Loss and Recovery Potential of Marine Habitats: An Experimental Study of Factors Maintaining Resilience in Subtidal Algal Forests at the Adriatic Sea

BACKGROUND: Predicting and abating the loss of natural habitats present a huge challenge in science, conservation and management. Algal forests are globally threatened by loss and severe recruitment failure, but our understanding of resilience in these systems and its potential disruption by anthropogenic factors lags well behind other habitats. We tested hypotheses regarding triggers for decline and recovery potential in subtidal forests of canopy-forming algae of the genus Cystoseira. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: By using a combination of historical data, and quantitative in situ observations of natural recruitment patterns we suggest that recent declines of forests along the coasts of the north Adriatic Sea were triggered by increasing cumulative impacts of natural- and human-induced habitat instability along with several extreme storm events. Clearing and transplantation experiments subsequently demonstrated that at such advanced stages of ecosystem degradation, increased substratum stability would be essential but not sufficient to reverse the loss, and that for recovery to occur removal of the new dominant space occupiers (i.e., opportunistic species including turf algae and mussels) would be required. Lack of surrounding adult canopies did not seem to impair the potential for assisted recovery, suggesting that in these systems recovery could be actively enhanced even following severe depletions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrate that sudden habitat loss can be facilitated by long term changes in the biotic and abiotic conditions in the system, that erode the ability of natural ecosystems to absorb and recover from multiple stressors of natural and human origin. Moreover, we demonstrate that the mere restoration of environmental conditions preceding a loss, if possible, may be insufficient for ecosystem restoration, and is scarcely cost-effective. We conclude that the loss of complex marine habitats in human-dominated landscapes could be mitigated with appropriate consideration and management of incremental habitat changes and of attributes facilitating system recovery

At-line monitoring of SET-LRP reactions

The major goal of this work is to develop and test a system capable of monitoring polymerisation processes in real time. Such a system should provide accurate conversion and molecular weight distribution data compared with results from manual sampling. Online monitoring techniques have been applied to the controlled radical polymerisation of methyl acrylate mediated by copper wire. Conversion has been measured using Near Infra-Red spectroscopy and conversion and molecular weight distributions monitored with rapid chromatography and the results compared with conventional analytical techniques in order to demonstrate the validity of the data. Parameters that affect the reaction have been varied in order to optimise conditions for synthesis and gain an insight into the reaction mechanism. Alcohols as additives in a non-polar solvent system for Cu(0) mediated polymerisation of methyl acrylate have been assessed. These reactions potentially facilitate the polymerisation of monomers for which polymerisation using copper metal would otherwise be inaccessible due to lack of solubility.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServicePolymerLaboratoriesGBUnited Kingdo