Search Results (287)

The seas around Sabah host the richest elasmobranch biodiversity in Malaysia. Currently, only 11 shark and ray species are protected under Malaysian legislation, while other species can be legally caught and sold in markets. Many of these species, including those with protected status, are captured as bycatch in commercial trawl fisheries. In Sabah, where trawling is a cornerstone of seafood production, indiscriminate fishing practices prioritize catch volume over gear selectivity. This study focuses on bycatch of Endangered, Threatened, and Protected (ETP) elasmobranchs, which represents an important ecological loss and is rarely retained for legal sale. To determine the spatiotemporal patterns of these captures, custom electronic monitoring (EM) cameras were deployed to capture time- and GPS-stamped imagery of all catch landed on fishing vessel decks. Over a 42-month period, more than 9400 individuals were recorded, of which 34% were identified as Endangered, Threatened, and Protected (ETP) species. The most common ETP shark species were Carcharhinus tjutjot, Rhizoprionodon acutus, and Sphyrna spp., while the most common ETP ray species were Telatrygon biasa, Maculabatis gerrardi/Maculabatis macrura, and Brevitrygon heterura. Spatial analysis and kernel density estimation were used to identify hotspot areas of high bycatch rates. We calculated bycatch per unit effort (BPUE) to quantify the density of ETP shark and ray bycatch across varying fishing intensities, based on the number of individuals caught per trawl towing hours in each district. Seasonal life-stage analyses indicated that neonate and immature individuals comprised a substantial proportion of the catch for several ETP species and occurred across multiple monsoon seasons, highlighting the vulnerability of early life stages to trawl fisheries. Potential mitigation measures, including spatial and temporal management strategies such as time–area closures, are recommended in areas with consistently high bycatch to reduce shark and ray bycatch and protect hotspot areas. Full article

Ecosystem restoration on Mediterranean islands is often hindered by the residual effects of past land use and invasive species. Decades of holm oak forest exploitation, the establishment of secondary pine plantations, and the introduction of invasive mammals have altered habitat configurations. Consequently, converting these conifer stands to promote the recovery of native Quercus ilex L. communities has become a conservation priority. This study investigates the regeneration constraints of Q. ilex in Mediterranean insular environments, focusing on the inhibitory role of conifer-derived litter and seed predation by invasive rodents and lagomorphs. We integrated an ex situ experiment (384 acorns) testing germination under varying local pine-forest soil and commercial substrate conditions, with an in situ field experiment (300 acorns) across five areas, comparing three treatments: closed cages (exclusion of all mammals), open cages (exclusion of lagomorphs), and unfenced controls. Results indicate that, while ex situ, local pine-forest soil significantly favoured germination over the commercial mixture, predation represents the main obstacle in situ, outweighing any soil-mediated effects. Seedling emergence was substantially reduced by early predation and, to a lesser extent, by litter presence. These findings highlight the necessity of integrated management strategies in insular ecosystems. Full article

As part of the development of sustainable forest management, it is important to identify the risk of reduced availability of commercial forests, assess the adaptation of companies to new conditions, and analyze measures that allow them to adapt to the changing market situation. The aim of this research was to confirm or refute the hypothesis that forest service plants in Poland are at an increased risk of operating under the planned exclusion of 20% of State Forests’ area from commercial use. A direct survey method was used for the study. The results of the study indicated that most companies (65%) plan to reduce employment due to restrictions on forest area, which is a result of difficulties in the labor market in the forestry sector. A significant proportion of respondents (82%) perceive the exclusion of part of the forests from commercial use as a threat to their business, with as many as 41% assessing this threat as very high. A total of 31% of companies assess their ability to adapt to change as poor or very poor, which raises concerns about the future of their business. A significant proportion of respondents (77%) indicated that the uncertainty surrounding the rules for excluding forest land could negatively affect their investment decisions. The study results showed that changes in business risk, responsiveness to change, and adaptability associated with the planned forest exclusion policy were independent of company size, the form of inter-company cooperation, or employment levels. A wide range of issues that must be addressed to maintain sustainable forest management were identified, including concerns related to the perceived or anticipated reduction in employment under a planned exclusion scenario. Full article

