Estimating Queen Conch (Strombus gigas) home ranges using acoustic telemetry: implications for the design of marine fishery reserves

Marine reserves (MRs) may function as a vital tool in the conservation and management of marine resources if source populations are managed for the benefit of those downstream. Consequently, it is critical to evaluate the home range of marine animals to ensure that MRs are large enough to protect source populations. We used acoustic telemetry to study movements of adult queen conch (Strombus gigas) within aggregations at two sites in the Florida Keys from June 1997 through July 1998. A total of 68 conch were tagged and tracked for up to one year. Latitude and longitude of each conch were recorded biweekly and data used to estimate the minimum speed, degree of site fidelity, and home range of each animal. Conch showed significantly greater displacement/ time during the summer. There were no significant differences in movement rate, site fidelity, or size of home range between males and females. Mean home range was 5.98 ha. Based on estimated home ranges of the aggregations, the size and location of the existing reserves at these two sites were inadequate to protect the conch aggregations should the fishery reopen

Alien Registration- Kidney, Allen (Presque Isle, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/33549/thumbnail.jp

Alien Registration- Kidney, Howard (Presque Isle, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/33570/thumbnail.jp

Master of Science

thesisFive members of the Koobi Fora Formation: the Lonyumun, Moiti, Lokochot, Tulu Bor, and upper Burgi members, are exposed in Areas 40 and 41 (study area) northeast of Ileret in northern Kenya. Areas 40 and 41 were first mapped using tonal contrasts on aerial photographs by Key and Watkins in their 1988 study, and were not revisited until Gathogo and Brown did a reconnaissance, broadly mapping exposures in their 2006 study. The study area is located on the eastern margin of the Turkana Basin, where the base of the Koobi Fora Formation is in contact with volcanic rocks of Miocene age. Five tuffs are exposed in the study area. Four tuffs occur in the Lonyumun Member: the Guo Tuff, the Kanyeris Tuff, and the newly named Tukunan and Kisemei tuffs. This study, directly or indirectly provides dates for the tuffs in the Lonyumun Member and associated strata by means of magnetostratigraphy and 40Ar/39Ar dating methods. Paleomagnetic sampling and the known dates on the Moiti and Tulu Bor Tuffs of 3.4 and 4.0 Ma respectively, proved invaluable in assigning ages to strata, and was materially helped by an 40Ar/39Ar age of 4.06 ± 0.02 Ma on the Kisemei Tuff. Three tuffs known at many other localities south of the study area, the Lokochot, a-Tulu Bor and Burgi Tuffs, are missing from the study area. Stratigraphic correlations between exposures proved difficult due to numerous and pervasive disconformable surfaces, so that significant time gaps exist in the Lonyumun Member; all of the Moiti Member except the Moiti Tuff is missing, as is all of the lower Burgi Member. Newly discovered fossils in the Lonyumun Member have also been indirectly dated. Initial identification suggests correlation to fossils in the Apak Member at Lothagam southwest of Lake Turkana. In Areas 129 and 130 the Tulu Bor Member is in contact with the Lonyumun Member. Three tuffs, disconformable on the Tulu Bor Tuff allow correlation outside of these areas of which the Aberegaiye Tuff is dated to 2.70 ± 0.02 Ma on alkali feldspars contained in pumices. The other tuffs include a correlate to a tuff in submember D-5 of the Shungura Formation and a correlate to Area 116 to a tuff below the Ninikaa Tuff, the former being the first documented proof for deposition between 2.6-2.0 Ma in the Koobi Fora Formation

Alien Registration- Kidney, Frank L. (Presque Isle, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/33550/thumbnail.jp

Comparative Judicialism, Popular Sovereignty, and the Rule of Law: The US and UK Supreme Courts

What does the future hold for the US and UK Supreme Courts? Both courts face an uncertain future in which their roles in their constitutional systems will come under intense scrutiny and pressure. The tension between the rule of law, often seen as the preserve of the judicial branches of government, and the sovereignty of the elected branches is palpable. In a time of the “strong man,” allegedly “populist leaders” who seemingly are pushing the limits of the rule of law, the breakdown of collaboration and debate, and the ever-present influence of social media, this tension will only become more acute. The UK and the US Supreme Courts must tread a delicate line between the preserving the rule of law and usurping the role of elected representatives. How the Supreme Court in Washington and the Supreme Court in London address these challenges will have a tremendous impact on their respective futures

Algebras for weighted search

Weighted search is an essential component of many fundamental and useful algorithms. Despite this, it is relatively under explored as a computational effect, receiving not nearly as much attention as either depth- or breadth-first search. This paper explores the algebraic underpinning of weighted search, and demonstrates how to implement it as a monad transformer. The development first explores breadth-first search, which can be expressed as a polynomial over semirings. These polynomials are generalised to the free semi module monad to capture a wide range of applications, including probability monads, polynomial monads, and monads for weighted search. Finally, a monad trans-former based on the free semi module monad is introduced. Applying optimisations to this type yields an implementation of pairing heaps, which is then used to implement Dijkstra’s algorithm and efficient probabilistic sampling. The construction is formalised in Cubical Agda and implemented in Haskell

Erratum: Evans M, Grams ME, Sang Y, et al., for the Chronic Kidney Disease Prognosis Consortium. Risk factors for prognosis in patients with severely decreased GFR. Kidney Int Rep. 2018;3:625-637.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.ekir.2018.01.002.]

Flexible density surface estimation for spatially explicit capture-recapture surveys

1. Existing spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) software does not have the ability to fit flexible nonparametric models of animal density. 2. We describe and implement in the R package secrgam, a flexible method for estimating density surfaces from SECR data, using regression splines. 3. Package secrgam is an extension of package secr to implement some models available in the generalised additive model package mvcv. It accommodates density models that are arbitrarily flexible functions of spatially- and temporally-referenced variables. This includes one-dimensional and multi-dimensional smooths of covariates and smooths with interactions. The shape and smoothness of the fitted density surfaces is data-driven and can be determined using AIC or similar criteria. We illustrate use of the package by estimating the density surface from a simulated camera trap survey of leopards. 4. Package secrgam provides a flexible tool for species distribution modelling using SECR data.Postprin

Global, regional, and national burden of chronic kidney disease, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.

BACKGROUND: Health system planning requires careful assessment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) epidemiology, but data for morbidity and mortality of this disease are scarce or non-existent in many countries. We estimated the global, regional, and national burden of CKD, as well as the burden of cardiovascular disease and gout attributable to impaired kidney function, for the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017. We use the term CKD to refer to the morbidity and mortality that can be directly attributed to all stages of CKD, and we use the term impaired kidney function to refer to the additional risk of CKD from cardiovascular disease and gout. METHODS: The main data sources we used were published literature, vital registration systems, end-stage kidney disease registries, and household surveys. Estimates of CKD burden were produced using a Cause of Death Ensemble model and a Bayesian meta-regression analytical tool, and included incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability, mortality, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). A comparative risk assessment approach was used to estimate the proportion of cardiovascular diseases and gout burden attributable to impaired kidney function. FINDINGS: Globally, in 2017, 1·2 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1·2 to 1·3) people died from CKD. The global all-age mortality rate from CKD increased 41·5% (95% UI 35·2 to 46·5) between 1990 and 2017, although there was no significant change in the age-standardised mortality rate (2·8%, -1·5 to 6·3). In 2017, 697·5 million (95% UI 649·2 to 752·0) cases of all-stage CKD were recorded, for a global prevalence of 9·1% (8·5 to 9·8). The global all-age prevalence of CKD increased 29·3% (95% UI 26·4 to 32·6) since 1990, whereas the age-standardised prevalence remained stable (1·2%, -1·1 to 3·5). CKD resulted in 35·8 million (95% UI 33·7 to 38·0) DALYs in 2017, with diabetic nephropathy accounting for almost a third of DALYs. Most of the burden of CKD was concentrated in the three lowest quintiles of Socio-demographic Index (SDI). In several regions, particularly Oceania, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, the burden of CKD was much higher than expected for the level of development, whereas the disease burden in western, eastern, and central sub-Saharan Africa, east Asia, south Asia, central and eastern Europe, Australasia, and western Europe was lower than expected. 1·4 million (95% UI 1·2 to 1·6) cardiovascular disease-related deaths and 25·3 million (22·2 to 28·9) cardiovascular disease DALYs were attributable to impaired kidney function. INTERPRETATION: Kidney disease has a major effect on global health, both as a direct cause of global morbidity and mortality and as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. CKD is largely preventable and treatable and deserves greater attention in global health policy decision making, particularly in locations with low and middle SDI. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation