Local Marine Ecosystem Research Articles

Understanding local community attitudes toward industrial development in the Great Barrier Reef region World Heritage Area: are environmental impacts perceived to overshadow economic benefits?

Conflicts between industrial development and environmental conservation can be particularly acute when such development occurs in the vicinity of World Heritage sites. A key example is the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) in northeastern Australia, where a 2012 review by the World Heritage Council found that rapid port development inshore of the coral reef posed significant risks to local marine ecosystems. Such instances pose pressing challenges for decision‐makers seeking to manage World Heritage sites for multiple values and needs, including those of key stakeholder groups, such as local communities. There is increasingly a societal expectation that public decision‐making takes into account local views and priorities, and that companies seek a ‘social license to operate’. This research explored local community attitudes toward port development associated with the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal through the GBRWHA. Using data drawn from a survey and interviews, the research examined how a range of geographical factors, including proximity to gas infrastructure and the perceived impacts and risks of development to the local community, economy and environment shape community perceptions of the industry. Findings suggest that local attitudes toward gas and coal terminal development inshore of the GBRWHA are shaped predominantly by community perceptions of environmental impacts and risks associated with such infrastructure, in contrast to a broader public narrative that focuses largely on economic benefits. A complex combination of other factors, including social impacts, personal environmental values, community trust in industry, and equity in decision‐making and distribution of the risks and benefits of industrial development also contribute. Placed in a broader, global context, the findings have important implications for public decision‐making processes in Australia and elsewhere as they suggest that, for local communities, the perceived impacts of gas development on the environment may overshadow the benefits of industry.

Large marine protected areas (LMPAs) in the Mediterranean Sea: The opportunity of the Adriatic Sea

The aim of this paper is to highlight current opportunities and expected benefits of establishing a transboundary large marine protected area (LMPA)-specifically a no-trawl area – in one of the most exploited sectors of the Mediterranean, the Adriatic Sea. A no-trawl area is examined as a strategy to foster recovery of the local marine ecosystems and economies, and to meet international conservation targets and EU legal mandates. Based on a review of published studies documenting the positive outcomes of previous trawling bans in other regions, and of current initiatives and opportunities within the Mediterranean region, it is concluded that large-scale protection of the Adriatic with a no-trawl zone is a promising and feasible approach for reversing ecological and socioeconomic losses in this basin. In particular, ecosystem protection can be established in the Mediterranean through a proposal for a Fisheries Restricted Area (FRA) to the general Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM). The successful establishment and function of a FRA or LMPA will depend on its support by the governments of the surrounding countries, as well as involvement and participation of key user groups.

Valuation of ecological and amenity impacts of an offshore windfarm as a factor in marine planning

Integrated marine planning, which must take into consideration environmental and social impacts, is being introduced widely in Europe, the USA, Australia and elsewhere. Installation of offshore windfarms creates impacts both on local marine ecosystems and the view of the seascape and is one of multiple activities in the marine area that must be addressed by marine planning. The impacts on people's values (and hence welfare) of changes in ecology and amenity that could arise from the installation of a windfarm in the Irish Sea were assessed using a discrete choice experiment administered through an online survey. The ecological changes investigated were: increased species diversity resulting from artificial reef effects, and the effect of electromagnetic fields from subsea cables on marine life; whilst the amenity change was the visibility of offshore turbines from land. Respondents expressed preferences for ecological improvements but had less clear preferences regarding the height and visibility of the turbines. In particular distance decay effects were observed with respondents further away from the coast being less concerned about visual impact created by offshore turbines. Understanding ecological and amenity impacts and how they are valued by people can support the decisions made within marine planning and licensing.

Decadal changes in Gulf of Alaska upwelling source waters

AbstractDecadal changes in sea surface temperature (SST) in the Gulf of Alaska are linked to long‐term transitions in the marine ecosystem. While previous studies have identified the atmospheric variability of the Aleutian Low as an important driver of Ekman pumping and low‐frequency SST anomalies, the role of subsurface gyre‐scale dynamics remains unexplored. Using a set of reanalysis data sets from 1958 to the present, we find that subsurface temperature anomalies generated along the North Pacific Current significantly contribute through mean upwelling to decadal changes of SST in the Gulf of Alaska. This influence is comparable to the contribution associated with variations in atmospheric winds. Given the exceptional low‐frequency character of the propagation of subsurface anomalies (e.g., multidecadal) along the gyre, monitoring subsurface temperature anomalies up stream along the North Pacific Current may enhance the decadal predictability of SST in the Gulf of Alaska and its impact on local marine ecosystems.

