Ecosystems say good management pays off

Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of alternative assessment methods, harvest strategies and management approaches are an important part of operationalizing single‐species and ecosystem‐based fisheries management. Simulations run using two variants of a whole‐of‐ecosystem model for the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) area shows that (a) data‐rich assessments outperform data‐poor assessments for target species and that this performance is reflected in the values of many system‐level ecosystem indicators; (b) ecosystem and multispecies management outperforms single‐species management applied over the same domain; (c) investment in robust science‐based fisheries management pays dividends even when there are multiple jurisdictions, some of which are not implementing effective management; and (d) that multispecies yield‐oriented strategies can deliver higher total catches without a notable decline in overall system performance, although the resulting system structure is different to that obtained with other forms of ecosystem‐based management.     

Skating on thin ice: Identifying the need for species‐specific data and defined migration ecology of Rajidae spp.

Skates (class Chondrichthyes; subclass Elasmobranchii; order Rajiformes; family Rajidae) comprise one quarter of extant chondrichthyans, yet have received little attention in the scientific literature likely due to their relatively low economic value and difficulties in species identification. The absence of species‐specific information on catch, life history and migration of skates has often precluded the development of single‐species stock assessments and led to the use of cursory multispecies assessments, which lack the ability to track species‐specific catch and abundance trends. This has resulted in undetected local extirpations, as has been previously reported for common (Dipturus batis, Rajidae), white (Rostroraja alba, Rajidae) and long‐nose (Dipturus oxyrhinchus, Rajidae) skates in the Irish Sea. Here, we (a) use case studies to illustrate how the perception of skate population structure and stock status has historically been masked through multispecies assessment and management practices, (b) review current information on the movement of skates and identify gaps in knowledge, and (c) identify biases associated with the use of various tagging technologies, which have confounded our understanding of movement and migration ecology of skates. Considering that over 40% of extant Rajidae species are listed as “Data Deficient” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, we illustrate a critical need to broaden the current understanding of skate life history, movement and migration ecology by providing recommendations on the further application of electronic tags and biogeochemical natural tags in movement studies and highlight the benefits that studies using these approaches have for novel management frameworks.     

Realizing the potential of trait‐based approaches to advance fisheries science

Analysing how fish populations and their ecological communities respond to perturbations such as fishing and environmental variation is crucial to fisheries science. Researchers often predict fish population dynamics using species‐level life‐history parameters that are treated as fixed over time, while ignoring the impact of intraspecific variation on ecosystem dynamics. However, there is increasing recognition of the need to include processes operating at ecosystem levels (changes in drivers of productivity) while also accounting for variation over space, time and among individuals. To address similar challenges, community ecologists studying plants, insects and other taxa increasingly measure phenotypic characteristics of individual animals that affect fitness or ecological function (termed “functional traits”). Here, we review the history of trait‐based methods in fish and other taxa, and argue that fisheries science could see benefits by integrating trait‐based approaches within existing fisheries analyses. We argue that measuring and modelling functional traits can improve estimates of population and community dynamics, and rapidly detect responses to fishing and environmental drivers. We support this claim using three concrete examples: how trait‐based approaches could account for time‐varying parameters in population models; improve fisheries management and harvest control rules; and inform size‐based models of marine communities. We then present a step‐by‐step primer for how trait‐based methods could be adapted to complement existing models and analyses in fisheries science. Finally, we call for the creation and expansion of publicly available trait databases to facilitate adapting trait‐based methods in fisheries science, to complement existing public databases of life‐history parameters for marine organisms.     

Hazards of managing disparate species as a pooled complex: A general problem illustrated by two contrasting examples from Hawaii

