Spatio-temporal patterns and morphological characterisation of multispecies pelagic fish schools in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea

Echosounder data from four surveys (1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996) is used to investigate the spatio-temporal variability of school behaviour in North-Western Mediterranean waters. The schools are described using morphological, energetic, spatial and temporal descriptors. The variability in the morphological, positional and energetic parameters of the schools is attributable more to the size of the school's individuals (juveniles or adults) than to the relative composition (percentage) of pelagic species in the area. This fact made difficult the identification of species in the studied area. The concentration of schools in certain geographic zones is determined by local oceanographic characteristics that favour the trophic or reproductive activity of these species. The diurnal aggregative behaviour of pelagic species is typical of the zone and no schools were detected at night. The biomass of the pelagic species in the area under consideration has diminished during the 4-year study period and no relationship was found between the number of schools and the biomass evaluated. This is the first time that the schools of small pelagic fishes from the Spanish Mediterranean Sea have been described and the information could be useful to the management and exploitation of the fisheries in the areaPublicado

In situ target strength measurements. Preliminary data of sardine (Sardina pilchardus W.) from the Mediterranean Sea

During the pelagic fishing stations of the acoustics surveys Ecomed 91 and Ecomed 92, carried out in november 1991 and 92, series on sardine TS were collected using a SIMRAD EK-500 38 kHz split-beam echo sounder and echointegrator. Only data with similar features in bottom depth, trawling depth and % of capture were used. The Least-Mean-Square regression of mean TS on the logarithm of the mean fish length of the form TS=m1og(1}+b was finally applied to 11 data series giving m=29.73 and b=-74.08 with r =0.94 or, requiring that m=20, b=-63.34, which is higher than ot~ers to similars species but close to the Love's one. This could be explained for the trawling depth or for the short range of length analyzed

Zamia inermis, the more threatened cycad of Mexico

Zamia inermis (Zamiaceae) es una cícada rara, endémica y actualmente listada en Peligro Crítico de Extinción. De la misma, sólo se conoce una población compuesta de tres subpoblaciones, que se encuentra distribuido en tan sólo 2,5 km2 de pastizales y bosques estacionalmente secos y fragmentados. Durante la década de los 70's y 80s se sustrajeron ilegalmente muchas plantas para comercio, por lo que su población actual estimada está compuesta entre 300 y 700 ejemplares. Además, debido a la ausencia de su polinizador natural, un escarabajo, esta especie presenta un reclutamiento extremadamente bajo y su diversidad genética está insuficientemente representada en esta singular población. Por todas estas razones se le considera como las cícada mexicana que se encuentra en mayor riesgo de extinción.Zamia inermis (Zamiaceae) is a rare endemic and critically threatened species of cycad, with only one known population, composed of three subpopulations. The total population is distributed in only 2.5 km2 on grassland and fragmented seasonally dry forest. Many plants have been illegally removed for the ornamental plant trade during the 1970´s and 80s and its current population is estimated between 300 and 700 individuals, with extremely poor recruitment due to absence of its natural beetle pollinator. Additionally, its genetic diversity is under represented in this unique population, and for these reasons this species should be considered as the Mexican cycad at greatest extinction risk.A CONACYT por el apoyo financiero brindado al Proyecto de Ciencia Básica 152073

Avoiding communication barriers in the classroom: the APEINTA project

Education is a fundamental human right, however unfortunately not everybody has the same learning opportunities. For instance, if a student has hearing impairments, s/he could face communications barriers in the classroom, which could affect his/her learning process. APEINTA is a Spanish educational project that aims for inclusive education for all. This project proposes two main accessible initiatives: (1) real-time captioning and text-to-speech (TTS) services in the classroom and (2) accessible Web-learning platform out of the classroom with accessible digital resources. This paper presents the inclusive initiatives of APEINTA. Also an evaluation of the into-the-classroom initiative (real-time captioning and TTS services) is presented. This evaluation has been conducted during a regular undergraduate course at a university and during a seminar at an integration school for deaf children. Forty-five hearing students, 1 foreign student, 3 experts in captioning, usability and accessibility, and 20 students with hearing impairments evaluated these services in the classroom. Evaluation results show that these initiatives are adequate to be used in the classroom and that students are satisfied with them.Publicad

