Wayward Migration: On Imagined Futures and Technological Voids

This article exploresimagined migration and migrantimaginaries. It takes its point of departure in fieldwork among would-be migrants in Bissau and traces the realization of their hopes into Europe. More specifically, it sheds light on the way young men from Bissau, the capital of the small, impoverished West African country of Guinea-Bissau, position the decline and destruction that characterize their city in relation to the peace, prosperity and progress they see elsewhere. In doing so, it illuminates a world that, seen from Bissau, is characterized by very uneven levels of control over socio-political matters. A world that is divided into different zones of mastery over social, political and economic processes. Finally, the article dwells on the consequences of this imagined global order and its effect on the acts and strategies of young migrants.     

红树林生态系统服务功能研究综述

红树林湿地是热带亚热带地区陆地生态系统向海洋生态系统过渡的重要生态系统,具有重要的生态环境服务功能。由于其特殊的生态功能和较高的经济、社会价值,近年来成为湿地生态学研究的热点。本文对红树林生态系统在生产有机物、维持热带亚热带河口生态系统、降低风速以及海水流速、防治和减轻灾难、截留碎屑形成陆地、保护海堤、吸附污染物净化水体、提供多种生境、维护生物多样性,以及形成优美的环境开展生态旅游等几个方面的生态服务功能进行了综述,旨在为红树林资源的保护与合理利用提供参考。同时指出,对红树林的上述生态服务功能的内在生态学过程与效应及其价值评估尚需要开展更深入的研究。     

红树林生态系统微生物驱动的氮素循环过程研究进展

微生物驱动的氮循环过程在红树林生态系统物质循环、净化外来污染物、维持生态系统平衡等方面起重要作用。相较于其他自然生态系统,因红树林处于沿海陆地交界地带,其氮循环过程及其相关微生物的种类丰富,受交错复杂的环境因素影响与调控。本文梳理了红树林土壤性质及特性,综述了红树林生态系统中由微生物驱动的固氮、氮素矿化、硝化、厌氧氨氧化、反硝化、异化硝酸盐还原为铵等主要的氮循环过程,并讨论了氮循环与其他循环的耦合过程。最后讨论pH、盐度、季节、螃蟹活动、红树林树种等环境因素对氮循环过程及其相关微生物丰度、多样性的影响。本综述以期为红树林湿地生态系统的保护和修复提供理论参考。     

Ritual Powers and Social Tensions as Moral Discourse among the Tuareg

Ritual powers traditionally glossed as "witchcraft" in anthropology need not be an archaic or exotic phenomenon, isolated from historical processes of global political and economic transformation. The author analyzes how, among the Kel Ewey Tuareg of northern Niger, these emerge as a moral discourse, an attempt to make sense of and cope with the interplay of long-standing social forms and emergent sociopolitical transformations.     

Local Mangrove Planting in the Philippines: Are Fisherfolk and Fishpond Owners Effective Restorationists?

Local fisherfolk and fishpond owners have been practicing “restoration” of mangrove forests in some parts of the Philippines for decades, well before governments and non‐government organizations began to promote the activity as a conservation tool. This paper examines ecological characteristics of these mangrove plantations and compares them to natural mangroves in the same areas. Mangrove planters were interviewed and plantation and natural mangrove forests were surveyed to measure forest structure, composition and regeneration. Compared with natural forests, mangrove plantations were characterized by high densities of small stems, shorter and narrower canopies, and fewer species. For both economic and ecological reasons, the vast majority of people dispersed and planted only Rhizophora mucronata/stylosa and, furthermore, they often thinned other species out of planted areas. There was remarkably little subsequent recruitment of other, nonplanted mangrove species into plantations up to 50 and 60 years of age. This pattern held across a diversity of sites, including plantations that had not been selectively cut or weeded. Important ecological and economic benefits result from local mangrove planting, but catalyzing diverse forest regeneration—at least in the short to medium term—is not one of them. The lesson: if you want to restore diverse mangrove forests, you have to plant diverse mangrove forests.     

Mangrove Restoration: Do We Know Enough?

