scholarly journals A checklist of marine bryozoan taxa in Scottish sea regions

ZooKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 787 ◽  
pp. 135-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Rouse ◽  
Jennifer Loxton ◽  
Mary E. Spencer Jones ◽  
Joanne S. Porter
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Bryozoan Species ◽  
Baseline Information ◽  
Marine Bryozoan ◽  
The Impact

Contemporary and historical bryozoan records were compiled to provide a comprehensive checklist of species in Scottish waters. The checklist comprises 218 species in 58 families, with representatives from each of the extant bryozoan orders. The fauna was relatively sparse compared to other regions for which bryozoan checklists were available e.g. New Zealand and Australia. Six non-indigenous bryozoan species from the Scottish seas region were included in the checklist. Baseline information on species distributions, such as that presented in this checklist, can be used to monitor and manage the impact of human activities on the marine environment, and ultimately preserve marine biodiversity.

scholarly journals Developing an Ecological Risk Assessment to Effectively Manage Marine Resources in Data-Limited Locations: A Case Study for St Helena Sand Extraction

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Mynott ◽  
Jemma-Anne Lonsdale ◽  
Tammy Stamford
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Ecological Risk ◽  
Ecological Risk Assessment ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
St Helena ◽  
Sand Extraction

Maritime states are faced with the challenge of effectively managing their marine spaces to use resources sustainably, maximise economic potential and simultaneously protect their marine environments. Anthropogenic activities, whether in isolation or combination, all have effects on the natural environment. Each of these effects has a footprint in time and space. Assessing the distribution and intensity of human activities and their effects on marine biodiversity, and all other human uses and users is necessary for effective spatial planning, as well as to harmonise conservation with sustainable development. Assessing and managing combined pressures from human activities can be achieved using risk assessment and risk management processes. There are multiple examples of environmental risk assessments which propose a similar formula. However, standardised approaches to ecological risk assessment in data-limited locations that relate to sand extraction are limited. Also most assessments require a certain level of information to produce meaningful outcomes, that enable subsequent management action to appropriately reflect the identified level of risk. Here we outline an approach to assess the risk to the marine environment of sand extraction activity within the Exclusive Economic Zone and Marine Protected Area of St Helena Island in the Atlantic. The proposed risk assessment tool has supported the development of a sand extraction management strategy on St Helena, and will be used to inform future management plans and policies that allow anthropogenic activities to take place in a way that balances local management, monitoring and enforcement capability, in line with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Category VI designation. Both the tool and strategy promote sustainable use of resources and protection of the marine environment, which are key objectives stated in the St Helena Marine Management Plan.

scholarly journals Influence of the Intrinsic Characteristics of Cementitious Materials on Biofouling in the Marine Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2625
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Hayek ◽  
Marie Salgues ◽  
Jean-Claude Souche ◽  
Etienne Cunge ◽  
Cyril Giraudel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Environment ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ecological Engineering ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Concrete Surface ◽  
Cementitious Materials ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
The Face

Coastal marine ecosystems provide essential benefits and services to humanity, but many are rapidly degrading. Human activities are leading to significant land take along coastlines and to major changes in ecosystems. Ecological engineering tools capable of promoting large-scale restoration of coastal ecosystems are needed today in the face of intensifying climatic stress and human activities. Concrete is one of the materials most commonly used in the construction of coastal and marine infrastructure. Immersed in seawater, concretes are rapidly colonized by microorganisms and macroorganisms. Surface colonization and subsequent biofilm and biofouling formation provide numerous advantages to these organisms and support critical ecological and biogeochemical functions in the changing marine environment. The new challenge of the 21st century is to develop innovative concretes that, in addition to their usual properties, provide improved bioreceptivity in order to enhance marine biodiversity. The aim of this study is to master and clarify the intrinsic parameters that influence the bioreceptivity (biocolonization) of cementitious materials in the marine environment. By coupling biofilm (culture-based methods) and biofouling (image-analysis-based method and wet-/dry-weight biomass measurement) quantification techniques, this study showed that the application of a curing compound to the concrete surface reduced the biocolonization of cementitious materials in seawater, whereas green formwork oil had the opposite effect. This study also found that certain surface conditions (faceted and patterned surface, rough surface) promote the bacterial and macroorganism colonization of cementitious materials. Among the parameters examined, surface roughness proved to be the factor that promotes biocolonization most effectively. These results could be taken up in future recommendations to enable engineers to eco-design more eco-friendly marine infrastructure and develop green-engineering projects.

scholarly journals Anthropocene refugia: integrating history and predictive modelling to assess the space available for biodiversity in a human-dominated world

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Monsarrat ◽  
Scott Jarvie ◽  
Jens-Christian Svenning
Keyword(s):  
Human Activities ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Predictive Modelling ◽  
Deep Time ◽  
The Future ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
The Impact

1.AbstractDuring periods of strong environmental change, some areas may serve as refugia, where components of biodiversity can find protection, persist and potentially expand from should conditions again become favourable. The refugia concept has previously been used in the context of climatic change, to describe climatically stable areas in which taxa survived past Quaternary glacial-interglacial oscillations, or where they might persist in the future under anthropogenic climate change. However, with the recognition that Earth has entered the Anthropocene, an era in which human activities are the dominant driving force on ecosystems, it is critical to also consider human pressures on the environment as factors limiting species distributions. Here, we present a novel concept, Anthropocene refugia, to refer to areas that provide spatial and temporal protection from human activities and that will remain suitable for a given taxonomic unit in the long-term. It integrates a deep-time perspective on species biogeography that provides information on the natural rather than current-day relictual distribution of species, with spatial information on modern and future anthropogenic threats. We define the concept and propose a methodology to effectively identify and map realised and potential current and future refugia, using examples for two megafauna species as a proof of concept. We argue that identifying Anthropocene refugia will improve biodiversity conservation and restoration by allowing better prediction of key areas for conservation and potential for re-expansions today and in the future. More generally, it forms a new conceptual framework to assess and manage the impact of anthropogenic activities on past, current and future patterns of species distributions.

