scholarly journals Climate change and Australian marine and freshwater environments, fishes and fisheries: synthesis and options for adaptation

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (9) ◽  
pp. 1148 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Koehn ◽  
Alistair J. Hobday ◽  
Morgan S. Pratchett ◽  
Bronwyn M. Gillanders
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Socioeconomic Drivers ◽  
Unexpected Outcomes

Anthropogenic climate change is already apparent and will have significant, ongoing impacts on Australian fishes and their habitats. Even with immediate actions to reduce greenhouse gases, there will be sustained environmental changes. Therefore, it is necessary to consider appropriate adaptations to minimise detrimental impacts for both fishes and the human populations that utilise them. Climate change will have a range of direct effects on the physiology, fitness, and survivorship of Australia’s marine, estuarine and freshwater fishes, but also indirect effects via habitat degradation and changes to ecosystems. Effects will differ across populations, species and ecosystems, with some impacts being complex and causing unexpected outcomes. The range of adaptation options and necessary levels of intervention to maintain populations and ecosystem function will largely depend on the vulnerability of species and habitats. Climate change will also have an impact on people who depend on fishes for food or livelihoods; adapting to a new climate regime will mean trade-offs between biological assets and socioeconomic drivers. Models can be used to help predict trends and set priorities; however, they must be based on the best available science and data, and include fisheries, environmental, socioeconomic and political layers to support management actions for adaptation.

scholarly journals Stormwater Management in a Time of Climate Change: Insights from a Series of Scenario-Building Dialogues

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth P. Tuler ◽  
Thomas Webler ◽  
Jason L. Rhoades
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Stormwater Management ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Contextual Knowledge ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Trade Offs

Abstract Numerous decision support tools have been developed to assist stormwater managers to understand future scenarios and devise management strategies. This paper presents one such tool, the Vulnerability, Consequences, and Adaptation Planning Scenarios (VCAPS) process, and reports on experiences from its deployment in 10 coastal communities on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. VCAPS helps to elucidate local complexities, couplings, and contextual nuance through dialogue among technical experts and those with detailed contextual knowledge of a community. Participants in the process develop qualitative scenarios of climate change impacts and how different management strategies may prevent or mitigate undesirable consequences. The scenarios help stormwater managers diagnose potential problems that may emerge from climate change and variability, which can then be subject to further detailed analysis. The authors describe five challenges faced by stormwater managers and how insights that emerge from scenario-based processes like VCAPS can help address them: characterizing the implications of interacting climate stressors that originate stormwater, bringing all available expertise and local knowledge to bear on the problem of stormwater management, integrating local and scientific information about coupled human–environment systems, identifying management actions and their trade-offs, and facilitating planning for sustained coordination among multiple public and private entities.

scholarly journals The soundscape of the Anthropocene ocean

Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 371 (6529) ◽  
pp. eaba4658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos M. Duarte ◽  
Lucille Chapuis ◽  
Shaun P. Collin ◽  
Daniel P. Costa ◽  
Reny P. Devassy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Biological Origin ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Resource Exploration ◽  
Multiple Levels

Oceans have become substantially noisier since the Industrial Revolution. Shipping, resource exploration, and infrastructure development have increased the anthrophony (sounds generated by human activities), whereas the biophony (sounds of biological origin) has been reduced by hunting, fishing, and habitat degradation. Climate change is affecting geophony (abiotic, natural sounds). Existing evidence shows that anthrophony affects marine animals at multiple levels, including their behavior, physiology, and, in extreme cases, survival. This should prompt management actions to deploy existing solutions to reduce noise levels in the ocean, thereby allowing marine animals to reestablish their use of ocean sound as a central ecological trait in a healthy ocean.

scholarly journals Importance of Protection Service Against Erosion and Storm Events Provided by Coastal Ecosystems Under Climate Change Scenarios

