The public trust doctrine and critical legal geographies of water in California

Legal processes shape how water resources are allocated, regulated, distributed, and governed. This paper examines the public trust doctrine, a legal principle that addresses the state’s role in governing natural resources by requiring states to manage certain bodies of water and their shorelines for the good of the public. The paper focuses on how the public trust doctrine has been used—with varying degrees of success—to protect water bodies by contesting the diversion and transfer of water in California. The paper compares how the doctrine was applied in two cases: Mono Lake and the Salton Sea, two California lakes that have been threatened by water diversions and transfers. Advocates at Mono Lake successfully used the public trust doctrine for environmental protection, while public trust was an unsuccessful strategy at the Salton Sea. The paper examines issues of nonequilibrium ecosystems, natural versus artificial ecosystems, and wasteful versus reasonable uses of water.By investigating why one case was deemed eligible for public trust protections while the other was not, this paper examines how discursive constructions of nature are embedded in and enacted by legal institutions and how these constructions of nature impact the implementation of legal protections of natural resources. In examining the use of the public trust doctrine in California, the paper examines both the potential and the limitations of the public trust in practice, showing how legal processes and institutions can be used to protect public interests in natural resources but also how particular environmental narratives are reinforced through these institutions.     

‘A place for everything’: Moral landscapes of ‘swiftlet farming’ in George Town,Malaysia

This paper is based on 6 months of ethnographic, multi-sited research in Malaysia, and investigates the relatively recent phenomenon of edible birds’ nest farming in urban areas (‘swiftlet farming’). Swiftlet farms are typically converted shophouses or other buildings which have been modified for the purpose of harvesting the nests of the Edible-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus). I use the controversy over urban swiftlet farming in the Malaysian city of George Town, Penang, to examine discourses used by key stakeholders to shape debates over the place of non-human animals in cities. By considering everyday experiences of urban swiftlet farming, I explore how this burgeoning industry is perceived amongst residents, and how it is deemed to be (in)appropriate within the political, economic and cultural landscape of George Town. Yet, I also consider how farmers have sought to contest these discourses on ideological and normative grounds. In so doing, I place the cultural animal geographies literature in conversation with emergent literature on landscape and urban political ecology. Such a framing allows for a critical evaluation of the controversies surrounding this case, and their implications for human-animal cohabitation in cities. The paper reflects on the implications of this case for how we regulate human-animal relations and live in contemporary cities, and the crucial role of animals in altering urban form, aesthetics and everyday life, particularly in non-Western contexts.     

气候变化情景下黄淮海区域热量资源及夏玉米温度适宜度

利用黄淮海区域90个站点1971—2000年逐日气象资料以及国家气候中心发布的未来气候变化情景(A1B)下区域气候模式(Reg CM3)模拟的黄淮海区域1951—2070年0.25°×0.25°格点气象资料,结合夏玉米主要生育期对温度的需求,构建了黄淮海区域的温度适宜度和变异系数模型,并对1951—2070年黄淮海区域热量资源、夏玉米主要生育期的温度适宜度及其变异系数的时空变化特征进行分析。结果表明:1)黄淮海区域≥10℃积温和80%保证率下日平均温度≥10℃的初日均呈现由北向南依次增加的趋势,且随时间推移,分别呈增加和提前趋势。2)黄淮海区域夏玉米播种—出苗期的温度适宜度随时间整体呈逐渐上升的变化趋势、其变异系数随时间呈降—升—降的变化趋势;出苗—抽雄期的温度适宜度随时间呈先降后升的变化趋势、其变异系数呈降—升—降—升的变化趋势;抽雄—成熟期的温度适宜度空间上呈现2010年前北低南高、未来情景下中部低四周高的分布趋势,时间上呈2010年前稳定、未来情景下先降后升的变化趋势,其变异系数呈相反变化趋势;3)黄淮海区域夏玉米温度适宜度及其变异系数从播种—出苗期—出苗—抽雄期—抽雄—成熟期均呈反相位的变化关系。     

