Procurement from local producers for food service in primary and secondary school settings: A scoping review

Issue addressed: Australian school canteen guidelines do not broadly incentivise procuring food from local producers, despite evidence of this occurring abroad. This scoping review aims to investigate what is known about local food procurement for school foodservice. Methods: A scoping review of peer-reviewed articles published since 2000 was undertaken using MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus. Results: Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Local food was generally perceived as fresher and more nutritious. Small, positive impacts on fruit and vegetable intake have been demonstrated when food is procured locally. Challenges identified included concerns around food safety, varied availability, time spent coordinating food supply, lack of incentive from regional or national guidelines, inadequate kitchen facilities and budget constraints. Conclusions: There is no universal definition or standard for procuring ‘local food’. The main motivation for local food procurement was a sense of social responsibility, however there are barriers, including cost, facilities and food safety. Purchasing food locally holds potential to benefit the local economy but government funding and policy supporting local and small-scale producers is an important enabler. So what?: Government support to build stakeholder capacity is important in establishing and maintaining these programmes and would be crucial in achieving change in Australian schools. Investigating feasibility of a national school lunch service would be beneficial, as these programmes may have merit not just in feeding children but also in supporting the local economy. Further research is warranted in this area

Late Holocene Paleoclimate reconstruction of the northern Gulf of Aqaba using foraminifera as a proxy

Title from PDF of title page, viewed on December 21, 2011Thesis advisor: Tina M. NiemiVitaIncludes bibliographic references (p. 112-119)Thesis (M.S.)--Dept. of Geosciences. University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2011A multiproxy analyses of sediment from a 4.3 m core extracted from 25 m water depth on the shelf of the northern Gulf of Aqaba suggest shifts in depositional environments over the past 4000 yrs. Foraminifera assemblages, grain-size distribution, sediment characterization, and radiocarbon age dating indicate several eco-stratigraphic zones including two periods of aridity from ~3900 to 2900 yr BP and ~1130 yr BP to present, a transitional period from ~2900 to 2500 yr BP, and an abrupt shift to wetter conditions between ~2500 to 1130 yr BP. Furthermore, this study records two foraminifera-barren horizons at 170 and 190 cm that correlate to grain size anomalies at that depth. A tsunami wave generated sometime during 2200-1800 yr BP is one possible explanation for this occurrence. Seismic stratigraphy indicates a reflector at approximately 3 m below the seafloor that delineates the boundary between a relict, coral fringing reef horizon, U8, and the overlying U9 strata. Sedimentation rates that adjust for sediment compaction suggest the sequence lies near the foraminifera-barren horizons at ~200 cm in the core. These data signify a dramatic environmental event possibly corresponding to reef termination on the Northern Gulf of Aqaba shelf.Introduction -- Study area -- Foraminifera -- Methods -- Results -- Discussion -- Conclusion -- Appendix A. Foraminifera spreadsheet -- Appendix B. Foraminifera graphs -- Appendix C. Grain size -- Appendix D. Matrix composition -- Appendix E. Core lithology and field descriptio

Eelgrass pathogen Labyrinthula zosterae synthesizes essential fatty acids

Negative consequences of parasites and disease on hosts are usually better understood than their multifaceted ecosystem effects. The pathogen Labyrinthula zosterae (Lz) causes eelgrass wasting disease but has relatives that produce large quantities of nutritionally valuable long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Here we quantify the fatty acids (FA) of Lz cultured on artificial media, eelgrass-based media, and eelgrass segments to investigate whether Lz may similarly produce LCPUFA. We also assess whether fieldcollected lesions show similar FA patterns to laboratory-inoculated eelgrass. We find that Lz produces DHA as its dominant FA along with other essential FA on both artificial and eelgrass-based media. DHA content was greater in both laboratory-inoculated and field-collected diseased eelgrass relative to their respective controls. If Lz’s production scales in situ, it may present an unrecognized source of LCPUFA in eelgrass ecosystems.We thank the staff of the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Zofia Knorek, Nicole Nakata, Isaiah-Peacott Ricardos, and Alexa Romersa for field and laboratory assistance. We also thank Morgan Eisenlord for fantastic discussion on this subject and manuscript. We thank the 3 anonymous reviewers for constructive comments and suggestions, substantially improving our manuscript. This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. 1309047. A.W.E.G. and J.B.S. were supported by startup funds granted to A.W.E.G. by the University of Oregon.Ye

Sea otter effects on trophic structure of seagrass communities in southeast Alaska

