Monday, July 12, 2021

Opening protected area off New England coast to commercial fishing compromises protections

A study published this week in the scientific journal Frontiers in Marine Science found that opening the 3.14 million acre Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to commercial fishing reduces species protection in the richly diverse and vital ecological area.

The study used the Atlantic Ocean marine conservation area to explore the consequences of changing a policy that prevents fishing to a fisheries management policy.

"The idea for this study was generated when former President Trump stated that appropriately managed commercial fishing would not put the objects of scientific and historic interest that the monument protects at risk. To explore this idea, the study brought together scientists with a broad range of expertise: fisheries management, ocean policy, and the ecology of species ranging from marine mammals to deep sea corals," says Jessica V. Redfern, a senior scientist at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium and the study's lead author.

Peter Auster, UConn Research Professor Emeritus of Marine Sciences and Senior Research Scientist at Mystic Aquarium, and co-author, says the study was a great opportunity to fill some crucial knowledge gaps.

"We have gaps in our understanding and as we see, with greater and greater and greater clarity, there should be an emphasis on figuring out what we have and how to conserve it while we still want to get goods and services out of the oceans without jeopardizing it," Auster says. "We need to expend more resources farther offshore to increase our knowledge—and wisdom—as we make policy and management decisions about exploiting ocean wildlife. For instance, how do we simultaneously conserve biological diversity and exploit natural resources? How do we balance using some places for direct economic and human benefit while protecting other areas to serve as reference sites to understand human impacts and ensure these natural resources are here for future generations?"

Contrary to the former president's statement, the study found that opening the monument is not without risk.

"We found that opening the monument to commercial fishing reduces species protection," the authors write in the report, adding that fixed gear fishing equipment exposes species to entanglement and bycatch risk and gear used at the bottom of the ocean exposes deep sea coral communities to damaging effects. The monument "was designated as a marine national monument due to the area's unique ecological resources that are a subject of scientific interest. Our case study demonstrates that a fisheries management policy is insufficient to protect these ecological resources," they concluded.

The monument, located 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, is a majestic deep-water sanctuary for thousands of marine animals and sea birds amid colorful corals, steep canyons, and vast mountain ranges akin to those in national parks out West.

In 2016, after years of research, scientists from UConn, Mystic Aquarium, and New England Aquarium provided crucial evidence about the area's rich biodiversity, leading President Obama to designate it a national marine protected area. His proclamation excluded all commercial-scale activities, including fishing and mineral extraction, with a seven-year moratorium for existing offshore lobster and red crab fisheries. President Trump lifted restrictions on commercial fishing in June 2020, opening large sections of the monument to fishing again. The Biden-Harris Administration is considering restoring protections as part of their plan to conserve 30 percent of US lands and waters by 2030.

"One of today's greatest conservation challenges is applying our many natural resource laws, policies, and management strategies to accommodate a diversity of ocean uses and human needs," says Auster. "We need to address both sustainable use of economically valuable ocean resources and conserve precious marine biodiversity, our collective natural heritage."

Explore further

Regulators vote to protect more corals in Atlantic Ocean

More information: Jessica V. Redfern et al, Opening a Marine Monument to Commercial Fishing Compromises Species Protections, Frontiers in Marine Science (2021). DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.645314

Journal information: Frontiers in Marine Science

Provided by University of Connecticut

Scientists create genetic library for mega-ecosystem in Pacific Ocean

by David Colgan, University of California, Los Angeles

The California Current extends nearly 2,000 miles from Canada's Vancouver Island to the middle of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. It brings cold water from the North Pacific Ocean to the west coast of North America and is home to numerous and abundant species because of the upwelling of deep nutrient-rich waters.

The current supports a large marine ecosystem that is home to species ranging from orcas to abalone. It is the basis for $56 billion in annual economic output and more than 675,000 jobs.

Now, UCLA ecologist Paul Barber and colleagues from UCLA and three other institutions have created a library of DNA "barcodes" that identify 605 species in the California Current, including 275 that had not previously been cataloged. The database covers about 70% of all animals that live there, including 99.9% of monitored species that are important to conservation and fisheries.

The barcodes aren't actual black-and-white stripe patterns like the ones on food packaging in grocery stores. Rather, they are sequences of letters (A, T, C, and G) that spell out the unique order of amino acids (adenosine, thymine, cytosine and guanine) that identify each species' DNA.

