Citizens observatories for effective Earth observations: the WeSenseIt approach

Tese de doutoramento em Biociências, no ramo de Ecologia Marinha, apresentada ao Departamento de Ciências da Vida da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de CoimbraIn the face of the current non-linear and abrupt changes in ecosystems around the world, a systematic impact has arisen to the environmental dynamics of the coastal systems. At their essential intermediate trophic level in the marine system, sardines are recognized for being highly susceptible to the deregulation of their stocks when subjected to intensive exploitation. Given this, there are significant difficulties of management and participatory coastal management of the species of sardines in the Atlantic Ocean. In this way, local ecological knowledge (LEK) emerges as an auxiliary tool that seeks to extract specific information about an individual about the environment as well as to understand the attitudes of local individuals regarding a resource as a way to improve biodiversity conservation practices. Therefore, the present thesis sought to evaluate and share local ecological knowledge (LEK) and attitudes for the conservation of European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus) and Brazilian sardine (Sardinella brasiliensis) in two fishing villages (Peniche, District of Leiria, Portugal and Arraial do Cabo, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). This study was based on 221 semi-structured interviews conducted with fishermen from Peniche (N = 87) about European sardines, and with fishers from Arraial do Cabo (N = 134) about Brazilian sardine. The data extracted from the interviews were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed, and the LEK made available was compared with the literature following an emic-etic approach. Additives knowledge indicators and attitudes about sardines were created for comparison purposes. The classification adopted to evaluate the LEK, and the attitudes respected the premises of the three-point Likert scale. It was also sought to investigate possible correlations between LEK, attitudes and the profile of fishers from both communities. The statistical treatments performed were calculated using program R version 3.3.2. The profiles of the interviewees of the studied communities were investigated and measured succinctly. Informants shared detailed informal knowledge of the significant biological and ecological aspects of the clupeoids in question. Taboos and food aversions were present inexpressively and were not related to conservation measures. Fishers from both Atlantic communities presented moderate local ecological knowledge about sardines when compared to the biological data already published of this small pelagic species. Attitudes towards conservation of sardines were classified as positive in Peniche, while in the Brazilian community analyzed, they were moderate. In Peniche, attitudes showed to be a predictor of LEK, age and educational level of informants. Otherwise, in Arraial do Cabo the variables of the fisher´s profile (source of income, educational level, boat ownership, association with fishing colony and occupation) showed a correlation with LEK and with conservationist attitudes. Encouraging the continuation of regular educational training of informants and the inclusion of environmental education programs with the sharing of information on sardine conservation. This ethnobiological study reported comparable results with other studies examining LEK and local community attitudes about a natural resource, which reaffirms the importance of this socio-ecological tool for environmental management. Informal knowledge not compatible with the literature should not be discarded. This type of information can be further analysed and used in the formulation of testable hypotheses for future investigations of the species studied. The next step would be to include the LEK provided by the surveyed communities for analysis at meetings between all actors directly involved with the fishing resource. This procedure can collaborate and promote greater social inclusion of the less favored in the fisheries management decision-making in the Portuguese and Brazilian communities verified. A discussion with the participation of all the interested parties, without preconceived privileges to any of those involved, becomes of extreme importance because it enables reliability among the participants of these assemblies. This process, if well conducted, still can generate a better understanding of the predisposition of these communities to conserve the environmental resource. Also, this participatory management strategy may also provide an opportunity for local populations to acquire reliable and more scientific knowledge about this depleting fishing resource. Finally, a continuous exchange of information between ecologists and ethnobiologists is suggested on possible gaps in knowledge that may arise about fish stocks in both Atlantic systems.Em virtude das actuais mudanças não-lineares e abruptas nos ecossistemas em todo o planeta, a dinâmica ambiental dos sistemas costeiros tem sido bastante modificada. Por