1,720,977 research outputs found
Dynamics of plastic resin pellets deposition on a microtidal sandy beach: Informative variables and potential integration into sandy beach studies
No full textThe study addressed temporal dynamics of plastic resin pellets input on a Mediterranean beach, paired with standard environmental variables known to be relevant to sandy beach ecology. Time-related component of the study were related to two levels: 1) weekly sampling along one year, and 2) allocation of beached pellets to categories “old” and “new” as proxy of the time spent in the environment. Pellets were collected by sieving along a fixed transect perpendicular to the shoreline. In correspondence of each sampling were measured beach width and beach face slope. Weekly records of main wind direction and strength, and seasonal substrate mean grain size estimates were added to the dataset. Both density of total pellets and density of “new” pellets were modelled with quantile regression analysis, and best models were selected by Akaike Information Criterion. Data indicate a constant input of pellets ashore, with about 50% evenly represented by “new” items. Beach width resulted the only variable significant to pellets’ density, whether total or “new” with increasing densities of pellets related to narrower beach widths, best explained by a logarithmic fashion. Results hence point to plastic resin pellets as a pressure impact, rather than a spill-related, time-limited one. A list of simple and cost-effective measurements of sandy beach features is provided as a guidance to couple basic ecological information with a possible range of research (including citizen science) addressing beached anthropogenic litter -including plastic pellets. This would ideally enhance the relevance of both research on beached plastics and sandy beach biota, so far running along parallel paths
Relationships between size and abundance in beach plastics: A power-law approach
Full text linkSandy beaches are one of the most relevant coastal environments in terms of socio-ecological and economical value. So, the presence and accumulation of plastic litter determines a degradation of these values, and calls for management actions for cleaning are required. In this research, we investigated the features of plastic litter distribution on a Mediterranean beach in relation to size and abundance of the sampled items. Simple allometric models were applied with the aim to provide a parsimonious tool for estimating the amount and sizes of the beach plastic litter. The results show effective relations between size and abundance of plastic items according to the power-law distribution. This relationship could support decision-makers to estimate the total amount of beach plastics through the application of a simple model instead of more complex models requiring the estimation of many parameters and the availability of large datasets
Information gain and loss between masterlists and intermediary-level protocols for the sampling of beached macrolitter
No full textThe compared performance of citizen scientists with respect to professional scientists is still an open debate. In particular, marine litter was found to be a topic where relevant inputs proceed from citizen scientists. Here we compared two protocols for marine litter items and material identification, i.e. the OSPAR masterlist and its intermediary version adapted to citizen actions by NGOs, in terms of information structuring (Principal Component Analysis and Normalized Entropy Criterion) and correlation with beach ecology variables (Random Forest regression). Differences between results from different protocols were found related to two main causes: a) the sporadic occurrence of less common items only present in the OSPAR masterlist, and b) the engagement of citizens in specific campaigns proposed by NGOs. Models from both protocols returned high percentages of variability explained. In particular, those referring to the general categories of “materials” resulted best performing than those referring to the more detailed “items” categories. Among ecological variables, beach width was confirmed the most informative one, outperforming exposure and season (at least for the case study considered). This matches with the vision backing the Coast Cleanliness Index, proposed to relate marine litter to beach available area
Marine conservation may not deliver ecosystem services and benefits to all: Insights from Chilean Patagonia
No full textGains in biodiversity from marine conservation might not correlate with a fair distribution of benefits, situation that has been narrowly documented. We analyzed how different social actors perceived changes in ecosystem services (ESs) and benefits from marine conservation and explored barriers preventing access to benefits, based on the Marine Protected Area of Multiple Uses (MUMPA) Almirantazgo Sound located in the Chilean Patagonia. We applied a semi-structured interview to artisanal fishers, tourism operators, State representatives and researchers (n = 86) and analyzed the data through frequency analysis and Covariance Analysis. Interviewees identified various ESs but prioritized food provision, maintenance of genetic diversity, and information for cognitive development, and among several benefits, they prioritized basic materials for a good life. Fishers were the most dependent on ESs and benefits, (i.e., food provision and employment/nutrition, respectively). Social actors’ general perception was that the MUMPA will not change wellbeing homogeneously, which can be explained by specific access barriers, such as reduced fishing entree. Most interviewees, despite personal attributes, recognized tour operators as the main ‘winners’ of the MUMPA creation and fishers as the main ‘losers’. For an inclusive governance, managers face the challenge of ‘reshaping’ the disparate images actors have on what the MUMPA is and does
Best practices, good practices and guidelines: a critical review based on different management options in protected areas of cross-boundary Adriatic-Ionian region
Full text linkBest practices are, by definition, the best ways to reach a specific goal. In the environmental
field, best practices are experiences and quality projects carried out in the territory, by
