MAP News Issue – 434 Jan. 20, 2018

MAP’s mangrove conservation and restoration project at Thung Yor, Thailand

THAILAND – Thung Yor is a small village located in Krabi Province, southern of Thailand. Some of the village area is mangrove forest which is connected to the Andaman Sea by tidal streams. Most of the villager’s main occupation is in agriculture with a supplementary livelihood from coastal small-scale fisheries. So, due to their dependence on the fishing the villagers have placed a priority on the conservation and restoration of mangroves. The community joined MAP to undertake a CBEMR project with the objective to restore 2 hectares of abandoned shrimp ponds back to mangroves. The site consists of 3 ponds as seen in the Google Earth image above with little or no tidal exchange, especially pond #2 and #3 which was were waterlogged with few mangrove seeds entering the ponds and the condition was not suitable for mangrove growth. Pond #1 remained very wet as the pond drained through the sluice gate and by the time the pond was drained the tidal starting to come back up due the semidurnal tides. ( 2 high & 2 low tides in 24 hr) Under CBEMR the priority is to restore normal tidal flushing. The community wanted to rehabilitate the mangroves but the traditional planting method would not work in this situation due to the disturbed hydrology. MAP introduced the concept of Community-based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR) which was a completely new approach for the community but they trusted MAP and are determined to learn. READ MORE

AFRICA

Tens of thousands of mangroves to be planted across the UAE

UAE – Tens of thousands of mangroves will be planted and coral gardens cultivated in a bid to reduce the impact of climate change. Some 30,000 mangrove trees will be planted to develop the marine areas of the UAE, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment said on Wednesday. The mangroves will help prevent erosion in coastal areas and the corals will serve as an incubator for marine species as part of the ministry’s objectives for the Year of Zayed. “Mangrove trees play an effective role in reducing carbon emissions and contribute to minimizing the impacts of marine natural disasters. They are also incubators for many marine species, and help maintain the ecological balance, while protecting species from the risk of extinction, in addition to supporting and encouraging ecotourism,” said Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment. “Coral gardens provide a natural habitat and an incubator for several marine species, and the ministry has succeeded in cultivating 24 species of corals.” READ MORE

ASIA

Forest Department plans to regenerate 200 acres of mangrove wetlands

MYANMAR – The Forest Department is planning to revive 200 acres of depleted mangrove forests over 1500 acres of abandoned prawn-breeding wetlands in the Ayeyarwady Delta region, said Forest Department Director Nyi Nyi Kyaw. The project, called Integrated Planning and Practices for Mangrove Management Associated with Agriculture and Aquaculture in Myanmar, will be implemented in partnership with Queensland University in Australia and APFNet. It would last for three years and cost US$547,070 (K736.90 million). “Mangrove forests, fish and prawns depend on one another,” he said at an international workshop in the project in Yangon. “Mangrove forests not only help people’s welfare but also protect from climate changes, so we need mangrove forests. This project will simultaneously carry out both protection of mangrove forests and local development,” he added. The project aims to improve the capacity for reestablishment and management of mangrove forests in the area and develop agriculture and aquaculture related professions which are connected to the area. READ MORE

She uses fashion to conserve mangrove forests

INDIA – Keziah Oloo says modelling and design have to change lives, beyond the usual glamour. Ms Oloo, 26, is a fashion designer, entrepreneur and a model who uses her art to conserve the environment. She leads a team of 12 models in Mombasa in a mangrove conservation cause. “We use sports, film and photography to send the message to the community and other relevant stakeholders.” They are focused on conserving the mangrove forest along the Tudor Creek, one of the two main water bodies separating Mombasa Island from the mainland. A recent study carried out shows that more than 80 per cent of mangroves along the Indian Ocean coast in the area have been wiped out. “As models we realised we can use the platform to speak up. If the creek is invested in, it can be an attraction to tourists.” When she was tasked to design the outfit befitting the cause, Ms Oloo opted for sisal sacks. READ MORE

Lost mangrove diversity

CHINA – Zixiao Guo, of Sun Yat-Sen University, China, and colleagues wondered whether living mangroves are genetically diverse enough to withstand current global change and whether past sea-level changes have influenced this diversity. They surveyed 26 populations of six mangrove species on the Indo-Malayan coast. Genetic diversity was surprisingly low, mirroring levels typical of much smaller populations. The lowest levels were from areas of rapid past sea-level rise, reflecting erosion of diversity as populations shrank. Complementing this spatial assessment, they found similar losses of genetic diversity over time as sea-level rose between 2010 and 2012 in China’s Yalong Bay. To return a historic favour, designing reserves with buffer zones between mangroves and nearby development will give them a chance to colonize inward as sea levels rise again. READ MORE