ocuparem o nível trófico intermediário essencial no sistema marinho, as sardinhas são reconhecidas por serem altamente susceptíveis a grandes alterações dos seus efectivos populacionais quando submetidas à exploração intensiva. Diante de tal cenário, observam-se grandes dificuldades na gestão costeira (que se quer participativa) das espécies de sardinhas no oceano Atlântico. Desse modo, o conhecimento ecológico local (CEL) surge como uma ferramenta auxiliar que busca extrair informações específicas de um indivíduo em relação ao meio ambiente como também compreender as atitudes de indivíduos locais no que tange a um recurso em particular, como forma de melhorar as práticas de conservação da biodiversidade. Por conseguinte, a presente tese tentou avaliar o conhecimento ecológico local (CEL), bem como as atitudes para a conservação da sardinha europeia (Sardina pilchardus) e da sardinha brasileira (Sardinella brasiliensis) em duas aldeias piscatórias (Peniche, Distrito de Leiria, Portugal; e Arraial do Cabo, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil). Este estudo baseou-se em 221 entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas aleatoriamente com pescadores de Peniche (N = 87) acerca da sardinha europeia, e com pescadores de Arraial do Cabo (N = 134) sobre a sardinha brasileira. Os dados extraídos das entrevistas foram analisados de modo qualitativo e quantitativo e o CEL disponibilizado foi comparado com a literatura através da utilização das abordagens êmica e ética. Foram criados índices para medir o CEL e as atitudes dos pescadores em relação à conservação das espécies de sardinhas. A classificação adotada para avaliar o CEL e as atitudes respeitou as premissas da escala de três pontos de Likert. Por último, também foram investigadas as possíveis correlações entre CEL, atitudes e o perfil dos pescadores de ambas as comunidades. Os tratamentos estatísticos realizados foram calculados por meio do programa R versão 3.3.2. Os perfis dos entrevistados das comunidades estudadas foram investigados e analisados sucintamente. Os entrevistados compartilharam conhecimentos informais detalhados dos principais aspectos biológicos e ecológicos dos clupeóides em questão. Os tabus e aversões alimentares estiveram presentes de forma inexpressiva e não foram relacionados com medidas conservacionistas. Os pescadores de ambas as comunidades Atlânticas apresentaram um conhecimento ecológico local moderado acerca das sardinhas quando comparados aos dados biológicos já publicados dessas pequenas espécies pelágicas. Em Peniche, houve a correlação entre as atitudes e o CEL, a idade e o nível educacional dos informantes respectivamente. Por outro lado, em Arraial do Cabo as variáveis do perfil dos pescadores (fonte de renda, nível educacional, propriedade de embarcação, associação à colónia de pescadores e ocupação) mostraram correlação com o CEL e com as atitudes conservacionistas. O incentivo à continuação da formação educacional convencional dos informantes (pescadores) e a inserção de programas de educação ambiental acompanhados de informações acerca da conservação da sardinha nas aldeias de pescadores investigadas são essenciais para estabelecer e melhorar as atitudes conservacionistas. Este estudo etnobiológico reportou resultados comparáveis com outros estudos que investigam o LEK e atitudes de comunidades locais acerca de um determinado recurso natural, o que reafirma a importância desta ferramenta sócio-ecológica para a gestão ambiental. O conhecimento informal não compatível com a literatura não deve ser totalmente descartado. Esse tipo de informação pode ainda ser analisado minuciosamente e utilizado na formulação de hipóteses para futuras investigações acerca da espécie estudada. O próximo passo seria incluir o CEL fornecido pelas comunidades estudadas para análises em reuniões entre todos os atores envolvidos directamente com o recurso pesqueiro. Esse procedimento pode promover uma maior inclusão social dos menos favorecidos nas decisões relativas à gestão dos stocks pesqueiros nas comunidades portuguesa e brasileira. Uma discussão com a participação de todos os interessados, sem privilégios preconcebidos a nenhum dos envolvidos, torna- se de extrema importância pois aumenta a confiança entre todos os envolvidos. Este processo, se bem conduzido, ainda tem a capacidade de gerar um melhor entendimento da predisposição dessas comunidades em conservar o recurso ambiental. Além disso, esta estratégia de gestão participativa também pode proporcionar uma oportunidade das populações locais adquirirem conhecimentos mais científicos sobre esse recurso pesqueiro em questão. Por fim, sugere-se ainda uma contínua troca de informações entre ecólogos e etnobiólogos sobre as possíveis lacunas de informações que possam surgir relativamente aos stocks pesqueiros em ambos os sistemas Atlânticos.Centre for Functional Ecology - CFE, Department of life Sciences, University of Coimbra, PortugalProject ReNATURE - Valorization of the Natural Endogenous Resources of the Centro Region (Centro 2020, Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000007)CAPES Foundation – Ministry of Education of Brazil for financial support (BEX: 8926/13-1

