Can valuation factors be prescribed? The case of collective enfranchisement and leasehold extension of flats in England and Wales

Recent concerns over the valuation process in collective leasehold enfranchisement and lease extension cases have culminated in new legislation. To underpin this, the Government (Department of Environment Transport and the Regions (DETR)) commissioned new research, which examined whether the valuation of the freehold in such cases could be simplified through the prescription of either yield or marriage value/relativity. This paper, which is based on that research, examines whether it is possible or desirable to prescribe such factors in the valuation process. Market, settlement and Local Valuation Tribunal (LVT) decisions are analysed, and the basis of 'relativity charts' used in practice is critically examined. Ultimately the imperfect nature of the market in freehold investment sales and leasehold vacant possession sales means that recommendations must rest on an analysis of LVT data. New relativity curves are developed from this data and used in conjunction with an alternative approach to valuation yields (based on other investment assets). However, the paper concludes that although the prescription of yields and relativity is possible, it is not fully defensible because of problems in determining risk premia; that the evidential basis for relativity consists of LVT decisions; and that a formula approach would tend to 'lead' the market as a whole.

Bronze Age human ecodynamics in the Humber estuary

For much of lowland Britain during the Holocene one important factor in determining environmental change was sea level fluctuation. A net rise of circa 20 m, within an oscillating short term picture of transgression and regression, caused significant short to medium term challenges for people exploiting those resources. During transgression phases estuarine creek systems extended landwards, and during the final transgression phase, widespread sedimentation took place, allowing for the development of saltmarshes on tidal flats. In later prehistory the exploitation of lowlands and estuarine wetlands was predominantly for fishing, waterfowling and pastoral use, and this paper explores the human ecodynamics of the intertidal zone in the Humber estuary during the Bronze Age. Results of the Humber Wetlands Project's recent estuarine survey, will be used to argue that following a marine transgression circa 1500 cal BC, the foreshore was fully exploited in terms of food procurement. Furthermore the construction of hurdle trackways allowed access across expanding tidal creek systems to be maintained. This not only shows continued use of the most productive environments, and provides evidence for selective use of woodland, but also the continued exploitation of the intertidal zone may have played a role in the evolution of social and political structures in this area during the Bronze Age.

Social housing in Latin America: Red Road flats of tomorrow?

The article revises latest social housing developments in Brazil and Chile and questions their ability to deliver liveable places.

The polychaete worm Nereis diversicolor increases mercury lability and methylation in intertidal mudflats

The polychaete worm Nereis diversicolor engineers its environment by creating oxygenated burrows in anoxic intertidal sediments. The authors carried out a laboratory microcosm experiment to test the impact of polychaete burrowing and feeding activity on the lability and methylation of mercury in sediments from the Bay of Fundy, Canada. The concentration of labile inorganic mercury and methylmercury in burrow walls was elevated compared to worm-free sediments. Mucus secretions and organic detritus in worm burrows increased labile mercury concentrations. Worms decreased sulfide concentrations, which increased Hg bioavailability to sulfate-reducing bacteria and increased methylmercury concentrations in burrow linings. Because the walls of polychaete burrows have a greater interaction with organisms, and the overlying water, the concentrations of mercury and methylmercury they contain is more toxicologically relevant to the base of a coastal food web than bulk samples. The authors recommend that researchers examining Hg in marine environments account for sediment dwelling invertebrate activity to more fully assess mercury bioavailability.

The Movement of the Gastrop Littorina Littorea in the Intertidal Zone during the Onset of Winter

The movement of the snail Littorina littoreaon the North Atlantic coast is poorly understood. Most research has concentrated on the vertical distribution of the snail, and suggests that it prefers the low intertidal zone where its food source is most plentiful. In the winter, this distribution is reinforced by a documented seaward migration of snails from the high intertidal zone in response to falling temperatures. From October 14, 2006 to January 22, 2007, I examined the individual movements and recovery of snails in response to the onset of winter. I proposed that falling water and air temperatures drive the majority of snail movement within the intertidal zone, and that water temperature had the greater effect. I also examined the possibility that, in addition to a seaward migration, winter weather patterns in the Gulf of Maine and their effect on the ocean may encourage the wintertime vertical distribution of snails. Finally, I examined the possibility that populations of snails in the comparatively inhospitable high intertidal zone may endure the winter if given access to proper resources.

