The ecosystem of the Datan algal reef in Taoyuan would face “a complete breakdown” if a natural gas plant is built in the area, researchers said on Tuesday.
Wen Guo-zhang (溫國彰), a professor in Tunghai University’s Department of Life Science, said research shows that the G2 and Yongan (永安) sites have the most biodiversity on the reef.
However, comparisons with a 2013 study show that biodiversity and populations in the areas have decreased, with the most likely cause being development of the coastal area in Guanyin District (觀音) in Taoyuan’s Datan Borough (大潭), Wen said.
Photo provided by Wen Guo-zhang
Immediate conservation efforts are needed to protect the reef, he said.
Academia Sinica Biodiversity Research Center assistant researcher Lin Chien-hsiang (林千翔) said that the research found more than 100 otoliths — ear bones that help fish orientate themselves and maintain their balance — near the reef.
This was the first time otoliths have been found in such a sedimentary environment, Lin said.
The number of otoliths found at the G2 site is an indication that the area is home to the most diverse number of fish, he said.
Department of Life Science professor Lin Hui-zhen (林惠真) said that the coastal habitats — including algal reefs, sand, mud, tributary outlets and coastal forests — are home to at least 52 crab species, of which 17 are found near algal reefs.
However, planned construction of a receiving station for CPC Corp, Taiwan’s third liquefied natural gas terminal would change underwater currents, which would affect habitats, possibly causing marine creatures to move or disappear altogether, she said.
Liu Shao-lun (劉少倫), a professor at Tunghai University’s Center for Tropical Ecology and Biodiversity, said that their results show that the reef is an important ecological habitat for the Taoyuan coastal fishery industry.
The reef might also be a midway point for schools of fish moving from Penghu to the northeastern coast of Taiwan proper, Liu said.
A planned 3km to 4km dike to protect the station would be eroded by waves and lead to sedimentary deposits that would affect the area within 9km, he said.
“If the receiving station is completed, the algal reef ecosystem will face a complete breakdown,” Liu said.
Biodiversity Research Center assistant researcher Lin Tzu-hao (林子皓) said that construction of the facility would shatter the perfection of the ecological system and greatly disturb marine animal activity, prolonging recovery of the algal reef.
As low-frequency noises travel a long way in water, it is possible that the area would be affected during the construction process, Lin Tzu-hao said.
Their results are to be published in the Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems journal, the researchers said.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by