A catch-free stock assessment model with application to goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) off southern Florida

Many modern stock assessment methods provide the machinery for determining the status of a stock in relation to certain reference points and for estimating how quickly a stock can be rebuilt. However, these methods typically require catch data, which are not always available. We introduce a model-based framework for estimating reference points, stock status, and recovery times in situations where catch data and other measures of absolute abundance are unavailable. The specif ic estimator developed is essentially an age-structured production model recast in terms relative to pre-exploitation levels. A Bayesian estimation scheme is adopted to allow the incorporation of pertinent auxiliary information such as might be obtained from meta-analyses of similar stocks or anecdotal observations. The approach is applied to the population of goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) off southern Florida, for which there are three indices of relative abundance but no reliable catch data. The results confirm anecdotal accounts of a marked decline in abundance during the 1980s followed by a substantial increase after the harvest of goliath grouper was banned in 1990. The ban appears to have reduced fishing pressure to between 10% and 50% of the levels observed during the 1980s. Nevertheless, the predicted fishing mortality rate under the ban appears to remain substantial, perhaps owing to illegal harvest and depth-related release mortality. As a result, the base model predicts that there is less than a 40% chance that the spawning biomass will recover to a level that would produce a 50% spawning potential ratio

Query Constraining Aspects of Knowledge

Proceedings of the 18th Nordic Conference of Computational Linguistics NODALIDA 2011. Editors: Bolette Sandford Pedersen, Gunta Nešpore and Inguna Skadiņa. NEALT Proceedings Series, Vol. 11 (2011), 279-282. © 2011 The editors and contributors. Published by Northern European Association for Language Technology (NEALT) http://omilia.uio.no/nealt . Electronically published at Tartu University Library (Estonia) http://hdl.handle.net/10062/16955

Acoustic signatures of the seafloor: Tools for predicting grouper habitat

Groupers are important components of commercial and recreational fisheries. Current methods of diver-based grouper census surveys could potentially benefit from development of remotely sensed methods of seabed classification. The goal of the present study was to determine if areas of high grouper abundance have characteristic acoustic signatures. A commercial acoustic seabed mapping system, QTC View Series V, was used to survey an area near Carysfort Reef, Florida Keys. Acoustic data were clustered using QTC IMPACT software, resulting in three main acoustic classes covering 94% of the area surveyed. Diver-based data indicate that one of the acoustic classes corresponded to hard substrate and the other two represented sediment. A new measurement of seabed heterogeneity, designated acoustic variability, was also computed from the acoustic survey data in order to more fully characterize the acoustic response (i.e., the signature) of the seafloor. When compared with diver-based grouper census data, both acoustic classification and acoustic variability were significantly different at sites with and without groupers. Sites with groupers were characterized by hard bottom substrate and high acoustic variability. Thus, the acoustic signature of a site, as measured by acoustic classification or acoustic variability, is a potentially useful tool for stratifying diver sampling effort for grouper census

Synopsis of biological data on the Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus (Bloch, 1792), and the jewfish, E. itajara (Lichenstein, 1822)

Information on the biology, fishery resources, explotiation patterns, management, and conservation status of two species of grouper-the Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus, and the jewfish, Epinephelus itajara-is compiled, reviewed, and analyzed. (PDF file contains 68 pages.

Standardized Visual Counts of Goliath Grouper off South Florida and Their Possible Use as Indices of Abundance

Two visual surveys are examined for evidence that the number of goliath grouper has increased in the waters off South Florida since a harvest moratorium was imposed in 1990. Both surveys are standardized to account for the unbalanced design of the sampling procedure. The first survey is effectively a census of the number of goliath grouper at five artificial reef sites in the Gulf of Mexico about 90 miles north of Key West, Florida. It is standardized by use of the canonical log-linear model. The second survey includes the observations of many different SCUBA divers at 32 sites scattered along the Atlantic coast of Florida from the Dry Tortugas to Jupiter. The canonical log-linear model is not appropriate for standardizing this data set because observations of 2-10 fish are recorded only as two or more. To accommodate this feature, we developed a standardization procedure based on a censored Poisson distribution. The most important factors in standardizing the two surveys were the year and location. Seasonal effects were also statistically significant but had little effect on the results because most of the dives in any given year were conducted during the warm season. Both the standardized series indicate a substantial increase in abundance since the 1990 moratorium

The Digital Transformation of Parliaments and its Implications for Democratic Representation

Using examples from the German Bundestag and the British House of Commons, this chapter charts some of the developments being adopted by parliaments in their digital transformation. It also assess some of the broader normative implications for democratic representation, including questions of executive accountability vis-à-vis the legislature and explores more individualised styles of representation that have challenged the virtual monopoly of political parties in organising voter communication

