A baseline appraisal of water-dependant ecosystem services, the roles they play within desakota livelihood systems and their potential sensitivity to climate change

This report forms part of a larger research programme on 'Reinterpreting the Urban-Rural Continuum', which conceptualises and investigates current knowledge and research gaps concerning 'the role that ecosystems services play in the livelihoods of the poor in regions undergoing rapid change'. The report aims to conduct a baseline appraisal of water-dependant ecosystem services, the roles they play within desakota livelihood systems and their potential sensitivity to climate change. The appraisal is conducted at three spatial scales: global, regional (four consortia areas), and meso scale (case studies within the four regions). At all three scales of analysis water resources form the interweaving theme because water provides a vital provisioning service for people, supports all other ecosystem processes and because water resources are forecast to be severely affected under climate change scenarios. This report, combined with an Endnote library of over 1100 scientific papers, provides an annotated bibliography of water-dependant ecosystem services, the roles they play within desakota livelihood systems and their potential sensitivity to climate change. After an introductory, section, Section 2 of the report defines water-related ecosystem services and how these are affected by human activities. Current knowledge and research gaps are then explored in relation to global scale climate and related hydrological changes (e.g. floods, droughts, flow regimes) (section 3). The report then discusses the impacts of climate changes on the ESPA regions, emphasising potential responses of biomes to the combined effects of climate change and human activities (particularly land use and management), and how these effects coupled with water store and flow regime manipulation by humans may affect the functioning of catchments and their ecosystem services (section 4). Finally, at the meso-scale, case studies are presented from within the ESPA regions to illustrate the close coupling of human activities and catchment performance in the context of environmental change (section 5). At the end of each section, research needs are identified and justified. These research needs are then amalgamated in section 6

Ecological model to predict potential habitats of Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum in the mountainous regions, China

Schistosomiasis japonica is a parasitic disease that remains endemic in seven provinces in the People's Republic of China (P.R. China). One of the most important measures in the process of schistosomiasis elimination in P.R. China is control of Oncomelania hupensis, the unique intermediate host snail of Schistosoma japonicum. Compared with plains/swamp and lake regions, the hilly/mountainous regions of schistosomiasis endemic areas are more complicated, which makes the snail survey difficult to conduct precisely and efficiently. There is a pressing call to identify the snail habitats of mountainous regions in an efficient and cost-effective manner.; Twelve out of 56 administrative villages distributed with O. hupensis in Eryuan, Yunnan Province, were randomly selected to set up the ecological model. Thirty out of the rest of 78 villages (villages selected for building model were excluded from the villages for validation) in Eryuan and 30 out of 89 villages in Midu, Yunnan Province were selected via a chessboard method for model validation, respectively. Nine-year-average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) as well as Digital Elevation Model (DEM) covering Eryuan and Midu were extracted from MODIS and ASTER satellite images, respectively. Slope, elevation and the distance from every village to its nearest stream were derived from DEM. Suitable survival environment conditions for snails were defined by comparing historical snail presence data and remote sensing derived images. According to the suitable conditions for snails, environment factors, i.e. NDVI, LST, elevation, slope and the distance from every village to its nearest stream, were integrated into an ecological niche model to predict O. hupensis potential habitats in Eryuan and Midu. The evaluation of the model was assessed by comparing the model prediction and field investigation. Then, the consistency rate of model validation was calculated in Eryuan and Midu Counties, respectively. The final ecological niche model for potential O. hupensis habitats prediction comprised the following environmental factors, namely: NDVI (≥ 0.446), LST (≥ 22.70°C), elevation (≤ 2,300 m), slope (≤ 11°) and the distance to nearest stream (≤ 1,000 m). The potential O. hupensis habitats in Eryuan distributed in the Lancang River basin and O. hupensis in Midu shows a trend of clustering in the north and spotty distribution in the south. The consistency rates of the ecological niche model in Eryuan and Midu were 76.67% and 83.33%, respectively.; The ecological niche model integrated with NDVI, LST, elevation, slope and distance from every village to its nearest stream adequately predicted the snail habitats in the mountainous regions

Capacity-building activities related to climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment and economic valuation for Fiji

The Terms of Reference for this work specified three objectives to the Fiji component: Objective 1a: to provide a prototype FIJICLIM model (covered under PICCAP funding) Objective 1b: to provide training and transfer of FIJICLIM Objective 1c: to present and evaluate World Bank study findings and to identify future directions for development and use of FIJICLIM (2-day workshop) Proceedings of the training course and workshop were prepared by the Fiji Department of Environment. The summaries from these proceedings reflect a very high degree of success with the contracted activities

Impacts of Climate Change on indirect human exposure to pathogens and chemicals from agriculture

