scholarly journals Detection of Ecological Thresholds and Selection of Indicator Taxa for Epibenthic Communities Exposed to Multiple Pressures

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Isabel ◽  
David Beauchesne ◽  
Chris McKindsey ◽  
Philippe Archambault
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Indicator Taxa ◽  
Multiple Pressures ◽  
Concentration Threshold ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Epibenthic Communities

The estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence (EGSL), eastern Canada form a vast inland sea that is subjected to numerous anthropogenic pressures. Management tools are needed to detect and quantify their effect on benthic communities. The aims of this study are to analyze the spatial distribution of epibenthic communities in the EGSL and quantify the impact of important pressures on them to identify indicator taxa. Epibenthic communities were sampled at 1314 EGSL sites between 2011 and 2018 by bottom trawling. Cluster analyses revealed the presence of six distinct epibenthic communities that seem to be strongly influenced by oxygen concentration. Threshold analyses confirm that oxygen is an important predictor of epibenthic community composition and distribution. A major oxygen threshold is observed around 50–100 μmol O2 L–1, resulting in a shift of community type. At these concentrations and below, opportunistic taxa dominate the community while sensitive taxa are absent or present at very low abundance. Biomass of the latter only starts to increase when oxygen concentrations reach 150 μmol O2 L–1. The species Actinostola callosa, Actinauge cristata, Ctenodiscus crispatus, and Brisaster fragilis were identified as good indicators for detecting this impact threshold forepibenthic communities. This study provides threshold-based indicator species that help to establish and monitor the ecological state of epibenthic communities in a marine ecosystem exposed to multiple pressures.

scholarly journals Marine research and management topics addressed by process-based ecosystem models

2021 ◽  
Vol 680 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
SS Hjøllo ◽  
SM van Leeuwen ◽  
M Maar
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Models ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Dynamic Modelling ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Ecosystem Models ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Marine Research ◽  
The Face

The earth’s oceans and ecosystems face climatic changes and multiple anthropogenic stressors. In the face of this, managers of the marine environment are increasingly adopting the ecosystem approach to underpin their decision making. Process-based ecosystem models (frequently referred to as dynamic models) synthesize existing observational and experimental knowledge into a numerical framework, but an obstacle to the incorporation of these models in management is the lack of credibility due to limited control of uncertainty in the results. The 13 papers in this Theme Section highlight how ecosystem models are, or can be, applied as management tools, and the various ways in which they quantify uncertainty and evaluate the skill. The papers span all levels of biological organization from individuals to populations and ecosystems, and cover a wide selection of anthropogenic pressures. Bearing in mind that the interpretation of observations is in fact also a model with representativeness error, we advocate a closer combination of observations and models to bring both methods forward. With the current challenges to the marine ecosystem and our uses of it, the more tools marine managers have in their ‘toolbox’, the better; dynamic modelling is one such very important tool, and its inclusion in ecosystem management should be continuously assessed.

scholarly journals Distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems at the South Sandwich Islands: Results From the Blue Belt Discovery Expedition 99 Deep-Water Camera Surveys

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Leena Downie ◽  
Rui P. Vieira ◽  
Oliver T. Hogg ◽  
Chris Darby
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Latitudinal Gradients ◽  
The South ◽  
Indicator Taxa ◽  
Scotia Sea ◽  
Benthic Environment ◽  
South Sandwich Islands ◽  
A Chain

The South Sandwich Islands (SSI) are a chain of volcanic islands located to the east of the Scotia Sea, approximately 700 km south-east of South Georgia. To date, knowledge of the SSI benthic environment remains limited. In this context, the Blue Belt Programme conducted a scientific survey in the SSI Marine Protected Area (MPA) during February/March 2019 to examine the biodiversity and distribution of benthic communities and their potential vulnerability to licensed longline research fisheries. Here we report results from analysis of multibeam echosounder (MBES) data and drop camera imagery data collected in selected locations around the SSI. A total of eight vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) indicator morphotaxa were mapped along the slopes of the SSI, showing a substantial variation in taxon composition and frequency of occurrence, both along bathymetric and latitudinal gradients. Our results suggest that VME indicator taxa are mostly restricted to waters shallower than 700 m. As such, based on our present understanding of the region’s benthic environment the MPA, as currently established, offers effective protection for the majority of the VME indicator taxa.

scholarly journals Combined Abundance of All Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem Indicator Taxa Inadequate as Sole Determiner of Vulnerability, Antarctic Peninsula