Mangrove restoration projects have been attempted, with mixed results, throughout the world. In this paper, I first examine goals of existing mangrove restoration projects and determine whether these goals are clear and adequate, and whether or not they account for the full range of biological diversity and ecological processes of mangrove ecosystems. Many restored mangrove forests resemble forest plantations rather than truly integrated ecosystems, but mangrove plantations can be a first step toward mangrove rehabilitation. Mangrove restoration projects that involve associated aquaculture or mariculture operations tend to be more likely to approximate the biological diversity and ecological processes of undisturbed mangrove ecosystems than are projects that focus only on the trees. These integrated restoration projects also provide a higher economic return than do silvicultural projects alone. Second, I briefly assess whether existing ecological data are sufficient to undergird successful restoration of mangal and define criteria for determining whether or not a mangrove ecosystem has been restored successfully. These criteria include characteristics of vegetation (forest) structure, levels of primary production, composition of associated animal communities, and hydrology. Finally, I suggest ways to improve mangrove restoration projects and identify key research needs required to support these efforts. Ecological theories derived from other wetland and upland systems rarely have been applied to either “basic” or “applied” mangrove forest studies, to the detriment of restoration projects, whereas lessons from restoration of the relatively species‐poor mangrove ecosystems could be beneficially applied to restoration projects in other contexts. An international database of mangrove restoration projects would reduce the likelihood that unsuccessful restoration projects would be repeated elsewhere. Clear criteria for evaluating success, greater accessibility of information by managers in the developing world, intensified international cooperation, and application of relevant ecological theories will improve the success rate of mangrove restoration projects.     

Feeding clusters and olfaction in the mangrove snail Terebralia palustris (Linnaeus) (Potamididae: Gastropoda)

Large numbers of the snail Terebralia palustris (Linnaeus) (Potamididae; Gastropoda) are frequently observed feeding in a cluster on a single fallen mangrove leaf, yet none are present on leaves nearby. Consequently, we investigated the food-finding ability of T. palustris in a Kenyan mangrove forest using field experiments. We estimated the attractive effect of different cues and analysed the paths (video-recorded) of snails when approaching a food-related odour. This intertidal snail can potentially use both air-borne and water-borne odours to locate food. T. palustris is attracted to conspecifics feeding on leaves, while intact leaves as well as non-feeding snails are not attractive. Moreover, the guiding stimulus appears to be compounds released when the leaves are damaged.T. palustris also seems able to discriminate between different food items; it is more strongly attracted to green mangrove leaves than senescent or fallen ones or mangrove propagules, probably because green leaves release a greater amount of attractive cues.Feeding snails thus recruit more snails to feed on the same leaf. The ecological implications of this behaviour are discussed: a large number of snails on the same leaf counteracts the ability of crabs to remove the leaf being eaten by the snails.     

Introduction: Patterns of generational change: convergent,reactive or emergent?

Abstract

The aim of this special issue is to map the extent of generational change among Britain's ethnic minority population and to understand some of the underlying processes involved. Is there greater integration across generations, or has the ‘new second generation’ in Britain remained isolated from the mainstream, perhaps as a result of the prejudice and discrimination from the white British that they have encountered or because of desires to maintain ethnic values and resist western practices? We also ask whether processes of generational change have proceeded at the same pace and direction in different domains – notably cultural, social, structural and political – and whether it has proceeded at the same pace among different minorities.     

Comparison Between Tidally Driven Groundwater Flow and Flushing of Animal Burrows in Tropical Mangrove Swamps

Tidal groundwater in a mangrove swamp can return to the mangrove creek by one of two mechanisms: (a) it can either flow through the swamp soil due to the water table difference between the creek and the groundwater in the swamp; or (b) it can flow via tidal flushing of animal burrows. This paper compares the magnitude of these two mechanisms for different regions of a mangrove swamp. Direct groundwater flow rates resulting from water stored in the sediment as a consequence of infiltration, especially during and after tidal inundation, were calculated for every square meter in the surface of a mangrove forest from piezometer data. Flow rates of water due to burrow flushing were determined based on published surveys, by estimating the burrow volume and the percentage of the burrow water that is flushed at each tidal inundation. Although direct groundwater flux was found to decrease further away from the creek compared to close to the creek, it was also found to have a similar range as burrow flushing flow. Specifically, direct groundwater flow ranged from 0.004 to 0.04 m³/m²/day, whilst burrow flushing flux ranged from 0.01 to 0.04 m³/m²/day.Considering the errors involved in the experiments and calculations, these ranges can be considered as being the same and neither of the two processes can be considered as negligible compared to the other. As a consequence, surveys of groundwater processes in mangrove areas, and more generally in swamp and tidal areas where animal burrows are present, will need to consider both mechanisms. Investigations of the influence over flushing mechanisms of different residence times of the water in burrows and in the sediment body would also be recommended in order to establish salt and nutrient budget in mangrove swamps.     

