Final Evaluation Memorandum: Strategies for Resolving Low Dissolved Oxygen and Methylmercury Events in Northern Suisun Marsh

The purpose of the project is to improve our understanding about best management practices that can be utilized on diked managed wetlands in Suisun Marsh for reducing the occurrence of low dissolved oxygen (DO) and high methylmercury (MeHg) events associated primarily with fall flood-up practices. Low DO events are of concern because they can lead to undue stress and even mortality of sensitive aquatic organisms. Elevated MeHg levels are of concern because MeHg is a neurotoxin that bio-magnifies up the food chain and can cause deleterious effects to higher trophic level consumers such as piscivorous fish, birds, and mammals (including humans). This study involved two years (2007-2008) of intensive field data collection at two managed wetland sites in northwest Suisun Marsh and their surrounding tidal sloughs, an area with prior documented low DO events. In addition, the study collected limited soils and water quality field data and mapped vegetation for three managed wetland sites in the central interior of Suisun Marsh, for the purpose of examining whether wetlands at other locations exhibit characteristics that could indicate potential for similar concerns. In Year 1 of the study, the objective was to identify the baseline conditions in the managed wetlands and determine which physical management conditions could be modified for Year 2 to reduce low DO and MeHg production issues most effectively. The objective of Year 2 was to evaluate the effectiveness of these modified management actions at reducing production of low DO and elevated MeHg conditions within the managed wetlands and to continue improving understanding of the underlying biogeochemical processes at play. This Final Evaluation Memorandum examined a total of 19 BMPs, 14 involving modified water management operations and the remaining five involving modified soil and vegetation management practices. Some of these BMPs were previously employed and others have not yet been tested. For each BMP this report assesses its efficacy in improving water quality conditions and potential conflicts with wetland management. It makes recommendations for further study (either feasibility assessments or field testing) and whether to consider for future use. Certain previously used BMPs were found to be important contributors to poor water quality conditions and their continued use is not recommended. Some BMPs that could improve water quality conditions appear difficult to implement in regards to compatibility with wetland management; these BMPs require further elaboration and feasibility assessment to determine whether they should be field tested. In practice for any given wetland, there is likely a combination of BMPs that would together have the greatest potential to address the low DO and high MeHg water quality concerns. Consequently, this report makes no sweeping recommendations applicable to large groups of wetlands but instead promotes a careful consideration of factors at each wetland or small groups of wetlands and from that assessment to apply the most effective suite of BMPs. This report also identifies a number of recommended future actions and studies. These recommendations are geared toward improving the process understanding of factors that promote low DO and high MeHg conditions, the extent of these problems in Suisun Marsh, the regulatory basis for the DO standards for a large estuarine marsh, the economics of BMPs, and alternative approaches to BMPs on diked managed wetlands that may address the water quality issues. The most important of these recommendations is that future BMP implementation should be carried out within the context of rigorous scientific evaluation so as to gain the maximum improvement in how to manage these water quality issues in the diked managed wetlands of Suisun Marsh.

Wetland resource evaluation and the NRA's role in its conservation. Classification of British wetlands

This is the Wetland resource evaluation and the NRA's role in its conservation: Classification of British wetlands report produced by the National Rivers Authority in 1995. This R&D document provides a clear classification for wetlands in England and Wales. The classification incorporates many of the existing ideas on the subject but avoids some of the problems associated with other classifications. A two-layered 'hydrotopographical' classification is proposed. The first layer identifies situation-types, i.e. the position the wetland occupies in the landscape, with special emphasis upon the principal sources of water. The second layer identifies hydrotopographical elements, i.e. units with distinctive water supply and, sometimes, distinctive topography in response to this. This system is seen as an independent, basic, classification upon which it is possible to superimpose additional, independent classifications based on other features (e.g. base-status, fertility, vegetation, management etc.). Some proposals for such additional classifications are provided.

