Fishermen in Haiti and some African countries could lose their livelihoods as ocean acidification causes a decline in mollusc populations, a study has found.

Human industrial activities release carbon dioxide, which dissolves in sea water, increasing its acidity. This higher acidity damages the mollusc stocks on which many fishermen in Gambia, Haiti, Madagascar, Mozambique and Senegal rely.

“Laboratory studies show that animals that make hard shells and skeletons out of calcium carbonate minerals have a more difficult time doing so when ocean acidification lowers the carbonate concentration in sea water,” said Sarah Cooley of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, United States, the study’s lead author.

Read the full article from: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-environment/fisheries/news/africa-s-mollusc-stocks-at-risk-from-ocean-acidification-1.html

The risk of civil conflict doubles in tropical countries during El Niño years, and around one-fifth of all civil wars between 1950 and 2004 may have been influenced by its weather patterns, according to a study.

The El Niño climate cycle, which periodically warms up the Pacific Ocean and affects weather patterns in many countries, has influenced 21 per cent of civil wars around the world and almost 30 per cent in the countries where El Niño has a high impact — the tropical parts of Africa, Asia-Pacific and South America.

Read the full article from: http://www.scidev.net/en/climate-change-and-energy/climate-change-impacts/news/el-ni-o-linked-to-civil-conflict-in-tropical-countries.html

A scientist’s chance glimpse of a reflection in the atmosphere of the tsunami that devastated Japan earlier this year could lead to the first global tsunami monitoring system — which could also be faster and more efficient than the current systems.

Researchers from Brazil, France and the United States, using a highly sensitive, wide-angle camera at the top of Haleakala volcano in Hawaii, detected the ‘airglow’ signature in the atmosphere of the 11 March tsunami that devastated Japan, demonstrating that the genesis of a tsunami leaves a fingerprint in the ionosphere — an ionised zone of the atmosphere more than 80 kilometres up.

Read the full article from: http://www.scidev.net/en/news/global-tsunami-monitoring-could-follow-from-discovery.html

The conclusion that cholera outbreaks are linked to global warming has been challenged by a study that has found that warmer sea temperatures that correlate with the outbreaks do not cause them.

Outbreaks follow the blooming of phytoplankton which is associated with warmer seas in the Bay of Bengal — but these blooms are driven by river discharges rather than warmer seas, say authors of the study, published last week (3 August) in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Previous studies have suggested that periods of warmer sea temperature could be one of the conditions for promoting the disease, such as in the recent outbreak in Haiti, and that such knowledge could help set up an early warning system.

Read the full article from: http://www.scidev.net/en/news/cholera-outbreaks-not-caused-by-warmer-seas.html

Wildlife Conservation Society leads global assessment showing where climate stresses on reef systems will be
 
Exposure map highlights places to focus management  

NEW YORK (August 11, 2011)—Marine researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups have created a map of the world’s corals and their exposure to stress factors, including high temperatures, ultra-violet radiation, weather systems, sedimentation, as well as stress-reducing factors such as temperature variability and tidal dynamics.

           The study, say the authors, will help to conserve some of the world’s most important coral reefs by identifying reef systems where biodiversity is high and stress is low, ecosystems where management has the best chance of success.

           The paper appears online in journal PLoS One. The authors include: Joseph M. Maina of WCS and a doctoral student at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; Timothy R. McClanahan of WCS; Valentijn Venus of Netherlands Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation; Mebrahtu Ateweberhan of the University of Warwick; and Joshua Madin of Macquarie University.

           “Coral reefs around the globe are under pressure from a variety of factors such as higher temperatures, sedimentation, and human-related activities such as fishing and coastal development,” said Joseph M. Maina, WCS conservationist and lead author on the study. “The key to effectively identifying where conservation efforts are most likely to succeed is finding reefs where high biodiversity and low stress intersect.”

           Using a wide array of publicly available data sets from satellites and a branch of mathematics known as fuzzy logic, which can handle incomplete data on coral physiology and coral-environment interactions, the researchers grouped the world’s tropical coral reef systems into clusters based on the sum of their stress exposure grades and the factors that reinforce and reduce these stresses.

