Coastal Communities (coastal + community)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNDERSTANDING SEAWEEDS IN COASTAL COMMUNITIES

JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2001
Article first published online: 24 SEP 200
Dawes, C. J. Department of Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620 The goal of my presentation is to review several studies that have enhanced our understanding of the effects of abiotic factors on coastal and estuarine seaweed populations. Accordingly, I will introduce a few key papers dealing with five major abiotic factors-i.e. salinity, temperature, desiccation, water motion, and illumination. Foremost, the salinity tolerance studies of Russell and Bolton (1975) have broad applicability to estuarine seaweeds, while the osmoregulatory studies of Bisson and Kirst (1979) are also significant. Biebl's (1972) review of his earlier studies on temperature tolerances in diverse seaweeds were pivotal. Johnston and Raven's (1986) studied the effects of desiccation on the fucoid brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum, while similar studies on the saccate brown seaweed Colpomenia peregrina were conducted by Oates (1985). Lewis (1968) conducted early synoptic evaluations of the effects of water movement on rocky shore communities, while Kitching and Ebling (1967) gave detailed assessments of seaweed populations within estuarine tidal rapids in Ireland. Basically estuarine tidal rapids represent areas of enhanced nutrients, oxygen and light availability, plus reduced sedimentation (Mathieson et al. (1983). The physiological effects of light have probably been evaluated more than any single abiotic factor and two areas of importance are cited here. The critical papers by Levring (1947) on submarine illumination and those of Ramus (1978) and Littler and Littler (1980) on algal form and light response. Several areas of future studies are also suggested, which may further enhance our understanding of seaweed adaptations. In summary, five major abiotic factors affecting coastal and estuarine seaweed populations will be discussed, their importance to seaweeds noted, and "key" findings for several significant papers summarized. [source]


Introducing size limits as a management tool for the recreational line fishery of silver kob, Argyrosomus inodorus (Griffiths and Heemstra), in Namibian waters

FISHERIES MANAGEMENT & ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2001
C. H. Kirchner
Individual silver kob Argyrosomus inodorus (Griffiths and Heemstra) first mature at just over 1 yr of age and the median age at maturity is approximately 1.5 yr. Spawning of silver kob was observed in the southern and central region of the stock's range, but little spawning activity was found in silver kob sampled from the northern region. The spawning period is protracted over 6 months (October,March), which coincides with warmer water temperatures (>15 °C) and the occurrence of large-sized spawning silver kob in the southern and central part of Namibia. Implementing a minimum size limit for the silver kob fishery is not recommended as it will have serious economic implications for the coastal communities. The protection of the spawning areas, Meob Bay and Sandwich, should be continued and a strict bag limit on large-sized silver kob is recommended for the Namibian silver kob recreational fishery. [source]


,We're moving out': Youth Out-Migration Intentions in Coastal Non-Metropolitan New South Wales

GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2008
DANIELLE DROZDZEWSKI
Abstract This article discusses youth out-migration on the non-metropolitan New South Wales Eastern Seaboard. High levels of in-migration and counter-urbanisation, typical of many coastal non-metropolitan towns in NSW, mask the out-migration of youth. There are relatively few 15,24 year olds in the coastal communities of non-metropolitan New South Wales, because many youths out-migrate to larger centres, for a range of reasons. Out-migration also demarcates a life transition away from school life, adolescence and the parental home. This paper draws from research with senior high school students in one coastal town , Coffs Harbour , where such trends have been particularly apparent. It examines the propensity for youth out-migration and discusses how young people articulate their migration intentions. Young people's perceptions of their current and future prospects feature prominently in their discourses about intended migration, although this research also demonstrates that the life courses of regional youth are unorthodox and diverse in nature. [source]


Effect of a transient perturbation on marine bacterial communities with contrasting history

JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
O. Zemb
Abstract Aims:, To evaluate the importance of the bacterial composition on the resilience of the organic matter assimilation in the sea. Methods and Results:, Chemostats were inoculated with coastal and offshore bacterial communities. Bacterial density and protein synthesis increased before stabilizing, and this response to confinement was more marked in the offshore chemostats. Before the toluene perturbation the community structure in the coastal chemostats remained complex whereas the offshore chemostats became dominated by Alteromonas sp. After the perturbation, bacterial protein synthesis was inhibited before peaking briefly at a level fivefold to that observed before the perturbation and then stabilizing at a level comparable to that before the perturbation. Alteromonas dominated both the coastal and the offshore communities immediately after the perturbation and the coastal communities did not recover their initial complexity. Conclusions:, Cell lysis induced by the toluene perturbation favoured the growth of Alteromonas which could initiate growth rapidly in response to the nutrient pulse. Despite their different community structure in situ, the resilience of protein synthesis of coastal and offshore bacterial communities was dependent on Alteromonas, which dominated in the chemostats. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Here we show that although Alteromonas sp. dominated in artificial offshore and coastal communities in chemostats, their response time to the shock was different. This suggests that future perturbation studies on resilience in the marine environment should take account of ecosystem history. [source]


A Retrospective Look at the Water Resource Management Policies in Nassau County, Long Island, New York,

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 5 2008
Daniel J. St. Germain
Abstract:, The residents of Nassau County Long Island, New York receive all of their potable drinking water from the Upper Glacial, Jameco/Magothy (Magothy), North Shore, and Lloyd aquifers. As the population of Nassau County grew from 1930 to 1970, the demand on the ground-water resources also grew. However, no one was looking at the potential impact of withdrawing up to 180 mgd (7.9 m3/s) by over 50 independent water purveyors. Some coastal community wells on the north and south shores of Nassau County were being impacted by saltwater intrusion. The New York State Legislature formed a commission to look into the water resources in 1972. The commission projected extensive population growth and a corresponding increase in pumping resulting in a projected 93.5 to 123 mgd (4.1 to 5.5 m3/s) deficit by 2000. In 1986, the New York Legislature passed legislation to strengthen the well permit program and also establish a moratorium on new withdrawals from the Lloyd aquifer to protect the coastal community's only remaining supply of drinking water. Over 30 years has passed since the New York Legislature made these population and pumping projections and it is time to take a look at the accuracy of the projections that led to the moratorium. United States Census data shows that the population of Nassau County did not increase but decreased from 1970 to 2000. Records show that pumping in Nassau County was relatively stable fluctuating between 170 and 200 mgd (7.5 to 8.8 m3/s) from 1970 to 2004, well below the projection of 242 to 321 mgd (10.6 to 14.1 m3/s). Therefore, the population and water demand never grew to projected values and the projected threat to the coastal communities has diminished. With a stable population and water demand, its time to take a fresh look at proactive ground-water resource management in Nassau County. One example of proactive ground-water management that is being considered in New Jersey where conditions are similar uses a ground-water flow model to balance ground water withdrawals, an interconnection model to match supply with demand using available interconnections, and a hydraulic model to balance flow in water mains. New Jersey also conducted an interconnection study to look into how systems with excess capacity could be used to balance withdrawals in stressed aquifer areas with withdrawals in unstressed areas. Using these proactive ground-water management tools, ground-water extraction could be balanced across Nassau County to mitigate potential impacts from saltwater intrusion and provide most water purveyors with a redundant supply that could be used during water emergencies. [source]


Post-tsunami stress: A study of posttraumatic stress disorder in children living in three severely affected regions in Sri Lanka

JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 3 2006
Frank Neuner
At 3 to 4 weeks after the December 2004 tsunami disaster we assessed symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 264 children who lived in severely affected coastal communities in Manadkadu (northern coast), Kosgoda (western coast), and Galle (southern coast) in Sri Lanka. The prevalence rate of tsunami-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (ignoring the time criterion) ranged between 14% and 39% and an additional 5% to 8% had PTSD unrelated to the tsunami. The PTSD symptoms were explained by the severity of the trauma exposure and family loss, as well as previous traumatic events. The results confirm the relevance of the individual history of traumatic events for the genesis of PTSD and indicate a high need of mental health assistance among the tsunami-affected children in Sri Lanka. [source]