The research is published today in Molecular Ecology Resources.

The new database will enable researchers, conservationists, fisheries and wildlife managers to understand what is happening to species and ecosystems much more quickly and cost-effectively than current methods. It can be used to identify hotspots where certain species need to be better protected; and it might help authorities better police the fishing industry for catching species that are illegal to harvest.

The resource is based on the use of environmental DNA, or eDNA. Environmental DNA is genetic material that organisms shed into their environment. Using emerging and fast-improving methods, researchers can collect a sample of ocean water and find out what species are around by the DNA they leave behind. To do so, they need to be able to match that DNA to already-identified samples, said Barber, the study's senior author.

"It's like a crime scene where there is lots of forensic evidence, like blood or hair," he said. "It isn't useful unless you have a potential match in a database."

To date, species have mostly been detected manually—scuba divers swim through the waters to count animals by hand; fish eggs and larvae are counted under a microscope—and researchers must identify species by their physical characteristics.

That labor-intensive process can limit research and delay action that might be needed to protect marine ecosystems and fisheries. With eDNA and a robust genetic library, researchers can identify species with scoops of water that can be analyzed in a couple of weeks, said Zack Gold, a former UCLA doctoral student who is now a researcher at the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Plus, the technique keeps divers out of harm's way.

"In the field, visibility can be poor and conditions too dangerous to scuba dive—it's even tougher for the deep sea where you can't even send divers," said Gold, lead author of the paper. "But you can always take a water sample off the side of the boat. With eDNA, we can survey places we couldn't previously survey in any meaningful way."

The new genetic library could be a boon for managing fisheries. Samples of eDNA can be used to determine how many eggs are being produced by important species of fish so a healthy population can be maintained. Many fish eggs can't be identified without genetics.

It also could even be used to make sure people are getting what they order when they go out to eat. Previous research by Barber and others found that 47% of sushi in Los Angeles restaurants is mislabeled, meaning that diners are occasionally eating endangered species instead of the fish they believed they were buying.

Although eDNA databases must be tailored to individual ecosystems and species, the new paper lays out best practices for future libraries around the world. Such libraries will become even more important to scientists as eDNA research becomes more sophisticated. Currently, one limitation of the practice is that while scientists can use the samples to determine which species are present, it's not clear whether they can use it to determine how many individuals of each species are present—a measure called "abundance"—in any given area.

That may soon change.

"We have pretty good evidence that we'll soon be able to use eDNA to measure abundance, accounting for the little differences for each species," Gold said.

Barber said measuring abundance would be especially useful for fisheries.

"By developing this database, we now have an effectively complete set of genetic sequences for most of the commercially harvested species," he said. "Without that, you can't even ask questions of abundance."

Explore further

Genetic tool could improve monitoring of marine protected areas

More information: Zachary Gold et al, Improving metabarcoding taxonomic assignment: A case study of fishes in a large marine ecosystem, Molecular Ecology Resources (2021). DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13450

Journal information: Molecular Ecology Resources

Provided by University of California, Los Angeles

Seafarers draw on vital support from port chaplains, research finds

by Cardiff University

Seafarers of different faiths and no faith rely on support from port chaplains in coping with what is often dangerous work in challenging institutionalized workplace settings, research from Cardiff University has found.

On board ship, religious beliefs and attitudes are kept private but seafarers revealed to the team the ways in which many who do have a faith construct their own set of religious beliefs in order to cope better with living and working conditions.

The study, led by the Seafarers International Research Center (SIRC) and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), investigated the faiths and welfare of seafarers on board two cargo vessels carrying multinational crews.

The researchers also spent six months in two U.K. ports studying the work of port chaplains, paid staff and volunteers all of which provide welfare services to seafarers of all faiths in dedicated seafarers' centers. They heard about the extraordinary lengths people delivering these services go to in order to support seafarers despite shortfalls in funding. Many chaplains described how they spent half of their time fundraising in order to deliver services effectively.

Professor Helen Sampson, Director of the Seafarers International Research Center (SIRC) at Cardiff University, explained how: "Seafaring is an extremely dangerous occupation and we found seafarers had experience of feeling very afraid on board a ship at some point in their career. When they'd felt particularly helpless, many had turned to their gods for assistance.

"At the same time, many felt released in some way of observing some of the practices that would indicate piety ashore. They allowed themselves some freedoms which they felt their god would understand and forgive because, after all, on board they are sacrificing an awful lot to make a financial living for their families."

