The Importance of Education and Community Engagement Towards Sea Turtle Conservation

In order to cope with the historic unsustainable use of resources and lack of concern that humans have for the environment, scientists and educators have “elected” species they believe can help to conserve natural resources. As a beloved and charismatic species, sea turtles are often chosen as ambassadors to encourage a change in public perception of the importance of healthy ecosystems. Sea turtles are some of the most vulnerable species in marine ecosystems, yet the roles they play as habitat engineers, predators, prey, and facilitators of nutrient cycling are becoming more apparent as human activities have reduced their numbers worldwide. Poaching of their nests, bycatch in commercial fisheries, and capture for meat and carapaces are drastically affecting critical turtle populations and placing them closer to extinction. However, by playing vital roles in the delicate balance of marine ecosystems, they help educators encourage changes in behavior that help protect sea turtles and the marine ecosystems that rely on them. This paper highlights the importance of education in conservation and demonstrates the use of charismatic megafauna, like the sea turtle, in the fight to save the environment by showcasing the role that sea turtles play in marine ecosystems as well as the success of Equipo Tora Carey

Breadth of the Wild: Global Patterns in Elasmobranch Dietary Niche Breadth

A widely recognized pattern in ecology is the latitudinal diversity gradient: increasing biodiversity with decreasing latitude. The latitude niche-breadth hypothesis states that the stable climate of the tropics allows for increased specialization (smaller niche), promoting greater biodiversity in the available niche space. The highly dynamic climate of the poles drives the evolution of generalists (larger niche), limiting biodiversity. While the fundamental question of “what drives species richness?” on land remains debated, it is even less understood in the marine environment. Elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, and rays) are a data-rich, globally distributed group that occupy an array of functional roles, inhabiting coastal to open ocean habitats from the poles to the tropics. In this thesis, I use a global-scale stomach contents dataset to calculate standardized Levin’s niche breadth for 237 populations of 85 elasmobranch species in order to examine spatial patterns in niche breadth. I find that niche breadth varies widely across all functional, taxonomic, and regional groups, highlighting the diversity and potential resiliency of this clade. Niche breadth of elasmobranchs does not follow a latitudinal gradient. Instead, niche varies with depth, with niche breadth generally increasing with increasing depth. This depth gradient is strongest in bottom-dwelling elasmobranchs with smaller range sizes and weakest in wide-ranging pelagic elasmobranchs. This pattern suggests that for species with limited mobility, specialization may mediate coexistence in highly biodiverse areas with elevated competition. Why this pattern applies in a depth, but not latitudinal, gradient remains unclear

Mangrove-Dependent Small-Scale Fisher (SSF) Communities in the Sundarbans – Vulnerable yet Viable

Sundarbans social-ecological system is the largest remaining mangrove wetland in the Asian continent. Its ecological subsystem is comprised of mangroves of Sundarbans shared between India and Bangladesh, which are complex ecosystems on the verge of obliteration. Along with diverse flora and fauna, they support the livelihoods and culture of millions of small-scale fisheries communities which make up the social subsystem of Sundarbans. 7.5 million people reside in the Sundarbans and around 40,000 households are dependent solely on small-scale fisheries. Mangrove cover have been reduced by 35% in the recent years by the combined action of natural and anthropogenic drivers of change such as cyclones and extensive shrimp aquaculture. There were other active drivers as well, but the major ones were selected for the case studies. Recurrent cyclones uproot mangroves and damage fishponds, boats, and fishing gear. Conversion of mangrove wetlands and agricultural lands by non-fishers and large-scale fishing fleets, into fragmented shrimp culture ponds create fishing pressure on the Sundarbans as well as competition between them and the small-scale fisher communities. These factors result in multidimensional vulnerabilities affecting the ecosystem and small-scale fisheries, through effects like habitat loss, fragmentation, overexploitation of resources, loss of livelihoods, lack of opportunities and migration. There is a lack of understanding of the interaction and interconnection between mangroves and small-scale fisheries on a vulnerability and viability perspective as well as on a social-ecological system’s perspective. The purpose of this research is to assess the vulnerability of small-scale fisheries and examine ways in which communities that depend on them can achieve viability. The objectives of this study are– (a) to identify and describe the drivers of change impacting mangroves as well as the small-scale fisheries communities in Sundarbans social-ecological system; (b) to analyse the vulnerabilities experienced by the mangroves and small-scale fisheries communities in Sundarbans social-ecological system, and (c) to examine the key response strategies and pathways to viability of the mangrove dependent small-scale fisheries communities in Sundarbans social-ecological system. The study embraces a qualitative approach. An in-depth systematic review of literature as well as case studies has been used to meet the objectives. Ultimately, the results of this thesis indicate that sustainable ways of fishing and a regulatory system to oversee the management of the forests must be formulated to protect the future of both. The pathways of viability discussed in the thesis derived from the coping and adaptive responses of small-scale fishers would play an important role in ecosystem sustainability and livelihood stability

