Structure of a mudflat diatom community in the Avon‐Heathcote Estuary,New Zealand

Parameters of community structure (species composition and relative abundance, number of taxa, diversity, evenness, and cell density) were measured for a mudflat diatom community in the Avon‐Heathcote estuary, New Zealand. Fifty three diatom species were identified: 25 taxa (species and varieties) are new New Zealand records. The Shannon‐Wiener information index (H') was 3.46, indicating high diversity. Evenness (J') ranged from 0.57–0.67. The association between the biomass of the pulmonate gastropod, Amphibola crenata, and benthic diatom community structure was studied using large open enclosures (4.0 m²) to manipulate snail biomass. Community structure was compared at 0, 5 (natural biomass), and 10 g A. crenata dry weight per m. A similarity index (SIMI=0.88–0.95), as well as H’ and J’ indicated close similarity between the diatom assemblages within all enclosures, but number of taxa increased from 33 to 49 with increasing snail biomass. Cell densities were significantly lower at high snail biomass (6088 valves per mm²) compared to enclosures with no snails (10 110 valves per mm ). A. crenata had a higher ratio of diatom fragments to whole diatom valves in its faeces (2.42) than in its crop (0.55), indicating that it is capable of fragmenting diatoms.     

福建漳江口红树林国家级自然保护区建立对毗邻社区居民的影响研究

自然保护区的建立对改善区域生态环境、保护生物多样性和恢复生态系统功能具有重要作用.如何处理自然保护区生态保护与毗邻社区社会经济发展之间的关系,是当前自然保护区研究者、决策者和社区居民共同关注的问题.利用文献调研法、问卷调查法、访谈法和意愿调查法等,分析福建漳江口红树林国家级自然保护区的建立对毗邻社区居民的影响.研究结果表明,大部分社区居民对福建漳江口红树林国家级自然保护区的建立持赞同态度,这种态度受被调查者的教育程度、年龄和性别的影响;保护区的建立使大多数社区居民收入减少,而社区居民没有得到相应的补偿;社区居民面临着缺少资金、补偿制度缺失和缺乏生产技术等问题;提出了福建漳江口红树林国家级自然保护区毗邻社区社会经济可持续发展的建议.     

Influence of artificial groundwater lakes on the abundance and activity of bacteria in adjacent subsurface systems

Bacterial abundances and activity, estimated by 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining (DAPI) and the reduction of 2-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(p-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl tetrazolium chloride (INT), were investigated in two oligotrophic artificial groundwater lakes and the surrounding aquifers. To evaluate the effect of lake water on groundwater downstream, samples were taken from wells at different distances from the lakes, and the total number of bacteria and the number of active bacteria in these samples were compared with samples collected upstream. In addition, sterilized sandy sediments were exposed in groundwater wells to measure the number and activity of bacteria attached to particles. At one of the study sites, where the lake sediments were disturbed by dredging, total bacterial abundance and the number of respiring bacteria in the groundwater aquifer was clearly influenced by the lake water. The average bacterial abundances decreased from 2.6 ± 1.9 × 10⁵ cells ml⁻¹ in the well closest to the lake (S2) to 2.9 ± 3.8 × 10⁴ cells ml⁻¹ in the most distant one (S4), which was equivalent to cell numbers in the upstream well. The number of respiring bacteria showed a similar tendency with 1.3 ± 2.7 × 10⁴ active cells ml⁻¹ in S2 and 1.9 ± 1.5 × 10³ active cells ml⁻¹ in S4. At the second study site, which was not influenced by dredging, bacteria in the downstream wells seemed not to be affected by the lake water. The number and activity of bacteria, which colonized exposed sediments, were not significantly different in the upstream and downstream wells, indicating a minor influence of lake water on this habitat. Our results suggest that gravel-pit lakes may influence the free living bacterial assemblages in nearshore groundwater systems, but do not visibly affect numbers and activity of bacteria attached to the surface of aquifer sediments.     

Book reviews

Bokks reveiwed:
Phillips, Richard Voyages and visions: towards a cultural history of travel
Daniels, P W Globalization of Chinese business firms
Butler, Ruth Geographies of disability
White, Paul Migration and gender in the developed world
Laurier, Eric Poststructuralist geographies, the diabolical art of spatial science
Pinch, Steven The cultural economy of cities: essays on the geography of image–producing industries
Law, Andrew The City Cultures Reader
Duck, R W Hydrological and limnological aspects of lake monitoring
Grigg, David Food in society: economy, culture, geography     

Environmental assessment of a large industrial marine complex based on a community of benthic filter-feeders

Biological quality in a bay affected by man's activities was evaluated by means of the composition of assemblages of sponges and ascidians. Our results showed that the structure of these two groups of filter-feeders aided in discriminating between undisturbed and disturbed areas, establishing different "environmental health categories" from moderately to strongly disturbed areas, and in ascertaining the extension of the area of each "health category". We were able to divide the bay into four zones based on type of disturbance or anthropogenic source: (1) stations free of any source of disturbance, (2) stations under moderate disturbance, located close to industrial ports, millworks, etc., (3) stations that are under the direct influence of industrial wastes such as a power station and oil refinery, and (4) stations near strongly disturbed areas, influenced directly by harmful steelworks activities. We differentiated clearly between four large species assemblages, and related the composition of these assemblages to different kinds of disturbances. Thus, these species could be used to manage the marine environment in this bay by comparing the observed fauna, with expected fauna in an unstressed site. Moreover, the joint presence of the sponge Cliona vastifica and tunicate Policitor adriaticum seems always to indicate a more or less pristine environmental situation, functioning as bioindicators of normal conditions. We think that the use of specific bioindicators for monitoring disturbance is a valid tool to establish baselines to predict impacts associated with industrial development in many marine ecosystems. The advantages to monitoring communities on hard rocks versus sandy or muddy bottoms are also commented upon.     

