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Collection Island and Ocean Ecosystems
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Guidelines for invasive species planning and management on islands

Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB

Available Online

Tye, Alan

The purpose of this document is to assist anyone planning and programming the management of invasive species on islands, with the aim of reducing the negative impacts of invasive on islands' rich and fragile natural heritage communities and livelihoods

Value chain analysis of the Fiji grouper fishery.

Island and Ocean Ecosystems

Available Online

Batibasaga, Aisake

Kuridrani, Nanise

Mangubhai, Sangeeta

Sumaila, Rashid

Waiqainabete, Pitila

Witter, Allison

de Mitcheson, Yvonne Sadovy

We conducted a seafood Value Chain Analysis (VCA) for the coral reef grouper (Epinephelidae) 1 fishery in Fiji with the goal of understanding the distribution of value gained from grouper along the trade chain, from fisher to consumer.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands National Environment Management Strategy (NEMS) 2017-2022

SPREP Publications, Island and Ocean Ecosystems

Available Online

The National Environment Strategy 2017-2022 is a commitment by the Republic of the Marshall Islands to conserve and improve its environment for current and future generations. In the RMI State of Environment Report (SoE) 2016 (SPREP), the Office of Environment Protection and Policy Coordination (OEPPC) worked with other sectors and partners to identify its shortfalls. A strategy to address these shortfalls was developed through the National Environment Management Strategy (NEMS) 2017-2022. The NEMS 2017-2022 promotes sustainable development and integrates environment conservation and the proper governance of development efforts

Hurricane disturbance accelerates invasion by alien tree Pittosporum undulatum in Jamaican montane rain forests

Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB

Available Online

Bellingham, Peter J.

Excurra, E.

Healey, John R.

Tanner, Edmund V. J.

Questions: Do past disturbance, soil nutrients, or species diversity predict the invasion success of the alien tree Pittosporum undulatum in an island montane rain forest? What are the consequences of its invasion for forest composition and species diversity? Location: Blue Mountains, Jamaica. Methods: Censuses of trees ? 3 cm DBH in permanent plots in four sites within ca. 7 ha; 19742004 (intensive sites) and in 16 plots within 250 ha; 19902004 (extensive plots). Results: Pittosporum was unrecorded in the intensive sites before a severe hurricane in 1988: by 2004 all four sites were invaded. Pittosporum had invaded 25% of the extensive plots in 1990 and 69% in 2004, where its basal area increased from 0.5 ± 0.4 (SEM) m2.ha?1 in 1990 to 2.8 ± 1.3 m2.ha?1 in 2004. It had zero stem mortality and diameter growth rate exceeded that of native species fourfold. Pittosporum's basal area in the extensive plots in 2004 was positively related to the stand basal area damaged in the 1988 hurricane and negatively related to soil N concentrations. Pittosporum invasion was unrelated to stand-level tree species diversity in the extensive plots but as its basal area increased over time the basal area of native species and stand-level diversity declined. Conclusions: There are no obvious functional attributes of Pittosporum unrepresented in the native tree flora although it has high photosynthetic efficiency compared with native trees. More widespread invasion of these forests by Pittosporum seems inevitable since hurricanes, which accelerated the invasion, affect these forests frequently.

Land use history, hurricane disturbance, and the fate of introduced species in a subtropical wet forest in Puerto Rico

Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB

Available Online

Lugo, Ariel E.

Thomlinson, John

Thompson, Jill

Tropical forests are suffering from increasing intensities and frequency of disturbances. As a result, non-native species accidentally introduced or intentionally planted for farming, plantations, and ornamental purposes may spread and potentially invade undisturbed native forest. It is not known if these introduced species will become invasive, as a result of recurrent natural disturbances such as hurricanes. Using data from three censuses (spanning 15 years) of a 16-ha subtropical wet forest plot, we investigated the impact of two hurricanes on populations of plant species that were planted in farms and plantations that were then abandoned and from the natural spread of species introduced into Puerto Rico in the past. The populations of four species (Citrus paradis, Mangifera indica, Musa sp., and Simarouba glauca) changed little over time. Six species (Artocarpus altilis, Calophyllum calaba, Genipa americana, Hibiscus pernambucensis, Syzygium jambos, and Swietenia macrophylla) declined between the first two censuses after Hurricane Hugo, then increased again in Census 3 after Hurricane Georges. Spathodea campanulata gradually increased from census to census, while Coffea arabica declined. These introduced species represent only a small part of the forest basal area and few show signs of increasing over time. The number of stems per plant, new recruits, and the growth rates of these introduced species were within the ranges of those for native plant species. The mortality rates over both census intervals were significantly lower for introduced species (

Will Alien Plant Invaders Be advantaged Under Future Climates?

Climate Change Resilience, Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB

Available Online

Gallagher, Rachel V.

Leishman, Michelle R.

