The not-so-barren ranges

© Thesis Eleven Pty, Ltd., SAGE Publications. This is an impressionistic and informal essay written near the end of a novelist's Australia Research Council funded research project: 'Developing narratives from language and stories indigenous to the south coast of Western Australia', and informed by how that research project morphed into an emphasis on revitalization of Noongar language, and the attempt to restore connections between a particular Creation Story and landscape in an area regarded as 'massacre territory'. A sympathetic reader might think of the topic as 'The Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project meets The Barren Ranges'

Designing a global assessment of climate change on inland fishes and fisheries: knowns and needs

© 2017, Springer International Publishing Switzerland (outside the USA). To date, there are few comprehensive assessments of how climate change affects inland finfish, fisheries, and aquaculture at a global scale, but one is necessary to identify research needs and commonalities across regions and to help guide decision making and funding priorities. Broadly, the consequences of climate change on inland fishes will impact global food security, the livelihoods of people who depend on inland capture and recreational fisheries. However, understanding how climate change will affect inland fishes and fisheries has lagged behind marine assessments. Building from a North American inland fisheries assessment, we convened an expert panel from seven countries to provide a first-step to a framework for determining how to approach an assessment of how climate change may affect inland fishes, capture fisheries, and aquaculture globally. Starting with the small group helped frame the key questions (e.g., who is the audience? What is the best approach and spatial scale?). Data gaps identified by the group include: the tolerances of inland fisheries to changes in temperature, stream flows, salinity, and other environmental factors linked to climate change, and the adaptive capacity of fishes and fisheries to adjust to these changes. These questions are difficult to address, but long-term and large-scale datasets are becoming more readily available as a means to test hypotheses related to climate change. We hope this perspective will help researchers and decision makers identify research priorities and provide a framework to help sustain inland fish populations and fisheries for the diversity of users around the globe

The 2019 review of IPBES and future priorities: Reaching beyond assessment to enhance policy impact

The Intergovernmental Science–Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent scientific body focused on assessing the state of the world's ecosystem services and biodiversity. IPBES members agreed in 2017 that a review of the Platform's first work programme should be undertaken by an independent panel examining all aspects of IPBES' work – including implementation of the four functions of IPBES; policies, operating principles and procedures; governance structure and arrangements; communication, stakeholder engagement and partnerships; and funding mechanisms. The review found that for IPBES to have its anticipated transformative impact: All four functions of IPBES (i.e. assessment, knowledge generation, policy support, capacity building), with better communication, must be significantly strengthened, integrated and delivered together; The policy aspects of IPBES work need to be strengthened and greater emphasis needs to be placed on the co-design and co-production of assessments; A more strategic and collaborative approach to stakeholders is needed; and IPBES must develop a more sustainable financial base. Given those changes, IPBES, as an embryonic boundary organization, can become the key influencing organization in the global landscape of biodiversity and ecosystem services organizations, helping thus to catalyze transformative change in the relationship between people and the rest of nature

A New Approach to Evaluate and Reduce Uncertainty of Model-Based Biodiversity Projections for Conservation Policy Formulation

Biodiversity projections with uncertainty estimates under different climate, land-use, and policy scenarios are essential to setting and achieving international targets to mitigate biodiversity loss. Evaluating and improving biodiversity predictions to better inform policy decisions remains a central conservation goal and challenge. A comprehensive strategy to evaluate and reduce uncertainty of model outputs against observed measurements and multiple models would help to produce more robust biodiversity predictions. We propose an approach that integrates biodiversity models and emerging remote sensing and in-situ data streams to evaluate and reduce uncertainty with the goal of improving policy-relevant biodiversity predictions. In this article, we describe a multivariate approach to directly and indirectly evaluate and constrain model uncertainty, demonstrate a proof of concept of this approach, embed the concept within the broader context of model evaluation and scenario analysis for conservation policy, and highlight lessons from other modeling communities

The U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat): Development, Applications, and Opportunities

Inland recreational fishing, defined as primarily leisure-driven fishing in freshwaters, is a popular pastime in the USA. State natural resource agencies endeavor to provide high-quality and sustainable fishing opportunities for anglers. Managers often use creel and other angler survey data to inform state- and waterbody-level management efforts. Despite the broad implementation of angler surveys and their importance to fisheries management at state scales, regional and national coordination among these activities is minimal, limiting data applicability for larger-scale management practices and research. Here, we introduce the U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat), a first-of-its-kind, publicly available national database of angler survey data that establishes a baseline of national inland recreational fishing metrics. We highlight research and management applications to help support sustainable inland recreational fishing practices, consider cautions, and make recommendations for implementation

Being there: a preliminary study examining the role of presence in Internet Gaming Disorder