Objective: Climate change is likely to affect the nature of pathogens and chemicals in the environment and their fate and transport. Future risks of pathogens and chemicals could therefore be very different from those of today. In this review, we assess the implications of climate change for changes in human exposures to pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems in the United Kingdom and discuss the subsequent effects on health impacts. Data sources: In this review, we used expert input and considered literature on climate change ; health effects resulting from exposure to pathogens and chemicals arising from agriculture ; inputs of chemicals and pathogens to agricultural systems ; and human exposure pathways for pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems. Data synthesis: We established the current evidence base for health effects of chemicals and pathogens in the agricultural environment ; determined the potential implications of climate change on chemical and pathogen inputs in agricultural systems ; and explored the effects of climate change on environmental transport and fate of different contaminant types. We combined these data to assess the implications of climate change in terms of indirect human exposure to pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems. We then developed recommendations on future research and policy changes to manage any adverse increases in risks. Conclusions: Overall, climate change is likely to increase human exposures to agricultural contaminants. The magnitude of the increases will be highly dependent on the contaminant type. Risks from many pathogens and particulate and particle-associated contaminants could increase significantly. These increases in exposure can, however, be managed for the most part through targeted research and policy changes

Climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment for Fiji

All nations, including Fiji, that are signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) are obliged to provide National Communications to the Conference of Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC. The COP4 stressed the need for parties to the Convention to take into account the need for establishing implementation strategies for adaptation to climate and sea-level changes. As such, Fiji is required to submit a National Communication document that shall include information on climate change vulnerability and adaptation implementation policies and strategies. The methodology used in this assessment is based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) technical guidelines (Carter et al, 1994) for assessing climate change impacts and adaptation. Firstly, the present conditions are examined and key sectors identified. Then, future climatic and non-climatic scenarios are used to examine the possible effects of climate and sea-level changes on the various sectors identified. These then form the basis for identifying possible adaptation response measures for endorsement, adoption and implementation by the Fiji government. Because of the many gaps in present knowledge, and the fact that this study is focussed only on Viti Levu, the recommendations in this report should be seen as starting point for an on-going process of vulnerability and adaptation assessment in Fij

The impact of flooding on aquatic ecosystem services

Flooding is a major disturbance that impacts aquatic ecosystems and the ecosystem services that they provide. Predicted increases in global flood risk due to land use change and water cycle intensification will likely only increase the frequency and severity of these impacts. Extreme flooding events can cause loss of life and significant destruction to property and infrastructure, effects that are easily recognized and frequently reported in the media. However, flooding also has many other effects on people through freshwater aquatic ecosystem services, which often go unrecognized because they are less evident and can be difficult to evaluate. Here, we identify the effects that small magnitude frequently occurring floods (\u3c 10-year recurrence interval) and extreme floods (\u3e 100-year recurrence interval) have on ten aquatic ecosystem services through a systematic literature review. We focused on ecosystem services considered by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment including: (1) supporting services (primary production, soil formation), (2) regulating services (water regulation, water quality, disease regulation, climate regulation), (3) provisioning services (drinking water, food supply), and (4) cultural services (aesthetic value, recreation and tourism). The literature search resulted in 117 studies and each of the ten ecosystem services was represented by an average of 12 ± 4 studies. Extreme floods resulted in losses in almost every ecosystem service considered in this study. However, small floods had neutral or positive effects on half of the ecosystem services we considered. For example, small floods led to increases in primary production, water regulation, and recreation and tourism. Decision-making that preserves small floods while reducing the impacts of extreme floods can increase ecosystem service provision and minimize losses

