Mangrove rehabilitation and coastal resource management: a case study of Cogtong Bay, Philippines

The Cogtong Bay experience represents a bold attempt to pursue a shared responsibility between the government and local residents for rehabilitating coastal resources. Some of the factors that provided the impetus to co-management arrangements were the recognition of resource management problems, dependence on coastal resources for livelihood and the desire for more sustainable resource use. This paper draws attention to the importance of legitimate user/property rights, vigilant law enforcement efforts, common commitment among stakeholders and continuing support from local leadership in viable co-management arrangements.

Deleterious effects of non-native species introduced into Lake Victoria, East Africa

Lake Victoria, in East Africa, has suffered from introductions and invasions of non-native species such as Lates niloticus, various tilapiine species, and Eichornia crassipes since the 1950s. These have had a devastating effect on the natural biological communities. This paper reviews the effects of the introductions on ecology, environment, fisheries and the local human population.

The Fisheries for Mangrove Cockles,Anadaraspp., from Mexico to Peru, With Descriptions of Their Habitats and Biology, the Fishermen’s Lives, and the Effects of Shrimp Farming

This paper provides the first description of the mangrove cockle, Anadara spp., fisheries throughout their Latin American range along the Pacific coast from Mexico to Peru. Two species, A. tuberculosa and A. grandis, are found over the entire range, while A. similis occurs from El Salvador to Peru. Anadara tuberculosa is by far the most abundant, while A. grandis has declined in abundance during recent decades. Anadara tuberculosa and A. similis occur in level mud sediments in mangrove swamps, comprised mostly of Rhizophora mangle, which line the main-lands and islands of lagoons, whereas A. grandis inhabits intertidal mud flats along the edges of the same mangrove swamps. All harvested cockles are sexually mature. Gametogenesis of the three species occurs year round, and juvenile cockles grow rap-idly. Cockle densities at sizes at least 16–42 mm long ranged from 7 to 24/m2 in Mexico. Macrofaunal associates of cockles include crustaceans, gastropods, and finfishes. The mangrove swamps are in nearly pristine condition in every country except Honduras, Ecuador, and Peru, where shrimp farms constructed in the 1980’s and 1990’s have destroyed some mangrove zones. In addition, Hurricane Mitch destroyed some Honduran mangrove swamps in 1998. About 15,000 fishermen, including men, women, and children, harvest the cockles. Ecuador has the largest tabulated number of fishermen, 5,055, while Peru has the fewest, 75. Colombia has a large number, perhaps exceeding that in Ecuador, but a detailed census of them has never been made. The fishermen are poor and live a meager existence; they do not earn sufficient money to purchase adequate food to allow their full health and growth potential. They travel almost daily from their villages to the harvesting areas in wooden canoes and fiberglass boats at low tide when they can walk into the mangrove swamps to harvest cockles for about 4 h. Harvest rates, which vary among countries owing to differences in cockle abundances, range from about 50 cockles/fisherman/day in El Salvador and Honduras to 500–1,000/ fisherman/day in Mexico. The fishermen return to their villages and sell the cockles to dealers, who sell them mainly whole to market outlets within their countries, but there is some exporting to adjacent countries. An important food in most countries, the cockles are eaten in seviche, raw on the half-shell, and cooked with rice. The cockles are under heavy harvesting pressure, except in Mexico, but stocks are not yet being depleted because they are harvested at sizes which have already spawned. Also some spawning stocks lie within dense mangrove stands which the fishermen cannot reach. Consumers fortunately desire the largest cockles, spurning the smallest. Cockles are important to the people, and efforts to reduce the harvests to prevent overfishing would lead to severe economic suffering in the fishing communities. Pro-grams to conserve and improve cockle habitats may be the most judicious actions to take. Preserving the mangrove swamps intact, increasing their sizes where possible, and controlling cockle predators would lead to an increase in cockle abundance and harvests. Fishes that prey on juvenile cockles might be seined along the edges of swamps before the tide rises and they swim into the swamps to feed. Transplanting mangrove seedlings to suitable areas might increase the size of those habitats. The numbers of fishermen may increase in the future, because most adults now have several children. If new fishermen are tempted to harvest small, immature cockles and stocks are not increased, minimum size rules for harvestable cockles could be implemented and enforced to ensure adequate spawning.

