Effects of Spearfishing on Reef Fish Populations in a Multi-Use Conservation Area

Although spearfishing is a popular method of capturing fish, its ecological effects on fish populations are poorly understood, which makes it difficult to assess the legitimacy and desirability of spearfishing in multi-use marine reserves. Recent management changes within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) fortuitously created a unique scenario by which to quantify the effects of spearfishing on fish populations. As such, we employed underwater visual surveys and a before-after-control-impact experimental design to investigate the effects of spearfishing on the density and size structure of target and non-target fishes in a multi-use conservation park zone (CPZ) within the GBRMP. Three years after spearfishing was first allowed in the CPZ, there was a 54% reduction in density and a 27% reduction in mean size of coral trout (Plectropomus spp.), the primary target species. These changes were attributed to spearfishing because benthic habitat characteristics and the density of non-target fishes were stable through time, and the density and mean size of coral trout in a nearby control zone (where spearfishing was prohibited) remained unchanged. We conclude that spearfishing, like other forms of fishing, can have rapid and substantial negative effects on target fish populations. Careful management of spearfishing is therefore needed to ensure that conservation obligations are achieved and that fishery resources are harvested sustainably. This is particularly important both for the GBRMP, due to its extraordinarily high conservation value and world heritage status, and for tropical island nations where people depend on spearfishing for food and income. To minimize the effects of spearfishing on target species and to enhance protection of functionally important fishes (herbivores), we recommend that fishery managers adjust output controls such as size- and catch-limits, rather than prohibit spearfishing altogether. This will preserve the cultural and social importance of spearfishing in coastal communities where it is practised.     

Promoter regions of the ExtA extensin gene from Brassica napus control activation in response to wounding and tensile stress

Plant Molecular Biology -     

Print news coverage of cancer: What prevention messages are conveyed when screening is newsworthy?

Background: Americans are generally favorable towards cancer screening, but fatalistic about cancer prevention. News coverage shapes perceptions of cancer control in meaningful ways, but there is little consensus as to the impact of news on our understanding of and engagement in cancer screening practices. Our analysis of cancer screening-related print news coverage during a four month period in 2005 suggests that the newsworthiness of new screening technologies may undermine public confidence in currently available and effective secondary prevention programs, while promoting tests whose effectiveness is debated or not yet established. Methods and results: We conducted a structured text analysis of 517 cancer-related news articles from 15 leading daily newspapers and a subsequent qualitative analysis of the 79 screening news articles. Screening articles were analyzed for content related to criteria for screening effectiveness. Content patterns for each type of screening and cancer were also noted. News coverage consistently conveyed screening as important and highlighted the need to protect and expand access to screening. At the same time, to the extent that story content was framed by the newsworthiness of new tests and technologies this often indirectly called into question effective and established protocols and programs without providing any actionable alternative. Conclusion: This analysis revealed unexpected messages about screening that are potentially problematic for cancer control. The cancer control community should continue efforts to understand and shape news coverage of screening in order to promote balanced and action-oriented content. Research has shown that Americans hold conflicting views regarding cancer—having a favorable opinion of screening while simultaneously feeling fatalistic about prevention. Our analysis of print news stories on cancer screening suggests that the determination of screening's “newsworthiness” is related to newly developed tests and protocols, which may create demand for new tests whose effectiveness is unknown and undermine confidence in established and effective screening programs.     

Gender Differentiated Preferences for a Community-Based Conservation Initiative

Community-based conservation (CBC) aims to benefit local people as well as to achieve conservation goals, but has been criticised for taking a simplistic view of “community” and failing to recognise differences in the preferences and motivations of community members. We explore this heterogeneity in the context of Kenya’s conservancies, focussing on the livelihood preferences of men and women living adjacent to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Using a discrete choice experiment we quantify the preferences of local community members for key components of their livelihoods and conservancy design, differentiating between men and women and existing conservancy members and non-members. While Maasai preference for pastoralism remains strong, non-livestock-based livelihood activities are also highly valued and there was substantial differentiation in preferences between individuals. Involvement with conservancies was generally perceived to be positive, but only if households were able to retain some land for other purposes. Women placed greater value on conservancy membership, but substantially less value on wage income, while existing conservancy members valued both conservancy membership and livestock more highly than did non-members. Our findings suggest that conservancies can make a positive contribution to livelihoods, but care must be taken to ensure that they do not unintentionally disadvantage any groups. We argue that conservation should pay greater attention to individual-level differences in preferences when designing interventions in order to achieve fairer and more sustainable outcomes for members of local communities.     

The locomotion of Babakotia radofilai inferred from epiphyseal and diaphyseal morphology of the humerus and femur

Palaeopropithecids, or “sloth lemurs,” are a diverse clade of large‐bodied Malagasy subfossil primates characterized by their inferred suspensory positional behavior. The most recently discovered genus of the palaeopropithecids is Babakotia, and it has been described as more arboreal than Mesopropithecus, but less than Palaeopropithecus. In this article, the within‐bone and between‐bones articular and cross‐sectional diaphyseal proportions of the humerus and femur of Babakotia were compared to extant lemurs, Mesopropithecus and Palaeopropithecus in order to further understand its arboreal adaptations. Additionally, a sample of apes and sloths (Choloepus and Bradypus) are included as functional outgroups composed of suspensory adapted primates and non‐primates. Results show that Babakotia and Mesopropithecus both have high humeral/femoral shaft strength proportions, similar to extant great apes and sloths and indicative of forelimb suspensory behavior, with Babakotia more extreme in this regard. All three subfossil taxa have relatively large femoral heads, also associated with suspension in modern taxa. However, Babakotia and Mesopropithecus (but not Palaeopropithecus) have relatively small femoral head surface area to shaft strength proportions suggesting that hind‐limb positioning in these taxa during climbing and other behaviors was different than in extant great apes, involving less mobility. Knee and humeral articular dimensions relative to shaft strengths are small in Babakotia and Mesopropithecus, similar to those found in modern sloths and divergent from those in extant great apes and lemurs, suggesting more sloth‐like use of these joints during locomotion. Mesopropithecus and Babakotia are more similar to Choloepus in humerofemoral head and length proportions while Palaeopropithecus is more similar to Bradypus. These results provide further evidence of the suspensory adaptations of Babakotia and further highlight similarities to both extant suspensory primates and non‐primate slow arboreal climbers and hangers. J. Morphol. 277:1199–1218, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A mechanical dissociation method for preparation of muscle cell cultures

A cell preparation method by which large numbers of embryonic chick skeletal muscle cells may be obtained is described. The procedure requires fewer manipulations and much less time than standard trypsinization. By the criteria used, both methods are comparable with respect to percent viable cells and survival of plated cells. However, in addition to the ease of preparation, the mechanical dissociation method offers the significant advantage that the cell suspension is greatly enriched for myoblasts without the necessity of an additional preplating step.