She added: "Our research also shows the important role port chaplains and others at seafarers' centers play in offering welfare support. This is vital and particularly so as seafarers continue to deal with the added anxieties and uncertainty brought about by the pandemic."

The research findings are vividly described in a new film which shines a light on how seafarers express and draw upon faith and the support of port chaplains in dealing with the stress of being away from home for months at a time isolated from their communities and networks.

Globally, the shipping industry employs an estimated 1.6m seafarers. Many are hired on precarious contracts which require them to be away for up to 12 months at a time.

The film brings together the reflections of the research team with those of key stakeholders.

Andrew Linington, a Senior Policy Advisor at Nautilus International UK, who was interviewed for the film, said: "This research is critically important because it comes at something like a watershed moment for seafarer welfare.

"Over the last few years, we've seen a much greater awareness of psychological needs as the industry has changed dramatically and the complexity of needs along with it.

"By tapping into those changes, highlighting the need for a restructuring of services and for a reappraisal of what seafarers need by asking the questions of the seafarers themselves, then we have the basis for what could deliver a quantum shift in seafarer welfare."

Explore further

Theft and extortion common experiences, say seafarers

More information: Helen Sampson et al, Harmony of the Seas?: Work, faith, and religious difference among multinational migrant workers on board cargo ships, Ethnic and Racial Studies (2020). DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2020.1776362

Journal information: Ethnic and Racial Studies

Provided by Cardiff University

ECOCIDE

Could Sri Lanka's ship fire have been avoided? Here's what we can learn from the shocking environmental disaster

by Claudio Bozzi, The Conversation

Hundreds of dead turtles continue to wash ashore in Sri Lanka, almost two months after a newly built container ship caught fire while anchored off Colombo's port.

The X-Press Pearl was carrying 1,486 containers and burned for two weeks. It then sunk in early June, causing one of Sri Lanka's greatest environmental disasters.

Chemicals contaminated waters, killing marine life and destroying breeding grounds. The contaminants include nitric acid, sodium dioxide, copper and lead, and tonnes of plastic nurdles (pellets) which can take centuries to decompose.

Local communities entirely dependent on fishing for their livelihoods have been ordered not to fish. Now, the environment faces the threat of an oil spill, which authorities, with international assistance, are desperately trying to contain.

Local police have launched a criminal investigation. Meanwhile, the Centre for Environmental Justice has filed a fundamental rights petition in the Sri Lankan Supreme Court.

In the wake of the disaster, many commentators have sought to explain what went wrong. But these have largely missed a broader, though crucial, issue this disaster exposed: the tension between economic development and environmental protection. This makes shipping a realm of ultra-free trade distant from, and sometimes untouched by, regulations.

I'll help unravel what went so drastically wrong, and how we can try to prevent similar disasters in future.

When cargo ships catch fire

It is believed the leakage of properly declared, but inappropriately or incorrectly packed or stowed nitric acid caused the X-Press Pearl fire. Nitric acid is a corrosive, toxic and flammable liquid—and the X-Press Pearl was carrying 25 tonnes of it.

Nitric acid is an essential component of ammonium nitrate—a popular fertiliser around the world and a raw ingredient in explosives manufacturing. Impounded ammonium nitrate is what triggered the 2020 explosion that obliterated the Port of Beirut.

Any fire on board a ship is a clear risk to the lives of the crew and the environment. Yet, container vessel fires occur frequently. Insurers are notified of fires about once every two weeks and major fires every 60 days.

The source of these fires is changing. Fires once emanated from engines, but they are now just as likely to originate in the cargo itself, with incorrectly packaged or misdeclared chemicals the second-most prevalent cause of fire after charcoal.

In fact, data indicate the possibility of more than 150,000 annual cases of undeclared or misdeclared dangerous goods capable of causing fires. The incidence may be higher depending on the shipping route.

Another fire risk has to do with competition between shipping companies, which is based on carrying capacity and efficiency. This has forced an exponential growth in container ship sizes, which escalates the probability of a fire. It also makes detecting a fire difficult, if not impossible, until it is well advanced.

Fire safety on ships could be improved with better training to promote best practice in protecting and preserving the integrity of cargo.

SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) regulations govern on-board firefighting. But these are outdated, having come into force in 1980. They need to be amended to suit the current era of large and ultra-large vessels, like X-Press Pearl.

