Projections of coral cover and habitat change on turbid reefs under future sea-level rise

This is the final version. Available on open access from the Royal Society via the DOI in this recordData accessibility: All field datasets are available from the NERC datacentre: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/services/ngdc/accessions/index.html?simpleText=Great%20Barrier%20Reef#item76769. The model data that support the findings of this study are openly available at: https://github.com/rudyarthur/coral.Global sea-level rise (SLR) is projected to increase water depths above coral reefs. Although the impacts of climate disturbance events on coral cover and three-dimensional complexity are well documented, knowledge of how higher sea levels will influence future reef habitat extent and bioconstruction is limited. Here, we use 31 reef cores, coupled with detailed benthic ecological data, from turbid reefs on the central Great Barrier Reef, Australia, to model broad-scale changes in reef habitat following adjustments to reef geomorphology under different SLR scenarios. Model outputs show that modest increases in relative water depth above reefs (Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5) over the next 100 years will increase the spatial extent of habitats with low coral cover and generic diversity. More severe SLR (RCP8.5) will completely submerge reef flats and move reef slope coral communities below the euphotic depth, despite the high vertical accretion rates that characterize these reefs. Our findings suggest adverse future trajectories associated with high emission climate scenarios which could threaten turbid reefs globally and their capacity to act as coral refugia from climate change.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC

Color pattern complexity in dwarf minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) of the northern Great Barrier Reef of Australia

Complex color patterning is a characteristic feature of dwarf minke whales (DMWs; Balaenoptera acutorostrata) which has been used to photographically identify (photo-ID) individuals and to research an aggregation on Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR). DMW color patterns have been described and applied in various studies, but a detailed and systematic analysis of their complexity is yet to be performed. Here, we applied a novel categorization tool to assess the variation, asymmetry, and association of several DMW color pattern elements, subelements, and their character states. Proportions, hierarchical clustering, and multiple correspondence analysis revealed a high level of asymmetric color pattern variation, with white markings dominant and associated on the right of the body. Our results will improve the citizen science driven photo-ID of this little-known cetacean as labor-intensive manual methods transition to more efficient automated approaches. Such advancement will be challenging, yet beneficial for broader research into the poorly understood areas of DMW life history, evolution, genetics, social structure, and feeding. This could also potentially allow investigation into the functional significance of their color patterns

Multi-scale records of reef development and condition provide context for contemporary changes on inshore reefs

Comparisons between historical and contemporary photographs of coral reef flats from the inshore Great Barrier Reef (GBR) have been cited by various authors and agencies as evidence of reef degradation since European settlement and have been presented as proof of widespread reef decline. The diminished condition is inferred from reduced live coral cover and structural diversity depicted in the contemporary photographs. Anthropogenic causes for this deterioration are most often proposed, usually because it is argued to have coincided with modifications to coastal catchments by European settlers. However, changes in reef condition inferred from photographic comparisons have rarely been verified against quantitative assessments of reef geomorphic state or current reef status. Photographs taken in the late 1800s of the reef flat at Stone Island, located in Edgecumbe Bay in the inshore central GBR, have been compared by others with more recent images to interpret significant reductions in coral cover and diversity over the past 120 or so years. We examined the internal structure of fringing reefs at two locations on Stone Island by collecting 14 percussion cores across the reef flats. Sedimentological analyses coupled with uranium-thorium dating allowed for the reconstruction of reef development over the past ~ 7000 years. Both reefs at Stone Island initiated prior to 7000 calendar years before present (yBP, where present is 1950 AD) and both reef flats were almost entirely emplaced by 4000 yBP. Surveys of the benthic ecology of reefs at Stone Island and at Middle Island, also in Edgecumbe Bay, indicate that coral cover and diversity across reef flats and slopes was patchy and varied spatially within each location and throughout the region. Live coral cover on the Middle Island reef flat reached an average (± 1σ standard deviation) of 63.1 ± 20.2%. This was much higher than the live coral cover on Stone Island reef flats, where only a few small living coral colonies were recorded. We evaluate the use of photographic records from Stone Island to depict regional changes in reef condition by comparing the trends in reef condition determined from photographic records with underlying reef geomorphic state reconstructed from reef cores. We conclude that inferred changes in reef condition at Stone Island are localised and should not be used as evidence of widespread regional decline on the GBR

South African research in the hydrological sciences: 1999-2002

The principal activities of South African researchers in hydrology and water resources during the reporting period have been concerned with ground- and surface-water interactions, rainfall-runoff modelling, the establishment of improved regional water resource databases, the management of transboundary water resource systems, the ecological reserve, and quantifying the impacts of streamflow reduction activities. Most of these studies have focused on supporting the radically new provisions of the National Water Act of 1998