Skattebehandlingen av partiell delning

Av kommersiella och skattemässiga skäl är det ibland lönsamt att omorganisera verksamheten i ett samfund genom företagsarrangemang. Partiella delningar kan utnyttjas i dessa arrangemang eftersom man kan åstadkomma företagshelheter som det är lättare att arbeta med. Partiella delningar är även ofta ett försteg till generationsskifte och försäljning. Andra orsaker till partiella delningar är att lätta på nettoförmögenheten i bolag och göra en senare överlåtelse mera förmånlig. Partiell delning kan även utnyttjas koncerninternt för centralisering av verksamheten. Bestämmelserna i den inhemska lagstiftningen om partiell delning bygger på fusionsdirektivet. Fusionsdirektivet sattes i kraft i och med Finlands medlemskap i EU. Bestämmelsen om partiell delning implementerades i NSL år 2007. Partiell delning innebär att ett aktiebolag utan att det upplöses överför en eller flera verksamhetsgrenar som sådana till ett eller flera aktiebolag och lämnar åtminstone en verksamhetsgren kvar i det överlåtande bolaget. Lagen om beskattning av näringsverksamhet förutsätter vid partiell delning att: Ägarna samt deras andelar förblir samma efter arrangemanget, som vederlag ges gamla eller nya aktier och ifall ett penningvärde erhålls som vederlag får detta motsvara högst 10 procent av aktiernas värde, att en verksamhetsgren överlåts utan upplösning och likvidationsförfarande av bolaget och att åtminstone en verksamhetsgren stannar kvar i det överlåtande bolaget. Den förutsättning som skapat mest tolkningssvårigheter och praktiska problem är att den överlåtande egendomen skall bilda en verksamhetsgren dvs. en ur organisatorisk synpunkt oberoende verksamhet, dvs. en enhet som kan fungera på egen hand. Då begreppet verksamhetsgren genom implementering av fusionsdirektivets bestämmelser om företagsarrangemang togs med i NSL kom begreppet att tolkas strikt och bokstavsenligt men senare har man övergått till en mera medgörlig och praktiskt orienterad tolkningslinje. Det är skäl att även uppmärksamma att en partiell delning också bör ha andra kommersiella motiv än enbart skattemässiga fördelar. Annars är risken att arrangemanget anses som skattekringgående enligt NSL 52 h §. I fall förutsättningarna för partiell delning som ställs i NSL 52 c. 2 § uppfylls kan kontinuitet i beskattningen tillämpas och det överlåtande bolaget anses inte upplösas vid beskattningen. Vid beskattningen av delägarna i det överlåtande bolaget betraktas inte heller utbytet av aktier mot aktier i det övertagande bolaget som överlåtelse av aktier. Således inträder inga omedelbara skattekonsekvenser vid omstruktureringstillfället. Kontinuiteten gagnar såväl bolaget som delägaren eftersom beskattningen förflyttas till en senare tidpunkt

Evidence-based maintenance care among chiropractors in Norway: a cross-sectional survey in the Nordic maintenance care program

Background Chiropractors use a treatment strategy called maintenance care with the intent of secondary and tertiary prevention. The Nordic Maintenance Care Program provides evidence of when and for whom maintenance care should be offered. Dissemination has occurred through articles, workshops, social media, conference in Europe and internationally. However, little is known about chiropractors’ awareness and use of this evidence. This study explores chiropractors’ attitudes, skills, and use of evidence on maintenance care, as well as study their association with general evidence-based practice and demographic characteristics. Moreover, barriers and facilitators of evidence access are also examined. Methods Questions pertaining our research aim were included in the anonymous and digital Evidence-Based practice Attitude and utilization SurvEy, which was distributed to all members (n = 770) of the Norwegian chiropractic association in the fall of 2021. Results The response rate was 41% (n = 312). Regarding attitudes towards evidence-based maintenance care, 26% agreed they needed tools to recommend this care to patients. Approximately half (57%) believed they had skills to identify suitable patients, and 45% had used published information in the past month. Strong alignment was observed between Norwegian chiropractors’ attitudes, skills, and utilization of evidence-based maintenance care and general evidence-based practice. Maintenance care skills were significantly associated with age (those between 40 and 59 years being less likely to report having high skills), clinical setting (those working with conventional health care providers being less likely to report having high skills) and country of education (those educated in the US and Australia being more likely to report having high skills). Moreover, maintenance care use was significantly associated with country of education (those educated in Australia were less likely to have used published information regarding patient selection for maintenance care). Access to resources was a barrier, whereas knowledge of patient suitability facilitated evidence-based maintenance care. Conclusions Norwegian chiropractors had neutral attitudes towards maintenance care, but generally reported moderate skills. Most had not used evidence about maintenance care in the previous month. Access to useful resources about the evidence regarding maintenance care was a barrier, and knowledge of who responds to maintenance care was a facilitator.publishedVersio

Social physique anxiety and physical activity in early adolescent girls : the influence of maturation and physical activity motives

This study considered the influence of maturation on social physique anxiety (SPA), the relationship between SPA and current and future physical activity (PA) levels and the influence of motives for physical activity on this relationship in early adolescent girls (n=162; mean age=11.80±0.33 years). Participants completed the Pubertal Development Scale, the modified Social Physique Anxiety Scale and the Motives for Physical Activity Scale at baseline and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children at baseline and 6 months later. The girls became less active across the 6 months and girls in the early stages of maturation had significantly lower SPA than the girls in the middle and late stages of maturation. SPA was not related to current or future physical activity in the sample as a whole. Cluster analysis identified four groups with different motive profiles and the High Appearance and Fitness group demonstrated a moderate negative relationship between SPA and PA at phase 1, whereas the other groups did not. These findings indicate that SPA may increase with maturation and the relationship between SPA and PA is dependent on reasons for being active. For girls who are motivated to be active primarily by body-related reasons SPA is likely to lead to lower levels of PA

Efficacy of Short-Course AZT Plus 3TC to Reduce Nevirapine Resistance in the Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Neil Martinson and colleagues report a randomized trial of adding short-course zidovudine+lamivudine to reduce drug resistance from single-dose nevirapine used to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV