Land reclamation in Penang began two decades ago and is still rampant with
large reclamation projects planned to be executed in the near future. The present study
provides the first information on effects of land reclamation in Penang towards the coastal
macroinvertebrates. This study assessed the abundance, diversity, and evenness of
coastal invertebrates assumed to be the foremost affected when land is reclaimed. Three
kinds of areas were focused on: reclaimed, unclaimed (adjacent to reclaimed), and
undisturbed. A total of 53 species of macroinvertebrates from 10 classes (Gastropoda,
Bivalvia, Polychaeta, Malacostraca, Maxillopoda, Echinoidea, Polyplacophora,
Branchiopoda, Scaphopoda, and Holothuroidea) were sampled. Reclaimed areas were
moderately rich in species averaging 11 species compared to 7 species in adjacent and
14 in undisturbed areas. Species richness was the highest in Teluk Aling (an undisturbed
area) with 22 species, and was the lowest in Gurney Drive (an adjacent area) with 2
species. The average species diversity and evenness on reclaimed land was the lowest
with values of 1.9974 and 0.5787, respectively. The diversity was higher by 5.07% in
adjacent areas and by 22.92% in undisturbed areas compared to reclaimed areas.
Species evenness was 29.75% higher in unreclaimed areas and 17.87% higher in
undisturbed areas compared to reclaimed areas. Land reclamation reduces species
diversity and evenness, and to a lesser extent, species richness.
Cities all over the world are edging further into the ocean. Coastal reclamation is a global conservation issue with implications for ocean life, ecosystems, and human well-being. Using Malaysia as a case study, the coastal reclamation trends over three decades (1991-2021) were mapped using Landsat images and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) via the Google Earth Engine platform. The changes in drivers and impacts of these coastal expansions throughout the decades were also reviewed. Twelve out of the 14 states in Malaysia had planned, active, or completed reclamations on their shorelines. Between 1991 and 2021, an absolute area of 82.64 km2 has been or will be reclaimed should all the projects be completed. The most reported driver for coastal expansion in Malaysia is for development and modernization (41 %), followed by rise in human population (20 %), monetary gains from the development of prime land (15 %), and agriculture and aquaculture activities (9 %). Drivers such as reduction of construction costs, financial advantage of prime land, oil and gas, advancement of technology, and tourism (Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H)) had only started occurring within the last decade, while others have been documented since the 1990's. Pollution is the most reported impact (24 %) followed by disruption of livelihoods, sources of income and human well-being (21 %), destruction of natural habitats (17 %), decrease in biodiversity (11 %), changes in landscapes (10 %), erosion / accretion (8 %), threat to tourism industry (6 %), and exposure to wave surges (3 %). Of these, changes in landscape, shoreline alignment, seabed contour, and coastal groundwater, as well as wave surges had only started to surface as impacts in the last two decades. Efforts to protect existing natural coastal and marine ecosystems, restore degraded ones, and fund endeavours that emphasize nature is needed to support sustainable development goals for the benefit of future generations.
A strategy to circumvent the problem of multidrug resistant pathogens is the discovery of anti-infectives targeting bacterial virulence or host immunity. Black sea cucumber (Holothuria atra) is a tropical sea cucumber species traditionally consumed as a remedy for many ailments. There is a paucity of knowledge on the anti-infective capacity of H. atra and the underlying mechanisms involved. The objective of this study is to utilize the Caenorhabditis elegans-P. aeruginosa infection model to elucidate the anti-infective properties of H. atra. A bioactive H. atra extract and subsequently its fraction were shown to have the capability of promoting the survival of C. elegans during a customarily lethal P. aeruginosa infection. The same entities also attenuate the production of elastase, protease, pyocyanin and biofilm in P. aeruginosa. The treatment of infected transgenic lys-7::GFP worms with this H. atra fraction restores the repressed expression of the defense enzyme lys-7, indicating an improved host immunity. QTOF-LCMS analysis revealed the presence of aspidospermatidine, an indole alkaloid, and inosine in this fraction. Collectively, our findings show that H. atra possesses anti-infective properties against P. aeruginosa infection, by inhibiting pathogen virulence and, eventually, reinstating host lys-7 expression.
Plastic pollution is both a societal and environmental problem and citizen science has shown to be a useful tool to engage both the public and professionals in addressing it. However, knowledge on the educational and behavioral impacts of citizen science projects focusing on marine litter remains limited. Our preregistered study investigates the impact of the citizen science project Citizen Observation of Local Litter in coastal ECosysTems (COLLECT) on the participants' ocean literacy, pro-environmental intentions and attitudes, well-being, and nature connectedness, using a pretest-posttest design. A total of 410 secondary school students from seven countries, in Africa (Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria) and Asia (Malaysia) were trained to sample plastics on sandy beaches and to analyze their collection in the classroom. Non-parametric statistical tests (n = 239 matched participants) demonstrate that the COLLECT project positively impacted ocean literacy (i.e., awareness and knowledge of marine litter, self-reported litter-reducing behaviors, attitudes towards beach litter removal). The COLLECT project also led to higher pro-environmental behavioral intentions for students in Benin and Ghana (implying a positive spillover effect) and higher well-being and nature connectedness for students in Benin. Results are interpreted in consideration of a high baseline in awareness and attitudes towards marine litter, a low internal consistency of pro-environmental attitudes, the cultural context of the participating countries, and the unique settings of the project's implementation. Our study highlights the benefits and challenges of understanding how citizen science impacts the perceptions and behaviors towards marine litter in youth from the respective regions.