Ecological Approach for the Evaluation of Structure and Sustainability in the Tourism Industry

Badaling is the main tourism area in Beijing. The development of tourism has generated considerable economic benefit in this region, but the tourism industry also brought considerable environmental pressure. To obtain a targeted upgrade plan for metropolitan tourism industry, static and dynamic analysis methods were used to quantitatively estimate the structure of the tourism industry in this region. In addition, the ecological footprint and ecosystem capacity models were used to evaluate the sustainable development of tourism. The results show that: (1) The structure of tourism in Badaling is better than that of Beijing, but the growth rate of tourism earnings is slower than the average value in Beijing. Overall, the region lacks competitiveness and the tourism industry in the area is in dire need of an upgrade; (2) the total ecological footprint due to tourism in the Badaling region is 381,098.28 hm2, and the ecosystem capacity is 4509.61 hm2. It is in an obvious ecological deficit, and the development of the tourism industry is unsustainable. To relieve the pressure on the ecology in the Badaling region, we propose four policy suggestions: (1) develop disadvantaged sectors and enhance tourism industry competitiveness, (2) boost tourist transportation revenues relying on the Winter Olympic Games, (3) grow cultural and creative products and expand sales channels, and (4) strengthen inter-regional cooperation and alleviate local ecological pressure.

Ontogeny, evolution and palaeogeographic distribution of the world’s largest ammonite Parapuzosia (P.) seppenradensis (Landois, 1895)

The world’s largest ammonite, Parapuzosia (P.) seppenradensis (Landois, 1895), fascinated the world ever since the discovery, in 1895, of a specimen of 1.74 metres (m) diameter near Seppenrade in Westfalia, Germany, but subsequent findings of the taxon are exceedingly rare and its systematic position remains enigmatic. Here we revise the historical specimens and document abundant new material from England and Mexico. Our study comprises 154 specimens of large (< 1 m diameter) to giant (> 1m diameter) Parapuzosia from the Santonian and lower Campanian, mostly with stratigraphic information. High-resolution integrated stratigraphy allows for precise cross-Atlantic correlation of the occurrences. Our specimens were analysed regarding morphometry, growth stages and stratigraphic occurrence wherever possible. Our analysis provides insight into the ontogeny of Parapuzosia (P.) seppenradensis and into the evolution of this species from its potential ancestor P. (P.) leptophylla Sharpe, 1857. The latter grew to shell diameters of about 1 m and was restricted to Europe in the early Santonian, but it reached the Gulf of Mexico during the late Santonian. P. (P.) seppenradensis first appears in the uppermost Santonian- earliest Campanian on both sides of the Atlantic. Initially, it also reached diameters of about 1 m, but gradual evolutionary increase in size is seen in the middle early Campanian to diameters of 1.5 to 1.8 m. P. (P.) seppenradensis is characterized by five ontogenetic growth stages and by size dimorphism. We therefore here include the many historic species names used in the past to describe the morphological and size variability of the taxon. The concentration of adult shells in small geographic areas and scarcity of Parapuzosia in nearby coeval outcrop regions may point to a monocyclic, possibly even semelparous reproduction strategy in this giant cephalopod. Its gigantism exceeds a general trend of size increase in late Cretaceous cephalopods. Whether the coeval increase in size of mosasaurs, the top predators in Cretaceous seas, caused ecological pressure on Parapuzosia towards larger diameters remains unclear.

Phytoplankton community structure in Menjer Lake, Central Java

The occurrence of land changes around Lake Menjer, Central Java Province will affect the condition of water quality subsequently will affect biota, including phytoplankton. The purposes of study was to analyze the composition and abundance of phytoplankton in Menjer Lake regarding to nutrient content i.e. nitrogen and phosphorus. Observations on the phytoplankton community were conducted in July and October 2019 at six locations in Menjer Lake. Water samples were taken at the water surface as much as 10 L filtered using plankton net. Identification was carried out under the inverted microscope Diaphot 300. The abundance was calculated using the Sedgwick Rafter cell counting (SRCC) method. Analysis of the phytoplankton community structure was derived by calculating the Diversity Index, Evenness Index, and Simpson Dominance Index. The nutrient content in Menjer Lake influences the structure of phytoplankton communities quantitatively and qualitatively. Observation showed that the diversity of phytoplankton was low and there was one species dominanted, the result explained that the phytoplankton community in Menjer Lake is unstable and there is ecological pressure on the community. It can be concluded that the improvement of environmental conditions around Menjer Lake is the basis for the sustainable management of Menjer Lake.

Assessment of Ecological Vulnerability on Northern Sand Prevention Belt of China Based on the Ecological Pressure–Sensibility–Resilience Model

Quantitative assessment of ecological vulnerability is of great significance for ecological protection and restoration in ecologically vulnerable regions. Here, the ecological vulnerability of the northern sand prevention belt (NSPB) of China was assessed using an ecological pressure–sensibility–resilience model from 2000 to 2015. Results showed that the ecological vulnerability index (EVI) displayed low values in the eastern part and high values in the western part of the study region. The EVI ranged from 0.29 to 1.32 in 2000, with the mean value of 0.88, whereas it averaged 0.78 in 2015, ranging from 0.21 to 1.26. Decreasing EVI from 2000 to 2015 indicated that the ecological status has been improved. Moreover, the area proportion of moderately, heavily, and extremely ecological vulnerability levels occupied approximately 87% in both 2000 and 2015, indicating a high ecological vulnerability level. Furthermore, the change in area proportion of different ecological vulnerability levels were associated with the change in the spatial distribution of vegetation coverage, indicating that eco-environmental protection projects were indeed effective. These findings indicated that differential strategies in different restoration zones should be adopted, especially in the western parts of the study region, and eco-environmental protection projects should be reinforced to improve the ecological restoration.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN RESISTING ECOLOGICAL THREATS

