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- Assessing the effectiveness of management measures in the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon, PortugalPublication . Newton, Alice; Cañedo-Argüelles, Miguel; March, David; Goela, Priscila; Cristina, Sónia; Zacarias, Marta; Icely, JohnThe Ria Formosa is an important transitional and coastal lagoon on the south coast of Portugal that provides valuable ecosystem services. The lagoon is a protected area under national and international conventions. There is a great potential for Blue Growth sectors, such as aquaculture and coastal tourism, but these rely on good water quality. European environmental legislation, such as the Water Framework Directive, requires member states, such as Portugal to implement management measures if a surface water body is not of good ecological status. This work addresses the effectiveness of management measures, such as wastewater treatment plant implementation and dredging, on the water quality of the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon system. This is an important social-ecological issue, since management measures can be very expensive. The ecological status of Ria Formosa was evaluated, according to the physico-chemical and biological quality elements of the Water Framework Directive. The main indicators were the physico-chemical quality elements of nutrient and oxygen condition, and the biological quality element chlorophyll a, as a proxy for phytoplankton biomass, under the Water Framework Directive. The data for these quality elements from the Ria Formosa were analyzed for consistency with the classification for the Water Framework Directive water bodies. The data after the implementation of management measures was compared with historical data to evaluate if these measures had been effective. The relation between nutrient pressures, meteorological and hydrological conditions was addressed, especially rainfall and runoff. Results showed a decrease in nutrient concentration after the management interventions, despite the increase of population and intensifying agriculture in the catchment. The Ecological Status is spatially variable with an overall moderate status, indicating the need for further management measures. There is a significant reduction in nutrient pressure on the lagoon during drought years. This indicates that climate change may alter the structure and function of the lagoon in the future.
- Forecasting closures on shellfish farms using machine learningPublication . O’Donncha, Fearghal; Akhriev, Albert; Fragoso, Bruno; Icely, JohnBiotoxins and harmful algal blooms (HABs) are damaging to aquaculture operations. Occurrences lead to disrupted operations, fish kills, and significant risks to human health. The conditions leading to blooms are driven by known, but complex processes. Heuristics exist about the drivers but the nonlinearity and opaqueness of relationships make it difficult to resolve using traditional rule-based mathematical models. An alternative approach leverages machine learning to uncover the conditions that lead to the closure of farms. This paper presents a comprehensive framework that combines semi-automated machine learning with ensemble classification approaches to predict site closures. Performance is evaluated on 7 years of site closure data from a shellfish farm in Southwest Portugal, together with publicly available environmental data. The model reports an accuracy of 83% across a challenging forecasting task. The proposed framework provides a pragmatic, scalable, site-specific decision tool to help aquaculture stakeholders mitigate the impacts of HABs.
- A importância do mundo invisível dos micróbios na Ria FormosaPublication . Mendes, Pedro; Galvão, Helena; Caetano, Sandra; Icely, John; Newton, AliceCom o desenvolvimento da microscopia de epifluorescência e técnicas sensíveis de radioisótopos na década de 1970, a abundância e atividade de microrganismos pôde ser observada e estudada em águas marinhas. Estas observações resultaram num novo conceito de rápida transferência e reciclagem de matéria orgânica através de um ciclo microbiano, o “microbial loop”.
- Social-environmental analysis for the management of coastal lagoons in North AfricaPublication . El Mahrad, Badr; Abalansa, Samuel; Newton, Alice; Icely, John; Snoussi, Maria; Kacimi, IliasThis study provides an overview of 11 lagoons in North Africa, from the Atlantic to the Eastern Mediterranean. Lagoons are complex, transitional, coastal zones providing valuable ecosystem services that contribute to the welfare of the human population. The main economic sectors in the lagoons included fishing, shellfish harvesting, and salt and sand extraction, as well as maritime transport. Economic sectors in the areas around the lagoons and in the watershed included agriculture, tourism, recreation, industrial, and urban development. Changes were also identified in land use from reclamation, changes in hydrology, changes in sedimentology from damming, inlet modifications, and coastal engineering. The human activities in and around the lagoons exert multiple pressures on these ecosystems and result in changes in the environment, affecting salinity, dissolved oxygen, and erosion; changes in the ecology, such as loss of biodiversity; and changes in the delivery of valuable ecosystem services. Loss of ecosystem services such as coastal protection and seafood affect human populations that live around the lagoons and depend on them for their livelihood. Adaptive management frameworks for social–ecological systems provide options that support decision makers with sciencebased knowledge to deliver sustainable development for ecosystems. The framework used to support the decision makers for environmental management of these 11 lagoons is Drivers–Activities–Pressures–State Change–Impact (on Welfare)–Responses (as Measures).