Impacts of land use change and climate variations on annual inflow into Miyun Reservoir,Beijing, China

The Miyun Reservoir, the only surface water source for Beijing city, has experienced water supply decline in recent decades. Previous studies suggest that both land use change and climate contribute to the changes of water supply in this critical watershed. However, the specific causes of the decline in the Miyun Reservoir are debatable under a non-stationary climate in the past 4 decades. The central objective of this study was to quantify the separate and collective contributions of land use change and climate variability to the decreasing inflow into the Miyun Reservoir during 1961–2008. Different from previous studies on this watershed, we used a comprehensive approach to quantify the timing of changes in hydrology and associated environmental variables using the long-term historical hydrometeorology and remote-sensing-based land use records. To effectively quantify the different impacts of the climate variation and land use change on streamflow during different sub-periods, an annual water balance model (AWB), the climate elasticity model (CEM), and a rainfall–runoff model (RRM) were employed to conduct attribution analysis synthetically. We found a significant (p  <  0.01) decrease in annual streamflow, a significant positive trend in annual potential evapotranspiration (p  <  0.01), and an insignificant (p  >  0.1) negative trend in annual precipitation during 1961–2008. We identified two streamflow breakpoints, 1983 and 1999, by the sequential Mann–Kendall test and double-mass curve. Climate variability alone did not explain the decrease in inflow to the Miyun Reservoir. Reduction of water yield was closely related to increase in actual evapotranspiration due to the expansion of forestland and reduction in cropland and grassland, and was likely exacerbated by increased water consumption for domestic and industrial uses in the basin. The contribution to the observed streamflow decline from land use change fell from 64–92 % during 1984–1999 to 36–58 % during 2000–2008, whereas the contribution from climate variation climbed from 8–36 % during the 1984–1999 to 42–64 % during 2000–2008. Model uncertainty analysis further demonstrated that climate warming played a dominant role in streamflow reduction in the most recent decade (i.e., 2000s). We conclude that future climate change and variability will further challenge the water supply capacity of the Miyun Reservoir to meet water demand. A comprehensive watershed management strategy needs to consider the climate variations besides vegetation management in the study basin.

Teoría de restricciones aplicada a la cadena de suministros en un operador logístico de productos farmacéuticos

En las instituciones hospitalarias es fundamental el tema relacionado con los medicamentos y dispositivos médicos para la atención del paciente, por lo tanto el mecanismo de adquisición y disponibilidad de éstos productos, ha llevado a la participación masiva de operadores logísticos (Outsoursing) interviniendo áreas de la cadena de suministros, desde el punto de fabricación con el producto terminado hasta la dispensación del medicamento o dispositivo médico, para que ser usado o administrado al paciente. Los operadores logísticos han emprendido una búsqueda de soluciones por medio de diferentes metodologías y estrategias que permitan entregar a tiempo en las farmacias hospitalarias, conservando las propiedades físicas y químicas de los medicamentos y dispositivos médicos, garantizando así la calidad de los productos. En ésta tesis se plantea una nueva alternativa de gestión de medicamentos y dispositivos médicos en un operador logístico de productos farmacéuticos a través de la teoría de restricciones (TOC), para emprender acciones que permitan analizar el sistema bajo esta metodología, intervenir de manera oportuna, impactar y estimular al personal a trabajar en la búsqueda del mejoramiento , aumentando a su vez la velocidad del flujo de operación en toda la cadena de suministros, basada no en el mejoramiento de los óptimos locales o de los subprocesos sino en la identificación de la verdadera restricción del sistema, permitiendo realizar un análisis más a fondo encontrando el conflicto raíz para mejorar el sistema a nivel global.

The Stonehenge landscape habitat restoration project: conservation opportunities for rare butterflies?