Organisational procedures, such as those of the American Bureau of Shipping, promote earlier fire detection and more efficient methods of fire suppression. They're better suited to the design and operations of ships in modern maritime industries.

A tale of two ports

The nitric acid leak aboard the X-Press Pearl was discovered at Hamad Port in Qatar, which refused the ship's request to discharge the container. The ship made the same request later to Hazira Port in Gujarat, which was also denied.

The disaster at sea could have been avoided had either port offloaded the container. Why did they refuse? And what were their obligations in these circumstances?

It's unlikely their actions will be examined in the official investigation, which will focus on the causes of the fire and actions of the crew. However, these answers reveal the hugely problematic conditions of shipping operations.

Both ports claimed they lacked the manpower and equipment to discharge the leaking container. But it's hard to imagine such recently built, state of the art, and well-resourced facilities—according to their corporate websites—lacking the means to deal with a nitric acid leak.

Ports may be reluctant to accept hazardous vessels because they lack emergency and contingency plans and preparedness. It's one thing to adopt hazard and environmental policies, but quite another to actually implement them. This would require providing the training, and maintaining the necessary equipment, to address potential threats.

Port services are just as competitive as shipping companies. Ports aim to maximise the moving of containers through terminals. This makes the physical investigation of the contents of containers impossible, and any processing delay unaffordable.

Nevertheless, efficiency and profitability don't mean quality services should be sacrificed. There are three ways to begin addressing this issue:

rigorous enforcement of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods regulations, which control their handling and stowage
better training for supply chain workers who apply these regulations
stronger sanctions issued by states where cargoes originate, and by shipping companies.

Could the crew have sought shelter?

The investigation into the X-Press Pearl disaster will reveal whether the crew sought a priority berth for shelter while the ship was engulfed in flames at Colombo port.

Arguably, ships in distress have traditionally enjoyed the "freedom of ports" to seek shelter in the territorial waters of nations if they are facing the total loss of the vessel and its cargo, or the lives of its crew.

But states may deny ships entry if, for instance, they pose a serious threat to the environment or the safety or security of its people. Given the increasing size of vessels and the uncertain nature of the threat they pose, refusal of entry is the norm.

In 2003, following several high-profile incidents, the International Maritime Organization adopted resolutions creating "places of refuge" for vessels in distress.

These are sheltered waters, and not ports with the infrastructure to counteract serious problems on board. So while refuge may address the threat of fire, it does not avert the far greater risk of environmental pollution.

Places of refuge have assuaged some concerns, but they are not an international obligation. They also tend to be concentrated in developed maritime regions, and are virtually nonexistent where they're most needed—where substandard vessels carrying illicit dangerous cargoes ply their trade.

It's important we do not let the X-Press Pearl settle into the background as another spectacular story about a ship ablaze at sea. It should spark change, and serve as the cautionary exemplar of what happens with alarming frequency when we want our goods cheap and now.

Explore further

Sri Lanka braces for beach pollution as ship burns

Provided by The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Scientists explore seamounts in Phoenix Islands Archipelago, gain insights into deep water diversity

by Schmidt Ocean Institute

Marine scientists aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor have identified likely new marine species and deep sea organisms on nine seamounts that were explored for the first time in the remote Phoenix Islands Archipelago. In a 34-day expedition that ended today, scientists also conducted high-resolution seafloor mapping of more than 30,000 square kilometers and video exploration of five additional seamounts

"It has been very inspiring to help document the biodiversity of unexplored seamounts on the high seas and in U.S. waters," said the expedition Chief Scientist Dr. Randi Rotjan of Boston University. "We're at the beginning of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, so now is the time to think about conservation broadly across all oceanscapes, and the maps, footage, and data we have collected will hopefully help to inform policy and management in decision making around new high seas protected areas."

During the expedition, scientists made two rare sightings of a glass octopus, a nearly transparent species whose only visible features are its optic nerve, eyeballs, and digestive tract. Before this expedition, there has been limited live footage of the glass octopus, forcing scientists to learn about the animal by studying specimens found in the gut contents of predators.

Schmidt Ocean Institute's underwater robot SuBastian also captured footage for the first time of a rare whale shark, a deep water species that dates back millions of years and whose name comes from its length of more than 40 feet. During the expedition, scientists also noted unique marine behaviors, including crab stealing fish from one another.