institutions, companies or citizens, that produce benefits in different environmental sectors
applied to solve a concrete problem. Relevant features of best practices are their validation
and replicability in time and space. In the context of the EU Co-funded BIG (Improve
governance, management and sustainable valorization of coastal and rural protected areas
and contributing to the implementation of the Natura 2000 provisions in Greece and Italy)
best practices have been collected through a web search and questionnaires submitted to
the managers of the protected areas to build a reference database/atlas. The database
critical analysis has highlighted some gaps about the effective presence and applicability of
these best practices. Moreover, their effectiveness has been analyzed on the base of the
specific characteristics of the Italian and Greek areas involved in the BIG project. Some
contrasting problems to the best practice definition have been highlighted
THESEUS decision support system for coastal risk management
No full textWhile planning coastal risk management strategies, coastal managers need to assess risk across a range of spatial and temporal scales. GIS-based tools are one efficient way to support them in the decision making process through a scenarios analysis starting from social, economic and environmental information integrated into a common platform. However, this integration process requires a significant effort from a team of scientists in terms of a) identifying the appropriate scales and data resolution for analysing social, environmental and economic issues; b) selecting and linking an appropriate set of tools to build a coupled model; c) representing key emerging (and hence challenging) research issues, such as risk perception and social resilience in the model; d) developing multi-criteria analysis to integrate social, environmental, economic impacts; and e) accounting for the expectations of the stakeholders and therefore optimizing the opportunity for them to interact with the tool development and with the final tool itself.In this spirit, this paper presents an open-source Spatial Decision Support System developed within the THESEUS Project to help decision makers to scopeg optimal strategies to minimise coastal risks. The exploratory tool allows the users to perform an integrated coastal risk assessment, to analyse the effects of different combinations of engineering, social, economic and ecologically based mitigation options, across short (2020s), medium (2050s) and long-term (2080s) scenarios, taking into account physical and non-physical drivers, such as climate change, subsidence, population and economic growt
An Overview of Ecological Indicators of Fish to Evaluate the Anthropogenic Pressures in Aquatic Ecosystems: From Traditional to Innovative DNA-Based Approaches
Full text linkIn order to halt the loss of global biodiversity and considering the United Nations Decade for Ocean Conservation Agenda, increasing efforts to improve biomonitoring programs and assessment of ecosystem health are needed. Aquatic environments are among the most complex to monitor, requiring an array of tools to assess their status and to define conservation targets. Although several parameters need to be considered for a comprehensive ecological status assessment, it is important to identify easy-to-apply high-resolution monitoring methods. Shifts in fish composition and abundance are often good indicators of ecosystem health status in relation to anthropogenic activities. However, traditional monitoring methods are strictly related to the habitat under study and cannot be applied universally. This review summarizes the importance of ecological indicators for aquatic environments subjected to anthropogenic stressors, with a particular focus on fish communities and transitional water ecosystems. We describe the main characteristics of both traditional and novel methods for fish monitoring, highlighting their advantages and shortcomings in an attempt to identify simple and reliable ways for a correct evaluation of the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems
The disaster resilience assessment of coastal areas: A method for improving the stakeholders’ participation
Full text linkIncreasing frequency, intensity and severity of natural hazards associated to climate change are among the pressing challenges the world is facing requiring greater resilience for communities. This challenge calls for new policies and actions at regional and local level having the concept of resilience as their main driver and core component. However in order to prioriotirise and invest in the resilience building, the actors involved in the governance of a territory and in the implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction measures must first recognize the multifacted nature of resilience and the importance of its measurement. Priorities, resilience meaning and metrics are subject to different interpretations, making resilience a societal complex issue. To this end the paper aims to provide a new method for the incorporation of multilevel stakeholders’ view in the assessment of the inherent resilience of a place and in the design of a metric based Resilience Index (RI). The new approach integrates the Disaster Resilience of Place (DROP) model and the use of semi-structured interviews with a standpoint in the Grounded Theory Methodology to facilitate both the assessment of resilience in a quantitative manner and an in-depth analysis of the context. The method has been applied in the framework of coastal exposure to flood, by involving 18 municipalites of the Po River Delta (Italy). The interactions of the, physical and anthropogenic processes in the Po River Delta requires a better understanding in terms of resilince to support sustainable management and spatial planning actions in the context of climate change. The analysis spreads across different administrative boundaries and complex and dynamic natural systems that have recreational, residential and economic functions. The results demonstrate the potentiality of the method to guide different local actors in their disaster resilience strategy and in the identification of priorities
- …