scholarly journals Anthropocene refugia: integrating history and predictive modelling to assess the space available for biodiversity in a human-dominated world

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1788) ◽  
pp. 20190219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Monsarrat ◽  
Scott Jarvie ◽  
Jens-Christian Svenning
Keyword(s):  
Human Activities ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Predictive Modelling ◽  
Deep Time ◽  
The Future ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
The Impact

During periods of strong environmental change, some areas may serve as refugia, where components of biodiversity can find protection, persist and potentially expand from should conditions again become favourable. The refugia concept has previously been used in the context of climatic change, to describe climatically stable areas in which taxa survived past Quaternary glacial–interglacial oscillations, or where they might persist in the future under anthropogenic climate change. However, with the recognition that Earth has entered the Anthropocene, an era in which human activities are the dominant driving force on ecosystems, it is critical to also consider human pressures on the environment as factors limiting species distributions. Here, we present a novel concept, Anthropocene refugia, to refer to areas that provide spatial and temporal protection from human activities and that will remain suitable for a given taxonomic unit in the long-term. It integrates a deep-time perspective on species biogeography that provides information on the natural rather than current-day relictual distribution of species, with spatial information on modern and future anthropogenic threats. We define the concept and propose a methodology to effectively identify and map realized and potential current and future refugia, using examples for two megafaunal species as a proof of concept. We argue that identifying Anthropocene refugia will improve biodiversity conservation and restoration by allowing better prediction of key areas for conservation and potential for re-expansions today and in the future. More generally, it forms a new conceptual framework to assess and manage the impact of anthropogenic activities on past, current and future patterns of species distributions. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The past is a foreign country: how much can the fossil record actually inform conservation?’

F-specific bacteriophage as an indicator of human viruses in natural waters and sewage effluents in Northern New Zealand

1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 231-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian D. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Natural Waters ◽  
Sewage Effluents ◽  
Pathogenic Viruses ◽  
Human Viruses ◽  
Specific Bacteriophage ◽  
Beach Water

To assess the F-specific bacteriophage as an indicator of pathogenic viruses, a comparative study has been made of the occurrence of F-phage and human enteroviruses in sewage wastes and the marine environment. Although F-phage seemed in several respects to match pathogen behaviour, its low abundance in bathing beach water, uncertainty as to its source and other detection irregularities make its use as an indicator problematical.

The impact of urban effluents on the coastal marine environment of Mediterranean islands

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 85-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael O. Angelidis
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Suspended Particle ◽  
Pollution Source ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
Coastal Marine Environment ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

The impact of the urban effluents of Mytilene (Lesvos island, Greece) on the receiving coastal marine environment, was evaluated by studying the quality of the city effluents (BOD5, COD, SS, heavy metals) and the marine sediments (grain size, organic matter, heavy metals). It was found that the urban effluents of Mytilene contain high organic matter and suspended particle load because of septage discharge into the sewerage network. Furthermore, although the city does not host important industrial activity, its effluents contain appreciable metal load, which is mainly associated with the particulate phase. The city effluents are discharged into the coastal marine environment and their colloidal and particulate matter after flocculation settles to the bottom, where is incorporated into the sediments. Over the years, the accumulation of organic matter and metals into the harbour mud has created a non-point pollution source in the relatively non-polluted coastal marine environment of the island. Copper and Zn were the metals which presented the higher enrichment in the sediments of the inner harbour of Mytilene.

Exploring Antimicrobials from the Flora and Fauna of Marine: Opportunities and Limitations

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishnamoorthy Venkateskumar ◽  
Subramani Parasuraman ◽  
Leow Y. Chuen ◽  
Veerasamy Ravichandran ◽  
Subramani Balamurgan
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Bioactive Compounds ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
World Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
Living Space ◽  
Alternative Sources ◽  
Health Organization

About 95% of earth living space lies deep below the ocean’s surface and it harbors extraordinary diversity of marine organisms. Marine biodiversity is an exceptional reservoir of natural products, bioactive compounds, nutraceuticals and other potential compounds of commercial value. Timeline for the development of the drug from a plant, synthetic and other alternative sources is too lengthy. Exploration of the marine environment for potential bioactive compounds has gained focus and huge opportunity lies ahead for the exploration of such vast resources in the ocean. Further, the evolution of superbugs with increasing resistance to the currently available drugs is alarming and it needs coordinated efforts to resolve them. World Health Organization recommends the need and necessity to develop effective bioactive compounds to combat problems associated with antimicrobial resistance. Based on these factors, it is imperative to shift the focus towards the marine environment for potential bioactive compounds that could be utilized to tackle antimicrobial resistance. Current research trends also indicate the huge strides in research involving marine environment for drug discovery. The objective of this review article is to provide an overview of marine resources, recently reported research from marine resources, challenges, future research prospects in the marine environment.

scholarly journals Fluvial Geomorphology and River Management

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1608
Author(s):  
Salvatore Ivo Giano
Keyword(s):  
Human Activities ◽  
River Restoration ◽  
Fluvial Geomorphology ◽  
Landscape Evolution ◽  
River Management ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Fluvial Systems ◽  
The Impact

This Special Issue deals with the role of fluvial geomorphology in landscape evolution and the impact of human activities on fluvial systems, which require river restoration and management [...]

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