Greenland halibut diet in the Northwest Atlantic from 1978 to 2003 as an indicator of ecosystem change

The Northwest Atlantic marine community underwent dramatic changes during the last 30 years, including the collapse of many groundfish stocks and an increase in shrimp populations. Greenland halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides is an important commercial species and one of the top fish predators in this system. It is a large, wide-ranging flatfish that is found at depths up to 2200 m and it has an opportunistic diet which makes it a potential candidate for an ecosystem indicator. Analysis of stomach contents of Greenland halibut between 1978 and 2003 indicates that diet composition reflects the major changes in community structure. Over the entire period there was a clear increase in the importance of invertebrates, particularly after 1992. This change was associated with a higher importance of Pandalus shrimp and Gonatus squid and a protracted reliance on zooplankton by predators under 25 cm length. Capelin Mallotus villosus was the dominant prey between 1978 and 1992 for predators in the 12–63 cm range, but its importance dropped off drastically in the mid 1990s. Levels of main prey in the diet of Greenland halibut correlated well with fishery-independent surveys. Greenland halibut sample capelin well, compared to bottom trawl surveys and acoustic surveys. Greenland halibut consumed small shrimp which are not routinely caught by surveys and may be important in deriving information on year classes and growth of shrimp. Our results suggest that Greenland halibut's diet is a useful tracker of ecosystem change.     

Education for sustainable development for Tokyo Bay: Developing a practice framework of university-based coastal ESD

This paper reviews the initial phase of a coastal education for sustainable development program for Edomae, the innermost reaches of Tokyo Bay. The program has been steered by a working group of Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology faculty members from different academic backgrounds. Although the process began with conventional educational ideas, the ESD practice framework evolved to include more interactive activities. The overall goal is to pursue discussions of a plan for the sustainable use of Tokyo Bay in the coastal communities through a university–community partnership by developing Edomae ESD leaders in the coastal community.     

Distribution of diffuse flow megafauna in two sites on the Eastern Lau Spreading Center, Tonga

Hydrothermal vent environments are characterized by large gradients of toxic chemicals and high temperatures, which play a significant role in defining species’ distributions. We used high-resolution imagery and spatially explicit in-situ physico-chemical measurements analyzed within a Geographic Information System (GIS) in order to characterize the spatial relations among different groups of megafauna, temperature, and chemistry within two discrete vent communities (40 and 50 m²) on the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC). Chemical (sulfide and O₂ concentrations) and temperature data were obtained from approximately 75 different locations within each community using in-situ instruments. All data were integrated into a GIS, which served as a visualization tool and enabled the data to be analyzed in a spatial context. Our results confirm the importance of abiotic variables in defining the distributions of some fauna and elucidate several biological associations that are consistent between the two communities. The provannid snail, Alviniconcha spp., appears to actively avoid temperatures above 32–46 °C and/or sulfide concentrations exceeding approximately 260 μM. Slightly higher average sulfide concentrations and temperatures were measured among aggregations of Ifremeria nautilei compared to aggregations of the mussel Bathymodiolus brevior; however, the presence of mixed aggregations of the two species indicates an overlap in requirements. The brachyuran crab, Austinograea spp., was consistently observed directly on symbiont-containing species, particularly Alviniconcha spp. The solitary snail, Eosipho desbruyeresi, was rarely observed on biological substrata, but was often (60% of its population at the most active site) within 5 cm of symbiont-containing fauna, indicating a tolerance and preference for proximity to areas of high productivity. Densities and coverage of species differed substantially between the two communities despite high species overlap. Symbiont-containing species covered much larger areas at the more hydrothermally active site, ABE1, while shrimp and anemones occurred in relatively higher densities within the less-active site, TM1. This is the first study to thoroughly characterize realized distributions of megafauna at vent sites along the ELSC.     

