Climate change and variability are known to have an influence on human wellbeing in a variety of ways. In Latin America, such forces are especially conspicuous, particularly in respect of extreme climatological, hydrological, and weather events (EWEs) and climate-sensitive disasters (CSDs). Consistent with the need to study further such connections, this paper presents an analysis of some of the vulnerabilities of environmental health issues and climate-related impacts that are focusing on EWEs and CSDs in Latin American countries. The research includes an analysis of the (i) human and socio-economic development; (ii) geographical and socio-economic determinants of vulnerability and adaptability of environmental health issues (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity); (iii) occurrence of CSDs from 1988 to 2017 and their direct impacts on human wellbeing (Total death and Affected people); (iv) an online survey on the perceptions of the effects of EWEs on human wellbeing in a sample of countries in the region; and (v) discussion of possible solutions. The socio-economic and development indices, and the International Disaster Database (EM-DAT) and Climate-Risk Index (CRI) disaster statistics suggest that the impacts of CSDs are primarily related to socio-economic determinants of human wellbeing and health inequalities. Also, >80% respondents to the survey say that the leading causes of climate-related human impacts are the lack of (i) public awareness; (ii) investment and (iii) preparedness. The paper concludes by adding some suggestions that show how countries in Latin America may better cope with the impacts of Climate-sensitive Disasters.

In this work 228 individuals of the whitemouth croaker Micropogonias furnieri collected in the Rocha coastal lagoon (Uruguay) from October 1997 to September 1998 were analysed. The species formed annuli in the otolith (sagitta) associated with the opaque zone (narrow opaque annulus), mainly in early winter when water temperature decreased, and reached the lowest values in July–August. The period of greatest growth occurred from December to June, partially overlapping with the spawning period (December–March) and in coincidence with the increase in marginal increment. Growth parameters determined for all individuals were K = 0.19, L_∞ = 30.2 and t₀ = −2.12. Annual growth increments showed that individuals grew rapidly and attained over 50% of their maximum observed size in the second year of life. In the third year, individuals attained sizes of first maturity at 11–12 cm less than estimates for the Río de la Plata spawning area and coastal areas of Brazil. The increment in length-at-age in the Rocha coastal lagoon was smaller than in individuals inhabiting the continental shelf (up to 50 m depth).

Revista da Gest?o Costeira Integrada

Revista da Gest?o Costeira Integrada

The otoliths of teleosts are part of the inner ear. They are related to the balance system and are also mechanical components of sound transmission, responsible for hearing in fish. Their morphology is determined by the function they perform and is also influenced by environmental factors. In this context, our goal was to: analyse the possible morphological changes of sagitta otoliths of Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest, 1823) during its ontogeny, based on six biometric indexes. We analysed 162 sagittae otoliths of Micropogonias furnieri collected in the Rio de la Plata estuary. The variation of the indexes was associated with the different size groups. Rectangularity and aspect ratio [otolith length/total fish length (OL/TL) and sulcus area/otolith area (SA/OA)] were the indexes that contributed the most to the discriminant function. Biometric index differences were related to diverse juvenile environments. The observed shift in the SA/OA relationship could be attributable to a need to respond to a change in the perception of sound (pulse and frequency) experienced by individuals larger than 20 cm that begin to frequent the same areas as spawning adults. In this sense, the ontogenetic morphological change of sagitta otoliths plays an important role in perception and acoustic communication for this species.