Effect of observation method on the perception of community structure and water quality in a brackish water ecosystem

MARINE ECOLOGY, Issue 2009
Tiia Möller
Abstract The EU Water Framework Directive is a Community legislative instrument in the field of environmental protection that establishes a common framework for keeping water quality at a favourable level. To implement the directive, classification systems need to be established that allow detection of human impacts at early stages and, thus, more effective management of coastal communities. Due to the spatial variability of communities, however, the results of any assessment are highly dependent on the selection of data. In this study we identified local spatial scales in which variability of macrophyte communities was maximised, quantified links between observed patterns of sediment types and communities and estimated how selection criteria impacted the outcome of the assessment of indicator class value in four different communities of the Northern Baltic Sea. The main findings of the study were that: (i) there were no clear local spatial scales in which the variability of benthic communities was maximised; (ii) hard-bottom communities were better predicted by the spatial arrangement of sediment characteristics than soft-bottom communities; (iii) the selection of method had no effect on the estimates of macrophyte cover and indicator class; but (iv) method impacted independently of habitat type on error estimates of macrophyte cover and indicator class. To conclude, in such homogeneous and low diversity macrophyte communities it is preferable to use methods that result in lower error estimates of algal coverage and, thus, result in lower uncertainties of estimates in the water quality class. [source]


Shellfish aquaculture and First Nations' sovereignty: The quest for sustainable development in contested sea space

NATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 2 2010
Alyssa L. Joyce
Abstract Aquaculture tenures or leases have become an increasingly important management tool for regulating access rights to coastal and offshore marine habitat. Tenure, as a form of private property rights to marine space, is generally considered a prerequisite for aquaculture development, as are the associated exclusive access rights which provide necessary incentives for producers to invest in infrastructure. The shellfish industry in British Columbia (BC), Canada, is presented as a case study of a transition from a primarily common property wild fishery to a rights-based system for aquaculture. In BC, seafood production has grown substantially during the past two decades as a result of aquaculture production. However, despite the inherent economic advantages of the tenuring system for increasing seafood production, rights to aquaculture sites in BC remain highly controversial, particularly in response to environmental concerns and infringements on Aboriginal territorial claims. Shellfish farming has, to-date, been far less controversial than salmon farming; however, shellfish aquaculture has not been uniformly adopted across the province, and analyses of industry capacity or economic opportunities for coastal communities have failed to adequately explain development patterns. This paper, which identifies perceptions of the risks and benefits of the shellfish aquaculture tenuring system, presents the results of 56 interviews conducted with individuals involved in shellfish production in BC. Results indicate that heightened perceptions of risk about shellfish aquaculture tenuring are related to unresolved Aboriginal territorial claims, economic dependence on wild shellfish resources, as well as place-based values favouring access to wild resources. Underlying values and cultural understandings also strongly shape public perceptions of the risks of aquaculture, and as such, influence local decisions to either accept or resist industry growth. In this case, interviewees' risk perceptions were found to be more important indicators of the potential for industry expansion than studies of capacity or economic cost-benefit analyses. [source]


Dominance by a canopy forming seaweed modifies resource and consumer control of bloom-forming macroalgae