Diadromous fish provide key ecological and socio-economic services in European Atlantic catchments, yet their marine phase remains poorly understood and weakly integrated into management. Involving nine partners from Portugal, Spain, France and Ireland, the DiadSea Interreg Atlantic Area initiative aims to fill these critical knowledge gaps on the marine and estuarine phases and to translate this information into coordinated conservation and fisheries management tools. To do so, the project combines historical and newly collected fishery-dependent and -independent data (landings, by-catch, cooperative surveys with commercial and recreational fishers) with advanced microchemical, genetic and environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses to characterize marine distributions, mixing areas and connectivity for shads, Atlantic salmon, sea trout, European eel, sea lamprey and other diadromous species. It also includes innovative case studies on lamprey tagging and intestinal metabarcoding, coastal habitat suitability mapping for shads using river plumes and environmental variables, and joint otolith microchemistry–genomics approaches to reassess European eel panmixia and maternal origin at the Atlantic scale. Species distribution models under present and future climate scenarios, specifically RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, are used to identify priority marine areas for conservation, zones of high temporal turnover and key interfaces ensuring longitudinal (river–sea) and latitudinal connectivity, which will feed into an updated interactive web Atlas of diadromous species. In parallel, DiadSea establishes a transnational observatory of stakeholders to harmonize legislation, co-develop adaptive fisheries management plans and produce climate-aware policy guidelines, while capacity-building actions include an origin-labeling scheme for sustainably harvested diadromous fish, educational games and a comic book to raise awareness among younger generations and the wider public. Together, these work packages will deliver the first integrated, marine-focused, evidence-based and decision-support framework for diadromous fishes in the North-Eastern Atlantic, strengthening conservation, sustainable fisheries and stakeholder engagement under ongoing climate change. Full article

Introduction: Skates (Rajidae) are cornerstone elasmobranchs, yet their intrinsic biological constraints, like slow growth, late maturation, and low fecundity, render them exceptionally susceptible to anthropogenic pressure. Despite their ecological and economic importance, tracking their population trajectories is historically hindered by “taxonomic blurring” and aggregated reporting in commercial fisheries. Objective: This study evaluates long-term conservation trends and exploitation dynamics of Rajidae species in the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Methodology: We analyzed 31 Rajidae species across the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea (FAO Areas 27 and 37) by integrating IUCN Red List assessments, species-specific life-history traits (maximum body size and depth distribution), and FAO fisheries landing data from 1992 to 2023. Descriptive analyses and Spearman correlations were used to assess temporal trends in conservation status and exploitation patterns. Results: Our synthesis reveals that some species show improvements in IUCN Red List category assessments, likely driven by recent management interventions such as species-specific reporting, catch quotas, and targeted retention bans. However, we also identify a critical mismatch between policy and biology: current Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and minimum landing sizes often do not explicitly incorporate species-specific life-history traits, inadvertently favoring smaller, less-marketable taxa while leaving larger, vulnerable species at risk. While FAO landings offer a valuable broad-scale overview of exploitation, the results highlight the limitations of aggregated fisheries statistics for species-level conservation assessments. Conclusions: These findings underline the need to adopt more precise and species-specific fisheries management approaches for Rajidae, including expanded regional monitoring programs, the use of data collected by on-board observers or electronic monitoring tools, and improved control of data reporting procedures, to prevent continued aggregation of species-level data. Full article

Marine biological invasions are rapidly reshaping Mediterranean ecosystems, with growing consequences for biodiversity and fisheries. This study investigates recent changes in the composition of commercially important crustacean assemblages along the south-eastern coast of Sicily (central Mediterranean), focusing on penaeid shrimps (Penaeus aztecus and Penaeus kerathurus) and stomatopods (Erugosquilla massavensis and Squilla mantis). Field surveys were conducted during the fishing seasons of 2021 and 2025 at major landing sites and markets (Portopalo di Capo Passero, Syracuse and Catania), using standardized subsampling protocols applied to catches obtained by trammel nets and bottom trawls. Species composition was quantified through repeated sampling events, and temporal differences were analyzed using non-parametric tests and binomial generalized linear models, incorporating year and fishing gear as explanatory variables. Quantitative data were complemented by local ecological knowledge derived from structured interviews with professional fishers. Across the four-year interval, both taxonomic groups exhibited a pronounced shift in species dominance. The proportion of the invasive shrimp P. aztecus increased from approximately 20% in 2021 to over 80% in 2025, while the invasive stomatopod E. massavensis rose from about 2% to nearly 90% of total landings. These changes were statistically significant and independent of fishing gear. Fishers’ perceptions closely mirrored the quantitative trends, confirming the rapid replacement of native species by non-indigenous taxa and highlighting emerging socio-economic implications for local fisheries. Our findings document a rapid shift in the composition of commercial crustacean landings in Sicilian coastal waters, with invasive species becoming the dominant component of catches within a few years. This study underscores the need for adaptive fisheries management and integrated monitoring frameworks capable of responding to accelerating biological invasions in Mediterranean marine ecosystems. Full article

