Article
Fisheries
Manuel Dureuil, William H. Aeberhard, Michael Dowd, Sebastian A. Pardo, Frederick G. Whoriskey, Boris Worm
Summary: The somatic growth of individuals is crucial in the life history of a species and for assessing populations. This study evaluates seven techniques for estimating growth parameters using mark-recapture tagging data and finds that Bayesian implementations of Fabens and Francis methods are the most reliable in simulated data with errors. When applied to observed data of 14 elasmobranch stocks, only BFa gives biologically plausible results. BFa is a reliable alternative to conventional length-at-age methods, especially in data-limited situations for elasmobranchs.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Yuzi Zhang, Jiandong Chen, Lin Ge, John M. Williamson, Lance A. Waller, Robert H. Lyles
Summary: Capture-recapture methods are commonly used in disease surveillance to estimate the number of cases. This study proposes a framework for sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, focusing on two data streams. The framework relies on a key parameter that is usually nonidentifiable but has epidemiological significance. It allows for appealing visualizations and leverages epidemiologist's understanding to drive estimation assumptions. The proposed approach demonstrates reliable performance in quantifying uncertainties in estimating the number of cases.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hanafiah Fazhan, Mohamad N. Azra, Siti Aisah Halim, Muhamad Naimullah, Muyassar H. Abualreesh, Alexander Chong Shu-Chien, Youji Wang, Yushinta Fujaya, Mohammad Syahnon, Hongyu Ma, Khor Waiho, Mhd Ikhwanuddin
Summary: The aim of this study was to determine the movement patterns of mud crabs within the mangrove area. The study found that the tagged crabs did not move far from the release station and there were more male crabs than females.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Serena R. Wright, David Righton, Joachim Naulaerts, Robert J. Schallert, Chris A. Griffiths, Taylor Chapple, Daniel Madigan, Vladimir Laptikhovsky, Victoria Bendall, Rhys Hobbs, Doug Beare, Elizabeth Clingham, Barbara Block, Martin A. Collins
Summary: The study investigated the behavior of yellowfin tuna using satellite tags in the South Atlantic Ocean around St Helena, finding that their behavior varies seasonally and with depth, impacting the catchability of the fish by local fishing fleets.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Federica Tufano, Fabia Grisi, Chiara Costabile, Mina Mazzeo, Vincenzo Venditto, Antonella Caterina Boccia, Rosalba Fittipaldi, Lorella Izzo, Stefania Pragliola
Summary: The consumption and improper disposal of plastics have caused serious environmental concerns. New methods based on fluorescent tagging have been developed to facilitate the identification and sorting of different materials in plastic recycling. In this study, new fluorescent copolymers of polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) were synthesized and characterized for use as markers. These copolymers were found to have distinguishable fluorescent emissions even with a low concentration of only 1% in the PE/PS blends.
Article
Mathematics
Jing Yang, Jun Wang, Mengyang Gao
Summary: The type, quantity, and scale of social-tagging systems have grown constantly as users' interest increases. Tags have important reference value in studying networked communities as they represent user preference. This paper proposes an improved evolution model for tag communities and conducts an evolution analysis based on datasets from Delicious, CiteULike, and Douban. The results show that new individuals have a significant influence on community evolution and new tags are more influential in tagging relation data.
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Arianna Renzini, Joseph D. Romano, Carlo R. Contaldi, Neil J. Cornish
Summary: Detection of a stochastic background of gravitational waves is likely to happen in the next few years. Different mapping methods have been proposed to target anisotropic backgrounds. This study compares the intensity mapping approach with the amplitude-phase mapping approach and finds that the latter is only applicable to phase coherent backgrounds. Therefore, intensity mapping is preferred for such backgrounds.
Article
Ecology
Rassim Khelifa, Hayat Mahdjoub, Leithen K. M'Gonigle, Claire Kremen
Summary: The use of high-speed videos (HSV) improves resighting rates and survival rate estimations for dragonfly species, compared to conventional eye observations. Including HSV in studies increased resights and survival probability estimates, enhancing the credibility intervals for these demographic parameters in dragonfly species. This method shows potential for expanding research possibilities on traditionally difficult-to-monitor species, such as insects and birds.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Oceanography
Serena R. Wright, David Righton, Joachim Naulaerts, Robert J. Schallert, Victoria Bendall, Christopher Griffiths, Michael Castleton, Daniel David-Gutierrez, Daniel Madigan, Annalea Beard, Elizabeth Clingham, Leeann Henry, Vladimir Laptikhovsky, Douglas Beare, Waylon Thomas, Barbara A. Block, Martin A. Collins
Summary: Yellowfin tuna, a widely distributed migratory species, have been tagged in the South Atlantic Ocean to study their movement patterns. Most yellowfin tuna remained within 70 km of their release location, while some displayed large-scale movements, indicating connections between different regions.
DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART I-OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH PAPERS
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Ariel A. Hippen, Matias M. Falco, Lukas M. Weber, Erdogan Pekcan Erkan, Kaiyang Zhang, Jennifer Anne Doherty, Anna Vaharautio, Casey S. Greene, Stephanie C. Hicks
Summary: The miQC package was developed to predict low-quality cells in a given scRNA-seq dataset by jointly modeling the proportion of reads mapping to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes and the number of detected genes using mixture models in a probabilistic framework. The QC metric easily adapts to different types of single-cell datasets to remove low-quality cells while preserving high-quality cells for downstream analyses.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Nien Fan Zhang
Summary: The study discusses similarity comparisons and statistical models for firearm marks. It introduces a generalized frequency function to describe the behavior of CMC values and provides its limiting distribution, as well as uses nonlinear regression models to estimate model parameters.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ye Lin, Sean B. Andersson
Summary: Single Particle Tracking (SPT) is a well-known tool for studying the dynamics of biological macromolecules inside living cells. The study focuses on the problem of localization and parameter estimation and proposes an Expectation Maximization (EM) based framework for simultaneous handling. Two representative methods, namely SMC-EM and U-EM, demonstrate better performance compared to standard techniques, especially at low signal levels.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jie You, Zhaoxuan Li, Junli Du
Summary: This paper proposes a new iterative method of EM initialization (MRIPEM) to address the sensitivity and local optimum problems in Gaussian mixture model parameter estimation. The mean vector and covariance matrix of the sample are used as initial values and continuously updated through clustering based on the maximum Mahalanobis distance. Experimental results show that the MRIPEM algorithm is comparable to other popular initialization methods in relatively high dimensions and overlaps, and significantly better in low dimensions and overlaps.
Article
Ecology
Michael Thomas Smith, Michael Livingstone, Richard Comont
Summary: This paper introduces a novel method for tracking bee behavior using retroreflective tags, which is simple, low-cost, and suitable for small insects. Through simple experiments, the effectiveness and feasibility of this method were validated.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Xiaosong Zhang, Fang Wan, Chang Liu, Xiangyang Ji, Qixiang Ye
Summary: This study proposes a learning-to-match (LTM) method to break the Intersection-over-Union (IoU) restriction in object detection, allowing for flexible matching between objects and anchors. Experimental results demonstrate that LTM consistently outperforms traditional methods in object detection with lower computational cost.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PATTERN ANALYSIS AND MACHINE INTELLIGENCE
(2022)
Review
Marine & Freshwater Biology
O. L. F. Weyl, L. Barkhuizen, K. Christison, T. Dalu, H. A. Hlungwani, D. Impson, K. Sankar, N. E. Mandrak, S. M. Marr, J. R. Sara, N. J. Smit, D. Tweddle, N. G. Vine, V Wepener, M. Zvavahera, I. G. Cowx
Summary: South Africa is developing a National Freshwater Wild Capture Fisheries Policy, and a workshop was held to identify ten research questions related to inland fisheries, covering topics such as exploitation potential, health risks, user demographics, historical constraints, governance changes, enhancement options, technologies, value chains, employment opportunities, water level impacts, and pathogenic diseases.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF AQUATIC SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
S. Z. Bajaba, S. Hugo, A. J. van Wyk, S. M. Marr, N. G. Vine, O. L. F. Weyl
Summary: The study examined the use of BRUVS for monitoring vulnerable species in clear headwater streams of South Africa, finding that baiting cameras increased the number of individuals recorded, with bread performing better than Marmite. Numbers recorded varied significantly among species and sites, suggesting that monitoring programs should evaluate the effectiveness of a range of baits to attract different species.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF AQUATIC SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Takudzwa C. Madzivanzira, Josie South, Olaf L. F. Weyl
Summary: The study suggests that the invasion of freshwater crayfish in Africa could have negative implications for biodiversity, especially under high temperature conditions. Both invasive crayfish species have the potential to exert greater impacts on benthic prey communities in invaded systems, highlighting the importance of preventing their introduction and spread to conserve native biodiversity.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Parasitology
Marliese Truter, Kerry A. Hadfield, Olaf L. F. Weyl, Nico J. Smit
Summary: The study reported the first infection of the global invasive anguillid gill parasite Pseudodactylogyrus anguillae from the giant mottled eel Anguilla marmorata in the Phongolo River of South Africa. Utilizing classic morphological and molecular methodologies, the introduction status category of this parasite was clarified as alien and invasive.
