Anthropocene Coasts最新文献

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) worldwide are under increasing pressure to balance biodiversity conservation with the growing demands of tourism, often exacerbated by anthropogenic impacts on coastal ecosystems. Exogenous shocks, such as environmental or policy-driven events, can offer opportunities for shifts in natural resource governance. This longitudinal study examines how a 2016 tourism ban in Mexico Islas Marietas National Park, prompted by coral reef degradation, influenced its polycentric governance. We use a mixed-methods approach, analyzing data from 53 governance meetings held before (March 2015 to April 2016) and after (May 2016 to November 2017) the regulatory shock. We compare stakeholder participation, affiliation networks, rules, and institutions to assess changes in the polycentric governance system. Our results show an increase in stakeholder engagement and two new decision-making forums have emerged. Network analysis reveals a rise in network density and social ties, suggesting enhanced trust and collaboration among stakeholders, although individual stakeholder responses to the shock varied. The tourism ban triggered a shift towards formalizing collaboration agreements, increasing stakeholder involvement in shaping public use norms, and decentralizing revenue generation. The coastal MPA also implemented a specific regulatory framework with recalculated carrying capacity, improved monitoring, and stricter accountability for tour operators. The Islas Marietas case offers valuable insights into coastal management in the Anthropocene, emphasizing the need for adaptive polycentric governance approaches that foster collaboration, and empower stakeholders to safeguard the long-term sustainability of both marine commons and livelihoods.

Small islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change risks due to their geographical isolation from the mainland and limited resources. The development of coastal areas can efficiently address socio-economic and environmental objectives. An illustration of this is the coastal areas located on various small islands within the Karimunjawa Islands, which have attained considerable popularity among tourists. This study aims to analyze the distribution of multi-hazards arising from climate change and identify a suitable coastal environmental management strategy for implementation on the small islands of Karimunjawa. The variables encompass landform, wave exposure, tidal range, coastal ecosystems, sediment equilibrium, and storm climate. The findings reveal that the majority of coastal areas in Karimunjawa's small islands exhibit a moderate level of ecosystem disruption and coastal erosion, whereas the lower level includes gradual inundation, seawater intrusion, and coastal flooding. The elements of landform and sediment balance substantially influence the multi-hazard classification in this area. Coastal areas situated on steep landforms with a surplus of sediment typically exhibit a low multi-hazard classification, and vice versa. Possible management strategies to alleviate the impacts of ecosystem disruption encompass coastal zoning, ecosystem-based management, and inaction. Adopting a "do nothing" management strategy also effectively alleviates the effects of gradual inundation and coastal flooding. Also, using management strategies like growing Scaevola taccada and combining mangroves with structures that protect the coast can greatly lessen the effects of coastal erosion on areas that are more likely to be affected. If adequate resources are available, we can implement alternative management strategies such as the construction of seawalls, dikes, or revetments combined with breakwaters.

Marine fishing is critical for coastal livelihoods, sustainability transitions, and the attainment of sustainable development goals. With a long coastline and unique marine fish species, marine fishing could drive sustainable development in Africa. However, with increasing human-environmental challenges in tropical fishing zones, the projected sustainability benefits from Africa’s fisheries resources are threatened. This is worsened by the limited research to understand how these challenges have persisted or could be realigned to suit blue transformations in the marine fisheries sector. We sourced 1066 documents from Scopus, which were analyzed using bibliometrics to (i) analyze research trends and (ii) understand intricate networks and critical themes in research and policy regarding marine fisheries. Findings on research trends reveal a decline in research on marine fishing, domination of research by non-African authors, and institutions, and limited publications in reputable journals. Complex networks persist, worsened by the limited funding of transdisciplinary research. Most researchers and research institutions in Africa prefer marine fisheries science research. Limited marine sociological research has been conducted. Key themes are not prioritizing current governance pathways, and there is limited collaboration among coastal African countries, authors, and institutions in research. To build a new aura for sustainability, a Priority Action Pathway (PAP) has been developed that includes six (6) priority actions to drive sustainable transformations. With increased collaborations, focus on transdisciplinary marine fishing research and a shift in fisheries policy research emphasis to focus on the understanding of socioecological complexities, possibilities for identifying and promoting sustainability transformations (including in sustainable financing) in the sector are possible. This can be through an increased focus on collecting and integrating marine social science with marine fisheries science research. This can help identify/create novel perspectives from tropical coastal communities needed to co-design sustainable priority actions and mechanisms in coastal fishing zones.