Annual report 2007 - North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES). Sixteenth meeting, Victoria, Canada, October 26-November 5, 2007

Report of Opening Session (p. 1). Report of Governing Council (p. 15). Report of the Finance and Administration Committee (p. 65). Reports of Science Board and Committees: Science Board Inter-Sessional Meeting (p. 83); Science Board (p. 93); Biological Oceanography Committee (p. 105); Fishery Science Committee (p. 117); Marine Environmental Quality Committee (p. 129); Physical Oceanography and Climate Committee (p. 139); Technical Committee on Data Exchange (p. 145); Technical Committee on Monitoring (p. 153). Reports of Sections, Working and Study Groups: Section on Carbon and Climate (p. 161); Section on Ecology of Harmful Algal Blooms in the North Pacific (p. 167); Working Group 19 on Ecosystem-based Management Science and its Application to the North Pacific (p. 173); Working Group 20 on Evaluations of Climate Change Projections (p. 179); Working Group 21 on Non-indigenous Aquatic Species (p. 183); Study Group to Develop a Strategy for GOOS (p. 193); Study Group on Ecosystem Status Reporting (p. 203); Study Group on Marine Aquaculture and Ranching in the PICES Region (p. 213); Study Group on Scientific Cooperation between PICES and Non-member Countries (p. 225). Reports of the Climate Change and Carrying Capacity Program: Implementation Panel on the CCCC Program (p. 229); CFAME Task Team (p. 235); MODEL Task Team (p. 241). Reports of Advisory Panels: Advisory Panel for a CREAMS/PICES Program in East Asian Marginal Seas (p. 249); Advisory Panel on Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey in the North Pacific (p. 253); Advisory Panel on Iron Fertilization Experiment in the Subarctic Pacific Ocean (p. 255); Advisory Panel on Marine Birds and Mammals (p. 261); Advisory Panel on Micronekton Sampling Inter-calibration Experiment (p. 265). 2007 Review of PICES Publication Program (p. 269). Guidelines for PICES Temporary Expert Groups (p. 297). Summary of Scientific Sessions and Workshops (p. 313). Report of the ICES/PICES Conference for Early Career Scientists (p. 355). Membership (p. 367). Participants (p. 387). PICES Acronyms (p. 413). Acronyms (p. 415).

Seascape ecology of coastal biogenic habitats: advances, gaps, and challenges

We review the progress made in the emerging field of coastal seascape ecology, i.e. the application of landscape ecology concepts and techniques to the coastal marine environment. Since the early 1990s, the landscape ecology approach has been applied in several coastal subtidal and intertidal biogenic habitats across a range of spatial scales. Emerging evidence indicates that animals in these seascapes respond to the structure of patches and patch mosaics in different ways and at different spatial scales, yet we still know very little about the ecological significance of these relationships and the consequences of change in seascape patterning for ecosystem functioning and overall biodiversity. Ecological interactions that occur within patches and among different types of patches (or seascapes) are likely to be critically important in maintaining primary and secondary production, trophic transfer, biodiversity, coastal protection, and supporting a wealth of ecosystem goods and services. We review faunal responses to patch and seascape structure, including effects of fragmentation on 5 focal habitats: seagrass meadows, salt marshes, coral reefs, mangrove forests, and oyster reefs. Extrapolating and generalizing spatial relationships between ecological patterns and processes across scales remains a significant challenge, and we show that there are major gaps in our understanding of these relationships. Filling these gaps will be crucial for managing and responding to an inevitably changing coastal environment. We show that critical ecological thresholds exist in the structural patterning of biogenic ecosystems that, when exceeded, cause abrupt shifts in the distribution and abundance of organisms. A better understanding of faunal–seascape relationships, including the identifications of threshold effects, is urgently needed to support the development of more effective and holistic management actions in restoration, site prioritization, and forecasting the impacts of environmental change.

Some problems and issues of sustainable management of mangrove ecosystems of Tamil Nadu, India

Mangrove, a tidal wetland, is a good example of complex land and water system whose resource attributes is neither fully understood from an ecological perspective nor valued comprehensively in economic terms. With increased ecological and social perception of the functions of wetlands, the utility and relative values will increase. The perception, however, varies from society to society. It must be recognized that mangrove forests differ greatly in local conditions and in their ability to produce a wide variety of economic products. What may be highly productive strategy for one country may have little meaning to its neighbor. Therefore, it becomes essential that from among diversity of potential uses of the mangrove environment, specific uses will have to be decided, and management plan developed on site, or area specific basis. It is therefore necessary to arrive at a balance between the views of the ecologists and economists on the management of mangroves. Biological conservation should encompass resource management in the sense that integrity of the biological and physical attributes of the resource base should be sustained and man-induced management practices should not alter an ecosystem to the extent that biological production is eliminated. Sustained yield management for food, fiber and fuel would serve to sustain local fisheries while generating new economic enterprises. This requires the recognition of mangrove environment as a resource with economic value, and managed according to local conditions and national priorities.

