A design and management approach for horizontally integrated aquaculture systems

This thesis presents an assessment concerning the potential of horizontally integrated aquaculture, with outcomes assessed from a systems-based perspective. A literature review concerning the negative impacts and the limitations of current wastewater management approaches demonstrated that improved strategies are required. Horizontally integrated aquaculture was proposed, where the productive reuse of aquaculture wastewater ameliorates associated negative impacts. A definition for horizontally integrated aquaculture is presented and management strategies that conform to this definition reviewed. The development and application of the ADEPT bioeconornic model to assess the potential of a constructed wetland and trout fishery to treat wastewater from a commercial smolt unit in Scotland is described. The model outputs were tested against observations from commercial facilities operating under comparable conditions to those envisaged for horizontally integrated systems. Findings demonstrated that the modelling approach adopted was generally effective in predicting the composition of wastewater outputs from the farm and the effect of the selected treatment strategies. The model was applied to two further case studies. One assessed the potential of treating wastewater from shrimp farms in Thailand using a constructed mangrove wetland; the second evaluated the possible advantages of a rational design approach to lagoon-based wastewater treatment and reuse, as opposed to a conventional design and traditional practices developed in peri-urban Calcutta

Evaluating sustainable intensification and diversification options for agriculture-based livelihoods within an aquatic biodiversity conservation context in Buxa, West Bengal, India

Potential impacts of sustainable intensification and diversification options for agriculture-based livelihoods in Buxa, West Bengal, India were evaluated using bioeconomic modelling. The baseline scenario involved multiple cropping seasons and a combination of crops on 0.9 ha landholdings, livestock husbandry, and exploitation of common property resources. With capital costs of Rs. 128,180 (US$2293) and annual operating costs of Rs. 37,290 (US$ 667), the net benefit generated (excluding depreciation) was Rs. 70,250 (US$1257) annually. The pay-back period was 1.8 years, and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) was 53.7$ 1,342) and IRR to 56.5% with minimal added costs and risks. Adopting the system of rice intensification (SRI) for paddy cultivation on 0.35 ha increased the IRR to 61.1%, while reducing agrochemical and inorganic fertiliser use. Including small-scale fish culture in a 0.1 ha pond integrated in the irrigation scheme for SRI cultivation resulted in an IRR of 77.3% and reduced the pay-back period to 1.3 years. Some risks to biodiversity are apparent with each scenario; however, with appropriate safeguards, sustainable agricultural intensification and livelihoods diversification could bolster agrobiodiversity and social-ecological resilience of highland communities, while alleviating pressure on biodiversity

Visionmaker.NYC: An Online Landscape Ecology Tool to Support Social-Ecological System Visioning and Planning

The Welikeia project and the corresponding free online tool Visionmaker.NYC focus on the historical landscape ecologies of New York City. This article provides a brief introduction to online participatory tools, describes the Visionmaker tool in detail, and offers suggested ways to use the tool for Extension professionals based in and outside New York City. This information provides a basis for best practices Extension professionals can apply when using Visionmaker to support ecological thinking and participatory planning to catalyze change among urban residents

The Decomposition of the Optically Active Diazo Ester from Aminolauronic Acid

In 1921 Levene and Mikeska, and in 1922 Noyes and Chiles prepared optically active esters in which the only asymetric carbon was that doubly bound to diazo nitrogen. The theoretical explanation being: that of the five valences of the nitrogen, four are covalences while the fifth is a Polar or ionizing valence. This may be illustrated by ammonium chloride