           The first cluster of coral regions—Southeast Asia, Micronesia, the Eastern Pacific, and the central Indian Ocean—is characterized by high radiation stress (sea surface temperature, ultra-violet radiation, and doldrums weather patterns with little wind) and few stress-reducing factors (temperature variability and tidal amplitude). The group also includes corals in coastal waters of the Middle East and Western Australia (both regions have high scores for reinforcing stress factors such as sedimentation and phytoplankton).

           The second cluster— including the Caribbean, Great Barrier Reef, Central Pacific, Polynesia, and the Western Indian Ocean—contained regions with moderate to high rates of exposure as well as high rates of reducing factors, such as large tides and temperature variability.

           Overall, stress factors such as surface temperature, ultra-violet radiation, and doldrums were the most significant factors, ones that ecosystem management has no control over. What is controllable is the mitigation of human impacts that reinforce radiation stress and where managers decide to locate their protected areas.

“When radiation stress and high fishing are combined, the reefs have little chance of surviving climate change disturbances because they both work against the survival of corals that are the foundation of the coral reef ecosystem,” said Dr. Tim McClanahan, WCS Senior Conservationist and head of the society’s coral reef research and conservation program.            

The authors recommend that the study results be used to formulate management strategies that would include activities such as fishing restrictions, the management of watersheds through improved agricultural practices, and reforestation of coastal watersheds that play a role in healthy coral systems.

           “The study provides marine park and ecosystem managers with a plan for spatially managing the effectiveness of conservation and sustainability,” said Dr. Caleb McClennen, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Marine Program. “The information will help formulate more effective strategies to protect corals from climate change and lead to improved management of reef systems globally.”

The Macquarie University’s Higher Degree Research (HDR) and the Wildlife Conservation Society Marine Program contributed to the mapping project, with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The 2010 Annual Report is out now and details the main highlights of 2010 including information on the approved and completed MASMA projects in 2010. Also the report describes how WIOMSA has used writing workshops to synthesize information from large multidisciplinary research. New projects funded by different partners are also been discussed in the report. According the WIOMSA President, ‘2010… has been an incredible year and I have enjoyed working with my fellow Board Members and the Secretariat in Zanzibar. We made excellent progress in 2010.’

Download the full report

I hope you will enjoy reading the report

Conserving mangroves alone may not be enough to protect local fisheries in the Caribbean, according to a study.

Research in the Caribbean and Mexico had previously shown that the mangrove swamps act as vital nurseries for many tropical fish species.

Now, a study conducted in Honduras reveals that seagrass beds and coral reefs also need to be conserved to boost fish populations and protect fisheries.

This is because seagrass beds act as nurseries, too, and link inland mangroves and offshore coral reefs. Juvenile fish migrate through these habitats, from nurseries to coral reefs, where they live as adults.

Read the full article from: http://www.scidev.net/en/news/fish-nurseries-need-more-than-mangroves-says-study.html

The Research Unit of the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA)  in collaboration with the First Vice President Office, Zanzibar, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Zanzibar Institute of Financial Administration will host a 3 days International Symposium on Climate change.

The  themes will be:

1.Climate Change and Biodiversity.
2.Climate Change and Ecosystem Services
3.Climate Change and Agriculture, and Food Security
4.Climate Change, Land Use and Forestry
5.Climate Change and Human Health
6.Climate Change, Water Supply and Sanitation
7.Climate Change, Industry, Settlement, and Society
8.Climate Change and Tourism
9.Climate Change and Transportation
10.Climate change and Human Behavior
11.Climate Change and Coral reefs
12.Climate change and Socio-economy

Important Dates
1.Abstract submission August 10, 2011
2.Notification of acceptance September 12, 2011
3.Authors registration September 15, 2011
4.Conference dates December 3-5, 2011

PUBLICATION
The accepted abstracts will be published in the abstract books.
The selected papers will be undergo normal peer review process and once accepted will be published as a special issue in the SUZA Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (SJNS, ISSN: 1821-7915) free of charge.

