Lobster trap debris in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: distribution, abundance, density, and patterns of accumulation

The fishery for spiny lobster Panulirus argus in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is well chronicled, but little information is available on the prevalence of lost or abandoned lobster traps. In 2007, towed-diver surveys were used to identify and count pieces of trap debris and any other marine debris encountered. Trap debris density (debris incidences/ha) in historic trap-use zones and in representative benthic habitats was estimated. Trap debris was not proportionally distributed with fishing effort. Coral habitats had the greatest density of trap debris despite trap fishers’ reported avoidance of coral reefs while fishing. The accumulation of trap debris on coral emphasizes the role of wind in redistributing traps and trap debris in the sanctuary. We estimated that 85,548 ± 23,387 (mean ± SD) ghost traps and 1,056,127 ± 124,919 nonfishing traps or remnants of traps were present in the study area. Given the large numbers of traps in the fishery and the lack of effective measures for managing and controlling the loss of gear, the generation of trap debris will likely continue in proportion to the number of traps deployed in the fishery. Focused removal of submerged trap debris from especially vulnerable habitats such as reefs and hardbottom, where trap debris density is high, would mitigate key habitat issues but would not address ghost fishing or the cost of lost gear.

Climate impacts on U. S. living marine resources: National Marine Fisheries Services concerns, activities and needs

With the increasing recognition that climate change is occurring and having large impacts on living marine resources, a sound ecosystem approach to management of those resources requires both understanding how climate affects ecosystems and integration of that understanding into management processes. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) must identify how changing climatic conditions will impact its mission and must be prepared to adapt to these changes. This document identifies the climate related ecosystem concerns in the regional marine ecosystems for which NMFS has living marine resource management responsibilities, what NMFS is currently doing to address these concerns, what NMFS must do going forward to address these concerns, and what climate information is needed to integrate climate into resource management. The regional ecosystems included in this analysis are: the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf; the Southeast U.S. Continental Shelf, Gulf of Mexico, and U.S. Caribbean; the California Current Ecosystem; the Alaskan Ecosystem Complex; the Pacific Island Ecosystem Complex; the Eastern Tropical Pacific; North Pacific Highly Migratory Species; and the Antarctic.

Growth, mortality, and hatchdate distributions of larval and juvenile spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) in Florida Bay, Everglades National Park

Life history aspects of larval and, mainly, juvenile spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) were studied in Florida Bay, Everglades National Park, Florida. Collections were made in 1994−97, although the majority of juveniles were collected in 1995. The main objective was to obtain life history data to eventually develop a spatially explicit model and provide baseline data to understand how Everglades restoration plans (i.e. increased freshwater flows) could influence spotted seatrout vital rates. Growth of larvae and juveniles (<80 mm SL) was best described by the equation loge standard length = –1.31 + 1.2162 (loge age). Growth in length of juveniles (12–80 mm SL) was best described by the equation standard length = –7.50 + 0.8417 (age). Growth in wet weight of juveniles (15–69 mm SL) was best described by the equation loge wet-weight = –4.44 + 0.0748 (age). There were no significant differences in juvenile growth in length of spotted seatrout in 1995 between three geographical subdivisions of Florida Bay: central, western, and waters adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico. We found a significant difference in wet-weight for one of six cohorts categorized by month of hatchdate in 1995, and a significant difference in length for another cohort. Juveniles (i.e. survivors) used to calculate weekly hatchdate distributions during 1995 had estimated spawning times that were cyclical and protracted, and there was no correlation between spawning and moon phase. Temperature influenced otolith increment widths during certain growth periods in 1995. There was no evidence of a relationship between otolith growth rate and temperature for the first 21 increments. For increments 22–60, otolith growth rates decreased with increasing age and the extent of the decrease depended strongly in a quadratic fashion on the temperature to which the fish was exposed. For temperatures at the lower and higher range, increment growth rates were highest. We suggest that this quadratic relationship might be influenced by an environmental factor other than temperature. There was insufficient information to obtain reliable inferences on the relationship of increment growth rate to salinity.

Larval abundance, distribution, and spawning habits of spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) in Florida Bay, Everglades National Park, Florida

The spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) is one of the most sought after recreational fish in Florida Bay, and it spends its entire life history within the bay (Rutherford et al.,1989b). The biology of adult spotted seatrout in Florida Bay is well known (Rutherford et al., 1982, 1989b) as is the distribution and abundance of juveniles within the bay. The habitats and diets of juveniles are well documented (Hettler, 1989; Chester and Thayer, 1990; Thayer et al., 1999; Florida Department of Environmental Protection1). Nevertheless, the spatial and temporal spawning habits of spotted seatrout and the distribution of larvae have only been partially described (Powell et al., 1989; Rutherford et al., 1989a).

Highly migratory shark fisheries research by the National Shark Research Consortium (NSRC), 2002-2007

The National Shark Research Consortium (NSRC) includes the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory, the Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, the Shark Research Program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida. The consortium objectives include shark-related research in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the U.S., education and scientific cooperation.