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacinto Cunha ◽  
Fábio Santos Cardona ◽  
Ana Bio ◽  
Sandra Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Northern Coast ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
Property Damage ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Coastal Habitats ◽  
Trade Offs

Increasing sea level rise (SLR), and frequency and intensity of storms, paired with degrading ecosystems, are exposing coastal areas to higher risks of damage by storm events. Coastal natural habitats, such as dunes or saltmarshes, can reduce exposure of coastlines to these events and help to reduce the impacts and the potential damage to coastal property. The goal of our study was to evaluate the current vulnerability of the Portuguese northern coast to erosion and flooding caused by extreme events and to assess the contribution of natural habitats in reducing both vulnerability and property damages considering SLR scenarios. The Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) Coastal Vulnerability model was used to produce an Exposure Index (EI) for the northern Portuguese coastline, for the current situation, and for future International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5, considering the presence and absence of coastal habitats. Results showed an increase in exposure with rising sea levels and expansion of high vulnerability areas. Coastal habitats contributed to a 28% reduction of high exposed segments for the Current scenario, corresponding to a potential reduction of coastal property damage of 105 M€ during extreme events. For the SLR scenarios, coastal habitats could potentially reduce the amount of property damage by 190 M€ in 2050 and 285 M€ in 2100, considering RCP8.5 projections. This study highlighted the importance of natural habitats in protecting vulnerable coastlines and reducing the potential damages to properties from flooding. Such results can be incorporated in management plans and support decision-making toward implementing an ecosystem-based approach to increase the resilience of coastal communities to cope with future environmental changes.

scholarly journals Major threats of pollution and climate change to global coastal ecosystems and enhanced management for sustainability

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonglong Lu ◽  
Jingjing Yuan ◽  
Xiaotian Lu ◽  
Chao Su ◽  
Yueqing Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Coastal Zone ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Coastal Ecosystems ◽  
Observation System ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Coastal Marine Ecosystems

<p>Coastal zone is of great importance in the provision of various valuable ecosystem services. However, it is also sensitive and vulnerable to environmental changes due to high human populations and interactions between the land and ocean. Major threats of pollution from over enrichment of nutrients, increasing metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and climate change have led to severe ecological degradation in the coastal zone, while few studies have focused on the combined impacts of pollution and climate change on the coastal ecosystems at the global level. A global overview of nutrients, metals, POPs, and major environmental changes due to climate change and their impacts on coastal ecosystems was carried out in this study. Coasts of the Eastern Atlantic and Western Pacific were hotspots of concentrations of several pollutants, and mostly affected by warming climate. These hotspots shared the same features of large populations, heavy industry and (semi-) closed sea. Estimation of coastal ocean capital, integrated management of land-ocean interaction in the coastal zone, enhancement of integrated global observation system, and coastal ecosystem-based management can play effective roles in promoting sustainable management of coastal marine ecosystems. Enhanced management from the perspective of mitigating pollution and climate change was proposed.</p>

scholarly journals Double trouble: the implications of climate change for biological invasions

NeoBiota ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 463-487
Author(s):  
Tamara B. Robinson ◽  
Nicole Martin ◽  
Tainã G. Loureiro ◽  
Phikolomzi Matikinca ◽  
Mark P. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Physiological Response ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Institutional Capacity ◽  
Invasion Success ◽  
Invasion Process ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Transit Times

The implications of climate change for biological invasions are multifaceted and vary along the invasion process. Changes in vectors and pathways are likely to manifest in changes in transport routes and destinations, together with altered transit times and traffic volume. Ultimately, changes in the nature of why, how, and where biota are transported and introduced will pose biosecurity challenges. These challenges will require increased human and institutional capacity, as well as proactive responses such as improved early detection, adaptation of present protocols and innovative legal instruments. Invasion success and spread are expected to be moderated by the physiological response of alien and native biota to environmental changes and the ensuing changes in biotic interactions. These in turn will likely affect management actions aimed at eradicating, containing, and mitigating invasions, necessitating an adaptive approach to management that is sensitive to potentially unanticipated outcomes.