From projected species distribution to food‐web structure under climate change

Climate change is inducing deep modifications in species geographic ranges worldwide. However, the consequences of such changes on community structure are still poorly understood, particularly the impacts on food-web properties. Here, we propose a new framework, coupling species distribution and trophic models, to predict climate change impacts on food-web structure across the Mediterranean Sea. Sea surface temperature was used to determine the fish climate niches and their future distributions. Body size was used to infer trophic interactions between fish species. Our projections reveal that 54 fish species of 256 endemic and native species included in our analysis would disappear by 2080-2099 from the Mediterranean continental shelf. The number of feeding links between fish species would decrease on 73.4% of the continental shelf. However, the connectance of the overall fish web would increase on average, from 0.26 to 0.29, mainly due to a differential loss rate of feeding links and species richness. This result masks a systematic decrease in predator generality, estimated here as the number of prey species, from 30.0 to 25.4. Therefore, our study highlights large-scale impacts of climate change on marine food-web structure with potential deep consequences on ecosystem functioning. However, these impacts will likely be highly heterogeneous in space, challenging our current understanding of climate change impact on local marine ecosystems.

Ocean acidification in the three oceans surrounding northern North America

[1] The uptake of anthropogenic CO2 drives ocean acidification, with attendant effects on the saturation state of calcium carbonate (Ω) and marine ecosystems. Here, we examine ocean acidification within the context of large-scale water mass exchange and local physical and biogeochemical processes along a section around northern North America. Waters in the North Pacific are preconditioned by the global-scale circulation to be low Ω source waters and as they move northward across the Bering and Chukchi seas they are modified by biological activity. These waters then enter the Canada Basin and Canadian Arctic Archipelago where cooling, river discharge, sea ice formation and biological activities modify water mass characteristics further. Continuing eastward into Baffin Bay, relatively low Ω waters extend from the surface to depth due to remineralization. Changes in Ω are large along this pathway and the response of local marine ecosystems will likewise be shaped by the biogeography of species occupying a given region.

A review of environmental governance and its effects on concentrate discharge from desalination plants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The most likely environmental impact of concentrate discharges (in most instances twice the concentration of the ambient environment) leaking from desalination plants on local marine ecosystems has been controversially discussed for many years. Increasing water demand and lack of renewable natural water resources in Saudi Arabia also result in greater dependence on desalination and consequently amplify the impact on marine environment and multifactorial ecosystems in near-field areas of desalination discharges. Accurate scientific baseline data should furnish information on various factors such as intake- and outfall locality, brine (concentrate) discharge and chemical characteristics (i.e. effluent concentration, mass flow rates (flux)), local effects, and even cumulative effects of desalination activities, at least on a regional and even on a national scale. Even if such data were available, in many cases they are non-transparent and are not even accessible, or tend to be overlooked as a result of ambiguous desalination-related policies. This paper focuses on national environmental regulations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and how such regulations help control the flow of concentrate discharge into the receiving waters.

Oceanographic regime shift during 1997 in Disko Bay, Western Greenland

Data from a long time series of temperature, salinity, and nutrient measurements in Disko Bay (West Greenland) reveal a marked change in the water characteristics during recent years. Seasonal dynamics in the upper 150 m of the water column were highly affected by the seasonality in meteorological conditions, while the deeper water strata were more stable and were primarily influenced by large‐scale circulation patterns. There was a marked increase in the average water temperatures at 200‐m depth in spring 1997, with the long‐term average increasing from 1.30°C to 2.25°C. Weekly data from 1996 to 1997 show that the sudden change in bottom water occurred in April 1997, due to the inflow of a larger proportion of North Atlantic water, which propagated north along the coast before entering the bay. Further support for this inflow was found when tracing the relative proportion of Atlantic water in the bay, using inorganic nutrients. These changes in the oceanography of the bay will not only lead to further glacial retreat but will also affect the local marine ecosystem by changing the relative dominance of major copepod species that overwinter in bottom waters of the bay.

