http://www.wri.org/publication/reefs-at-risk-revisited
This comprehensive report is well done and irreplaceable–an incredible resource. DV
Nature: Biodiversity of wetlands may help keep water clean by Bradley Cardinale
8 April 2011 | EN
Biodiversity of wetlands may help keep water clean
Flickr/Brenda Anderson
Conserving biodiversity could help shield waterways against nitrogen pollution, says a study that showed how streams with more species are better at removing excess nutrients from water.
The findings imply that developing countries that keep rivers and lakes species-rich could save money on water treatment, Bradley Cardinale, author of the study and an aquatic ecologist from the University of Michigan, United States, told SciDev.Net.
The study, published in Nature yesterday (7 April), is the first rigorous analysis of how biodiversity improves water quality, Cardinale said.
Mopping up nitrogen compounds — a major cause of water pollution — released from agricultural fertilisers and waste, human sewage, and fossil fuel burning, is an important goal for environmental policy.
Scientists have long known that ecosystems with more biodiversity are better at mopping up pollutants like nitrogen. But there was little experimental evidence for why this happens. A leading theory is that different species make maximum use of nutrients because they each fill a unique biological habitat — niche.
Cardinale tested this theory in a laboratory experiment on algae.
He grew one to eight species of common algae in 150 artificial river channels. Some artificial streams had a single habitat, whilst others mimicked several natural habitats created by differences and disturbances in water flow in the streams.
Cardinale found that nitrogen uptake increased in more biodiverse streams, as long as there were varied habitats available in the stream. One stream with eight species removed nitrogen 4.5 times faster than the average for a single species stream, implying also “that biodiversity may help to buffer natural ecosystems against the ecological impacts of nutrient pollution”.
“Nature is much like a sports team. Each member has a different, but complementary, role to play,” Cardinale said. “And, as each of the players becomes better, they make for a more efficient team.”
He said it was difficult to know how far to extend the conclusions from this laboratory study but added that these results would probably apply to any habitat with partitioned niches.
Emily Stanley, a freshwater ecologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States, said: “These sorts of controlled lab experiments are important tools for suggesting how nature might work. Cardinale has challenged us to see if this is the way things actually work in real world settings.”
And John Matthews, director of freshwater and adaptation at the non-governmental organisation Conservation International, said: “This study strengthens the arguments for how protecting biodiversity can be used to promote sustainable development”.
But he added that these findings will probably not be enough to prompt more action on conservation of biodiversity.
References
Nature doi: 10.1038/nature09904 (2011)
Special thanks to Alfredo Quarto
Science Magazine: Organic Aerosol Formation Downwind from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill by J.A. de Gouw, A.M. Middlebrook, C. Warneke, et. al.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/331/6022/1295.abstract
Science 11 March 2011:
Vol. 331 no. 6022 pp. 1295-1299
DOI: 10.1126/science.1200320
Abstract
A large fraction of atmospheric aerosols are derived from organic compounds with various volatilities. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) WP-3D research aircraft made airborne measurements of the gaseous and aerosol composition of air over the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred from April to August 2010. A narrow plume of hydrocarbons was observed downwind of DWH that is attributed to the evaporation of fresh oil on the sea surface. A much wider plume with high concentrations of organic aerosol (>25 micrograms per cubic meter) was attributed to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from unmeasured, less volatile hydrocarbons that were emitted from a wider area around DWH. These observations provide direct and compelling evidence for the importance of formation of SOA from less volatile hydrocarbons.
Special thanks to Richard Charter
Huffington Post: Coral Reefs May Be Gone By 2050: Study
The Huffington Post Joanna Zelman Posted: 02/25/11 08:37 AM
A recent study has found that all of the world’s coral reefs could be gone by 2050. If lost, 500 million people’s livelihoods worldwide would be threatened.
The World Resources Institute report, “Reefs at Risk Revisited,” suggests that by 2030, over 90 percent of coral reefs will be threatened. If action isn’t taken soon, nearly all reefs will be threatened by 2050. Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states, “Threats on land, along the coast and in the water are converging in a perfect storm of threats to reefs.”
The AFP suggests that these threats include overfishing, coastal development, pollution, and climate change. Warming sea temperatures lead to coral bleaching, a stress response where corals expose their white skeletons. In 2005, the Caribbean saw the most extensive coral bleaching event ever recorded, often attributed to rising ocean temperatures. CO2 emissions are also making the oceans more acidic. Because of the rising acidity levels, some scientists claim we will see conditions not witnessed since the period of dinosaurs.
Lauretta Burke, one of the report’s lead authors, feels that quick action could help save the reefs. She encourages policymakers to reduce overfishing and cut greenhouse gas emissions. If action is not taken though, millions of people will suffer. Shorelines will lose protection from storms — a Time Magazine post suggests that up to 90 percent of the energy from wind generated waves is absorbed by reef ecosystems. If reefs are lost, coastal communities will lose a source of food security and tourism.
Special thanks to Erika Biddle.
Coral-list: P.L. Harrison: New Coral Global Reproduction Review Available
Colleagues,
the following global coral reproduction review chapter has recently
been published in Dubinsky and Stambler’s book:
Harrison, P.L. (2011). Sexual reproduction of scleractinian corals.
In: Z. Dubinsky and N. Stambler (Editors), Coral Reefs: An Ecosystem
in Transition Part 3, 59-85,
DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-0114-4_6 Springer Publishers.
This new review presents a synthesis of current global knowledge of
coral reproduction and updates aspects of the earlier major review by
Harrison, P.L. and Wallace, C.C. (1990), with particular emphasis on
new data and molecular perspectives that have emerged during the past
two decades.
Some key points that may be of interest:
Information on sexual reproduction is now available for 444
scleractinian coral species (almost double the number of species
compared with the 230 species whose reproductive characteristics had
been studied by the late 1980s).
The global data confirm many of the trends noted previously: the
great majority of species that have been studied are hermaphroditic
broadcast spawers (64.5%) with fewer gonochoric spawners (19.5%) and
relatively few hermaphroditic brooders or gonochoric brooders
recorded. However, there are a number of species for which mixed
sexual patterns/sex change and/or both brooding and spawning modes of
development have been recorded hence these sexual patterns and modes
of development are not simple binary characteristics for all
scleractinian corals.
Biogeographical patterns are even more complex: multispecific
spawning has been recorded in many reef regions, but the scale of
spawning and degree of reproductive synchrony within and among
populations of different species forms a continuum from largely
asynchronous patterns through to highly synchronised mass spawning
events.
If you want to know more please contact me. Read the actual paper here. Harrison 2011 Coral Reproduction Review[1]
cheers, Peter
—
Professor Peter Harrison, PhD
Director of Marine Studies SCU
Director, Marine Ecology Research Centre
Research Leader, Coral Reef and Whale Research Teams
Marine Science and Management Course Coordinator
School of Environmental Science and Management
Southern Cross University, PO Box 157
Lismore NSW 2480 AUSTRALIA
Patron, Banyan Tree Marine Labs, Maldives
SCU Phone: 0266 203774 Fax: 0266 212669
Mobile: 0407456249
E-mail: peter.harrison@scu.edu.au
International Phone: 61 266 203774 International Fax: 61 266 212669
_______________________________________________
Special thanks to:
Coral-List mailing list
Coral-List@coral.aoml.noaa.gov
http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list