scholarly journals A Framework for Monitoring Ecosystems-Based Adaptation to Climate Change: Experience from The Gambia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 10959
Author(s):  
Peter Gilruth ◽  
Lalisa A. Duguma ◽  
Peter A. Minang ◽  
Alagie Bah ◽  
Malanding S. Jaiteh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The Gambia ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Effectiveness Monitoring ◽  
Management Actions

Implementing ecosystems-based adaptation (EbA) to climate change is challenged by the need to monitor biophysical, socio-cultural, and economic impacts which are usually context-specific. Therefore, robust frameworks are required that integrate impacts to better understand EbA effectiveness. Monitoring frameworks that are universally applicable to EbA are desirable, however their universal application is problematic as they should reflect a community-driven design that accommodates both donor reporting functions and the generation of local-level data and information to support management actions and community initiatives. Initial products from this research include a generic, five-step process for developing and testing adaptation indicators, a robust framework consisting of (i) the indicators, data and information used to design the framework, (ii) the operational EbA platform that houses and computes the adaptation indicators, and (iii) the participating institutions, and initial, community-level applications to guide water management, replenishment of the vegetation cover, and business development. Immediate benefits to rural communities include the re-orientation of performance indicators mapped to their needs as opposed to donor reporting alone. The framework contributes to the set of tools currently in use for EbA monitoring by offering an umbrella within which existing tools can be applied. Near-term future research will focus on improving the utility of the framework and its platform beyond reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs) by adapting the EbA platform to support changing management needs. Future research will be needed to understand the extent to which the environmental changes in The Gambia compared to changes across the Sahel and Sudano-Sahel regions of West Africa and whether the lessons learned from The Gambia could be extrapolated to the subregion.

scholarly journals Palaeoenvironmental perspectives for sustainable development in East Africa

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 963-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Marchant ◽  
J. Finch ◽  
R. Kinyanjui ◽  
V. Muiruri ◽  
C. Mumbi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
East African

Abstract. East African ecosystems are shaped by long-term interaction with changing climate, human population, fire and wildlife. There remains today a strong connection between people and ecosystems, a relationship that is being strained by the rapidly developing and growing East African population, and their associated resource needs. Predicted climatic and atmospheric change will further impact on ecosystems culminating in a host of challenges for their management and sustainable development, further compounded by a backdrop of political, land tenure and economic constraints. Given the many direct and indirect benefits that ecosystems provide to surrounding human populations, understanding how they have changed over time and space deserves a special place on the ecosystem management agenda. Such a perspective can only be derived from a palaeoecology, particularly where there is high resolution, both through time and across space. The East African palaeoecological archive is reviewed, in particular to assess how it can meet this need. Although there remain crucial gaps, the number of palaeoecological archives from East Africa growing rapidly, some employing new and novel techniques to trace past ecosystem response to climate change. When compared to the archaeological record it is possible to disentangle human from climate change impacts, and how the former interacts with major environmental changes such as increased use of fire, changing herbivore densities and increased atmospheric CO2 concentration. With this multi-dimensional perspective of environmental change impacts it is imperative that our understanding of past human-ecosystem interactions are considered to impart effective long term management strategies; such an approach will enhance possibilities for a sustainable future for East African ecosystems and maximise the livelihoods of the populations that rely on them.

scholarly journals Butterfly abundance declines over 20 years of systematic monitoring in Ohio, USA

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyson Wepprich ◽  
Jeffrey R. Adrion ◽  
Leslie Ries ◽  
Jerome Wiedmann ◽  
Nick M. Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Population Trends ◽  
Systematic Monitoring ◽  
Environmental Causes