- Os satélites como instrumentos de aprendizagem e auxílio da Ria FormosaPublication . Cristina, Sónia; Icely, John; Newton, AliceA aprendizagem e a compreensão de como um sistema dinâmico como a Ria Formosa evolui ao longo do tempo é imprescindível para a sua preservação. Os satélites de Observação da Terra do programa Europeu Copernicus levam a bordo sensores que permitem medir parâmetros essenciais para o conhecimento da Ria Formosa, tais como: a temperatura, a topografia da superfície do oceano, a cor do mar, a cobertura vegetal e as mudanças no uso e cobertura da terra ao longo dos anos. O contributo dos satélites é fundamental para um conhecimento mais abrangente do sistema lagunar, de modo a complementar os sistemas de monitorização no habitat natural.
- Contribution of remote sensing technologies to a holistic coastal and marine environmental management framework: a reviewPublication . El Mahrad, Badr; Newton, Alice; Icely, John; Kacimi, Ilias; Abalansa, Samuel; Snoussi, MariaCoastal and marine management require the evaluation of multiple environmental threats and issues. However, there are gaps in the necessary data and poor access or dissemination of existing data in many countries around the world. This research identifies how remote sensing can contribute to filling these gaps so that environmental agencies, such as the United Nations Environmental Programme, European Environmental Agency, and International Union for Conservation of Nature, can better implement environmental directives in a cost-e ective manner. Remote sensing (RS) techniques generally allow for uniform data collection, with common acquisition and reporting methods, across large areas. Furthermore, these datasets are sometimes open-source, mainly when governments finance satellite missions. Some of these data can be used in holistic, coastal and marine environmental management frameworks, such as the DAPSI(W)R(M) framework (Drivers–Activities–Pressures–State changes–Impacts (on Welfare)–Responses (as Measures), an updated version of Drivers–Pressures–State–Impact–Responses. The framework is a useful and holistic problem-structuring framework that can be used to assess the causes, consequences, and responses to change in the marine environment. Six broad classifications of remote data collection technologies are reviewed for their potential contribution to integrated marine management, including Satellite-based Remote Sensing, Aerial Remote Sensing, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Unmanned Surface Vehicles, Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, and Static Sensors. A significant outcome of this study is practical inputs into each component of the DAPSI(W)R(M) framework. The RS applications are not expected to be all-inclusive; rather, they provide insight into the current use of the framework as a foundation for developing further holistic resource technologies for management strategies in the future. A significant outcome of this research will deliver practical insights for integrated coastal and marine management and demonstrate the usefulness of RS to support the implementation of environmental goals, descriptors, targets, and policies, such as theWater Framework Directive, Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Ocean Health Index, and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, the opportunities and challenges of these technologies are discussed.
- Anthropogenic, direct pressures on coastal wetlandsPublication . Newton, Alice; Icely, John; Cristina, Sónia; Perillo, Gerardo M. E.; Turner, R. Eugene; Ashan, Dewan; Cragg, Simon; Luo, Yongming; Tu, Chen; Li, Yuan; Zhang, Haibo; Ramesh, Ramachandran; Forbes, Donald L.; Solidoro, Cosimo; Béjaoui, Béchir; Gao, Shu; Pastres, Roberto; Kelsey, Heath; Taillie, Dylan; Nhan, Nguyen; Brito, Ana C.; de Lima, Ricardo; Kuenzer, ClaudiaCoastal wetlands, such as saltmarshes and mangroves that fringe transitional waters, deliver important ecosystem services that support human development. Coastal wetlands are complex social-ecological systems that occur at all latitudes, from polar regions to the tropics. This overview covers wetlands in five continents. The wetlands are of varying size, catchment size, human population and stages of economic development. Economic sectors and activities in and around the coastal wetlands and their catchments exert multiple, direct pressures.
- The marine plastic litter issue: a social-economic analysisPublication . Abalansa, Samuel; El Mahrad, Badr; Vondolia, Godwin Kofi; Icely, John; Newton, AliceThe issue of marine plastic litter pollution is multifaceted, cross-sectoral, and ongoing in the absence of appropriate management measures. This study analysed the issue of marine plastic litter pollution in the context of the Descriptor 10 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Good Environmental Status of the oceans and seas. The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework was used to assess the causes, e ects, and management measures to changes in the marine environment resulting from marine plastics pollution. We noted that less than 10 peer-reviewed publications have applied the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model to the issue of marine plastics pollution. Some basic needs such as food security, movement of goods and services, and shelter are also some of the major drivers of marine plastic pollution. The use of plastics is linked to multiple economic sectors (fisheries, agriculture, transport, packaging, construction) and other human activities. A significant amount of the resulting pressures came from the economic sectors for packaging and construction. State changes occurred at the environmental (contamination and bioaccumulation), ecosystem (ingestion of plastics, ghost fishing) and ecosystem service levels (supply of sea food, salt and cultural benefits), with possible loss of jobs and income being some of the observed impacts on human welfare. Responses as management measures, which are tailored to meet each component of the DPSIR framework, were identified. These included policies, regulations, technological advancement and behavioural change. The research acknowledges the issue of marine plastics pollution as a global environmental problem and recommends a trans-disciplinary approach, involving all types of stakeholders. Future research and analysis applying the DPSIR framework will be useful to provide the information necessary for the e ective, adaptive management of litter pollution by marine plastics.