‘The Tides Rhyme with the Moon’: The Impacts of Knowledge Transmission and Strong Spring Tides on Rice Farming in Guinea-Bissau

Mangrove rice farmers in Guinea-Bissau are facing climatic changes (i.e., seawater flooding and decreasing rainfall) that threaten their livelihood. In addition, cultural transformations (e.g., abandonment of bush initiations) have affected inter-generational knowledge exchange and elders’ control over youth. Our ethnographic research documents the construction of a dam in a village in southern Guinea-Bissau to protect rice farms from seawater flooding. In a struggle for increased access to land, the youth of the village formed an association to ensure the availability of labor and promote knowledge exchange. Inter-village expert knowledge of mangrove rice farming is disseminated through networks of reciprocity that exist alongside village, household, and age-based knowledge transmission. Farmers’ capacity to experiment with technological solutions and expand the connections in regional knowledge networks is crucial to ongoing adaptation. Multidimensional rural development strategies are of importance to respond to changing climatic and socio-cultural conditions.     

Processes of organic carbon in mangrove ecosystems

In addition to carbon accumulation in plants, processes of organic carbon in mangrove ecosystems include origins of sediment organic carbon, carbon fluxes between mangroves and their adjacent systems (coastal waters and atmosphere), and cycling processes. Sediment organic carbon originates from suspending solids in coastal waters, mangrove plants and benthic algae. In mangroves with low organic carbon content in sediments, tidal seawater is the main origin of sediment organic carbon, while in mangroves with high sediment organic carbon contents, sediment organic carbon mainly originates from mangrove plants. Due to tidal flush, there is large material exchange between mangrove ecosystems and their adjacent coastal waters. In China, exports of organic carbon in litter falls and dissolved organic carbon from mangroves to their adjacent coastal waters have not been documented. Processes of mangrove litter falls, including production, decomposition, export and animal consumption, determine linkages among organic carbon among mangrove plants, secondary production and coastal ocean. Consumers especially benthic animals may influence organic carbon in mangrove ecosystems, because (1) their consumption rates are high, and their selective feeding on some food sources will change the relative quantities of export, bury and mineralization of organic carbon from different origins; (2) their consumption is much more than assimilation, resulting in the changes in sizes, forms and qualities of non-assimilated organic matters, and then the changes in availability of export, consumption or mineralization of organic carbon. Respiration and sulfate reduction are important mineralization processes of organic carbon in mangrove sediments. Mineralization rates of organic carbon in mangrove sediments are influenced by quantities, activities and particle sizes of organic matters, and other factors such as forest ages, root activities and animal burrowing activities. Researches on processes of mangrove organic carbon should be based on open systems, and ecological processes of organic carbon should be coupled with vegetation restoration.     

Processes of organic carbon in mangrove ecosystems

In addition to carbon accumulation in plants, processes of organic carbon in mangrove ecosystems include origins of sediment organic carbon, carbon fluxes between mangroves and their adjacent systems (coastal waters and atmosphere), and cycling processes. Sediment organic carbon originates from suspending solids in coastal waters, mangrove plants and benthic algae. In mangroves with low organic carbon content in sediments, tidal seawater is the main origin of sediment organic carbon, while in mangroves with high sediment organic carbon contents, sediment organic carbon mainly originates from mangrove plants. Due to tidal flush, there is large material exchange between mangrove ecosystems and their adjacent coastal waters. In China, exports of organic carbon in litter falls and dissolved organic carbon from mangroves to their adjacent coastal waters have not been documented. Processes of mangrove litter falls, including production, decomposition, export and animal consumption, determine linkages among organic carbon among mangrove plants, secondary production and coastal ocean. Consumers especially benthic animals may influence organic carbon in mangrove ecosystems, because (1) their consumption rates are high, and their selective feeding on some food sources will change the relative quantities of export, bury and mineralization of organic carbon from different origins; (2) their consumption is much more than assimilation, resulting in the changes in sizes, forms and qualities of non-assimilated organic matters, and then the changes in availability of export, consumption or mineralization of organic carbon. Respiration and sulfate reduction are important mineralization processes of organic carbon in mangrove sediments. Mineralization rates of organic carbon in mangrove sediments are influenced by quantities, activities and particle sizes of organic matters, and other factors such as forest ages, root activities and animal burrowing activities. Researches on processes of mangrove organic carbon should be based on open systems, and ecological processes of organic carbon should be coupled with vegetation restoration.     

