New Hope for the Oceans: Engaging Faith-Based Communities in Marine Conservation

Science alone cannot protect the oceans and their biological diversity. Whereas, scientists can identify problems and empirical steps toward their resolution, support for research, problem solving, and implementation of solutions must come from societal sources. Among the most promising are religious communities whose members are motivated by their faith to collaborate with marine scientists in achieving shared goals. Many reasons prevail for engaging faith communities in mitigating assaults on the oceans and protecting them from threats to their functioning. Participants in the open forum convened by the Religion and Conservation Biology Working Group of the Society for Conservation Biology during the 4th International Marine Conservation Congress shared their insights on (1) why and how marine researchers and conservation practitioners can best involve faith communities, (2) actions and attitudes that deter constructive engagement with faith communities, and (3) ways forward that the SCB should consider facilitating. Among ways forward identified are the Best Practices Project initiated recently by the RCBWG, adding cultural values and ethics as disciplines SCB members should probe when addressing conservation problems, regularly including cultural values and ethics in panels with other disciplines at international and regional SCB congresses, and appointing an associate editor of SCB publications who will assure the inclusion of articles in which religious and spiritual worldviews, values, and ethics are integrated with the conservation sciences

Peningkatan Keterampilan Berpikir Kritis pada Konsep Biota Laut menuju Pembangunan Berkelanjutan melalui Pembelajaran Berbasis Proyek

The study aim to enhance students’ critical thinking skills, in marine biota concepts, for sustainable development. This research was using project-based learning. This study used a quasi-experimental method with one group pretest posttest design. A total of 31 biology student teachers in one of Central Kalimantan University who were studying marine ecology participated in this study. The instrument used two tier multiple choice test and essay test: Project based learning activities consist of: 1) project orientation, 2) identifying and defining projects, 3) designing project plan, 4) implementing the designed project and observations, 5) documenting and report of the project findings, 6) reporting the results of project implementation and evaluating for next project activities. The results showed that every critical thinking skills indicator of the aspect of considering the credibility of the source, inducing and considering the results of the induction, identifying assumptions, determining an action, observing and considering a report on the results of observations, had a significant difference (p=0,000). These indicated that project based learning on the concept of marine biota in sustainable development is effective to improve students critical thinking skill

Peningkatan Keterampilan Berpikir Kritis pada Konsep Biota Laut menuju Pembangunan Berkelanjutan melalui Pembelajaran Berbasis Proyek

The study aim to enhance students’ critical thinking skills, in marine biota concepts, for sustainable development. This research was using project-based learning. This study used a quasi-experimental method with one group pretest posttest design. A total of 31 biology student teachers in one of Central Kalimantan University who were studying marine ecology participated in this study. The instrument used two tier multiple choice test and essay test: Project based learning activities consist of: 1) project orientation, 2) identifying and defining projects, 3) designing project plan, 4) implementing the designed project and observations, 5) documenting and report of the project findings, 6) reporting the results of project implementation and evaluating for next project activities. The results showed that every critical thinking skills indicator of the aspect of considering the credibility of the source, inducing and considering the results of the induction, identifying assumptions, determining an action, observing and considering a report on the results of observations, had a significant difference (p=0,000). These indicated that project based learning on the concept of marine biota in sustainable development is effective to improve students critical thinking skill

Living Marine Invertebrates: An Interactive CD-ROM

Invertebrates comprise 95% of all animal life on the Earth and dominate the world\u27s oceans so some knowledge of their biology and ecology is fundamental to a student\u27s understanding of the planet\u27s ecosystems. Invertebrates are covered in many university-level courses ranging from traditional invertebrate zoology classes to those emphasizing general introductory biology, marine biology, oceanography, and biodiversity, to name a few. Invertebrates are represented by a dizzying array of body forms and morphological variations as well as complex feeding, locomotory, and other behaviors that are difficult to describe and illustrate. Virtually all textbooks represent invertebrates with line drawings and photographs in an encyclopedic manner that provide students with little or no sense of their position and/or behavior in natural habitats. No multimedia products are available on the market today that provide students with a means to observe most invertebrate groups, their respective body plans and behaviors. This project is developing a prototype interactive CD-ROM containing digital videotape sequences of selected living marine invertebrates with an emphasis on the body plans and locomotory and feeding behavior of two major groups. We are building on several years of experience in videotaping living invertebrates under both natural and simulated field conditions and have access to a multitude of marine habitats and state-of-the-art culture facilities for conducting the project. The prototype is being tested by visiting undergraduate students from 30 universities that use our teaching and research facilities. Additional testing of the prototype will occur at a national meeting of invertebrate zoologists