Citizens observatories for effective Earth observations: the WeSenseIt approach

The WeSenseIt project defines citizen observatories as “A method, an environment and an infrastructure supporting an information ecosystem for communities and citizens, as well as emergency operators and policymakers, for discussion, monitoring and intervention on situations, places and events” . A collaborative approach has been taken to develop solutions that involve an exchange of information and expertise from all participants and where the focus is on arriving at practical solutions with a clear vision and direction. This has created a shared ownership scheme, and shifts power to the process itself rather than remaining within authorities, developers or decision-makers. The project’s emphasis is on delivering highly innovative technologies to support citizens, communities and authorities in developing a real-time situation awareness while ensuring all stakeholders play their part. Implementation has been through a combination of crowdsourcing, custom applications and dedicated web portals designed to foster collaboration, and which has created a shared knowledge base that facilitates decision-making processes and engages with communities. Data is captured via innovative sensors that are used directly by citizens, crowdsourcing from social networks (or by collective intelligence)

Molecular Mechanisms Generating and Stabilizing Terminal 22q13 Deletions in 44 Subjects with Phelan/McDermid Syndrome

In this study, we used deletions at 22q13, which represent a substantial source of human pathology (Phelan/McDermid syndrome), as a model for investigating the molecular mechanisms of terminal deletions that are currently poorly understood. We characterized at the molecular level the genomic rearrangement in 44 unrelated patients with 22q13 monosomy resulting from simple terminal deletions (72%), ring chromosomes (14%), and unbalanced translocations (7%). We also discovered interstitial deletions between 17–74 kb in 9% of the patients. Haploinsufficiency of the SHANK3 gene, confirmed in all rearrangements, is very likely the cause of the major neurological features associated with PMS. SHANK3 mutations can also result in language and/or social interaction disabilities. We determined the breakpoint junctions in 29 cases, providing a realistic snapshot of the variety of mechanisms driving non-recurrent deletion and repair at chromosome ends. De novo telomere synthesis and telomere capture are used to repair terminal deletions; non-homologous end-joining or microhomology-mediated break-induced replication is probably involved in ring 22 formation and translocations; non-homologous end-joining and fork stalling and template switching prevail in cases with interstitial 22q13.3. For the first time, we also demonstrated that distinct stabilizing events of the same terminal deletion can occur in different early embryonic cells, proving that terminal deletions can be repaired by multistep healing events and supporting the recent hypothesis that rare pathogenic germline rearrangements may have mitotic origin. Finally, the progressive clinical deterioration observed throughout the longitudinal medical history of three subjects over forty years supports the hypothesis of a role for SHANK3 haploinsufficiency in neurological deterioration, in addition to its involvement in the neurobehavioral phenotype of PMS

The population of merging compact binaries inferred using gravitational waves through GWTC-3

We report on the population properties of 76 compact binary mergers detected with gravitational waves below a false alarm rate of 1 per year through GWTC-3. The catalog contains three classes of binary mergers: BBH, BNS, and NSBH mergers. We infer the BNS merger rate to be between 10 $\rm{Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1}}$ and 1700 $\rm{Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1}}$ and the NSBH merger rate to be between 7.8 $\rm{Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}}$ and 140 $\rm{Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1}}$ , assuming a constant rate density versus comoving volume and taking the union of 90% credible intervals for methods used in this work. Accounting for the BBH merger rate to evolve with redshift, we find the BBH merger rate to be between 17.9 $\rm{Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}}$ and 44 $\rm{Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}}$ at a fiducial redshift (z=0.2). We obtain a broad neutron star mass distribution extending from $1.2^{+0.1}_{-0.2} M_\odot$ to $2.0^{+0.3}_{-0.3} M_\odot$. We can confidently identify a rapid decrease in merger rate versus component mass between neutron star-like masses and black-hole-like masses, but there is no evidence that the merger rate increases again before 10 $M_\odot$. We also find the BBH mass distribution has localized over- and under-densities relative to a power law distribution. While we continue to find the mass distribution of a binary's more massive component strongly decreases as a function of primary mass, we observe no evidence of a strongly suppressed merger rate above $\sim 60 M_\odot$. The rate of BBH mergers is observed to increase with redshift at a rate proportional to $(1+z)^{\kappa}$ with $\kappa = 2.9^{+1.7}_{-1.8}$ for $z\lesssim 1$. Observed black hole spins are small, with half of spin magnitudes below $\chi_i \simeq 0.25$. We observe evidence of negative aligned spins in the population, and an increase in spin magnitude for systems with more unequal mass ratio

