ORCID Profile
0000-0003-3070-2890
Current Organisation
University of Tasmania
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Publisher: Sciencedomain International
Date: 29-05-2021
DOI: 10.9734/AJFAR/2021/V12I330237
Abstract: This report outlines a study undertaken at Minamisanriku, a small coastal village on the East Coast of Honshu, Japan, in late 2018. The area relies heavily on fisheries and aquaculture for economic stability. While there, scientists, community leaders and in iduals involved in the fisheries and aquaculture industry were interviewed to gain a qualitative understanding of the impacts of the 2011 tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, particularly on the oyster industry and aquaculture in general in the region. The tsunami completely disrupted aquaculture operations, with a 93% loss of infrastructure. Consequently, stakeholders were presented with an opportunity to restructure in some way as they rebuilt the industry. The resulting 66% reduction in some species densities within aquaculture lots has subsequently led to increased sustainability and increased product quality. Those gains, paired with reduced material cost and efforts, have together resulted in a more socio-ecologically responsible aquaculture operation. This operation now generates at least same amount of revenue as pre-tsunami.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-11-2021
DOI: 10.1111/PCE.14206
Abstract: Reproductive success largely defines the fitness of plant species. Understanding how heat and drought affect plant reproduction is thus key to predicting future plant fitness under rising global temperatures. Recent work suggests reproductive tissues are highly vulnerable to water stress in perennial plants where reproductive sacrifice could preserve plant survival. However, most crop species are annuals where such a strategy would theoretically reduce fitness. We examined the reproductive strategy of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum var . Rheinlands Ruhm) to determine whether water supply to fruits is prioritized above vegetative tissues during drought. Using optical methods, we mapped xylem cavitation and tissue shrinkage in vegetative and reproductive organs during dehydration to determine the priority of water flow under acute water stress. Stems and peduncles of tomato showed significantly greater xylem cavitation resistance than leaves. This maintenance of intact water supply enabled tomato fruit to continue to expand during acute water stress, utilizing xylem water made available by tissue collapse and early cavitation of leaves. Here, tomato plants prioritize water supply to reproductive tissues, maintaining fruit development under drought conditions. These results emphasize the critical role of water transport in shaping life history and suggest a broad relevance of hydraulic prioritization in plant ecology.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 22-03-2023
DOI: 10.1093/AOB/MCAD048
Abstract: Many annual grasses exhibit drought-avoiding life cycles in which rapid reproduction must be completed before soil water is exhausted. This strategy would seem to require a hydraulic system capable of sustaining reproduction at all costs to the rest of the plant, yet little is known about the whole-plant structure of hydraulic vulnerability in grasses. We examine vulnerability to water-stress-induced xylem cavitation in roots, flag leaves, and basal and apical regions of peduncles of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Krichauff’) to understand the staged failure of xylem function in severe drought. The functionality of segmented vulnerabilities is tested by conducting rehydration experiments after acute dehydration. We show that water supply to peduncles is more drought resistant than in leaves due to greater xylem cavitation resistance, ensuring a pathway of water can be maintained from the roots to the reproductive tissues even after severe water deficit. Differential rehydration of peduncles compared to leaves following drought confirmed the functionality of xylem supply from roots to seed after water stress sufficient to completely cavitate flag leaf vessels. These results demonstrate that a proportion of the hydraulic pathway between roots and seeds remains functional under extreme dehydration, suggesting that vulnerability traits in this key grass species reflect its reproductive strategy.
Publisher: Sciencedomain International
Date: 31-05-2021
DOI: 10.9734/JSRR/2021/V27I430378
Abstract: The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami had a catastrophic effect on the aquaculture industry of the North-East Japanese coast. Ten years on, this paper examines the environmental and economic impacts of this disaster within the context of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. Following structural damage to the Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Daiichi plant, fisheries and aquaculture industries were suspended, given the initially high radio caesium output into the coastal water column. Daily radiation testing began on all fisheries products, with tentative industry resuming within the Fukushima prefecture once radiation had dropped below the 50 Bq/kg, as stipulated by the Fukushima Fisheries Association. Routine testing continues biweekly (at least until March 2021). As of May 2016, 73 fish species were passed for consumption. The rapid functional recovery of the fisheries industry has been mediated by two factors, the sedimentation characteristics of the caesium isotopes and deposition of isotopes out to sea in an Easterly direction, given the interaction of oceanic currents. While the aquaculture industry may have recovered and food reduced to safe radiation levels, the disaster continues to exert a domestic and international economic impact given the stigma of Fukushima radiation.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-06-2023
DOI: 10.1111/NPH.19017
Abstract: The propagation of xylem embolism throughout the root systems of drought‐affected plants remains largely unknown, despite this process being comparatively well characterized in aboveground tissues. We used optical and X‐ray imaging to capture xylem embolism propagation across the intact root systems of bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. ‘Krichauff’) plants subjected to drying. Patterns in vulnerability to xylem cavitation were examined to investigate whether vulnerability may vary based on root size and placement across the entire root system. In idual plants exhibited similar mean whole root system vulnerabilities to xylem cavitation but showed enormous 6 MPa variation within their component roots ( c . 50 roots per plant). Xylem cavitation typically initiated in the smallest, peripheral parts of the root system and moved inwards and upwards towards the root collar last, although this trend was highly variable. This pattern of xylem embolism spread likely results in the sacrifice of replaceable small roots while preserving function in larger, more costly central roots. A distinct pattern of embolism‐spread belowground has implications for how we understand the impact of drought in the root system as a critical interface between plant and soil.
No related grants have been discovered for Beatrice Harrison Day.