Of the 21 expedition dives, totaling more than 182 hours of exploration on the seafloor with SuBastian, seven were completed in the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) and offered new insights into the no-take marine protected area, which includes the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the Howland and Baker islands. In 2017, Falkor traveled to the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) with some of the same scientists. The recently concluded expedition continued the 2017 work in the U.S. portions of the Phoenix Islands Archipelago, offering a more complete picture of the region's entire ecosystem and how the seamount habitats are connected.

The science team completed the first comprehensive survey of coral and sponge predation in the world, to investigate how corals respond to grazing scars and wounding. The team conducted a series of novel experiments onboard the ship to determine how corals and sponge immune systems react to over 15 different microbial stimuli. Through this work, the team generated the largest deep-water microbial culture collection from the Central Pacific ocean.

"The Ocean holds wonders and promises we haven't even imagined, much less discovered," said Wendy Schmidt, co-founder of Schmidt Ocean Institute. "Expeditions like these teach us why , we need to increase our efforts to restore and better understand marine ecosystems everywhere—because the great chain of life that begins in the ocean is critical for human health and wellbeing."

"The coverage of this expedition was remarkable—we found changes in species across depth and geography around the Pacific equator and in the suite of organisms living on corals," said Dr. Tim Shank, biologist at the Woods HoIe Oceanographic Institution. "Looking into these deep-sea communities has altered the way we think about how organisms live and interact on seamounts and how they maintain diversity of life in the deep ocean."

"Working with scientists and local researchers, this expedition is a remarkable example of the frontiers of science and exploration that we are able to support," said Dr. Jyotika Virmani, executive director of Schmidt Ocean Institute. "Live-streaming the dives gives us a glimpse of rarely seen and fascinating creatures such as the transparent glass octopus. By providing this platform to further the understanding of our ocean, we trigger the imagination while helping to push forward scientific insights and the protection of our underwater world."

Explore further

First completely remote at-sea science expedition in Australia's coral sea marine park

Provided by Schmidt Ocean Institute

Remote control for plants

by University of Würzburg

Plants have microscopically small pores on the surface of their leaves called stomata. These help plants regulate the influx of carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. They also prevent the loss of too much water and withering away during drought.

The stomatal pores are surrounded by two guard cells. If the internal pressure of these cells drops, they slacken and close the pore. If the pressure rises, the cells move apart and the pore widens.

The stomatal movements are thus regulated by the guard cells. Signaling pathways in these cells are so complex that it is difficult for humans to intervene with them directly. However, researchers of the Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, nevertheless found a way to control the movements of stomata remotely—using light pulses.

Light-sensitive protein from algae used

The researchers succeeded in doing this by introducing a light-sensitive switch into the guard cells of tobacco plants. This technology was adopted from optogenetics. It has been successfully exploited in animal cells, but the application in plant cells it is still in its infancy.

The team led by JMU biophysicist and guard cell expert Professor Rainer Hedrich describes their approach in the journal Science Advances. JMU researchers Shouguang Huang (first author), Kai Konrad and Rob Roelfsema were significantly involved.

The group used a light-sensitive protein from the alga Guillardia theta as a light switch, namely the anion channel ACR1 from the group of channelrhodopsins. In response to light pulses, the switch ensures that chloride flows out of the guard cells and potassium follows. The guard cells lose internal pressure, slacken and the pore closes within 15 minutes. "The light pulse is like a remote control for the movement of the stomata," says Hedrich.

Anion channel hypothesis confirmed

"By exposing ACR1 to light, we have bridged the cell's own signaling chain, thus proving the hypothesis that the opening of anion channels is essential and sufficient for stomatal closure," Hedrich says. The exposure to light had almost completely prevented the transpiration of the plants.

With this knowledge, it is now possible to cultivate plants with an increased number of anion channels in the guard cells. Plants equipped in this way should close their stomata more quickly in response to approaching heat waves and thus be better able to cope with periods of drought.

"Plant anion channels are activated during stress; this process is dependent on calcium. In a follow up optogenetics project, we want to use calcium-conducting channelrhodopsins to specifically allow calcium to flow into the guard cells cell through exposure to light and to understand the mechanism of anion channel activation in detail," Hedrich says.

Basic scientific research can also benefit from the results from Würzburg: "Our new optogenetic tool has enormous potential for research," says the JMU professor. "With it, we can gain new insights into how plants regulate their water consumption and how carbon dioxide fixation and stomatal movements are coupled."

