Wanted Dead or Alive? The Relative Value of Reef Sharks as a Fishery and an Ecotourism Asset in Palau

Over the last 20 years, ecotourism to view and interact with marine megafauna has become increasingly popular (Higham and Lück 2008). Examples of this type of tourism include turtle and whale watching, snorkelling with seals and shark diving (Jacobson and Robles 1992; Anderson and Ahmed 1993; Orams 2002; Kirkwood et al. 2003; Dearden et al. 2008; Dicken and Hosking 2009). The occurrence of many aggregations of megafauna along the coasts of regional areas remote from centres of population means that such tourism also provides significant flow-on effects and diversification to local economies where few alternative sources of income exist (Milne 1990; Garrod and Wilson 2004). Importantly, the development of a well-managed ecotourism industry based on megafauna provides the opportunity for local people to utilise natural resources in a sustainable manner over the long-term (Mau 2008). The economic value of tourism based on marine megafauna is enormous. In 2008, a study of whale watching estimated that this form of tourism was available in 119 countries, involved approximately 13 million participants and generated an income to operators and supporting businesses (hotels, restaurants and souvenirs) of over US$2.1 billion (O'Connor et al. 2009). This industry is estimated to have the potential to generate annual revenues of over US$2.5 billion (Cisneros-Montemayor et al. 2010). The development of whale watching has been paralleled by growth in tourism based on other types of marine megafauna. In particular, tourism to observe sharks and rays has become increasingly common. At the forefront of this relatively new market are industries that focus on whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) with estimates calculated in 2004 suggesting that these generated more than US$47.5 million worldwide, providing important revenues to developing countries such as Ecuador, Thailand and Mozambique (Graham 2004). Diving with other species of sharks has followed a similar trend of growing popularity. In 2005, it was estimated that approximately 500,000 divers were engaged in shark-diving activities worldwide (Topelko and Dearden 2005). An increasing range of opportunities for this type of tourism are available, including cage diving, shark feeding and drift diving with reef and oceanic sharks. Shark-diving tourism can be found in more than 40 countries (Carwardine and Watterson 2002), with new destinations and target species being established rapidly, due to the increasing recognition of the economic potential of this activity (Dicken and Hosking 2009; De la Cruz Modino et al. 2010)

The Socio-Economic Value of the Shark-Diving Industry in Fiji

Based on a survey of divers, dive operators, resort managers, estimates business revenues from shark diving and related expenditures by area; tax revenues; and economic benefit to local communities

Application of OCT to examination of easel paintings

We present results of applying low coherence interferometry to gallery paintings. Infrared low coherence interferometry is capable of non-destructive examination of paintings in 3D, which shows not only the structure of the varnish layer but also the paint layers

Probation staff experiences of managing suicidal and self-harming service users

The current study sought to explore the impact of suicidal behaviours on probation staff, in relation to their experiences of working with Probation service users who have carried out suicide, attempted suicide or self-harm. Thirteen in-depth interviews were carried out with probation staff who had direct contact with Probation service users in one Probation area, and had varying degrees of experience of managing suicidal or self-injurious service users. These were analysed using Thematic Analysis and five themes were identified. Findings indicate that staff felt that suicide and self-harm by service users are serious issues which need to be recognised and dealt with in an effective yet compassionate manner. However not attending the Suicide Prevention Training or lack of experience was perceived as restricting their ability to know how to deal with these individuals, and offer support. Furthermore, staff were emotionally affected by these incidents and it is recommend that they should continue to be provided with access to appropriate support services after an incident

Farmer perceptions and responses to soil degradation in Swaziland

Soil degradation is globally concerning due to its adverse effects on the environment and agricultural production. Much of Swaziland is at risk from degradation. This paper assesses farmer perceptions and responses to soil degradation in 2002 and 2014, focusing on two land uses that underpin rural livelihoods: arable land and rangeland areas. It uses repeat household surveys and semi-structured interviews, in two case study chiefdoms in the country’s middleveld (KaBhudla and Engcayini) in the first longitudinal study of its kind. We find that observations of land degradation are perceived mainly through changes in land productivity, with chemical degradation occurring predominantly on arable land and physical degradation and erosion mainly in rangeland areas. Changes in rainfall are particularly important in determining responses. While perceptions of the causes and impacts of degradation largely concur with the scientific literature, responses were constrained by poor land availability, shorter and more unpredictable cropping seasons because of changing rains and low awareness, access to or knowledge of agricultural inputs. We suggest that sustainable arable land management can be enhanced through improved access to alternative sources of water, use of management practices that retain soil and moisture and greater access to agricultural inputs and capacity building to ensure their appropriate use. We suggest collaborative management for settlement planning that integrates soil conservation and livestock management strategies such as controlled stocking levels and rotational grazing could improve land quality in rangeland areas. Together, these approaches can help land users to better manage change

Housing options for older people in a reimagined housing system: a case study from England

The housing options of older people now extend far beyond the traditional choice between staying put and making do, or moving to specialist housing or residential care. A flexible suite of options has emerged, centred on promoting independence and wellbeing. Valuable insights have been provided into the development, delivery, costs and benefits of these options. Light has also been cast on the experiences and preferences of older people. However, little is know about who gets what housing, where and why. This reflects a tendency within analysis to consider these different housing options in isolation. This study responds by situating the housing options of older people within wider debates about the reimagining of the housing system driven by the neoliberal transformation in housing politics. Taking a case study approach, it explores the gap between the ambitions of policy and realities of provision at the local level, relates this to the particular intersection of state practices and market mechanisms manifest in the case study and, in doing so, rises to the challenge of extending analysis of the impacts of the neoliberal approach on the right to housing to new groups and different settings

Macroalgae Decrease Growth and Alter Microbial Community Structure of the Reef-Building Coral, Porites astreoides

This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the Public Library of Science and can be found at: http://www.plosone.org/home.action.With the continued and unprecedented decline of coral reefs worldwide, evaluating the factors that contribute to coral demise is of critical importance. As coral cover declines, macroalgae are becoming more common on tropical reefs. Interactions between these macroalgae and corals may alter the coral microbiome, which is thought to play an important role in colony health and survival. Together, such changes in benthic macroalgae and in the coral microbiome may result in a feedback mechanism that contributes to additional coral cover loss. To determine if macroalgae alter the coral microbiome, we conducted a field-based experiment in which the coral Porites astreoides was placed in competition with five species of macroalgae. Macroalgal contact increased variance in the coral-associated microbial community, and two algal species significantly altered microbial community composition. All macroalgae caused the disappearance of a γ-proteobacterium previously hypothesized to be an important mutualist of P. astreoides. Macroalgal contact also triggered: 1) increases or 2) decreases in microbial taxa already present in corals, 3) establishment of new taxa to the coral microbiome, and 4) vectoring and growth of microbial taxa from the macroalgae to the coral. Furthermore, macroalgal competition decreased coral growth rates by an average of 36.8%. Overall, this study found that competition between corals and certain species of macroalgae leads to an altered coral microbiome, providing a potential mechanism by which macroalgae-coral interactions reduce coral health and lead to coral loss on impacted reefs

The impact of adoption of conservation agriculture on smallholder farmers’ food security in semi-arid zones of southern Africa

BACKGROUND In southern Africa, conservation agriculture (CA) has received a lot of research and promotional support from various organizations in the past decades. Conservation agriculture is largely promoted as one of the few win–win technologies affordable to farmers, in the sense that potentially it improves farmers’ yields (in the long term) at the same time conserving the environment. This is because conservation agriculture reduces nitrogen loss in the soil, promotes water and soil conservation and improves agronomic use efficiency of applied nutrients. However, some concerns have been raised over the feasibility of conservation agriculture on smallholder farms given constraints imposed by the biophysical and institutional realities under which smallholder farmers operate. The main aim of this study is to answer the question whether conservation agriculture is resulting in tangible livelihood outcomes to smallholder farmers. The counterfactual outcome approach was used to estimate ex post impact of conservation agriculture adoption on one of the key livelihood outcomes—food security. RESULTS The study that utilized a data set covering 1623 households in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique found no significant impact of conservation agriculture adoption on Food Consumption Score of farmers in Zimbabwe and Malawi. Possible reasons for the insignificant of CA impact on food security in Zimbabwe and Malawi could include the small land areas currently devoted to CA, and the failure to implement the full complement of practices necessary to set off the biophysical process that are expected to drive yield increases. In Mozambique, conservation agriculture significantly improved the Food Consumption Score for farmers exposed to the technology. A possible reason for effectiveness of CA in Mozambique could be due to the fact that often CA is being promoted together with other better cropping management practices such as timely weeding and improved seed varieties, which are poorly practiced by the generality of farmers in a country just emerging from a war period. CONCLUSION This paper provides one of the few ex post assessments of the impact of conservation agriculture adoption on household livelihood outcomes—food security. Given the mixed findings, the study suggests that conservation agriculture farmers in the three countries need to be supported to adopt a value chain approach to conservation agriculture. This entails the introduction of commercial or high-value crops in the conservation agriculture programmes, value addition on farmers produce, access to the necessary support services such as markets for seed, fertilizer, herbicides and equipment as well as reliable extension. We believe that under such circumstances conservation agriculture can effectively reduce food insecurity and poverty in the medium to long term

Two's Company, Three's a Crowd: Experimental Evaluation of the Evolutionary Maintenance of Trioecy in Mercurialis annua (Euphorbiaceae)

Trioecy is an uncommon sexual system in which males, females, and hermaphrodites co-occur as three clearly different gender classes. The evolutionary stability of trioecy is unclear, but would depend on factors such as hermaphroditic sex allocation and rates of outcrossing vs. selfing. Here, trioecious populations of Mercurialis annua are described for the first time. We examined the frequencies of females, males and hermaphrodites across ten natural populations and evaluated the association between the frequency of females and plant densities. Previous studies have shown that selfing rates in this species are density-dependent and are reduced in the presence of males, which produce substantially more pollen than hermaphrodites. Accordingly, we examined the evolutionary stability of trioecy using an experiment in which we (a) indirectly manipulated selfing rates by altering plant densities and the frequency of males in a fully factorial manner across 20 experimental plots and (b) examined the effect of these manipulations on the frequency of the three sex phenotypes in the next generation of plants. In the parental generation, we measured the seed and pollen allocations of hermaphrodites and compared them with allocations by unisexual plants. In natural populations, females occurred at higher frequencies in denser patches, a finding consistent with our expectations. Under our experimental conditions, however, no combination of plant densities and male frequencies was associated with increased frequencies of females. Our results suggest that the factors that regulate female frequencies in trioecious populations of M. annua are independent of those regulating male frequencies (density), and that the stable co-existence of all three sex phenotypes within populations is unlikely