Major, minor and trace element content derived from aquacultural activity of marine sediments (Central Adriatic, Croatia)

Studies examining the environmental impact of marine aquaculture have increased significantly in number during the last few decades. The present paper investigates a region of rapid growth in intensive aquaculture and its influence on the local marine ecosystem. This study was undertaken with the specific aim of assessing the effect of fish farming on marine sediment at a farm near the island of Vrgada in the Central Adriatic. Data obtained regarding major (Si, Al, K, Na, Fe, Ca, Mg), minor (Mn, P, Ti) and trace (As, Au, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Ga, Hf, Hg, Mo, Nb, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sr, Ta, Th, Tl, U, V, Y, Zn, Zr) elements were used to estimate the spatial and temporal distribution of metals in the sediment and their possible relationship with local aquacultural activity. Although the measured concentrations of heavy metals in sediment below fish cages were notably different and potentially a result of farming activity, the values were generally lower than background concentrations observed in the Central Adriatic. In contrast, concentrations of heavy metals at a reference site unaffected by aquaculture varied from lower levels to values even higher than those observed below the high-production cages. Furthermore, calculated environmental index values indicate that the sediment below the farm is either uncontaminated or suffers from only low levels of contamination. Such results suggest that the effect of observed fish farm activity on the local marine ecosystem is practically negligible.

Bacterial diversity in surface water of the Yellow Sea during and after a green alga tide in 2008

From May to August 2008, a large "green tide", consisting of the alga Ulva (Enteromorpha) prolifera, occurred in the Yellow Sea, China, affecting the local marine ecosystem and human activities. We investigated the influence of the green tide on the microbial community in the surface seawater, at four sites from July to August 2008, using bacterial 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. We sequenced 228 clones of unique patterns identified by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) techniques. The results show that 228 sequenced clones fell into six bacterial phyla: Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Actinobacteria, and Planctomycetes. Alphaproteobacteria (33%), Gammaproteobacteria (25%), Bacteroidetes (23%) and Cyanobacteria (9%) dominated the assemblage. Comparison between samples collected in July (during the tide) and those collected in August (after the tide) showed that, in the microbial community, diversities of Alphaproteobacteria and Cyanobacteria increased after the tide, while those of Gammaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes decreased. These results indicate that the green tide influenced the growth of some bacteria, and provide information for further studies on the interactions and relationships between U. prolifera and the bacterial community. This study suggests that microbial community analysis is a good approach to monitoring green tides.

Trends in upwelling and downwelling winds along the British Columbia shelf

[1] Fifty-year time series combining observed and estimated winds at six buoys off the British Columbia coast are examined for trends in the timing and cumulative intensity of upwelling and downwelling. As with a similar analysis to the south, the onset of upwelling and the upwelling season duration are generally found to be arriving later in the year and becoming shorter, respectively. However, statistically significant trends toward increased cumulative upwelling and downwelling are found at most buoys and this is related to previous findings of trends in sea level pressure and winter mixed-layer depth in the northeast Pacific. Impacts on past and future local marine ecosystems are briefly discussed.

Fate of three major rivers in the Bohai Sea: A model study

Huanghe (Yellow River), Haihe and Liaohe are three major rivers flowing into the Bohai Sea and account for more than 80% of the freshwater and land-drained material inputs annually. The fate of three rivers in the seawaters correlates with the transport and distribution of the riverine sediments and nutrients, and further exerts a profound influence on the local marine ecosystem dynamics. Therefore, the evolution of the river plumes under the influence of the freshwater buoyancy, the tidal forcing and the wind stress are examined using a three-dimensional primitive equation ocean circulation model, independently and jointly. It is found that both tide and wind stirring can deteriorate the stabilization of the water column caused by the freshwater buoyancy; however, the processes are different. The tide stirring originates from the seafloor due to the bottom friction as the tidal wave propagates into the shallow waters, and then the turbulent kinetic energy dissipates upward. On the other hand, the wind stirring proceeds in the up–down direction. The influences of different winds on the evolution of the river plumes are also examined. Since the situation of each river mouth is different, the wind influence is also distinct. At last, the fate of three major rivers driven by the combined tidal forcing and climatology winds is reproduced, and the simulated salinity distribution shows a reasonable agreement with that observed, meaning that the river plume evolution plays a crucial role in shaping the salinity distribution in BS.