Lotic communities of two small temporary karstic stream systems (East Westphalia, Germany) along a longitudinal gradient of hydrological intermittency

The spatial and temporal discharge regime and its effects on benthic communities were studied in two small temporary karstic stream systems of the Paderborner Hochfläche (East Westphalia, Germany). Both streams are characterized by very small perennial springbrook sections. Benthic invertebrates were sampled three times at 12 sites and discharge was measured monthly from March to September 2000. The spatial extension of streamflow was observed regularly to evaluate the duration of drought. Both streams showed a longitudinal gradient of hydrological intermittency from very small perennial reaches with low intermittency to an extremely harsh hydrological situation. The benthic communities displayed a decreasing species richness at increasing intermittency. The different hydrological stream sections were colonized by different lotic communities, characterized by typical species of temporary streams and by several typical species of springs. Particularly the perennial springs and springbrooks are very important for the species richness in these karstic stream systems.     

The effect of abiotic environmental variables on the Danube macrozoobenthic communities

160 taxa of macrozoobenthos were recorded in the Danube River (R. km 1880-1704) riparian zone. Many typical Danubian and Pontocaspian representatives were found. The Slovak section of the Danube represents the border between its epipotamal and metapotamal stretches with different flow velocity and other environmental variables related to it. This paper characterises some abiotic ecological factors influencing the distribution of benthic taxa in five sampling sites along the longitudinal profile of the Danube. The benthic community composition was more strongly influenced by hydrological parameters than by oxygen and temperature regimes, as well as by the water quality conditions. In other words, the bottom substrate, flow velocity, water level fluctuation and discharge changes had the predominant effect on the taxocoenoses of macrozoobenthos. Three characteristic groups of macrozoobenthic organisms were recorded, as far as corresponding trophic guilds are concerned. Shredders and scrapers predominated in high flow velocity conditions with coarse substrate particles. Collectors of fine organic matter preferred slow-flowing conditions caused by damming or by a reduction of current due to the presence of bedrock. Filterers prevailed in the lower section of the Danube stretch monitored. Predators occurred independently of the environmental variables studied.     

Actors, options and the challenges of forest management in anglophone Cameroon

Natural resources, especially the forest provide a means of livelihood to rural communities in most developing countries. Unfortunately these resources are under the threat of disappearing because of high population growth rates and poverty that characterise these communities. Any attempt by development agencies at conserving these resources is tantamount to depriving these rural areas of their survival base. Yet due to its strategic socio-economic and cultural importance, the forest ecosystem needs to be sustained for future generations. This paper examines the various challenges faced by the State and other conservation agencies in natural resource management and the possible options which can be employed in an effort to ensure a sustainable exploitation of the forest in Anglophone Cameroon. It discusses the efforts of these actors, within the framework of the emerging concept of community forestry, local community strengthening and integrated rural development. While highlighting some of the achievements of international NGOs like Bird Life International and World Wide Fund for Nature in the region, the study concludes that the future of sustainable management of forest resources relies on a holistic poverty alleviation approach that takes into consideration the empowerment of these communities. This will ensure that they participate and benefit from the exploitation of the resources in the form of local development. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Active faulting and human environment

Active faulting, a source of seismic disasters and ground deformation, may be also accompanied with the effects that can result in rapid or slow changes in the environment capable of affecting, either negatively or positively, living conditions of a man and in general evolution of animals and plants. Existing data still rare and uncertain show that these effects may be, first of all, specific fault-related landscapes and various geophysical and geochemical anomalies above and around active fault planes.     

GEOGRAPHIES OF RISK AND DIFFERENCE IN CROP GENETIC ENGINEERING

ABSTRACT. Genetic engineering is often depicted as a breakthrough solution to hunger and environmental problems in agriculture. Such claims encourage the further shift of public resources toward molecular sciences, globalized intellectual property rights, and relaxed biotechnology regulation. However, focusing on transgenic crops is a risky and inadequate response to socioeconomic and ecological challenges. The search for a universal, technological solution disregards the complex geographies of food production and trade. This article challenges claims that crop genetic engineering represents a new direction in agriculture, that transgenic crops have performed well, and that the regulatory approaches used in the United States or Europe are universally applicable. It outlines three geographies of difference that distinguish agriculture in the global North from farming in most of the global South. Those differences point to the need for more place‐specific, multifaceted, and farmer‐centered approaches to agricultural productivity and sustainability, approaches to which geographers have much to contribute.