Fishing activities can alter the structure of marine food webs by the selective removal of some species. The changes in the marine food webs of the Hormuzgan waters of the Persian Gulf, Iran were assessed, based on es...Fishing activities can alter the structure of marine food webs by the selective removal of some species. The changes in the marine food webs of the Hormuzgan waters of the Persian Gulf, Iran were assessed, based on estimates of the mean trophic index （MTI） and Fishing in Balance index （FIB）, and on landing profile of the exploited marine community （49 species） during the period, 2002-2011. The total landings （Yt） （R=0.88, P〈0.001） increased gradually while the Y~ of carnivores has slightly declined, and the Yt of herbivores, detritivores and omnivores has increased. Consequently, the MTI significantly decreased （R=-0.69, P〈0.05） at a rate of 0.1 l during this decade. The MTI showed a decreasing trend, which indicates exploitation of marine resources. The FiB index also showed a downward trend and negative values from 2002 to 2009, which may be associated with unbalanced structure in the fisheries, but an upward trend from 2009 to 20ll. The time variation of the landing profile showed two periods with significant differences in their species composition （R=0.88; P=0.005）, and based on analysis of similarity, species have been identified as discriminator species, namely Thunnus albacores and Benthosema pterotum. Results indicate that changes in MTI reflected changes in the Hormuzgan landing structure. The examination of the MTI, FBI, and landing profile （LP） temporal pattern suggests that the status of fishery resources in Hormuzgan inshore waters is overexploited, and provides evidence of the probability that a fishing down process is occurring in this area, and that this trend may continue in the long-tenn. Therefore, environmental fisheries management and conservation programs should be prioritized for these valuable resources.展开更多
Quantification of water quality (WQ) is an integral part of scientifically based water resources management. The main objective of this study was comparative analysis of two approaches applied for quantitative assessm...Quantification of water quality (WQ) is an integral part of scientifically based water resources management. The main objective of this study was comparative analysis of two approaches applied for quantitative assessment of WQ: the trophic level index (TLI) and the Delphi method (DM). We analyzed the following features of these conceptually different approaches: A. similarity of estimates of lake WQ;B. sensitivity to indicating disturbances in the aquatic ecosystem structure and functioning;C. capacity to reflect the impact of major management measures on the quality of water resources. We compared the DM and TLI based on results from a series of lakes covering varying productivity levels, mixing regimes and climatic zones. We assumed that the conservation of aquatic ecosystem in some predefined, “reference”, state is a major objective of sustainable water resources management in the study lakes. The comparison between the two approaches was quantified as a relationship between the DM ranks and respective TLI values. We show that being a classification system, the TLI does not account for specific characteristics of aquatic ecosystems and the array of different potential uses of the water resource. It indirectly assumes that oligotrophication is identical to WQ improvement, and reduction of economic activity within the lake catchment area is the most effective way to improve WQ. WQ assessed with the TLI is more suitable for needs of natural water resources management if eutrophication is a major threat. The DM allows accounting for several water resource uses and therefore it may serve as a more robust and comprehensive tool for WQ quantification and thus for sustainable water resources management.展开更多
文摘Fishing activities can alter the structure of marine food webs by the selective removal of some species. The changes in the marine food webs of the Hormuzgan waters of the Persian Gulf, Iran were assessed, based on estimates of the mean trophic index （MTI） and Fishing in Balance index （FIB）, and on landing profile of the exploited marine community （49 species） during the period, 2002-2011. The total landings （Yt） （R=0.88, P〈0.001） increased gradually while the Y~ of carnivores has slightly declined, and the Yt of herbivores, detritivores and omnivores has increased. Consequently, the MTI significantly decreased （R=-0.69, P〈0.05） at a rate of 0.1 l during this decade. The MTI showed a decreasing trend, which indicates exploitation of marine resources. The FiB index also showed a downward trend and negative values from 2002 to 2009, which may be associated with unbalanced structure in the fisheries, but an upward trend from 2009 to 20ll. The time variation of the landing profile showed two periods with significant differences in their species composition （R=0.88; P=0.005）, and based on analysis of similarity, species have been identified as discriminator species, namely Thunnus albacores and Benthosema pterotum. Results indicate that changes in MTI reflected changes in the Hormuzgan landing structure. The examination of the MTI, FBI, and landing profile （LP） temporal pattern suggests that the status of fishery resources in Hormuzgan inshore waters is overexploited, and provides evidence of the probability that a fishing down process is occurring in this area, and that this trend may continue in the long-tenn. Therefore, environmental fisheries management and conservation programs should be prioritized for these valuable resources.
文摘Quantification of water quality (WQ) is an integral part of scientifically based water resources management. The main objective of this study was comparative analysis of two approaches applied for quantitative assessment of WQ: the trophic level index (TLI) and the Delphi method (DM). We analyzed the following features of these conceptually different approaches: A. similarity of estimates of lake WQ;B. sensitivity to indicating disturbances in the aquatic ecosystem structure and functioning;C. capacity to reflect the impact of major management measures on the quality of water resources. We compared the DM and TLI based on results from a series of lakes covering varying productivity levels, mixing regimes and climatic zones. We assumed that the conservation of aquatic ecosystem in some predefined, “reference”, state is a major objective of sustainable water resources management in the study lakes. The comparison between the two approaches was quantified as a relationship between the DM ranks and respective TLI values. We show that being a classification system, the TLI does not account for specific characteristics of aquatic ecosystems and the array of different potential uses of the water resource. It indirectly assumes that oligotrophication is identical to WQ improvement, and reduction of economic activity within the lake catchment area is the most effective way to improve WQ. WQ assessed with the TLI is more suitable for needs of natural water resources management if eutrophication is a major threat. The DM allows accounting for several water resource uses and therefore it may serve as a more robust and comprehensive tool for WQ quantification and thus for sustainable water resources management.
文摘为了解中东大西洋渔业产区渔获物的资源状况,根据世界粮农组织(FAO)提供的该海域1950—2019年的渔获量数据,结合渔获种类的平均营养级(mean trophic level,MTL)信息,运用统计学方法分析70年间渔获物平均营养级和营养级平衡指数(fishing in balance,FiB)的变动规律,以掌握该海域渔业资源的可持续利用情况。结果显示,MTL大致可分为4个阶段,1950—1956年,MTL指数在3.20左右,无明显变化;1957—1963年,MTL指数迅速上升至3.44;1964—1996年,MTL在波动中趋于下降,历史最高值(3.54)出现在1985年;1997—2019年,MTL稳定在较高水平,其中2018年为该阶段最低点3.35。FiB指数整体呈上升趋势,1950—1956年,FiB指数呈小幅波动增加;1957—1974年,FiB指数显著上升;1975—1996年,FiB指数呈平稳波动状态;1997—2019年,FiB指数整体呈小幅增长趋势。结果表明,中东大西洋海洋生态系统相对稳定,但潜在的渔业资源量越来越少,开发潜力有限。