Changes in gene expression in the brown alga Undaria pinnatifida (Harvey) Suringar (Laminariales, Pheophyceae) between natural populations

Genes involved in defense mechanisms can be used as efficient biomarkers of physiological changes in organisms caused by both endogenous and exogenous stress. Thus, the expression levels of such genes serve as a critical ‘early warning system’ for the environmental assessment and health of biological organisms. In this study, the transcription levels of Hsp70 and vBPO in Undaria pinnatifida sporophytes were quantitatively compared between two distinct natural populations collected from uncontaminated Mijo (Namhae, Korea) and industrially-polluted Myodo Is. (Yeosu, Korea) in order to verify their potential as biomarker genes and the applicability of this macroalga for assessing the health status of a local marine ecosystem. The results found that the two tested genes were highly expressed in the Myodo population. The results suggest that U. pinnatifida itself and the selected two genes could be applicable to monitoring of marine environments in coastal regions.

Prediction of Cohesive Sediment Transport and Flow Resistance Around Artificial Structures of the Beolgyo Stream Estuary

To predict changes in the marine environment of the Beolgyo Stream Estuary in Jeonnam Province, South Korea, where cohesive tidal flats cover a broad area and a large bridge is under construction, this study conducted numerical simulations involving tidal flow and cohesive sediment transport. A wetting and drying (WAD) technique for tidal flats from the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) was applied to a large-scale-grid hydrodynamic module capable of evaluating the flow resistance of structures. Derivation of the eddy viscosity coefficient for wakes created by structures was accomplished through the explicit use of shear velocity and Chezy's average velocity. Furthermore, various field observations, including of tide, tidal flow, suspended sediment concentrations, bottom sediments, and water depth, were performed to verify the model and obtain input data for it. In particular, geologic parameters related to the evaluation of settling velocity and critical shear stresses for erosion and deposition were observed, and numerical tests for the representation of suspended sediment concentrations were performed to determine proper values for the empirical coefficients in the sediment transport module. According to the simulation results, the velocity variation was particularly prominent around the piers in the tidal channel. Erosion occurred mainly along the tidal channels near the piers, where bridge structures reduced the flow cross section, creating strong flow. In contrast, in the rear area of the structure, where the flow was relatively weak due to the formation of eddies, deposition and moderated erosion were predicted. In estuaries and coastal waters, changes in the flow environment caused by artificial structures can produce changes in the sedimentary environment, which in turn can affect the local marine ecosystem. The numerical model proposed in this study will enable systematic prediction of changes to flow and sedimentary environments caused by the construction of artificial structures.

Contribution of under‐ice primary production to an ice‐edge upwelling phytoplankton bloom in the Canadian Beaufort Sea

The Canadian Beaufort Sea has been categorized as an oligotrophic system with the potential for enhanced production due to a nutrient‐rich intermediate layer of Pacific‐origin waters. Using under‐ice hydrographic data collected near the ice‐edge of a shallow Arctic bay, we documented an ice‐edge upwelling event that brought nutrient‐rich waters to the surface during June 2008. The event resulted in a 3‐week long phytoplankton bloom that produced an estimated 31 g C m−2 of new production. This value was approximately twice that of previous estimates for annual production in the region, demonstrating the importance of ice‐edge upwelling to the local marine ecosystem. Under‐ice primary production estimates of up to 0.31 g C m−2 d−1 showed that this production was not negligible, contributing up to 22% of the daily averaged production of the ice‐edge bloom. It is suggested that under‐ice blooms are a widespread yet under‐documented phenomenon in polar regions, which could increase in importance with the Arctic's thinning ice cover and subsequent increase in transmitted irradiance to the under‐ice environment.

Dynamics of physical and biological systems of the Prince Edward Islands in a changing climate

Sub-Antarctic islands are classified as isolated, hostile, impoverished regions, in which the terrestrial and marine ecosystems are relatively simple and extremely sensitive to perturbations. They provide an ideal ecological laboratory for studying how organisms, ecological processes and ecosystems respond to a changing ocean climate in the Southern Ocean. 1hese islands are characterised by large populations of top predators and subsequently any changes in the oceanographic frontal dynamics associated with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, either in the vicinity of these islands or further afield, may have strong implications on their foraging behaviour. The relatively easy accessibility of the Prince Edward Islands from South Africa and their location between the main frontal systems bordering the Antarctic Circumpolar Current enable high-resolution synoptic field studies to be undertaken. Such studies have provided information on the impact changes in the large-·scale ocean dynamics have on the local marine ecosystems.

