Women in freshwater science: challenges and solutions for achieving equity

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Voice activity detection in eco-acoustic data enables privacy protection and is a proxy for human disturbance

1. Eco-acoustic monitoring is increasingly being used to map biodiversity across large scales, yet little thought is given to the privacy concerns and potential scientific value of inadvertently recorded human speech. Automated speech de tection is possible using voice activity detection (VAD) models, but it is not clear how well these perform in diverse natural soundscapes. In this study we pre sent the first evaluation of VAD models for anonymization of eco-acoustic data and demonstrate how speech detection frequency can be used as one potential measure of human disturbance. 2. We first generated multiple synthetic datasets using different data preprocess ing techniques to train and validate deep neural network models. We evaluated the performance of our custom models against existing state-of-the-art VAD models using playback experiments with speech samples from a man, woman and child. Finally, we collected long-term data from a Norwegian forest heavily used for hiking to evaluate the ability of the models to detect human speech and quantify a proxy for human disturbance in a real monitoring scenario. 3. In playback experiments, all models could detect human speech with high accu racy at distances where the speech was intelligible (up to 10 m). We showed that training models using location specific soundscapes in the data preprocessing step resulted in a slight improvement in model performance. Additionally, we found that the number of speech detections correlated with peak traffic hours (using bus timings) demonstrating how VAD can be used to derive a proxy for human disturbance with fine temporal resolution. 4. Anonymizing audio data effectively using VAD models will allow eco-acoustic monitoring to continue to deliver invaluable ecological insight at scale, while minimizing the risk of data misuse. Furthermore, using speech detections as a proxy for human disturbance opens new opportunities for eco-acoustic moni toring to shed light on nuanced human–wildlife interactionspublishedVersio

Diel and seasonal movements of the critically endangered European eel

The critically endangered European eel is declining throughout its range and more information on which to base management plans is necessary. Here we present data collected by electrofishing and PIT telemetry on the habitat use and movements of eel in an English chalk stream in Dorset, southern UK. Eel were sampled quarterly for three years and movements between the main river and a side stream monitored by an in situ PIT detector. Eel abundance was highest in the side stream during summer and autumn and movement between the main river and side stream was greatest during spring, summer and autumn. Eel demonstrated nocturnal movements in/out of the side stream during spring and summer, however this diel pattern was not evident in autumn. The study demonstrates continual use of the connected floodplain by eel, underlining the importance of lateral connectivity to floodplain habitats to the species. Connectivity can be modified or lost by a number of anthropogenic activities such as hydropower and road culverts, but in many cases these can be avoided by proper and sound management. Key words: behaviour, Anguilla anguilla, movement, river connectivity, floodplain.Døgn- og sesongmessige vandringer hos den truede Europeiske ålen. Den Europeiske ålen(ål) er truet over hele dets utbredelsesområde og mer kunnskap om artens biologi og adferd er nødvendig for bedre forvaltning av arten. I denne artikkelen presenterer vi data for habitatbruk og forflytninger av ål i en kalkelv i Dorset, Sør-England basert på omfattende elektrofiske og PIT telemetri. Ål ble fanget fire ganger pr år og forflytninger mellom hovedelv og sidekanaler ble overvåket med hjelp av in situ PIT detektor i en periode på tre år. Det var høyeste forekomst av ål i sidekanalene om sommeren og høsten og det var omfattende forflytninger av ål mellom hovedelva og sidekanalene under vår, sommer og høst. Ålen hadde nattlige vandringer inn og ut av sidekanalene under vår og sommer, men denne døgn adferden var ikke tydelig om høsten når blankål startet sin utvandring mot sjøen. Studien demonstrerer ålen sin kontinuerlige bruk av flomområder og kanaler, og understreker viktigheten av å opprettholde forbindelsene fra hovedelva til disse habitatene for denne arten. Vannveier for fisk kan bli påvirket eller tapt ved en rekke antropogene aktiviteter slik som kraftutbygging og vei kulverter, men i en flere tilfeller kan dette ungåes ved god planlegging og kompetanse om fiskens adferd.publishedVersio