Introduction: The Lebranche mullet (Mugil liza) is a commercially important fish species in southeastern and southern Brazil, which serves as the primary spawning ground for the Southern stock that supports the Brazilian industrial seine fleet. However, this stock’s distribution extends into Argentine waters (northern Patagonian shelf), and the connectivity between mullets caught in Brazil and their breeding areas across South America remains poorly understood. The authors hypothesized that adult mullets landed by the Brazilian fleet consist of two distinct groups: A local group originating in Brazilian waters (BR1) and a migratory group (BR2) that uses nursery areas in Argentina (AR). BR2 presumably returns to its original nursery grounds after spawning, to recover reproductive tissues, following a different migratory pattern than BR1. Objectives: To test this, the study analyzed the micro-chemical life history of 134 otoliths from mullets aged 0+ to 11 years using LA-ICP-MS. Methodology: Two elemental ratios (Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca) were measured from the otolith core to the edge and modelled using a generalized additive model for scale and shape (GAMLSS). Life history transitions were evaluated by pairwise comparisons of fitted values among ages. Results: GAMLSS showed that Ba/Ca ratios differed significantly among groups (AR ≠ BR1 ≠ BR2). In contrast, Sr/Ca ratios were similar between AR and BR2 during the first four years of life, significantly differing from those of BR1. Using empirically established thresholds for estuarine vs. marine habitats, the study determined that BR2 individuals leave nursery areas between ages 5 and 6, migrate back around age 8, and live there one last time after age 10 (the species’ maximum age). BR1 leaves nurseries after age 4 and returns between ages 5 and 6, exhibiting a shorter reproductive cycle. Importantly, the analysis of reproductive tissue mass showed that the weight after age 7 approximately matched the weight at age 3. After recovery, reproductive tissues doubled in weight before the second migration to spawn at sea. Conclusions: These findings provide crucial insights into M. liza’s life cycle, highlighting the need for shared stock management not only with neighboring nations (Argentina and Brazil) but also on a regional scale. Full article

Wild mushroom harvesting is an activity practiced throughout the United States (U.S.) and holds a place of both cultural and economic importance. Mushroom harvesting on public lands in the U.S. takes two primary forms: (1) commercial harvest (for sale) or (2) personal harvest (for one’s own consumption or for sharing to others). As mushroom harvesting has grown in popularity, particularly in urban and suburban areas, ready access to information surrounding harvests on public lands has become increasingly important to the mushroom harvesting community, and ultimately to fungal conservation and sustainable exploitation. In this study, documents pertaining to harvesting on state and federal public lands in the U.S. were analyzed for their accessibility for personal and commercial harvesters. Scores were assigned based on access (ranked 0–5), with higher scores indicating greater access to the public. Overall, personal harvest (Min = 1, Max = 5, Average = 2.96) was permitted to some extent in every state, with the greatest access provided in Oregon, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Permits were often not required (Min = 0, Max = 3, Average = 0.7), with Montana and South Dakota having the most permitting requirements. Commercial harvest was associated with more limited access, and had greater associated regulation (Min = 0, Max = 4, Average = 1.02). Seventeen states that allowed for personal harvest did not allow for commercial harvest. Permitting was almost always required for commercial harvest (Min = 0, Max = 4, Average = 1.06), with Oregon having the most developed commercial permitting requirements. Access to public lands was found to be highly variable in the U.S. and is governed by a variety of local, state, and federal regulations. Information, depending on its source, was at times easy to access through a website, pamphlet, or phone call. However, in many cases information was out of date or difficult to find, and studies on the impacts of commercial and personal mushroom harvesting are limited. As a result, it is important that land managers develop communication mechanisms with the public for information sharing, to provide open and frequent communication, and for building long-term trust and relationships with harvesters. We offer some example mechanisms to land/resource managers and university/public educational partners as a starting point. Full article

This study examines the preservation of cultural landscapes in Asian heritage villages, using the Qiaonan Village in China as a case study. The study proposes an integrated model that combines macro-level planning, meso-level governance and micro-level community participation. Key findings show that only 32% of residents perceive the distribution of tourism benefits as fair, while a GIS analysis revealed a 28% increase in commercial land use within the heritage core between 2019 and 2022, indicating rising commercialisation pressures. The study explores the tensions between heritage conservation and tourism-driven development, with a focus on spatial integrity and local identity. It suggests that co-management and equitable benefit-sharing could strike a balance between economic growth, preservation, and community well-being. Rather than offering validated solutions, the research provides a diagnostic lens and generates hypotheses for other heritage villages. The transferability of these findings depends on local governance capacity, regulatory clarity, and the stage of tourism development, factors that will require systematic assessment in future comparative research. Full article

This article reassesses agrarian expansion in al-Andalus between the tenth and twelfth centuries within the broader context of medieval economic growth in the western Mediterranean. It challenges the idea of a uniform “Islamic Green Revolution” by combining archaeological, archaeobotanical, landscape, and textual evidence to examine three key aspects: the uneven chronology of agrarian change, the social actors involved, and the consequences of commercialization and fiscal intensification. The study shows that agrarian transformation was gradual and not driven by a single group. Peasant communities played a central role in cultivating drylands, managing small-scale irrigation, and developing local exchange networks that strengthened regional markets. Meanwhile, state institutions and urban elites promoted large irrigation systems, invested in market-oriented estates, and integrated rural production into fiscal and commercial structures. These processes stimulated economic growth and increased productivity but also led to land concentration, dispossession, and rising social tensions. By emphasizing the interaction between peasant agency, elite investment, and extractive political systems, the article argues for an integrated interpretation that links growth, inequality, and conflict, offering a more nuanced understanding of Andalusi agrarian landscapes. Full article

The recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) marks a significant shift in global aquaculture, transitioning to controlled, land-based production. This review highlights technological advancements that enable the treatment and reuse of over 90% of water, thereby enhancing water quality and production efficiency. These features position RAS as a cornerstone of sustainable seafood production. This review introduces the RAS Readiness Level (RRL) framework which is a novel, structured approach to assess the commercial maturity of emerging RAS technologies. Applying the RRL to six key technological domains (from digital AI systems to biological PHB recovery) reveals a pervasive pilot-scale purgatory where most innovations stagnate at RRL 4–6. It further addresses advanced processes such as membrane bioreactors, denitrification reactors, and the conversion of waste into valuable products. Furthermore, this review addresses persistent challenges, including high energy demand, economic viability, and the accumulation of pathogens. Finally, it focuses on the emergent integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), which are revolutionizing RAS management through data-driven optimization. By synthesizing current innovations, this review envisions a future of intelligent, closed-loop RAS where advanced IoT- and AI-driven technologies optimize water quality and feeding strategies to minimize ecological impact while enhancing sustainability and productivity. Full article

Providing regulation-compliant, high-fidelity training in aircraft maintenance remains challenging for institutions of education, where access to real aircraft, specialist tools, and operational environments is limited by cost, safety, and resource factors. This paper presents the design, in-house development, and pilot deployment of a virtual reality (VR) training system for an operationally critical maintenance procedure—Airbus A320 nose landing gear (NLG) wheel removal, strictly following the official Airbus Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM). Managed by an Agile-based methodology, the application, programmed with the Unity engine, uses full-size 3D CAD models and domain-expert input iteratively for quality-assured and rapid deployment. The system was piloted with aeronautical engineering students at the Vietnam Aviation Academy (VAA), achieving significant engagement and perceived gains for procedure knowledge and skill development. Positive comments emphasized the realistic, interactive, and repeatable quality of the simulation. Usability issues related to controller handling, cybersickness, and the absence of haptic feedback, however, suggest opportunities for refinement. This paper reports an early published case study of VR use in commercial aircraft maintenance training that is practically replicable and scalable, and developed in alignment with applicable civil aviation procedural requirements. It suggests that such a high-fidelity VR training platform can provide an accessible solution for aviation stakeholders to help bridge classroom training and real-world application in safety-critical training contexts. Full article

