Writing impact case studies: a comparative study of high-scoring and low-scoring case studies from REF2014

This paper reports on two studies that used qualitative thematic and quantitative linguistic analysis, respectively, to assess the content and language of the largest ever sample of graded research impact case studies, from the UK Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF). The paper provides the first empirical evidence across disciplinary main panels of statistically significant linguistic differences between high- versus low-scoring case studies, suggesting that implicit rules linked to written style may have contributed to scores alongside the published criteria on the significance, reach and attribution of impact. High-scoring case studies were more likely to provide specific and high-magnitude articulations of significance and reach than low-scoring cases. High-scoring case studies contained attributional phrases which were more likely to attribute research and/or pathways to impact, and they were written more coherently (containing more explicit causal connections between ideas and more logical connectives) than low-scoring cases. High-scoring case studies appear to have conformed to a distinctive new genre of writing, which was clear and direct, and often simplified in its representation of causality between research and impact, and less likely to contain expressions of uncertainty than typically associated with academic writing. High-scoring case studies in two Main Panels were significantly easier to read than low-scoring cases on the Flesch Reading Ease measure, although both high-scoring and low-scoring cases tended to be of “graduate” reading difficulty. The findings of our work enable impact case study authors to better understand the genre and make content and language choices that communicate their impact as effectively as possible. While directly relevant to the assessment of impact in the UK’s Research Excellence Framework, the work also provides insights of relevance to institutions internationally who are designing evaluation frameworks for research impact

The roles of seagrasses in structuring associated fish assemblages and fisheries

Seagrasses are known to provide important habitats for a diversity of fish and fisheries species. Continued research has allowed us to re-evaluate the generalisations, and identify the gaps in our knowledge regarding these habitats, particularly in an Australian context. Seagrasses generally form part of a mosaic with other habitats within a seascape that contributes to its overall biodiversity of fish. Patterns of abundance and diversity of fish between seagrass and other habitats, such as unvegetated flats and reef habitats, is inconsistent and depends on the region, fish and seagrass species, and sampling method. Edge effects, adjacent habitats, and fragmentation can strongly influence fish assemblages. Seagrass structural complexity can enhance survival and growth of juvenile fishes, but recent studies show that survival rates of individual prey do not vary greatly across seagrass densities when densities of both prey and predators increase with seagrass density. The concept of the nursery habitat has been built on data from studies in estuaries or highly seasonal seagrass habitats, whereas recent studies in marine systems or cool temperate seagrass meadows suggest that this role does not always hold. Direct grazing on seagrasses by fishes occurs mainly in tropical regions, although there is a paucity of data on this process along with several other processes, from tropical Australia. Grazing on seagrasses by fishes appears to be limited in temperate regions, with consumption of seagrass restricted mainly to omnivorous species. However, tropicalisation, that is, the immigration of tropical grazers to higher latitudes due to global ocean warming, is predicted to increase grazing rates on temperate seagrasses. Reductions in seagrass biomass caused by increased grazing will disrupt connectivity processes between seagrass meadows and surrounding habitats, and are likely to have significant ramifications for the biodiversity and ecosystem services those other coastal habitats provide. Although other habitats rely on inputs of seagrass detritus, and the immigration of fish and fisheries species from their juvenile seagrass habitats, quantitative data on this link are limited. Evidence that fisheries declines, either directly or indirectly, have resulted from seagrass loss is equivocal to date, and therefore, the quantification of this role is still needed. Managing seagrass for fisheries is complex, and many fisheries agencies embrace ecosystem-based management, but do not have direct responsibility for seagrass habitat. Significant progress has been made in our knowledge of fish and fisheries in seagrasses, but our review highlights significant knowledge gaps where further research is recommended

Faunal assemblages of seagrass ecosystems

Seagrass habitats support diverse animal assemblages and while there has been considerable progress in the study of these fauna over the last few decades, large knowledge gaps remain. There are biases in our knowledge of taxonomic and functional information that favour the temperate regions over the tropics, some seagrass genera over others, shallow habitats compared to deeper meadows and larger animals over smaller ones, with many invertebrate communities poorly described. In many areas of Australia, invertebrate identification to low taxonomic resolution is difficult due to a lack of resources, but new approaches, such as genetic barcoding, may one day surpass traditional methods of classification and overcome this issue. Many studies have demonstrated greater biodiversity of fauna in seagrass compared to adjacent bare habitats with explanations for this ranging from habitat and seascape processes to food availability and trophic interactions. Within seagrass ecosystems, meadows can be highly heterogeneous, and habitat factors such as structural complexity, patch size, edges, gaps and corridors influence associated faunal communities. Broader seascape processes that occur across multiple connected habitats, including seagrass meadows, bare sediments, mangroves, saltmarshes and coral and rocky reefs, influence faunal productivity and/or diversity through the movement of organisms for recruitment and migration, and the transport of detritus and nutrients. The study of seagrass food webs has highlighted the importance of bottom-up processes in shaping the faunal assemblages through assessments of the role of invertebrate prey in influencing the productivity of consumer species and manipulative experiments that show prey resources affecting spatial patterns of predators. In addition, top-down consumptive and non-consumptive effects of predators such as their modification of prey behaviour also affect the structure of faunal communities. A large number of natural and anthropogenic perturbations to seagrass meadows influence their resident animals. These disturbances can modify seagrass-associated fauna in several ways; directly where seagrass fauna are more sensitive to perturbation than their seagrass habitat, indirectly through habitat modification, and additionally through interventions that reduce connectivity between habitats that fauna use for part of their life cycle. Animals can also play a significant role in structuring seagrass meadows through processes such as herbivory and bioturbation that can have both positive and negative effects on seagrass habitat

The DNA sequence of the human X chromosome

The human X chromosome has a unique biology that was shaped by its evolution as the sex chromosome shared by males and females. We have determined 99.3% of the euchromatic sequence of the X chromosome. Our analysis illustrates the autosomal origin of the mammalian sex chromosomes, the stepwise process that led to the progressive loss of recombination between X and Y, and the extent of subsequent degradation of the Y chromosome. LINE1 repeat elements cover one-third of the X chromosome, with a distribution that is consistent with their proposed role as way stations in the process of X-chromosome inactivation. We found 1,098 genes in the sequence, of which 99 encode proteins expressed in testis and in various tumour types. A disproportionately high number of mendelian diseases are documented for the X chromosome. Of this number, 168 have been explained by mutations in 113 X-linked genes, which in many cases were characterized with the aid of the DNA sequence