Restoration of the Nisqually River Delta and increased rearing opportunities for salmonids

Estuarine wetlands in the Salish Sea provide important rearing habitat for migrating juvenile Pacific salmon, contributing to their overall productivity and ocean survival. Substantial loss of historical estuarine habitat in the Salish Sea due to diking, draining and development has contributed to the decline of Pacific salmon populations (Oncorhynchus spp.). The return of tidal inundation through a series of dike removals to 364 hectares of the Nisqually River Delta (Olympia, Washington, USA) represents one of the most significant advances to date towards the recovery of the threatened Nisqually Fall Chinook stock. Our objective was to assess the collective Nisqually Delta restorations in terms of increased rearing opportunity for juvenile salmon. Metrics consisted of physical conditions that allow juvenile salmon to access the estuarine restorations such as delta connectivity, full tidal inundation and channel development. Unlike most studies, we put these physical metrics in terms of juvenile Chinook by constraining our inundation model to outmigration season (Mar – Aug) and those tidal depths supporting juvenile Chinook (\u3e 0.4 m). We used these criteria, verified by presence of juvenile salmonids in three restored and two reference tidal channels, to measure the change in opportunity potential from pre-restoration to post-restoration condition for juvenile Chinook to access and rear in the Nisqually estuary. We found landscape connectivity to be strongly tied to tidal height and increased throughout the estuary with dike removal. Tidal channel development was most rapid in the first and second year post-restoration; with channel outlets widening and deepening to accommodate restored tidal prisms. Chum salmon, natural origin Chinook and hatchery origin Chinook salmon accessed all three restored marshes within two years post-restoration, although responses varied among years, marshes and salmon species. These results suggest that the Nisqually Delta restorations are providing increased rearing opportunity for juvenile salmon

Stable isotope analysis reveals different trophic niche spaces for wild and hatchery origin juvenile Chinook salmon in the Nisqually Delta

Hatchery programs have been used as a conservation tool to bolster declining Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations throughout much of the Salish Sea. In many watersheds, hatchery fish are released concurrently with the natural-origin population, thus raising the potential for density dependent effects via depleted prey resources, territorial behavior, and movement into sub-optimal habitats. Competition during the critical period for early marine growth and survival might have detrimental effects for wild Chinook salmon populations, highlighting the potential importance of a productive delta habitat mosaic. We used an integrated diet approach with stomach content and stable isotope analyses to evaluate differential patterns of habitat use and prey consumption in a fall run population of juvenile Chinook salmon from the Nisqually River Delta in Puget Sound. We examined size class and origin-level differences throughout the out-migration gradient, from freshwater riverine to nearshore habitat. Natural- and hatchery-origin smolts exhibited distinct habitat use patterns, whereby hatchery-origin individuals were captured less frequently in forested and transitional habitats, and more frequently in the nearshore. Consequently, hatchery-origin juveniles were less likely to consume terrestrial insect drift that was almost twice as energy rich as nearshore crustacean prey. Stable isotope signatures from muscle and liver tissues corroborated this finding, showing that while natural-origin Chinook salmon derived 24–31% of their diets from terrestrially sourced prey, terrestrial insects only made up 2–8% of hatchery-origin diets. This may have explained why natural-origin fish were in better condition and had stomach contents that were 15% more energy-rich on average than hatchery-origin fish. We did not observe strong evidence for trophic overlap in natural- and hatchery-origin juvenile Chinook salmon, but our results suggest that hatchery fish are less likely to take advantage of the terrestrial-aquatic interface, and could suffer behaviorally-mediated consequences to early marine growth and survival

Progressing from multidisciplinary to interdisciplinary restoration science: monitoring and applied studies on the Nisqually River Delta

Restoration science is often described as an ultimate test of ecological theory; assessing the value of restoration actions is challenged by difficulties in measuring complex interactions between restored physical processes and the response of biological resources. Yet, demonstrating the value of restoration is a key to sustaining future public investment, especially in light of uncertainty of future climate change effects. At the Nisqually River Delta, a restoration partnership between the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge), the Nisqually Indian Tribe (Tribe), and Ducks Unlimited culminated in re-established tidal flow to 360 ha of historic floodplain and delta representing the largest estuarine restoration in the Pacific Northwest. Restoration of this large delta was expected to result in a substantial improvement in ecological functions and services in southern Puget Sound. The goal of our scientific team, led by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the project partners, was to assess the biophysical response to restoration. Science objectives were built into a monitoring framework to include hydrodynamics, geomorphology, sedimentation and nearshore processes with vegetation, invertebrate food resources, waterbird, and fisheries. Our science partners included the U. S. Geological Survey, Refuge, Tribe, non-governmental organizations, and universities representing several disciplines. Funding the science was challenging, since as with most wetland restoration projects, adequate funds are rarely included in costs. Instead, the managers and scientists worked together to raise funds through special funds and competitive grants including addressing climate change. With this funding model, a major challenge for the team was communicating and sustaining a vision to make separate multidisciplinary efforts into unified interdisciplinary science. Here, we use lessons learned from early results of the Nisqually River Delta restoration to discuss restoration science in planning processes, funding costs and approaches, monitoring versus applied studies, and advancing interdisciplinary findings from multidisciplinary efforts