Explore further

How plants react to fungi

More information: Optogenetic control of the guard cell membrane potential and stomatal movement by the light-gated anion channel GtACR1, Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg4619

Journal information: Science Advances

Provided by University of Würzburg

Common breeding birds are doing better in the Netherlands than in Europe

by Leiden University

On average, Dutch breeding birds have become more numerous in the period 1980-2010. The common species have even done better than birds in other European countries. Farmland birds are an exception: they declined sharply both in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe.

Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van de stichting Centrum voor Landbouw en Milieu (CLM) en het Centrum voor Milieuwetenschappen van de Universiteit Leiden (CML), online open access gepubliceerd in het Britse tijdschrift Bird Study.

In Europe, rarity played a key role

The authors looked for factors that could explain the increase and decrease of bird species in the Netherlands. They suggested that habitattype was the most important factor: for example, the intensification of agriculture could explain the decline in farmland birds.

But in 2015, a British study on bird trends in Europe from 1980 to 2010 appeared with a surprising conclusion: it was not habitat type but bird rarity that was most closely related to developments in bird populations: Common species became more rare and rare species became less rare. Wil Tamis of the CML offers a possible explanation for this population development: "It could be, for example, that in conservation policy there is more attention for these rare species, which caused them to increase in number."

Species in all rarity classes in the Netherlands are doing better

Helias Udo de Haes of the CML explains that they predicted a different trend in the Netherlands: "We suspected that in the Netherlands, it was exactly the other way around. But neither of the hypotheses proved tenable: in the Netherlands, species in all rarity classes increased, which is good news for nature. We did confirm our hypothesis that in the Netherlands habitat is a more important factor than rarity."

Nature policy pays off

According to the researchers, the fact that the habitat factor was not dominant in the European study was probably due to differences between the European regions: the intensification of agriculture occurred in most regions, but not in others. On average, the effect of habitats is therefore not so great at the European level.

In the Netherlands, it was mainly the waterfowl, marsh and forest birds that improved significantly. The main causes are probably the expansion of areas with water, marsh and forest, the improvement of water quality and the aging of the forests. In addition, dead trees remained in the forest more often. Thus, nature policy appears to be effective for those areas.

Larger bird species do better

Based on impressions from the field, the authors had also expected larger bird species to do better than smaller ones. For example, they saw increasing numbers of storks, herons, buzzards and geese. They did indeed find a difference, but it did not turn out to be statistically significant: "The explanation is probably that the British had left the geese out of their study," says Wouter van der Weijden of the Centre for Agriculture and Environment. "To keep the comparison pure, we had to do the same, even though the geese in the Netherlands have actually become more numerous. All in all, we dare to conclude that the larger species are indeed doing better than the smaller ones."

Impact insect decline not yet visible

Finally, the authors also expected that the food choice of birds would have an effect on the increase and decrease of different species. The researchers based their suspicion on, for example, the alarming reports about the decline of insects. But the group of insectivorous birds did not do worse in the Netherlands than the other groups.It is possible that the strong decline in insects only took place after 2000, i.e. in the last decade of their research period, which made it difficult to identify the effect.

Both regional and European analysis for targeted nature policy

According to Udo de Haes research illustrates the importance of regional as well as European trend analyses. "It reveals various trends and factors. It is important to combine both scale levels for a targeted nature policy. It has also become clear once again that we have to pay much more attention to the birds of the farmlands. In addition, research is needed into trend differences in a wider range of habitats (such as urban, coastal, heathland and dune), and a wider range of species groups. Think of subgroups of insectivores, generalists versus specialists, migratory birds versus resident birds and protected versus non-protected species. That could be very informative."

Explore further

Bird deaths in Germany continue

More information: Helias A. Udo de Haes et al, Comparison of breeding bird trends between the Netherlands and Europe, Bird Study (2021). DOI: 10.1080/00063657.2021.1939652

Provided by Leiden University

INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK USA

Bill aims to spend billions to fix nation's aging dams

by Michael Casey

In this July 28, 2014, file photo, lightning strikes over Lake Mead near Hoover Dam that impounds Colorado River water at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Arizona. Lawmakers in Congress have introduced a bill that would pump tens of billions of dollars into fixing and upgrading the country's dams. The bill, introduced by Democratic U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, proposed to spend nearly $26 billion to make the repairs that would enhance safety and increase the power generation capacity of the country's dams.Credit: AP Photo/John Locher, File

Lawmakers in Congress on Friday introduced a bill that would pump tens of billions of dollars into fixing and upgrading the country's dams.