What needs to be done?: Guide in mangrove reforestation

The article presents a two-part guideline in mangrove reforestation. The first part is zonation, which is the process of determining what species are particularly suited to plant in a particular site. While, plantation establishment is the second part, it includes guides in the identification of species, selection of planting site, preparation of the planting sites, seed collection, handling and transporting of seeds, and planting.

Occurrence of Phaeocystis in mangrove creeks near Karachi

Phaeocystis is a prymnesiophycean flagellate which occurs preferably in cooler regions of the world and there are many accounts of its occurrence, life history, culture and seasonal abundance. On the other hand, information from warmer regions is extremely scarce. The present paper is a first report of its occurrence from the warmer area of northeast Arabian Sea.

Mangrove ecosystem of Red Sea coast (Saudi Arabia)

The present paper reviews critically the existing information on mangrove ecosystem of Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast and identifies problems and shortcomings that should be removed or remedied. Mangrove structure and composition seems to have been substantially studied along with salient environmental features, and these are thoroughly summarized herewith. However, the functional aspects, especially energy flow through the ecosystem, remain totally neglected. Both the flora and fauna indicate severe environmental conditions, such as very low nutrient levels, very high salinity values and hard bottom, which are unique to the area. Mangrove growth and diversity is very poor, although conditions in the southern part are relatively favourable. The extreme poverty of the ecosystem is supported by exports of organic matter from adjacent seaweed and seagrass ecosystems and also Sabakhas. Preponderance of epiphytic and benthic algae within the mangrove ecosystem is another source of nutrient replenishment in the otherwise oligotrophic habitat of Red Sea. Finally, a hypothetical model of energy flow in the ecosystem is proposed.

Temporal and spatial distribution of phytoplankton with emphasis on Skeletonema costatum in the Mathamuhuri river – estuary (Chakaria mangrove ecosystem), Bangladesh

A total of 91 species under 44 genera were identified among the phytoplankton community during the course of one year's investigation between May 1982 and April 1983. Bacillariophyta was the most dominant group with 72 specie, Chlorophyta 11 spp, Cyanophyta 6 spp and Pyrrophyta was represented by 2 species. The yearly percentage composition of 4 groups of phytoplankton in order of abundance were Bacillariophyta 50.77%, Cyanophyta 47.70%, Chlorophyta 1.5% and Pyrrophyta 0.02%. The highest densities of phytoplankton were recorded in monsoon months (June-July) with a peak in July (31550 cells/l) and the minimum in February (770 cells/1). Higher concentration of phytoplankton was recorded at station 2, nearer to the Chakaria Sundarbans (mangroves), but abundance of phytoplankton showed no significant difference in the two stations (Mann Whitney U test, P=0.64, Z=-0.642, U=64). Phytoplankton population in this area were positively correlated with rainfall (r=0.655, P=<0.5, df.22) and water temperature (r=0.523, P=<0.05). Skeletonema costatum was the dominant member of phytoplankton and occupied 35.23% of the annual population and occurred throughout the period of study except in September and January. Its abundance was recorded during the monsoon months (April- July) with a maximum density (24185 cells/l) in July. No significant correlation was found between abundance of S. costatum and the hydro-meteorological parameters recorded in the Chakaria mangrove area.

Impact of sedimentalogical processes on mangrove ecosystem of the Indus Delta

A detailed sedimentalogical study concerning the depletion of mangrove in the Indus Delta due to the marked decrease in the supply of silt was undertaken. Thirty one stations were established for sampling in a selected area of 12000 hectares between Korangi creek and Wad do Khuddi creek. Seventy one samples of soil were collected from 6cm and 1m depth, out of which fifty one samples were selected for sedimentalogical studies. It was inferred from this study that the marine depositional processes are distinctly dominating over the fluvial processes, which is major cause in decreasing the growth of mangrove. It was also inferred that among the sampled stations the sites having clayey silt (with silt 60%-70% and clay 25%-30%) are most favourable for mangrove plantation.

