The Status of Loggerhead, Caretta caretta; Kemp's Ridley, Lepidochelys kempi; and Green, Chelonia mydas, Sea Turtles in U.S. Waters: A Reconsideration

Assessing the status of widely distributed marine species can prove difficult because virtually every sampling technique has assumptions, limitations, and biases that affect the results of the study. These biases often are overlooked when the biological and nonbiological implications of the results are discussed. In a recent review, Thompson (1988) used mostly unpublished population census data derived from studies conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to draw conclusions about the status of Kemp's ridley, Lepidochelys kempi; Atlantic coast green turtles, Chelonia mydas; and the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta

Behavior and ecology of sea turtles from Chesapeake Bay, Virginia

Immature foraging sea turtles occupy Chesapeake Bay, Virginia annually from May through November. Telemetry was used to monitor the movements and behavior of loggerhead, Caretta caretta, and Kemp\u27s ridley, Lepidochelys kempi, turtles during 1981-1985. Both species utilized the estuary for summer foraging, but exhibited habitat-preference and behavioral differences that amounted to resource partitioning between the species. Loggerheads oriented towards major river outflows and tended to move along channel sides with the tidal flow while ridleys occupied shallower foraging areas and did not range as far with the tide. Strong site tenacity was displayed by both species once foraging areas were established. Differences were apparent in respiratory behavior; ridleys remained on the surface for longer and underwater for shorter periods than loggerheads. Ridleys had a tendency to stay on the surface longer during daylight than night hours, whereas loggerheads surfaced and submerged longer during night than daylight. Estimates of daylight respiration behavior of loggerheads (surface to dive time ratio of 1:17) were used to adjust estimates of population size. Replicated aerial surveys for loggerheads yielded an unadjusted mean population over 1982-1985 of 423. A respiration adjustment factor which accounts for turtles unseen because they are below the surface (17 turtles below the surface for every one seen at the surface) yielded an average annual estimate of 7905. Reported mortality is a small percentage (1.4) of the adjusted population estimate. Mark-recapture, aerial survey and biotelemetric techniques were used in 1980 and 1982-1985 to elucidate migrations of loggerheads and ridleys which are incapable of overwintering in Chesapeake Bay. For both species, the period of residence in the Bay was correlated with water temperature. Migrations to the Bay were linked to vernal warming; the heaviest concentrations of turtles were found south of the 18 C isotherm. Fall migration was linked less strongly with declining water temperature and appeared to be related to the onset of winter storms. Migrating loggerheads remained nearshore in southerly currents in the fall. Contact with most telemetered loggerheads was broken in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. A satellite-tracked loggerhead spent two months in the vicinity of the Gulf Stream offshore before contact was broken

Nesting of loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, in Virginia : final report

In May of 1980, we initiated a project to evaluate the nesting use of Virginia\u27s Atlantic coastal beaches by the loggerhead sea turtle, Carretta caretta. l\u27he loggerhead is considered an endangered species by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the species is on the federal threatened list

Fire and its consequences in the City of Rome in antiquity, 390 BC - AD 410.

This thesis is a systematic examination of fire in the city of Rome in the period 390 BC- AD 410. The principal aims of the work are; to show the reasons behind the outbreaks of fire in antiquity; the uses of fire in the city, as well as how fires started and spread both within a structure and within the city generally; the damage fires could cause, both physically (to the city and its inhabitants) and mentally; the aftermath of a fire and how Rome recovered; and, finally, the equipment of the vigiles and how they used this to fight fires in the capital. This research is, perhaps inevitably, interdisciplinary, drawing on evidence from literature, inscriptions, and archaeology. All three sources of information reveal different aspects about fire and, taken together, they enable us to construct a much more complete picture of the phenomenon. Other sources of information are needed to complement the ancient evidence. As such, this study draws on both comparative historical material and modem theoretical studies of various aspects, most importantly the study of fire dynamics. Ultimately this research aims to take a broad overview of the issue of fire in the city of Rome in antiquity, and place it in the emerging field of social history, by bringing the reality of the impact of this problem of urban living on the ordinary inhabitants of the city to the fore

Positive components of mental health provide significant protection against likelihood of falling in older women over a 13-year period