Suspicious lorry leads to seizure of 725 mangrove poles

INDONESIA – Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) seized 725 pieces of mangrove and jungle poles after a lorry transporting the commodity drove past its corporate office near Jalan Sungai Tapang here on Monday. A statement received from SFC yesterday said its enforcers, upon noticing the suspicious lorry, trailed it to a construction site. “Upon checking the lorry, SFC enforcers found 500 pieces of mangrove and jungle poles inside. An extended search of the area revealed another 225 poles on the ground,” it said. The contractor and driver also failed to produce any documents on the poles, added the statement. In a separate case, the statement revealed that a joint operation between SFC Sibu and the Forest Department in Sengayan, Kanowit on Jan 16 uncovered 37 pieces of illegal logs of various sizes and species. The team also raided a separate location in Kanowit, near Ulu Tuah, Jalan Nibong Tada, and found 81 pieces of illegal logs stacked in piles. The logs were found adjacent to a forested area and did not have any official markings. READ MORE

AMERICAS

Quinnipiac University group restoring mangrove forest in Puerto Rico

PUERTO RICO – Months after Hurricane Maria hit the island, Puerto Rico is still recovering from the storm’s devastating aftermath and continues to need help. Quinnipiac University recently sent the first academic group to aid the relief effort in Cataño, where eight students and three professors have been helping restore the mangrove forest and seeing firsthand the effects of the disaster. The group is there working with CARAS de las Américas, a nonprofit organization that works on environmental and educational efforts in San Juan, Cataño and Guaynabo. They landed on the island Jan. 10. “Mangroves are important to the environment here,” Margarita Diaz, associate professor of journalism at Quinnipiac, said from the island where she’s a native. “It’s a plant designed to survive coastal water and provides habitat for wildlife, birds, fish and crustaceans that rely on mangroves. It’s a really strong resilient plant.” Mangroves are trees and shrubs that live in coastal intertidal zones and help stabilize the coastline by reducing erosion from storm surges, waves, tides and currents. Their roots, which can often be recognized by their dense tangles, allow the trees to handle the daily rise and fall of tides and also makes them a natural habitat for wildlife. READ MORE

Miami power couple ordered to replace illegally chopped mangroves

USA – A Miami power couple under fire for chopping down mangroves blocking their million-dollar bay view in the wake of Hurricane Irma have been cited for illegally removing the protected trees and ordered to replace them. Miami-Dade County environmental regulators, who enforce state mangrove laws, found that architects Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Spear, who is also a landscape architect, removed the trees and filled wetlands despite numerous past warnings and citations for illegally cutting the mangroves. A legal settlement, which had been reached after a previous violation, specifically spelled out rules for cutting and removing the trees. Regulators plan to visit the Coconut Grove property next week to survey the damage before signing off on a plan to replant trees and restore the wetlands, said Division of Environmental Resources Management code enforcement officer JoAnne Clingerman. READ MORE

Sail shade would help Environmental Studies Center mangrove display keep its cool

USA – For their "12 Days of Christmas" wish, folks at the Environmental Studies Center want to throw shade on their outdoor mangrove display. And that's "throw shade" literally, not in hipster lingo. The center, a division of the Martin County School District on Indian River Drive in Jensen Beach, teaches students about and how to appreciate the Indian River Lagoon, and mangroves are an important part of the lagoon ecosystem. (It's so important, a mangrove is featured on the logo of TCPalm's Indian River Lagoon coverage.) Mangrove leaves that fall into the water and rot form the bottom of the lagoon food chain, and the "walk-on-the-water" roots are nurseries for small fish and keep the shoreline from washing away. The center's staffers are growing their own mangroves in what used to be the sea turtle tank so kids can get an up-close look at these stalwarts of the lagoon. The display is "a great educational tool," said center executive coordinator Marilyn Gavitt. "It's really beautiful, but in the afternoon it gets a lot of sun and gets really hot." READ MORE

LAST WORD

All,

I would appreciate it very much if you can inform students about availability of travel awards from the FUCOBI Foundation of Ecuador, to attend ‘The Shrimp Epigenome (ShrimpENCODE) Project’ Session and ‘ONE HEALTH Epigenomics and Microbiomes: From Soil to People’ Workshop I will chair during the 119th National Shellfisheries Association Annual Meeting at The Renaissance Hotel, Seattle, WA USA, March 18-22, 2018 (http://www.shellfish.org/).

Please share the attached announcement with your colleagues and friends in Africa.