Microplastics (MPs) were investigated in four fish species viz., paradise threadfin (Polynemus paradiseus), corsula mullet (Rhinomugil corsula), flathead sillago (Sillaginopsis panijus) and king gobyeel (Taenioides sandwipi), which were collected from the Meghna River estuary in Bangladesh. The gastrointestinal tracts (GITs) of fishes (n = 80 in total) were examined for the presence of MPs following alkali digestion, microscopic observation and μ-FTIR analysis. A total of 573 MPs were detected across all four fish species, indicating the presence of MPs in 81.3% of the fish samples. On average, there were 7.16 ± 4.33 MP items/fish, 2.16 ± 1.76 items/g of GIT and 0.15 ± 0.12 items/g of body weight. Polyethylene, polypropylene and nylon were the most abundant polymers, comprising 47%, 23% and 19%, respectively, according to μ-FTIR analysis. The majority of MPs were fibers (62.48%), with white being the dominant color. R. corsula demonstrated the highest number of MPs in the < 500 μm size range, suggesting that smaller particles are more bio-available to pelagic fish. The findings confirm the contamination of the Meghna River estuary by MPs, and their presence in local fish raises concerns about potential public health risks through the food chain.

With the development of hydraulic engineering such as harbor, channel and reclamation, more and more natural tidal flat turn into the semi-natural tidal flat (SNTF). How to evaluate ecosystem of semi-natural tidal flat is a scientific problem that has not been fully solved. The study tries to assess ecosystem health change of SNTF adjoining Hengsha East Shoal training dike in the Yangtze estuary. The study found SNTF area > 0m isobaths increased from 30.33 km² in 2010–2014 to 46.66 km² in 2014–2017 and to 56.84 km² in 2017–2020, and the Hengsha Shoal region.0m, -2m and -5m isobaths increased from 174.78 km², 303.82 km², and 556.77 km² in 2010–2014 to 233.34 km², 365.59 km², and 596.83 km² in 2014–2017 and to 243.81 km², 363.27 km² and 567.45 km² in 2017–2020. Using database of 3 pressure indicators, 16 state indicators and 3 response indicators, the study combined pressure-state-response (PSR) model and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE), constructed a systematic evaluation method of ecosystem health of semi-natural tidal flat. The evaluation result found the ecosystem health of SNTF of Hengsha East Shoal was rated as "Fair" level during 2010–2020, and the summation of comprehensive evaluation index (CEI) increased from 0.4009 in 2010–2014 to 0.4703 in 2014–2017 due to the rapid expansion of tidal flat vegetation, and then decreased to 0.4450 in 2017–2020 due to a reduction in vegetation area caused by erosion. The area of salt marsh vegetation plays an important role in the health of wetland ecosystems. The Hengsha East Shoal ecosystem is undergoing a quickly dynamic evolution processes, long-term series monitoring and further research for this area are necessary to guide its future development according to the tidal flat utilization patterns.

Tropical Cyclone (TC) Kimi was active from January 15 to 19, 2021 in Australian waters. TC Kimi activity does influence the atmosphere and ocean dynamics around it, including in central and eastern Indonesian waters, with the highest increase in local winds occurring in Sangihe (315.8%), Gorontalo (236.3%), Seram (236.3%) dan Manado (225.8%). On the other hand, Gorontalo experienced the highest increase of significant wave height during TC Kimi active, with 921.4% increase. In this study, we analyze wave height change in central and eastern Indonesian waters before TC Kimi was active, at the peak intensity of TC Kimi, and after TC Kimi dissipated by employing Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) wave model. From spatial lagged correlation analysis between wind from TC Kimi and local winds in Indonesia, we obtained 12 locations that have positive lag and correlation, namely: Denpasar, Waingapu, Rote, Majene, Gorontalo, Manado, Sangihe, Sanana, Seram, Raja Ampat, Agats dan Merauke. From time series lagged correlation, the locations that have negative lag are Denpasar (-6 h) and Rote (-1 h), those with 0 h lag are Raja Ampat and Agats, and those with positive lag are Waingapu (+ 8 h), Majene (+ 10 h), Gorontalo (+ 14 h), Manado (+ 6 h), Sangihe (+ 15 h), Sanana (+ 7 h), Seram (+ 5 h) and Merauke (+ 6 h). Surface wind analysis during the development and early phase of TC Kimi shows wind flows from Sulawesi Sea, Maluku Sea, Halmahera Sea, and Banda Sea towards the TC Kimi system. When TC Kimi approaches its strongest intensity, there are low-pressure areas (Low) that are also active, including Low in the Philippines and in the Gulf of Carpentaria, while the wind flow towards TC Kimi appears to be disconnected. Low in the Philippines and the Gulf of Carpentaria, respectively, play a role in maintaining the high waves in the northern and southern waters of Indonesia. It indicates that TC Kimi plays a role in the initial increase of wind speed in Indonesia, which is continued by the presence of Low in their respective local areas.

