Alfonse M. Dubi

Bio: Alfonse M. Dubi is an academic researcher from University of Dar es Salaam. The author has contributed to research in topics: Shore & Environmental issues with coral reefs. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 15 publications receiving 4263 citations. Previous affiliations of Alfonse M. Dubi include Norwegian Institute of Technology & Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology.

Coral Reefs Under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

Abstract: Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is expected to exceed 500 parts per million and global temperatures to rise by at least 2 degrees C by 2050 to 2100, values that significantly exceed those of at least the past 420,000 years during which most extant marine organisms evolved. Under conditions expected in the 21st century, global warming and ocean acidification will compromise carbonate accretion, with corals becoming increasingly rare on reef systems. The result will be less diverse reef communities and carbonate reef structures that fail to be maintained. Climate change also exacerbates local stresses from declining water quality and overexploitation of key species, driving reefs increasingly toward the tipping point for functional collapse. This review presents future scenarios for coral reefs that predict increasingly serious consequences for reef-associated fisheries, tourism, coastal protection, and people. As the International Year of the Reef 2008 begins, scaled-up management intervention and decisive action on global emissions are required if the loss of coral-dominated ecosystems is to be avoided.

Wave Damping by Kelp Vegetation

Abstract: Aquatic vegetation, like seagrasses, macroalgae and trees whether submerged or subaerial are an important feature of a coastal ecosystem. In addition to the structural and functional aspects to the environment, they are known to reduce wave and current energies propagating through them. The reduction of energy would then influence sediment motion and thus render an impact on coastal sediment transport. The dissipative character of large stands of kelp has been studied for instance by Jackson and Winant, (1983), Dalrymple et al. (1984) and for artificial seaweed as material for shore protection Price et al. (1968).

Wave energy dissipation in kelp vegetation

Abstract: A laboratory experiment was carried out to investigate wave energy dissipation in a coastal kelp field of Laminaria hyperborea with a purpose of finding the damping rate. Parameters measured were wave heights at 8 locations along the direction of wave propagation, forces on artificial kelp plants, and velocities in between the plants in 4 different water depths. It was found that in 4, 6, 8 and 10 meter water depths, the damping coefficient was 0.0094, 0.0032, 0.0014 and 0.0005m"1 respectively. Results show that the damping rate varies with population density, size of plant, water 'depth and wave period.

Effects of Fish Culture on Water Quality of an Integrated Mariculture Pond System.

Abstract: A. J. Mmochi, A. M. Dubi, F. A. Mamboya and A. W. MwandyaInstitute of Marine Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, Box 668, Zanzibar, TanzaniaKey words: integrated mariculture, water quality, nutrients, eutrophication, dissolved oxygen,fish culture, fish feed, seaweed culture, shellfish culture biofiltration, environmental pollutionAbstract— Six mariculture ponds were flooded with seawater since 1996. During this time theponds were stocked with finfish (milkfish and rabbitfish), which were fed on locally producedfish feed. Some water quality parameters such as temperature, salinity and oxygen saturationwere measured twice a day for three years (1998 – 2000), while nutrient concentrations weremeasured weekly for one year. Both nutrient concentration and oxygen saturation levels haveshown a trend indicating eutrophication. Oxygen concentration changed from an average of7.16 mg/l in October 1998 to 2.2 mg/l in March 2000 with a negative linear regression of 0.69during the morning hours. From August 1998 to April 1999 dissolved inorganic ammoniaconcentration increased by 9 µg-at N/l, from 8.91 to 18.02 with a positive linear regression of0.79. During this period soluble reactive phosphorus increased by 3.55 µg-at P/l from 4.36 to7.91 with a positive linear regression of 0.75. In this paper the rate of eutrophication and thelimit at which the ponds have to be dried/limed before restocking are discussed.

Impact of hydrographic parameters and seasonal variation in sediment fluxes on coral status at Chumbe and Bawe reefs, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Abstract: Coral reefs which are an important resource to coastal communities and nation at large are adversely affected by rate of sediment flux to the reefs. However, there is little information on seasonal trend in sediment flux and its impact at the reefs off Zanzibar. Two years’ monthly data on sedimentation at Chumbe and Bawe reefs were used to assess seasonal variability in sediment flux and its implication on the coral status. Sediment flux to the Bawe reefs for the duration of the study ranged from 0.2 to 41.5 mg cm−2 d−1, while it ranged from 0.8 to 65.8 mg cm−2 d−1 at the Chumbe reefs. Sediment fluxes at Bawe reefs were highest between November and March, while they were highest between April and September at Chumbe reefs. Generally, sediment fluxes at Bawe reefs were low compared to those at Chumbe. The total sediment input to the reefs ranged from 4615 to 123,403 kg d−1 for Bawe reefs and 2750 to 79,636 kg d−1 for Chumbe reefs. High sediment fluxes at Bawe reefs between November and March; and the Chumbe reefs between April and September can be attributed to water currents and wind pattern in the east African region which are under the influence of the monsoons. The observed trend suggests that the period for coral transplant as a management option for the two sites should be different. Coral transplant can be undertaken in such a way that stress of the corals due to sedimentation can be felt after they have overcome stress from transplant process and temperature. The results from this study contribute to the much needed information for coral transplant, restoration, and management.

Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet

Abstract: The planetary boundaries framework defines a safe operating space for humanity based on the intrinsic biophysical processes that regulate the stability of the Earth system. Here, we revise and update the planetary boundary framework, with a focus on the underpinning biophysical science, based on targeted input from expert research communities and on more general scientific advances over the past 5 years. Several of the boundaries now have a two-tier approach, reflecting the importance of cross-scale interactions and the regional-level heterogeneity of the processes that underpin the boundaries. Two core boundaries—climate change and biosphere integrity—have been identified, each of which has the potential on its own to drive the Earth system into a new state should they be substantially and persistently transgressed.