The Twenty-First Century Dams Act, introduced by Democratic U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, proposes to spend nearly $26 billion to make the repairs that would enhance safety and increase the power generation capacity of the country's 90,000 dams. It also calls for removing any dams that have outlived their usefulness.

"We have the opportunity to build stronger, more resilient water infrastructure and hydropower systems in the United States, and the Twenty-First Century Dams Act advances an innovative plan to rehabilitate, retrofit, or remove U.S. dams to bolster clean energy production while taking steps to conserve our waterways for generations to come," Kuster said in a statement.

The bill, which U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is expected to introduce in the Senate, comes amid concerns that thousands of dams are at increasing risk of failure, especially as climate change is leading to more frequent and intense storms. State and local officials have long acknowledged the problems but complain they lack the funds to properly inspect, repair and maintain their dams.

In 2019, The Associated Press identified at least 1,688 high-hazard dams rated in poor or unsatisfactory condition as of the prior year in 44 states and Puerto Rico. The AP analysis noted that the actual number is almost certainly higher.

The AP's investigation focused on high-hazard dams—which could kill people if they were to fail—that were found by inspectors to be in the worst condition. Georgia led the way with 198 high-hazard dams in unsatisfactory or poor condition, followed by North Carolina with 168 and Pennsylvania with 145.

Inspection reports cited a variety of problems: leaks that can indicate a dam is failing internally; unrepaired erosion from past instances of overtopping; holes from burrowing animals; tree growth that can destabilize earthen dams; and spillways too small to handle a large flood.

In this July 25, 2018 photograph, a man pushes a stroller while walking a dog at the foot of the Wachusett Reservoir Dam, which holds back up to 65 billion gallons of water, in Clinton, Mass. Lawmakers in Congress have introduced a bill that would pump tens of billions of dollars into fixing and upgrading the country's dams. The bill, introduced by Democratic U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, proposed to spend nearly $26 billion to make the repairs that would enhance safety and increase the power generation capacity of the country's dams. Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File

The nation's dams are on average more than a half-century old, but there is no national standard for inspecting them. That's led to a patchwork of state regulations in which some high-hazard dams are inspected annually while others wait up to five years.

"Deficient and unregulated dams pose a public-safety threat to thousands of U.S. citizens, their property, and the environment," Lori Spragens, executive director of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, said in a statement. "Recent dam failures and incidents show the urgent need for stronger state and federal dam safety programs and policies to ensure the safety of communities living near dams."

In May 2020, the hydroelectric Edenville Dam in Michigan failed during heavy rains, unleashing a torrent of water on the Tittabawassee River, which then overwhelmed Sanford Dam downstream. The flooding caused more than $250 million in damage, drained lakes that had been formed by the dams and forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.

Kuster's bill, which has the support of the hydropower industry and environmental groups, would offer a 30% tax credit for qualifying dams for safety, environmental improvements, grid flexibility, and dam removals.

"Hydropower's existing fleet plays a significant role in America's clean energy infrastructure, and will play a critical role in achieving President Biden's goal of a zero-carbon electricity grid," Malcolm Woolf, the CEO and president of the National Hydropower Association, said in a statement. "With the right tools, we can optimize generation efficiency and output, make environmental enhancements, and bolster dam safety."

It also would provide funding that aims to reconnect about 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) of rivers through the removal of 1,000 dams.

"Healthy, free-flowing rivers are essential to our future as we face the challenges of climate change. Investing in dam removal and river restoration will revitalize ecosystem health, improve public safety and strengthen communities," Tom Kiernan, the president of American Rivers, said in a statement.

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Retrofitting dams for more renewable energy in the world

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Monday, July 12, 2021

Opening protected area off New England coast to commercial fishing compromises protections

Scientists create genetic library for mega-ecosystem in Pacific Ocean

Seafarers draw on vital support from port chaplains, research finds

ECOCIDE

Could Sri Lanka's ship fire have been avoided? Here's what we can learn from the shocking environmental disaster

Scientists explore seamounts in Phoenix Islands Archipelago, gain insights into deep water diversity

Remote control for plants

Common breeding birds are doing better in the Netherlands than in Europe

Bill aims to spend billions to fix nation's aging dams

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