表明21a来,鳄鱼屿海岸最大侵蚀率为2.0 m/a,东南侧最大侵蚀宽度达42 m,侵蚀总面积达14 000 m2;其东北侧海岸侵蚀后退约35 m,侵蚀总面积达4 100 m2;其西北侧海岸最大侵蚀宽度达30 m,侵蚀面积达12 000 m2.文中就厦门市鳄鱼屿海岸侵蚀的成因进行了分析,提出了工程防护、人工补沙、红树林修复以及加强海岛及其周边海域资源综合管理等方面的防护对策.这可为我国其他无居民海岛的海岸侵蚀防护提供经验借鉴.     

Intraspecific cleaning by juvenile Cape white seabream Diplodus capensis (Sparidae) off eastern South Africa

Juveniles of the Cape white seabream Diplodus capensis were observed cleaning adult conspecifics in a large tidepool off Sodwana Bay, South Africa. Although nine other tropical fish species were present and interacted with a nearby pair of Labroides cleaner wrasses, only adults of D. capensis posed for and were cleaned by the D. capensis juveniles. Such cleaning interactions have not been reported previously for this species or among marine fishes off South Africa, and thus add to the growing list of facultative cleaners globally.     

A study of coral reef resilience and implications of adaptive management and rehabilitation in Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam

The Province of Khanh Hoa, Vietnam, is located in the western South China Sea and boasts a shoreline of 385 km and many islands. Previous studies have indicated the extreme diversity and abundance of coral reefs in its waters as compared with other coastal provinces of Vietnam. A study on the resilience of coral reefs against increased surface water temperature and anthropogenic impact is conducted at 19 reef sites in 2015. At each site, a series of parameters (e.g., coral covers, genus diversity, and coral recruitment, substratum heterogeneity, depth, water exchange level, and sediment deposit and water temperature) are measured quantitatively or semi-quantitatively. The measured data are rated based on the relationship between the parameter values and coral susceptibility; the consideration that reef health reflects the biological capability to adapt to environmental changes and the recruitment potential if bleached; and positive or negative influences of physical factors in the mitigation of thermal stress and protecting corals from bleaching. A cumulative analysis enables researchers to divide the studied reefs into four categories based on varying levels of reef health to support resilience, recovery, and vulnerability in the case of increased water temperature. Relevant management interventions for each category and other supporting activities are suggested to enhance management effectiveness and to plan the rehabilitation of coral reefs for biodiversity conservation and touristic development, taking into account the involvement of related stakeholders.     

基于层次分析法的南麂列岛海域人工鱼礁社会效果评价

人工鱼礁建设具有生态效果、经济效果和社会效果。为科学指导人工鱼礁的建设方向,进一步促进海洋牧场建设以及海洋渔业资源和海洋生态环境的可持续发展,文章采用改进的层次分析法,从人工鱼礁与社会的适应性、对社会环境的影响、对社会生活的影响以及对其他行业发展的影响4个方面,选取政策符合性等10个评价指标,通过问卷调查的方式,对南麂列岛海域人工鱼礁的社会效果进行评价,填补该研究领域的空白。研究结果表明:根据各评价指标的权重和效果判定值,南麂列岛海域人工鱼礁产生了较好的社会效果,其中海洋生态环境、项目长远性、改善渔民生活质量和海洋捕捞业等指标发挥作用较大;未来将开展长期和连续的调查研究,提高评价可信度。     

礁坪上波浪传播的数值模拟

本文基于具备间断捕捉能力的二阶全非线性Boussinesq数值模型,对规则波和随机波在礁坪地形上的传播变形进行了数值模拟。该模型采用高阶有限体积法和有限差分方法求解守恒格式的控制方程,将波浪破碎视为间断,同时采用静态重构技术处理了海岸动边界问题。重点针对礁坪上波浪传播过程中的波高空间分布和沿程衰减,礁坪上的平均水位变化,以及波浪能量频谱的移动和空间差异等典型水动力现象开展数值计算。将数值结果与实验结果对比,两者吻合情况良好,验证了模型具有良好的稳定性,具备模拟破碎波浪和海-岸动边界的能力,能较为准确地模拟波浪在礁坪地形上的传播过程中发生的各种水动力现象。     

Instantaneous Shorelines as an Intermediate for Island Shoreline Mapping based on Aerial/Satellite Stereo Images

Island shoreline mapping based on field measurements by collecting visually discernible features is costly and even unrealistic to be implemented in practice because of the nonuniqueness, fuzziness, and ambiguity of shoreline features. The MHHW (the mean higher high water) shoreline, i.e., the intersection of the coastal profile with the MHHW, is recommended to be chosen as a significant shoreline indicator of an island. An approach for mapping the MHHW shoreline using the aerial/satellite stereo images is proposed. In the proposed procedure, first, the height difference between the instantaneous shoreline and the MHHW shoreline is calculated by the ocean tide model; then the orthometric/normal height of the instantaneous shoreline is determined from the stereo images; last, the instantaneous shoreline is used as an intermediate for determination of the height of the MHHW shoreline. The proposed procedure is applied to the MiaoZiHu Island located in the East China Sea. Preliminary experimental result shows that in ideal cases, the horizontal positional accuracy of the extracted shoreline can reach 0.2 m from aerial images of 0.1 m resolution.     

基于分区间泛化Kriging近似模型的船舶局部结构形状优化

为提高Kriging近似模型在船舶结构性能多维度响应预测方面的适用性,对常规Kriging近似模型进行分区间泛化改进:一是对设计样本点的各个维度(分量)进行划区,并在每一个分区间内采用最优拉丁超立方(OLhd)取样;二是引入比例系数w1组合高斯与指数型相关函数提高模型对数据的泛化能力,从而在每个划分的区间内建立泛化的Kriging近似模型。通过SCH测试函数,验证了构造的分区间泛化Kriging模型有效性。结合参数化建模和改进Kriging近似模型对某过渡肘板和舱口角隅边界进行形状优化,优化第一阶段由改进的近似模型通过多岛遗传算法得到全局初步的最优解,第二阶段在初步解的基础上缩小优化变量范围,由少量的FEM计算即可在小范围内搜寻到精确的最优设计变量。结果表明:分区间泛化Kriging近似模型在预测多维度响应时较常规Kriging模型预测精度更高;分阶段的形状优化流程在保证极小误差和缩小计算成本的情况下能够得到理想的应力分布和重量优化结果,有助于船舶结构的轻量化研究。