The environment provides endless assistance for the wellbeing of all living organisms. However, the environment can be stressed due to anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic pollutants. Plastics have been identified as a persistent pollutant that has been stressing the environment for over a few decades. Among these hazardous plastics, the accumulation of microplastics (MPs) has been identified as a growing global issue. MPs are generally defined as small pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in diameter. Considering the source, two categories are identified, primary and secondary MPs, and it has been recognized that MPs are released into the environment during plastic production, transportation, product usage, and product maintenance. Different processes including physical, chemical, photodegradation, and biological degradations tend to break plastics into MP fragments, which include MPs as well as nanoplastics. Among these degradation processes, physical degradation is prominent in the coastal regions, and chemical degradation can occur due to corrosive chemicals, acids, gases, and atmospheric pollutants, which was the case during the recent MV X-Press Pearl disaster in the Indian Ocean. Different methodologies can be applied for the pretreatment, separation, detection, identification, and quantification of MPs. Digestion of complex substances and ultracentrifugation or ultrafiltration are utilized as pretreatment methods, whereas density, magnetic and electrostatic separations, filtration, and size-exclusion chromatography are practiced as separation methods for MPs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and mass spectrometry can be identified as the main analytical methods for MP detection. The ecological risk of MPs affects the marine environment, freshwater environment, and soil environment, ultimately influencing human health. To remediate the issue, removal methods for MPs are being developed, with currently progressing methods being physical sorption and filtration, biological removal and ingestion, chemical treatments, membrane processes, and magnetic separation. Considering the prospects, the need to conduct meta-analyses, and compare data from different studies done in various geographic regions is important, which, among other related topics such as policy development, are discussed thoroughly through this review article.

Beachgoers are sometimes exposed to coastal hazards, yet comprehensive analyses of characteristics and potential factors for beach accidents are rarely reported in China. In this study, information on beach accidents was collected on a recreational beach from 2004 to 2022 by searching the web or apps. The characteristics of beach accidents were therefore analysed in terms of age, gender, and activity of beachgoers. The potential factors were resolved in environmental aspects of meteorology, waves, tides, and beach morphology. Results show that beach accidents mainly occur in summer, with the highest occurrence in the afternoon and evening. The number of male beachgoers in accidents is five times higher than that of females. 90% of accidents occur when the beach is at a high-risk level for rip currents, providing evidence for the accuracy of the risk map built in a previous study. Three machine learning models, i.e., Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, and BP Neural Networks, are trained to predict beach accidents. The performances of these three machine learning algorithms are evaluated in terms of precision, recall, and F1 score. Support Vector Machine and BP Neural Networks significantly outperform Random Forest in terms of prediction. The accuracy in predicting "safe" and "dangerous" classes is approximately 80% of the Support Vector Machine model. This paper provides a preliminary study of machine learning based beach accident prediction for a specific tourist beach. In the future, machine learning will be applied to predict tourist beach accidents throughout mainland China.

Coastal salt marsh wetlands are crucial reservoirs of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). However, the effects of plant type, geomorphology, and macrobenthos on spatial variations in soil C and N in coastal wetlands remain unclear. In this study, the spatial distribution of soil C and N components was investigated in a coastal wetland (Jiuduansha Shoal) in the Yangtze Estuary, and plant type distribution, plant biomass, soil properties, and macrobenthos species and biomass along the geomorphological gradient were measured. The results showed that the amounts and stocks of soil total C, soil organic C, soil total N, and soil microbial biomass C and N at the Spartina alterniflora (SA) and Phragmites australis (PA) sites were significantly higher than those at the bare mudflat (BM) sites. The soil and microorganism C and N variables showed a remarkable increasing trend from low- to high-elevation sites. The abundance of macrobenthos at the Scirpus mariqueter site was the highest among the plant communities and was significantly higher than that at the Zizania latifolia (ZL) and BM sites. The air-free dry weight (AFDW) of macrobenthos in the PA community was the highest among the communities. The variability in soil C and N was mainly sensitive to plant biomass, soil water content, bulk density, macrobenthos AFDW, particle size, electrical conductivity, and nutrient levels. We suggest that the synergetic effects of biotic and abiotic factors in the intertidal environment need to be fully considered in assessing and managing the C and N pools of coastal salt marshes in East China.