Observer presence may alter the behaviour of reef fishes associated with coral colonies

Although underwater visual census (UVC) is the most frequently used technique for quantifying reef fish assemblages, remote video analysis has been gaining attention as a potential alternative. In the South Atlantic Ocean, Millepora spp. (class Hydrozoa) are the only branching coral species; however, little is known about the ecological role that they play for reef fish communities. We compared these two observation methods (remote video and UVC) to estimate reef fish abundance and species richness associated with colonies of the fire‐coral Millepora alcicornis at Tamandaré Reefs, Northeast Brazil. Additionally, the two different techniques were used to compare species behaviour in association with fire‐corals in order to examine the biases associated with each technique and provide useful information for behavioural ecologists studying fish–coral associations. There were no differences in reef fish abundance or species richness sampled by remote video or UVC. However, a significant difference in the behaviour of associated fish was recorded between the two methods. In the presence of a diver carrying out a UVC, fish were observed spending more time sheltered amongst the coral branches compared with passively swimming on coral colonies with the remote video technique. Specifically, on the remote video recordings agonistic interactions between fish and passive swimming accounted for 33.3% and 22.2% of the census time, respectively. By comparison, when observed by a diver fish spent 34.8% of their time sheltering amongst the coral branches. We demonstrate that both techniques are similarly effective for recording fish abundance and species richness associated with fire‐corals. However, differences were observed in the ability of each method to detect the behaviour of coral‐associated fishes. Our findings show that behavioural ecologists studying complex fish–coral associations need to ensure that their aims are clearly defined and that they choose the most appropriate technique for their study in order to minimize methodological biases.     

天津市滨海新区芦苇湿地恢复适宜性评价

利用综合评价模型,结合地理信息系统技术的空间分析功能,以土地利用、土壤类型、坡度、降雨量和人类干扰活动作为评价因子,对天津滨海新区芦苇湿地恢复进行了适宜性评价。结果表明,较适宜开展湿地恢复的比例为21.46%,一般适宜比例为21.87%,不适宜比例占56.68%,其中较适宜湿地恢复的区域集中分布在北大港湿地自然保护区周边、独流减河下游、北塘入海口以及沿海滩涂,海河流域两侧也有零星分布。在适宜性评价基础上,对未来芦苇湿地恢复与建设的重点区域进行了成效预评估,芦苇对TC、TN、TP的年吸收通量约为1.3935×104、0.0258×104、0.0017×104t,能有效地减少入海排污压力和污染物对近岸海域环境质量的影响。研究结论可为天津湿地治理与生态恢复、土地利用结构调整、景观优化等提供理论依据和科学参考。     

A seasonal comparison of prokaryote numbers,biomass and heterotrophic productivity in waters of the KwaZulu-Natal Bight,South Africa

The KwaZulu-Natal Bight is a shallow indentation of the eastern seaboard of South Africa, characterised by a narrow (45 km wide) extension of the continental shelf, with a shelf break at about 100 m. It has a complex hydrography: the waters of the bight are derived from the fast-flowing, southward-trending Agulhas Current, which is fed mostly by the tropical and subtropical surface waters of the South-West Indian Ocean subgyre, which are generally oligotrophic in nature, notably depleted in reduced nitrogen and phosphate except at river mouths and during periodic upwelling of deeper nutrient-rich water. Despite this, the bight is believed to be relatively productive, and it is suggested that efficient nutrient recycling by prokaryotes may sustain primary productivity efficiently, even in the absence of new nutrient inputs. Here we have measured bacterial numbers, biomass and heterotrophic productivity during summer and winter in conjunction with phytoplankton standing stock and factors that influence it. Bacterial distribution closely matched phytoplankton distribution in surface waters, and was highest close to the coast. Bacterial standing stocks were similar to those of oligotrophic systems elsewhere (0.5–5.0 × 10⁵ cells ml^–1; 1 × 10^–8 to 1.25 × 10^–7 g C ml^–1) and increased in association with the development of phytoplankton blooms offshore and with inputs of allochthonous material by rivers at the coast. Heterotrophic productivity in summer was lowest in the far south and north of the bight (0.5 × 10^–10 g C ml^–1 h^–1) but higher close to the shore, over shallow banks, and in association with increased phytoplankton abundance over the midshelf (1.0–3.5 × 10^–9 g C ml^–1 h^–1). There were marked seasonal differences with lower bacterial standing stocks (5 × 10⁴ to 2 × 10⁵ cells ml^–1; 4–5 × 10^–9 to 1–2 × 10^–8 g C ml^–1) and very low bacterial productivity (4 × 10^–11 to 1 × 10^–10 g C ml^–1 h^–1) in winter, probably resulting from lowered rates of primary productivity and dissolved organic matter release as well as reduced riverine allochthonous inputs during the winter drought.     

