Quantitative assessment of relative ship strike risk to humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

The Australian east coast population of humpback whales (E1 sub-population) annually migrate to the Great Barrier Reef for mating and calving. Recent improvements in our understanding of the distribution of humpback whales on their breeding ground in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) indicate the main breeding aggregation (highest density area) is in offshore waters of the southern GBR, in close proximity to coastal areas undergoing significant port development. The core breeding area overlaps the inner shipping route that services all ports on the Qld coast. A quantitative assessment of relative ship strike risk (ships > 80m) to humpback whales in the GBRWHA was recently undertaken. However, it was not possible to model the Capricorn Bunker Group due to limited humpback whale distribution data. This Capricorn Bunker Group is an area of significant shipping activity and represents a significant information gap on relative risk of ship strike to humpback whales in the GBR. This report presents data on the distribution of humpback whales in the Capricorn Bunker Group area from an aerial survey undertaken in July 2018. This data enabled a quantitative relative ship strike risk assessment for this area and a re-assessment of risk in the extended GBRWHA when integrated with existing aerial survey data

Quantitative assessment of the relative risk of ship strike to humpback whales in the Great Barrier Reef

There is global recognition that ship strike represents a significant risk to some populations of whales around the world. Analysis of ship strike records worldwide demonstrates that humpback whales are the second most frequently reported whale species to be struck by a ship. In Australia, both the east and west coast populations of humpback whales are strongly recovering from commercial whaling during the mid-20th century which resulted in populations nearing extinction. On the east coast of Australia the main breeding ground for humpback whales is within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA). Both the east and west coast of Australia have also in the past decade experienced considerable coastal and port development associated with an increase in natural resource projects. It is due to substantial coastal development and port expansions related to the mining industry that UNESCO were considering listing the GBRWHA on the 'List of World Heritage in Danger' and are currently monitoring Australia's commitment to its sustainability. Along with considerable port expansion along the GBRWHA coastline to meet increasing global demands for coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), there is projected to be substantial increases in shipping traffic. Conservative estimates are predicting a doubling of shipping traffic by 2025, albeit not for all Queensland ports. Considering the rapid rate of increase of the east Australian population of humpback whales (approximately 10.9% increase per annum), there is potential for increased interaction between humpback whales and shipping traffic and increased risk of ship strikes to the whales on their breeding ground. To understand the risk of ship strike to humpbacks in the GBRWHA, it is necessary to understand the distribution and densities for both whales and shipping. This report uses current knowledge on the distribution of humpback whales within the GBRWHA from aerial survey data from 2012 and 2014 and contemporary (2012-2014) shipping traffic data of ships travelling within the GBR to provide estimates of relative risk of ship strike to humpback whales within the GBR

Quantifying ship strike risk to breeding whales in a multiple-use marine park: The Great Barrier Reef

Spatial risk assessments are an effective management tool used in multiple-use marine parks to balance the needs for conservation of natural properties and to provide for varying socio-economic demands for development. The multiple-use Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) has recently experienced substantial increases in current and proposed port expansions and subsequent shipping. Globally, large whale populations are recovering from commercial whaling and ship strike is a significant threat to some populations and a potential welfare issue for others. Within the GBRMP, there is spatial conflict between the main breeding ground of the east Australian humpback whale population and the main inner shipping route that services several large natural resource export ports. The east coast humpback whale population is one of the largest humpback whale populations globally, exponentially increasing (11% per annum) close to the maximum potential rate and estimated to reach pre-exploitation population numbers in the next 4-5 years. We quantify the relative risk of ship strike to calving and mating humpback whales, with areas of highest relative risk coinciding with areas offshore of two major natural resource export ports. We found females with a dependent calf had a higher risk of ship strike compared to groups without a calf when standardized for group size and their inshore movement and coastal dependence later in the breeding season increases their overlap with shipping, although their lower relative abundance decreases risk. The formalization of a two-way shipping route has provided little change to risk and projected risk estimates indicate a three- to five-fold increase in risk to humpback whales from ship strike over the next 10 years. Currently, the whale Protection Area in the GBRMP does not cover the main mating and calving areas, whereas provisions within the legislation for establishment of a Special Management Area during the peak breeding season in high-risk areas could occur. A common mitigation strategy of re-routing shipping lanes to reduce risk is not a viable option for the GBRMP due to physical spatial limitations imposed by the reef, whereas speed restrictions could be the most feasible based on current ship speeds

Theory for Metal Hydrides with Switchable Optical Properties

Recently it has been discovered that lanthanum, yttrium, and other metal hydride films show dramatic changes in the optical properties at the metal-insulator transition. Such changes on a high energy scale suggest the electronic structure is best described by a local model based on negatively charged hydrogen (H$^-$) ions. We develop a many-body theory for the strong correlation in a H$^-$ ion lattice. The metal hydride is described by a large $U$-limit of an Anderson lattice model. We use lanthanum hydride as a prototype of these compounds, and find LaH$_3$ is an insulator with a substantial gap consistent with experiments. It may be viewed either as a Kondo insulator or a band insulator due to strong electron correlation. A H vacancy state in LaH$_3$ is found to be highly localized due to the strong bonding between the electron orbitals of hydrogen and metal atoms. Unlike the impurity states in the usual semiconductors, there is only weak internal optical transitions within the vacancy. The metal-insulator transition takes place in a band of these vacancy states.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures and 6 tables. Submitted to PR

