Reduction of Species Identification Errors in Surveys of Marine Wildlife Abundance Utilising Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

The advent of unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) has enhanced our capacity to survey wildlife abundance, yet new protocols are still required for collecting, processing, and analysing image-type observations. This paper presents a methodological approach to produce informative priors on species misidentification probabilities based on independent experiments. We performed focal follows of known dolphin species and distributed our imagery amongst 13 trained observers. Then, we investigated the effects of reviewer-related variables and image attributes on the accuracy of species identification and level of certainty in observations. In addition, we assessed the number of reviewers required to produce reliable identification using an agreement-based framework compared with the majority rule approach. Among-reviewer variation was an important predictor of identification accuracy, regardless of previous experience. Image resolution and sea state exhibited the most pronounced effects on the proportion of correct identifications and the reviewers’ mean level of confidence. Agreement-based identification resulted in substantial data losses but retained a broader range of image resolutions and sea states than the majority rule approach and produced considerably higher accuracy. Our findings suggest a strong dependency on reviewer-related variables and image attributes, which, unless considered, may compromise identification accuracy and produce unreliable estimators of abundance

Is oxygen limitation in warming waters a valid mechanism to explain decreased body sizes in aquatic ectotherms?

The authors would like to acknowledge funding from Australian Research Council (grant No. DP170104240) and the Kone Foundation (to AA), Horizon 2020 European research projects ClimeFish (grant No. 677039) (to ARB) and Australian Academy of Science (to JRM)Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin

Prevenção do câncer de colo uterino

O câncer do colo uterino constitui um grave problema de saúde pública, atingindo todas as camadas sociais e regiões geoeconômicas do país. Definido como afecção progressiva, o câncer de colo uterino é caracterizado por alterações intra-epiteliais cervicais, que podem se desenvolver para um estágio invasivo em longo prazo, tendo etapas bem definidas e de lenta evolução, sendo que este tipo de câncer permite sua interrupção a partir de um diagnóstico precoce e do tratamento oportuno que poderá apresentar custos reduzidos. Assim, as medidas de prevenção são consideradas de suma importância e envolvem o rastreamento de lesões na população sintomática e assintomática, podendo ser identificado o grau das mesmas e o tratamento ser adequado. Neste estudo foi realizado uma revisão narrativa, de trabalhos vinculados a Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde, realizados no período de 2000 a 2012 com o objetivo de discorrer sobre aspectos epidemiológicos, fisiopatológicos e de prevenção do câncer de colo uterino. O PSF se torna, cada vez mais, um instrumento de estratégia no combate ao câncer do colo do útero. Os profissionais devem aproveitar todas as oportunidades de contato com as mulheres para reforçar orientações, sanar dúvidas, conhecimentos, direitos em relação a sua saúde, sendo assim, atenção especial à educação em saúde. Há ainda muitas barreiras que impedem as mulheres ao acesso a educação e promoção da saúde, principalmente quanto ao câncer de colo de útero. Este fato mostra que as campanhas de prevenção e ou detecção precoce desta doença não têm sido bem sucedidas, apesar do amplo conhecimento que este tipo de câncer continua sendo uma séria ameaça para a população brasileira

Large but uneven reduction in fish size across species in relation to changing sea temperatures

Ectotherms often attain smaller body sizes when they develop at higher temperatures. This phenomenon, known as the temperature size rule, has important consequences for global fisheries, whereby ocean warming is predicted to result in smaller fish and reduced biomass. However, the generality of this phenomenon and the mechanisms that drive it in natural populations remain unresolved. In this study we document the maximal size of 74 fish species along a steep temperature gradient in the Mediterranean Sea and find strong support for the temperature size rule. Importantly, we additionally find that size reduction in active fish species is dramatically larger than for more sedentary species. As the temperature - dependence of oxygen consumption depends on activity levels, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that oxygen is a limiting factor shaping the temperature size rule in fishes. These results suggest that ocean warming will result in a sharp, but uneven, reduction in fish size that will cause major shifts in size-dependent interactions. Moreover, warming will have major implications for fisheries as the main species targeted for harvesting will show the most substantial declines in biomass

Alien species stabilize local fisheries catch in a highly invaded ecosystem

Alien species may be a valuable resource for marine fisheries, yet their contribution to the catch might be balanced by negative effects on indigenous species. In this study we explored a unique high resolution time-series of catch data from a highly invaded ecosystem in the East Mediterranean. We analyzed over 5000 fishing hauls digitalizing from fisher log-books. We found that the catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of alien species increased over time, while for indigenous species CPUE remained relatively stable between 1996-2013. This suggests a lack of competitive exclusion of indigenous target species due to alien species proliferation. From the fisher revenues perspective, alien species gradually became a more important part of the catch, while overall fisher revenues showed temporal stability. This was the combined result of alien species’ increasing CPUE and fisher shifting their effort toward shallower water were alien species dominant. Our findings demonstrate that alien species can become a valuable resource for a local fishing industry with little effect on indigenous species, which is highly relevant to worldwide fisheries experiencing range redistribution of commercial species.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Appendix A. Information on unpublished studies included in the analysis and a list of the taxonomists who identified the specimens.

Information on unpublished studies included in the analysis and a list of the taxonomists who identified the specimens

Figure S2 from Remarkable size-spectra stability in a marine system undergoing massive invasion

Distributions of the regression coefficients of non-indigenous species for the randomized communities

Table S2 from Remarkable size-spectra stability in a marine system undergoing massive invasion

Relative biomass of non-indigenous species in the years 1990-1994 and 2008-2012

BioTIME:a database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene

Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.Main types of variables included: The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of two, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology andcontextual information about each record.Spatial location and grain: BioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km2 (158 cm2) to 100 km2 (1 000 000 000 000 cm2).Time period and grain: BioTIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimum temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is year.Major taxa and level of measurement: BioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton, and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.Software format: .csv and .SQ