Surprisingly little published information exists on the pros and cons of managing extracted resources that are pooled as compound taxa such as species complexes. Current fisheries management includes many species complexes; in Hawaii, this includes two taxa of species pooled at subfamily and higher levels. These include seven species of parrotfishes (Scarinae, Labridae) and a seven‐species ‘bottomfish’ complex (the ‘Deep‐7’: comprising six species of snappers [Etelinae, Lutjanidae] and a single species of grouper [Epinephelidae]). Recent research on key vital rates (growth, reproduction) for major species in both taxa indicates that these complexes consist of species with disparate life histories. Species in the parrotfish taxon exhibit fast to very fast growth and short to moderate longevities, whilst Deep‐7 bottomfishes exhibit moderate to very slow growth and long to very long lifespans. These data clearly indicate that, although pooling species is a tempting default option in data‐poor situations, it is at best a necessary evil to be avoided when sufficient data on the demographics of component species become available. Pooling species is especially problematic when the ecosystem effects of extracting functionally dominant species should be an important management consideration in addition to that of species demographics. Assessments that recognize and quantify the ecosystem importance of habitat engineers and other ecological dominants could substantively improve management of species complexes. Ultimately, complexes of resource species need to be evaluated and managed based on many, sometimes conflicting and sometimes reinforcing, but always careful considerations such as those contrasted herein between the parrotfishes and bottomfishes of Hawaii.     

Life history demographic parameter synthesis for exploited Florida and Caribbean coral reef fishes

Age‐ or length‐structured stock assessments require reliable life history demographic parameters (growth, mortality, reproduction) to model population dynamics, potential yields and stock sustainability. This study synthesized life history information for 84 commercially exploited tropical reef fish species from Florida and the U.S. Caribbean (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). We attempted to identify a useable set of life history parameters for each species that included lifespan, length at age, weight at length and maturity at length. Key aspects of the life history synthesis were development of: (a) a database that characterized study details including sampling region, biological and statistical methods, length range of sampled individuals, sample size, capture gears and sampling time frame; (b) reproducible procedural criteria for parameter identification for a given species; and (c) a reliability metric for each parameter type. Complete life history parameter sets were available for 46 species analysed. Of these, only 16 species had parameter sets meeting the highest standards for reliability, highlighting future research needs.     

崇明岛草鱼池塘沉积物中多环芳烃的分布状况及生态风险

为探究崇明岛池塘养殖持久性污染状况，采用气相色谱-质谱联用法对崇明岛不同区域草鱼池塘沉积物中16种优先控制多环芳烃(PAHs)的含量及分布情况进行了研究，同时运用主成分分析法、特征比值法和质量标准法等对草鱼池塘中PAHs的来源及生态风险进行了分析。结果显示，崇明岛草鱼池塘养殖沉积物中的PAHs总含量为未检出(ND)~1 654.09 μg/kg，平均含量为95.13 μg/kg，其中4~5环PAHs对总浓度的贡献率最高；崇明岛不同区域草鱼池塘沉积物中的PAHs含量差异较大，表现为岛中部池塘含量低，沿岛四周池塘含量较高，尤其是岛西部沿岸区池塘含量最高且种类多；分析发现，崇明岛草鱼养殖池塘中的PAHs主要来源于岛内生物燃烧和石油燃烧，总体处于中等偏下污染水平，生态风险较低，但在西北部池塘存在潜在生态风险，应予以重视。     

保障中俄东线天然气管道长期安全运行的若干技术思考

针对中俄东线天然气管道的实际服役状况,分析了土壤运动(冻胀与解冻沉降)对管道结构完整性的影响以及基于管体结构-土壤弹簧模型在确定管-土交互作用方面的局限性,即非线性、大应变与多轴加载评估的保守性、土壤本构模拟与真实状况的偏离,建议发展新型多模块耦合集成技术确定土壤运动产生的机械效应。明确了X80高强管线钢在服役条件下发生应变时效及其导致管线钢(尤其是焊缝区)材料韧性和止裂能力的降低,建议使用时效活化能与等效时效时间模拟、评估管线钢在漫长服役过程中发生应变时效的敏感性,并建立相应的理论基础。此外,详细分析3种常见的管道缺陷(机械损伤、腐蚀缺陷、裂纹)对管道完整性影响的评估技术现状。针对高压、大口径、高强钢天然气管道(特别是焊接金属与热影响区)在地质不稳定地区的材料韧性、裂纹扩展以及止裂能力开展实验与评价技术,建立精确的多物理场协同作用下的管道缺陷评估模型,是当前的国际性技术难题,这些问题的解决将有力保障中俄东线天然气管道以及相关油气管道的长期安全运行。     

