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The Ecological Role of Sharks on Coral Reefs

Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Aurellado, Eleanor

Birrell, Chico

Bozec, Yves-Marie

Doropoulos, Christopher

Krueck, Nils C.

Mumby, Peter J.

Priest, Mark

Roff, George

Rogers, Alice

Sharks are considered the apex predator of coral reefs, but the consequences of their global depletion are uncertain. Here we explore the ecological roles of sharks on coral reefs and, conversely, the importance of reefs for sharks. We find that most reef-associated shark species do not act as apex predators but instead function as mesopredators along with a diverse group of reef fish. While sharks perform important direct and indirect ecological roles, the evidence to support hypothesised shark-driven trophic cascades that benefit corals is weak and equivocal. Coral reefs provide some functional benefits to sharks, but sharks do not appear to favour healthier reef environments. Restoring populations of sharks is important and can yet deliver ecological surprise.

Global threats from invasive alien species in the twenty-first century and national response capacities

Climate Change Resilience, BRB

Available Online

Blumenthal, Dana M.

Bradley, Bethany A.

Dukes, Jeffrey S.

Early, Regan

Gonzalez, Patrick

Grosholz, Edwin D.

Ibañez, Ines

Lawler, Joshua J.

Miller, Luke P.

Olden, Julian D.

Sorte, Cascade J.B.

Tatem, Andrew J.

Invasive alien species (IAS) threaten human livelihoods and biodiversity globally. Increasing globalization facilitates IAS arrival, and environmental changes, including climate change, facilitate IAS establishment. Here we provide the first global, spatial analysis of the terrestrial threat from IAS in light of twenty-first century globalization and environmental change, and evaluate national capacities to prevent and manage species invasions. We find that one-sixth of the global land surface is highly vulnerable to invasion, including substantial areas in developing economies and biodiversity hotspots. The dominant invasion vectors differ between high-income countries (imports, particularly of plants and pets) and low-income countries (air travel). Uniting data on the causes of introduction and establishment can improve early-warning and eradication schemes. Most countries have limited capacity to act against invasions. In particular, we reveal a clear need for proactive invasion strategies in areas with high poverty levels, high biodiversity and low historical levels of invasion.

Pacific Islands Meteorological Services in Action : a compendium of climate services case studies

Climate Change Resilience, Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Leala-Gale, Christina

In a large, diverse region like the Pacific, clear and concise communication of both successes and lessons learned is vital for further effective development. A workshop was created to help the participants develop stories to tell the world what the Pacific is doing on climate services. The week-long writing workshop or writeshop created a space for climate service providers to learn outreach writing skills and how to analyse their own efforts. The writeshop was coordinated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) with support from the Climate and Oceans Support Programme in the Pacific (COSPPac) and Environment and Climate Change Canada. This first writeshop for climate services in the Pacific was a productive and intense week of growth for the participants, resulting in 20 stories for a regional compendium.

Taveuni Island Participatory 3D Modelling Exercise

Flynn, M'Lis

The Taveuni Island Participatory Modelling (P3DM) exercise, supported by the Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP), was held from 20-28 October 2016 in the village of Somosomo, Taveuni.

Cost-Benefit Analysis for Natural Resource Management in the Pacific : A guide - Second Edition

Biodiversity Conservation

Buncle, Aaron.

Daigneault, Adam.

Fink, Anna.

Holland, Paula.

Hook, Scott.

Manley, Marita

The importance of natural resources to the economy of the Pacific island region cannot be overstated. Island communities have unsurprisingly relied heavily on ocean resources for sustenance and economic activities, such as fishing and transport. Land-based resources are also vital at subsistence level, and are providing increasing development opportunities, for example through forestry and mineral mining.

Cost-Benefit Analysis for Natural Resource Management in the Pacific : Training Participant Workbook

Biodiversity Conservation

Buncle, A., Daigneault, A., Holland, P., Fink, A., Hook, S., & Manley, M.

The importance of natural resources to the economy of the Pacific island region cannot be overstated. Island communities have unsurprisingly relied heavily on ocean resources for sustenance and economic activities, such as fishing and transport. Land-based resources are also vital at subsistence level, and are providing increasing development opportunities, for example through forestry and mineral mining.|Training workbook for the Cost-Benefit Analysis for Natural Resource Management in the Pacific

Leachate from microplastics impairs larval development in brown mussels

Biodiversity Conservation

Gandara e Silva, Pablo Pena

Gusmão, Felipe

Nobre, Caio Rodrigues

Pereira, Camilo Dias Seabra

Resaffe, Pryscila

Microplastic debris is a pervasive type of contaminant in marine ecosystems, being considered a major threat to marine biota. One of the problems of microplastics is that they can adsorb contaminants in extremely high concentrations. When released from the particle, these contaminants have the potential to cause toxic effects in the biota. So far, reports of toxic effects are mostly linked with the direct exposure of organisms through ingestion of contaminated microplastics. There is little information on the toxicity of leachates from microplastics to marine organisms. In this study, we conducted experiments to evaluate the toxicity of leachates from virgin and beached plastic pellets to embryo development of the brown mussel (Perna perna). We compared the efficiency of two test procedures, and evaluated the toxicity of beached pellets collected in a coastal marine protected area.We observed that mussel embryo is sensitive to leachate from both virgin and beached pellets. However, the toxicity of the leachate from beached pellets was much higher than that of virgin pellets.We suggest contaminants adsorbed onto the surface of beached pellets were responsible for the high toxicity of leachate from beached pellets, while the toxicity of leachate from virgin pellets was mainly due to plastic additives. Our results suggest microplastic debris may be harmful even if ingestion is not the only or main pathway of interaction of marine organisms with contaminated plastic debris.

Briefing: Advancing equity in protected area conservation

Available Online

Franks, Phil

IIED

The important global, national and local benefits provided by protected areas may come at a cost to communities, and any resultant experience of injustice can undermine protected area conservation. Conversely, the success of many areas conserved by Indigenous Peoples and local communities makes a compelling case for the stronger engagement of local rights-holders and stakeholders in all types of protected area. The Convention on Biological Diversity recognises the need to govern and manage protected areas effectively and equitably; this briefing provides an equity framework to support policymakers, protected area managers, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and other local stakeholders in achieving this.

A Global Standard for the Identification of Key Biodiversity Areas: Version 0.1

Available Online

IUCN

At the World Conservation Congress, held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2004, the IUCN Membership requested a worldwide consultative process to agree a methodology to enable countries to identify Key Biodiversity Areas. In response to this Resolution (WCC 2004 Res 3.013), the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) established a Joint Task Force on Biodiversity and Protected Areas. The Joint Task Force mobilised input from experts in the IUCN Commissions, Members and Secretariat staff, other conservation organisations, academia, governments, donors and the private sector to consolidate the criteria and methodology for identifying Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) as sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity.

Comparative Investigations of Combustion Emissions from Paper Briquettes

Climate Change Resilience

Available Online

Dr. Pourkhesalian, Ali Mohammad

Dr. Rahman, Md Mostafizur

Dr. Stevanovic, Svetlana

PACWASTE

Thai, Phong

In the Pacific islands region the impacts of global climate change are becoming increasingly apparent, driving efforts to adapt and decrease the production of greenhouse gases (GHG) through combustion of fossil fuels. On Majuro atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), one initiative to mitigate the impact of climate change is the manufacturing of briquettes out of waste paper and cardboard, to replace the imported coal briquettes that are widely used for cooking.

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