scholarly journals Quantifying the Response of an Estuarine Nekton Community to Coastal Wetland Habitat Restoration

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13299
Author(s):  
Richard D. Mahoney ◽  
Jeffrey L. Beal ◽  
Dakota M. Lewis ◽  
Geoffrey S. Cook
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Indicator Species ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Coastal Wetland ◽  
Secchi Depth ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Coastal Habitats ◽  
Marine Fauna ◽  
Shoreline Stabilization ◽  
Nekton Communities

Globally coastal habitats are experiencing degradation and threatening the production of critical ecosystem services such as shoreline stabilization, water filtration, and nursery grounds for marine fauna. To combat the loss of these ecosystem services, resource managers are actively restoring coastal habitats. This study compares samples collected from non-restored sites, sites restored in 2011, and sites that underwent restoration in 2019. Restoration sites are impacted wetlands with high elevation mounds that were leveled to increase the areal extent of intertidal habitats, enabling the recruitment of intertidal flora and fauna. Fyke nets were used to sample nekton within the upper intertidal zone. To quantify restoration success, nekton abundance, biomass, diversity, and indicator species were quantified. Sites restored in 2011 had a greater abundance compared to non-restored sites. Common snook, clown gobies, silversides, juvenile mullet, and Gulf killifishes were indicator species at successfully restored sites, while salinity, site type, and Secchi depth played important roles in predicting abundance and diversity. These findings are consistent with recent studies suggesting it can take years to see quantifiable differences in nekton communities following habitat restoration. Additionally, this work provides new insight regarding the benefits of restoring coastal wetland elevation to maximize intertidal habitat, thereby positively impacting nekton communities.

Ecosystem Services as a Metaphor in Environmental Law

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 525-548
Author(s):  
Justine Bell-James
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Coastal Wetland ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Value Of Nature ◽  
Commodification Of Nature

The ecosystem services concept is a useful tool in environmental law, as it allows nature to be considered on the same plane of comparison as proposed development. However, the concept has received significant criticism, with many critics arguing that nature should be valued for its intrinsic worth. This article synthesises the ethical objections to the ecosystem services concept, distinguishing objections to the concept itself, and objections to the commodification of nature. It considers how the concept has been used in Australian environmental law to date, drawing on examples from the coastal wetland context. It concludes that most applications have not involved commodification, and have incorporated notions of intrinsic value. It concludes with some observations for future progress in this field, considering how the ecosystem services concept can be balanced with concerns for respecting the intrinsic value of nature.

scholarly journals Estimating the effects of restoration on ecosystem services in the Haringvliet: Mapping current and future regulating ecosystem services

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikita Kopa-Ovdienko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
The State ◽  
Gis Mapping ◽  
Restoration Measures

To improve the state of the ecosystem of the Haringvliet, an estuary in the Southwest Delta of the Netherlands, the dam, which cuts off the estuary from the sea, will be opened a little in 2018. My research aims to quantify plausible changes of the ecosystem services supply following this water management modification and accompanying habitat restoration measures. For this purpose, values of ecosystem services supply for the relevant ecosystems were collected from the literature and GIS mapping was applied. The study shows clearly that the ecosystem services supply is expected to increase in general following the restoration scenarios. The results can be used for the planning of additional restoration measures aiming to provide the highest possible supply of the ecosystem services.

A meta-analysis of coastal wetland ecosystem services in Liaoning Province, China

2018 ◽  
Vol 200 ◽  
pp. 349-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baodi Sun ◽  
Lijuan Cui ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Xiaoming Kang ◽  
Xu Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Coastal Wetland ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Liaoning Province ◽  
Wetland Ecosystem

scholarly journals Oxygen supersaturation protects coastal marine fauna from ocean warming

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. eaax1814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Folco Giomi ◽  
Alberto Barausse ◽  
Carlos M. Duarte ◽  
Jenny Booth ◽  
Susana Agusti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Close Association ◽  
Ocean Warming ◽  
Metabolic Demand ◽  
Coastal Habitats ◽  
Marine Fauna ◽  
Sea Temperature ◽  
Diel Cycles ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Mechanistic Basis ◽  
Animal Metabolism

Ocean warming affects the life history and fitness of marine organisms by, among others, increasing animal metabolism and reducing oxygen availability. In coastal habitats, animals live in close association with photosynthetic organisms whose oxygen supply supports metabolic demands and may compensate for acute warming. Using a unique high-frequency monitoring dataset, we show that oxygen supersaturation resulting from photosynthesis closely parallels sea temperature rise during diel cycles in Red Sea coastal habitats. We experimentally demonstrate that oxygen supersaturation extends the survival to more extreme temperatures of six species from four phyla. We clarify the mechanistic basis of the extended thermal tolerance by showing that hyperoxia fulfills the increased metabolic demand at high temperatures. By modeling 1 year of water temperatures and oxygen concentrations, we predict that oxygen supersaturation from photosynthetic activity invariably fuels peak animal metabolic demand, representing an underestimated factor of resistance and resilience to ocean warming in ectotherms.

