Effects of synchronous music on 400-metre sprint performance

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of motivating and oudeterous (neither motivating nor demotivating) synchronous music on 400-m sprint performance while controlling for the potential confound of pre-performance mood. A panel of volunteer Caucasian males ( n = 20; mean age = 20.5 years, s = 1.2) rated the motivational qualities of 32 musical selections using the Brunel Music Rating Inventory-2. An experimental group of volunteer Caucasian males ( n = 36; mean age = 20.4 years, s = 1.4) completed three 400-m time trials under conditions of motivational music, oudeterous music, and a no-music control. Pre-performance mood was assessed using the Brunel University Mood Scale (BRUMS). A series of repeated-measures analyses of variance with Bonferroni adjustment revealed no differences in the BRUMS subscales. A repeated-measures analysis of variance on the 400-m times showed a significant effect ( F 1.24, 42.19 = 10.54, P 2 = 0.24) and follow-up pair wise comparisons revealed differences between the synchronous music conditions and the control condition. This finding supported the first research hypothesis, that synchronous music would result in better performance than a no-music control, but not the second hypothesis, that performance in the motivational synchronous music condition would be better than that in the oudeterous condition. It appears that synchronous music can be applied to anaerobic endurance performance among non-elite sportspersons with a considerable positive effect

Effect of terbutaline on hyperpnoea-induced bronchoconstriction and urinary club cell protein 16 in athletes

This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund and is distributed by the Creative Commons CC-BY 3.0 license, under which all are free to reuse or distribute the article under the condition that this original publication must be cited.Repeated injury of the airway epithelium caused by hyperpnoea of poorly conditioned air has been proposed as a key factor in the pathogenesis of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) in athletes. In animals, the short-acting β2-agonist terbutaline has been shown to reduce dry airflow-induced bronchoconstriction and the associated shedding of airway epithelial cells. Our aim was to test the efficacy of inhaled terbutaline in attenuating hyperpnoea-induced bronchoconstriction and airway epithelial injury in athletes. Twenty-seven athletes with EIB participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Athletes completed an 8-min eucapnic voluntary hyperpnoea (EVH) test with dry air on two separate days 15 min after inhaling 0.5 mg terbutaline or a matching placebo. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and urinary concentration of the club cell (Clara cell) protein 16 (CC16, a marker of airway epithelial perturbation) were measured before and up to 60 min after EVH. The maximum fall in FEV1 of 17 ± 8% (SD) on placebo was reduced to 8 ± 5% following terbutaline (P < 0.001). Terbutaline gave bronchoprotection (i.e., post-EVH FEV1 fall <10%) to 22 (81%) athletes. EVH caused an increase in urinary excretion of CC16 in both conditions (P < 0.001), and terbutaline significantly reduced this rise (pre- to postchallenge CC16 increase 416 ± 495 pg/μmol creatinine after placebo vs. 315 ± 523 pg/μmol creatinine after terbutaline, P = 0.016). These results suggest that the inhalation of a single therapeutic dose of terbutaline offers significant protection against hyperpnoea-induced bronchoconstriction and attenuates acute airway epithelial perturbation in athletes.World Anti Doping Agenc

Group navigation and the "many-wrongs principle" in models of animal movement.

Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tTraditional studies of animal navigation over both long and short distances have usually considered the orientation ability of the individual only, without reference to the implications of group membership. However, recent work has suggested that being in a group can significantly improve the ability of an individual to align toward and reach a target direction or point, even when all group members have limited navigational ability and there are no leaders. This effect is known as the "many-wrongs principle" since the large number of individual navigational errors across the group are suppressed by interactions and group cohesion. In this paper, we simulate the many-wrongs principle using a simple individual-based model of movement based on a biased random walk that includes group interactions. We study the ability of the group as a whole to reach a target given different levels of individual navigation error, group size, interaction radius, and environmental turbulence. In scenarios with low levels of environmental turbulence, simulation results demonstrate a navigational benefit from group membership, particularly for small group sizes. In contrast, when movement takes place in a highly turbulent environment, simulation results suggest that the best strategy is to navigate as individuals rather than as a group.Marine Institute and the Marine RTDI Measure, Productive Sector Operational Programme, National Development Plan 2000–2006

Understanding fish populations

Editorial to special issue

Anthropogenic noise compromises antipredator behaviour in European eels.

