Field-based monitoring and evaluation tool

Field-based monitoring and evaluation too

The flip-cheque financial control system

It is well known that a major area of weakness in community based project management lies with money and financial control. Part of the reason for this is because conventional double entry bookkeeping systems require relatively sophisticated concepts to be applied which easily confuses the inexperienced committee treasurer. It was with this knowledge in mind, as well as our own financial ineptitude (especially when it comes to reading many columns of figures such as in an analysis book) that resulted in the development of a simple system that inexperienced people may use. The flip-cheque system is based upon “making easy” the recording of all details related to project financial transactions required to enable the user, or someone else, to prepare a perfectly acceptable and accurate record of all financial transactions. The value of the system is that the monthly bank statement provides an independent check on the state of the account. This paper illustrates how the system works and describes actual experiences with communities who have used it

Climate change, fungus-invertebrate interactions and ecosystem processes

Saprotrophic fungi are the main agents of primary decomposition and nutrient cycling in woodland ecosystems. Powerful enzymatic capabilities enable then to break down the most recalcitrant components of wood and leaf litter, such as lignin and cellulose. Nutrients are retained by dynamic networks of mycelium, which are vulnerable to grazing by soil invertebrates. The studies reported in this thesis employed laboratory microcosm, mesocosm and field manipulations to further mechanistic understanding of climate change effects on basidiomycete fungal-dominated woodland decomposer community dynamics and ecosystem processes. Increased mycelial growth at elevated temperature can be prevented by collembola grazing in soil microcosms. The strength of this top-down effect varied with fungal palatability, which had a bottom-up effect on collembola populations and their responses to warming. A mesocosm multispecies collembola population was more strongly regulated by the bottom-up effect of inoculation with cord-forming fungi than climate change (warming, in combination with soil wetting or drying). Collembola can graze fungal cords, but thickness and chemical defences make them less palatable than soil microfungi, which are outcompeted by basidiomycete mycelia. In the absence of fungal biomass limitation by collembola, abiotic conditions regulated microbial community functioning. Warming stimulated fungal-mediated wood decomposition, particularly in drier soils. Moisture was the most important determinant of enzyme activity and displayed an interaction with temperature analogous to that for wood decay. Macro-invertebrates, such as woodlice, are better able to exploit nutritious, but thick and defensive, fungal cords. The consequences of macro-invertebrate grazing for fungal-dominated microbial community function were tested in a field manipulation of woodlouse (Oniscus asellus, Isopoda) population densities, predicted to increase due to climate warming. This provides the first evidence for bottom-up effects of fungal palatability on woodlouse populations. Body lipid analysis revealed fungi as a major component of the generalist woodlouse diet. Despite low population densities at the site, altered O. asellus abundance influenced aspects of microbial community functioning. The importance of biotic effects on decomposition may be more heterogeneous than abiotic influences, depending on microbial community dominance and the abundance of key macro-invertebrate taxa

Soil nutrient content and water level variation drive mangrove forest aboveground biomass in the lagoonal ecosystem of Aldabra Atoll

Lagoonal mangrove ecosystems are vital for carbon capture, protection of coastlines and conservation of biodiversity. Yet, they are decreasing globally at a higher rate than other mangrove ecosystems. In addition to human drivers, local environmental factors influence the functioning of lagoonal mangrove ecosystems, but their importance and combined effects are relatively unknown. Here, we investigate the drivers of mangrove functioning, approximated by mangrove aboveground biomass (AGB), in a protected lagoonal mangrove ecosystem on Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles. Based on a survey of the mangrove forest structure in 54 plots, we estimated that the mean mangrove forest AGB was 82 ± 13 Mg ha−1. The total AGB of the mangrove area (1720 ha) was nearly 140,600 Mg, equivalent to about 66,100 Mg of carbon stored in the standing biomass on Aldabra. To assess the direct and indirect effects of soil nutrient content, water level variation and soil salinity on mangrove AGB, we used a structural equation model. Our structural equation model explained 82 % of the variation in mangrove AGB. The soil nutrient content (concentration of essential macronutrients in the soil column) had the greatest influence on mangrove AGB variation. Additionally, high variation in water level (change in water depth covering a location) increased mangrove AGB by increasing nutrient content levels. Our results highlight the important contribution of Aldabra's lagoonal ecosystem to Seychelles' carbon storage and the role of hydroperiod as a regulator controlling the availability of crucial nutrients needed for the functioning of mangroves within lagoonal systems. We suggest conservation managers worldwide focus on a holistic ecosystem-level perspective for successful mangrove conservation, including the protection and maintenance of nutrient cycling and hydrological processes

Impacts of coral bleaching on reef fish abundance, biomass and assemblage structure at remote Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles: insights from two survey methods