BACKGROUND: In late life, falls are associated with disability, increased health service utilization and mortality. Physical and psychological risk factors of falls include falls history, grip strength, sedative use, stroke, cognitive impairment, and mental ill-health. Less understood is the role of positive psychological well-being components. This study investigated the protective effect of vitality on the likelihood of falls in comparison to mental and physical health. METHODS: Female participants were drawn from the Dynamic Analyses to Optimise Ageing (DYNOPTA) harmonization project. Participants (n = 11,340) were aged 55-95 years (Mean = 73.68; SD = 4.31) at baseline and observed on up to four occasions for up to 13 years (Mean = 5.30; SD = 2.53). RESULTS: A series of random intercept logistic regression models consistently identified vitality's protective effects on falls as a stronger effect in the reduction of the likelihood of falls than the effect of mental health. Vitality is a significant predictor of falls likelihood even after adjusting for physical health, although the size of effect is substantially explained by its covariance with mental and physical heath. CONCLUSIONS: Vitality has significant protective effects on the likelihood of falls. In comparison with mental health, vitality reported much stronger protective effects on the likelihood to fall in comparison with the risk associated with poor mental health in a large sample of older female adults. Both physical health and mental health account for much of the variance in vitality, but vitality still reports a protective effect on the likelihood of falls.NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia

Creative solutions to common groupwork problems

This case study considers a new workshop activity designed to provide the opportunity for students in the Faculty of Business and Law (FBL) to practice the skills associated with groupwork. A need was established through discussions between Faculty tutors and the authors, a Learning Development tutor and a Learning Technologist, for learners to model the process utilising technology. A scenario workshop was devised where groups negotiated, scripted and filmed responses to given team problems. The prospect of potentially advising future students through video without being assessed appeared to galvanise groups and received positive feedback. Surveys were taken at the beginning of the process to establish participants’ previous experiences of groupwork, and this data informed five scenarios for future cohorts to storyboard their strategies. Feedback on the workshop activity has demonstrated that using video technologies together with scenario-based role-play can be an effective strategy in helping students to become effective group members

Mortality and behavior of sea turtles in the Chesapeake Bay : summary report for 1979 through 1983

Research on the populations of juvenile sea turtles utilize the Chesapeake Bay as a summer foraging area has been pursued by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) since 1979. The largest part of the funding for our studies has come from National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in the form of· student fellowship grants with recent substantial contributions also by the Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries Commission and VIMS. This report is a summary of studies carried out through 1983. It consists of sections analyzing telemetry, conventional tagging, mortalities, fishing conflicts, population description and abundance

Examination of the association between mental health, morbidity, and mortality in late life: findings from longitudinal community surveys

BACKGROUND Physical health has been demonstrated to mediate the mental health and mortality risk association. The current study examines an alternative hypothesis that mental health mediates the effect of physical health on mortality risk. METHODS Participants (N = 14,019; women = 91%), including eventual decedents (n = 3,752), were aged 70 years and older, and drawn from the Dynamic Analyses to Optimise Ageing (DYNOPTA) project. Participants were observed on two to four occasions, over a 10-year period. Mediation analysis compared the converse mediation of physical and mental health on mortality risk. RESULTS For men, neither physical nor mental health was associated with mortality risk. For women, poor mental health reported only a small effect on mortality risk (Hazard Risk (HR) = 1.01; p < 0.001); more substantive was the risk of low physical health (HR = 1.04; p < 0.001). No mediation effects were observed. CONCLUSIONS Mental health effects on mortality were fully attenuated by physical health in men, and partially so in women. Neither mental nor physical health mediated the effect of each other on mortality risk for either gender. We conclude that physical health is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than mental health.This work was supported by a National Health and Mental Medical Research Council grant (#410215); the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (project #CE110001029 to Richard A. Burns); and an NHMRC Fellowship (#1002560 to Kaarin J. Anstey)

Engaging the postgraduate student voice for enhancement of learning and teaching

Postgraduate (PG) courses are undertaken for a variety of reasons and in many different formats across the three faculties (Faculty of Health Education and Society, Faculty of Business and Law and the Faculty of Art, Science and Technology) within the University of Northampton, (UON). PG students’ engagement, especially minority groups and part time students, are historically underrepresented with teaching and learning often devolved from undergraduate courses or professional doctorate courses. This underrepresented student body require a stronger network to engage, discuss and target their specific requirements within the university. Dissertation students’ satisfaction at UON in the latest PTES, (2022) survey is below the sector average.Postgraduate studies frequently occur when students are raising families, working full time and busy meeting personal objectives. During this life-phase, engagement with the university community is difficult. However, this student group have skills and knowledge to enhance their own learning and teaching requirements which may strengthen the student experience and promote engagement. Enhancing the student voice within the PG community and across faculties will aid communication and the objectives identified within the Access and Participation Plan (APP) relating to attainment, retention and progression by ethnicity and IMD/POLAR characteristics.This project concept was developed from the recommendations of a previously successful innovation bid, “Converting Willingness to Engagement” which targeted PG health professionals within FHES. It identified under representation within the professional postgraduate community. The Postgraduate student voice, particularly at Master's level (L7), has been nationally identified as under-represented (PTES, 2022). This project explored how these students, deemed at risk of unconscious bias, intersectional students, the ethnical diverse and part time students can create a student voice and provide practical outcomes in terms of recommendations for all faculties