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- Jones, Benjamin, 1991-
(författare)
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Of seagrass and society : Exploring contributions of tropical seagrass meadows to food security
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Conserving biodiversity while simultaneously feeding a growing population is one of the grand challenges of the Anthropocene. Recently, global assessments have shone a light on the importance of the marine environment for the supply of food (often termed blue food), as well as the diverse and many livelihood opportunities associated to it. Small-scale fisheries (SSF) are essential to this, in which the pursuit of fish and invertebrates are central. If we are to look to blue foods to tackle food insecurity, we need deeper understanding of how coastal habitats function at the nexus of biodiversity, people, and food. Simply put, we need to know how habitats contribute to the supply of food, both in terms of ecological functions and social-economic drivers. Seagrass meadows, diverse and abundant across the Indo-Pacific region, are one of numerous coastal ecosystems that provide food and livelihoods opportunities. Using these systems as a setting, this thesis aims to explore how seagrass meadows and their associated SSF contribute to food security. Comprised of five papers, this thesis relies on a mixed-methods approach to understand seagrass social-ecological systems. The papers range in their dependence on empirical data, their scale as well as the methods employed. Paper I used biodiversity ecosystem function theories to assess the influence of seagrass biota on the production of associated fish in the context of SSF in Tanzania. It highlighted that structural seagrass traits, rather than species richness, are key for driving the abundance and richness of species that are key for food. Paper II investigated the socio-economic drivers that influence seagrass use at the household level. It revealed that household use of seagrass meadows for food and income was higher than all other habitats, and that people use seagrass meadows because they are reliable. It also revealed that household income was key in shaping why people use seagrass meadows as fishing grounds, where both low- and high-income households were dependent on the habitat; low income as a safety-net and high income for high rewards. Paper III examined two key elements of food security, food quantity and quality, and revealed how seagrass meadows contribute to both in the context of micronutrients that are vital for human health. Data from across East Africa showed that seagrass meadows played a more important role than other habitats in providing micronutrient-rich fish species. Paper IV used local ecological knowledge to reveal perceived temporal change in fish and invertebrate abundance and size, but simultaneously identified potential contrasting cognitions that place human communities at risk. Finally, Paper V provided a synthesis of past studies that explored how certain sustainable development initiative result in unintended consequences that influence the supply of blue food. It revealed a number of unintended effects which place the people that use seagrass meadows at risk while at the same time lessening the positive effects of the sustainable development initiative itself. This thesis describes the dynamic interactions between biodiversity, people and food, and place seagrass meadows – habitats that exist globally – at the forefront of the blue food agenda. It highlights how seagrass meadows represent many of the qualities we hope for in a food system – a system that provides sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for multiple and diverse individuals across society.
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| 2. |
- Thalén, Lisa K., 1980-
(författare)
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Transition Metal- and Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions of Primary Amines and Allylic Alcohols : Powerful Tools in the Preparation of Pharmaceutically Important Compounds
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) has been applied to primary amines utilizing a ruthenium catalyst and an (R)-selective lipase to provide the corresponding amides in up to 95% isolated yield and up to >99% ee. Further investigations of the chemoenzymatic DKR of amines show that it is general and can be applied to a wide range of amines. The protocol was found to be applicable with both isopropyl acetate and dibenzyl carbonate as acyl donors. In the latter case, release of the free amine from the carbamate products was carried out under very mild conditions. A new route to prepare norsertraline, an antidepressant, utilizing DKR as one of the key steps has also been developed.Further investigations of the DKR of 1-phenylethylamine led to the development of a protocol that could be used on gram scale. Several parameters were studied including catalyst loading, acyl donor used, and concentration of the reaction. The Ru-catalyst loading was decreased from 4 mol% to 1.25 mol% and the enzyme catalyst loading was decreased from 40 mg/mmol substrate to 10 mg/mmol substrate.The racemization of pipecoloxylidide, an intermediate in the synthesis of commonly used anesthetics, was carried out. This racemization method was developed for its potential use in an integrated process that combines enantiomer separation techniques and racemization of the undesired enantiomer. The integration of racemization of the undesired enantiomer would increase the overall yield of the desired enantiomer and thus make the procedure highly efficient.DKR has also been applied to allylic alcohols utilizing a ruthenium catalyst and either an (R)-selective lipase or an (S)-selective protease to provide the corresponding allylic esters in high yield and high ee. A copper-catalyzed allylic substitution was then applied to provide the corresponding alkenes with inversion of stereochemistry. Subsequent C-C double bond cleavage afforded pharmaceutically important a-methyl substituted carboxylic acids in high ee.
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