The ethics of digital well-being: a multidisciplinary perspective

This chapter serves as an introduction to the edited collection of the same name, which includes chapters that explore digital well-being from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including philosophy, psychology, economics, health care, and education. The purpose of this introductory chapter is to provide a short primer on the different disciplinary approaches to the study of well-being. To supplement this primer, we also invited key experts from several disciplines—philosophy, psychology, public policy, and health care—to share their thoughts on what they believe are the most important open questions and ethical issues for the multi-disciplinary study of digital well-being. We also introduce and discuss several themes that we believe will be fundamental to the ongoing study of digital well-being: digital gratitude, automated interventions, and sustainable co-well-being

Trade-offs in prey quantity and quality in gray whale foraging

To forage optimally, predators face complex decisions regarding target prey distribution, quantity, and quality. We paired theodolite tracking of gray whales Eschrichtius robustus in Port Orford, Oregon, USA, with concurrent sampling of their zooplankton prey to examine foraging decisions relative to prey quantity (abundance) and quality (caloric content). We tested the hypotheses that whales (1) feed more than search or transit in areas with high quantity and quality prey and (2) select foraging habitat dominated by the calorically rich mysid Neomysis rayii. Relative prey abundance was assessed through standardized image analysis of camera drops, and zooplankton prey community was determined from net tows. These data were spatially interpolated and modeled to generate daily layers of species-specific prey abundance and calories (20 m grid) for comparison to whale behavior derived from tracking data. Whales fed significantly more in areas with higher prey abundance and calories than where they searched and transited. Whales increased foraging effort as overall prey availability increased, yet foraging probability was significantly correlated with the quantity and quality of the mysid Holmesimysis sculpta, which has significantly lower calories than N. rayii. However, during the study period, the maximum abundance of N. rayii was 4 times lower than that of H. sculpta and never reached the quantity threshold determined by a logistic regression needed to support whale foraging behavior. Hence, gray whale prey selection involves trade-offs between prey quantity and quality to maximize energetic gain, and prey quality should be considered alongside abundance in ecological studies investigating predator decision-making

International migration patterns of Red-throated Loons (<i>Gavia stellata</i>) from four breeding populations in Alaska

<div><p>Identifying post-breeding migration and wintering distributions of migratory birds is important for understanding factors that may drive population dynamics. Red-throated Loons (<i>Gavia stellata</i>) are widely distributed across Alaska and currently have varying population trends, including some populations with recent periods of decline. To investigate population differentiation and the location of migration pathways and wintering areas, which may inform population trend patterns, we used satellite transmitters (n = 32) to describe migration patterns of four geographically separate breeding populations of Red-throated Loons in Alaska. On average (± SD) Red-throated Loons underwent long (6,288 ± 1,825 km) fall and spring migrations predominantly along coastlines. The most northern population (Arctic Coastal Plain) migrated westward to East Asia and traveled approximately 2,000 km farther to wintering sites than the three more southerly populations (Seward Peninsula, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and Copper River Delta) which migrated south along the Pacific coast of North America. These migration paths are consistent with the hypothesis that Red-throated Loons from the Arctic Coastal Plain are exposed to contaminants in East Asia. The three more southerly breeding populations demonstrated a chain migration pattern in which the more northerly breeding populations generally wintered in more northerly latitudes. Collectively, the migration paths observed in this study demonstrate that some geographically distinct breeding populations overlap in wintering distribution while others use highly different wintering areas. Red-throated Loon population trends in Alaska may therefore be driven by a wide range of effects throughout the annual cycle.</p></div