© 2014 John Wiley & Sons LtdThis is the peer reviewed version of the article which has been published in final form at DOI : 10.1111/gcb.12685. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingArticle first published online: 6 August 2014Increases in noise-generating human activities since the Industrial Revolution have changed the acoustic landscape of many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Anthropogenic noise is now recognized as a major pollutant of international concern, and recent studies have demonstrated impacts on, for instance, hearing thresholds, communication, movement and foraging in a range of species. However, consequences for survival and reproductive success are difficult to ascertain. Using a series of laboratory-based experiments and an open-water test with the same methodology, we show that acoustic disturbance can compromise antipredator behaviour--which directly affects survival likelihood--and explore potential underlying mechanisms. Juvenile European eels (Anguilla anguilla) exposed to additional noise (playback of recordings of ships passing through harbours), rather than control conditions (playback of recordings from the same harbours without ships), performed less well in two simulated predation paradigms. Eels were 50% less likely and 25% slower to startle to an 'ambush predator' and were caught more than twice as quickly by a 'pursuit predator'. Furthermore, eels experiencing additional noise had diminished spatial performance and elevated ventilation and metabolic rates (indicators of stress) compared with control individuals. Our results suggest that acoustic disturbance could have important physiological and behavioural impacts on animals, compromising life-or-death responses

Attraction of settlement-stage coral reef fishes to reef noise

Journal ArticlePublished versionWe compared catches of settlement-stage reef fishes in light traps attached to underwater speakers playing reef sounds with those of silent traps during a summer recruitment season at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Of the total 40191 reef fishes we collected, significantly more (67 %; Wilcoxon and Binomial tests: p < 0.001) appeared in the traps with broadcast reef noise. Traps deployed with speakers consistently caught a greater diversity of species (Wilcoxon test: p < 0.001, total 81 vs 68) than did silent traps. This study provides a clear demonstration that the settlement-stages of a broad range of families of coral reef fishes are attracted to reef sounds

Plenty More Fish in the Sea? A working paper on the legal issues related to fishing beyond maximum sustainable yield: A UK case study