Assessment of some physico-chemical parameters of River Ogun (Abeokuta, Ogun State, southwestern Nigeria) in comparison with national and international standards

This study assessed the physico-chemical quality of River Ogun, Abeokuta, Ogun state, Southwestern Nigeria. Four locations were chosen spatially along the water course to reflect a consideration of all possible human activities that are capable of changing the quality of river water. The water samples were collected monthly for seven consecutive months (December 2011 – June 2012) at the four sampling stations. pH, air temperature (℃), water temperature (℃), conductivity (µs/cm) and total dissolved solids (mg/L) were conducted in-situ with the use of HANNA Combo pH and EC multi meter Hi 98129 and Mercury-in-glass thermometer while dissolved oxygen (mg/L), nitrate (mg/L), phosphate (mg/L), alkalinity (mg/L) and hardness (mg/L) were determined ex-situ using standard methods. Results showed that dissolved oxygen, hydrogen ion concentration, total hardness and nitrate were above the maximum permissible limit of National Administration for Food, Drugs and Control (NAFDAC), Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), European Union (EU) and World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water during certain months of the study period. Results also showed that water temperature and conductivity were within the permissible limits of all the standards excluding FEPA. However, total dissolved solids and alkalinity were within the permissible limits of all the standards. Adejuwon and Adelakun, (2012) also reported similar findings on Rivers Lala, Yobo and Agodo in Ewekoro local government area of Ogun state, Nigeria. Since most of the parameters measured were above the maximum permissible limits of the national and international standards, it can be concluded that the water is unfit for domestic uses, drinking and aquacultural purposes and therefore needs to be treated if it is to be used at all. The low dissolved oxygen values for the first four months was too low i.e. < 5 mg/L. This is most likely as a result of the amount of effluents discharged into the river. To prevent mass extinction of aquatic organisms due to anoxic conditions, proper regulations should be implemented to reduce the organic load the river receives.

Holocene fossil pollen records of Douglas fir in northwestern California: reconstruction of past climate

Douglas fir is one of the most important trees in northwestern California. Regional pollen records suggest that it has become prominent only in the late Holocene. The primary cause for this change is probably southward stabilization of the mean airstream.

Multivariate climate reconstruction for the last 14,000 years in southernmost South America

Comparison between past changes in pollen assemblages and stable isotope ratios (deuterium and carbon) analyzed in the same peat core from Tierra del Fuego at latitude 55°S permitted identification of the relative contribution of precipitation versus temperature responsible for the respective change. Major steps in the sequence of paleoenvironmental changes, such as at 12700, 9000, 5000, and 4000 years ago are apparently related only to increase in precipitation, reflecting the latitudinal location and intensity of the westerly storm tracks. On the other hand, high paleoenvironmental variability, which is characteristic for the late-glacial and the latest Holocene, is related to temperature variability, which affects the relative moisture content. Comparison with other paleoenvironmental records suggests that the late-glacial temperature variability is probably related to variability in the extent of Antarctic sea-ice, which in turn appears to be related to the intensity of Atlantic deep-water circulation. Temperature variability during the latest Holocene, on the other hand, is probably related to the dynamics of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation.

Reconstruction of aridity for the Sierra de la Laguna, Baja California Sur, Mexico

A well-documented history of past climatic conditions is needed to understand and resolve some ecological problems, but the existing climatological records are too short to detect long-term climatic variability and changes. Some trees, such as pines, produce annual tree rings with different widths depending on prevailing environmental conditions, such as climate. Tree-ring analysis of long-lived trees can be used to estimate past variations in climate. The principal aim of this study is to reconstruct aridity for the southern portion of the Baja California Peninsula, by means of dendroclimatologic techniques.

Integrating varve and tree-ring time series for southern California climate reconstruction: a 20th century outlook [abstract]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): Our objective is to combine terrestrial and oceanic records for reconstructing West Coast climate. Tree rings and marine laminated sediments provide high-resolution, accurately dated proxy data on the variability of climate and on the productivity of the ocean and have been used to reconstruct precipitation, temperature, sea level pressure, primary productivity, and other large-scale parameters. We present here the latest Santa Barbara basin varve chronology for the twentieth century as well as a newly developed tree-ring chronology for Torrey pine.

National issues raised by IIMA study on development and management of freshwater aquaculture in India: a review

An examination is made of various issues regarding freshwater aquaculture development raised by the IIMA study on inland fish marketing in India. The following topics are discussed: 1)fish production and the resources; 2)desirability for refined methodology for assessment of fish production; 3)pond resource under fish culture; 4)conflicting data and 5)observation on research input for freshwater.

National Agricultural Research Organisation. Fisheries [Resources] Research Institute Annual Report 1997/98

About 20% of Uganda territory is surface water from which 250,000m tons of fish is produced. In addition to fish exports which earned the country US$ 40m in 1996, fish provides 50% of protein diet of the 20m people translating into a per capita consumption of 12kg. It is estimated that fishery related activities employ at least one million people.The goal of FIRRI is to generate and transfer improved technologies and policy recommendations aimed at ensuring sustainable fish production and a healthy environment in which fish is produced.