Spanish bottom trawl spring survey “Fletán Ártico 2015” in the Slope of Svalbard (ICES Division IIb2)

Documento de trabajo paras el ICES-AFWG 2016The "Fletán Ártico 2015" spring survey is a continuation of the Spanish bottom trawl survey series started in 1997 on the slope of Svalbard (ICES IIb2) using commercial vessels. The present survey was carried out from the 19th of June to the 10th of July, 2015 on board a Spanish freezer trawler using a bottom trawl gear. There were 81 valid hauls in which Greenland halibut was clearly the predominant species (Catch per unit effort [CPUE] = 2,758.1 kg/hr; abundance index =155,333 (‘000) individuals; and biomass index = 150,385 tons). In the frame of the spring surveys, the present survey shows a positive trend in these indices, but such values are lower than the ones obtained from the autumn surveys. The latitudinal and bathymetric distributions of the species were similar to those observed in previous years. Population structure was also quite similar to those described previously, with a predominance of males. Modal length was 46 cm for males and 48 cm for females. Mature Greenland halibut individuals were dominant in the catches. Cod (1,120.6 kg), redfish (734.7 kg) and roughhead grenadier (460.8 kg), were the three main accompanying species in terms of weight. When compared to the Greenland halibut, the accompanying species show very low CPUE values and very low abundance and biomass indices. By-catches of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) indicator species were generally absent or low. Only in two hauls the sea pen by-catches exceeded the NAFO threshold for “significant research vessel trawl sea pen catches”.Sector pesquer

Multidisciplinary Acoustic Survey PELACUS0313: Preliminary Results on Fish Abundance Estimates and Distribution

The PELACUS 0313 survey was undertook this year on board R/V Miguel Oliver, an oceanographic research stern trawler vessel similar to R/V Thalassa. The survey was characterised by a very bad weather conditions during the first two weeks which did not allow working properly. Moreover, the weather conditions during the rest of survey were almost similar. As a consequence, most of the coastal pelagic fish community remained very close to the coast, thus not accessible to the pelagic gear samplers. (33% of the total acoustic energy – NASC- was unable to be properly allocated into fish species). Outside the coastal area (>90 m depth) main abundance fish species was mackerel with 380.000 tonnes, corresponding to 1.725 million fish. On the contrary, sardine distribution was scarce, and occurred in small schools (probably as a consequence of the bad weather condition), with only 3.343 tonnes corresponding to 54.0 million fish. Age group 2 was the most abundant, which confirms the high abundance found last year at age group 1 of the 2011 cohort

El cerezo en España: situación e innovación tecnológica

En el presente artículo se expone una visión global de la producción de cereza en España, indicando las principales zonas de producción que siguen siendo Aragón y Extremadura. Las exportaciones suponen el 30% de la producción media nacional (110.000 t), siendo los principales destinos Reino Unido y Alemania. La mano de obra representa alrededor del 59% del coste total de producción. El calibre del fruto es el principal factor de calidad determinante del precio. La gama varietal disponible con variedades ya contrastadas es amplia y abarca desde la segunda semana de mayo con las variedades ‘Royal Tioga’ y ‘Nimba’, hasta principios de julio con ‘Stacatto’. Con respecto a los portainjertos Adara es el más plantado en la actualidad en sustitución de SL–64. Nuevas selecciones de las series ‘Corette®’ (Michigan State University, USA) y ‘GiSelA’ (CDB®, Alemania) se encuentran en fase de evaluación. En cuanto a sistemas de formación el vaso español constituye la referencia aunque el KGB es cada vez más utilizado, completado con sistemas planos o 2D.Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 SpainvariedadPublishe

Cerasicoltura spagnola, innovazione necessaria per rimanere al passo

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