For more details check the following website: www.suzasymposium2011.go.tz

The deadline for submission of applications shall be the 9^th of September each year. Applications and their supporting documents should be submitted to the following address NOT by Fax or E-mail:

To:      The Director, Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology, African Union Commission, Roosevelt Street, P. O. Box 3243, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

 INTRODUCTION

 The Commission of the African Union is committed to support the use and development of science in Africa and has initiated with its key development partners the African Union Scientific Award Programme. In July 2010, the African Union Heads of State and Government took a decision to rename this Programme as “African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Awards”. This decision reflects and underscores a success story and the critical role of science and technology in the development and integration of Africa.  The objective of this programme is to award Cash Prizes and Recognition Certificates to excelling African researchers for their achievements in Earth and Life Sciences, and Basic, Science, Technology and Innovation sectors.

Please review the links to the documents below for detailed information.

Definitions of Awards
For the purpose of this award the following definitions shall apply:

Scientific awards are one-time monetary prizes that are given to outstanding African scientists for their scientific achievements and valuable discoveries and findings

Life and Earth Science: embraces all sciences related to the planet earth, covering (but not limited to) the following disciplines, geology, geophysics and geodesy. On the other hand, we regard Life Sciences to encompass all sciences that have to do with ‘organisms’, like plants, animals and human .This may be Agro‐technology, Animal Science, Plant Science, Biotechnology, Biology, Environmental Sciences, Food Sciences, Medicine, and Tissue Engineering to mention a few.

Basic, Science, Technology and Innovation: category will consist of all other sciences, technologies and innovations excluding those covered within Earth and life Sciences category. These may include, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, civil etc), Artificial Intelligence, Material Sciences, Manufacturing and Production Technologies, Metallurgy, Textiles, Energy and Innovations etc.

Organization of Awards
The African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Award Programme shall be organized at three levels:
- National;
- Regional; and
- Continental

One award per each of the following scientific sector shall be given out at each level:
a) Life and Earth Sciences; and
b) Basic Science, Technology and Innovation

The awards to be covered under this scheme are:
(i) AU-TWAS National Young Scientists Award at the National Level;
(ii) African Union Regional Women Scientists Award at the AU Regional Level; and
(iii) Continental Scientific Award at the continental level.

Depending on organizational exigencies, the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Award Programme may be limited to one or several disciplines in any of these two sectors.

Deadline
The deadline for submission of applications shall be the 9th of September each year.

Inquiries
For any inquiries and or clarifications, please contact the secretariat of African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Award Programme. For equal treatment answers to various questions will be posted on the AU Commission official website for this programme:

E-mail: scientific-awards@africa-union.org

Or visit the AU Commission official website: http://www. africa-union.org/ or http://www.africahrst.org/

Special issue of Journal of Coastal Management  “The Human Dimensions of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems in the Western Indian Ocean” edited by Joshua E. Cinner & Gilbert David as Guest Editors, has been published in Volume 39 No 4 of July 2011.

This Issue comprises of the selected papers from Sixth WIOMSA Scientific Symposium, which was held in August 2009 in Reunion. This is the second Special Issue from the Sixth WIOMSA Symposium. The other is the Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science Volume 9 Number 2.

The Issue comprises of the following articles:

i)    The Human Dimensions of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems in the Western Indian Ocean – Joshua E. Cinner & Gilbert David

ii)   How Do We Value Our Reefs? Risks and Tradeoffs Across Scales in “Biomass-Based” Economies – Christina C. Hicks

iii)   Fish Exports and Economic Growth: The Case of SIDS – Vishal Chandr Jaunky

iv)    Trading with Resilience: Parrotfish Trade and the Exploitation of Key-Ecosystem Processes in Coral Reefs – Matilda Thyresson, Magnus Nyström & Beatrice Crona

v)  Design Factors and Socioeconomic Variables Associated with Ecological Responses to Fishery Closures in the Western Indian Ocean – Tim M. Daw, Joshua E. Cinner, Timothy R. McClanahan, Nicholas A. J. Graham & Shaun K. Wilson

vi)  Measuring Recreational Fishers’ Social Acceptance of the Natural Marine Reserve of Reunion Island – Aurélie Thomassin, Gilbert David, Julie Duchêne & Claire Bissery

vii) Institutional Interplay in Networks of Marine Protected Areas with Community-Based Management – Catarina Grilo