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne J. Lockhart ◽  
John Hocevar
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Precautionary Approach ◽  
Indicator Taxa ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
Antarctic Marine

In order to achieve conservation objectives and preserve the biodiversity of the Southern Ocean, a variety of ecosystems must be protected. This holds especially true for the benthic communities of this region that are characteristically mosaic in their spatial distributions. As such, disparate communities cannot be comprehensively assessed by a single blanket methodology. Herein, evidence appropriate to the diverse characteristics of the communities encountered during a submarine expedition demonstrates the particular vulnerability of four sites that exemplify VMEs as defined by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and the UN’s Fisheries and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Three sites are identified as VMEs based on highly significant abundances of indicator taxa. A fourth is identified based on a high density of cold-water coral taxa, many of which were not observed in abundance at the sites that were triggered as vulnerable by a significantly high abundance of all indicator taxa. The VME at this latter site was richly diverse in coral taxa, many of which are considered particularly vulnerable to climate change, as well as critical for their potential for genuine blue carbon sequestration. As of November, 2018, all four sites are now registered with CCAMLR as VMEs and thus, are afforded protection from all bottom fishing activities. However, if consideration isn’t given to the composition and/or diversity of VME indicator taxa present, in addition to overall abundance/density, some of the most vulnerable communities are left at risk. A blanket threshold for all VME taxa adhered to in fisheries management of the Southern Ocean, and other high seas areas, is grossly insufficient. Without taking a more precautionary approach to identifying and protecting VMEs, CCAMLR will not be able to meet its conservation objectives and may even be putting Antarctic fisheries at risk.

An Acoustic Bottom Classification Survey of Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland

1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 987-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.H. Magorrian ◽  
M. Service ◽  
W. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Ground Truth Data ◽  
Strangford Lough ◽  
Underwater Cameras ◽  
Bottom Classification ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Epibenthic Communities ◽  
Echo Sounder

As part of an investigation into the impact of commercial trawling on the benthos of Strangford Lough a map of the distribution of the benthic communities in the Lough was required. To provide this an acoustic bottom classification survey of the Lough was carried out using a commercially available system, RoxAnn. RoxAnn processes the information from a conventional echo-sounder to determine the nature of different substrata. Underwater cameras were used to obtain ground truth data to compare with the RoxAnn data. Used in conjunction, the two surveys provided valuable information on the different bottom substrata and associated epibenthic communities present in the Lough.

THE LANDSCAPE INVESTIGATIONS AS NECESSARY PART OF BIOLOGICAL STUDY IN THE COASTAL ZONE TO THE QUESTION OF THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE ECOLOGICAL STATE OF ARTIFICAL

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artem Lapenkov ◽  
Artem Lapenkov ◽  
Yury Zuyev ◽  
Yury Zuyev ◽  
Nadezhda Zuyeva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Zone ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Great Depth ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Biological Study ◽  
Lake Ladoga ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
Investigation Methods ◽  
Ground Conditions ◽  
The Impact

Coastal zones have great diversity of resources. The shallow water zones contain the most of plant and benthic communities. A description of relief and type of ground is needed for the rigorous monitoring of biota and environmental condition of coastal zone. Generally, on the basis of these data the investigation methods of the coastal zone are selected. The shallows research strategy has been developed by us for northern part of the Lake Ladoga. If the coastal areas are characterized by great depth and flat topography, then sonar’s can be used to describe them and samples of ground can be taken by bottom grabs. In the Lake Ladoga these methods don’t operate correctly by reason of the compound bottom relief and the fact that a sizeable part of the bottom is occupied by hard ground. Therefore, our investigations base on the diving transect method of Golikov and Skarlato (1965). A diver moves along transects. He registers the depth, length to coastline, water temperature, relief and ground, edificators and records video. In the laboratory all these data are decoded and used for mapping of bays. Studies of plant communities have been performed and strategy for research of benthic communities in complex relief and hard ground conditions has been developed based on the descriptions of shallow waters. Description of the Malay Nikonovskia Bay bottom has given an opportunity to estimate changes in the bottom of the bay under the influence of the trout farm.