AbstractSevere insect declines make headlines, but they are rarely based on systematic monitoring outside of Europe. We estimate the rate of change in total butterfly abundance and the population trends for 81 species using 21 years of systematic monitoring in Ohio, USA. Total abundance is declining at 2% per year, resulting in a cumulative 33% reduction in butterfly abundance. Three times as many species have negative population trends compared to positive trends. The rate of total decline and the proportion of species in decline mirror those documented in three comparable long-term European monitoring programs. Multiple environmental changes such as climate change, habitat degradation, and agricultural practices may contribute to these declines in Ohio and shift the makeup of the butterfly community by benefiting some species over others. Our analysis of life-history traits associated with population trends shows an impact of climate change, as species with northern distributions and fewer annual generations declined more rapidly. However, even common and invasive species associated with human-dominated landscapes are declining, suggesting widespread environmental causes for these trends. Declines in common species, although they may not be close to extinction, will have an outsized impact on the ecosystem services provided by insects. These results from the most extensive, systematic insect monitoring program in North America demonstrate an ongoing defaunation in butterflies that on an annual scale might be imperceptible, but cumulatively has reduced butterfly numbers by a third over 20 years.

How to inform decision making under uncertainty? Quantifying and evaluating different sources of uncertainty in environmental modelling

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conrad Jackisch ◽  
Anett Schibalski ◽  
Boris Schröder
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Management Decision ◽  
Decision Making Under Uncertainty ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Different Sources

<p>Adaptation to environmental changes requires decision making under uncertainty. Providing forecasts of the potential impact of different management options is a common task for environmental modellers. However, we rarely succeed in conveying uncertainties as relevant information to distinguish management options regarding their expected value and its uncertainty. Quite to the contrary, the reality in the modelling of complex systems under climate change often leads to similar mean values and broad uncertainty bands. Both may irritate users and even lead to indecision and inaction despite an urgent call for action.</p><p>In the inter- and transdisciplinary project RUINS (Risk, Uncertainty and Insurance under Climate Change. Coastal Land Management on the German North Sea), we address a region that is sensitive to changes in relative sea level, weather patterns and land-use practices. We develop methods to quantify the uncertainty of adaptation measures through the chain of models for climate, hydrology and landscape management. The aim is to provide tools for the evaluation of forecasted effects of management options, where uncertainty itself is considered an evaluation criterion.</p><p>We will present examples to point out pitfalls and potentials of uncertainty quantification in environmental model forecasting for management decision making: (i) we highlight different sources and different kinds of uncertainty with an example of agricultural production; (ii) we address trade-offs between expected wind power production and the security of its provision; moreover, (iii) we highlight the role of temporal data resolution and capacity of drainage structures in the assessment of flood protection during extreme rain events.</p>

scholarly journals Major threats of pollution and climate change to global coastal ecosystems and enhanced management for sustainability

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonglong Lu ◽  
Jingjing Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Coastal Zone ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Coastal Ecosystems ◽  
Observation System ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Coastal Marine Ecosystems

Coastal zone is of great importance in the provision of various valuable ecosystem services. However, it is also sensitive and vulnerable to environmental changes due to high human populations and interactions between the land and ocean. Major threats of pollution from over enrichment of nutrients, increasing metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and climate change have led to severe ecological degradation in the coastal zone, while few studies have focused on the combined impacts of pollution and climate change on the coastal ecosystems at the global level. A global overview of nutrients, metals, POPs, and major environmental changes due to climate change and their impacts on coastal ecosystems was carried out in this study. Coasts of the Eastern Atlantic and Western Pacific were hotspots of concentrations of several pollutants, and mostly affected by warming climate. These hotspots shared the same features of large populations, heavy industry and (semi-) closed sea. Estimation of coastal ocean capital, integrated management of land-ocean interaction in the coastal zone, enhancement of integrated global observation system, and coastal ecosystem-based management can play effective roles in promoting sustainable management of coastal marine ecosystems. Enhanced management from the perspective of mitigating pollution and climate change was proposed.

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