HERMIONE news

11 páginasSince the start of the HERMES and the HERMIONE projects, the margin of the Bay of Biscay has received special attention with respect to benthic ecosystems and sedimentary processes. The area is also known to be the historical cradle of cold-water coral studies by Joubin (1922) and Le Danois (1948). Already at that time the relationship between cold-water corals and fisheries were being discussed (with corals being a nuisance for fisheries!). Having performed previous work in the Whittard canyon (R/V Belgica 2006) and the Guilvinec canyon (R/V Belgica 2008), a joint marine geology and biology cruise was organized by the Renard Centre of Marine Geology and the Section of Marine Biology from Ghent University from 7 to 28 June 2010. The first leg (7-16 June, Zeebrugge-La Rochelle) focused on the Guilvinec canyon, while the second leg (19-28 June, La Rochelle-Zeebrugge) revisited several sites in the central Whittard canyon. The main objectives of this cruise were to (a) map and observe cold-water coral ecosystems on the canyon flanks with ROV Genesis, (b) obtain hydrographic data from CTD casts and water samples and (c) perform seabed multicoring for biology (descriptive and experimental research), biogeochemistry and sedimentology. In total, 23 scientists participated in this cruise, representing 10 institutes, among which were IFREMER, University College Cork and IFM-GeoMAR.The HERMIONE project is funded by the European Commission's Framework 7 Programme, under the theme "Environment (including climate change)". EC contract no. 226354.Peer reviewe

Natural History Specimen Collections

The Fish Collection described in this document was transferred in 1992 to the Fish Collection of the University of Texas at Austin in Austin (at that time administratively in the Texas Memorial Museum, but at the time of publication of this digital version of the document it is one (https://biodiversity.utexas.edu/resources/collections/ichthyology) of the Biodiversity Collections in the University's Biodiversity Center (https://biodiversity.utexas.edu/). Thus, the data on the specimens in the Fish Collection described here are now included in the data published to GBIF (https://www.gbif.org/dataset/6080b6cc-1c24-41ff-ad7f-0ebe7b56f311) and other global biodiversity data aggregators by the UT Biodiversity Center's Fish Collection. The same data are also included in the Fishes of Texas Project (http://fishesoftexas.org - Hendrickson, Dean A., and Adam E. Cohen. 2015. “Fishes of Texas Project Database (Version 2.0)” doi:10.17603/C3WC70). Some of the UTMSI Fish Collection specimens remained at the UT Marine Science Insitute on long-term loan from 1992 until sometime in 2017 when the MSI disposed of all remaining specimens (including also Invertebrates). Some were disposed of by a professional HazMat company, but many were apparently taken to the Smithsonian Institution's (USNM) division of Invertebrate Biology. The fate of fish specimens, however, remains unresolved, but the Ichthyology Division at USNM had no knowledge of them at the time this report was archived here. Dean A. Hendrickson, Curator of Ichthyology, UT Austin, May 1, 2019The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas Marine Laboratory, Natural History Collection of Marine Organisms was initiated in the mid-1940's. Since that time specimens have been added from studies in the Gulf of Mexico, associated estuaries, and marine-influenced terrestrial habitats, with emphasis on the Texas and Mexico coasts. These studies were the baseline surveys for this area and have resulted in the collection of valuable marine organisms. The collection now holds approximately 5,000 catalogued specimens including all forms of biota, vertebrates, invertebrates, algae and flowering plants. The collection includes the marine fish and invertebrate specimens of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, incorporated into the UTMSI-PAML collection in 1976. This state collection, numbering 3,000, is composed primarily of Texas Gulf coast species of fish and invertebrates, representing baseline surveys conducted by the state fisheries biologists. With this collection are card catalogues by specimen number and phylogenetic order. Other collections incorporated are those from R/V Oregon cruises (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, exploratory fishing vessel), H. H. Hildebrand's faunal surveys of the brown and pink shrimp grounds , Whitten et al.'s faunal survey of Texas coast jetties , J. W. Hedgepeth’s specimens collected during numerous faunal surveys, tide trap studies, and vegetation and algal surveys. Noteworthy studies from which specimens have been added to the collection are listed in Table 1. The museum collection is housed in an air-conditioned building in a room specifically designed for this collection. The present facility contains 924 square feet with 1089 square feet of shelf space, which can be trebled to accommodate BLM collections. There are at present 32 1' x 12' shelves, totaling 384 square feet; 194 18" x 12-1/2" shelves, totaling 303 square feet; and 120 11-1/2" x 42" shelves, totaling 402 5 square feet. The collection is a working museum open to the scientific community; specimens are available on loan to members of this community. Specimens may be used by visiting researchers, graduate-level students, professors, and classes. Attached is an invoice form, "Invoice of Specimens" - a standard form used for loan of collection items. The Port Aransas Marine Laboratory is committed to the continuing curation of specimens and will continue to provide the supplies necessary to maintain the natural history specimen collections. The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas Marine Laboratory is willing to incorporate the Bureau of Land Management collection into its collection. Funding is requested from BLM to obtain and incorporate all archived BLM specimens from the S.T.O.C.S. survey into the collection.Integrative Biolog