COVID-19 FOOTPRINTS AND POST PANDEMIC VISUALIZATION OF SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES: CASE STUDY OF CHILIKA LAGOON IN INDIA

Small-scale fisheries and local communities reflect a way of life, and provide critical contributions to nutrition and food security, poverty alleviation and livelihoods, and local and national economies. Fisherfolk suffer various vulnerabilities due to several natural and anthropogenic drivers, which impact their livelihood and wellbeing. With the vulnerability posed by virus SARS-CoV-2’ or COVID-19 or coronavirus infection, coupled with social, economic, political, and environmental crises created havoc among small-scale fisheries (SSF) and local communities globally. The global catastrophe caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in severe challenges for the fisherfolk who were already suffering from various vulnerabilities and resulting impacts on their livelihood and wellbeing. This study largely followed a conceptual understanding of the multilevel drivers causing vulnerabilities and the pathway for the viability of fisherfolk. The main objectives that guided this research are: 1) to assess the existing vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities triggered by COVID-19 pandemic, 2) the short-term coping measures taken by small-scale fisheries (SSF) individuals, government, and other institutions; 3) post pandemic plans and measures for the long-term viability. The research focuses on in-depth case study of SSF communities residing in Chilika Lagoon, India. The research used a mixed method approach, which gives a better understanding of ground reality from all means. A total of 50 household surveys were conducted for the data collection with semi-structured questions. Overall, this could be stated that new drivers increase the vulnerabilities in SSF by exacerbating the existing vulnerabilities. The results indicate that understanding existing and new vulnerabilities can provide insights into the targeted management of vulnerabilities by focusing on the short-term coping responses. The research opens a pathway for a thorough demographic research in the future. Research on coping measures for long-term viability of fisherfolk post pandemic would be insightful as well

SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL CHANGE AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS: INSIGHTS FROM THE RÍA LAGARTOS BIOSPHERE RESERVE, MEXICO

This research examined social-ecological regime shifts (SERSs), and their relation to the governance and human dimensions of marine protected areas (MPAs). Characterized by their rapid and long-term onset, SERSs pose a major challenge for managers of coastal and marine resources. The world’s oceans are being overexploited at an unprecedented rate, resulting in what many experts are referring to as a maritime “tragedy of the commons,” steered by large-scale drivers such as overfishing and climate change. These drivers of change result in localized, regional and global impacts on both marine biodiversity and human wellbeing. Abrupt social and environmental changes can be constituted as SERSs, or disruptions of social-ecological system structure that can potentially have enduring and detrimental influence on ecological health and the social stability of coastal communities. The establishment of MPAs as a management tool can be used in coastal nations around the world, including Mexico, to avoid or mitigate the impacts of SERSs in a coastal and marine context. MPAs strive to safeguard flora and fauna by restricting certain exploitative activities in a given area of the marine environment or land-sea interface. Previous research indicates that MPAs governed with the integration and inclusion of local community perceptions, as opposed to conventional state-led approaches, have been particularly effective. This study focused on the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, an MPA located in the southern Mexican state of Yucatán, where overexploitation driven by Asian market demand of the local sea cucumber fishery and the emerging tourism industry have brought an influx of social-ecological changes to the region. The research objectives included: 1) establishing a thorough understanding of the environmental and social changes occurring in the region, 2) studying local perceptions of the MPA and how they relate to the changes and community wellbeing, and 3) determining if community involvement in the MPA can enhance its governance to withstand change and improve wellbeing. It followed a largely qualitative and inductive methodology, using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and a survey as its data collection methods. The results indicated that local perceptions can provide valuable insights to strengthen MPA governance, better community-government relations, bolster community wellbeing and improve responses to social-ecological change. The co-management approach is found to be the way forward for MPA governance