Mapping socio-ecological values: the use of geospatial tools to make informed decisions on the marine and coastal management areas surrounding Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland

Marine and coastal environments are highly complex integrated systems. While it is recognized these aquatic environments offer valuable ecosystem services, there is a paucity of information on how these systems are structured and how they function. Moreover, there are few tools available to assist in the management of these natural resources. Marine and coastal environments are not only important to the stability of the ocean but also to the socio-cultural, ecological and economic well-being of coastal communities. Many important biological areas are vulnerable to “agents of change” which include but are not limited to, commercial fishing, oil and gas activities, tourism and aquatic invasive species (green crab and membranipora specifically) and, climate change. This study will use expert informed GIS (xGIS) as a management tool to highlight the socio-ecological areas of importance and perceived impact in the coastal and marine areas surrounding Gros Morne National Park, western Newfoundland, Canada. This research used a family of decision-making protocols to promote effective stakeholder participation, allowing exploration and evaluation of multiple attributes where cost benefit analysis was inappropriate. The geospatial tool created for this study will serve as a management tool that can help: 1. identify geospatial hotspot areas of importance and impact from various ‘agents of change’ in the coastal and marine management areas surrounding the Gros Morne Region of western, Newfoundland; 2. construct a tool that can be used to aid in the creation of responsible marine plans for Newfoundland and areas bordering the Gulf of St. Lawrence and; 3. identify socio-ecological and justified areas valued for protection under a National Marine Conservation Area around Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland

Understanding System-Level Intervention Points to Support School Food and Nutrition Policy Implementation in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Supporting the implementation of school food and nutrition policies (SFNPs) is an international priority to encourage healthier eating among children and youth. Such policies can improve equitable access, resources, and supports for healthy eating. However, despite the potential impact of SFNPs, several implementation barriers have been reported. This study sought to examine the system-level intervention points within a school food system using a complex systems framework. We conducted semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders working to influence the school food system in Nova Scotia, Canada. We sought to understand their roles and experiences with the SFNP by applying the Intervention Level Framework (ILF), a novel, solutions-oriented approach to better understand how complex systems function. Participants (n = 33) included teachers, parents, cafeteria workers, public health staff and non-profit organizations. Interview transcripts were first coded, then themed and finally analyzed using the ILF, resulting in three intervention points within the school food system. These were defined as: (1) Actors and Elements, (2) System Regulation and Interconnections and (3) Purpose and Values. We concluded that understanding the interactions between these system levels and stakeholder roles can help to inform the development of relevant policy strategies that better support healthier school food environments in this jurisdiction

Feasibility of a Supporting‐Salt‐Free Nonaqueous Redox Flow Battery Utilizing Ionic Active Materials

Nonaqueous redox flow batteries (NAqRFBs) are promising devices for grid‐scale energy storage, but high projected prices could limit commercial prospects. One route to reduced prices is to minimize or eliminate the expensive supporting salts typically employed in NAqRFBs. Herein, the feasibility of a flow cell operating in the absence of supporting salt by utilizing ionic active species is demonstrated. These ionic species have high conductivities in acetonitrile (12–19 mS cm−1) and cycle at 20 mA cm−2 with energy efficiencies (>75 %) comparable to those of state‐of‐the‐art NAqRFBs employing high concentrations of supporting salt. A chemistry‐agnostic techno‐economic analysis highlights the possible cost savings of minimizing salt content in a NAqRFB. This work offers the first demonstration of a NAqRFB operating without supporting salt. The associated design principles can guide the development of future active species and could make NAqRFBs competitive with their aqueous counterparts.Salt‐free cell: Decreasing the contribution of salt costs to the total electrolyte cost for nonaqueous redox flow batteries is essential for economic viability. A nonaqueous flow battery utilizing ionic active materials completely removes the need for a supporting salt. The cell cycling performance and area‐specific specific resistance are comparable to those of state‐of‐the‐art nonaqueous flow cells with high salt concentrations.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137469/1/cssc201700028-sup-0001-misc_information.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137469/2/cssc201700028.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137469/3/cssc201700028_am.pd

Evaluation of Electrospun Fibrous Mats Targeted for Use as Flow Battery Electrodes

Electrospinning was used to create custom-made fibrous electrode materials for redox flow batteries with targeted structural properties. The aim was to increase the available surface area for electrochemical reaction without diminishing the transport properties of the electrode. Electrospinning conditions were identified that could produce fibers several times larger than those typically yielded by the technique, yet much smaller than in commercially available electrodes. These materials were subsequently carbonized using widely reported protocols. The resultant materials were subjected to a range of characterization tests to confirm that the feasibility of the target material, including surface area, pore and fiber sizes, porosity, conductivity, and permeability. The most promising material to emerge from this selection processes was then tested for electrochemical performance in a flow cell. The produced material performed markedly better than a commercially available material. Further optimizations such as improved consistency in the production and some surface activation treatments could provide significant advancements.NSERC Discovery grant Post-Graduate Scholarship program Eugenie-Ulmer Lamothe Fund of Department of Chemical Engineering at McGill Flow cell testing funded by the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) managed by Argonne National Laborator