Does n-3 LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy increase the IQ of children at school age? Follow-up of a randomised controlled trial

Introduction Despite recommendations that pregnant women increase their docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake to support fetal brain development, a recent systematic review found a lack of high-quality data to support the long-term effects of DHA supplementation on children's neurodevelopment. Methods and analysis We will assess child neurodevelopment at 7 years of age in follow-up of a multicentre double-blind randomised controlled trial of DHA supplementation in pregnancy. In 2010–2012, n=2399 Australian women with a singleton pregnancy <21 weeks’ gestation were randomised to receive 3 capsules daily containing a total dose of 800 mg DHA/day or a vegetable oil placebo until birth. N=726 children from Adelaide (all n=97 born preterm, random sample of n=630 born at term) were selected for neurodevelopmental follow-up and n=638 (preterm n=85) are still enrolled at 7 years of age. At the 7-year follow-up, a psychologist will assess the primary outcome, IQ, with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Second Edition. Specific measures of executive functioning (Fruit Stroop and the Rey Complex Figure), attention (Test of Everyday Attention for Children), memory and learning (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test), language (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fourth Edition) and basic educational skills (Wide Range Achievement Test, Fourth Edition) will also be administered. Caregivers will be asked to complete questionnaires measuring behaviour and executive functioning. Families, clinicians and research personnel are blinded to group assignment with the exception of families who requested unblinding prior to the follow-up. All analyses will be conducted according to the intention-to-treat principal. Ethics and dissemination All procedures will be approved by the relevant institutional ethics committees prior to start of the study. The results of this study will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journal publications and academic presentations. Trial registration numbers ACTRN12605000569606 and ACTRN12614000770662.Jacqueline F Gould, Karli Treyvaud, Lisa N Yelland, Peter J Anderson, Lisa G Smithers, Robert A Gibson, Andrew J McPhee, Maria Makride

Lunar In Situ Materials-Based Surface Structure Technology Development Efforts at NASA/MSFC

For long-duration missions on other planetary bodies, the use of in situ materials will become increasingly critical. As man's presence on these bodies expands, so must the structures to accommodate them, including habitats, laboratories, berms, radiation shielding for surface reactors, garages, solar storm shelters, greenhouses, etc. The use of in situ materials will significantly offset required launch upmass and volume issues. Under the auspices of the In Situ Fabrication & Repair (ISFR) Program at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the Surface Structures project has been developing materials and construction technologies to support development of these in situ structures. This paper will report on the development of several of these technologies at MSFC's Prototype Development Laboratory (PDL). These technologies include, but are not limited to, development of extruded concrete and inflatable concrete dome technologies based on waterless and water-based concretes, development of regolith-based blocks with potential radiation shielding binders including polyurethane and polyethylene, pressure regulation systems for inflatable structures, production of glass fibers and rebar derived from molten lunar regolith simulant, development of regolithbag structures, and others, including automation design issues. Results to date and lessons learned will be presented, along with recommendations for future activities

Stress beyond coping? A Rasch analysis of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) in an Aboriginal population

The history of colonization contributed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders becoming one of the most disadvantaged groups in Australia. The multiple social inequalities, and therefore the constant insecurities for many about low income, poor living conditions, unemployment, and discrimination, generate chronic stress in this population. In the Baby Teeth Talk Study, an oral-health randomized controlled trial, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) was administered to 367 pregnant Aboriginal women at baseline. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the PSS-14 in an Aboriginal population. The study analysed: (a) model fit; (b) dimensionality; (c) local dependence; (d) differential item functioning; (e) threshold ordering and item fit; (f) targeting; (g) reliability; and (h) criterion validity. The dimensionality analysis indicated a two-factor structure, with negatively and positively worded items clustering together and 21.7% (95% Agresti-Coull C.I. [17.8%, 26.2%]) statistically significant t-tests between the persons' estimates. After the creation of composite items, the revised Perceived Distress (χ2 (21) = 11.74, p = 0.946) and Perceived Coping (χ2 (28) = 17.63, p = 0.935) subscales fitted the Rasch model. Reliability was modest (PersonSeparationIndexdistress = 0.72; PersonSeparationIndexcoping = 0.76). The latent correlation between the Perceived Distress and Perceived Coping subscales was r = 0.14. It is hypothesized that the social inequalities experienced by the Aboriginal population are so pronounced that even Aboriginal pregnant women that perceived themselves as coping well with life challenges ended up endorsing items regarding high levels of stress. The present research showed that a revised PSS-14 is a culturally valid and modestly reliable psychological instrument to measure stress in a population of pregnant Aboriginal women in Australia.Pedro Henrique Ribeiro Santiago, Rachel Roberts, Lisa Gaye Smithers, Lisa Jamieso