红树林湿地恢复研究进展

红树林是生长在热带、亚热带隐蔽潮间带的独特植物群落,在过去几十年内因人口压力和经济发展而遭到严重破坏,质量下降,面积萎缩.近年来,尽管世界各地采取了一系列措施进行红树林的恢复,然而由于缺乏造林技术资料、造林成活率低下、经营管理粗放,加上人为干扰和自然灾害的影响,红树林面积增长缓慢;造林成活率低依然是制约红树林湿地恢复的主要因素.总结了近年来国内外红树林湿地恢复四个方面的研究成果,即(1)宜林地选择,包括温度、底质、水文的环境条件研究;(2)树种选择与引种,包括乡土树种的选用和外来树种的引种状况;(3)栽培技术的应用,包括造林栽培技术与育苗技术,造林成本的比较;(4)植后管护及监测,包括幼林巡护、病虫害防治、生态监测,结合野外调查的结果,综述了红树林恢复的一些基本原理与应用实例.根据我国红树林湿地恢复的现状,提出今后红树林恢复研究的重点为:开展"退塘还林"工程,监测红树林湿地生态系统生物多样性的恢复,深入探讨红树林的化感作用,营造红树林混交林,实现红树林的生态恢复.     

基于斑块的红树林空间演变机理分析方法

现有红树林空间动态分析多是从整体的角度分析其面积的变化情况及其影响因素,着重于面积变化的定量分析和影响因素的定性分析,对其变化的发生途径缺乏深入分析,也不研究其斑块数量的变化动态。由于一定区域范围内的红树林由成百上千甚至更多空间上相互分离的斑块组成,各斑块边界和面积变化动态构成了区域红树林整体的空间分布变化动态,因此,只有深入摸清各个斑块的变化情况及其影响因素,才能对区域红树林整体变化情况作出全面、详细和准确的分析评估。提出了基于斑块的红树林空间演变机理分析方法,首先通过两期高空间分辨率遥感图像提取红树林空间分布信息,在GIS支持下采用叠置分析方法,根据前、后两期各个斑块的空间位置、形状和面积变化情况以及图像表征,逐一分析确定每个斑块变化的主要驱动因子(即变化原因,包括自然过程、围垦、养殖塘和盐田建设、工程建设和人工造林5种)和变化途径(即变化类型,包括稳定、扩张、萎缩、碎化、消失和新增6种),在此基础上构建斑块数量和面积变化的驱动因子-变化途径状态矩阵,通过总驱动量、总驱动率、净驱动量、净驱动率、趋势驱动率、总流量、总流率、净流量、净流率、趋势净流率和作用力等系列指标定量地评估红树林斑块数量和面积的变化动态。该方法不但能够定量地表达了各个驱动因子对红树林斑块数量和面积变化的影响程度,而且能够准确地阐明了红树林斑块数量和面积发生变化的途径,并且还能够准确地反映了每个驱动因子通过何种途径影响斑块数量和面积的变化,实现了红树林空间动态变化分析的定位化、定量化和精确化。     

Collective Management of Water Resources in Coastal Bangladesh: Formal and Substantive Approaches

We examine the processes of collective management of water resources for agriculture within the wider context of environmental change in a coastal region of Bangladesh. We argue that while the formal propositions of rational-actor theories (such as the Institutional Analysis and Design Framework) help to identify the potential constraints to collective action (e.g., the free rider problem), these propositions need to be seen in the substantive social context of any given case. Findings show that the pattern of collective water management is crucially dependent on the individual economic incentives for participation as well as the social structures and norms that influence the behaviour of different classes of actor, including those with conflicting economic incentives. By examining the substantive processes of negotiation and decision-making around specific problems of water management, we are able to identify the contingent set of factors that shape the responses of different actors, enabling or constraining desirable collective outcomes.     

湛江红树林保护区大型底栖动物的群落结构

目的：对广东湛江红树林保护区大型底栖动物群落结构及其与红树植物群落、环境因子的关系进行分析。方法：用大型多元统计软件PRIMER对采样调查的数据进行分析。结果：种群的相对重要性存在着地点和季节的差异。聚类和非参数多变量标序分析显示,大型底栖动物群落结构存在季节差异;相似性分析检验表明动物群落结构季节间差异极显著（P〈0．01）,不同剖面的动物群落结构差异也极显著（p〈0．01）;相关检验分析表明,群落结构季节间存在显著的正相关关系（P〈0．05）。相似性百分比分析表明由于某些大型底栖动物优势种的数量存在较大的季节波动,造成群落结构季节间的差异。相关检验分析表明两个红树剖面春季和夏季大型底栖动物的种类丰度和生物量均与对应的红树植物群落特征、环境因子测定值呈显著或极显著相关（P〈0．05或P〈0．01）;生物一环境分析显示,两个红树剖面的大型底栖动物群落结构均与土壤机械组成、pH、盐分、有机质含量、湖位线和红树植物群落相关。结论：研究表明,季节、底质、潮位线和红树植物群落是影响大型底栖动物群落结构变化的主要因子。     

Away‐field advantage: mangrove seedlings grow best in litter from other mangrove species

Plant community composition can impact ecosystem processes via litter feedbacks. Species variation in litter quality may generate different patterns of nutrient supply for plants that are dependent on litter inputs. However, it is not known whether plants grow faster in their own litter, litter from other species, or in litter mixtures from multiple species. To test whether litter identity and mixture status influenced mangrove seedling growth, biomass allocation, and stoichiometry, we performed mesocosm experiments. Two species of mangrove seedlings, Avicennia germinans, black mangrove and Rhizophora mangle, red mangrove, were exposed to all possible combinations of three mangrove litter types and were isolated from all other nutrient inputs. Litter treatments significantly altered seedling growth. Seedlings from both mangrove species grew most rapidly in litter from a different species rather than their own, irrespective of litter chemical quality, decomposition rate, and nitrogen release. Litter mixtures from white and black mangroves caused black mangroves to grow 65% more than expected. Litter treatments did not impact seedling root:shoot ratios or tissue C:N. Our finding that seedlings grow best in litter from other species may indicate a mechanism that helps sustain the coexistence of dominant species.     

A unified framework for the restoration of Southeast Asian mangroves—bridging ecology, society and economics

The effect of intensive human intervention, poor socio-economic conditions and little knowledge on mangrove ecology pose enormous challenges for mangrove restoration in Southeast Asia. We present a framework for tropical mangrove restoration. Our proposed restoration framework addresses the ecology, economy and social issues simultaneously by considering the causes of mangrove degradation. We provide a step by step guideline for its restoration. We argue that although, ecological issues are of prime importance, economic and social issues must be considered in the restoration plan in order for it to be successful. Since mangrove ecology is not adequately studied in this region, local ecological knowledge can be used to fill the baseline information gaps. Unwanted human disturbance can be minimized by encouraging community participation. This can be ensured and sustained by facilitating the livelihood of the coastal community. We translated the restoration paradigm into a readily available practical guideline for the executors of the plans. We provide an example of mangrove restoration project that is closely related to our proposed framework. We are optimistic that this framework has the potential for universal application with necessary adjustments.     

Dynamics of the public concern and risk communication program implementation

Abstract

The public concern about electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure varies due to different reasons. A part of them are connected with the better and higher quality of information that people receive from science, media, Internet, social networks, industry, but others are based on good communication programs performed by the responsible institutions, administration and persons. Especially, in Bulgaria, public concern follows interesting changes, some of them in correlation with the European processes of concern, but others following the economic and political processes in the country. Here, we analyze the dynamics of the public concern over the last 10 years. Our explanation of the decrease of the people’s complaints against EMF exposure from base stations for mobile communication is as a result of our risk communication program that is in implementation for >10 years.     

Structure and production in neotropical mangroves

Research on the extensive mangrove communities of neotropical shorelines has generated several hypotheses concerning the factors leading to the zonation of mangrove species from shore to land. Zonation has been thought of as an expression of successional processes that occur as coastlines extend seaward due to land building by mangroves, as an expression of the different physiological requirements of different species, as a function of propagule size, or as the result of the geophysical forces that continually reshape the coastline. This article reviews the evidence for the various hypotheses, and comments on the production of mangroves and their importance in shoreline management.