State-based components made generic

Genericity is a topic which is not sufficiently developed in state-based systems modelling, mainly due to a myriad of approaches and behaviour models which lack unification. This paper adopts coalgebra theory to propose a generic notion of a state-based software component, and an associated calculus, by quantifying over behavioural models specified as strong monads. This leads to the pointfree, calculational reasoning style which is typical of the so-called Bird-Meertens school.(undefined

Relativistic Hydrodynamic Evolutions with Black Hole Excision

We present a numerical code designed to study astrophysical phenomena involving dynamical spacetimes containing black holes in the presence of relativistic hydrodynamic matter. We present evolutions of the collapse of a fluid star from the onset of collapse to the settling of the resulting black hole to a final stationary state. In order to evolve stably after the black hole forms, we excise a region inside the hole before a singularity is encountered. This excision region is introduced after the appearance of an apparent horizon, but while a significant amount of matter remains outside the hole. We test our code by evolving accurately a vacuum Schwarzschild black hole, a relativistic Bondi accretion flow onto a black hole, Oppenheimer-Snyder dust collapse, and the collapse of nonrotating and rotating stars. These systems are tracked reliably for hundreds of M following excision, where M is the mass of the black hole. We perform these tests both in axisymmetry and in full 3+1 dimensions. We then apply our code to study the effect of the stellar spin parameter J/M^2 on the final outcome of gravitational collapse of rapidly rotating n = 1 polytropes. We find that a black hole forms only if J/M^2<1, in agreement with previous simulations. When J/M^2>1, the collapsing star forms a torus which fragments into nonaxisymmetric clumps, capable of generating appreciable ``splash'' gravitational radiation.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, submitted to PR

Problematising Local Indigenous Community Research

This book deliberates on developments related to Knowledge Pathing: Multi-, Inter- and Trans-Disciplining in Social Sciences. The book explores the value of this vexed concept in advancing the course for multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary perspectives, methodologies, theories and epistemologies of knowledge pathing. The discourse on knowledge pathing remains critical in advancing debates and dialogues in the humanities and social sciences spaces of research and studies. This book makes a significant contribution to the scholarly understanding of indigenous knowledge research by focusing on problematising local indigenous community research from Afro-sensed perspectives. The field of indigenous knowledge research and higher education in Africa is complex. Yet, across the continent, higher education has been the sector to least embrace Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) or regard indigenous science as a legitimate source of inspiration for the development of youth and local communities. Higher education institutions and local indigenous communities should thus generate knowledge and power through research. On the other hand, higher education researchers should use their research processes and skills for cross-beneficiation when engaging local indigenous communities. This book embodies the current discourse on decolonisation and the use of indigenous knowledge in research and is intended for research specialists in the field of indigenous knowledge systems

Problematising Local Indigenous Community Research

This book deliberates on developments related to Knowledge Pathing: Multi-, Inter- and Trans-Disciplining in Social Sciences. The book explores the value of this vexed concept in advancing the course for multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary perspectives, methodologies, theories and epistemologies of knowledge pathing. The discourse on knowledge pathing remains critical in advancing debates and dialogues in the humanities and social sciences spaces of research and studies. This book makes a significant contribution to the scholarly understanding of indigenous knowledge research by focusing on problematising local indigenous community research from Afro-sensed perspectives. The field of indigenous knowledge research and higher education in Africa is complex. Yet, across the continent, higher education has been the sector to least embrace Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) or regard indigenous science as a legitimate source of inspiration for the development of youth and local communities. Higher education institutions and local indigenous communities should thus generate knowledge and power through research. On the other hand, higher education researchers should use their research processes and skills for cross-beneficiation when engaging local indigenous communities. This book embodies the current discourse on decolonisation and the use of indigenous knowledge in research and is intended for research specialists in the field of indigenous knowledge systems

From Feminist Anarchy to Decolonization: Understanding abortion health activism before and after the Repeal of the 8th Amendment

This article analyses abortion health activism (AHA) in the Irish context. AHA is a form of activism focused on enabling abortion access where it is restricted. Historically, AHA has involved facilitating the movement of abortion seekers along ‘abortion trails’ (Rossiter, 2009). Organisations operate transnationally, enabling access to abortion care across borders. Such AHA is a form of feminist anarchism, resisting prohibitions on abortion through direct action. However, AHA work has changed over time. Existing scholarship relates this to advancements in medical technology, particularly the emergence of telemedicine and the increased use of early medical abortion. This article goes beyond those explanations to explore how else AHA has changed by comparing the work of AHA before and after the Republic of Ireland’s referendum on abortion in May 2018. Based on this, I argue that there is a visible shift in the politics of AHA. Drawing on qualitative data from research on AHA organisations along the Liverpool–Ireland Abortion Corridor, specifically those based outside Ireland, the article argues that in the aftermath of the referendum, Irish AHA has increasingly moved towards decolonising feminist activism, thus drawing attention to the relationship between abortion health activists (AHAs) and broader political discourses entangled with abortion law reform

Driven to excess? Linking calling, character and the (mis)behaviour of marketers

We are presently at a point of unique circumstantial convergence where recession, an increased emphasis on business ethics, and marketer’s reluctance to accept shifting social agendas have combined to identify the need for a new approach to marketing. Using concepts from the human resources, marketing and psychology literatures, and especially Erich Fromm’s ideas concerning economic character, this paper posits that marketers – as a professional community – are driven to promote consumerist outcomes; victims of an automaton amalgam of calling and character. The analysis suggests the vulnerability of both marketer and consumer are mutually reinforcing and that we need, somehow, to break this damaging cycle of dependence. We know little, however, about how marketers think and feel about their discipline, so this paper also promotes an agenda for marketer behaviour research, as a countervailing balance to a currently disproportionate focus on the consumer