Landscape restoration has the potential to mitigate habitat loss and fragmentation. However, restoration can take decades to reach the ecological conditions of the target habitats. The National Trust’s Stonehenge Landscape Restoration Project provides an opportunity to evaluate the ecological benefits against the economic and temporal costs. A field survey between June and September 2010 using Lepidoptera as bio-indicators showed that restored grasslands can approach the ecological conditions of the target chalk grassland habitat within 10 years. However, specialist species like Lysandra bellargus (Adonis blue) were absent from restored grasslands and may require additional management to assist their colonisation. Analysis of the Lepidoptera communities showed that both small-scale habitat heterogeneity and age of the habitat were important for explaining Lepidoptera occurrence. These results demonstrate that habitat restoration at the landscape scale combined with appropriate site-scale management can be a relatively rapid and effective method to restore ecological networks and buffer against future climate change.

Meteorological influences on coastal sea levels west of Port Phillip and their engineering significance

This report presents the results of an analysis of three years of tide and meteorological data aimed at delineating the influences of atmospheric pressure, waves, onshore winds and longshore winds on coastal sea levels West of Port Phillip Bay, Victoria« The data was used to develop predictive and hindcasting techniques for meteorological tides on the Otway Coast, using statistical methods, an empirical method and a mathematical model. The nature and magnitude of contributions of the various components of the meteorological tide, and the general variability of monthly and seasonal variations were also studied. It was found that meteorological tides on the Otway Coast can account for significant sea level changes, with the main factors being wind and atmospheric pressure. The wind component of the meteorological tide was found to be approximately twice the pressure component, and longshore winds were found to be more significant than onshore winds for wind setup on the Otway Coast. The meteorological tide models developed enable estimates of wind setup and atmospheric pressure setup on the Otway Coast to be readily computed using data from synoptic charts. The wave setup component could not be separated from the meteorological tide and is included in the wind setup component. The results of the investigation are relevant to the design and maintenance of coastal engineering works, and point to the need for the establishment and operation of coastal management schemes on the Otway Coast.

Vascular plant and small mammal communities over an elevational gradient

Plant species richness and plant and small mammal beta diversity decline over the elevational gradient in the Otway ranges. These patterns are influenced by climate, habitat and spatial structure. This highlights the need to preserve continuous habitat and understand the influence of climate, to conserve communities in the changing future.

Adopting business practices at Deakin University

This thesis examined the adoption of business practices at Deakin University and their impact on academic staff. The investigation used interpretative, qualitative research to investigate what academic staff believe to be the effect of business practice adoption on their teaching, research and service/administration roles.

Fisheries ecology of sand flathead in Port Phillip Bay

Age data revealed that growth of sand flathead samples caught within Port Phillip Bay is very different compared to those caught from outside the Bay. Results also show that recruitment is variable (dependent of several environmental parameter), and that this variability is largely responsible for trends in abundance.

Being academic

This research draws on the theoretical resources of Foucault and Bourdieu to focus on the complex relationship between the introduction of a range of new technologies, the lived experience of being academic and the often contradictory subjectivities within the power relations of the managed university in the 21st Century.

Bioregional planning

The study investigated the appropriateness of bioregional planning as a preferential framework for better integrating land-use planning and natural resource management and found it may be appropriate in Victoria for improved biodiversity conservation. Main issues impeding wider implementation include poor Government coordination and historic cultural attitudes between the two professions.

Ecology of the freshwater crayfish of the Grampians National Park

The ecology of five species of freshwater crayfish occurring in a variety of habitat types in the Grampians National Park was investigated. The study examined the numbers of each species living in the region, how they interact, when they reproduce, and what they eat. Management and conservation requirements were proposed.

Invoice methodology

An innovative method for measuring the impact of an environmental food service intervention on the nutritional quality of the food supply was developed and implemented at five food services in Victoria as part of a Catering Improvement Program trial. This study used the invoice data to investigate changes in food supply at these food services.

Drip irrigation of treated municipal effluent in vineyards

Vine-row soil chemical and physical properties were significantly and detrimentally altered by drip irrigation of treated municipal effluent. Hydraulic gradients under the drip-emitter fostered strong chemical gradients and high variability of vine-row soil parameters, complicating soil management. Gypsum improves soil properties without impacting vine production when applied in small quantities.