Socio-economic vulnerability due to climate change: Deriving indicators for fishing communities in Mumbai

This paper assessed the socio-economic implications of climate change and vulnerability of fishing communities known as “Koli” living in Mumbai, India. The vulnerability indicators are derived from sustainable livelihood literature and use of multi-criteria analyses and are validated with expert opinions. A survey of two hundred fishermen from five fishing villages in Mumbai was conducted to collect data. The results demonstrate that vulnerability perpetuates due to physical and financial resource constraints among the fishing community. Fishermen from Madh and Worli villages are observed to be more vulnerable and less adaptive due to their inability to use efficient mechanized boats and advanced fishing implements, such as fish finders and GPS (Global Positioning System). The divergence in the vulnerability scores among fishing villages is attributed to the coping strategies, resource availability, knowledge and the benefit derived from the local government. Fishermen have been observing the negative impacts of climate change on their fishing livelihoods. Adaptation strategies to maximize fish catch are observed in such practices as targeting different species and fishing intensively for several days. However, these practices are leading to an imbalance in the common resource pool and biased resource sharing among different groups of fishermen.     

Vertical distribution of bacteria and archaea in a CO2-rich meromictic lake: A case study of Lake Monoun

In order to assess the diversity and spatial distribution of bacterial and archaeal communities in a CO₂-rich and meromictic lake, samples were collected along the water column of Lake Monoun and analyzed using PCR-DGGE and quantitative analyses of the 16S rRNA gene. The retrieved sequences were affiliated to 6 bacterial phyla and two archaeal phyla which plausible environmental functions map with the physico-chemical parameters of the lake. Unclassified sequences were also detected. This suggests heterogeneity in community composition and existence of potential candidate divisions. For instance, amongst the bacterial sequences, 18.2% matched with methanotrophic bacteria of the order methylococcales and amongst the archaeal sequences, 16.6% matched with methanogenic species of the order methanomicrobiales. Hence, evidencing the existence of methane-related prokaryotes in the lake, a finding that would play a key role in our understanding of the methane puzzle of Lake Monoun. Other groups capable of a wide range of metal and nutrients transformations were also detected, as well as those of unknown functions. The layering of microbial communities also appeared to directly or indirectly depend on oxygen availability. DGGE and qPCR analyses both suggested a scarcity of archaea in the surface samples. Furthermore, qPCR revealed that bacteria were numerically more important than archaea in all the samples. The general distribution along the water column indicated that archaeal abundance increases with depth.     

Verifying a biotope classification using benthic communities – An analysis towards the implementation of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive

The HELCOM Red List biotopes project proposed a Baltic Sea wide classification consisting of six levels: The HELCOM Underwater biotopes/habitats classification system (HELCOM HUB). We present a case study from the south-western Baltic Sea where we tested the applicability of this system. More than 500 sampling stations were analyzed regarding macrozoobenthic communities and their linkage to environmental parameters. Based on the analyses of biotic and abiotic data, 21 groups were assigned to 13 biotopes of the classification. For some biotopes varying states of communities were recognized. Even though not all abiotic parameters are considered directly in the hierarchy of the classification in general, all soft-bottom communities could be allocated to a corresponding biotope. The application of the HELCOM HUB for the south-western Baltic Sea is feasible, in regard to the implementation of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive as well as the Baltic Sea Action Plan.     

湖泊生态恢复的关键因子分析

中国是一个多湖泊的国家。由于经济快速发展及湖泊资源不合理的开发利用,中国湖泊的污染问题和生态系统退化相当普遍。特别是由于氮、磷等营养元素的富集造成的水体富营养化,导致蓝藻水华频繁发生,甚至出现了饮用水危机事件。由于缺乏基础理论的指导,中国湖泊富营养化治理曾经走过弯路。在没有实现控源截污的条件下,片面强调生态恢复来净化湖泊水环境,一度成为富营养化湖泊治理的主流思想。实际上,湖泊生态恢复是有条件的,而对这些条件的诊断和分析是开展湖泊生态恢复的前提和基础。通过对太湖水生植物分布及其影响因子分析,确定沉水植物恢复的核心条件是水下光照条件。水下光照条件受富营养水平、悬浮物浓度与水深等因子的影响。只有当一个水域的真光层深度接近水深的情况(比值>0.8),恢复水生植物才有可能。改善水下光照条件,包括降低水深,提高透明度,消除风浪等措施,实际上,都是增加真光层深度与水深的比值。在上述生态恢复条件不具备的情况下,湖泊治理与恢复的工作更多地应该聚焦在控源截污方面。这对中国湖泊污染治理与生态恢复具有普遍的意义。     