Acoustic environment of aquaculture net-pens varies with feeding status of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Continuous data on the condition of fish is necessary to monitor, control and document biological processes in fish farms in real-time, yet acquiring it from a large net-pen environment is challenging. Tools to rapidly detect change in the entire net-pen population are lacking. Automated passive acoustic monitoring is emerging as an effective monitoring tool in wildlife monitoring but has not before been tested in an aquaculture setting. Here, we explore the possibilities for passive acoustic monitoring in an aquaculture perspective. We investigated whether the soundscape of a net-pen could infer information on the condition of the whole net-pen population. In three cases, conducted at two different fish farms, we tested whether Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) influence the soundscape of the net-pen. We provide evidence that Atlantic salmon alter the acoustic environment when compared to an empty net-pen. We observe from a 24-h recording that the acoustic fingerprint of the net-pen varies over time and mirrors the feeding status of the fish. Our results demonstrate the potential for passive acoustic monitoring in fish farms and provide a new direction for data-driven management in aquaculture to improve fish welfare and operational feeding routines.publishedVersio

Provider Support of Spontaneous Pushing During the Second Stage of Labor

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74899/1/0884217505281904.pd

Under the sea: How can we use heart rate and accelerometers to remotely assess fish welfare in salmon aquaculture?

Recent advances in bio-sensing technologies open for new possibilities to monitor and safeguard the welfare of fishes in aquaculture. Yet before taken into practice, the applicability of all novel biosensors must be validated, and the breadth of their potential uses must be investigated. Here, we investigated how ECG and accelerometryderived parameters measured using bio-loggers, such as heart rate, acceleration and variance of acceleration, relate to O2 consumption rate (MO2) and blood borne indicators of stress and tissue damage to determine how biologgers may be used to estimate stress and welfare. To do this, we instrumented 13 fish with a biologger and an intravascular catheter and subjected them to a swimming protocol followed by a stress protocol throughout which the physiological parameters were measured and analyzed a posteriori. Additionally, based on the empirical data obtained, we calculated the mathematical relationships between the bio-logger data and the other parameters and tested the relationship between the calculated parameters using the linear regression algorithms and the measured parameters. Our results show that acceleration is a good proxy for swimming activity as it is closely related to tail beat frequency. In addition, we show that heart rate, acceleration and variance of acceleration all can be used as predictors for metabolic rate. Accelerometry based data, especially variance of acceleration, significantly explain some of the variation in venous partial pressure of O2, blood lactate and plasma cortisol concentration. Variance of acceleration also significantly explains some of the variation in pH and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. These relationships are explained by variance of acceleration being a good indicator of the onset of burst-swimming activity, which is often followed by acid-base imbalances and release of catecholamines. The results herein indicate that bio-logger data can be used to extrapolate a range of stress-related physiological events when these are accompanied by increases in activity and highlight the great potential of biosensors for monitoring fish welfare. Biologger Acceleration Heart rate Stress MetabolismpublishedVersio

Snowmobile noise alters bird vocalization patterns during winter and pre-breeding season

Noise pollution poses a significant threat to ecosystems worldwide, disrupting animal communication and causing cascading effects on biodiversity. In this study, we focus on the impact of snowmobile noise on avian vocalizations during the non-breeding winter season, a less-studied area in soundscape ecology. We developed a pipeline relying on deep learning methods to detect snowmobile noise and applied it to a large acoustic monitoring dataset collected in Yellowstone National Park. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of the snowmobile detection model in identifying snowmobile noise and reveal an association between snowmobile passage and changes in avian vocalization patterns. Snowmobile noise led to a decrease in the frequency of bird vocalizations during mornings and evenings, potentially affecting winter and pre-breeding behaviours such as foraging, predator avoidance and successfully finding a mate. However, we observed a recovery in avian vocalizations after detection of snowmobiles during mornings and afternoons, indicating some resilience to sporadic noise events. Synthesis and applications: Our findings emphasize the need to consider noise impacts in the non-breeding season and provide valuable insights for natural resource managers to minimize disturbance and protect critical avian habitats. The deep learning approach presented in this study offers an efficient and accurate means of analysing large-scale acoustic monitoring data and contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the cumulative impacts of multiple stressors on avian communities.Snowmobile noise alters bird vocalization patterns during winter and pre-breeding seasonpublishedVersio

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements