Bayesian spatio-temporal CPUE standardization: Case study of European sardine (Sardina pilchardus) along the western coast of Portugal

Understanding the key factors influencing population dynamics of fish stocks requires knowledge of their spatial distribution and seasonal habitat selection, but these spatio-temporal dynamics are often not explicitly included in ecological studies and stock assessment models. This study standardized the data of sardine fishery-dependent catch-per- unit- effort (CPUE) from the west coast of Portugal using Bayesian hierarchical spatio-temporal models (BHSTM) with the integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA). Sardine CPUE was best explained by length of the vessel, vessel ID, month, year, and location (latitude, longitude). In terms of spatio-temporal distribution, sardine biomass prediction maps showed a constant pattern that changed every quarter of the year. In addition, sardine CPUE index showed a cyclical trend along the year with minimum values in July and maximum peak in November. This approach provided insights on variables and corresponding modelling effects that may be relevant in spatio-temporal fishery-dependent data standardization, and that could be applied to other fish species and areas.En prens

Bayesian spatio-temporal CPUE standardization: case study of European sardine (Sardina pilchardus) along the western coast of Portugal

Fishery data is one of the most accessible sources of information currently used for ecological studies and stock assessments. Unlike scientific surveys that are usually restricted to a given time of the year, fisheries dependent data is almost continuously available in time. Moreover, the information collected from the fisheries is less expensive and time consuming. However, for use as a relative abundance index, fishery-dependent data requires standardization as catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) in order to remove the impact of vessel-specific differences and fishing behavior. Understanding the key factors that influence the population dynamics of fish species implies assessment of their spatial distribution and seasonal habitat selection but, spatio-temporal dependence issues are often not explicitly included in the modeling process. This study standardizes sardine fishery-dependent data obtained from the west coast of Portugal as CPUE by means of a Bayesian hierarchical spatio-temporal model using integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA). This is one of the first studies of the region to provide maps of the relative abundance of this species for all months of the year. The best model included length of the vessel, vessel ID, month, year and location (latitude, longitude), while none of the five environmental covariates (Chl-a, SST, bathymetry, current velocity and direction) were relevant. In terms of spatial distribution, sardines were more abundant in the northern area, especially during the last quarter of the year. The applied methodology has contributed to improve our knowledge of European sardine distribution throughout the year, providing accurate predictive maps and insights into the standardization process of fishery-dependent data that could also be applied to other fish species and areas

Strategic Activity and Financial Performance of U.S. Rural Hospitals: A National Study, 1983 to 1988

This study examines the effect of 13 strategic management activities on the financial performance of a national sample of 797 U.S. rural hospitals during the period of 1983-1988. Controlled for environment-market, geographic-region, and hospital-related variables, the results show almost no measurable effect of strategic adoption on rural hospital profitability and liquidity. Where statistically significant relationships existed, they were more often negative than positive. These findings were not expected; it was hypothesized that positive effects across a broad range of strategies would emerge, other things being equal. Discussed are possible explanations for these findings as well as their implication for a rural health policy relying on individual rural hospital strategic adaptation to environmental change.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72301/1/j.1748-0361.1994.tb00225.x.pd

Discriminative stimulus properties of 1.25 mg/kg clozapine in rats: Mediation by serotonin 5-HT2 and dopamine D4 receptors

The atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine remains one of most effective treatments for schizophrenia, given a lack of extrapyramidal side effects, improvements in negative symptoms, cognitive impairment, and in symptoms in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. The adverse effects of clozapine, including agranulocytosis, make finding a safe clozapine-like a drug a goal for drug developers. The drug dis- crimination paradigm is a model of interoceptive stimulus that has been used in an effort to screen experimental drugs for clozapine-like atypical antipsychotic effects. The present study was conducted to elucidate the receptor-mediated stimulus properties that form this clozapine discriminative cue by testing selective receptor ligands in rats trained to discriminate a 1.25 mg/kg dose of clozapine from vehicle in a two choice drug discrimination task. Full substitution occurred with the 5-HT2A inverse agonist M100907 and the two preferential D4/5-HT2/α1 receptor antagonists Lu 37-114 ((S)-1-(3-(2-(4- (1H-indol-5-yl)piperazin-1-yl)ethyl)indolin-1-yl)ethan-1-one) and Lu 37-254 (1-(3-(4-(1H-indol-5-yl) piperazin-1-yl)propyl)-3,4-dihydroquinolin-2(1H)-one). Partial substitution occurred with the D4 re- ceptor antagonist Lu 38-012 and the α1 adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin. Drugs selective for 5-HT2C, 5-HT6 muscarinic, histamine H1, and benzodiazepine receptors did not substitute for clozapine. The present findings suggest that 5-HT2A inverse agonism and D4 receptor antagonism mediate the dis- criminative stimulus properties of 1.25 mg/kg clozapine in rats, and further confirm that clozapine produces a complex compound discriminative stimulus

Exploratory assessment of anchovy 27.9a-west using a surplus production model.

