Artificial Reefs as Unifying and Energizing Factors in Future Research and Management of Fisheries and Ecosystems

Author(s):  
William Seaman ◽  
Robert Grove ◽  
David Whitmarsh ◽  
Miguel Santos ◽  
Gianna Fabi ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 120-121
Author(s):  
Emily Higgins ◽  
Konstantin Sobolev

Abstract Globally, artificial reefs (ARs) are being increasingly used as a coral reef restoration strategy, and ARs made from conventional substrates (e.g. metal, concrete) have had limited success for coral reef conservation due to structure size and lack of pre-deployment engineering. To curb further deterioration on reefs, technological advances in restoration methods must be quickly tested and applied on a large scale. Here, we present the results of the first IntelliReefs biomimicking “Oceanite” nanotechnology ARs. We compared benthic community composition on three Oceanite ARs 14 months after deployment in Sint Maarten. We also examined fish abundance, diversity, and behaviour on the ARs. The results from this study suggest that Oceanite can enhance local biodiversity, attract coral recruits, provide food and protection for large fish communities, and develop a healthy early coral reef community in 14 months. IntelliReefs' future research will focus on large-scale deployments and further development of site-, species-, and function-specific substrates to optimize AR conservation goals and increase project success. Our Ocean-Shot will deploy durable, bio-enhanced reefs that build resilience to climate change, increase economic benefits, and coastal protection for seaside communities. Oceanite can further be customized for specific stressor mitigation (e.g., pathogens, warming, acidification, reduced water quality, invasive species).


PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne E. Smith ◽  
Philip M. Wheeler ◽  
Magnus L. Johnson

Artificial reefs in marine protected areas provide additional habitat for biodiversity viewing, and therefore may offer an innovative management solution for managing for coral reef recovery and resilience. Marine park user fees can generate revenue to help manage and maintain natural and artificial reefs. Using a stated preference survey, this study investigates the present consumer surplus associated with visitor use of a marine protected area in Barbados. Two hypothetical markets were presented to differentiate between respondents use values of either: (a) natural reefs within the marine reserve or (b) artificial reef habitat for recreational enhancement. Information was also collected on visitors’ perceptions of artificial reefs, reef material preferences and reef conservation awareness. From a sample of 250 visitors on snorkel trips, we estimate a mean willingness to pay of US$18.33 (median—US$15) for natural reef use and a mean value of US$17.58 (median—US$12.50) for artificial reef use. The number of marine species viewed, age of respondent, familiarity with the Folkestone Marine Reserve and level of environmental concern were statistically significant in influencing willingness to pay. Regression analyses indicate visitors are willing to pay a significant amount to view marine life, especially turtles. Our results suggest that user fees could provide a considerable source of income to aid reef conservation in Barbados. In addition, the substantial use value reported for artificial reefs indicates a reef substitution policy may be supported by visitors to the Folkestone Marine Reserve. We discuss our findings and highlight directions for future research that include the need to collect data to establish visitors’ non-use values to fund reef management.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison E. Fowler ◽  
Rebecca E. Irwin ◽  
Lynn S. Adler

Parasites are linked to the decline of some bee populations; thus, understanding defense mechanisms has important implications for bee health. Recent advances have improved our understanding of factors mediating bee health ranging from molecular to landscape scales, but often as disparate literatures. Here, we bring together these fields and summarize our current understanding of bee defense mechanisms including immunity, immunization, and transgenerational immune priming in social and solitary species. Additionally, the characterization of microbial diversity and function in some bee taxa has shed light on the importance of microbes for bee health, but we lack information that links microbial communities to parasite infection in most bee species. Studies are beginning to identify how bee defense mechanisms are affected by stressors such as poor-quality diets and pesticides, but further research on this topic is needed. We discuss how integrating research on host traits, microbial partners, and nutrition, as well as improving our knowledge base on wild and semi-social bees, will help inform future research, conservation efforts, and management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-110
Author(s):  
Christian Sibbersen ◽  
Mogens Johannsen

Abstract In living systems, nucleophilic amino acid residues are prone to non-enzymatic post-translational modification by electrophiles. α-Dicarbonyl compounds are a special type of electrophiles that can react irreversibly with lysine, arginine, and cysteine residues via complex mechanisms to form post-translational modifications known as advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). Glyoxal, methylglyoxal, and 3-deoxyglucosone are the major endogenous dicarbonyls, with methylglyoxal being the most well-studied. There are several routes that lead to the formation of dicarbonyl compounds, most originating from glucose and glucose metabolism, such as the non-enzymatic decomposition of glycolytic intermediates and fructosyl amines. Although dicarbonyls are removed continuously mainly via the glyoxalase system, several conditions lead to an increase in dicarbonyl concentration and thereby AGE formation. AGEs have been implicated in diabetes and aging-related diseases, and for this reason the elucidation of their structure as well as protein targets is of great interest. Though the dicarbonyls and reactive protein side chains are of relatively simple nature, the structures of the adducts as well as their mechanism of formation are not that trivial. Furthermore, detection of sites of modification can be demanding and current best practices rely on either direct mass spectrometry or various methods of enrichment based on antibodies or click chemistry followed by mass spectrometry. Future research into the structure of these adducts and protein targets of dicarbonyl compounds may improve the understanding of how the mechanisms of diabetes and aging-related physiological damage occur.


