Trans-equatorial migration and mixing in the wintering areas of a pelagic seabird

Despite increasing interest in long-distance migration, the wintering areas, migration corridors, and population mix in winter quarters of most pelagic marine predators are unknown. Here, we present the first study tracking migration movements of shearwaters through the non-breeding period. We used geolocators (global location sensing [GLS] units based on ambient light levels) to track 22 Cory's shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) breeding in three different areas. Most birds wintered in one or more of three relatively small areas, all clearly associated with major coastal upwelling systems of the tropical and south Atlantic. Trans-equatorial movements were dominated by prevailing trade winds and westerlies, while calm, oligotrophic areas were avoided. Breeding populations clearly differed in their preference amongst the three major wintering areas, but showed substantial mixing. This illustrates the exceptional value of GLS, not only for determining and describing the influence of oceanographic features on migration patterns, but also for assessing population mix in winter quarters. This knowledge is essential to understanding the impacts of population-level threats, such as longlining, offshore windfarms, and oil spills on multiple breeding sites, and will be critical in devising conservation policies that guarantee the sustainable exploitation of the oceans

Transgender Noninclusive Healthcare and Delaying Care Because of Fear: Connections to General Health and Mental Health Among Transgender Adults

Purpose: There are many barriers to reliable healthcare for transgender people that often contribute to delaying or avoiding needed medical care. Yet, few studies have examined whether noninclusive healthcare and delaying needed medical care because of fear of discrimination are associated with poorer health among transgender adults. This study aims to address these gaps in the knowledge base. Methods: This study analyzed secondary data from a statewide survey of 417 transgender adults in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Independent variables included noninclusive healthcare from a primary care provider (PCP) and delay of needed medical care because of fear of discrimination. Dependent variables assessed general health and mental health. Results: Transgender individuals who delayed healthcare because of fear of discrimination had worse general health in the past month than those who did not delay or delayed care for other reasons (B = 0.26, p \u3c 0.05); they also had 3.08 greater odds of having current depression, 3.81 greater odds of a past year suicide attempt, and 2.93 greater odds of past year suicidal ideation ( p \u3c 0.001). After controlling for delayed care because of fear of discrimination, having a noninclusive PCP was not significantly associated with either general health or mental health. Conclusion: This study suggests a significant association between delaying healthcare because of fear of discrimination and worse general and mental health among transgender adults. These relationships remain significant even when controlling for provider noninclusivity, suggesting that fear of discrimination and consequent delay of care are at the forefront of health challenges for transgender adults. The lack of statistical significance for noninclusive healthcare may be related to the measurement approach used; future research is needed to develop an improved tool for measuring transgender noninclusive healthcare

Tendency to Maximum Complexity in a Non-Equilibrium Isolated System

The time evolution equations of a simplified isolated ideal gas, the "tetrahe- dral" gas, are derived. The dynamical behavior of the LMC complexity [R. Lopez-Ruiz, H. L. Mancini, and X. Calbet, Phys. Lett. A 209, 321 (1995)] is studied in this system. In general, it is shown that the complexity remains within the bounds of minimum and maximum complexity. We find that there are certain restrictions when the isolated "tetrahedral" gas evolves towards equilibrium. In addition to the well-known increase in entropy, the quantity called disequilibrium decreases monotonically with time. Furthermore, the trajectories of the system in phase space approach the maximum complexity.Comment: 22 pages, 0 figures. Published in Phys. Rev. E 63, 066116(9) (2001

The significance of cephalopod beaks as a research tool: An update

The use of cephalopod beaks in ecological and population dynamics studies has allowed major advances of our knowledge on the role of cephalopods in marine ecosystems in the last 60 years. Since the 1960’s, with the pioneering research by Malcolm Clarke and colleagues, cephalopod beaks (also named jaws or mandibles) have been described to species level and their measurements have been shown to be related to cephalopod body size and mass, which permitted important information to be obtained on numerous biological and ecological aspects of cephalopods in marine ecosystems. In the last decade, a range of new techniques has been applied to cephalopod beaks, permitting new kinds of insight into cephalopod biology and ecology. The workshop on cephalopod beaks of the Cephalopod International Advisory Council Conference (Sesimbra, Portugal) in 2022 aimed to review the most recent scientific developments in this field and to identify future challenges, particularly in relation to taxonomy, age, growth, chemical composition (i.e., DNA, proteomics, stable isotopes, trace elements) and physical (i.e., structural) analyses. In terms of taxonomy, new techniques (e.g., 3D geometric morphometrics) for identifying cephalopods from their beaks are being developed with promising results, although the need for experts and reference collections of cephalopod beaks will continue. The use of beak microstructure for age and growth studies has been validated. Stable isotope analyses on beaks have proven to be an excellent technique to get valuable information on the ecology of cephalopods (namely habitat and trophic position). Trace element analyses is also possible using beaks, where concentrations are significantly lower than in other tissues (e.g., muscle, digestive gland, gills). Extracting DNA from beaks was only possible in one study so far. Protein analyses can also be made using cephalopod beaks. Future challenges in research using cephalopod beaks are also discussed.Cephalopod International Advisory Counci

Age and growth estimation of Southern Ocean squid Moroteuthopsis longimana: can we use beaks collected from predators’ stomachs?

Squid play a major role in the Southern Ocean food web. However, their age and growth remain poorly studied. Here, using upper and lower beaks of Moroteuthopsis longimana collected from the diet of Dissostichus mawsoni from Pacific and Atlantic sectors of the Southern Ocean, we studied: (1) Feasibility of using beaks collected from predators’ stomachs to study the age of Southern Ocean oceanic squid; and (2) Age estimation and growth patterns of M. longimana. The rostrum sagittal section (RSS) of both beaks had micro-increments, with the lower beak being the best to observe and count a readable sequence of increments to estimate the age. Assuming a daily deposition of increments, our results suggest that M. longimana can live up to 820 days and may hatch throughout the year. Studied individuals presented a consistent growth rate from hatching to death but with, at least, one period of faster growth. A novel pattern of regular cycles, composed of 7–10 lighter increments followed by a darker one, was found in the medium-anterior region of the RSS. Differences were found in the growth rate and size reached at the same age between individuals from the Pacific and Atlantic sectors, which might be related with different environmental conditions between both capture sites. This study shows that lower beaks from predators’ stomachs can be used to study the age of Southern Ocean squids and that M. longimana hatches in all seasons, being available year round to predators that feed of this species