The Northeast Black Soil Region is an important commercial grain production base in China. However, ecological issues such as black soil degradation and soil erosion pose direct threats to food security. Previous studies have mainly examined individual factors of black soil degradation. Few have integrated spatial thickness distribution with multi-dimensional ecological sensitivity. To address this gap, this study establishes an ecological sensitivity evaluation index system for Bayan County, located in the eastern Songnen High Plain. Based on a review of relevant literature, the system includes four dimensions: topography, climate, natural resources, and human activities. A combined Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Entropy Weight Method (EWM) was used to determine indicator weights. Compared with single-weighting methods, this approach balances expert judgment with data-driven variation. The results are as follows. (1) The thickness of the black soil layer in Bayan County ranges from 18 to 77 cm. Medium, thin, and thick layers account for 78.81%, 16.32%, and 4.87% of the area, respectively. The total black soil reserve is estimated at about 1.267 billion m³. (2) Among the primary indicators, natural resources have the highest weight (0.53). The five most important secondary indicators are the river buffer zone (0.14), NDVI (0.13), soil type (0.12), land use type (0.12), and road buffer zone (0.09). (3) The overall ecological sensitivity of the county is moderate, with a composite index ranging from 1.45 to 4.45. The proportions of extremely sensitive, highly sensitive, moderately sensitive, mildly sensitive, and insensitive areas are 10.79%, 25.51%, 28.95%, 24.23%, and 10.52%, respectively. These findings provide a scientific basis for ecological protection and black soil conservation. They also support the development of targeted, zone-specific management strategies in Bayan County. Full article

Agriculture in dryland regions faces increasing pressure from climate variability, water scarcity, and competing urban and environmental demands. A recent basin-wide technical analysis for the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo in the United States of America (USA) and Mexico shows that consumptive water use in the river system overall is on an unsustainable path. The Middle Rio Grande Basin (MRGB) of central New Mexico (USA) exemplifies these sustainability challenges, where irrigated agriculture persists despite low precipitation, high evaporative demand, and prolonged drought. This study provides analytical spatial description of irrigated agriculture in the MRGB, examining farm size distribution, crop composition, groundwater access, and consumptive water use measured by evapotranspiration (ET) and effective ET. Using 2021 remotely sensed crops and ET data, groundwater well records, and GIS-based aggregation to the irrigator farm level, the analysis reveals a highly fragmented agricultural landscape dominated numerically by micro-scale and small farms, which together account for 55.9% of total agricultural ET. Alfalfa and other hay crops occupy nearly three-quarters of irrigated acreage and consume 74% of total ET, reflecting the prevalence of forage production. Groundwater access is highly uneven, with most wells concentrated among large farms, creating resilient disparities. The findings highlight that consumptive agricultural water use in the MRGB is diffuse rather than concentrated: non-commercial farms (<12 hectares) account for 55.9% of basin-wide ET, while commercial farms contribute only 14.4% despite occupying about one-fifth of irrigated land. This complicates water conservation efforts. Resilient management strategies must therefore engage thousands of small, largely non-commercial irrigators through mechanisms that recognize both hydrological and spatial realities. The study provides an empirical basis for designing sustainable irrigation and water-management strategies in dryland agricultural systems facing increasing climatic and institutional pressures. Full article

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 (S2) data are a crucial resource for urban policymakers in land-cover classification, offering a freely accessible alternative to expensive commercial data sources. While medium spatial resolution often limits the applicability of data-intensive machine learning approaches, the Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) framework could be an effective, operational alternative for urban land-cover classification using S2 data. This study applies the Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) approach to classify land cover in Hue, Vietnam, using Sentinel-2 data processed through the eCognition interface. The study’s findings emphasize the potential of GEOBIA and S2 data in enhancing decision-making processes for city authorities, ensuring better resource allocation, environmental protection, and infrastructure development. The results indicate that the method performs reliably for mesoscale and spatially continuous classes, such as vegetation and built-up surfaces, while accuracy is lower for small or spectrally heterogeneous features, particularly shallow water bodies and fragmented rice paddies, due to mixed-pixel effects inherent in 10–20 m resolution imagery. The results demonstrate an Overall Accuracy (OA) of 91%, highlighting the method’s effectiveness in extracting and classifying urban land-cover classes. This study demonstrates a replicable model for urban land monitoring that can be adapted across various geographic contexts. Furthermore, this approach fosters a more data-driven governance model, where urban expansion and land-use changes can be monitored in real time, allowing for proactive interventions. With urbanization accelerating worldwide, particularly in rapidly developing regions, such a cost-effective and accessible classification method can significantly aid in achieving long-term urban sustainability. The findings illustrate the relevance of GEOBIA as a feasible tool for supporting data-driven urban governance, enabling systematic tracking of land-use change, informed infrastructure planning, and sustainable urban management in both developed and rapidly urbanizing regions. Full article