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Local France
12-03-2025
- Science
- Local France
Lake Geneva's fish threatened by warming waters: experts
"Little by little, the lake's temperature is increasing," contributing to a lack of oxygen in its depths, said Nicole Gallina, corporate secretary of the International Commission for the Protection of the Waters of Lake Geneva (CIPEL). CIPEL is a joint French-Swiss organisation that monitors the picturesque, crescent-shaped body of water shared between both countries. France's National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment analyses water samples collected by CIPEL. "If there is less and less oxygen in the water, there is less and less viable space for living organisms," explained Viet Tran-Khac, laboratory manager at the research institute's facility in the Thonon-les-Bains, on the lake's southern shore. Typically in winter, the surface temperatures cool to a density comparable with the lake's deeper layers, facilitating a mixing of waters between the levels. This natural cycle is essential for maintaining aquatic ecosystems as it transfers oxygen to the lake's lower levels. However, this full-scale winter mixing is becoming rare, as ever-milder winters, which scientists attribute to global warming, prevent the surface waters from cooling sufficiently. "With climate change, we no longer have the extremely cold winters needed for this natural mixing to take place,' Gallina told AFP. In the current winter, the minimum average temperature measured in the top 10 metres (30 feet) of the lake was 7.8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahreinheit): an increase of 1.5C compared to the 1991-2020 reference period. New record Data published Wednesday by CIPEL showed that, this year, the waters only mixed down to a depth of 110 metres -- but the lake's deepest point is 309 metres down. Thirteen consecutive winters without complete mixing marks a "historic record", warned Gallina, surpassing the previous longest spell set between 1987 and 1999. "During the last complete mixing in 2012, the oxygen level in the deep waters was seven milligrammes per litre," the biologist said. It has now dropped to 2.4 mg per litre -- below the critical threshold of four mg necessary for living organisms. However, Gallina stressed there remained "hope" for the re-oxygenation of deep waters. Last year, a study by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology university in Lausanne showed that the complete vertical mixing in 2012 also benefited from lateral mixing flows -- a phenomenon which was previously unknown. However, an entire ecosystem is starting to change, warned CIPEL. The lack of oxygen also impacts the growth of phytoplankton plants, which are eaten by zooplankton organisms -- which themselves serve as the food base for fish. The future of Arctic char, fera and other emblematic Lake Geneva fish is under threat. "Salmonids like fera need cold water to spawn. Before, it spawned at a depth of three to six metres; now it spawns at 20 to 25 metres," said Alexandre Fayet, president of the Swiss inter- cantonal association of professional Lake Geneva fishermen. "For the moment, we are not too worried" but "we are trying to diversify and commercialise fish that like warmer and less oxygenated waters, such as carp, tench and bream," he told AFP. 'Transformation' phase LeXPLORE, a floating scientific platform, has been carrying out research on Lake Geneva since 2019, studying 44 different parameters down to a depth of 110 metres. Natacha Tofield-Pasche, its project manager, said that besides the rising lake temperatures, global warming also leads to "extreme events" that wash a lot of polluting particles down into Lake Geneva, as witnessed during major floods last year in Switzerland's Wallis region. Such events can also knock out wastewater treatment plants, while the lake provides drinking water to around a million people. CIPEL is "very worried because it sees that Lake Geneva is going through a transformation phase," marked by long periods without complete mixing, said Gallina. Added to this are other challenges, such as pollution invisible ot the naked eye, such as micropollutants and microplastics, or the invasion of quagga mussels. In addition, high heat episodes increase the risk of proliferation of cyanobacteria, which can be toxic. The lack of mixing also promotes the accumulation of nutrients such as phosphorus in deep waters. In the event of increasingly exceptional complete mixing, the phosphorus could rise to the surface, causing algae blooms.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Scientists reveal how a new strategy in Africa is having unprecedented success — here's what it's accomplished
In an effort to conserve nature and reduce deforestation, several African countries have teamed up with non-governmental organizations to co-manage protected areas. According to a press release by France's National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE), the collaborative management strategy includes 127 partnerships that span 1 million square kilometers (more than 386,000 square miles) across 16 countries. An international research team from INRAE and Le Havre University investigated how much of an effect the management models had on deforestation rates. The findings, published in the journal PNAS, showed that protected areas saw a 55% reduction in deforestation, while the most vulnerable protected areas experienced 66% less tree removal. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. As sub-Saharan Africa houses 13% of the world's biodiversity and around 20% of its forests, per the news release, governments established the continent's first protected area in 1925 to safeguard these immense natural resources. Following the conservation of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, government bodies created thousands of other protected areas. However, underfunding and ineffective management have made it difficult for governments to oversee such vast wilderness. To fill the management gap, co-management initiatives have sprung up over the last two decades between several African states and NGOs. Through these collaborative management partnerships, NGOs manage thousands of square kilometers across several states for 25 to 40 years. INRAE stated that NGOs normally support projects for just 2-5 years, so this long-term partnership will provide even more benefits for people and the environment. Funds from the partnership will go toward training staff and park rangers, building roads and tourism infrastructure, and installing power plants near the Virunga and Garamba Parks to boost living conditions for communities. Researchers noted that these investments in energy development and staff recruiting have made the biggest difference in the protected areas most threatened by human activities. The findings prove that co-management between governments and NGOs can play a critical role in preserving biodiversity and ecosystems in the long term. Other conservation efforts have borne fruit in South Africa, where a private reserve released at-risk southern white rhinos to boost the population, and an urban farm restored a huge forest area. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
