Exploring women and adolescent girls’ attitudes and experiences with child and maternal health in Uganda

106 leaves : illustrations, map ; 29 cmIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-82).This research aims to better understand women and adolescent girls’ attitudes and experiences towards child and maternal health and education. It examines education through formal health services and education, as well as informal, community-led initiatives helping to improve child and maternal health and education outreach. Educating young women about communicable and non-communicable diseases and the health risks involved in childbirth and neonatal development will help women make informed decisions, which should ultimately reduce mortality. Thus if young women decide to become pregnant, the goal is that they have the information and tools to better care for their own health and sanitation during pregnancy, as well as during newborn development

Étude des niches trophiques des rorquals du Saint-Laurent par l'analyse des rapports isotopiques de carbone et d'azote

Dans les environnements où les ressources sont limitantes, la compétition pour la nourriture est élevée chez les espèces sympatriques et évolutivement proches. Le nombre d'espèces cohabitant dans une communauté sera déterminé par leur capacité à se répartir les ressources disponibles dans le temps et l'espace. Quatre populations de rorquals coexistent de façon saisonnière dans le Golfe du Saint-Laurent au Québec avec un chevauchement spatial important. La présente étude avait deux objectifs principaux: (1) d'investiguer la différenciation de niche trophique entre ces espèces de rorquals, (2) d'examiner les patrons d'utilisation des ressources alimentaires à long terme afin de mieux comprendre la dynamique trophique de ces prédateurs marins peu étudiés. Malgré un chevauchement considérable de leurs niches trophiques, chaque espèce se distingue par la contribution relative de chaque type de proies au régime alimentaire. L'analyse de la dynamique temporelle des niches trophiques a révélé que les espèces ayant un régime alimentaire généraliste semblent incorporer une plus grande proportion de proies de niveau trophique supérieur depuis les années 1990. Ceci pourrait refléter une réponse aux modifications de l'écosystème, suite à l'effondrement des stocks de poisson de fond dans les années 1990. À l'opposé, l'espèce ayant un régime alimentaire spécialisé démontre aussi le plus faible degré de variation de la niche trophique dans le temps. Ce qui pourrait les rendre plus vulnérable à la compétition interspécifique et aux changements environnementaux

Patterns of winter occurrence of three sympatric killer whale populations off eastern Vancouver Island, Canada, based on passive acoustic monitoring

Understanding habitat use patterns of animal populations across space and time is fundamental to identifying ecological requirements, and informing threat mitigation and conservation strategies. Persistent data gaps tend to occur with cryptic species in difficult-to-access environments, where the use of appropriate monitoring tools is indispensable for detection. Three populations of threatened and endangered killer whales occur year-round in waters off British Columbia, Canada; however, their winter habitat use patterns are not well known. Here we quantify wintertime use of the northern Strait of Georgia by these sympatric killer whale populations, revealing the importance of this previously understudied region. Using a network of passive acoustic monitoring devices deployed over three winter periods, we examine site-specific and regional patterns of occurrence of Bigg’s, and Southern and Northern Resident killer whales. All three populations frequented these waters in nearly every month from November to April, and across all study years. Bigg’s killer whales were detected most frequently, followed by Southern Residents, then Northern Residents. Population-specific differences in site use was apparent, with Southern Resident detections occurring more often than expected off the southwest side of Texada Island, while Northern Residents appeared to favor the east side of Texada Island. Remarkably, the patterns of winter use we observe in this region by Resident killer whale populations have seemingly persisted for at least 50 years. Additionally, we evaluate and discuss the effect of using multiple simultaneous recorders to characterize habitat use patterns. Lastly, we present a data-driven approach for estimating acoustic residence time, describe inter-population differences in winter residency in the northern Strait of Georgia, and discuss implications for critical habitat designation. This study fills important knowledge gaps related to killer whale winter occurrence off western Canada, highlighting the significance of the northern Strait of Georgia for these at-risk populations

Different Prey Resources Suggest Little Competition Between Non-Native Frogs and Insectivorous Birds Despite Isotopic Niche Overlap