Contributo para o estudo das macroalgas do intertidal da ilha da Madeira: diversidade, distribuição e sazonalidade

Ao longo de um ano (junho 2009 – maio 2010), estudou-se as comunidades de macroalgas do intertidal de quatro locais na costa sul (Reis Magos, Barreirinha,Cais do Carvão e Ribeira Brava) e quatro na costa norte (Porto da Cruz, Seixal,Praia da Laje e Porto Moniz) da ilha da Madeira. A área de estudo estendeu-se desde a linha de maré baixa até à zona superiordo intertidal. Identificou-se um total de 73 Taxa na ilha da Madeira: 1 Cyanobacteria, 35 Rhodophyta, 18 Ochrophyta e 18 Chlorophyta. No sul foram identificados 49 Taxa (17 exclusivos desta costa) e no norte 56 Taxa (24 exclusivos). Duas metodologias conjugadas permitem-nos caracterizar o coberto algal do Intertidal rochoso da ilha da Madeira: amostragem manual e trabalho em laboratório (trabalho mais detalhado e rigoroso) e análise de imagens digitais através de um programa informático específico (determinação de categorias ecológicas). Considerando as categorias ecológicas, o intertidal da ilha da Madeira é dominado por Musgo Calcário e Crosta não calcária. Duas espécies, Corallina elongata e Padina pavonica, são dominantes na ilha da Madeira e sete espécies são novos registos: Ganonema farinosum, Hypnea arbuscula, cf. Itonoa marginifera, Grateloupia dichotoma, Cystoseira wildpretii,Sargassum furcatum e Cladophora lehmanniana. As análises CLUSTER e nMDS determinaram a existência de semelhanças relativamente elevadas entre quatro locais de amostragem, no entanto verificou-se uma primeira diferenciação entre norte e sul. Existe uma desigualdade evidente do coberto algal entre as duas costas, com predominância de algas vermelhas e verdes no sul, contrastando com a maior ocorrência de algas castanhas no norte. Esta diferença poderá ser causada pela herbivoria (mais evidente a sul) e pelo hidrodinamismo (mais forte no norte). Verfificou-se que a exposição à ação das ondas é o principal fator responsável pela variação entre amostras (R=0,537, Sig.=0,1%).

Estimating abundance and spatial distribution patterns of the bubble crab Dotilla fenestrata (Crustacea : Brachyura)

The bubble crab Dotilla fenestrata forms very dense populations on the sand flats of the eastern coast of Inhaca Island, Mozambique, making it an interesting biological model to examine spatial distribution patterns and test the relative efficiency of common sampling methods. Due to its apparent ecological importance within the sandy intertidal community, understanding the factors ruling the dynamics of Dotilla populations is also a key issue. In this study, different techniques of estimating crab density are described, and the trends of spatial distribution of the different population categories are shown. The studied populations are arranged in discrete patches located at the well-drained crests of nearly parallel mega sand ripples. For a given sample size, there was an obvious gain in precision by using a stratified random sampling technique, considering discrete patches as strata, compared to the simple random design. Density average and variance differed considerably among patches since juveniles and ovigerous females were found clumped, with higher densities at the lower and upper shore levels, respectively. Burrow counting was found to be an adequate method for large-scale sampling, although consistently underestimating actual crab density by nearly half. Regression analyses suggested that crabs smaller than 2.9 mm carapace width tend to be undetected in visual burrow counts. A visual survey of sampling plots over several patches of a large Dotilla population showed that crab density varied in an interesting oscillating pattern, apparently following the topography of the sand flat. Patches extending to the lower shore contained higher densities than those mostly covering the higher shore. Within-patch density variability also pointed to the same trend, but the density increment towards the lowest shore level varied greatly among the patches compared.

Environmental and grazing influence on spatial variability of intertidal biofilm on subtropical rocky shores

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Hydrodynamism and its influence on the density of the decorator crab Microphrys bicornutus (Mithracidae) on intertidal rocky shores from a subtropical region

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Occurrence and behavior of butyltins in intertidal and shallow subtidal surface sediments of an estuarine beach under different sampling conditions

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Physical, chemical and microbiological characterization of the intertidal sediments of Pereque Beach, Guaruja (SP), Brazil

Physical and chemical characteristics of intertidal sediments and their relationships with bacteria and cyanobacteria, were analyzed at four stations at Pereque Beach. Granulometric analysis showed that Pereque beach has sediment that is classified as sand. The lowest value of the sediment C/N rates (6.08), mainly due to a higher concentration of organic nitrogen, was found at the northern part of Pereque Beach, where organic matter of marine source was more prominent. In this area, density (9.6 x 106 cells cm(-3)), biomass (1992.04 ngC cm(-3)) and activity of bacteria were higher than at the southern end. In contrast, cyanobacteria density varied from 2.0 to 4.0 x 10(5) cells cm(-3), with biomass and total chlorophyll a of the sediment being higher at the southern part, where there are water input from Pereque River and higher organic matter of continental origin. The variability in the microbial population is discussed in the light of the sediment granulometry, organic matter quality, fresh water inflow and pollution. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Macrobenthic intertidal communities from wave to tide dominated beach environments. A case study in two Brazilian beaches

