Management of the commons for biodiversity: lessons from the North Pacific

The North Pacific has the world's largest groundfish fisheries, with a value in excess of $1 billion annually. The North Pacific also is home to the largest population of Steller sea lions (SSL), an ancient species that is now endangered. Decline of the western stock of SSL in the 1970–1990s coincided with the US nationalization and exponential growth in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands groundfish fishery.The article treats five aspects of the competition between the fishery and protection of the endangered species. First, we analyze competition of interests in the use, management, and preservation of the North Pacific commons, including offshore and near-shore fisheries, environmental organizations, governments (federal, state, and local), and the scientific community. Second, the article compares and contrasts provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Magnuson–Stevens Act (as amended in 1996 by the Sustainable Fisheries Act).Third, we examine the regulatory environment with a focus on the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and its relationship to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. We illustrate how NMFS establishes fishery management plans and the methods, such as crafting biological opinions and environmental-impact-statements, it uses to resolve conflicts. Fourth, we investigate how the dual pressures on the agency—to increase fisheries production for the benefit of the industry and to preserve endangered marine species—have affected its culture (behavioral norms and operational codes). Then, the article explains agency changes in terms of crises, competition among affected interests, and development of new scientific knowledge.The article concludes by drawing lessons from the SSL controversy in the North Pacific which may pertain to national and global biodiversity conflicts. These concern the role of law in biodiversity protection, the role of science, and agency capacity for change.     

强冲刷侵蚀岸段水深地形变化成因分析

海底地形变化是海洋动力变化的直接表征之一,强冲刷侵蚀岸段水深地形变化,主要是由于风暴潮等恶劣天气而形成的波浪扰动起海底表层物质成分,并由海流和风完成了对悬沙的运移所致.风暴潮引起海浪在海岸浅水处破碎,卷破波的水舌向下冲击时,在海底形成很大的旋涡,把泥沙掀动起来,在风流潮和的作用下,致使侵蚀冲刷快速的呈现,造成了水深地形的变化.一般情况下,水深地形变化较大地段由于泥沙的自然盈亏影响较小,人为的因素改变了自然平衡发生变化是重要因素.而冲刷侵蚀岸段的水深地形变化与海洋动力紧密相关,因此,研究分析海洋动力与水深地形变化的成因,对海岸工程及其防护至关重要.     

Sea surface height anomaly and geostrophic circulation variations in the South China Sea from TOPEX/POSEIDON altimetry

The sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) and geostrophic circulation in the South ChinaSea (SCS) are studied using TOPEX/POSE1DON (T/P) altimetry data. The SSHA, which is obtained after tidal correction based on the tidal results from T/P data, is predominated by seasonal alternating monsoons. The results reveal that the SSHA in the central part of the SCS is positive in spring and summer, but negative in autumn and winter. It is also found that the SSHA in the SCS can be approached with the sum of tidal constituents SA and SSA. The geostrophic circulations in the SCS are calculated according to sea surface dynamic topography, which is the sum of SSHA and mean sea surface height. It is suggested that the circulation in the upper layer of the SCS is generally cyclonic and notably western intensified during autumn and winter, while the western intensification is weak during spring and summer. It is also indicated that the Kuroshio intrudes into the northeastern SCS throuth the Luzon Strait in winter. But ther     

南海南部大陆架14ka来微型双壳类营养结构与海流活动

双壳类食悬浮物类与食沉积物类的发育变化是反映水动力环境的一种指标。对南海南部NS93- 1 2 - 58柱样 1 4ka来微型双壳类营养结构分析表明 ,晚更新世末次冰期向冰后期全新世转化阶段 ,食沉积物类一度较为发育 ,表明南海南部表层环流很不活跃 ,从这一转化阶段到全新世早期 ,双壳类食悬浮物类与食沉积物类的比例有规律地变大 ,表明随着气候转暖 ,海水温度增高 ,海平面上升 ,海流作用显著增强。该柱样整样分析表明 ,双壳类食悬浮物类占据着明显的优势 ,显示了 1 4ka来南海海流作用一直比较强烈。在全新世中晚期 ,双壳类主要栖息在次表层水团的海底 ,仍以食悬浮物类为主 ,可能与南海南部陆坡上升流发育有关     

两项新技术及其在海水苗种生产中的应用

本文介绍了两项新技术，用泡沫净化空气、海水和生物效应灯，及其在海水苗种生产中的应用。文中分别讨论了它们的原理、设计安装及使用效果。希望这两项新技术能够得到推广，以提高出苗率，增加海水苗种生产的经济效益。     

无公害刺参稳产健康养殖新技术

本文针对目前刺参养殖中存在的问题,简单明了叙述刺参无公害健康养殖一系列新技术和新方法,对推动海参养殖业持续、稳定、健康发展,起到积极作用和效果。     

Deep-sea hydrocarbon seep gastropod Bathynerita naticoidea responds to cues from the habitat-providing mussel Bathymodiolus childressi

Bathynerita naticoidea (Gastropoda: Neritidae) is a numerically dominant heterotrophic gastropod found at hydrocarbon seep sites on the upper Louisiana slope of the Gulf of Mexico. Snails of this species are commonly associated with beds of the methanotrophic mussel Bathymodiolus childressi (Bivalvia: Mytilidae), and their population structure mirrors that of the mussels they are found among. Previous studies have shown that these snails feed on bacteria and decomposing periostracum on the B. childressi shell. We predicted that B. naticoidea might be attracted to cues specific to its preferred habitat, such as dissolved methane, mucus from conspecific snails, or metabolites produced by B. childressi mussels. To examine this, we used a flow‐through Y‐maze system to investigate the behavior of B. naticoidea exposed to these potential cues. We found that the nerite is not attracted to methane, but is strongly attracted to seawater conditioned with B. childressi. The attractant appears to be specific to this type of mussel, and is not a soluble cue produced by conspecific snails.     

Spatial and temporal distribution patterns of deep‐sea mesozooplankton in the eastern Mediterranean – indications of a climatically induced shift?

Zooplankton samples from the eastern Mediterranean were collected in April/May 1999 with a multiple opening and closing net (mesh size 333 μm) to examine the distribution and taxonomic composition of mesozooplankton, mainly Calanoida (Copepoda), some years after the onset of the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT), a climatically induced shift in hydrography. The samples from seven stations on a transect from the Ionian Sea to the eastern part of the Levantine Basin were collected at closely spaced vertical intervals from the surface to water depths of 4250 m. Data from January 1987, June 1993, January 1998 and October 2001 from the main site of investigation, south of Crete, were used to describe the temporal evolution before (1987), during (1993) and after (1998–2001) the EMT. The eastern Mediterranean mesozooplankton fauna is dominated by three Calanoida species along the west–east transect, with varying abundances in different depth‐zones: Haloptilus longicornis in the epipelagic zone, Eucalanus monachus in the mesopelagic zone, and Lucicutia longiserrata in the bathypelagic zone. A drastic change in mesozooplankton composition and abundance occurred at the main site during the EMT, whereupon increased abundances of Candacia elongata and L. longiserrata were observed in the bathypelagic zone in the following years; L. longiserrata accounted for 43% of the total mesozooplankton in this zone. The hypothesis is posed that the Mediterranean deep‐sea ecosystem is able to respond quickly to changes in the environment and memorizes these changes over time. We claim that the biological effects of climatically induced changes can be easily monitored in the deep eastern Mediterranean Sea using calanoid copepod key species due to the hydrographically extreme, but ‘simply structured’ ecosystem.