美国油气管道基本失效概率评估方法及启示

为充分利用油气管道历史失效数据,减少失效概率评估过程中的主观性,提出油气管道基本失效概率的概念及评估方法。对美国管道及危险物品安全管理局数据库的油气管道里程数据、事故数据及失效因素数据进行全面分析,采用基于事故统计的方法评估油气管道基本失效概率。结果表明:美国危险液体管道、输气集气管道、配气管道发生一般事故的基本失效概率分别为1.29次/(10^3 km·a)、2.17次/(10^4 km·a)及4.08次/(10^5 km·a),发生较大事故的基本失效概率分别为4.58次/(10^4 km·a)、1.41次/(10^4 km·a)及2.38次/(10^5 km·a),发生重大事故的基本失效概率分别为9.09次/(10^6 km·a)、9.79次/(10^6 km·a)及1.11次/(10^5 km·a)。美国基本失效概率可作为油气管道失效概率评估的基准线,也可作为风险可接受标准的依据,但不能直接应用于中国管道风险评价,需对其进行修正,建立适用于中国管道的失效数据库。     

Biochemical and morphological risk assessment of transgenic wheat with enhanced iron and zinc bioaccessibility

Decreased iron and zinc bioaccessibility, caused by the anti-nutrient phytic acid, is one of the leading reasons for micronutrient deficiency-related disorders. Biofortification of wheat with phytase gene to enhance iron and zinc bioaccessibility appears to be a fitting solution for this problem, especially in developing countries where most of the population belongs to the lower economic sector. However, societal views on crops, particularly crops that are genetically modified (GM) to express a new trait, needs to be changed. Risk assessment of GM crops can play a crucial role in fostering positive public perception, since it is imperative to ensure safety before allowing human consumption. The present study performed compositional and morphological risk assessment of T3 and T4 generations of phytase transgenic wheat by comparing their biochemical and morphological traits. Transgenic plants were analysed for their carbohydrate, protein, starch and phytic acid content along with iron bioaccessibility, zinc bioaccessibility and phytase enzyme activity. Morphological traits studied included plant height, seed number, seed weight and spike number. No significant differences were observed for carbohydrate, protein, starch content and for morphological traits; however, a significant increase was observed in phytase activity as well as iron and zinc bioaccessibility, which correlated with a significant decrease in phytic acid. These results demonstrate that phytase transgenic wheat is as native as local wheat varieties and can potentially increase iron and zinc bioaccessibility.     

风险感知、保险认知与养殖户肉鸡保险购买意愿 ——基于肉鸡主产区的实证分析

风险管理是现代农业经营中的重要问题，随着农业市场化程度的加深，肉鸡产业面临着多种风险来源的冲击。农业保险作为有效的现代风险管理工具，在保障产业可持续发展、减少农户家庭收入波动方面发挥了重要作用。基于行为金融理论，利用江苏、安徽、山东、河南和辽宁5个肉鸡主产区的调研数据，运用有序Logit模型，分析风险感知与保险认知对养殖户保险购买意愿的影响，探讨两者间的交互影响机制。结果表明，尽管66.43%的农户认为肉鸡养殖保险在风险管控中的必要性较强，但86.43%的农户对保险内容的了解程度不高，仅有20.71%的农户具有强烈的保险购买意愿。生产风险感知对养殖户的保险购买意愿有促进作用。保险认知中，农户对保险重要性认知程度对其保险购买意愿有促进作用；农户对保险内容的了解程度对其保险购买意愿具有显著的抑制作用，主要由于当前肉鸡保险产品设计不合理，保险内容与农户需求不匹配，保险理赔效果不佳，对保险内容了解程度越高反而会降低农户的购买意愿。风险感知和保险认知间存在交互影响，即风险感知对农户保险购买意愿的提高效果会随着对保险重要性认知程度的提高而增强，随着对保险内容了解程度的提高而减弱。因此，政府应加强农户的风险管理教育与培训，提高其风险管理意识，同时完善和优化当前肉鸡保险的内容，使之与农户需求相匹配，并通过更广泛的宣传来提高养殖户对于肉鸡保险的认知，从而增强农户对保险的购买意愿。