Population Genetic Structure of Peninsular Malaysia Malay Sub-Ethnic Groups

Patterns of modern human population structure are helpful in understanding the history of human migration and admixture. We conducted a study on genetic structure of the Malay population in Malaysia, using 54,794 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism genotype data generated in four Malay sub-ethnic groups in peninsular Malaysia (Melayu Kelantan, Melayu Minang, Melayu Jawa and Melayu Bugis). To the best of our knowledge this is the first study conducted on these four Malay sub-ethnic groups and the analysis of genotype data of these four groups were compiled together with 11 other populations' genotype data from Indonesia, China, India, Africa and indigenous populations in Peninsular Malaysia obtained from the Pan-Asian SNP database. The phylogeny of populations showed that all of the four Malay sub-ethnic groups are separated into at least three different clusters. The Melayu Jawa, Melayu Bugis and Melayu Minang have a very close genetic relationship with Indonesian populations indicating a common ancestral history, while the Melayu Kelantan formed a distinct group on the tree indicating that they are genetically different from the other Malay sub-ethnic groups. We have detected genetic structuring among the Malay populations and this could possibly be accounted for by their different historical origins. Our results provide information of the genetic differentiation between these populations and a valuable insight into the origins of the Malay sub-ethnic groups in Peninsular Malaysia

Bioinspired approaches for toughening of fibre reinforced polymer composites

In Nature, there are a large range of tough, strong, lightweight and multifunctional structures that can be an inspiration to better performingmaterials. Thiswork presents a review of structures found in Nature, frombiological ceramics and ceramics composites, biological polymers and polymers composites, biological cellular materials, biological elastomers to functional biological materials, and their main tougheningmechanisms, envisaging potential mimicking approaches that can be applied in advanced continuous fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite structures. For this, themost common engineering compositemanufacturing processes and current composite damage mitigation approaches are analysed. This aims at establishing the constraints of biomimetic approaches development as these bioinspired structures are to be manufactured by composite technologies. Combining both Nature approaches and engineering composites developments is a route for the design and manufacturing of high mechanical performance and multifunctional composite structures, therefore new bioinspired solutions are proposed.This research was funded by the project “IAMAT—Introduction of advanced materials technologies into new product development for the mobility industries”, with reference MITP-TB/PFM/0005/2013, under the MIT-Portugal program and in the scope of projects with references UIDB/05256/2020 and UIDP/05256/2020, exclusively financed by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia

Accuracy and precision of tidal wetland soil carbon mapping in the conterminous United States

© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scientific Reports 8 (2018): 9478, doi:10.1038/s41598-018-26948-7.Tidal wetlands produce long-term soil organic carbon (C) stocks. Thus for carbon accounting purposes, we need accurate and precise information on the magnitude and spatial distribution of those stocks. We assembled and analyzed an unprecedented soil core dataset, and tested three strategies for mapping carbon stocks: applying the average value from the synthesis to mapped tidal wetlands, applying models fit using empirical data and applied using soil, vegetation and salinity maps, and relying on independently generated soil carbon maps. Soil carbon stocks were far lower on average and varied less spatially and with depth than stocks calculated from available soils maps. Further, variation in carbon density was not well-predicted based on climate, salinity, vegetation, or soil classes. Instead, the assembled dataset showed that carbon density across the conterminous united states (CONUS) was normally distributed, with a predictable range of observations. We identified the simplest strategy, applying mean carbon density (27.0 kg C m−3), as the best performing strategy, and conservatively estimated that the top meter of CONUS tidal wetland soil contains 0.72 petagrams C. This strategy could provide standardization in CONUS tidal carbon accounting until such a time as modeling and mapping advancements can quantitatively improve accuracy and precision.Synthesis efforts were funded by NASA Carbon Monitoring System (CMS; NNH14AY67I), USGS LandCarbon and the Smithsonian Institution. J.R.H. was additionally supported by the NSF-funded Coastal Carbon Research Coordination Network while completing this manuscript (DEB-1655622). J.M.S. coring efforts were funded by NSF (EAR-1204079). B.P.H. coring efforts were funded by Earth Observatory (Publication Number 197)

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Structural and Compositional Analysis of Biochar produced from Palm Kernel and Coconut Shells in Ghana for Uranium Removal

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