These sessions focus on the application of the holistic concept of ONE HEALTH to conserve healthy ecosystems (agricultural soil, sediment of mangroves forests and wetlands), to maintain healthy animals (shrimp/shellfish, fish), to protect human health long-term (antibiotic resistance, zoonoses, obesity, diabetes, microcephaly and other neural tube defects, cancer, among others).

The invited speakers for ‘The Shrimp Epigenome (ShrimpENCODE) Project’ session will address the following topics:
* ShrimpENCODE (2017-2027) – towards understanding the epigenetic mechanisms and transgenerational inheritance associated with exposure of Pacific white shrimp, Penaeus (Litopenaeus) vannamei to acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND)-causing Vibrio spp. and microbial transgene Bacillus thuringiensis.
* Epigenetic re-programming upon foreign (viral) DNA invasion into cells.
* Understanding the molecular basis of pathogenesis of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in using comparative transcriptomics in the Pacific whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) and European shore crab (Carcinus maenas).
* WSSV-like element, DNAV-1_LVa, in SPF L. vannamei domesticated in the United States.
* Polymorphisms in the RTE-3_LVa non-LTR retrotransposon of SPF L. vannamei: its association with Penaeus monodon endogenous virus IHHNV (infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus) from Africa and Australia.
* The PirAB toxin-producing genes of Vibrio spp. have a function similar to the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry proteins.
* Transposase DDE domains and N-6 DNA Methylase family proteins as potential epigenetic marks of pathogenic AHPND-causing Vibrios from Asia (China, Vietnam, Thailand) and Latin America (Mexico, Ecuador).
* The core and accessory genome of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a pathogen of penaeid shrimp (Philippines).
* Defining the microbiome of Litopenaeus vannamei in wild, aquacultured and AHPND/EMS outbreak conditions (Mexico).
* Evaluation of marine bacteria and their potential use as feed additive and probiotic agent against pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus (AHPND) in white shrimp L. vannamei;
* Digital Pathogen Surveillance: a One Health approach to preventing infectious diseases in humans and animals.

The invited speakers for ‘ONE HEALTH Epigenomics and Microbiomes: From Soil to People’ Workshop will address the following:
* Present status of mangrove ecosystems in Mexico, with notes on their knowledge and conservation challenges, regarding natural and anthropogenic impacts.
* MangroveENCODE (2017-2027): developing technologies for assessment of CO2, microbiome, endocrine disrupting chemicals (Glyphosate, metals) and microbial transgene Bacillus thuringiensis in mangroves sediments and agricultural soil of selected countries.
* The exceptionally high carbon stocks of mangroves and their potential for the global market of carbon – A mini review of CO2 levels in three geographic regions of Ecuador.
* ShrimpENCODE (2017-2027): Transposable elements of first SPF Litopenaeus vannamei from the United States: horizontal transfer of transposons associated with shrimp diseases.
* The NonLTR-1_LVa non-LTR retrotransposon of SPF shrimp, L. vannamei, from the United States is homologous to the NLRS non-LTR retrotranspon associated with abdominal segment deformity disease (ASDD) of cultivated shrimp from Thailand.
* Oligomerization patterns of PirA and PirB causing AHPND and its interaction with the membrane components of the epithelial cells of the shrimp hepatopancreas.
* Sublethal exposure to commercial formulations of the herbicides Dicamba, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and Glyphosate cause changes in antibiotic susceptibility in Escherichia coli AND Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.
* Shrimp Scampi: A Citizens Science Project to examine levels of Glyphosate and other EDCs (metals, Bisphenol A) in frozen shrimp sold at US supermarket chains.
* Who will save the wild L. vannamei?
* Seafood Safety and Food Security: who is in charge?
* ChildrenENCODE (2017-2027): Review of epigenetic mechanisms associated with EDCs (Glyphosate, metals, Bisphenol A) in shellfish and people from estuaries: A case study of metals associated with congenital malformations of children of the Santa Elena peninsula of Ecuador.
* Basic research needed to produce healthy shrimp: a publicly available, fully-assembled, reference genome from the first specific pathogen-free (SPF) domesticated stocks of Litopenaeus vannamei is a priority.

Interested students should request a travel application form from the sponsor (fucobi@gmail.com), or contact me directly (environmentalgenomics.warren@gmail.com) if need additional information. If approved, foreign students will receive a letter from the meeting organizers to secure the visa to enter the US.

Best regards,
Acacia
—
Acacia Alcivar Warren, DVM, MSc, PhD
ONE HEALTH Epigenomics – A Global Educational Initiative
Environmental Genomics Inc., P.O. Box 196, Southborough, MA 01772-1801 USA

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