Valuation of marine and coastal ecosystems: The role of ecological-economic modeling

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Economics from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsThe main objective of this work project is to highlight the progress made in the field of ecological-economic modeling of marine and coastal ecosystems, in particular, by stressing the need to incorporate more realistic biology as well as the spatial dimension in integrated models for sustainable coastal management. The discussion undertaken is based on a recent application of an integrated ecological-economic model that is spatially explicit by Altman et al. (2012), and should provide guidance to the GOI’s research project to the Peniche-Nazaré study site in the Portuguese coast

Understanding life together: A brief history of collaboration in biology

AbstractThe history of science shows a shift from single-investigator ‘little science’ to increasingly large, expensive, multinational, interdisciplinary and interdependent ‘big science’. In physics and allied fields this shift has been well documented, but the rise of collaboration in the life sciences and its effect on scientific work and knowledge has received little attention. Research in biology exhibits different historical trajectories and organisation of collaboration in field and laboratory – differences still visible in contemporary collaborations such as the Census of Marine Life and the Human Genome Project. We employ these case studies as strategic exemplars, supplemented with existing research on collaboration in biology, to expose the different motives, organisational forms and social dynamics underpinning contemporary large-scale collaborations in biology and their relations to historical patterns of collaboration in the life sciences. We find the interaction between research subject, research approach as well as research organisation influencing collaboration patterns and the work of scientists

Research on Marine Sciences under Core University Marine Science Program in the Period of 2001-2005 : The Bibliometrics Approach

This research aims to analyze the contribution of collaboration research under Core University Marine Science Program sponsored by Japan Society for Promotion of Sciences (JSPS) over a period of 2001-2005. The data were papers of JSPS seminars. We used co-word technique of bibliometrics methods to identify the research topics. Then we calculated which topics are core and prominence levels based on method of Sujit Battarcharja and Moh’d Taiyab Rashid Khan. In-depth interviews were also carried out to explore problems on Indonesian marine research besides getting confirmation, comments and ideas related to the result of bibliometrics analysis. The informants were experts in marine science from a research institution, a government ministry, and a university. The results of this study could be employed to evaluate the research collaboration program between LIPI and Japanese institutions especially under JSPS program in the future

Lepidochelys kempii

Number of Pages: 8Integrative BiologyGeological Science