Indicators for management of coral reefs and their applications to marine protected areas

Informed planning and decision-making in the management of natural resources requires an ability to integrate complex interactions in ecosystems and communicate these effectively to stakeholders. This involves coping with three fundamental dilemmas. The first comes from the irregular pulse of nature. The second is the recognition that there are no strictly objective criteria for judging the well-being of an ecosystem. The third is posed by the quest for indicators with some integrative properties that may be used to analyze an ecosystem and impart the information to the relevant resource users. This paper presents some examples of indicators used to: 1) assess the status of a coral reef and, in particular, the state of its fisheries resources; 2) identify reefs that are most threatened by human activities; and 3) evaluate the likelihood of success of management interventions. These indicators are not exhaustive, but illustrate the range of options available for the management of coral reef ecosystems

Indicators for the management of coral reefs and their applications to marine protected areas

Informed planning and decision-making in the management of natural resources requires an ability to integrate complex interactions in ecosystems and communicate these effectively to stakeholders. This involves coping with three fundamental dilemmas. The first comes from the irregular pulse of nature. The second is the recognition that there are no strictly objective criteria for judging the “well-being” of an ecosystem. The third is posed by the quest for indicators with some integrative properties that may be used to analyze an ecosystem and impart the information to the relevant resource users. This paper presents some examples of indicators used to: 1) assess the status of a coral reef and, in particular, the state of its fisheries resources; 2) identify reefs that are most threatened by human activities; and 3) evaluate the likelihood of success of management interventions. These indicators are not exhaustive, but illustrate the range of options available for the management of coral reef ecosystems.Marine parks, Coral reefs, Fishery resources

A framework for future training in marine and coastal protected area management

Training, Protected areas, Marine environment, Coastal zone management

Resource ecology of the Bolinao coral reef system

Coral reefs, Reef fisheries, Ecology, Population dynamics, Overfishing, Stock assessment, Resource management, Philippines, Bolinao,

Ecological computer programs: the importance of being friendly

A discussion is presented on the topic of statistical data analysis in the field of ecology, emphasizing the importance of computer programmes being user friendly for the ecologist. Particular reference is given to TWINSPAN, CANOCO and PATN and the applications of these programmes to tropical fisheries and coastal zone management

Ecological computer programs: the importance of being friendly

Fish, Data processing, Computer programs

Meso-scale transboundary units for the management of coral reefs in the South China Sea area

Local communities and local government units are recognized as the primary stakeholders and participants in the management of coral reef resources and the primary beneficiaries of small-scale fishing activities in the nearshore areas of the coastal zone. The issues relating to the management of the coastal zone are multi-faceted and some issues are largely intertwined with national policy and development goals. Thus, national governments have jurisdiction over these nearshore coastal resources to harmonize policies, monitor resource use and provide incentives for sustainable use. However, the natural boundaries of these reef resources, the processes that support reef ecosystems, and the local or national affiliation of the people who benefit from them may transcend the boundaries of the local and national management units. Therefore, efforts to arrest the decline in fish catch and loss of biodiversity for reefs require management interventions and assessment activities to be carried out at varying scales. In Southeast Asia, some aspects of reef and reef resources management — particularly in deciding the allocation of catch among competing fisheries, development of sustainable harvest strategies, use of broodstock for restocking or stock enhancement programs, protection of nursery and spawning areas, designation of systems of marine protected areas, and the identification of representative, adequate and comprehensive areas for biodiversity conservation in the region — may require the definition of larger management units. At the regional level, multi-country initiatives will need to define units for the transboundary management of resources. The use of large marine ecosystems (LMEs) to identify and manage fisheries resources may be a starting point; however, given the relatively sedentary nature of coral reef-dwelling and reef-associated organisms compared with other pelagic and demersal species, meso-scale transboundary units within the LMEs have to be defined. This paper provides suggestions for transboundary management units for coral reef and reef-associated resources in Southeast Asia based on information from genetic structures of model organisms in the region. In addition, specific reef areas are identified, which may be important beyond their national boundaries, as potential sources of recruits.Coral reefs, Resource management, Large marine ecosystems, Population genetics, Reef fisheries, Fishery management, South China Sea,

Association of lipid-related genetic variants with the incidence of atrial fibrillation: The AFGen consortium

Background: Several studies have shown associations between blood lipid levels and the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). To test the potential effect of blood lipids with AF risk, we assessed whether previously developed lipid gene scores, used as instrumental variables, are associated with the incidence of AF in 7 large cohorts. Methods: We analyzed 64,901 individuals of European ancestry without previous AF at baseline and with lipid gene scores. Lipid-specific gene scores, based on loci significantly associated with lipid levels, were calculated. Additionally, non-pleiotropic gene scores for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) were calculated using SNPs that were only associated with the specific lipid fraction. Cox models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of AF per 1-standard deviation (SD) increase of each lipid gene score. Results: During a mean follow-up of 12.0 years, 5434 (8.4%) incident AF cases were identified. After meta-analysis, the HDLc, LDLc, total cholesterol, and triglyceride gene scores were not associated with incidence of AF. Multivariable-adjusted HR (95% CI) were 1.01 (0.98-1.03); 0.98 (0.96-1.01); 0.98 (0.95-1.02); 0.99 (0.97-1.02), respectively. Similarly, non-pleiotropic HDLc and LDLc gene scores showed no association with incident AF: HR (95% CI) = 1.00 (0.97-1.03); 1.01 (0.99-1.04). Conclusions In this large cohort study of individuals of European ancestry, gene scores for lipid fractions were not associated with incident AF