Management of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, in Lake Victoria Basin

Water hyacinth is a free-floating waterweed native to the Amazon River Basin in South America. In its native range, water hyacinth is not an environmental problem, although the weed is one of the most invasive alien plants in freshwater environments. Water hyacinth has the potential to become invasive through fast vegetative reproduction and rapid growth to accumulate huge biomass and extensive cover in freshwater environments. Over the last 150 years water hyacinth has invaded most countries in the tropics and sub-tropics, introduced by man, mainly for ornamental purposes. Such introductions led to the infestation of most freshwater-ways in the southern United States of America, parts of Australia, the pacific islands, and most countries in Asia and Africa. The extensive tightly packed mats of water hyacinth are often associated with devastating socio-economic and environmental impacts. Invasion by the weed has, therefore, often generated urgent costly problems associated with the weed biomass and its management. A classic example of such problems was triggered by the invasion and proliferation of water hyacinth in the Lake Victoria Basin during the 1980s (Freilink 1989, Taylor 1993, Twongo et al., 1995). The weed infestation marked the beginning of a decade of intensive and systematic campaign by the three riparian states (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) to bring weed proliferation under control. The discussions in this Chapter span over ten years of dealing with the challenges paused by the imperative to manage infestations of water hyacinth in the Lake Victoria Basin. The challenges included the need to understand the dynamics of water hyacinth infestation; its distribution, proliferation and impact modalities; and the development and implementation of appropriate weed control strategies and options. Most specific examples were taken from the Ugandan experience (NARO, 2002).

Wetlands and riparian zones as buffers and critical habitats for biotic communities in Lake Victoria

Despite their ecological and socio-economic importance, Lake Victoria's adjoining "swamps" and lake interface are among the least investigated parts of the lake. The "swamps" a term commonly equated to "wastelands" and the difficult working environment they present in comparison to open water, are major factors for the low level of attention accorded to shoreline wetlands. Moreover, definitions of wetlands highlighted for example in the Ramsar Convention as "areas of marsh, fern, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh or brackish, or salt, including areas of marine water, the depth of which does not exceed six metres" (Ramsar, 1971) were designed to protect birds (water fowl) of international importance. The Ramsar definition, which also includes oceans, has till recently been of limited use for Lake Victoria, because itdoes not fully recognise wetlands in relation to other public concerns such as water quality, biodiversity and the tisheries that are of higher socioeconomic priority than waterfowl. Prior to 1992, fishery research on Lake Victoria included studies of inshore shallow habitats of the lake without specific reference to distance or the type of vegetation at the shore. Results of these studies also conveniently relied heavily on trawl and gill net data from the 5-10 m depth zones as the defining boundary of shallow inshore habitats. In Lake Victoria, such a depth range can be at least one kilometre from the lake interface and by the 10m depth contour, habitats are in the sub-littoral range. Findings from these studies could thus not be used to make direct inferences on the then assumed importance of Lake Victoria wetlands in general.

The diversity of macro invertebrates in the Victoria and Kyoga lake basin and their relationship to ecosystem functioning

Aquatic macro-invertebrates encompass all those organisms that be seen with unaided eyes. Most macro-invertebrates are categorised as semi-aquatic in that they are aquatic in early stages, but live as terrestrial organisms as adults, while others like gastropods, bivalves, Oligochaetae, Hirudinae and ostracods are exclusively aquatic. Some of them such as mayflies lay eggs in water and subsequent stages also live in water until adulthood when they emerge to live a terrestrial life. In others, eggs are laid near the water, while some like members of Tendipedidae (midges) lay their eggs on the leaves of aquatic macrophytes and after hatching their larvae creep into water

The diversity of amphibians, reptiles and mammals and their importance in the Victoria and Kyoga lake basins

The shore margins of Lakes in the Victoria basin are highly dented and mostly swampy, fringed by Papyrus and other wetland vegetation types important habitats for herpetofauna and wetland adapted mammals. Of recent, the extent of the 'wetland' has been extended in several places by the Water Hyacinth (Eichornia cryaseps). Ecologically, amphibians are important in many ways; they are mostly predators, acting as primary and secondary carnivores. Their prey consists mostly of insects, some of which are pests to crops or disease vectors. They are also inter-inked in food chains, often acting as food for other vertebrates, such as pigs, birds, snakes and sometimes man. Because of their ectothermic physiology, the life history and ecology of amphibians often differ markedly from that of birds or mammals (McCollough el ai, (992).Amphibians are known to be an easily recognisable taxon in given habitats; and populations are sometimes specialised within a narrow habitat. This makes it easy and practical to monitor changes in composition over time, given different onditions (Heyer el al 1994, Phillips 1990). Impacts on their habitat are reflected in changes in numbers and species diversity in a short time. These are some of the factors that have made amphibians to be recognised, nowadays, as good indicators of habitat change