Species distribution modelling to support marine conservation planning: The next steps

Species distribution models (SDMs) offer great potential for inclusion into the toolbox of today's marine environmental manager, especially with regard to marine conservation and planning. The application of SDMs in the marine environment over recent years has been varied but there are still relatively few examples in comparison with terrestrial application, and this is especially true in deep-sea marine ecosystems. This short article builds upon two recent review articles concerning the application of species distribution modelling studies in the marine realm, offering additional practical considerations for discussion. Recommendations for progressing the improved application of SDMs to support marine conservation planning are given, including combining model outputs with other data layers, metadata standards and model error. SDMs have both an urgent and long term contribution to make to marine conservation planning globally, and it is hoped that this article, in combination with developing research on marine SDMs, will contribute to some much needed discussion and inform best practice and new research to enable these models to be of greater use to marine managers.     

Can existing institutions protect biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction? Experiences from two on-going processes

United Nations discussions on the governance of marine areas beyond national jurisdiction have questioned, but not yet reached a decision, on whether existing institutional agreements and structures are sufficient to meet global commitments to protect marine biodiversity, or if additional mechanisms may be required. This paper considers two very different efforts to protect marine biodiversity in these areas: (1) in the North-East Atlantic through the efforts of OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic; and (2) in the central Atlantic, through the efforts of the Sargasso Sea Alliance led by the Bermuda government. In each case, action has been strongly supported by non-governmental organisations and subsequent progress has hinged upon on-going dedicated efforts of “champion” governments to bring other States on board. This paper outlines the difficulties that they have faced, and consequently why they have been time-consuming, and are not yet completed. The paper then considers 10 common recommendations that can be drawn from the experiences of these two distinct initiatives, and their relevance to on-going UN deliberations.     

Direct determination of tidal levels for engineering applications based on biological observations

The scarcity of tide gauges in a global scale and the variability of the tidal levels along contiguous coasts mainly due to changing hydrographic conditions make the determination of tidal levels, especially of the Mean Sea Level, not an easy task. Determination of such levels with a precision of about 10 cm, necessary for most coastal engineering works, is usually based on records of temporary tide gauges or on geomorphological techniques. In this paper we present an alternative approach permitting to accurately identify tidal levels with a precision suitable for civil engineering applications based on biological observations on rocky shores, including breakwaters and quays. More specifically, we present evidence that the biological zonation, i.e. the distribution of coastal species in well-defined sub-horizontal belts, is practically insensitive to seasonal and other small-scale fluctuations of the sea level and is clearly related to certain levels, mostly the Mean Low Water (MLW). This approach, somewhat similar to what has been used in the past (for instance for the determination of the geodetic vertical datum in the Republic of Venice, Italy, till approximately AD 1800), permits direct determination of the Mean Sea Level or of other tidal levels on the basis of biological observations without statistical analyses of tide-gauge records with an accuracy of 5–10 cm, especially in microtidal, low-energy coasts.     

黄海南部黄鲫(Setipinna taty)资源利用分析

以2005-2006年江苏省帆式张网渔获资料为基础,分析研究了黄海南部黄鲫资源的时空分布、群体组成结构以及产卵群体生物学特征.结果表明,黄海南部黄鲫主要利用渔期为春季3-5月、冬季1月或12月.春季高产渔区主要分布在大沙渔场的西南部和吕泗渔场的东部,冬季和秋季高产渔区相对靠近或较春季高产渔区偏东.黄鲫高产渔区的分布无明显季节变化特征.黄鲫渔获群体主要由体长70-110mm、体重0-15g的个体组成,产卵群体的平均体重范围为8.7-12.0g.与1981-2000年的研究结果相比,黄鲫个体小型化越趋显著,当前利用个体偏小.     

