scholarly journals Ecosystem stability and Native American oyster harvesting along the Atlantic Coast of the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (28) ◽  
pp. eaba9652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor D. Thompson ◽  
Torben Rick ◽  
Carey J. Garland ◽  
David Hurst Thomas ◽  
Karen Y. Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Native American ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Eastern Oyster ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oyster Reefs ◽  
Reef Restoration ◽  
The Stability

The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is an important proxy for examining historical trajectories of coastal ecosystems. Measurement of ~40,000 oyster shells from archaeological sites along the Atlantic Coast of the United States provides a long-term record of oyster abundance and size. The data demonstrate increases in oyster size across time and a nonrandom pattern in their distributions across sites. We attribute this variation to processes related to Native American fishing rights and environmental variability. Mean oyster length is correlated with total oyster bed length within foraging radii (5 and 10 km) as mapped in 1889 and 1890. These data demonstrate the stability of oyster reefs despite different population densities and environmental shifts and have implications for oyster reef restoration in an age of global climate change.

Climate-associated trends and variability in ichthyoplankton phenology from the longest continuous larval fish time series on the east coast of the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 650 ◽  
pp. 269-287
Author(s):  
WC Thaxton ◽  
JC Taylor ◽  
RG Asch
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Larval Fish ◽  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Larval Survival ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Northerly Wind

As the effects of climate change become more pronounced, variation in the direction and magnitude of shifts in species occurrence in space and time may disrupt interspecific interactions in ecological communities. In this study, we examined how the fall and winter ichthyoplankton community in the Newport River Estuary located inshore of Pamlico Sound in the southeastern United States has responded to environmental variability over the last 27 yr. We relate the timing of estuarine ingress of 10 larval fish species to changes in sea surface temperature (SST), the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, the North Atlantic Oscillation, wind strength and phenology, and tidal height. We also examined whether any species exhibited trends in ingress phenology over the last 3 decades. Species varied in the magnitude of their responses to all of the environmental variables studied, but most shared a common direction of change. SST and northerly wind strength had the largest impact on estuarine ingress phenology, with most species ingressing earlier during warm years and delaying ingress during years with strong northerly winds. As SST warms in the coming decades, the average date of ingress of some species (Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus, summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus, pinfish Lagodon rhomboides) is projected to advance on the order of weeks to months, assuming temperatures do not exceed a threshold at which species can no longer respond through changes in phenology. These shifts in ingress could affect larval survival and growth since environmental conditions in the estuarine and pelagic nursery habitats of fishes also vary seasonally.

The great Chinese surprise: the rupture with the United States is real and is happening

2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-437
Author(s):  
Xiangfeng Yang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Pendulum Swing ◽  
The Us ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Trade War ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Ample evidence exists that China was caught off guard by the Trump administration's onslaught of punishing acts—the trade war being a prime, but far from the only, example. This article, in addition to contextualizing their earlier optimism about the relations with the United States under President Trump, examines why Chinese leaders and analysts were surprised by the turn of events. It argues that three main factors contributed to the lapse of judgment. First, Chinese officials and analysts grossly misunderstood Donald Trump the individual. By overemphasizing his pragmatism while downplaying his unpredictability, they ended up underprepared for the policies he unleashed. Second, some ingrained Chinese beliefs, manifested in the analogies of the pendulum swing and the ‘bickering couple’, as well as the narrative of the ‘ballast’, lulled officials and scholars into undue optimism about the stability of the broader relationship. Third, analytical and methodological problems as well as political considerations prevented them from fully grasping the strategic shift against China in the US.

scholarly journals The Vicissitudes of Conflict Measurement

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Burk ◽  
Jaap Denissen ◽  
Muriel D. Van Doorn ◽  
Susan J.T. Branje ◽  
Brett Laursen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
The United States ◽  
Short Intervals ◽  
Time Points ◽  
Best Friends ◽  
Assessment Techniques ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Conflict Frequency

This report examined the stability and reliability of self-reported conflict frequency in relationships with mothers, fathers, and best friends. Participants were drawn from three independent samples in the Netherlands (n = 72, M = 15.6 years), Germany (n = 242, M = 19.7 years), and the United States (n = 250, M = 19.8 years). Participants completed both topic-based surveys and interaction-based diary assessments of conflict frequency. Within samples, comparable levels of internal consistency and temporal stability emerged in each relationship for both assessment techniques. Topic-based and interaction-based assessments of conflict frequency were moderately correlated in each relationship within samples. Daily topic-based assessments with short intervals between time points may provide the most advantageous assessment strategy for obtaining reliable measures of conflict frequency in adolescents’ close relationships.

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