Planetary boundaries: Exploring the safe operating space for humanity

Abstract: Anthropogenic pressures on the Earth System have reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. We propose a new approach to global sustainability in which we define planetary boundaries within which we expect that humanity can operate safely. Transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be deleterious or even catastrophic due to the risk of crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt environmental change within continental- to planetary-scale systems. We have identified nine planetary boundaries and, drawing upon current scientific understanding, we propose quantifications for seven of them. These seven are climate change (CO2 concentration in the atmosphere <350 ppm and/or a maximum change of +1 W m-2 in radiative forcing); ocean acidification (mean surface seawater saturation state with respect to aragonite ≥ 80% of pre-industrial levels); stratospheric ozone (<5% reduction in O3 concentration from pre-industrial level of 290 Dobson Units); biogeochemical nitrogen (N) cycle (limit industrial and agricultural fixation of N2 to 35 Tg N yr-1) and phosphorus (P) cycle (annual P inflow to oceans not to exceed 10 times the natural background weathering of P); global freshwater use (<4000 km3 yr-1 of consumptive use of runoff resources); land system change (<15% of the ice-free land surface under cropland); and the rate at which biological diversity is lost (annual rate of <10 extinctions per million species). The two additional planetary boundaries for which we have not yet been able to determine a boundary level are chemical pollution and atmospheric aerosol loading. We estimate that humanity has already transgressed three planetary boundaries: for climate change, rate of biodiversity loss, and changes to the global nitrogen cycle. Planetary boundaries are interdependent, because transgressing one may both shift the position of other boundaries or cause them to be transgressed. The social impacts of transgressing boundaries will be a function of the social-ecological resilience of the affected societies. Our proposed boundaries are rough, first estimates only, surrounded by large uncertainties and knowledge gaps. Filling these gaps will require major advancements in Earth System and resilience science. The proposed concept of "planetary boundaries" lays the groundwork for shifting our approach to governance and management, away from the essentially sectoral analyses of limits to growth aimed at minimizing negative externalities, toward the estimation of the safe space for human development. Planetary boundaries define, as it were, the boundaries of the "planetary playing field" for humanity if we want to be sure of avoiding major human-induced environmental change on a global scale.

The value of estuarine and coastal ecosystem services

Abstract: The global decline in estuarine and coastal ecosystems (ECEs) is affecting a number of critical benefits, or ecosystem services. We review the main ecological services across a variety of ECEs, including marshes, mangroves, nearshore coral reefs, seagrass beds, and sand beaches and dunes. Where possible, we indicate estimates of the key economic values arising from these services, and discuss how the natural variability of ECEs impacts their benefits, the synergistic relationships of ECEs across seascapes, and management implications. Although reliable valuation estimates are beginning to emerge for the key services of some ECEs, such as coral reefs, salt marshes, and mangroves, many of the important benefits of seagrass beds and sand dunes and beaches have not been assessed properly. Even for coral reefs, marshes, and mangroves, important ecological services have yet to be valued reliably, such as cross-ecosystem nutrient transfer (coral reefs), erosion control (marshes), and pollution control (mangroves). An important issue for valuing certain ECE services, such as coastal protection and habitat-fishery linkages, is that the ecological functions underlying these services vary spatially and temporally. Allowing for the connectivity between ECE habitats also may have important implications for assessing the ecological functions underlying key ecosystems services, such coastal protection, control of erosion, and habitat-fishery linkages. Finally, we conclude by suggesting an action plan for protecting and/or enhancing the immediate and longer-term values of ECE services. Because the connectivity of ECEs across land-sea gradients also influences the provision of certain ecosystem services, management of the entire seascape will be necessary to preserve such synergistic effects. Other key elements of an action plan include further ecological and economic collaborative research on valuing ECE services, improving institutional and legal frameworks for management, controlling and regulating destructive economic activities, and developing ecological restoration options.

Impacts of climate change on the future of biodiversity.

Abstract: Many studies in recent years have investigated the effects of climate change on the future of biodiversity. In this review, we first examine the different possible effects of climate change that can operate at individual, population, species, community, ecosystem and biome scales, notably showing that species can respond to climate change challenges by shifting their climatic niche along three non-exclusive axes: time (e.g. phenology), space (e.g. range) and self (e.g. physiology). Then, we present the principal specificities and caveats of the most common approaches used to estimate future biodiversity at global and sub-continental scales and we synthesise their results. Finally, we highlight several challenges for future research both in theoretical and applied realms. Overall, our review shows that current estimates are very variable, depending on the method, taxonomic group, biodiversity loss metrics, spatial scales and time periods considered. Yet, the majority of models indicate alarming consequences for biodiversity, with the worst-case scenarios leading to extinction rates that would qualify as the sixth mass extinction in the history of the earth.

Significant Acidification in Major Chinese Croplands

Abstract: Soil acidification is a major problem in soils of intensive Chinese agricultural systems. We used two nationwide surveys, paired comparisons in numerous individual sites, and several long-term monitoring-field data sets to evaluate changes in soil acidity. Soil pH declined significantly ( P + ) per hectare per year, and base cations uptake contributed a further 15 to 20 kilomoles of H + per hectare per year to soil acidification in four widespread cropping systems. In comparison, acid deposition (0.4 to 2.0 kilomoles of H + per hectare per year) made a small contribution to the acidification of agricultural soils across China.