Environmental sensing and response genes in cnidaria : the chemical defensome in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Cell Biology and Toxicology 24 (2008): 483-502, doi:10.1007/s10565-008-9107-5.The starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis has been recently established as a new model system for the study of the evolution of developmental processes, as cnidaria occupy a key evolutionary position at the base of the bilateria. Cnidaria play important roles in estuarine and reef communities, but are exposed to many environmental stressors. Here I describe the genetic components of a ‘chemical defensome’ in the genome of N. vectensis, and review cnidarian molecular toxicology. Gene families that defend against chemical stressors and the transcription factors that regulate these genes have been termed a ‘chemical defensome,’ and include the cytochromes P450 and other oxidases, various conjugating enyzymes, the ATP-dependent efflux transporters, oxidative detoxification proteins, as well as various transcription factors. These genes account for about 1% (266/27200) of the predicted genes in the sea anemone genome, similar to the proportion observed in tunicates and humans, but lower than that observed in sea urchins. While there are comparable numbers of stress-response genes, the stress sensor genes appear to be reduced in N. vectensis relative to many model protostomes and deuterostomes. Cnidarian toxicology is understudied, especially given the important ecological roles of many cnidarian species. New genomic resources should stimulate the study of chemical stress sensing and response mechanisms in cnidaria, and allow us to further illuminate the evolution of chemical defense gene networks.WHOI Ocean Life Institute and NIH R01-ES01591

Urban coral reefs: Degradation and resilience of hard coral assemblages in coastal cities of East and Southeast Asia

© 2018 The Author(s) Given predicted increases in urbanization in tropical and subtropical regions, understanding the processes shaping urban coral reefs may be essential for anticipating future conservation challenges. We used a case study approach to identify unifying patterns of urban coral reefs and clarify the effects of urbanization on hard coral assemblages. Data were compiled from 11 cities throughout East and Southeast Asia, with particular focus on Singapore, Jakarta, Hong Kong, and Naha (Okinawa). Our review highlights several key characteristics of urban coral reefs, including “reef compression” (a decline in bathymetric range with increasing turbidity and decreasing water clarity over time and relative to shore), dominance by domed coral growth forms and low reef complexity, variable city-specific inshore-offshore gradients, early declines in coral cover with recent fluctuating periods of acute impacts and rapid recovery, and colonization of urban infrastructure by hard corals. We present hypotheses for urban reef community dynamics and discuss potential of ecological engineering for corals in urban areas

Water and sediment quality, nutrient biochemistry and pollution loads in an urban freshwater lake: balancing human and ecological services

Optimizing the utility of constructed waterways as residential development with water-frontage, along with a productive and functional habitat for wildlife is of considerable interest to managers. This study examines Lake Hugh Muntz, a large (17 ha) freshwater lake built in Gold Coast City, Australia. A ten year water quality monitoring programme shows that the lake has increasing nutrient concentrations, and together with summer algal blooms, the lake amenity as a popular recreational swimming and triathlon training location is at risk. A survey of fish and aquatic plant communities showed that the lake supports a sub-set of species found in adjacent natural wetlands. Sediment contaminants were below the lower Australian trigger values, except As, Hg, Pb and Zn, probably a function of untreated and uncontrolled stormwater runoff from nearby urban roads. Sediment biogeochemistry showed early signs of oxygen depletion, and an increase in benthic organic matter decomposition and oxygen consumption will result in more nitrogen recycled to the water column as NH(4)+ (increasing the intensity of summer algal blooms) and less nitrogen lost to the atmosphere as N(2) gas via denitrification. A series of catchment restoration initiatives were modeled and the optimal stormwater runoff restoration effort needed for lake protection will be costly, particularly retrospective, as is the case here. Overall, balancing the lifestyles and livelihoods of residents along with ecosystem protection are possible, but require considerable trade-offs between ecosystem services and human use

Leveraging Neural Networks and Genetic Algorithms to Refine Electrode Properties in Redox Flow Batteries

Redox flow batteries are a nascent, yet promising, energy storage technology for which widespread deployment is hampered by technical and economic challenges. A performance-determining component in the reactor, present-day electrodes are often borrowed from adjacent electrochemical technologies rather than specifically designed for use in flow batteries. A lack of structural diversity in commercial offerings, coupled with the time constraints of wet-lab experiments, render broad electrode screening infeasible without a modeling complement. Herein, an experimentally validated model of a vanadium redox flow cell is used to generate polarization data for electrodes with different macrohomogeneous properties (thickness, porosity, volumetric surface area, and kinetic rate constant). Using these data sets, we then build and train a neural network with minimal average root-mean squared testing error (17.9 ± 1.8 mA cm−2) to compute individual parameter sweeps along the cell polarization curve. Finally, we employ a genetic algorithm with the neural network to identify electrode property values for improving cell power density. While the developed framework does not supplant experimentation, it is generalizable to different redox chemistries and may inform future electrode design strategies.</jats:p

Geographic and temporal variation in persistent pollutants in Australian humpback and snubfin dolphins

We investigated between 2014 and 2016 the concentrations of PCBs, DDTs and HCB and trace elements in blubber and skin samples of Australian humpback and snubfin dolphins collected from the Fitzroy River estuary and Port Curtis, Queensland, Australia. The concentrations of PCBs, DDTs and HCB from this study were compared with results from samples collected in 2009 and 2010 from the same areas. Our results showed that the concentrations of PCBs, DDTs and HCB have increased over time. A large proportion (~68%) of the sampled population accumulated organochlorines contaminants above thresholds over which immunosuppression and reproductive anomalies are known to occur. Results also suggest a general enrichment of some trace elements above natural levels in humpback and snubfin dolphins from the Fitzroy River estuary and Port Curtis. Extensive flooding in adjacent catchments is the most likely primary factor responsible for increased distribution and bioavailability of these contaminants into coastal waters. Land-based pollution from the adjacent catchments is an ongoing threat to coastal systems and particularly for top predators such as dolphins in the Great Barrier Reef. Climate change models predict increasing frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events that will impact coastal Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. Reduction of land-based persistent pollutants into coastal waters of the Great Barrier Reef will be critical for the health and survival of humpback and snubfin dolphins in this region