Purpose – this paper aims to ground an extended model of sustainable regional development, which would serve as an instrument to estimate and, ultimately, minimize the harmful impact of ecological threats on sustainable economic development. Research methodology – Ecological Carrying Capacity (ECC) concept needs to be applied; chosen “COVID19” is as a valid sample of ecological pressure on regions to study its harmful impact on one of the ecological resource “GDP” for the vital group G20 countries that control 75% of the world’s GDP. Secondary data were collected from the Passport database’s Macro model for evaluations and predictions. Findings – GDP drop due to COVID19 in developed countries is higher than the developing countries of the G20 group, indicating the need to utilize the global sustainability EGB model instead of the SLB model. Research limitations – considering one macro model indicator (GDP), which could be enhanced by including other indicators. Practical implications – the obtained results promote a consistent reaction pattern of GDP growth with ecological threats in differently developed countries to devise economic policies on how to mitigate these threats’ globally. Originality/Value – previous studies mainly focused on identifying ecological threats, whereas our study studied how to measure these threats’ harmful impact on countries’ economies.

Ekstraksi Pigmen Klorofil Total Pada Mikroalga Dunaliella sp. Yang Telah diberi Perlakuan Timbal Asetat

Heavy metals such as lead are compounds that can cause toxic effects if they enter the body of living things. Dunaliella sp. is one of the marine organisms that is susceptible to changes or ecological pressure so that it is the main target of being exposed to pollutants such as heavy metals and so on, so it is necessary to conduct research to determine how the effect of lead acetate compounds on the growth and total chlorophyll content of Dunaliella micro algae. sp. The results of this study indicate that the growth of Dunaliella sp microalgae on the control culture media and the lead treatment media has a very different growth, the control media has normal growth, while the total chlorophyll content of the 14th day in the control media is 80.49 µg / ml. 30 ppm 54.79 µg / ml, 50 ppm 50.02 µg / ml and 100 ppm 9.13 µg / ml. While the total chlorophyll content of the 30th day in the control media was 34.99 µg / ml, 30 ppm 44.657 µg / ml, 50 ppm 26.136 µg / ml and 100 ppm 5.58 µg / ml.Keywords : Microalga, Dunaliella sp, kcorophyll, lead ecetate

KEANEKARAGAMAN JENIS PAKAN PADA LAMBUNG IKAN SEPAT SIAM (Trichogaster pectoralis) DI RAWA BANJIRAN DESA SEDANG KECAMATAN SUAK TAPEH KABUPATEN BANYUASIN

The research on the diversity of feed types in the snakeskin gouramy hull was carried out in August to Desember in swamp flood, Sedang village, Suak Tapeh subdistrict, Banyuasin District. The method used is a field study with determination of stations carried out by purposive random sampling of 3 stations, namely the Nebong Kuning swamp station, the Poron swamp station and the Banan swamp station. This study aims to determine the diversity of feed types in the Sepat Siam fish hull in swamp flood, Sedang village, Suak Tapeh subdistrict, Banyuasin District. Based on the result of study found the type of feed in the sepat siam fish hull consisted of 2 groups, namely phytoplankton and zooplankton, which consisted of 5 classes namely Bacillariophyceae, Clorophyceae, Cyanophyceae, Crustaceae and Maxillopoda. Based on the diversity index of the type of snakeskin gouramy hull in Nebong Kuning Swamp station, the Poron swamp station and the Banan swamp station are included in the medium category which indicates that the habitat of the aquatic environment in which the snakeskin gouramy live namely swamp flood, Sedang village, Suak Tapeh subdistrict, Banyuasin District quite balanced and moderate ecological pressure. Keywords : Diversity, Feed, Flood Swamp, Hull, Snakeskin Gouramy

Raw Cow Milk Bacterial Consortium as Bioindicator of Circulating Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR)

The environment, including animals and animal products, is colonized by bacterial species that are typical and specific of every different ecological niche. Natural and human-related ecological pressure promotes the selection and expression of genes related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These genes might be present in a bacterial consortium but might not necessarily be expressed. Their expression could be induced by the presence of antimicrobial compounds that could originate from a given ecological niche or from human activity. In this work, we applied (meta)proteomics analysis of bacterial compartment of raw milk in order to obtain a method that provides a measurement of circulating AMR involved proteins and gathers information about the whole bacterial composition. Results from milk analysis revealed the presence of 29 proteins/proteoforms linked to AMR. The detection of mainly β-lactamases suggests the possibility of using the milk microbiome as a bioindicator for the investigation of AMR. Moreover, it was possible to achieve a culture-free qualitative and functional analysis of raw milk bacterial consortia.

Updating the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid towards Sustainability: Focus on Environmental Concerns

Background: Nowadays the food production, supply and consumption chain represent a major cause of ecological pressure on the natural environment, and diet links worldwide human health with environmental sustainability. Food policy, dietary guidelines and food security strategies need to evolve from the limited historical approach, mainly focused on nutrients and health, to a new one considering the environmental, socio-economic and cultural impact—and thus the sustainability—of diets. Objective: To present an updated version of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid (MDP) to reflect multiple environmental concerns. Methods: We performed a revision and restructuring of the MDP to incorporate more recent findings on the sustainability and environmental impact of the Mediterranean Diet pattern, as well as its associations with nutrition and health. For each level of the MDP we provided a third dimension featuring the corresponding environmental aspects related to it. Conclusions: The new environmental dimension of the MDP enhances food intake recommendations addressing both health and environmental issues. Compared to the previous 2011 version, it emphasizes more strongly a lower consumption of red meat and bovine dairy products, and a higher consumption of legumes and locally grown eco-friendly plant foods as much as possible.