Molecular epidemiology of waterborne zoonoses in the North Island of New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science (Epidemiology and Public Health) at Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences (IVABS), Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium and Giardia species are three important waterborne zoonotic pathogens of global public health concern. This PhD opens with an interpretive overview of the literature on Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium and Giardia spp. in ruminants and their presence in surface water (Chapter 1), followed by five epidemiological studies of Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium and Giardia spp. in cattle, sheep and aquatic environment in New Zealand (Chapters 2-6). The second chapter investigated four years of retrospective data on Campylobacter spp. (n=507) to infer the source, population structure and zoonotic potential of Campylobacter jejuni from six high-use recreational rivers in the Wanganui- Manawatu region of New Zealand through the generalised additive model, generalised linear/logistic regression model, and minimum spanning trees. This study highlights the ubiquitous presence of Campylobacter spp. in both low and high river flows, and during winter months. It also shows the presence of C. jejuni in 21% of samples containing highly diverse strains, the majority of which were associated with wild birds only. These wild birds-associated C. jejuni have not been detected in human, suggesting they may not be infectious to human. However, the presence of some poultry and ruminant-associated strains that are potentially zoonotic suggested the possibility of waterborne transmission of C. jejuni to the public. Good biosecurity measures and water treatment plants may be helpful in reducing the risk of waterborne Campylobacter transmission In the third study, a repeated cross-sectional study was conducted every month for four months to investigate the source of drinking source-water contamination. A total of 499 ruminant faecal samples and 24 river/stream water samples were collected from two rural town water catchments (Dannevirke and Shannon) in the Manawatu- Wanganui region of New Zealand, and molecular analysis of those samples was performed to determine the occurrence of Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia spp. and their zoonotic potential. The major pathogens found in faecal samples were Campylobacter (n=225 from 7/8 farms), followed by Giardia (n=151 from 8/8 farms), whereas Giardia cysts were found in many water samples (n=18), followed by Campylobacter (n=4). On the contrary, Cryptosporidium oocysts were only detected in a few faecal (n=18) and water (n=3) samples. Cryptosporidium and Giardia spp. were detected in a higher number of faecal samples from young animals (≤ 3 months) than juvenile and adult animals, whereas Campylobacter spp. were highly isolated in the faecal samples from juvenile and adult ruminants. PCRsequencing of the detected pathogens indicated the presence of potentially zoonotic C. jejuni and C. coli, Cryptosporidium parvum (gp60 allelic types IIA18G3R1 and IIA19G4R1) and Giardia duodenalis (assemblages AII, BII, BIII, and BIV) in cattle and sheep. In addition, potentially zoonotic C. jejuni and Giardia duodenalis assemblages AII, BI, BII, and BIV were also determined in water samples. These findings indicate that these three pathogens of public health significance are present in ruminant faecal samples of farms and in water, and may represent a possible source of human infection in New Zealand. In the fourth study, PCR-sequencing of Cryptosporidium spp. isolates obtained from the faeces of 6-week- old dairy calves (n=15) in the third study were investigated at multiple loci (18S SSU rDNA, HSP70, Actin and gp60) to determine the presence of mixed Cryptosporidium spp. infections. Cryptosporidium parvum (15/15), C. bovis (3/15) and C. andersoni (1/15), and two new genetic variants were determined along with molecular evidence of mixed infections in five specimens. Three main Cryptosporidium species of cattle, C. parvum, C. bovis and C. andersoni, were detected together in one specimen. Genetic evidence of the presence of C. Anderson and two new Cryptosporidium genetic variants are provided here for the first time in New Zealand. These findings provided additional evidence that describes Cryptosporidium parasites as genetically heterogeneous populations and highlighted the need for iterative genotyping at multiple loci to explore the genetic makeup of the isolates. The C. jejuni and C. coli isolates (n=96) obtained from cattle, sheep and water in the third study were subtyped to determine their genetic diversity and zoonotic potential using a modified, novel multi-locus sequence typing method (“massMLST”; Chapter 5). Primers were developed and optimised, PCR-based target-MLST alleles’ amplification were performed, followed by next generation sequencing on an Illumina MiSeq machine. A bioinformatics pipeline of the sequencing data was developed to define C. jejuni and C. coli multi-locus sequence types. This study demonstrated the utility and potential of this novel typing method, massMLST, as a strain typing method. In addition to identifying the possible C. jejuni/coli clonal complexes or sequence types of 68/96 isolates from ruminant faeces and water samples, this study reported three new C. jejuni strains in cattle in New Zealand, along with many strains, such as CC-61, CC-828 and CC-21, that have also been found in humans, indicating the public health significance of these isolates circulating on the farms in the two water catchment areas. Automation of the massMLST method and may allow a cost-effective high-resolution typing method in the near future for multilocus sequence typing of large collections of Campylobacter strains. In the final study (Chapter 6), a pilot metagenomic study was carried out to obtain a snapshot of the microbial ecology of surface water used in the two rural towns of New Zealand for drinking purposes, and to identify the zoonotic pathogens related to waterborne diseases. Fresh samples collected in 2011 and 2012, samples from the same time that were frozen, and samples that were kept in the preservative RNAlater were sequenced using whole-genome shotgun sequencing on an Illumina MiSeq machine. Proteobacteria was detected in all the samples characterised, although there were differences in the genus and species between the samples. The microbial diversity reported varied between the grab and stomacher methods, between samples collected in the year 2011 and 2012, and among the fresh, frozen and RNAlater preserved samples. This study also determined the presence of DNA of potentially zoonotic pathogens such as Cryptosporidium, Campylobacter and Mycobacterium spp. in water. Use of metagenomics could potentially be used to monitor the ecology of drinking water sources so that effective water treatment plans can be formulated, and for reducing the risk of waterborne zoonosis. As a whole, this PhD project provides new data on G. duodenalis assemblages in cattle, sheep and surface water, new information on mixed Cryptosporidium infections in calves, a novel “massMLST” method to subtype Campylobacter species, and shows the utility of shotgun metagenomic sequencing for drinking water monitoring. Results indicate that ruminants (cattle and sheep) in New Zealand shed potentially zoonotic pathogens in the environment and may contribute to the contamination of surface water. A better understanding of waterborne zoonotic transmission would help in devising appropriate control strategies, which could reduce the shedding of Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia spp. in the environment and thereby reduce waterborne transmission

Reconstructing Colonization Dynamics of the Human Parasite Schistosoma mansoni following Anthropogenic Environmental Changes in Northwest Senegal

© 2015 Van den Broeck et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The attached file is the published version of the article