南海大眼金枪鱼和黄鳍金枪鱼生物学特性及其分布

利用2010年3月—2013年2月南海金枪鱼延绳钓探捕与渔业生产监测取得的生物学数据和生产数据,对南海的大眼金枪鱼(Thunnus obesus)和黄鳍金枪鱼(Thunnus albacres)的生物学特性和渔场分布进行了研究。结果表明:(1)南海大眼金枪鱼叉长范围50—169cm,平均为111.8cm,体重范围2.45—87kg,平均为33.2kg,叉长(FL)体重(W)关系:W=1.74×10–5FL3.01,性腺成熟度Ⅱ期居多,占总尾数的45.27%。绝对怀卵量109.46—456.95万粒,摄食强度以0—2级为主。大眼金枪鱼延绳钓渔场春夏季分布于南沙西北部和南沙中西部海域;秋冬季分布于西、中沙和南沙西北部海域。渔获水深90%集中在150—400m。(2)南海黄鳍金枪鱼叉长范围41—180cm,平均为107.9cm,体重范围1.2—77.5kg,平均为27.9kg,叉长体重关系:W=2.19×10–5FL2.94,性腺成熟度以Ⅱ—Ⅳ期居多,占总尾数的89.01%,绝对怀卵量15—154万粒,摄食强度以1—2级为主。黄鳍金枪鱼延绳钓渔场春夏季分布于南沙西北部和南沙中西部海域;秋冬季分布于西、中沙、南沙西北部、南沙中西部海域。渔获水深93.75%集中在50—350m。西沙西部和南沙西北部海域是灯光围网和灯光罩网捕捞金枪鱼的重要渔场。研究认为:(1)在南海可发展小型冷海水延绳钓船,在每年10月末—次年5月初在西沙东北海域开展浅水延绳钓作业;(2)在南海的岛礁附近设置PAYAO群,开展金枪鱼灯光罩网或围网捕捞。(3)目前取得的资料仍然有限,未来仍需进一步调查,以掌握南海金枪鱼种群动态,为渔业开发和养护提供建议。     

中国对虾人工诱导雌核发育的研究 Ⅱ.紫外线辐射对精子顶体反应和受精能力的影响

研究了 36 5 nm波长紫外线辐射中国对虾精子对其顶体反应和受精能力的影响。结果表明 ,低剂量紫外线辐射促进精子发生顶体反应 ,大剂量辐射使精子丧失发生顶体反应的生理机能并死亡。 36 5 nm波长紫外线能够透过精荚和纳精囊盖 ,对其内精子起到杀伤作用。精液稀释液在紫外线下辐射 5～ 8s,仍有部分精子具有受精能力 ,但胚胎在早期阶段即死亡。人工诱导雌核发育的过程中 ,紫外线辐射精液稀释液 5～ 8s,可获得遗传物质失活的精子 (激活源 )。经透射电镜观察分析 ,紫外线对精子遗传物质的损伤是一种使染色质变性的化学作用。     

Using δN values in algal tissue to map locations and potential sources of anthropogenic nutrient inputs on the island of Maui, Hawai‘i, USA

Macroalgal blooms of Hypnea musciformis and Ulvafasciata in coastal waters of Maui only occur in areas of substantial anthropogenic nutrient input, sources of which include wastewater effluent via injection wells, leaking cesspools and agricultural fertilizers. Algal δ¹⁵N signatures were used to map anthropogenic nitrogen through coastal surveys (island-wide and fine-scale) and algal deployments along nearshore and offshore gradients. Algal δ¹⁵N values of 9.8‰ and 2.0-3.5‰ in Waiehu and across the north-central coast, respectively, suggest that cesspool and agricultural nitrogen reached the respective adjacent coastlines. Effluent was detected in areas proximal to the Wastewater Reclamation Facilities (WWRF) operating Class V injection wells in Lahaina, Kihei and Kahului through elevated algal δ¹⁵N values (17.8-50.1‰). From 1997 to 2008, the three WWRFs injected an estimated total volume of 193 million cubic meters (51 billion gallons) of effluent with a nitrogen mass of 1.74 million kilograms (3.84 million pounds).     

Investigating Bermuda's pollution history through stable isotope analyses of modern and museum-held gorgonian corals

For centuries, Bermuda has been challenged with wastewater management for the protection of human and environmental health. By quantifying the δ¹⁵N of the common sea fan Gorgonia ventalina sampled from 30 sites throughout Bermuda we show that sewage-derived nitrogen is detectable on nearshore coral reefs and declines across the lagoon to the outer rim. We also sampled gorgonians from two museum collections representing a 50y time-series (1958–2008). These samples revealed an increase in δ¹⁵N of > 4.0‰ until the mid-1970s, after which δ¹⁵N values slowly declined by ~ 2.0‰. A δ¹⁵N chronology from a gorgonian skeleton exhibited a similar decline over the last 30–40 years of approximately 0.6‰. We conclude that policies have been effective in reducing sewage impacts to Bermudian reefs. However, significant sources of sewage pollution persist and are likely have a strong impact on harbor and nearshore coral communities and human health.     

除砷技术现状与展望

随着除砷技术的发展,生物法和硫化法等除砷技术已应用于工业除砷,混凝法、离子交换法和直接沉淀法等除砷技术在废水除砷中也已广泛应用。在综述了近年来除砷技术在工业中和含砷废水处理上的应用后,对其中各种技术进行了分析,并对我国除砷技术的发展方向进行了展望。