scholarly journals Valoración participativa de servicios ecosistémicos en Laguna de Nuxco, Guerrero

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-110
Author(s):  
Sandy A. Medina-Valdivia ◽  
Carmen Maganda-Ramírez ◽  
R. Carlos Almazán-Núñez ◽  
América L. Rodríguez-Herrera ◽  
Columba Rodríguez-Alviso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Coastal Wetland ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
English Abstract ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
De Se ◽  
Patrimoine Culturel

English Abstract: How do societies value and interact with ecosystem services (ES) to favor their long-term conservation? Under the premise that sociocultural assessment of ES offers an expanded perspective for potential societal nature contributions, we present here the empirical results of a participative assessment of ES in the Laguna de Nuxco coastal wetland in 2019. The methodological design includes the combination of applied qualitative tools on site and quantitative methods for analysis of information. The results emphasize that the ES of the wetland support socioeconomic needs and important socio-cultural community traits, such as cultural heritage and identity as fishing communities. We identify emerging socio-ecological conflicts that promote the decrease of ES. We suggest conceptual and methodological adaptations for the participative assessment of ES on the local scaleSpanish Abstract: ¿Cómo las sociedades valoran e interactúan con los servicios ecosistémicos (SE) que les rodean para favorecer su conservación a largo plazo? Bajo la premisa que la valoración sociocultural de SE ofrece una perspectiva ampliada para potenciales contribuciones sociedad-naturaleza, presentamos aquí los resultados empíricos de una valoración participativa de SE del humedal costero Laguna de Nuxco en 2019. El diseño metodológico incluyó la combinación de herramientas cualitativas aplicadas en sitio y cuantitativas para el análisis de información. Los resultados enfatizan que los SE del humedal sustentan necesidades socioeconómicas e importantes aspectos socioculturales como patrimonio cultural e identidad como comunidades pesqueras. Identificamos conflictos socioecológicos emergentes que promueven la disminución de SE. Sugerimos adecuaciones conceptuales y metodológicas para la valoración participativa de SE en la escala local.French Abstract: Comment les sociétés valorisent-elles et interagissent-elles avec les services écosystémiques (SE) pour favoriser leur conservation à long terme? Le principe de l’évaluation socioculturelle des SE off re une perspective élargie des contributions potentielles société-nature, et est utilisé pour présenter les résultats empiriques d’une évaluation participative des SE réalisée en 2019 dans la zone humide côtière de Laguna de Nuxco, au Mexique. La méthodologie comprenait la combinaison d’outils qualitatifs sur site et d’outils quantitatifs pour l’analyse de l’information. Les résultats soulignent que les SE de la zone humide répondent aux besoins socio-économiques et à des aspects socioculturels tels que le patrimoine culturel et l’identité en tant que communautés de pêcheurs. Nous identifions les conflits socio-écologiques émergents qui favorisent la diminution des SE. Nous suggérons des adaptations conceptuelles et méthodologiques pour l’évaluation participative des SE à l’échelle locale.

scholarly journals Ecosystem services show variable responses to future climate conditions in the Colombian páramos

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11370
Author(s):  
Mauricio Diazgranados ◽  
Carolina Tovar ◽  
Thomas R. Etherington ◽  
Paula A. Rodríguez-Zorro ◽  
Carolina Castellanos-Castro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Niche Modelling ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Key Species

Background The páramos, the high-elevation ecosystems of the northern Andes, are well-known for their high species richness and provide a variety of ecosystem services to local subsistence-based communities and regional urbanizations. Climate change is expected to negatively affect the provision of these services, but the level of this impact is still unclear. Here we assess future climate change impact on the ecosystem services provided by the critically important páramos of the department of Boyacá in Colombia, of which over 25% of its territory is páramo. Methods We first performed an extensive literature review to identify useful species of Boyacá, and selected 103 key plant species that, based on their uses, support the provision of ecosystem services in the páramos. We collated occurrence information for each key species and using a Mahalanobis distance approach we applied climate niche modelling for current and future conditions. Results We show an overall tendency of reduction in area for all ecosystem services under future climate conditions (mostly a loss of 10% but reaching up to a loss of 40%), but we observe also increases, and responses differ in intensity loss. Services such as Food for animals, Material and Medicinal, show a high range of changes that includes both positive and negative outcomes, while for Food for humans the responses are mostly substantially negative. Responses are less extreme than those projected for individual species but are often complex because a given ecosystem service is provided by several species. As the level of functional or ecological redundancy between species is not yet known, there is an urgency to expand our knowledge on páramos ecosystem services for more species. Our results are crucial for decision-makers, social and conservation organizations to support sustainable strategies to monitor and mitigate the potential consequences of climate change for human livelihoods in mountainous settings.

scholarly journals Phytoregionalisation of the Andean páramo

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwendolyn Peyre ◽  
Henrik Balslev ◽  
Xavier Font
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Hierarchical Classification ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Biological Dataset ◽  
Altitudinal Belts ◽  
Northern Peru ◽  
Biogeographical Province

