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Billi, M., Mascareno, A., Henriquez, P. A., Rodriguez, I., Padilla, F., & Ruz, G. A. (2022). Learning from crises? The long and winding road of the salmon industry in Chiloe Island, Chile. Mar. Pol., 140, 105069.
Abstract: The rapid development of salmon aquaculture worldwide and the growing criticism of the activity in recent decades have raised doubts about the capacity of the sector to learn from its own crises. In this article, we assess the discursive, behavioral and outcome performance dimensions of the industry to identify actual learning and lessons to be learned. We focus on the case of Chiloe Island, Chile, a global center of salmon production since 1990 that has gone through two severe crises in the last 15 years (2007-2009 ISAV crisis and 2016 red tide crisis). On the basis of a multi-method approach combining qualitative analysis of interviews and statistical data analysis, we observe that the industry has discursively learned the relevance of both self-regulation and the wellbeing of communities. However, at the behavioral and outcome performance levels, the data show a highly heterogeneous conduct that questions the ability of the sector as a whole to learn from crises. We conclude that detrimental effects for ecosystems and society will increase if learning remains at the level of discourses. Without significant changes in operational practices and market performance there are no real perspectives for the sustainability of the industry. This intensifies when considering the uneven responses to governance mechanisms. The sector needs to adapt its factual performance to sustainable goals and reflexively monitor this process. The first step for achieving this is to produce reliable data to make evidence-based decisions that align the operational dynamics of the entire sector with a more sustainable trajectory in the near future, as well as advancing towards hybrid and more reflexive governance arrangements.
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Cardenas, C., Guzman, F., Carmona, M., Munoz, C., Nilo, L., Labra, A., et al. (2020). Synthetic Peptides as a Promising Alternative to Control Viral Infections in Atlantic Salmon. Pathogens, 9(8), 600.
Abstract: Viral infections in salmonids represent an ongoing challenge for the aquaculture industry. Two RNA viruses, the infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) and the infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV), have become a latent risk without healing therapies available for either. In this context, antiviral peptides emerge as effective and relatively safe therapeutic molecules. Based on in silico analysis of VP2 protein from IPNV and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from ISAV, a set of peptides was designed and were chemically synthesized to block selected key events in their corresponding infectivity processes. The peptides were tested in fish cell lines in vitro, and four were selected for decreasing the viral load: peptide GIM182 for IPNV, and peptides GIM535, GIM538 and GIM539 for ISAV. In vivo tests with the IPNV GIM 182 peptide were carried out using Salmo salar fish, showing a significant decrease of viral load, and proving the safety of the peptide for fish. The results indicate that the use of peptides as antiviral agents in disease control might be a viable alternative to explore in aquaculture.`
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Mascareno, A., Cordero, R., Azocar, G., Billi, M., Henriquez, P. A., & Ruz, G. A. (2018). Controversies in social-ecological systems: lessons from a major red tide crisis on Chiloe Island, Chile. Ecol. Soc., 23(4), 25 pp.
Abstract: Connecting the discussions on resilience and governance of social-ecological systems (SESs) with the sociological analysis of social controversies, we explore a major red tide crisis on Chiloe Island, southern Chile, in 2016. Theoretically, we argue that controversies not only are methodological devices for the observation of the complex relations between nature and society in moments of crisis, but also are materially embedded in the SES dynamics and can work for or against systemic resilience. Empirically, we show that Chiloe's SES is an unstable regime prone to sudden shifts and identify the configuration of different lock-in mechanisms expressed in the reproduction of structural fragilities over the last three decades. From the examination of the social controversies on the 2016 red tide crisis, we draw several lessons. First, there is a complex interplay of visible and hidden fragilities of Chiloe's SES that, while being ignored or their resolution postponed to the future, materialize in the daily experience of inhabitants as a series of historical disappointments. Second, the unfolding of Chiloe's social-ecological crises involves epistemic disputes not only over concrete events but also on the very construction of the SES as a social-natural reality. In turn, this creates conditions for the emergence of strategic alignments between local, national, and transnational actors and shows the extent to which the socio-political articulation of knowledge may contribute to either improve or block the governance of the SES. Third, the social resources that came to light with the controversies reveal pathways for improving the governance regime of Chiloe Island's SES. This dimension highlights the normative relevance of commitments to recognize multiple scales of knowledge and articulate a plurality of actors in a nonhierarchical logic of cooperation.
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Osores, S. J. A., Lagos, N. A., Martin, V. S., Manriquez, P. H., Vargas, C. A., Torres, R., et al. (2017). Plasticity and inter-population variability in physiological and life-history traits of the mussel Mytilus chilensis: A reciprocal transplant experiment. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 490, 1–12.
Abstract: Geographically widespread species must cope with environmental differences between habitats. Information concerning geographic variations in response to climate variability is critical because many morphological, life history and physiological traits show variation across space. Reciprocal transplant experiments have shown to be relevant to evaluate the role of phenotypic plasticity and potential local adaptation in ecophysiological responses when coping with environmental variability. In this study, we characterize through reciprocal transplant experiments the reaction norms of morphological, biochemical, physiological and life-history traits between two intertidal populations of the socioeconomically important mussel Mytilus chilensis, inhabiting contrasting local environments (estuarine vs coastal habitats). We found a gradient in phenotypic plasticity with plastic trait responses in metabolic, ingestion and clearance rates, and in HsP(70) gene expression, and some traits with responses more canalized as growth and calcification rates. This emphasizes that responses not only vary across different local populations but also in different traits in M. chilensis, thus it is difficult to establish an overall trend of the responses at integrated organismal level. Moreover, the synergistic interaction of factors such as salinity and carbonate system parameters evaluated make it necessary to study the response at the population level with emphasis on benthic species important in aquaculture. Finally, field studies such as this one are useful for documenting the patterns of traits variation that occur in nature, identifying possible causes of such variation, and generating testable hypotheses for future controlled experiments. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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