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) is about to become a centre stage issue. The EU now has a commitment that fishing will progressively be managed at levels that correspond to MSY, and setting of quotas will respect scientific advice. Where possible, this is to be attained by 2015, and all fish stocks will be managed at MSY by 2020 at the latest. What the term ‘maximum sustainable yield’ means will dominate the next seven years of fisheries discussions. MSY has two different interpretations. Scientists use the term to mean the ability of a fish stock to support a sustainable fishing industry. Lawyers use it when assessing the obligations of a country in respect of its sovereign fishing rights. This report focuses on the legal interpretation of MSY. The report’s findings are particularly important as the EU has consistently over-allocated quota and ignored scientific advice, with the result that 75% of EU fish stocks are overfished. The starting point of a thorough investigation of MSY is the nature of fishing rights themselves. Fisheries were traditionally open access and seen as being inexhaustible. The origins of this approach date at least as far back as the era of the Roman Empire, but even then interpretation by the Roman courts created some perverse outcomes. The principle of open access became established for the English fishery in the 12th century. Before then, it is likely that all viable tidal fisheries were granted by the Crown into private hands following the Norman conquest. Indeed, some of these private tidal fisheries still persist today. In the seventeenth century, the mare liberum (freedom of the seas) debate confirmed open access on the high seas, but the position for territorial waters (within the 3 mile limit) was more complex. Under the common law, fishers operated under the public right to fish which permitted open access and has come to be interpreted as being based on the principle of inexhaustibility of the stock. Where this myth of inexhaustibility has come from is difficult to tell. It is often attributed to the Victorian scientist Thomas Huxley because of his pronouncement on the fecundity of some fish species, but Huxley himself highlights fisheries which were vulnerable to over-fishing and recognises that, on the high seas, no regulatory mechanisms were available, so this aspect of his findings was theoretical. Moreover, the negative impacts of some fisheries were known to the legislators at least since the Middle Ages and it is tempting to posit that public authorities, in whatever form they manifested themselves, have always been aware that some fishing methods can cause significant harm. As it stands, the basic principle the courts still adhere to is that the right to fish is untrammelled, but whether this principle would withstand direct judicial scrutiny is questionable. The United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) changed everything. Coastal states now enjoy sovereign rights over a far larger area of sea than they did previously. UK territorial waters now extend to 12 nautical miles and its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extends up to 200 nautical miles. UNCLOS recognises sovereign rights for fisheries but also imposes duties on coastal states to restore stocks to levels which can produce MSY within their EEZs. Sovereign fishing rights are not untrammelled; they are qualified by a duty to restore stocks and to preserve the marine environment. Similar obligations are contained in the Convention on Biodiversity (with a target for 2020) and by virtue of the World Summit for Sustainable Development (with a target of 2015 for depleted stocks). Increasingly, international obligations of this nature are being enforced through the domestic courts. Many countries (including the UK itself for its Crown Dependencies and overseas territories) vest their fishing rights in an identifiable legal entity which then not just regulates the fishery, but also acts as an owner in the way it disposes of the fishery to commercial operators. Unfortunately, for the waters immediately adjacent to the UK, it is not clear in what Crown entity the UK’s fishing rights actually vest. The UK fishery is clearly some form of public asset and it is likely that there is a Crown trust in existence. The terms of this trust would place similar duties to maintain and restore fish stocks as those contained within UNCLOS. Despite a first instance decision to the contrary, it is possible that the terms of that trust are enforceable by third parties. There is a well-established principle in English law of nemo dat quod non habet (you cannot dispose of something you don’t own). The fact that the UK’s sovereign rights are qualified to MSY mean that the UK cannot grant to its fishers (or fishers of other Member States operating in UK waters) untrammelled rights which it does not possess itself. The same principle applies to the EU Common Fisheries Policy; the UK cannot confer on the EU greater fishing rights than those acknowledged by UNCLOS. The scientific origins of the term MSY were in the work of Beverton and Holt and related to a theoretical maximum, where a capture fishery will sustain itself. The legal meaning of the term gives discretion to fisheries managers to establish a management system which uses the best available science to determine what actions needs to be taken. The legal interpretation of MSY is therefore much broader than the scientific one and has the following features: • it is constantly evolving relating to the best available science of the time; • it defines the limits of a coastal state’s sovereign rights; • it may relate to the setting of fishing quota (where calculations of scientific MSY are particularly predominant), but many obligations for the attainment of MSY may also be satisfied by the imposition of technical or area-based management techniques such as marine protected areas; • it provides the framework in which fisheries should be managed; and • it can be used to show where stocks or areas of sea are not being properly managed, and thus direct where management resources should be targeted. The introduction of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management means that legal MSY can now take into consideration a much wider range of services provided by the fishery in the calculation and management of that fishery. UNCLOS itself permits taking into consideration relevant environmental and economic factors, including the economic needs of coastal fishing communities, but the ecosystem approach takes that a stage further by assessing all the services provided by the fishery. This shifts the focus away from simply treating the fishery as a commercial resource, to ensure that management benefits a much broader constituency. In 2008, the environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO), WWF tried to take the European Commission to the European Court of Justice for failing to allocate cod quota according to scientific advice. However, WWF was unable to access the European court system because the ECJ refused access to NGOs; ECJ rules at the time did not grant an NGO the right to be heard in court. Those rules are under scrutiny once again because they seem incompatible with the Aarhus Convention, so this position may change shortly. There are also other legal forums for testing the point. The UK courts do not have the same access restrictions as the ECJ, so a case launched in the UK courts concerning UK fishing rights or the voting patterns of the UK Minister in the EU could come to trial. The former President of the International Tribunal for the Laws of the Sea (ITLOS), Rüdiger Wolfrum, recommended ITLOS as having suitable jurisdiction to ensure compliance with MSY requirements The legal regime has dramatically moved away from the impossibility of mare liberum and open access fisheries to the possibility of effective regulation. Clearer sovereignty over the sea and better technology informing enforceable law means the legal context of fisheries have changed fundamentally for the better. There is an understanding that fisheries are held on trust for future generations. Fishing to MSY and trusteeship amount to the same thing; the legal interpretation of coastal states’ rights and responsibilities under MSY and the obligations of a Crown trust are the same. The ecosystem approach provides the matrix to understand who the beneficiaries of that trust are and where management effort needs to be directed. All these pieces are now in place and the hard law is there at the edges to ensure that reform remains on track. In short there are two key points to be drawn from this report: • It is illegal for coastal states to permit fishing beyond MSY; and • It is highly likely that this law is enforceable through the court system.Waterloo Foundatio

