Fishing impact and environmental status in European seas: a diagnosis from stock assessments and ecosystem indicators

Stock‐based and ecosystem‐based indicators are used to provide a new diagnosis of the fishing impact and environmental status of European seas. In the seven European marine ecosystems covering the Baltic and the North‐east Atlantic, (i) trends in landings since 1950 were examined; (ii) syntheses of the status and trends in fish stocks were consolidated at the ecosystem level; and (iii) trends in ecosystem indicators based on landings and surveys were analysed. We show that yields began to decrease everywhere (except in the Baltic) from the mid‐1970s, as a result of the over‐exploitation of some major stocks. Fishermen adapted by increasing fishing effort and exploiting a wider part of the ecosystems. This was insufficient to compensate for the decrease in abundance of many stocks, and total landings have halved over the last 30 years. The highest fishing impact took place in the late 1990s, with a clear decrease in stock‐based and ecosystem indicators. In particular, trophic‐based indicators exhibited a continuous decreasing trend in almost all ecosystems. Over the past decade, a decrease in fishing pressure has been observed, the mean fishing mortality rate of assessed stocks being almost halved in all the considered ecosystems, but no clear recovery in the biomass and ecosystem indicators is yet apparent. In addition, the mean recruitment index was shown to decrease by around 50% in all ecosystems (except the Baltic). We conclude that building this kind of diagnosis is a key step on the path to implementing an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.     

The SAHGA model to calculate the Spatial Ammoniacal Heterogeneity at the soil surface after fertiliser Granule Application

After dissolution of fertiliser granules, a high nitrogen concentration is recovered in the immediate vicinity of granules, which may enhance damaging processes like nitrite accumulation or ammonia volatilisation. Based on the diffusion equations of Cranck, the granule-soil microsite was modelled to obtain the actual fertilised surface plot and the effective rate of N application on this surface. Parameterisation of the diffusion coefficient of solutes consisted of a temperature and soil texture correction. The model was tested against an experimental data set obtained from soil incubations at two soil water contents (21.2% m³ m^–3 and 28.3% m³ m^–3) and two temperatures (4°C and 25°C) by comparing NH₄⁺ recovery at various distances from the granules. The simulated radius of the granule-soil microsite was more affected by the water content than by the temperature. The model is very accurate because 95–100% of total NH₄⁺ applied was recovered in the modelled surface depending on the experimental conditions (temperature and water content). The model was simple enough to be easily integrated into larger models dealing with surface-applied granule fertilisers.     

The Brucella genome at the beginning of the post-genomic era

The year 2002 began with the publication of the first complete genome sequence for a Brucella species, that of the two replicons of B. melitensis 16M. Hopefully in 2002, the complete genome of B. suis 1330, and, perhaps, a B. abortus strain will be published. This is the culmination of over 30 years investigation of the composition, structure, organisation and evolution of the Brucella genome. Brucella research must now adapt to the new challenges of the post-genomic era.     

An easy and rapid method using microscopy to determine herbicide effects in Poaceae weed species

A new, easy, rapid and relatively inexpensive method using microscopy has been developed for the detection of herbicide effects in leaves of grass weed species displaying no visual signs of damage. The method has potential to be used as a tool to indicate future death of grass species due to herbicide exposure by observing phytochemical effects, i.e. early-warning effects. In the present study, Apera spica-venti (L.) Beauv., Bromus hordeaceus L., Alopecurus myosuroides Huds., Lolium perenne L. and Poa annua L. were exposed to lethal rates of four herbicides with different mode of action. The herbicides investigated were the thiocarbamate: prosulfocarb, the sulfonylurea: iodosulfuron, the aryloxyphenoxypropionate: fenoxaprop-P-ethyl and the organophosphate glyphosate. Autofluorescence of leaves was studied under a microscope using ultraviolet and blue light. The fluorescence of leaves treated to enhance flavonoids was also examined. To confirm the results, microspectrofluorometry was performed. Effects indicating future death of the grasses were observed in visually healthy leaves following treatment with prosulfocarb, glyphosate and iodosulfuron. No changes were detected following treatment with fenoxaprop-P-ethyl. After exposure to glyphosate or iodosulfuron, changes in the content of flavonoids and other compounds with a conjugation system and rigid structure and a decrease in the content of chlorophyll were detected in the leaves. Prosulfocarb treatment resulted in changes in the content of flavonoids and other compounds with a conjugation system and rigid structure and an increase in the content of chlorophyll in the leaves. The results obtained from microspectrofluorometry indicated that exposure to prosulfocarb caused a reduction in the flavonoids quercetin, naringenin and/or naringin.     

Utilisation d'anticorps spécifiques d'une fraction obtenue par chromatographie d'exclusion pour une amélioration de la caractérisation sérologique deRhizoctonia solani Kühn AG3

La purification d'un extrait mycélien soluble d'une souche deR. solani AG3 par chromatographie d'exclusion permet de recueillir une fraction antigénique. Une lapine est immunisée par voie intradermique. L'immunsérum titre 0,125 par la technique de double-diffusion en agarose. Différentes techniques sérologiques (immunodiffusion, électrotransfert suivi de révélation des fractions antigéniques, coloration immunoenzymatique du mycélium) sont appliquées à des souches deR. solani AG1, AG2, AG3, AG4, AG5, AG6, AG7, AGBI et deCeratobasidium CAG1, CAG2, CAG3, CAG4 et CAG5. Le sérum se révèle spécifique des souches AG3. A soluble mycelial extract ofR. solani AG3 was purified by size exclusion chromatography. Five peaks were present in the elution profile: the first was well defined and of large volume. It was retained to immunise a female rabbit by intradermic injection. The titre of the antiserum determined by double immuno-diffusion in agarose was 0.125. The antiserum was tested on isolates ofR. solani AG1, AG2, AG3, AG4, AG5, AG6, AG7, AGB1 and ofCeratobasidium CAG1, CAG2, CAG3, CAG4 and CAG5 (Table 1) using three different methods:

Scale-dependent determinants of heterogeneity in fire frequency in a coniferous boreal forest of eastern Canada

Despite the recognized importance of fire in North American boreal forests, the relative importance of stochastic and determinist portions of intra-regional spatial variability in fire frequency is still poorly understood. The first objective of this study is to identify sources of spatial variability in fire frequency in a landscape of eastern Quebec’s coniferous boreal forest. Broad-scale environmental factors considered included latitude, longitude, human activities and belonging to a given bioclimatic domain, whereas fine-scale factors included slope, position on the slope, aspect, elevation, surficial deposit and drainage. The average distance to waterbodies was also considered as a potential intermediate-scale source of variability in fire frequency. In order to assess these environmental factors’ potential influence, they were incorporated into a proportional hazard model, a semi-parametric form of survival analysis. We also used a digital elevation model in order to evaluate the dominant aspect within neighborhoods of varying sizes and successively incorporated these covariates into the proportional hazard model. We found that longitude significantly affects fire frequency, suggesting a maritime influence on fire frequency in this coastal landscape. We also found that position on the slope was related to fire frequency since hilltops and upperslopes were subject to a lower fire frequency. Dominant aspect was also related to fire frequency, but only when characterized within a neighborhood delimited by 4,000 to 10,000-m radii (5,027–31,416 ha). A 2–6-fold variation in fire frequency can be induced by geographic and topographic contexts, suggesting a substantial intra-regional heterogeneity in disturbance regime with potential consequences on forest dynamics and biodiversity patterns. Implications for forest management are also briefly discussed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi: ) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.