The aim of this WD was to explore surplus production models to assess the western component of the anchovy 27.9a stock. Models were fitted to catch per quarter or semester (1991 – 2021) and to one biomass index, the spring acoustic survey (1999 – 2021), or two biomass indices, the acoustic survey and the autumn groundfish survey (1991 – 2018) using SPiCT. Various assumptions regarding the shape of the production curve, the initial biomass depletion and the intrinsic growth rate of the population were combined such that models varied from nearly unconstrained (more complex) to increasingly constrained (less complex). Bi-annual catch data and two survey indices lead to a higher number of convergent models. Several models passed all ICES criteria to accept a SPiCT assessment, except for a higher level of uncertainty in F/FMSY than the agreed one for long-lived stocks. A model assuming a Schaefer production curve, a prior on r from a meta-analysis and, an initial depletion rate of 80%, showed better retrospective analysis, survey hindcast cross-validation and convergence performance than other candidate models. The results indicated that F/FMSY was below 1 across most of the period, B/BMSY fluctuated well below 1 until 2010 and above 1 since 2016. The present results may be considered for further work in a benchmark workshop

ICES. 2019. Working Group on Southern Horse Mackerel, Anchovy and Sardine (WGHANSA).

The Working Group on Southern Horse Mackerel, Anchovy and Sardine (WGHANSA1) met by correspondence from 3 to 7 June 2019, and in Madrid from the 25 to the 28 of November 2019, and was chaired by Alexandra Silva (Portugal). There were 13 participants from France, Portugal, Spain and UK. The main task of WGHANSA was to assess the status the stocks of sardine in the Celtic Seas and English Channel (pil.27.7), sardine in the Bay of Biscay (pil.27.8abd), sardine in the Cantabrian Sea and Atlantic Iberian waters (pil.27.8c9a), anchovy in the Bay of Biscay (ane.27.8), anchovy in Atlantic Iberian waters (ane.27.9a; components west and south), horse mackerel in Atlantic Iberian waters (hom.27.9a) and jack mackerel in the Azores (jaa.27.10). Assessments and short-term forecasts were updated according to the stock annexes. There is no assessment method adopted for pil.27.7 due to the lack of data. The stock of pil.27.8abd was assessed as category 1 for the first time, following an interbenchmark. Recruitment has been above the average, the spawning–stock biomass declined and fishing mortality steeply increased in 2010–2012. SSB is fluctuating above MSY Btrigger and F2018 is above FMSY and below Fpa. This year, the DEPM datapoint for 2017 was included in the pil.27.9a assessment for the first time, following a revision of the survey data. The stock has decreased since 2006 and stabilized to a historical low since 2012. The biomass of age 1 and older fish has been decreasing since 2006 and reached the lowest historical value in 2015. It has since increased slightly but is below Blim since 2011. Recruitment has been below the time-series average since 2005. Recruitment in 2018 was around the geometric mean of the last five years. Fishing mortality has been decreasing from a peak in 2011. In 2018, it was the lowest in the time-series and below Fpa and Flim. The stock size indicator for anchovy in 9a.west decreased 90% from 2018 to 2019 (4129 t), after a period of an increasing trend since 2014. The harvest rate decreased 67% from management year 2017 to 2018 being below the median of the historical time-series.The relative spawning–stock biomass of the south component of the anchovy 9.a stock has fluctuated without a trend over the time-series, with most of the values above Bpa. From 2018 to 2019, the relative SSB decreased 5% but is still well above Bpa. Relative Fishing mortality (F) has fluctuated with no clear trend. From management year 2017 to 2018, relative F decreased 93%. The SSB of horse mackerel in Division 9.a fluctuated from 1992, the beginning of the assessment period, to 2012–2013 and afterwards increased continuously to a historical maximum, in 2018. The consistently high recruitment since 2011 has contributed to the SSB increase. Fishing mortality was 0.029 year -1 in 2018, showing a 29% decrease compared to 2017. Fishing mortality has been below FMSY over the whole time-series. The spawning–stock biomass has been above MSY Btrigger over the whole time-series. The exploration of data on anchovy abundance-at-age from juvenile surveys IBERAS-JUVESAR and ECOCADIZ-RECLUTAS indicated the series are still short to conclude about their future incorporation into the assessments. The analyses of internal consistency of the indices and of their consistency with spring acoustic surveys showed promising results for ECOCADIZ-RECLUTAS and pointed out the need to revisit the results of some of the surveys, particularly the IBERAS_JUVESAR series. For sardine, 0-group abundance from IBERAS-JUVESAR (2013–2019) combined with data from an earlier autumn survey, SAR-PT-AUT (discontinued in 2008) covering the northwestern Iberian waters, showed a significant correlation with the abundance of age 1 individuals in surveys carried out in the following spring