The benthos of soft sublittoral habitats

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Selected abstracts

survival and exposure to low-level flying was seen during the pre-calving period, during the late post-calving period to insect harassment, and during fall. Jets should avoid overflying woodland caribou calving range at least during the last week of May and the first three weeks of June. -from Authors

metals and hydrocarbons, organic enrichment by sewage, agricultural run-off, land-claim and sea-level rise are identiffed as major threats posed to Scottish estuaries. Landclaim and sea level rise both lead to large-scale and permanent loss of intertidal area and they are consideredthe most pressing comervation problems. -Author

Regional

93Z/00028 Aspects of intertidal ecology with reference to conservation of Scottish seashores M. Wilkinson, Proceedings - Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B, 100, 1992, pp 77-93. In the Scottish context there is a particular variety of shores meriting conservation on the west coast sea laths. So far, no intertidal effects of fish farming have been demonstrated on them. Seaweed harvesting is Ioealised although it may need control in the longer tenn. A change in the approach to protect areas might enable such habitats to be given protection without necessarily pursuing all the biological survey possible in such diverse habitats. East coast shores a n d those of the Solway area are less wellknown but merit further study. -from Author

93Z/00024 The ecology of H u m b o l d t Bay, California, an estuarine profile R . A . Bamhart, M. J. Boyd & J. E. Pequegnat, Biological Report - US Fish & Wildlife Service, 1, 1992,121 pp. Synthesizes data on the ecological relationships and functions of the estuary, including information on physical aspects of the bay environment; describes the biotic communities and their relationships; provides management considerations in terms including environmental concerns; and identifies research and management information gaps. Portions of the bay are managed as a national wildlife refuge. Management issues for this ecosystem include loss of habitat and degradation of the environment by additional industrial development and nonpoint source pollution. -from Authors 93Z/00025 Biotic impoverishment of Amazonian forests by r u b b e r tappers, loggers and cattle ranchers D . C . Nepstad, I. F. Brown, L. Luz, A. Alechandre & V. Viana, in: Non-timber products from tropical forests, ed D.C. Neptstad & S. Sehwartzman, (New York Botanical Garden; Advances in Economic Botany, 9), 1992, pp 1-14. Drawing on Brazilian ease studies from Acre (non-timber forest product (N'TFP) extraction) and NE Para (ranching and logging), the authors compare the ecological impacts of these three land uses and conclude that biotic impoverishment associated with them is qualitatively similar but quantitatively distinct. Each land use reduces populations of native plant and animal species and reduces mature forest cover. However, NTFP extraction depletes only a handful of i?lant and animal species and leads to mature forest clearing at a rate that is comparable to natural treefall gap formation. Logging and cattle ranching alter 100s to 1000s of species populations and remove roughly one half of forest cover. Forest conversion to pasture, practiced by both ranchers and, to a leser extent, NTFP extractors, clearly provokes the greatest biotic impoverishment of the activittes discussed, for it can virtually eliminate the native biota, reduces carbon storage in biomass, alters hydrology and, potentially, provokes regional climate change. -from Authors 93Z/00026 A healthy North Sea ecosystem and a healthy North Sea fishery: two sides of the same regulation E. Hey, Ocean Development & International Law, 23(2-3), 1992, pp 217-238. Fishing activities axe not generally regulated in order to protect and preserve the marine ecosystem, but rather to conserve stocks for future exploitation. This may have to .change,. as evidence shows that fishing activities axe having serious negative effects on the marine ecosystem. Although the obligation to ensure the protection of the environment also applies to fishing activities, international instruments are not tailored to deal with this issue. Within the Euroupean Community the required integration of environmental considerations into other policies, however, provides an opportunity for tackling the matter. A precautionary approach should be adopted in regulating fishing activities. -from Author 93Z/00027 Conservation of Scottish estuaries D. Raffaelli, Proceedings - Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B, 100, 1992, pp 55-76. Reviews the physical and biological characteristics of Scottish estuaries. A case is made for the conservation of a range of habitats, including sand dunes, saltmarshes and intertidal flats, although the large-scale protection of estuafine intertidal areas may depend more on their perceived importance as feeding areas for shorebirds and fish, rather than their very real intrinsic value. Contamination by

93Z/00029 The ecology and conservation of sublittoral h a r d s u b s t r a t u m ecosystems in Scotland K. Hiscock, Proceedings - Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B, 100, 1992, pp 95-112. Conservation of sublittoral hard substratum habitats and communities requires: description of the character and distribution of habitats, communities and species; evaluation of survey information through application of nature conservation criteria; identification of areas/sites of nature conservation importance; establishment of appropriate consultative and statutory frameworks; obtaining information on biology of species, dynamics/longevity of natural communities and species, and mechanisms 'driving' communities; evaluation of damage and recovery; evaluation of effects of diffuse pollution; informing, consulting and educating. -from Author 93Z/00030 The benthos of soft sublittoral habitats T . H . Pearson, Proceedings - Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B, 100, 1992, pp 113-122. A brief outline of the characteristics and habitat of marine sedimentary benthos is given together with a consideration of the factors influencing the structure and distribution of benthic communities and the role of larval stages in influencing recruitment to such communities. The bearing these ecological factors have for the conservation of such communities in Scottish waters is discussed in the context of current and potential threats to their present stability and distributions. The rich communities of the fjordic and shelf areas of the western coast and island groups merit the greatest current concern for conservation, in the face of increasing pressures from a range of developmental actions. -Author 93Z/00031 Ecological effects of afforestation: a case study of B u r r a t o r , D a r t m o o r S. Essex & A. Willlams, Applied Geography, 12(4), 1992, pp 361-379. The less intensive management regime for the forests at Burrator has resulted in a woodland ecosystem with a more complicated structure than might have been expected from a more intensively managed scheme. -from Authors 93Z/00032 Steget fore - en presentation (The project One Step A h e a d . a presentation) M. Karstrom, Svensk Botanist Tidskrifl, 86(3), 1992, pp 103-113. Jokkmokk, a commune in N Sweden, comprises 20 000km 2 and is mainly covered with forests, mires and alpine areas. A relatively great part of the ground which is now clear-felled for the first lame is more or less virgin spruce forest. The project One Step Ahead was started in 1987. The aim was to find forests with high nature conservation values well before felling was planned. Forests are ~uickly scanned .for the presence of vascular plants, lichens and fungi mdicaung conlmuity. Rotting wood only exists in (near) virgin forest. -from English summary