Upper tertiary rocks from the continental shelf and slope off Southern Hawkes Bay

Sixteen rock samples were collected from the continental shelf and slope between Napier and Cape Turnagain, southern Hawkes Bay, most coming from offshore anticlinal ridges. Nine of the samples have a foraminiferal fauna of Upper Miocene and Pliocene age. The remainder cannot be dated, but most are probably of similar age. The foraminiferal. faunas are considered to have lived at depths ranging down to at least 1600 m deeper than the depth from which they were collected. Thus, the post‐depositional history of the samples includes tectonic uplift of similar magnitude since Upper Tertiary times. Because most of the samples arc very fine grained, unlike Recent sediments from ridges, it is suggested that the present regime of folding is largely post‐Pliocene in age.     

Macrophyte management: An integrated perspective

A concept of aquatic macrophyte management that integrates the positive and negative aspects of vegetation in lakes and rivers is discussed. This integrated approach involves three factors: macrophyte control, macrophyte enhancement, and identification and resolution of the conflicts created by multiple use of a waterbody. The primary decision in macrophyte management programmes must be whether to optimise for single‐purpose or for multipurpose use of the waterbody. Both technical (macrophyte control and enhancement) and social (conflict resolution) procedures are required to solve problems associated with the macrophyte status of multipurpose waterbodies.     

Species and plant community reorganization in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt under climate change conditions

This study analyzes six vegetation communities in relation to current climatic parameters and eight climate change scenarios along an elevation gradient extending from 2,710 m to 4,210m in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The projected movements of 25 plant species with the current restricted or wide altitudinal distributions were also modeled. To relate climatic parameters to the species and communities, a Precipitation/Temperature(P/T)index was used both for the current and the different climate-change scenarios. The temperatures are expected to increase by 1.1°C to 1.7°C by 2020 and by2°C to 3°C by 2050. A decrease of 4% to 13% in the annual precipitation is expected for the 2020 horizon,and a reduction between 3% and 20% is expected for2050. The reductions in water availability were projected for all altitude levels and plant communities.The most marked reduction was under the HADLEYA2 scenario, in which the lower limit of the altitudinal range increased from 2,710 to 3,310 m(2050 horizon)with reductions in the P/T index between 36% and39% compared to the current climate. Most plant species tended to shift their distribution from 200 to300 m upward in the 2020 temporal horizon scenarios. The Pinus hartwegii, Alnus jorullensis and Pinus montezumae communities would have a shorter altitudinal range as they move upward and merge with the remaining species at the higher altitudinal range. For the 2050 temporal horizon,30% of the species, primarily those from the higher altitudinal range, would disappear because their P/Tindex values would be above the limit of plant survival(4,210 m).     

Urban locations and Black Metropolis resilience in the Great Depression

Motivated by theoretical arguments about ethnicity and economics and by historical research on urban black communities in the United States, this paper investigates the resilience of the early twentieth-century Black Metropolis. The study tests hypotheses about changes during the Great Depression (1930–1940) in the advantages of various cities as locations of black communities’ ethnic economies, analyzing Census data on blacks’ representation in occupations reflecting the Black Metropolis’s professional, entrepreneurial, and cultural media pursuits. There is mixed support for the hypothesis that the nationally dominant urban centers of New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia had the most resilient Black Metropolises, a finding that casts doubt on claims that black communities in such key places enjoyed exceptionally favorable locational advantages. Yet, the results support the hypothesis that northern cities were, overall, more resilient locations than southern cities, particularly for black professionals and entrepreneurs, affirming the argument that the urban North’s Black Metropolises were vital economic opportunity centers for these black communities’ upper- and middle-classes.     

汕尾电厂临时倾倒区对所在海域及其周边环境的影响

分析汕尾电厂临时倾倒区2006年倾倒的疏浚泥对所在海域水质、沉积物、生物群落及生物质量等的影响。结果表明,在倾倒过程中,海水中悬浮物、石油类的含量增加,属第三类海水水质;倾倒活动改变了生物群落的水环境,使群落种数减少,多样性、均匀度和丰度降低。倾倒活动结束1个月后,除海水中悬浮物的含量仍属第三类海水水质外,其他污染物含量均符合第二类海水水质标准,底栖生物恢复较缓慢。疏浚泥倾倒对海区沉积物质量和海洋生物质量的影响较小。