Length-weight relationships of two conservation-concern mahseers (Teleostei: Cyprinidae: Tor) of the river Cauvery, Karnataka, India

Length-weight (LW) relationships are presented for two conservation-concern species of mahseer (Tor spp.) from southern India’s river Cauvery. Constructed from angler catch data, these are the first available LW relationships for the Critically Endangered Tor remadevii and the non-native and locally invasive Tor khudree. For T. remadevii, the value of b, the allometric parameter, was 2.94 (95% CI: 2.75–3.14) and was not significantly different from 3.0, indicating isometric growth (t = 0.61, P = 0.54). For T. khudree, b was greater at 3.18 (95% CI: 3.01–3.38), but with this also not significantly different from 3.0 (t = 1.91, P = 0.06). Outputs are discussed with reference to species conservation and recreational catch-and-release fisheries

Mahseer (Tor spp.) fishes of the world: status, challenges and opportunities for conservation.

The mahseer fishes (Tor spp.) represent an iconic genus of large-bodied species of the Cyprinidae family. Across the 16 recognised species in the genus, individual fish can attain weights over 50 kg, resulting in some species being considered as premier sport fishes. Tor species also generally have high religious and cultural significance throughout South and Southeast Asia. Despite their economic and cultural importance, the status of Tor fishes has been increasingly imperilled through their riverine habitats being impacted by anthropogenic activities, such as hydropower dam construction and exploitation. Moreover, conservation efforts have been constrained by knowledge on the genus being heavily skewed towards aquaculture, with considerable knowledge gaps on their taxonomy, autecology, distribution and population status. Whilst taxonomic ambiguity has been a major constraint on conservation efforts, this has been partially overcome by recent, robust taxonomic revisions. This has enabled revision of the IUCN Red List status of Tor fishes; three species are now assessed as ‘Near Threatened’, one ‘Vulnerable’, three ‘Endangered’ and one ‘Critically Endangered’. However, eight species remain ‘Data deficient’. Here, information on these 16 Tor fishes is synthesised for the first time, outlining the current state of knowledge for each species, including their known distributions and population status. For each species, the outstanding gaps in knowledge are also identified, and their population threats and conservation prospects outlined. Consequently, this review provides the basis for researchers to challenge and enhance the knowledge base necessary to conserve these freshwater icons in an era of unprecedented environmental changes

Measurement of event-shape observables in Z→ℓ+ℓ− events in pp collisions at √ s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Event-shape observables measured using charged particles in inclusive $Z$-boson events are presented, using the electron and muon decay modes of the $Z$ bosons. The measurements are based on an integrated luminosity of $1.1 {\rm fb}^{-1}$ of proton--proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV. Charged-particle distributions, excluding the lepton--antilepton pair from the $Z$-boson decay, are measured in different ranges of transverse momentum of the $Z$ boson. Distributions include multiplicity, scalar sum of transverse momenta, beam thrust, transverse thrust, spherocity, and $\mathcal{F}$-parameter, which are in particular sensitive to properties of the underlying event at small values of the $Z$-boson transverse momentum. The Sherpa event generator shows larger deviations from the measured observables than Pythia8 and Herwig7. Typically, all three Monte Carlo generators provide predictions that are in better agreement with the data at high $Z$-boson transverse momenta than at low $Z$-boson transverse momenta and for the observables that are less sensitive to the number of charged particles in the event.Comment: 36 pages plus author list + cover page (54 pages total), 14 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC, All figures including auxiliary figures are available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2014-0

Assessment of fishing guide knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours in global recreational fisheries

Fishing guides are held in high esteem by recreational fishing clients whom they likely influence (for better or worse) through role-modelling. This, coupled with consensus that angler behaviour is a key determinant of ecological outcomes in the catch-and-release (C&R) process suggests exploring the state of fishing guide knowledge, attitudes and behaviour on trips is critical for effective intervention in the global fish crisis. Fishing guides were recruited for an online survey using collaborator networks and social media (n = 342; 47 countries). The survey assessed the guides’ knowledge of C&R best practices, attitudes towards environmental behaviours, attitudes towards environmental responsibility and their current practices on guided-angling trips. While most fishing guides were deemed “knowledgeable” (69.0%) having answered most (≥4/7) of the best practice questions correctly, many had poor knowledge of key C&R processes such as oesophageal unhooking. Most fishing guides were untrained (64.0%), and only 8.8% had accredited training. Fishing guides generally had positive environmental attitudes towards C&R behaviour (50.9 – 96.2%), suggesting pro-environmental behavioural intentions. Fishing guides deemed “knowledgeable” had significantly more pro-environmental attitudes towards angling behaviours (p = 0.003), which suggests that best practice training may improve their C&R behaviours. Most fishing guides had pro-environmental attitudes towards their environmental responsibilities (87.1 – 89.5%), but these broad attitudes may have little bearing on actual behaviours when faced with a significant trade-off between client satisfaction and ecological integrity. Despite some fishing guides’ good knowledge of appropriate behaviours, positive attitudes towards the environment and towards C&R practices, there is room for improvement to meet sustainability goals for C&R fisheries, which may be facilitated through opportunities for best practice training