The MASTS Aquatic Stressors Forum is excited to host a free Open Forum Session on 29th August, 10-11am via Zoom:
Towards Marine Democracy in Scotland and Chile
Speaker: Dr Jeremy Anbleyth-Evans, Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen
Developing blue democracy in Britain and Chile means firstly enabling bottom participatory planning, EIAs and decision making led from the coastal community level. I will explore ongoing research with industrial salmon farming conflict with the economics of biodiversity, social movements and port coal smelter sacrificial zones, marine indigenous rights and subsistence fisheries, small scale versus industrial fisheries and conservation and the challenges of cities and marine protected areas. Methods include interviews, before and after dive impact assessments, citizen science baselines / decentralised monitoring, and participatory mapping. I will attempt to contrast the different systems, peppered with insights from Japan and Iran to understand how different approaches can support systemic evolution post neoliberalism in Scotland.
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Quantifying Levels and Intensities of Environmental Stressors across a wide range of pond types
Speaker: Prof Frances Orton, School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society at Heriot-Watt University
Small freshwater bodies, such as ponds are likely to be subject to a wide range of environmental pressures due to their small water volume and proximity to anthropogenic structures. In our study, we sought to quantify intensity of six environmental stressors across these study ponds (n = 80): pollution (metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals), eutrophication (nitrate/phosphate pollution), the presence of the invasive signal crayfish (Pacifasticus leniusculus: eDNA), heat wave occurrence/intensity, freshwater salinisation and the presence of Perkinsea infection.
Our study encompassed isolated depressions, ditches, river floodplains, wet woodland, as well as urban and agricultural retention ponds, located in five geographical clusters in the UK: South-East England, East Anglia, South-West Scotland, Central-West Scotland and Central Belt Scotland. Pond selection was based on estimated anthropogenic pressure and the presence of Rana temporaria, according to citizen science spawn count data. Predicted anthropogenic pressure levels based on publicly available data did not accurately predict measured levels of pollutions nor eutrophication. Eutrophication levels were generally low, however, we found high levels of organic pollutants across all ponds. In particular, we found high levels of pharmaceuticals, including illicit drugs (for example, cocaine was found in 66% of ponds tested), anti-biotics (for example, azithromycin was found in 83% of all ponds tested) and anti-depressants (for example, temazepam was found in 72% of all ponds tested). Salinity levels were low across all ponds (0.004 – 0.73 psu), including those situated in proximity to coastal areas. Analyses of heat wave, invasive crayfish and Perkinsea infection are ongoing. With these data, we will profile the levels and combinations of stressors across our study ponds, to assess their anthropogenic status.
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Images: Unsplash, Pixabay