Previous research in southeast Alaska on the effects of sea otters Enhydra lutris in seagrass Zostera marina communities identified many but not all of the trophic relationships that were predicted by a sea otter-mediated trophic cascade. To further resolve these trophic connections, we compared biomass, carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope (SI), and fatty acid (FA) data from 16 taxa at 3 sites with high and 3 sites with low sea otter density (8.2 and 0.1 sea otters km−2, respectively). We found lower crab and clam biomass in the high sea otter region but did not detect a difference in biomass of other seagrass community taxa or the overall community isotopic niche space between sea otter regions. Only staghorn sculpin differed in δ13C between regions, and Fucus, sugar kelp, butter clams, dock shrimp, and shiner perch differed in δ15N. FA analysis indicated multivariate dissimilarity in 11 of the 15 conspecifics between sea otter regions. FA analysis found essential FAs, which consumers must obtain from their diet, including 20:5ω3 (EPA) and 22:6ω3 (DHA), were common in discriminating conspecifics between sea otter regions, suggesting differences in consumer diets. Further FA analysis indicated that many consumers rely on diverse diets, regardless of sea otter region, potentially buffering these consumers from sea otter-mediated changes to diet availability. While sea otters are major consumers in this system, further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms responsible for the differences in biomarkers between regions with and without sea ottersWe thank Tiffany Stephens, Maggie Shields, Melanie Borup, Ashely Bolwerk, Nicole LaRoche, Tom Bell, Michael Stekoll and the rest of the Apex Predators, Ecosystems and Community Sustainability (APECS) team and 26 Earthwatch volunteers for assistance in the field and laboratory. Special thanks to Reyn Yoshioka, Natalie Thompson, the Coastal Trophic Ecology Lab, and Oregon Institute of Marine Biology for their assistance with fatty acid extractions, Melissa Rhodes-Reese at University of Alaska Southeast for water nutrient analysis, and Matthew Rogers and NOAA Auke Bay Laboratories for assistance with stable isotope analyses. This study was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF #1635716, #1600230 to G.L.E.), through the generous support of Earthwatch, and a 56 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, a North Pacific Re - search Board Graduate Student Research Award, an American Fisheries Society Steven Berkeley Marine Conservation Fellowship, and a Lerner Gray Memorial Fund (to W.W.R). This study was completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for W.W.R.’s PhD at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and we thank committee members Dr. Franz Mueter and Dr. Anne Beaudreau for their comments on this project and the manuscript. Finally, we thank the 3 anonymous reviewers whose comments greatly improved the manuscript. This study was conducted on the traditional lands and waters of the Alaska Native Tlingit and Haida peoples. We are grateful for our access to these spaces and benefited from conversations and support from the members of Tribal communities and governments.Ye

Trophic Transfer of Macroalgal Fatty Acids in Two Urchin Species: Digestion, Egestion, and Tissue Building

Sea urchins are ecosystem engineers of nearshore benthic communities because of their influence on the abundance and distribution of macroalgal species. Urchins are notoriously inefficient in assimilation of their macroalgal diets, so their fecal production can provide a nutritional subsidy to benthic consumers that cannot capture and handle large macroalgae. We studied the assimilation of macroalgal diets by urchins by analyzing the profiles of trophic biomarkers such as fatty acids (FAs). We tracked macroalgal diet assimilation in both Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis and S. purpuratus. Juvenile S. droebachiensis and adult S. purpuratus were maintained for 180 and 70 days, respectively, on one of three monoculture diets from three algal phyla: Nereocystis luetkeana, Pyropia sp., or Ulva sp. We then analyzed FA profiles of the macroalgal tissue fed to urchins as well as urchin gonad, gut, digesta, and egesta (feces) to directly evaluate trophic modification and compare nutritional quality of urchin food sources, urchin tissues, and fecal subsidies. In the S. purpuratus assay, there were significantly more total lipids in the digesta and egesta than in the algae consumed. The FA profiles of urchin tissues differed among urchin species, all diets, and tissue types. Despite these differences, we observed similar patterns in the relationships between the urchin and macroalgal tissues for both species. Egesta produced by urchins fed each of the three diets were depleted with respect to the concentration of important long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), but did not differ significantly from the source alga consumed. Both urchin species were shown to synthesize and selectively retain both the precursor and resulting LCPUFAs involved in the synthesis of the LCPUFAs 20:4ω6 and 20:5ω3. S. droebachiensis and S. purpuratus exhibited consistent patterns in the respective depletion and retention of precursor FAs and resulting LCPUFAs of Pyropia and Ulva tissues, suggesting species level control of macroalgal digestion or differential tissue processing by gut microbiota. For both S. droebachiensis and S. purpuratus, macroalgal diet was a surprisingly strong driver of urchin tissue fatty acids; this indicates the potential of fatty acids for future quantitative trophic estimates of urchin assimilation of algal phyla in natural settings