The Beat

The Beat

Conserving a subpopulation of the northern Atlantic cod metapopulation with a marine protected area

Abstract Marine reserves can play an important role in the conservation of subpopulations of marine fish metapopulations. The population spatial structure of northern Atlantic cod of Newfoundland and Labrador has characteristics of a metapopulation. Subpopulations of northern Atlantic cod on the continental shelf were decimated by decades of overfishing, and have not recovered. The remaining northern cod are concentrated in coastal areas. A Marine Protected Area (MPA) was established in Gilbert Bay, Labrador by the Government of Canada in 2005 to protect the bay's resident subpopulation of northern Atlantic cod. Conservation of Gilbert Bay cod will help protect the genetic diversity of the northern cod metapopulation. Unlike some other MPAs, Gilbert Bay is not a harvest refugium or ‘no‐take’ reserve. Aboriginal subsistence fisheries for salmonids with a bycatch of cod are allowed in designated areas of the MPA. A recreational fishery for Atlantic cod by angling open to all people is under consideration. Management of the MPA must ensure that fishing activities do not endanger the local cod population. The population dynamics of Gilbert Bay cod were simulated using an age‐structured Leslie matrix model to estimate the total mortality under various recreational fishing scenarios. The level of sustainable harvest by a recreational fishery depends on the natural mortality of the Gilbert Bay cod population, which is unknown. Therefore, there is risk in permitting a recreational fishery in the MPA. There may be benefits to the northern cod metapopulation, if the Gilbert Bay subpopulation is allowed to rebuild to the carrying capacity of the bay. If the abundance of Gilbert Bay cod exceeds the level which the local marine ecosystem can support, some cod may emigrate from the bay and recolonize adjacent coastal areas. The potential for Gilbert Bay cod to recolonize continental shelf areas is less certain. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Estimation of bioavailability of metals from drilling mud barite

Drilling mud and associated drill cuttings are the largest volume wastes associated with drilling of oil and gas wells and often are discharged to the ocean from offshore drilling platforms. Barite (BaSO4) often is added as a weighting agent to drilling muds to counteract pressure in the geologic formations being drilled, preventing a blowout. Some commercial drilling mud barites contain elevated (compared to marine sediments) concentrations of several metals. The metals, if bioavailable, may harm the local marine ecosystem. The bioavailable fraction of metals is the fraction that dissolves from the nearly insoluble, solid barite into seawater or sediment porewater. Barite-seawater and barite-porewater distribution coefficients (Kd) were calculated for determining the predicted environmental concentration (PEC; the bioavailable fraction) of metals from drilling mud barite in the water column and sediments, respectively. Values for Kdbarite-seawater and Kdbarite-porewater were calculated for barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, lead, and zinc in different grades of barite. Log Kdbarite-seawater values were higher (solubility was lower) for metals in the produced water plume than log Kdbarite-porewater values for metals in sediments. The most soluble metals were cadmium and zinc and the least soluble were mercury and copper. Log Kd values can be used with data on concentrations of metals in barite and of barite in the drilling mud-cuttings plume and in bottom sediments to calculate PECseawater and PECsediment.

Biogeochemistry of snowmelt in an Antarctic glacial ecosystem

Solute mass balance, hydrochemical data, and hydrological process data are used to present the first detailed account of catchment biogeochemistry in an Antarctic melt season. The study was undertaken in a small glacial catchment in the maritime Antarctic (Signy Island, South Orkney Islands), where extreme ecosystem changes have been observed at the ice margin. Here melting caused a snowpack solute elution phase characterized by the production of extremely concentrated solutions just centimeters from the snow surface. These were equivalent to 2% marine water and dominated by sea‐salt aerosol. Nutrients were also present but were rapidly sequestered in snowpack and ice marginal environments. Thus the decoupling of nutrient dynamics from other snowpack solutes seems to occur almost immediately after melt and testifies to the presence of a glacial ecosystem. Although significant, the estimated rates of nutrient uptake were low (0.025 gNH4‐N/m2/yr and 0.0011 gPO4‐P/m2/yr, equivalent to 66 and 74% of total annual atmospheric inputs) and, in the case of NH4+, 2–3 orders of magnitude lower than those reported for temperate snowpacks. However, the data also demonstrated significant NO3− production (0.030 gNO3‐N/m2/yr or 3 times total atmospheric inputs) that appears to be associated with zones of high rock‐water contact at the ice margin. After the early snowpack elution phase, nutrient cycling was also greatly influenced by inputs from penguin and seal excreta. Thus local marine ecosystems enhance the nutrient content of meltwaters and fertilize the glacial, terrestrial, and aquatic ecosystems that are responding to climate change in the maritime Antarctic.