scholarly journals What Kept the Boat Afloat? Sustainability of Employment in Knowledge-Intensive Sectors Due to Government Measures during COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8441
Author(s):  
Michal Hrivnák ◽  
Peter Moritz ◽  
Marcela Chreneková
Keyword(s):  
Key Factors ◽  
Economic Shocks ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Employment Retention ◽  
State Compensation ◽  
Business Resilience ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
Econometric Approach ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed new aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship and the resilience of SMEs in the conditions of individual countries. This empirical study contributes to entrepreneurship sustainability literature and business resilience literature by estimating the impact of various utilized internal crisis management tools and state compensation measures on retaining the pre-crisis levels of employment after two waves of the pandemic on the conditions of a V4 country. The study adopts an econometric approach towards assessing the influence of key factors of mitigating the problems caused by the pandemic, and the results suggest a crucial role of digitalization, internal policies optimizing variable costs, and utilization of direct governmental supportive measures to compensate for restrictions in force for employment retention in knowledge-intensive SMEs. According to the results, knowledge-intensive SMEs appears to have increased resilience towards economic shocks due to the capability to swiftly change the management of ventures to adapt to a crisis.

scholarly journals Linked(In)g Sport Management Education with the Sport Industry: A Preliminary Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2275
Author(s):  
Samuel López-Carril ◽  
Miguel Villamón ◽  
María Huertas González-Serrano
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sport Management ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Educational Innovation ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Sport Industry ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Management Students ◽  
The Impact

Social media are one of the most valuable management tools used by sport managers in the fulfilment of their daily tasks. However, the studies that share and analyse the impact of educational experiences that incorporate social media into sport management education for professional purposes are scarce to date. Thus, this study presents an educational innovation piloted in a sport management course where LinkedIn—the social media most associated with the professional sphere—is introduced through an experiential learning methodology, as a driver of students’ career development and as a tool to keep up to date and interact with the sport industry. To assess the learning outcomes, a new scale was developed and tested. A total of 90 Spanish undergraduate sport management students (M = 22.71; SD = 3.84) participated in the study, partaking in a pre-test and a post-test. Regarding the results linked to the testing of the scale, the statistical analysis reflects the scale’s two-dimensional nature, explaining 68.78% of the variance, presenting good psychometric properties (α = 0.95). On the other hand, significant increases in all the scale items between the two measures were obtained, with large effects size in the two dimensions (Cohen’s d ≥ 0.80). Therefore, it is concluded that LinkedIn can help to develop the professional profile of sport management students, Linked(In)g what is taught in the classroom with what the sport industry demands.

Increasing revenue and attendance in Canadian Baptist churches

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 1071-1089
Author(s):  
Alan Chan ◽  
Bruce G. Fawcett ◽  
Shu-Kam Lee
Keyword(s):  
Church Health ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Baptist Churches ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Simulation Exercises

Purpose – Church giving and attendance are two important indicators of church health and performance. In the literature, they are usually understood to be simultaneously determined. The purpose of this paper is to estimate if there a sustainable church congregation size using Wintrobe’s (1998) dictatorship model. The authors want to examine the impact of youth and adult ministry as well. Design/methodology/approach – Using the data collected from among Canadian Baptist churches in Eastern Canada, this study investigates the factors affecting the level of the two indicators by the panel-instrumental variable technique. Applying Wintrobe’s (1998) political economy model on dictatorship, the equilibrium level of worship attendance and giving is predicted. Findings – Through various simulation exercises, the actual church congregation sizes is approximately 50 percent of the predicted value, implying inefficiency and misallocation of church resources. The paper concludes with insights on effective ways church leaders can allocate scarce resources to promote growth within churches. Originality/value – The authors are the only researchers getting the permission from the Atlantic Canada Baptist Convention to use their mega data set on church giving and congregation sizes as per the authors’ knowledge. The authors are also applying a theoretical model on dictatorship to religious/not for profits organizations.

Prevent/Control Identity Theft

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 30-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmud A. Shareef ◽  
Vinod Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Identity Theft ◽  
Operational Performance ◽  
Application Framework ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

This study provides an application framework toward measures to prevent/control identity theft in conjunction with sources. It also identifies the impact of overall protection of identity theft on consumer trust, the cost of products/services, and operational performance, all of which in turn contribute to a purchase intention using E-commerce (EC). For the first objective, this study proposes a matrix of sources and measures to prevent and control identity theft. From this matrix, using knowledge from a literature review and judgment based on plausibility, the authors identify global laws, controls placed on organizations, publications to develop awareness, technical management, managerial policy, risk management tools, data management, and control over employees are the potential measuring items to prevent identity theft related to EC. A case study in banking sector through a qualitative approach was conducted to verify the proposed relations, constructs, and measuring items. For the second objective, this research paper conceptualizes a model based on literature review and validates that based on the case study in the financial sector. The model reflects the effects of preventing and controlling identity theft on the costs of products/services, operational performance, and customers’ perception of trust, which would lead to purchase intention in EC.

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