This study describes the fundamentals of assessing the vulnerability of coral islands, as well as environmental management and resource exploitation. Using seabird subfossils, such as bones, guano, eggshells etc., which have been well preserved on the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, the author identifies the influences of climate change and human activity on seabird populations and diets. Understanding the past is of great importance for predicting the future, and seabird subfossils provide valuable information, which can be used to study changes in seabird ecology, paleoceanography and palaeoclimate. Furthermore, this study proposes examining the biogeochemical cycling of some elements present in the geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere.

Dr. Liqiang Xu works at the Hefei University of Technology, China.

Auteur

Previous degree: BSc, 2007, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China

Prize and awards: 1. Qiu Shi Graduate Student Scholarship 2. Outstanding Graduate of University of Science and Technology of China 3. Outstanding Graduate of Anhui province 4. Chinese Academy of Sciences Presidential Scholarship 5. Outstanding PhD dissertation of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Publications: 1. Xu L.Q., Liu X.D., Jiang S. Late-Holocene seabird palaeodietary record from Ganquan Island, South China Sea. Quaternary International, doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2014.01.001, 2014. (SCI) 2. Xu L.Q., Liu X.D., Sun L.G., Liu W.Q., 2012. Rapid identification of source materials in coral sand ornithogenic sediments by reflectance spectroscopy. Ecological Indicators 23: 517-523, 2012. (SCI) 3. Xu L.Q., Liu X.D., Sun L.G, Chen Q.Q, Yan H., Liu Y., Luo Y.H., Huang J. A 700-year record of mercury in avian eggshells of Guangjin Island, South China Sea. Environmental Pollution 159: 889-896, 2011. (SCI) 4. Xu L.Q., Liu X.D., Sun L.G., Yan H., Liu Y., Luo Y.H., Huang J. Geochemical evidence for the development of coral island ecosystem in the Xisha Archipelago of South China Sea from four ornithogenic sediment profiles. Chemical Geology 286: 135-145, 2011. (SCI) 5. Xu L.Q., Liu X.D., Sun L.G., Yan H., Liu Y., Luo Y.H., Huang J. A 2200-year record of seabird population on Ganquan Island, South China Sea. Acta Geologica Sinica-English Edition 85(4): 957-967, 2011. (SCI) 6. Xu L.Q., Liu X.D., Sun L.G., Yan H., Liu Y., Luo Y.H., Huang J., Wang Y.H. Distribution of radionuclides in the guano sediments of Xisha Islands, South China Sea and its implication. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 101: 362-368, 2010. (SCI) 7. Liu X.D., Xu L.Q., Chen Q.Q., Sun L.G., Wang Y.H., Yan H., Liu Y., Luo Y.H., Huang J. Historical change of mercury pollution in remote Yongle archipelago, South China Sea. Chemosphere 87: 549-556, 2012. (SCI) 8. Liu X.D., Xu L.Q., Sun L.G., Liu F., Wang Y.H., Yan H., Liu Y., Luo Y.H., Huang J. A 400-year record of black carbon flux in the Xisha archipelago, South China Sea and its implications. Marine Pollution Bulletin 62: 2205-2212, 2011. (SCI) 9. Chen Q.Q., Liu X.D.,Xu L.Q., Sun L.G., Yan H., Liu Y., Luo Y.H., Huang J. 2012. High levels of methylmercury in guano and ornithogenic coral sand sediments on Xisha Islands, South China Sea. Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology63(2): 177-188,2012. (SCI) 10. Liu X.D., Lou C.N., Xu L.Q., Sun L.G. Distribution and bioavailability of cadmium in ornithogenic coral-sand sediments of the Xisha archipelago, South China Sea. Environmental Pollution 168: 151-160, 2012. (SCI) 11. Liu X.D., Jiang S., Zhang P.F., Xu L.Q. Effect of recent climate change on Arctic Pb pollution: A comparative study of historical records in lake and peat sediments." Environmental Pollution 160: 161-168, 2012. (SCI) 12. Jiang S., Liu X.D.*, XuL.Q., Sun L.G. The changes of pigment contents and their environmental implications in the lake sediments of Ny-lesund, Svalbard, the Arctic. Chinese Journal of Polar Science 21(1): 60-70, 2010.

Contenu

Introduction.- Research contents and methodology.- Study area and sample collection.- Chronology.- Geochemical evidence for the development of coral island ecosystem in the Xisha archipelago of the South China Sea.- A 2200-year record of seabird population on Ganquan Island, South China Sea.- Isotopic evidence for seabird diet changes over the past 2000 years in the Xisha Islands.- Evidence of human activities from the ornithogenic sediments of the Xisha Islands.- A preliminary study of ancient DNA in guano subfossils from the Xisha Islands.- Conclusions.