Modification showed by intertidal macrofaunal communities between two nearby sites that change from a wave to a tide dominated beach environment, was analyzed on the present study. At each site, eleven intertidal sampling stations were distributed along a transect, from the drift line to the spring low tide water level. Four macrofaunal samples one meter long-shore spaced were collected at, each station with an iron core of 0.05 m(2) surface area, taken to a depth of 20 cm. Major,differences on sediments between sites were the offshore decrease of mean particle size diameter and increase of kurtosis and water content at the tide dominated site. KIDS ordination showed major similarities between the lowest stations of this site, that represents the dissipative low tide-terrace portion of the beach. Two lower station of the wave dominated site presented similarities with this group. The other stations of the tide-dominated site, that represents the reflective high tide beach portion, grouped distant from the former. (canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) showed a similar spatial distribution of stations, suggesting the importance of environmental factors on the explanation of species distribution patterns. Sediment water content and water table depth, with the highest inertia value, seems to be the principal physical factor. Increase on water content affects the macrofaunal distribution by the expansion of typical infralitoral species, as was the case of Bathyporeiapus ruffoi, on the dissipative low tide terrace beach portion. A disrupted distribution with the lost of a gradate zonation along a physical gradient is one of the major modification presented by macrobenthic communities on the transition from a wave to a tide dominated beach environment.

Ascomycetous yeasts from tropical intertidal dark mud of southeast Brazilian estuaries

Four different intertidal estuarine sediments had distinct yeast communities. One-hundred-ninety-three yeast isolates were classified in 47 species, with 34 of these in the genus Candida. Candida tropicalis was the only ascomycetous species isolated from all four sites. Other opportunistic pathogens including Candida glabrata, Candida guilliermondii, Candida parapsilosis and Candida krusei were present, especially at the more polluted sites. Pichia species were also frequent isolates with Pichia membranaefaciens, and its anamorph, Candida valida, and other phenotypically similar low assimilation profile species the most frequent. Kluyveromyces aestuarii was prevalent at the only site with well established mangrove vegetation, but not present at the other sites. The sediment yeast communities were distinct from each other, but more similar to each other than to the yeast communities of other ecosystems in the same geographic region.

Feeding ecology of juvenile dog snapper Lutjanus jocu (Bloch and Shneider, 1801) (Lutjanidae) in intertidal mangrove creeks in Curuçá estuary (Northern Brazil)

A dieta e a ecologia alimentar de juvenis de Lutjanus jocu foram verificadas em 92 espécimes coletados em quatro canais de maré do estuário do rio Curuçá, Norte do Brasil, entre setembro de 2003 e julho de 2004. O comprimento total dos peixes coletados não apresentou diferenças significativas entre os meses amostrados. A intensidade alimentar foi elevada conforme indicado pelos altos valores do índice de repleção estomacal e os baixos valores do índice de vacuidade. A presa mais importante foi Penaeidae, seguida por Grapsidae e Porcellanidae. A dieta de juvenis de L. jocu apresentou diferenças sazonais evidentes. Os espécimes da estação seca (setembro e novembro) e transição seca/chuvosa (janeiro) foram considerados especialistas alimentando-se exclusivamente de Penaeidae. No entanto, os espécimes da estação chuvosa (março e maio) e da transição chuvosa/seca (julho), que alimentaram-se principalmente de Grapsidae, Penaeidae e Porcellanidae, foram considerados generalistas. Esta mudança sazonal na dieta poderia estar relacionada com a disponibilidade do alimento.

Use of intertidal areas by shrimps (Decapoda) in a brazilian Amazon estuary

O presente trabalho investigou a ocupação e a correlação da abundância de camarões em relação às variáveis ambientais nos diferentes habitats (manguezal, marisma e afloramento rochoso) em um estuário amazônico. As coletas foram realizadas em agosto e novembro de 2009, na maré baixa de sizígia na praia do Areuá, situada na RESEX Mãe Grande de Curuçá, Pará, totalizando 20 poças. Em cada ambiente foram registrados os fatores físicoquímicos (pH, salinidade e temperatura) e mensuradas a área (m²) e o volume (m³) de cada poça através da técnica de batimetria. A média do pH, salinidade, temperatura, área e volume das poças-de-maré foram 8,75 (± 0,8 desvio padrão) 35,45 (± 3), 29,49 °C (± 2,32), 27,41 m² (± 41,18) e 5,19 m³ (± 8,01), respectivamente. Foi capturado um total de 4.871 indivíduos, distribuídos em três famílias e quatro espécies: Farfantepenaeus subtilis (marinha) a mais frequente (98,36%), seguida de Alpheus pontederiae (0,76%) (estuarina), Macrobrachium surinamicum (0,45%) e Macrobrachium amazonicum (0,43%) predominantemente dulcícolas. As espécies F. subtilis e A. pontederiae ocorreram nos três habitats, enquanto que M. surinamicum ocorreu no afloramento rochoso e marisma e M. amazonicum somente no marisma. O pH e a temperatura foram os descritores ambientais mais importantes que afetaram significativamente a densidade e a biomassa dos camarões.