Spatio-temporal distribution and target species in a longline fishery off the southeastern coast of Brazil

No presente estudo, uma análise de agrupamento foi utilizada para classificar 6.486 lances feitos pela frota espinheleira sediada no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, de 1998 até 2006, em relação à composição das espécies presentes nas capturas. Baseado nas proporções de doze espécies e três grupos de espécies, três agrupamentos foram identificados: C1: outros peixes; C2: tubarão-azul; C3: espadarte. Os resultados indicaram que ao longo do período estudado, a frota direcionou suas capturas principalmente para o tubarão-azul e para o espadarte, além de terem evidenciado que a importância do tubarão-azul nessa pescaria tem crescido progressivamente ao longo dos anos. Áreas mais afastadas da costa foram exploradas principalmente no primeiro e quarto trimestres (em especial a partir de 2001), enquanto que um esforço de pesca mais concentrado perto da quebra da plataforma continental foi observado durante o segundo e terceiro trimestres (para todo o período estudado). A frota espinheleira sediada em São Paulo mudou a estratégia de pesca para diferentes espécies-alvo, o que produziu importantes mudanças nas principais espécies capturadas por esforço de pesca (CPUE). A análise de agrupamento parece ter identificado apropriadamente essas alterações ao longo do tempo, em relação às quais não há, em geral, qualquer informação nos mapas de bordo.In the present study, a cluster analysis, in relation to the species composition of the catches, was used to classify 6,486 fishing sets by a longline fleet based in São Paulo State, Brazil, from 1998 to 2006. Based on the proportions of 12 species and three broader species groups, three clusters were identified: C1: other fishes; C2: blue shark; C3: swordfish. Results indicated that the fleet targeted mainly blue shark and swordfish and also showed that the blue shark importance in this fishery has been growing progressively trough the years. Offshore areas were exploited mainly in the first and fourth quarters (from 2001 mainly), while the fishing effort was more concentrated near the continental shelf break, during the second and third quarters (for the whole period). The longline fishery based in Sao Paulo State changed fishing strategy to target different species which produced important changes in catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of the main species caught. Cluster analysis seems to have appropriately identified these changes over time, which is an important information, often missing in logbooks

Reproductive biology and space-time modelling of spawning for sailfish Istiophorus platypterus in the western Atlantic Ocean

This study presents data and estimates reproductive parameters of the sailfish Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw, 1792) in the western Atlantic, useful for future stock assessments of the species in the Atlantic Ocean. During the period 2006-2011, a total of 1132 fish were sampled by scientific observers on board Venezuelan and Brazilian longline vessels and from artisanal fisheries based out of Cumana, Puerto La Cruz and Playa Verde, Venezuela and Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ovaries of 543 females were classified into five ovarian development phases based on microscopic analysis of the most advanced group of oocytes. Generalized additive models were applied to the gonadal index and sex ratio data in order to assess spatio-temporal trends of the reproductive activity and identify the spawning areas. Space-time effect was a significant factor contributing to changes in sex ratio and reproductive activity. Spawning activity was observed in two distinct areas. On the south-east Brazilian coast spawning peaked during December-February, while in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea spawning occurred between March and September, with its peak in March and April. Using a Bayesian approach, size at 50% maturity was estimated to be 146.12cm (credibility interval of 95%, 138.45-152.09cm). Batch fecundity ranged from 436,800 to 2,492,500 hydrated oocytes per female. This study confirms multiple aggregation spawning for this species in the western Atlantic Ocean.National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil) [140329/2008-0]Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Inst Mar, Ave Doutor Carvalho de Mendonca 144, BR-11070100 Santos, BrazilUniv Oriente, Inst Oceanog Venezuela, Dept Biol Pesquera, Cumana, VenezuelaCtr Avancado Pesquisa Tecnol Agronegocio Pescado, Inst Pesca, Santos, BrazilUniv Fed Rural Semi Arido, Dept Ciencia Anim, Mossoro, BrazilNOAA, Pacific Isl Fisheries Sci Ctr, Honolulu, HI USAUniv Fed Rural Pernambuco, Dept Pesca & Aquicultura, Lab Oceanog Pesqueira, Recife, PE, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Inst Mar, Ave Doutor Carvalho de Mendonca 144, BR-11070100 Santos, BrazilCNPq [140329/2008-0]Web of Scienc

