Environmental changes in a Mediterranean river: implications for the fish assemblage

This study examined the impacts of climate change on hydrology and fish population dynamics in a river in central Spain. The objectives were to: (i) contextualise long-term trends in the hydrology (1943–2012) and climate (1985–2011) of the study area, and (ii) identify the environmental factors driving fish population dynamics (1998–2012). Air and water temperatures progressively increased over the study period, whereas there were substantial reductions in mean spring river discharges but increases in peak-flow discharges during the spawning and early larval period of endemic cyprinids in recent decades. In particular, the changes in spring river discharges could have fundamental implications for the future status of the endemic cyprinids because this study revealed a positive influence of stable and low flow conditions during the spawning and early larval period (in late spring) on recruitment success (young-of-the-year densities). The density of young-of-the-year Salmo trutta appeared most influenced by flow conditions during fry emergence and the early larval period (in early spring), with the highest densities associated with low peak-flow hydrological pulses. Overall, fish abundances were significantly influenced by the frequency and duration of high and low hydrological pulses, but there were interspecific and ontogenetic differences in their influence. We conclude that although it is widely accepted that global warming should favour cyprinid over salmonid species, future shifts in hydrology due to climate change could negatively affect some cyprinids, including endemic species

Managed realignment for habitat compensation: Use of a new intertidal habitat by fishes

Managed realignment has become an increasingly common mechanism to increase the efficiency and sustainability of flood defences, reduce defence costs or compensate for habitat losses. This study investigated the use by fishes of a new intertidal habitat, created by managed realignment, intended to compensate for the loss of mudflat associated with a major port development. Although broadly similar, statistically significant differences in fish species composition, abundance, biomass, size structure, diversity and diet composition indicate that the managed realignment is not yet functioning in an identical manner to the mudflat in the adjacent estuary, most likely due to differences in habitat between sites. Notwithstanding, similarity in the species composition of fyke catches in the managed realignment and estuary increased annually during the 5-year study period, suggesting that the mudflat in the realignment is still developing. Indeed, the site will inevitably change over time with accretion, establishment of vegetation and possibly development of creeks. This will not necessarily prevent the aim of the realignment scheme being achieved, as long as sufficient suitable mudflat remains

The contested and contingent outcomes of Thatcherism in the UK

The death of Margaret Thatcher in April 2013 sparked a range of discussions and debates about the significance of her period in office and the political project to which she gave her name: Thatcherism. This article argues that Thatcherism is best understood as a symbolically important part of the emergence of first-phase neoliberalism. It engages with contemporary debates about Thatcherism among Marxist commentators and suggests that several apparently divergent positions can help us now reach a more useful analysis of Thatcherism’s short- and long-term outcomes for British political economy. The outcomes identified include: an initial crisis in the neoliberal project in the UK; the transformation of the party political system to be reflective of the politics of neoliberalism, rather than its contestation; long-term attempts at the inculcation of the neoliberal individual; de-industrialisation and financial sector dependence; and a fractured and partially unconscious working class. In all long-term outcomes, the contribution of Thatcherism is best understood as partial and largely negative, in that it cleared the way for a longer-term and more constructive attempt to embed neoliberal political economy. The paper concludes by suggesting that this analysis can inform current debates on the left of British politics about how to oppose and challenge the imposition of neoliberal discipline today

Na Koronivalu ni Bā: Upland Settlement during the Last Millennium in the Bā River Valley and Vatia Peninsula, Northern Viti Levu Island, Fiji

Former settlements, now abandoned, are found in inland upland locations on many larger islands in the tropical Pacific. In Fiji, such settlements are known today as koronivalu (war-towns) and, as elsewhere in the region, appear to have been established within the same period during the first half of the last millennium. Twenty-seven koronivalu were mapped for this research in the Bā Valley and nearby Vatia Peninsula, northern Viti Levu Island (Fiji); of these, nine were subject to detailed investigation. All koronivalu are in defensible locations, either with exceptional views across the surrounding landscape or hidden within deep narrow valleys. At all koronivalu, evidence for the consumption of marine shellfish was found, even though the sites are often far from the coast. Twenty-four radiocarbon ages from charcoal and shellfish remains were obtained. A single age around a.d. 700 from the farthest inland site (Koroikewa) appears anomalous. The remainder, once adjusted, suggest that most koronivalu in the study area were established a.d. 1200–1750, perhaps separable into early (a.d. 1200–1450) and later (a.d. 1500–1750) phases. While questions remain about the functions of these koronivalu, the fact that, as elsewhere in Fiji and in other western Pacific Island groups, they appear to have been established within the same period suggests that there is a region-wide explanation for the profound settlement-pattern change this implies. Climate change, perhaps expressed through drought and/or sea-level change, appears the only plausible external forcing mechanism

Coastal Geomorphology of the Beqa and Yanuca Islands, South Pacific Ocean, and Its Significance for the Tectonic History of the Vatulele-Beqa Ridge

Data referring to elevations of emerged shoreline indicators along the coasts of Beqa and Yanuca islands in southern Fiji were collected and indicate the presence of former mean sea levels at elevations (and shoreline names) of 0.96 m (MUAI), 1.93 m (BULl), 2.63 m (MUA2), 4.32 m (MUA3), 5.94 m (MUA4), and 7.79 m (MUA5) above present mean sea level. No dates for shoreline formation or emergence are available directly although age is believed to increase with increasing elevation. Investigations of the Beqa lagoon floor and comparison of shoreline levels between eastern Beqa, western Beqa, Yanuca, and Vatulele island (at the western end of the Vatulele-Beqa Ridge) suggest that downfaulting along faults and grabens trending a little west of north has occurred both during and since the time of shoreline emergence. Uplift related perhaps to either compression of the area between the Kadavu Trench (Hunter Fracture Zone) to the south and the Fiji Fracture Zone to the north or the renewal of northward underplating along the Kadavu Trench is believed to be responsible for shoreline emergence, which was probably contemporary along the whole Vatulele-Beqa Ridge and occurred during-the middle and late Quaternary