OIKOS, Issue 7 2007
Britas Klemens Eriksson
Degradation of ecological resources by large-scale disturbances highlights the need to demonstrate biological properties that increase resistance to change and promote the resilience of ecosystem regimes. Coastal eutrophication is a global-scale disturbance that drives ecosystem change by increasing primary production and favouring ephemeral and bloom-forming life-forms. Recent synthesis indicates that consumption processes increase the resistance of coastal communities to nutrient loading by controlling the responses of ephemeral macroalgae. Here we suggest a similar ecological function for canopy cover by demonstrating that the presence of a canopy species modifies both resource and consumer control of bloom-forming algae associated with nutrient enrichment. We tested effects of canopy presence on the interaction between consumer and resource control, by field-manipulations of a dominant canopy forming seaweed (Fucus vesiculosus), grazer presence (dominated by the gastropod Littorina littorea) and nutrient enrichment (common agricultural NPK fertilizer). Canopy cover and grazers jointly controlled strong increases of ephemeral bloom-forming algae (dominated by Ulva spp) from nutrient enrichment; nutrients increased ephemeral recruitment almost 10-fold, but only in the absence of both grazers and canopy cover. Recruitment success of the canopy-forming seaweed itself decreased additively with 56.1, 71.3 and 50.5% from independent effects of canopy cover, grazers and nutrient enrichment, respectively. A meta-analysis of nine nutrient enrichment experiments including seaweed, seagrass and stream communities, showed that in the presence of canopies average nutrient effects were reduced by more than 90% compared to without canopies. This corroborates the generality of our finding that dominating canopy species are important for aquatic ecosystems by increasing community resistance to the propagation of nutrient effects. [source]


SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND HUMAN SPACE IN NORTH-EASTERN IBERIA DURING THE THIRD CENTURY BC

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2008
CARME RUESTES
Summary By using GIS (Geographical Information System) visibility analysis, the visual surveillance of, and ways in which people engaged and experienced, an Iberian landscape north of Barcelona during the third century BC are explored. The study of visual surveillance from the hillforts that dominated the area is understood as a means to address issues of social structure and hierarchy. How Iberian people might have viewed and rationalized their world, which is an issue that has so far not been addressed within the theoretical approaches that currently characterize this area of Mediterranean archaeology, is explored here for the first time. Emphasis is placed on people's sense of place and on hillforts' prominence. Visibility analysis indicates a highly structured society, where each hillfort might have primarily controlled given zones of the landscape and might have informed others about events taking place there through an integrated visibility network. Whilst hillforts appear to have been sited according to the view that they offered, they do not seem to have been intended to maximize their own visual impact. Social and experiential approaches compellingly coincide to suggest a subdivision of this society between mountain and coastal communities in both practical and perceptual terms. [source]


Water-related occupations and diet in two Roman coastal communities (Italy, first to third century AD): Correlation between stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values and auricular exostosis prevalence,

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
Fiona Crowe
Abstract The reconstruction of dietary patterns in the two Roman imperial age coastal communities of Portus and Velia (I,III AD) by means of stable isotope analysis of bone remains has exposed a certain degree of heterogeneity between and within the two samples. Results do not correlate with any discernible mortuary practices at either site, which might have pointed to differential social status. The present study tests the hypothesis of a possible connection between dietary habits and occupational activities in the two communities. Among skeletal markers of occupation, external auricular exostosis (EAE) has proved to be very informative. Clinical and retrospective epidemiological surveys have revealed a strong positive correlation between EAE development and habitual exposure to cold water. In this study, we show that there is a high rate of occurrence of EAE among adult males in both skeletal samples (21.1% in Portus and 35.3% in Velia). Further, there is a statistically significant higher prevalence of EAE among those individuals at Velia with very high nitrogen isotopic values. This points to fishing (coastal, low-water fishing) as the sea-related occupation most responsible for the onset of the ear pathology. For Portus, where the consumption of foods from sea and river seems to be more widespread through the population, and where the scenario of seaport and fluvial activities was much more complex than in Velia, a close correlation between EAE and fish consumption by fishermen is less easy to establish. Am J Phys Anthropol 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Deep Identity, Shallow Time: Sustaining a Future in Victorian Fishing Communities

THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
Monica Minnegal
Like commercial fishers everywhere, it seems, those living in coastal communities of Victoria perceive themselves to be under threat from recreational fishers, environmentalists, imposed management regimes, and modernisation and globalisation of the industry. In responding to these threats they appeal to conventional props of tradition,to continuity in genealogical time, affiliation with place and specialised knowledge and practice. This seems paradoxical, given that most established fishers in Victoria are first or second generation members of an industry that, through its 150-year history, has been characterised by innovation and mobility. That paradox, we argue, is more apparent than real. Fisher identity is grounded primarily in engagement with an environment that is not familiar to outsiders. The paradox arises because fishers, like others who seek to sustain a future in the face of threat from outsiders, reshape strongly felt identity as tradition. [source]


The value of conserving whales: the impacts of cetacean-related tourism on the economy of rural West Scotland

AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 5 2003
E.C.M. Parsons
Abstract 1.During the tourist season of 2000, interview surveys were conducted with those involved in whale-watching in West Scotland. The groups included in the study were boat operators (32), visitor-centre managers (8), tourists on whale-watching trips (324), general tourists to West Scotland (673) and local residents (189). The latter two groups were interviewed for comparison of responses of those engaged in whale-watching against the views of the local community and tourists in general. From the data provided by these interviews, estimates for the economic value of this specialist sector of the Scottish tourism industry were calculated. 2.Extrapolating from the surveys, in the year 2000, an estimated total of approximately 242 000 tourists were involved in cetacean-related tourism activities in West Scotland. 3.In 2000, 59 full-time and one part-time jobs were estimated to be created as the direct result of cetacean-related tourism, with 38% of these positions being seasonal. 4.Cetacean-related tourism was estimated to account for 2.5% of the total income from tourism in the region. In remote coastal areas, cetacean-related tourism may account for as much as 12% of the area's total tourism income. 5.The direct economic income (i.e. expenditure on excursion tickets) from cetacean tourism activities was estimated to be £1.77 million per annum. 6.A 23% of surveyed whale watchers visited West Scotland specifically to go on whale-watching trips. The associated expenditure (accommodation, travel, food, etc.) from tourists being brought to rural West Scotland solely due to the presence of whales represented £5.1 million in additional tourism income for the region. 7.In addition to the above tourists, 16% of surveyed whale watchers stayed in West Scotland an extra night as a result of going on a whale-watching trip; thus generating a further £0.9 million of additional associated expenditure (extra accommodation, food, etc.). 8.The total gross income generated (directly and indirectly) by cetacean-related tourism in rural West Scotland was estimated at £7.8 million. 9.In comparison with established whale-watching industries (in countries such as the USA, Canada and New Zealand) the total expenditure by tourists on whale watching in West Scotland is low. However, cetacean tourism in West Scotland is still a relatively young industry and still developing. 10.The value of the non-consumptive utilization of cetaceans (i.e. whale-watching) to rural, coastal communities in West Scotland was three times greater than the value of the consumptive utilization of cetaceans (i.e. commercial whaling) for rural, coastal communities in Norway. 11.This study demonstrates that live cetaceans in Scotland can provide notable financial benefits and, therefore, their conservation has an economic value. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Re-articulating Identity: The Shifting Landscape of Indigenous Politics and Power on the Ecuadorian Coast

BULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 2 2010
DANIEL ERIC BAUER
The Levantamiento Indígena of 1990 was a defining moment in the advancement of indigenous politics in Ecuador. Following the uprising of 1990, scholars have paid close attention to the politics of identity and indigenous representation in Ecuador with the main focus being placed on the highland and Amazonian regions of the country. Based on fieldwork conducted in Ecuador's Manabí province, this article provides preliminary insight into the growth of an indigenous discourse on the Ecuadorian coast. I focus on the process of re-indigenisation in the coastal community of Macaboa. This research is significant because while a great deal of scholarly attention has been paid to indigenous movements in Ecuador's highland and Amazonian regions, indigenous politics on the coast have gone largely unnoticed. The case outlined in this article is emblematic of the shifting nature of identity and the way in which ethnic discourses are increasingly being adopted by marginalised groups in their attempts to negotiate with the state. [source]