Quantifying the historical development of recreational fisheries in Southeast Queensland, Australia

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Inter Research via the DOI in this recordRecreational fisheries are of global socio-ecological importance and contribute significantly to local economies and fisheries harvests. In some regions of Australia, organized recreational fishing activities have existed for over 150 yr. However, historical understanding of the spatio-temporal development and resource usage of recreational fisheries has been hampered by the lack of continuous time-series catch and effort data. This study used historical newspaper articles of reported landings by fishing clubs to reconstruct catch rate trends and evaluate changes in catch composition of marine recreational fishing activities in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, from 1920−1984. Using generalized additive mixed models, 2 catch rate metrics (no. of fish fisher−1 trip−1 and kg fish fisher−1 trip−1) were constructed as functions of time and distance travelled. Significant nonlinear relationships were found for no. of fish fisher−1 trip−1. Fluctuations in no. of fish fisher−1 trip−1 were strongly influenced by time, while increases in distance travelled predicted a larger no. of fish fisher−1 trip−1. Measures of kg fish fisher−1 trip−1 were tightly linked to increases in distance travelled but did not vary with time. Spatial analysis revealed shifts in areas fished, from inshore reefs during the 1920s and 1930s (pre-WWII) towards isolated offshore island systems in later decades (>1950s; post-WWII). Reported catches pre-WWII were strongly associated with reef species, while reported catches post-WWII were predominantly characterized by demersal coastal fish. Spatially resolved time-series fisheries data can be reconstructed from archival sources, providing valuable information about the development of recreational fishing activities and explaining the historical social−ecological dynamics that led to current ecosystem states.QUEX InstituteAustralian Research Council (ARC)University of QueenslandEuropean Union Horizon 202

Detecting change in local ecological knowledge: An application of an index of taxonomic distinctness to an ethnoichthyological classification in the Solomon Islands

The global accelerating loss of biodiversity is having immediate repercussions for ecosystems and human wellbeing, particularly in areas where people depend intimately on their natural environment for their livelihoods. Dovetailing this loss is the demise of local/traditional knowledge systems resulting from factors such as changing lifestyle and the transformation of local belief systems. While the importance of local ecological knowledge (LEK) for documentation of biodiversity and environmental change and development of management responses is well established, quantitative tools to analyze and systematically compare LEK are scarce. In this research, we analyze the complexity of local ecological knowledge used by respondents to classify locally-recognized marine species. We do so by applying a modified index of taxonomic distinctness to an ethnoichthyological classification in coastal communities in the Solomon Islands. In addition, we assess simple taxonomic diversity (richness in locally-recognized species names) by comparing taxonomies collected in 1992–1995 and 2014–2015. Results indicate that both endogenous (gender, age) and exogenous (proximity to market) factors have discernible effects on folk taxonomic knowledge in the region, with younger respondents and communities closer to a regional market center displaying a significantly lower richness of local species names. Folk taxonomic distinctness was significantly reduced closer to the regional market. The modified index of taxonomic distinctness applied in this research provides a useful tool to explore facets of local ecological knowledge in addition to simple richness of terms, and to compare across different regions and cultural backgrounds. Understanding changes in LEK is important because such knowledge enables communities who are highly dependent on living natural resources to harvest and manage resources more efficiently and also to detect and react to environmental change

Reproductive biology of the Endangered white-spotted sand bass Paralabrax albomaculatus endemic to the Galapagos Islands

© The authors 2017. The white spotted sand bass Paralabrax albomaculatus is a member of the subfamily Serraninae and is endemic to the Galapagos Islands. Locally known as camotillo, it is an important component of the local artisanal fishery that is permitted in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Despite its Endangered status on the IUCN Red List, and its local socio-economic importance, nothing is known about its life history. The reproductive biology of P. albomaculatus was studied from samples collected between February 2013 and March 2014. Histological examination confirmed functional gonochoristic sexual reproduction. Sex ratios were biased towards females (4.36:1), and although the size distribution of males and females overlapped, the mean ± SD total length (TL) of males (45.9 ± 8.4 cm) was significantly larger than that of females (41.5 ± 7.6 cm). Length at first maturity for females was 37 cm TL. Monthly gonado-somatic indices and the presence of eggs in the hydrated sub-phase suggest a spawning season between October and March, with a reproductive peak between November and January. Given its restricted range and continuous levels of exploitation, a management plan that includes minimum and maximum landing sizes and a seasonal closure during the reproductive season is urgently required for this Endangered Galapagos endemic

A survey of the clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of patients with suspected Lynch syndrome in Latin America

Background: Genetic counselling and testing for Lynch syndrome (LS) have recently been introduced in several Latin America countries. We aimed to characterize the clinical, molecular and mismatch repair (MMR) variants spectrum of patients with suspected LS in Latin America. Methods: Eleven LS hereditary cancer registries and 34 published LS databases were used to identify unrelated families that fulfilled the Amsterdam II (AMSII) criteria and/or the Bethesda guidelines or suggestive of a dominant colorectal (CRC) inheritance syndrome. Results: We performed a thorough investigation of 15 countries and identified 6 countries where germline genetic testing for LS is available and 3 countries where tumor testing is used in the LS diagnosis. The spectrum of pathogenic MMR variants included MLH1 up to 54%, MSH2 up to 43%, MSH6 up to 10%, PMS2 up to 3% and EPCAM up to 0.8%. The Latin America MMR spectrum is broad with a total of 220 different variants which 80% were private and 20% were recurrent. Frequent regions included exons 11 of MLH1 (15%), exon 3 and 7 of MSH2 (17 and 15%, respectively), exon 4 of MSH6 (65%), exons 11 and 13 of PMS2 (31% and 23%, respectively). Sixteen international founder variants in MLH1, MSH2 and MSH6 were identified and 41 (19%) variants have not previously been reported, thus representing novel genetic variants in the MMR genes. The AMSII criteria was the most used clinical criteria to identify pathogenic MMR carriers although microsatellite instability, immunohistochemistry and family history are still the primary methods in several countries where no genetic testing for LS is available yet. Conclusion: The Latin America LS pathogenic MMR variants spectrum included new variants, frequently altered genetic regions and potential founder effects, emphasizing the relevance implementing Lynch syndrome genetic testing and counseling in all of Latin America countries.Radium Hospital Foundation (Oslo, Norway) in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript, Helse Sør-Øst (Norway) in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript, the French Association Recherche contre le Cancer (ARC) in the analysis, and interpretation of data, the Groupement des Entreprises Françaises dans la Lutte contre le Cancer (Gefluc) in the analysis, and interpretation of data, the Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie (ANRT, CIFRE PhD fellowship to H.T.) in the analysis, and interpretation of data and by the OpenHealth Institute in the analysis, and interpretation of data. Barretos Cancer Hospital received financial support by FINEP-CT-INFRA (02/2010)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Diving into archival data: The hidden decline of the giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) in Queensland, Australia

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this recordData availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.The giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) is the largest reef fish in the Indo-Pacific (~2.5 m TL, >400 kg), and it is highly susceptible to overfishing. Despite regional protections and documented population declines, the species is listed by IUCN as Data Deficient due to minimal long-term population data and a paucity of life history information. This study used historical fishing records derived from newspaper articles, fishing magazines, grey literature and naturalists' descriptions to collate life history information and reconstruct giant grouper population trends from 1854 to 1958 in Queensland, Australia. Historical recreational catch trends of four biologically distinct grouper size classes demonstrated that over 92 years, fishing disproportionately affected two size classes: immature (fish below reproductive size) and mature individuals. Changes in the probability of capturing a grouper within a recreational fishery were examined as a proxy of relative abundance. The probability of catching a giant grouper within a popular recreational fishery significantly declined from 81% in 1860 to 2% in 1958. Further analysis based on a non-probabilistic method of giant grouper sighting records showed fluctuations in the giant grouper population trajectory, from a steady decline during the early 20th century to an increase during WWII (1939–1945) followed by a reduction in the last half of the 20th century. This study highlights the importance of archival sources to uncover population trends of rare species by combining quantitative assessments and biological inferences to determine the timing and occurrence of population declines and recoveries and inform how vulnerable fish species respond to the cumulative effects of fishing over time.QUEX InstituteARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef StudiesEuropean Union Horizon 202

Informality and Productivity in the Labor Market: Peru 1986 - 2001

Peru has one of the highest informality rates in Latin America, with almost 60 percent of the urban labor force working at the margins of labor market legislation or in microenterprises that lack basic labor market standards (Marcouiller, Ruiz de Castilla, and Woodruff, 1997). This paper identifies two factors that can explain the variation in informality rates in the 1990s. First, Peru experienced a steady increase in employment allocation in traditionally “informal” sectors—in particular, retail trade and transport. Second, there was a sharp increase in nonwage labor costs, despite a reduction in the average productivity of the economy. In addition, the paper illustrates the negative correlation between productivity and informality by evaluating the impacts of the PROJOVEN youth training program