Assessing effects of increased noise levels on fish behaviour

Man-made noise can affect physiology and behaviour of animals of all taxa, including fish. However, there is not much known about effects of increased noise levels on anti-predator and foraging behaviour, which are both essential for survival and reproduction. In our laboratory study, we investigated effects of increased noise levels on these behaviours in two sympatric fish species, three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and European minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus), which differ in their anti-predator defences and likely in their hearing capabilities. Our study indicated that both behavioural contexts were affected by increased noise levels, but effects differed between species. Sticklebacks responded to a visual predatory stimulus sooner when exposed to additional noise playbacks than in control conditions, whereas minnows were not affected by the noise treatments. In foraging experiments, both fish species consumed fewer water fleas, but the reasons fish decreased food consumption seemed species specific: sticklebacks increased the number of foraging errors, whereas minnows tended to decrease their foraging effort by interacting socially more often and more individuals were inactive during increased noise level conditions. To allow for controlled comparative experiments, our studies were conducted in the laboratory. Complementary field experiments ensuring natural acoustic conditions will be necessary to investigate whether species differences can translate into community effects and whether these effects differ between different kinds of noise, such as drilling, pile driving and energy device operation noise. Expanding research to commercially important fish and quantification of particle motion in addition to sound pressure as most fish, and likely invertebrate species, perceive particle motion rather than sound pressure, would further deliver valuable knowledge for industry, policy makers and fisheries managers about how marine renewable energy devices may interfere with the marine environment.University of BristolBasler Stiftung für Biologische ForschungDefraNER

Long-distance dispersal via ocean currents connects Omani clownfish populations throughout entire species range.

notes: PMCID: PMC4167857types: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tOpen-access articleDispersal is a crucial ecological process, driving population dynamics and defining the structure and persistence of populations. Measuring demographic connectivity between discreet populations remains a long-standing challenge for most marine organisms because it involves tracking the movement of pelagic larvae. Recent studies demonstrate local connectivity of reef fish populations via the dispersal of planktonic larvae, while biogeography indicates some larvae must disperse 100-1000 s kilometres. To date, empirical measures of long-distance dispersal are lacking and the full scale of dispersal is unknown. Here we provide the first measure of long-distance dispersal in a coral reef fish, the Omani clownfish Amphiprion omanensis, throughout its entire species range. Using genetic assignment tests we demonstrate bidirectional exchange of first generation migrants, with subsequent social and reproductive integration, between two populations separated by over 400 km. Immigration was 5.4% and 0.7% in each region, suggesting a biased southward exchange, and matched predictions from a physically-coupled dispersal model. This rare opportunity to measure long-distance dispersal demonstrates connectivity of isolated marine populations over distances of 100 s of kilometres and provides a unique insight into the processes of biogeography, speciation and adaptation.NERCRoyal Society ExchangeEPHE Fellowshi

Low cost light traps for coral reef fishery research and sustainable ornamental fisheries

ArticleTwo relatively inexpensive light traps to capture pre-settling reef fish and invertebrates are described. A trap made from a plastic bucket (with plastic bottles, a small plastic waste bin and two sheets of plywood) that costs US$15 appears to be just as effective as a large aluminium and plexiglass trap that costs US$275