Background The páramo is a high-elevation biogeographical province in the northern Andes, known for its great biodiversity and ecosystem services. Because there have been very few biogeographic studies encompassing the entire province to date, this study aimed at conducting a phytogeographical regionalisation of the páramo. Specifically, (1) clustering analyses were conducted to identify the main phytogeographical units in the three altitudinal belts: sub-páramo, mid-páramo and super-páramo, and examine their diagnostic flora, (2) an ordination complemented the geo-climatic characterization of the obtained units and (3) a hierarchical classification transformation was obtained to evaluate the relationships between units. Methods The study area included the entire Andean páramo range in northern Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. The analyses were based on 1,647 phytosociological plots from the VegPáramo database. The K-means non-hierarchical clustering technique was used to obtain clusters identifiable as phytogeographical units, and the Ochiai fidelity index was calculated to identify their diagnostic species. A principal component analysis was conducted to obtain the geo-climatic characterization of each unit. Finally, the relationships between clusters were traced using a hierarchical plot-based classification. Results Fifteen clusters were obtained, 13 natural and two artificial, of which two represented the sub-páramo, nine the mid-páramo and four the super-páramo. Even though data representativeness was a potential limitation to segregate certain sub-páramo and super-páramo units, the overall bioregionalisation was robust and represented important latitudinal, altitudinal and climatic gradients. Discussion This study is the first to bioregionalise the páramo province based on a substantial widely distributed biological dataset, and therefore provides important novel scientific insight on its biogeography. The obtained phytogeographical units can be used to support further research on the páramo at smaller scale and on the humid Neotropical high-elevation ecosystems at broader-scale. Finally, several units were highlighted in our results as particularly worthy of further scientific and conservation focus.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Effect of Perceived Value of Ecosystem Services on Tourists’ Behavioral Intentions for Aogu Coastal Wetland

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6214
Author(s):  
Meng-Tsung Lee ◽  
Jen-Ming Liu ◽  
Elaine Q. Borazon
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Coastal Wetland ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Environmental Behavior ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
Revisit Intention ◽  
Positive Effect

This research empirically tested the effect of perceived value of ecosystem services on tourists’ intentions to revisit the Aogu coastal wetland in Taiwan. Data were collected using a structured survey and structural equation modeling was then done to test the research hypotheses. Based on the data collected from 230 tourists in the Aogu coastal wetland, the perceived value of ecosystem services of wetland has a positive effect on tourists’ environmental concerns and friendly environmental behavior. Results also indicate that tourists’ environmental concern has a positive effect on friendly environmental behavior and tourists’ friendly environmental behavior has a positive effect on revisit intention to the Aogu coastal wetland. However, the effects of perceived value of ecosystem services and tourists’ environmental concerns on revisit intention were not found to be significant in this study. These results have implications for tourism management of coastal wetlands and the increase in revisit intentions of tourists.

Assessing the impact of land-use change for solar park development in the UK: implications for biodiversity and ecosystem services

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Carvalho ◽  
Alona Armstrong ◽  
Mark Ashby ◽  
Belinda Howell ◽  
Hannah Montag ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Indicator Species ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Ipcc Report ◽  
The Impact

<p>According to the latest IPCC report, 70 to 85% of electricity generation worldwide will need to come from renewable sources of energy by 2050 if countries are to meet internationally agreed greenhouse gas emissions targets. In the rush to decarbonise energy supplies to meet such targets, solar parks (SPs) have proliferated around the world, with uncertain implications for the biodiversity and ecosystem service (ES) provision of hosting ecosystems. SPs necessitate significant land-use change that could disproportionately affect the local environment compared to other low-carbon sources.</p><p>In Britain, SPs are commonly built on intensive arable land and managed as grasslands. This offers both risks and opportunities for ecosystem health, yet evidence for assessing ecosystem consequences is scarce. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand how net environmental gains can be integrated into land-use change for solar energy development to address the current biodiversity and climate crises.</p><p>We used vegetation data from over 70 SPs and 50 countryside survey plots (1 km<sup>2</sup>) in England and Wales to assess the effects of land-use change for SPs on plant diversity and ES provision. We assessed ten habitat indicator variables (e.g., species richness, larval food plants, forage grasses, bird food plants) associated to functionally important plant species that have the potential to enhance ecosystem service delivery.</p><p>SPs showed higher diversity of habitat indicator species than arable land and improved grasslands, with vegetation between solar arrays showing higher numbers of species important for ES provision (e.g., N-fixing species important for nutrient cycling) than vegetation under solar panels. Overall, the diversity of habitat indicator species seemed highly dependent on former land-use, showing SPs have the potential to enhance ecosystem services provision if built on degraded agricultural land.</p><p>Developing this understanding will enable optimisation of SP design and management to ensure delivery of ecosystem co-benefits from this growing land-use.</p>

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