Short-term movements and habitat preferences of sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus (Istiophoridae), along the southeast coast of Brazil

Pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) were deployed on four sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus, in the coastal waters of Rio de Janeiro State in southeast Brazil during January and February of 2009 (sailfish I and II) and between November 2010 and January 2011 (sailfish III and IV). The total number of days monitored (i.e., time that the tags remained attached) were 12 (sailfish I), 51 (sailfish II), 16 (sailfish III) and 43 days (sailfish IV). The results indicate a clear pattern of vertical habitat utilization with the majority of the time spent concentrated near the uniform sea surface layer occupying a relatively narrow temperature range. Despite the clear preference for epipelagic surface waters, sailfish regularly undertook vertical excursions into deeper waters (>50 m) within three to six hour intervals. "Most Probable Tracks" (estimated from raw geolocations using the state-space Kalman filter model) and linear displacements suggested that tagged sailfish did not move significant distances from the tagging site. In brief, our report provides information regarding the biology of sailfish in the southwestern Atlantic and how vertical distributions during the day and night are influenced by water temperature and how this information can improve sailfish stock assessments in southwestern Atlantic Ocean

ABC₂-SPH risk score for in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients

Objectives: The majority of available scores to assess mortality risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the emergency department have high risk of bias. Therefore, this cohort aimed to develop and validate a score at hospital admission for predicting in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients and to compare this score with other existing ones. Methods: Consecutive patients (≥ 18 years) with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the participating hospitals were included. Logistic regression analysis was performed to develop a prediction model for in-hospital mortality, based on the 3978 patients admitted between March–July, 2020. The model was validated in the 1054 patients admitted during August–September, as well as in an external cohort of 474 Spanish patients. Results: Median (25–75th percentile) age of the model-derivation cohort was 60 (48–72) years, and in-hospital mortality was 20.3%. The validation cohorts had similar age distribution and in-hospital mortality. Seven significant variables were included in the risk score: age, blood urea nitrogen, number of comorbidities, C-reactive protein, SpO2/FiO2 ratio, platelet count, and heart rate. The model had high discriminatory value (AUROC 0.844, 95% CI 0.829–0.859), which was confirmed in the Brazilian (0.859 [95% CI 0.833–0.885]) and Spanish (0.894 [95% CI 0.870–0.919]) validation cohorts, and displayed better discrimination ability than other existing scores. It is implemented in a freely available online risk calculator (https://abc2sph.com/). Conclusions: An easy-to-use rapid scoring system based on characteristics of COVID-19 patients commonly available at hospital presentation was designed and validated for early stratification of in-hospital mortality risk of patients with COVID-19.</p

ABC-SPH risk score for in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients : development, external validation and comparison with other available scores

The majority of available scores to assess mortality risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the emergency department have high risk of bias. Therefore, this cohort aimed to develop and validate a score at hospital admission for predicting in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients and to compare this score with other existing ones. Consecutive patients (≥ 18 years) with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the participating hospitals were included. Logistic regression analysis was performed to develop a prediction model for in-hospital mortality, based on the 3978 patients admitted between March-July, 2020. The model was validated in the 1054 patients admitted during August-September, as well as in an external cohort of 474 Spanish patients. Median (25-75th percentile) age of the model-derivation cohort was 60 (48-72) years, and in-hospital mortality was 20.3%. The validation cohorts had similar age distribution and in-hospital mortality. Seven significant variables were included in the risk score: age, blood urea nitrogen, number of comorbidities, C-reactive protein, SpO/FiO ratio, platelet count, and heart rate. The model had high discriminatory value (AUROC 0.844, 95% CI 0.829-0.859), which was confirmed in the Brazilian (0.859 [95% CI 0.833-0.885]) and Spanish (0.894 [95% CI 0.870-0.919]) validation cohorts, and displayed better discrimination ability than other existing scores. It is implemented in a freely available online risk calculator (https://abc2sph.com/). An easy-to-use rapid scoring system based on characteristics of COVID-19 patients commonly available at hospital presentation was designed and validated for early stratification of in-hospital mortality risk of patients with COVID-19