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has been introduced as an emerging mental health condition requiring further study. Associations between IGD and gaming presence (i.e., absorption in the virtual environment) have been implied. The aim of the present study was twofold: (a) to evaluate the extent to which presence contributes to IGD severity and, (b) to examine longitudinal differences in IGD according to the initial level of presence experienced. The participants comprising 125 emerging adults aged 18 to 29 years completed either: (i) three face-to-face assessments (one month apart, over three months) or (ii) a cross-sectional, online assessment. IGD was assessed with the nine-item IGD Scale Short Form and presence was assessed using the Presence Questionnaire. Regression and latent growth modelling analyses were conducted. Findings demonstrated that the level of gaming presence related to IGD severity but not to linear change in severity over a three-month period. The study shows that emergent adults who play internet games may be at a high risk of IGD given a more salient sense of being present within the gaming environment. Clinical implications considering prevention and intervention initiatives are discussed

REVIEW The social, economic, and environmental importance of inland fish and fisheries

Abstract: Though reported capture fisheries are dominated by marine production, inland fish and fisheries make substantial contributions to meeting the challenges faced by individuals, society, and the environment in a changing global landscape. Inland capture fisheries and aquaculture contribute over 40% to the world's reported finfish production from less than 0.01% of the total volume of water on earth. These fisheries provide food for billions and livelihoods for millions of people worldwide. Herein, using supporting evidence from the literature, we review 10 reasons why inland fish and fisheries are important to the individual (food security, economic security, empowerment), to society (cultural services, recreational services, human health and well-being, knowledge transfer and capacity building), and to the environment (ecosystem function and biodiversity, as aquatic "canaries", the "green food" movement). However, the current limitations to valuing the services provided by inland fish and fisheries make comparison with other water resource users extremely difficult. This list can serve to demonstrate the importance of inland fish and fisheries, a necessary first step to better incorporating them into agriculture, land-use, and water resource planning, where they are currently often underappreciated or ignored. Key words: food security, freshwater ecosystems, importance of fish, inland fisheries. Résumé : Bien que la capture de poissons rapportée par les pêcheries soit dominée par la production marine, les poissons et les pêcheries de l'intérieur des terres apportent des contributions substantielles pour rencontrer les défis rencontrés par les individus, les sociétés et l'environnement dans un paysage en changement global. Les captures des pêcheries de l'intérieur et l'aquaculture contribuent à la hauteur de 40 % à la production mondiale rapportée pour les poissons à nageoires, à partir de moins de 0,01 % du volume total de l'eau sur terre. Ces pêcheries fournissent de la nourriture pour des milliards et un moyen de subsistance pour des millions de gens, partout au monde. Dans cette revue, en utilisant des preuves venant de la littérature, les auteurs examinent 10 raisons pour lesquelles, les pêcheries et les poissons de l'intérieur sont importants pour les individus (sécurité alimentaire, sécurité économique, l'autonomisation), pour la société (services culturels, services récréatifs, santé humaine et bien-être, transfert de connaissances et capacité à construire) et pour l'environnement (fonction écosystémique et biodiversité, comme « canaris » aquatiques, pour le mouvement « aliments verts »). Cependant, les limitations actuelles pour évaluer les services fournis par les poissons et les pêcheries intérieures rendent les comparaisons avec les autres utilisateurs de la ressource en eau extrêmement difficile. Cette liste peut servir à démontrer l'importance des poissons et des pêcheries de l'intérieur, une première étape essentielle pour mieux les incorporer avec l'agriculture, l'utilisation du territoire et la planification des ressources en eau, où elles sont actuellement sous-estimées, voire totalement ignorées. [Traduit par la Rédaction] Mots-clés : sécurité alimentaire, écosystèmes d'eau douce, importance des poissons, pêcheries de l'intérieur

Internet Gaming Disorder Behaviors in emergent adulthood: a pilot study examining the interplay between anxiety and family cohesion

Understanding risk and protective factors associated with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has been highlighted as a research priority by the American Psychiatric Association, (2013). The present study focused on the potential IGD risk effect of anxiety and the buffering role of family cohesion on this association. A sample of emerging adults all of whom were massively multiplayer online (MMO) gamers (18–29 years) residing in Australia were assessed longitudinally (face-to-face: N = 61, Mage = 23.02 years, SD = 3.43) and cross-sectionally (online: N = 64, Mage = 23.34 years, SD = 3.39). IGD symptoms were assessed using the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS-SF9; Pontes & Griffiths Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 137–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.006, 2015). The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck and Steer, 1990) and the balanced family cohesion scale (BFC; Olson Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 3(1) 64–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2009.00175.x, 2011) were applied to assess anxiety and BFC levels, respectively. Linear regressions and moderation analyses confirmed that anxiety increased IGD risk and that BFC weakened the anxiety-related IGD risk

Viral capsids: Mechanical characteristics, genome packaging and delivery mechanisms

The main functions of viral capsids are to protect, transport and deliver their genome. The mechanical properties of capsids are supposed to be adapted to these tasks. Bacteriophage capsids also need to withstand the high pressures the DNA is exerting onto it as a result of the DNA packaging and its consequent confinement within the capsid. It is proposed that this pressure helps driving the genome into the host, but other mechanisms also seem to play an important role in ejection. DNA packaging and ejection strategies are obviously dependent on the mechanical properties of the capsid. This review focuses on the mechanical properties of viral capsids in general and the elucidation of the biophysical aspects of genome packaging mechanisms and genome delivery processes of double-stranded DNA bacteriophages in particular