The last two decades have seen an upsurge in research into the potential synergies between invasive species and climate change, with evidence emerging of increased invader success under climate change. All stages along the naturalization-invasion continuum are likely to be affected, from the introduction and establishment of alien species to their spread and transition to serious invaders. A key question is whether alien plants will have a relative advantage under climate change conditions. So far, evidence for differential responses of alien invasive and native species to climate change drivers (elevated CO2) and outcomes (increasing temperature, changing rainfall patterns, changes in disturbance regimes) is mixed. Although alien invasive plants appear to be more responsive to elevated CO2 than many native species, plant response to elevated CO2 and other climate change components is dependent on environmental conditions and resource availability. Similarly, correlative modelling of species-climate relationships has not revealed clear evidence that invasive plants are likely to be able to increase the extent of suitable habitat under future climates any more than their native counterparts. We suggest that the most important driver of a shift to alien-dominated vegetation under climate change will be the superior capacity of alien invasive plants to take advantage of colonisation opportunities arising from climate change, such as extreme climatic events, changes in disturbance regimes, and widespread reduction in vegetation resilience as range margin populations decline. There are substantial challenges ahead for managing invasive plants under future climates. Weed risk assessment and management approaches must incorporate consideration of future climatic conditions. Most importantly, we will need a shift in management approaches away from a focus on the control of undesirable alien plant species to building resilience of resident vegetation assemblages, in association with targeted monitoring and early eradication of alien plant species.

Hurricane Activity and Large-scale Pattern of Spread of an Invasive Plant Species

Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB

Available Online

Bhattarai, Ganesh P.

Cronin, James T.

Disturbances are a primary facilitator of the growth and spread of invasive species. However, the effects of large-scale disturbances, such as hurricanes and tropical storms, on the broad geographic patterns of invasive species growth and spread have not been investigated. We used historical aerial imagery to determine the growth rate of invasive Phragmites australis patches in wetlands along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. These were relatively undisturbed wetlands where P. australis had room for unrestricted growth. Over the past several decades, invasive P. australis stands expanded in size by 635% per year. Based on tropical storm and hurricane activity over that same time period, we found that the frequency of hurricane-force winds explained 81% of the variation in P. australis growth over this broad geographic range. The expansion of P. australis stands was strongly and positively correlated with hurricane frequency. In light of the many climatic models that predict an increase in the frequency and intensity of hurricanes over the next century, these results suggest a strong link between climate change and species invasion and a challenging future ahead for the management of invasive species.

Rapid recovery of damaged ecosystems

Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB

Available Online

Jones, Holly P.

Schmitz, Oswald J.

Background: Recent reports on the state of the global environment provide evidence that humankind is inflicting great damage to the very ecosystems that support human livelihoods. The reports further predict that ecosystems will take centuries to recover from damages if they recover at all. Accordingly, there is despair that we are passing on a legacy of irreparable damage to future generations which is entirely inconsistent with principles of sustainability. Methodology/Principal Findings: We tested the prediction of irreparable harm using a synthesis of recovery times compiled from240 independent studies reported in the scientific literature. We provide startling evidence that most ecosystems globally can, given human will, recover from very major perturbations on timescales of decades to half-centuries. Significance/Conclusions: Accordingly, we find much hope that humankind can transition to more sustainable use of ecosystems.

Feral hog disturbance alters carbon dynamics in Southeastern US salt marshes

Island and Ocean Ecosystems, BRB

Available Online

Angelini, Christine

Persico, Emily P.

Sharp, Sean J

Disturbances that remove primary producers and alter substrate chemistry commonly influence ecosystem carbon dynamics. Because coastal wetlands are especially effective in sequestering carbon, quantifying how disturbances may alter their ability to perform this climate-regulating function is important for assessing their carbon storage potential. Here, we quantified soil respiration, litter decomposition, and soil organic carbon (SOC), as a proxy for carbon storage, in areas disturbed by invasive feral hogs Sus scrofa and in adjacent, undisturbed areas within 3 southeastern US salt marshes. Contrary to our hypothesis that hog overturning of soils would stimulate soil respiration, this metric was lower and both surface and subsurface litter decomposition rates were similar in disturbed relative to undisturbed areas across all sites. SOC was lower in disturbed versus undisturbed areas at 2 sites as hypothesized, but higher at 1 site. Surveys and analyses reveal that lower and less variable infauna, plant, and benthic algae densities likely suppressed soil respiration in hog-disturbed versus undisturbed areas, while the offsetting effects of lower invertebrate densities and higher soil temperature likely caused decomposition to be consistent within and outside of disturbed areas. . These findings suggest that hog removal of plants and disruption of soils can cause tracts of marsh to transition from carbon sinks to sources where these disturbances are intense enough to prohibit rapid plant recovery and promote the gradual respiration of carbon stocks from denuded soils.

Ecosystem-based adaptation options assessment and masterplan for Honiara, Solomon Islands.

SPREP Publications, Island and Ocean Ecosystems

Available Online

This report presents the Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Options Assessment and Masterplan for Honiara prepared as part of the Solomon Islands Ecosystems and Socio-economic Resilience Analysis and Mapping (ESRAM) to assess and prioritise climate change-related ecosystem-based adaptation options for selected locations in Solomon Islands. The report outlines EbA options for Honiara.

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