What happens after climate change adaptation projects end: A community-based approach to ex-post assessment of adaptation projects

Over the last decade, hundreds of climate change adaptation projects have been funded and implemented. Despite the importance of these first-generation adaptation projects for establishing funders and implementors’ “best practices,” very little is known about how early adaptation projects have endured, to what ends, and for whom. In this article, I propose a community-based methodology for ex-post assessment of climate change adaptation projects. This methodology contributes to recognitional justice by asking the individuals and collectives tasked with sustaining adaptation initiatives to define adaptation success and what criteria for success should be assessed. I apply this subjective assessment approach in 10 communities across Ecuador that participated in an internationally funded adaptation project that concluded in 2015. My analysis draws together participatory mapping, walking interviews with local leaders, participant observation, and surveys with former project participants. The results highlight that even adaptation projects that were deemed highly successful at their closure have uncertain futures. I find that the sustainability mechanisms that were envisioned by project implementors have not functioned, and communities are shouldering the burden of reviving failing adaptation interventions. These findings highlight that the current model of episodic funding for climate change adaptation projects and evaluation processes needs to be revisited to acknowledge the long-term challenges faced by communities. This analysis also calls attention to the importance of ex-post assessment for adaptation projects and the potential of subjective assessment approaches for building more ontological and epistemological pluralism in understandings of successful climate change adaptation.     

绿色勘查在土地质量地球化学调查中的探索与实践

土地质量调查作为地球化学勘查的一种技术手段，具有覆盖面积广、样品类型多等特点。在传统土地质量调查基础上开展绿色勘查具有重要的意义。依据土地质量地球化学调查方法技术体系，提出了土地质量地球化学绿色勘查工作思路，依托胶东典型丘陵区“山东省莱阳北部地区土地质量地球化学调查与评价”项目，系统总结了土地质量地球化学调查中生态环境敏感区识别、点位布设及优化、样品采集及回填、样品加工、采样工具优化等方面的绿色勘查经验和做法，开展了绿色勘查示范，为推广绿色勘查在地球化学勘查工作方面提供了借鉴依据。     

地球背景噪声干涉应用研究的新进展

对地震台记录到的长时间的地球背景噪声进行互相关处理,得到的互相关函数可以近似地表征这两个台站之间的格林函数,这种数据处理方法被称为背景噪声干涉.近年来,背景噪声干涉研究在理论和实践上都有了长足进展,并被广泛用于地下波速结构及其演化规律的研究.本文首先简单介绍了背景噪声干涉研究的概念和理论依据,进而重点介绍了针对噪声源性质、互相关函数的波形到时和振幅特性的应用研究.通过对这三个方面研究的回顾,分析总结了该研究领域的新进展及需要解决的问题,并对背景噪声干涉研究的新特点进行了分析和展望.     

2001—2002年粤东柘林湾浮游动物的生态学研究

2001年4月-2002年4月,利用生态学方法对粤东柘林湾浮游动物进行的周年调查结果表明,粤东柘林湾浮游动物有桡足类34属60种,枝角类3属3种,及端足类、磷虾、糠虾、多毛类、毛颚类、被囊类、水母和各种浮游幼体虫.浮游动物的群落构成小型化趋势明显,因为体长不足0.6 mm的小型优势种强额拟哲水蚤(Paracalanus crassirostris)、短角长腹剑水蚤(Oithona brevicornis)和鸟喙尖头(氵蚤)(Penilia avirostris)在浮游动物总个体数中所占比例合计高达57.1 %.浮游动物的种类数、总个体数和生物量的平面分布模式大体相似,即湾外大于湾内,外侧大于内侧,东部大于西部.总个体数与生物量的周年变化曲线与水温的变化趋势非常相似,高峰位于高温季节的8-9月,低谷位于冬季2月.调查期间柘林湾浮游动物非常丰富,年均总个体数达15.8×103 ind/m3,生物量达227.8mg*dW/m3.在单一调查年度内,浮游动物丰度与水温、浮游植物细胞数呈显著正相关关系.在不同年份,浮游动物丰度与浮游植物密度则表现为负相关的趋势.