Non-native amphibians often compete with native amphibians in their introduced range, but their competitive effects on other vertebrates are less well known. The Puerto Rican coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui) has colonized the island of Hawaii, and has been hypothesized to compete with insectivorous birds and bats. To address if the coqui could compete with these vertebrates, we used stable isotope analyses to compare the trophic position and isotopic niche overlap between the coqui, three insectivorous bird species, and the Hawaiian hoary bat. Coquis shared similar trophic position to Hawaii amakihi, Japanese white-eye, and red-billed leiothrix. Coquis were about 3 ‰ less enriched in δ15N than the Hawaiian hoary bat, suggesting the bats feed at a higher trophic level than coquis. Analyses of potential diet sources between coquis and each of the three bird species indicate that there was more dietary overlap between bird species than any of the birds and the coqui. Results suggest that Acari, Amphipoda, and Blattodea made up \u3e90% of coqui diet, while Araneae made up only 2% of coqui diet, but approximately 25% of amakihi and white-eye diet. The three bird species shared similar proportions of Lepidoptera larvae, which were ~25% of their diet. Results suggest that coquis share few food resources with insectivorous birds, but occupy a similar trophic position, which could indicate weak competition. However, resource competition may not be the only way coquis impact insectivorous birds, and future research should examine whether coqui invasions are associated with changes in bird abundance

Up in the air : drone images reveal underestimation of entanglement rates in large rorqual whales

Entanglement in fishing gear is a significant threat to many cetaceans. For the 2 largest species, the blue whale Balaenoptera musculus and the fin whale B. physalus, reports of entangled individuals are rare, leading to the assumption that entanglements are not common. Studies of interaction with fisheries in other species often rely on the presence of scars from previous entanglements. Here, scar detection rates were first examined in humpback Megaptera novaeangliae, fin and blue whales using standard vessel-based photo-identification photographs collected between 2009 and 2016 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. We then examined aerial images of fin whales collected with a drone in 2018 and 2019 and compared both methods. Entanglement rates were 6.5% for fin and 13.1% for blue whales using photo-identification images of individuals. Prominent scarring was observed around the tail and caudal peduncle, visible only when animals lifted those body sections above water when diving. For the small subset of pictures which captured the entire caudal peduncle, entanglement rates ranged between 60% for blue and 80% for fin whales. This result was similar to the 85% entanglement rate estimated in humpback whales. The assessment of aerial-based photography yielded an entanglement rate of 44.1 to 54.7% in fin whales. Scars were always around the peduncle, often the tail, rarely the dorsal fin and never around the pectoral fins, while the mouth cannot be examined from above. Thus, in species that do not regularly expose their tail or peduncle, aerial imagery is the preferred method to quantify entanglement rates by assessment of scars.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Trophic niche partitioning among sympatric baleen whale species following the collapse of groundfish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic

Ecologically similar species may coexist when resource partitioning over time and space reduces interspecific competition. Understanding resource use within these species assemblages may help predict how species relative abundance might influence ecosystem functioning. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, 4 species of rorqual whales (blue Balaenoptera musculus, fin B. physalus, minke B. acutorostrata and humpback Megaptera novaeangliae) coexist during the summer feeding period. They can be observed within hundreds of meters of one another, suggesting an overlap in ecological niches; yet fine-scale habitat use analyses suggest some resource partitioning. While major ecological changes have been observed in marine ecosystems, including the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we have little understanding of how the removal of predatory fish might cascade through ecosystems. Here, we take advantage of a 19 yr tissue collection subsequent to a fishery collapse (which occurred in 1992) to investigate trophic niche partitioning within a guild of rorqual whales following the loss of a key ecosystem component, groundfish. We analyzed stable isotope ratios for 626 rorqual individuals sampled between 1992 and 2010. Using Bayesian isotopic mixing models, we demonstrated that the 4 rorqual species segregated trophically by consuming different proportions of shared prey. An overall increase in δ15N values over the study period (post groundfish collapse), particularly for fin and humpback whales, suggested a progressive use of higher-trophic level prey, such as small pelagic fish, whereas the stability of blue whale diet over time confirmed their specialized feeding behaviour. This study provides the first longterm assessment of trophic ecology among rorqual populations on this Northwest Atlantic feeding ground, and evidence for differential resource use among large marine predators following ecosystem change