A unified dataset of colocated sewage pollution, periphyton, and benthic macroinvertebrate community and food web structure from Lake Baikal (Siberia)

Sewage released from lakeside development can introduce nutrients and micropollutants that can restructure aquatic ecosystems. Lake Baikal, the world’s most ancient, biodiverse, and voluminous freshwater lake, has been experiencing localized sewage pollution from lakeside settlements. Nearby increasing filamentous algal abundance suggests benthic communities are responding to localized pollution. We surveyed 40-km of Lake Baikal’s southwestern shoreline from 19 to 23 August 2015 for sewage indicators, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and microplastics, with colocated periphyton, macroinvertebrate, stable isotope, and fatty acid samplings. The data are structured in a tidy format (a tabular arrangement familiar to limnologists) to encourage reuse. Unique identifiers corresponding to sampling locations are retained throughout all data files to facilitate interoperability among the dataset’s 150+ variables. For Lake Baikal studies, these data can support continued monitoring and research efforts. For global studies of lakes, these data can help characterize sewage prevalence and ecological consequences of anthropogenic disturbance across spatial scales

Effects of spatially heterogeneous lakeside development on nearshore biotic communities in a large, deep, oligotrophic lake

Sewage released from lakeside development can reshape ecological communities. Nearshore periphyton can rapidly assimilate sewage-associated nutrients, leading to increases of filamentous algal abundance, thus altering both food abundance and quality for grazers. In Lake Baikal, a large, ultra-oligotrophic, remote lake in Siberia, filamentous algal abundance has increased near lakeside developments, and localized sewage input is the suspected cause. These shifts are of particular interest in Lake Baikal, where endemic littoral biodiversity is high, lakeside settlements are mostly small, tourism is relatively high (~1.2 million visitors annually), and settlements are separated by large tracts of undisturbed shoreline, enabling investigation of heterogeneity and gradients of disturbance. We surveyed sites along 40 km of Baikal’s southwestern shore for sewage indicators—pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and microplastics—as well as periphyton and macroinvertebrate abundance and indicators of food web structure (stable isotopes and fatty acids). Summed PPCP concentrations were spatially related to lakeside development. As predicted, lakeside development was associated with more filamentous algae and lower abundance of sewagesensitive mollusks. Periphyton and macroinvertebrate stable isotopes and essential fatty acids suggested that food web structure otherwise remained similar across sites; yet, the invariance of amphipod fatty acid composition, relative to periphyton, suggested that grazers adjust behavior or metabolism to compensate for different periphyton assemblages. Our results demonstrate that even low levels of human disturbance can result in spatial heterogeneity of nearshore ecological responses, with potential for changing trophic interactions that propagate through the food web

Individual, behavioural and home environmental factors associated with eating behaviours in young adolescents

This study aimed to examine individual, behavioural and home environmental factors associated with frequency of consumption of fruit, vegetables and energy-dense snacks among adolescents. Adolescents aged 11-12 years (n = 521, 48% boys) completed a paper-based questionnaire during class-time which included a Food Frequency Questionnaire assessing their consumption of fruit, vegetables, and energy dense (ED) snacks, and items assessing habits, self-efficacy, eating at the television (TV), eating with parents, parenting practices, and home availability and accessibility of foods. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that eating fruit and vegetables while watching TV and home availability and accessibility of fruit and vegetables were positively associated with frequency of fruit consumption and vegetable consumption, while home accessibility of ED snack foods was negatively associated with frequency of fruit consumption. Habit for eating ED snack foods in front the TV, eating ED snack foods while watching TV, and home availability of ED snacks were positively associated with frequency of ED snack consumption. This study has highlighted the importance of a healthy home environment for promoting fruit and vegetable intake in early adolescents and also suggests that, if snacking while TV viewing occurs, this could be a good opportunity for promoting fruit and vegetable intake. These findings are likely to be useful for supporting the development of multi-faceted interventions and aid us in knowing what advice to give to parents to help them to help their young adolescents to develop and maintain healthy eating habits