Constraints on the cosmic expansion history from GWTC-3

We use 47 gravitational-wave sources from the Third LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC-3) to estimate the Hubble parameter $H(z)$, including its current value, the Hubble constant $H_0$. Each gravitational-wave (GW) signal provides the luminosity distance to the source and we estimate the corresponding redshift using two methods: the redshifted masses and a galaxy catalog. Using the binary black hole (BBH) redshifted masses, we simultaneously infer the source mass distribution and $H(z)$. The source mass distribution displays a peak around $34\, {\rm M_\odot}$, followed by a drop-off. Assuming this mass scale does not evolve with redshift results in a $H(z)$ measurement, yielding $H_0=68^{+12}_{-7} {\rm km\,s^{-1}\,Mpc^{-1}}$ ($68\%$ credible interval) when combined with the $H_0$ measurement from GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterpart. This represents an improvement of 17% with respect to the $H_0$ estimate from GWTC-1. The second method associates each GW event with its probable host galaxy in the catalog GLADE+, statistically marginalizing over the redshifts of each event's potential hosts. Assuming a fixed BBH population, we estimate a value of $H_0=68^{+8}_{-6} {\rm km\,s^{-1}\,Mpc^{-1}}$ with the galaxy catalog method, an improvement of 42% with respect to our GWTC-1 result and 20% with respect to recent $H_0$ studies using GWTC-2 events. However, we show that this result is strongly impacted by assumptions about the BBH source mass distribution; the only event which is not strongly impacted by such assumptions (and is thus informative about $H_0$) is the well-localized event GW190814

Diving below the spin-down limit:constraints on gravitational waves from the energetic young pulsar PSR J0537-6910

We present a search for continuous gravitational-wave signals from the young, energetic X-ray pulsar PSR J0537-6910 using data from the second and third observing runs of LIGO and Virgo. The search is enabled by a contemporaneous timing ephemeris obtained using NICER data. The NICER ephemeris has also been extended through 2020 October and includes three new glitches. PSR J0537-6910 has the largest spin-down luminosity of any pulsar and is highly active with regards to glitches. Analyses of its long-term and inter-glitch braking indices provided intriguing evidence that its spin-down energy budget may include gravitational-wave emission from a time-varying mass quadrupole moment. Its 62 Hz rotation frequency also puts its possible gravitational-wave emission in the most sensitive band of LIGO/Virgo detectors. Motivated by these considerations, we search for gravitational-wave emission at both once and twice the rotation frequency. We find no signal, however, and report our upper limits. Assuming a rigidly rotating triaxial star, our constraints reach below the gravitational-wave spin-down limit for this star for the first time by more than a factor of two and limit gravitational waves from the l = m = 2 mode to account for less than 14% of the spin-down energy budget. The fiducial equatorial ellipticity is limited to less than about 3 x 10⁻⁵, which is the third best constraint for any young pulsar

Search for anisotropic gravitational-wave backgrounds using data from Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo's first three observing runs

We report results from searches for anisotropic stochastic gravitational-wave backgrounds using data from the first three observing runs of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. For the first time, we include Virgo data in our analysis and run our search with a new efficient pipeline called {\tt PyStoch} on data folded over one sidereal day. We use gravitational-wave radiometry (broadband and narrow band) to produce sky maps of stochastic gravitational-wave backgrounds and to search for gravitational waves from point sources. A spherical harmonic decomposition method is employed to look for gravitational-wave emission from spatially-extended sources. Neither technique found evidence of gravitational-wave signals. Hence we derive 95\% confidence-level upper limit sky maps on the gravitational-wave energy flux from broadband point sources, ranging from $F_{\alpha, \Theta} < {\rm (0.013 - 7.6)} \times 10^{-8} {\rm erg \, cm^{-2} \, s^{-1} \, Hz^{-1}},$ and on the (normalized) gravitational-wave energy density spectrum from extended sources, ranging from $\Omega_{\alpha, \Theta} < {\rm (0.57 - 9.3)} \times 10^{-9} \, {\rm sr^{-1}}$, depending on direction ($\Theta$) and spectral index ($\alpha$). These limits improve upon previous limits by factors of $2.9 - 3.5$. We also set 95\% confidence level upper limits on the frequency-dependent strain amplitudes of quasimonochromatic gravitational waves coming from three interesting targets, Scorpius X-1, SN 1987A and the Galactic Center, with best upper limits range from $h_0 < {\rm (1.7-2.1)} \times 10^{-25},$ a factor of $\geq 2.0$ improvement compared to previous stochastic radiometer searches.Comment: 23 Pages, 9 Figure