河流景观生态学的发展与当前核心议题

河流景观生态学已成为河流科学研究与应用的新范式,但国内研究还颇为不足。从河流景观生态学发展的逻辑必然性、主要进程、基本内容与重要理论等方面进行了总结。结果显示,多尺度跨学科整体论河流认识要求和景观尺度上处理河流问题的实践需求共同推动河流景观生态学的迅速发展,其中心议题是河流物理景观系统与生物系统在不同等级尺度上的结构、格局与功能过程,尤其重视物理景观与不同等级生物系统的相互作用关系,对河流景观多尺度等级性、高动态性和有向性等突出性质的认识已取得重要理论发展。指出当前面临5个方面的核心议题亟需取得突破:改进和统一河流景观分类系统、河流景观跨尺度研究、河流景观方法对经典河流生态理论的再认识、河流景观机理与模拟、河流景观对气候变化与区域土地利用/覆被变化的响应研究。     

海南岛橡胶割胶期的气候适宜度变化特征分析

选取海南省18个市县气象站19612017年逐日气象资料,构建逐月橡胶割胶单要素(温度、日照时数、降水量和降水日数、风速)和综合气候适宜度模型,分析其时空变化特征。结果表明:1)海南岛天然橡胶单要素适宜度对比排序:日照适宜度最高,降水和风速适宜度次之,温度适宜度最低。2)橡胶割胶气候适宜度为0.43~0.80,其中411月较高,适宜割胶;12月至次年3月较低,不适宜割胶。3)天然橡胶割胶适宜度高值区主要分布在海南岛中部地区,该区温度适宜度较高,降水量充足,年平均风速小;低值区主要分布在西部和北部沿海地区,该区主要因为年平均风速大,降雨量不足,易造成干旱;其余地区为适宜度次高值区,该区热量和降水都比较充足,但也容易受高温干旱或风害影响,应予以重点防范。4)19612017年海南岛橡胶割胶期气候适宜度总体呈明显增大趋势,气候倾向率为0.009/10a。     

丽水山地夏季避暑旅游气候适宜度评价

利用2015—2019年丽水市283个气象观测站的逐日和逐时资料,采用中国气象局“避暑旅游气候适宜度评价方法”行业标准,在研究避暑旅游气候适宜度时空分布的基础上,运用GIS平台建立不同地形条件下避暑旅游适宜度地理推算模型,对丽水避暑旅游气候适宜度进行区划。结果表明,丽水山地夏季避暑旅游气候适宜等级为很适宜,所占区域居绝对比重。6月丽水各站避暑适宜度为很适宜,以海拔800 m为界,随着海拔高度的升高,适宜度先增后减。7—8月避暑旅游气候适宜度随海拔高度增加而提升,300 m以上为较适宜及以上级别。地理推算模型表明,丽水避暑旅游气候适宜度与海拔高度密切相关,庆元适宜及以上等级区域面积占比为全市最高,避暑旅游气候条件最优,其次景宁、遂昌、龙泉避暑旅游气候适宜度也较优越。