Introduction: Coral bleaching immediately impacts the reef benthos, but effects on fish communities are less well understood because they are often delayed and confounded by anthropogenic interactions. Methods: We assessed changes in fish abundance, biomass and community composition before and after the 2015/16 coral bleaching event at Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, where local human impacts are minimal, but reefs suffered 50% bleaching-induced coral mortality. We monitored 12 shallow (2–5 m water depth) and nine deep (15 m water depth) permanent survey sites using two survey methods: indicator surveys recording 84 taxa over six years (pre-: 2014; post-bleaching: 2016–2019, 2021), sizing fish based on six size-class categories, and extended fish surveys recording 198 taxa over two years (pre-: 2015; post-bleaching: 2020) with size estimates to the nearest cm (excluding fish < 8 cm). Results: During indicator surveys, mean fish abundance did not change on deep reefs. However, abundance increased by 77% on shallow reefs between 2014 and 2016, which was mainly driven by increases in herbivores and omnivores, likely as a response to elevated turf algae cover following coral mortality. Overall (and functional group-specific) indicator fish biomass did not differ between 2014 and 2016 and remained at or above pre-bleaching levels throughout 2016–2021. In contrast, extended fish surveys in 2015 and 2020 showed a 55–60% reduction in overall abundance on shallow and deep reefs, and a 69% reduction in biomass on shallow reefs, with decreases in biomass occurring in all functional groups. Biomass on deep reefs did not differ between 2015 and 2020. Multivariate analysis of both data sets revealed immediate and long-lasting differences between pre- and post-bleaching fish community compositions, driven largely by herbivorous, omnivorous and piscivorous taxa. Discussion: Results from the indicator surveys suggest that the bleaching event had limited impact on fish abundance and biomass, while the extended surveys recorded changes in abundance and biomass which would otherwise have gone undetected. Our findings improve understanding of the shift a broad community of fish undergoes following a mass coral bleaching event and highlights the value of survey methods that include the full suite of species to detect ecological responses to environmental drivers

The Mycelium as a network

The characteristic growth pattern of fungal mycelia as an interconnected network has a major impact on how cellular events operating on a micron scale affect colony behavior at an ecological scale. Network structure is intimately linked to flows of resources across the network that in turn modify the network architecture itself. This complex interplay shapes the incredibly plastic behavior of fungi and allows them to cope with patchy, ephemeral resources, competition, damage, and predation in a manner completely different from multicellular plants or animals. Here, we try to link network structure with impact on resource movement at different scales of organization to understand the benefits and challenges of organisms that grow as connected networks. This inevitably involves an interdisciplinary approach whereby mathematical modeling helps to provide a bridge between information gleaned by traditional cell and molecular techniques or biophysical approaches at a hyphal level, with observations of colony dynamics and behavior at an ecological level

Institutional responses to water-sector responsibilities

Institutional responses to water-sector responsibilitie

Size matters: what have we learnt from microcosm studies of decomposer fungus-invertebrate interactions?

The ongoing research ‘boom’ in soil ecology has been advanced by a widespread use of laboratory experiments to investigate mechanisms that could not be unravelled with field observations alone. Interactions between soil fungi and invertebrates have received considerable attention due to their trophic and functional importance in belowground systems. Saprotrophic cord-forming basidiomycete fungi are major agents of primary decomposition in woodland ecosystems, where they are also an important source of nutrition for fungal-feeding soil invertebrates. A plethora of microcosm experiments, with their main benefit being that they enable most variables to be kept constant while just a few are manipulated, have provided detailed insights into the ecology of fungus–invertebrate interactions. This review identifies important trends from this body of work (including a meta-analysis of grazing effects on fungal growth and wood decomposition) and explores the extent to which these patterns are supported by the few related experiments conducted in more complex mesocosm and field systems. Grazing in microcosms reduced fungal growth and increased decomposition, but with interaction-specific magnitude, reflecting invertebrate feeding preferences for different fungi. Macro-invertebrates (woodlice and millipedes) had stronger effects than micro- (e.g. nematodes) and meso- (e.g. collembola) invertebrates. This greater grazing pressure generally increased enzyme activities beneath mycelia during interactions in which wood decay was increased. Top-down effects of fungal-feeding can be extrapolated to more complex systems, but only for macro-invertebrates, particularly woodlice. Soil enzyme activity was stimulated, in microcosms and more complex systems, by short-term or low intensity grazing, but reduced when large areas of mycelium were removed by high-intensity grazing. Effects of differential fungal palatability on invertebrate populations are evident in microcosm studies of collembola. These bottom-up effects can be extrapolated more broadly than top-down effects; fungal community dominance determined collembola abundance and diversity, in mesocosms, and woodlouse abundance in the field. Using, as a case study, a series of experiments conducted at a range of scales, mechanisms underlying potential climate change effects on grazing interactions and decomposition are also explored. Biotic effects on decomposer community functioning are heterogeneous, depending on fungal dominance and the density of key macro-invertebrate taxa