1985 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. DeGregorio ◽  
Nancy Gross Polow

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of teacher training sessions on listener perception of voice disorders. Three ASHA certified speech-language pathologists provided the criteria mean. Thirty randomly selected teachers from a Bergen County school system, randomly placed into two groups, served as subjects. The experimental group received three training sessions on consecutive weeks. Three weeks after the end of training, both groups were given a posttest. Listener perception scores were significantly higher for the experimental group. The implications of these results for in-service workshops, teacher/speech-language pathologist interaction and future research are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Holyfield ◽  
Sydney Brooks ◽  
Allison Schluterman

Purpose Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is an intervention approach that can promote communication and language in children with multiple disabilities who are beginning communicators. While a wide range of AAC technologies are available, little is known about the comparative effects of specific technology options. Given that engagement can be low for beginning communicators with multiple disabilities, the current study provides initial information about the comparative effects of 2 AAC technology options—high-tech visual scene displays (VSDs) and low-tech isolated picture symbols—on engagement. Method Three elementary-age beginning communicators with multiple disabilities participated. The study used a single-subject, alternating treatment design with each technology serving as a condition. Participants interacted with their school speech-language pathologists using each of the 2 technologies across 5 sessions in a block randomized order. Results According to visual analysis and nonoverlap of all pairs calculations, all 3 participants demonstrated more engagement with the high-tech VSDs than the low-tech isolated picture symbols as measured by their seconds of gaze toward each technology option. Despite the difference in engagement observed, there was no clear difference across the 2 conditions in engagement toward the communication partner or use of the AAC. Conclusions Clinicians can consider measuring engagement when evaluating AAC technology options for children with multiple disabilities and should consider evaluating high-tech VSDs as 1 technology option for them. Future research must explore the extent to which differences in engagement to particular AAC technologies result in differences in communication and language learning over time as might be expected.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2097-2108
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Croft ◽  
Courtney T. Byrd

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify levels of self-compassion in adults who do and do not stutter and to determine whether self-compassion predicts the impact of stuttering on quality of life in adults who stutter. Method Participants included 140 adults who do and do not stutter matched for age and gender. All participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale. Adults who stutter also completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering. Data were analyzed for self-compassion differences between and within adults who do and do not stutter and to predict self-compassion on quality of life in adults who stutter. Results Adults who do and do not stutter exhibited no significant differences in total self-compassion, regardless of participant gender. A simple linear regression of the total self-compassion score and total Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering score showed a significant, negative linear relationship of self-compassion predicting the impact of stuttering on quality of life. Conclusions Data suggest that higher levels of self-kindness, mindfulness, and social connectedness (i.e., self-compassion) are related to reduced negative reactions to stuttering, an increased participation in daily communication situations, and an improved overall quality of life. Future research should replicate current findings and identify moderators of the self-compassion–quality of life relationship.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4193-4207
Author(s):  
Amy S. Pratt ◽  
John A. Grinstead ◽  
Rebecca J. McCauley

Purpose This exploratory study describes the emergent literacy skills of children with developmental language disorder (DLD) who speak Spanish, a language with a simple phonological structure and transparent orthography. We examine differences between children with DLD and their typically developing (TD) peers on a battery of emergent literacy measures. Method Participants included 15 monolingual Spanish-speaking children with DLD (who did not present with cognitive difficulties) and 15 TD controls matched for age, gender, and socioeconomic status, ranging in age from 3;10 to 6;6 (years;months; M age = 4;11). All children completed a battery of comprehension-related emergent literacy tasks (narrative retell, print concept knowledge) and code-related emergent literacy tasks (beginning sound, rhyming awareness, alphabet knowledge, and name-writing ability). Results On average, children with DLD performed significantly worse than TD controls on a battery of comprehension- and code-related emergent literacy measures. On all code-related skills except rhyming, children with DLD were more likely than their TD peers to score “at risk.” Conclusions The results suggest some universality in the effect of DLD on reading development. Difficulties with emergent literacy that are widely documented in English-speaking children with DLD were similarly observed in Spanish-speaking children with DLD. Future research should explore long-term reading outcomes in Spanish for children with DLD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 971-976
Author(s):  
Imran Musaji ◽  
Trisha Self ◽  
Karissa Marble-Flint ◽  
Ashwini Kanade

Purpose The purpose of this article was to propose the use of a translational model as a tool for identifying limitations of current interprofessional education (IPE) research. Translational models allow researchers to clearly define next-step research needed to translate IPE to interprofessional practice (IPP). Method Key principles, goals, and limitations of current IPE research are reviewed. A popular IPE evaluation model is examined through the lens of implementation research. The authors propose a new translational model that more clearly illustrates translational gaps that can be used to direct future research. Next steps for translating IPE to IPP are discussed. Conclusion Comprehensive reviews of the literature show that the implementation strategies adopted to date have fostered improved buy-in from key stakeholders, as evidenced by improved attitudes and perceptions toward interprofessional collaboration/practice. However, there is little evidence regarding successful implementation outcomes, such as changed clinician behaviors, changed organizational practices, or improved patient outcomes. The authors propose the use of an IPE to IPP translational model to facilitate clear identification of research gaps and to better identify future research targets.


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