PARASITOLOGY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Dumisani Khosa, Josie South, Ryan J. Wasserman, O. L. F. Weyl
Summary: Habitat complexity plays a significant role in structuring species diversity, behavior, and distribution, as well as mediating predator-prey interactions. In this study comparing Largemouth Bass and Florida Bass predating on Mozambique Tilapia fry, higher habitat complexity dampened the predatory efficiency of both species, with Florida Bass showing higher feeding response magnitudes. The study suggests that measures to enhance natural complexity may be beneficial for endemic fish in rivers invaded by Florida Bass.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF AQUATIC SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
F. J. Jacobs, T. F. Naesje, E. M. Ulvan, C. J. Hay, F. H. Khaebeb, O. L. F. Weyl
Summary: The fishery for African tigerfish in northern Namibia plays an important role in food security and the local economy, but declining catch rates and smaller fish have been observed. Research shows that the catch per unit effort and proportion of mature fish are higher inside a freshwater protected area compared to outside. Both inside and outside the protected area, the African tigerfish populations face overfishing, and management actions are needed to safeguard this important fishery resource for subsistence and recreational fishers.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF AQUATIC SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
M. Zvavahera, S. Hugo, N. G. Vine, O. L. F. Weyl
Summary: South Africa lacks research on the nutritional value of inland small fish species to poor rural communities. This study provides the first nutrient composition analysis for estuarine roundherring, and found that it has comparable protein, fat, calcium, iron, and zinc levels to other small fish species consumed in other countries, but very low levels of vitamin A. Nonetheless, it is still an excellent source of these nutrients from other nutritional perspectives.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF AQUATIC SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Jay R. Stauffer, E. R. Chirwa, Wilson Jere, Adrianus F. Konings, Denis Tweddle, Olaf Weyl
Summary: The Nile Tilapia poses a significant threat to the native fishes of Lake Malawi due to its attributes such as fast growth rate and competitive nature, potentially leading to extinction of native species and damaging the livelihoods of existing artisanal fishermen.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Munetsi Zvavahera, Sanet Hugo, Niall G. Vine, Olaf L. F. Weyl
Summary: A morphometric analysis of estuarine round herring showed that sites on the same river system and geographically close sites share similar morphometric traits. Caudal fin length was found to be strongly related to river systems, with some influence from salinity and turbidity. The study suggests that variation in environmental productivity affects body condition in different populations.
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Dumisani Khosa, John S. Hargrove, Eric Peatmans, Olaf L. F. Weyl
Summary: The study found that Florida bass introduced in South Africa have hybridized with native largemouth bass, forming hybrid swarms in the catchment area. The absence of pure largemouth bass or Florida bass suggests that hybridization occurs extensively where both species are present. The variable levels of hybridization observed in dams outside of the mainstem rivers may contribute to genetic mixing within the river systems. This highlights the challenge of implementing independent management strategies for controlling and monitoring the spread of both species.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF AQUATIC SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Tsungai Alfred Zengeya, Reuhl Jan-Hendrik Lombard, Vhutali Ernest Nelwamondo, Ana Luisa Nunes, John Measey, Olaf Lawrence Weyl
Summary: This study assesses the trophic niche and potential impacts of the invasive redclaw crayfish in the Inkomati River Basin, South Africa. The crayfish showed an omnivorous feeding strategy, with diet mainly composed of algae, plant material, and invertebrates. Differences in feeding strategy and niche width were observed based on size and habitat type. Significant niche overlap was found between redclaw crayfish and Sidney's river crab, suggesting potential functional redundancy in the ecosystem. Further studies are needed to examine the altered ecosystem functions caused by the crayfish invasion.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
L. Mofu, T. Dalu, R. J. Wasserman, D. J. Woodford, O. L. F. Weyl
Summary: The age and growth of Oreochromis mossambicus from the Sundays River Valley irrigation pond in South Africa were determined. Mark recapture of chemically-tagged fish confirmed the periodicity of growth zone creation. It was found that O. mossambicus in this warm temperate pond had relatively long life spans compared to other populations.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF AQUATIC SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
H. A. Hlungwani, S. M. Marr, O. L. F. Weyl, J. R. Sara
Summary: Inland fisheries play a role in ensuring food security for rural communities near large aquatic systems. This study focused on determining the biological information of Labeo rosae and Oreochromis mossambicus in Flag Boshielo Dam, Limpopo province. The results indicate positive allometric growth for L. rosae and negative growth for O. mossambicus. Both species showed signs of exploitation, with L. rosae having a total mortality rate of 0.57 yr(-1) and O. mossambicus with a total mortality rate of 0.78 yr(-1). The collected biological data can be used for fisheries assessment in Flag Boshielo Dam.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF AQUATIC SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Lubabalo Mofu, Tatenda Dalu, Ryan J. Wasserman, Darragh J. Woodford, Olaf L. F. Weyl
Summary: The study examined the diets of two native fish species, Glossogobius callidus and Gilchristella aestuaria, in the presence of two non-native fish species, Oreochromis mossambicus and Gambusia affinis, in irrigation ponds in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Through gut content and stable isotope analysis, the proportions of dietary items consumed and assimilated by the four fish species were determined. The results showed that resource competition is a major factor shaping the composition of the fish species in the ponds.
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Dumisani Khosa, Josie South, Ncumisa Y. Matam, Lubabalo Mofu, Ryan J. Wasserman, Olaf L. F. Weyl
Summary: In this study, the distribution of freshwater fishes in the Kowie River catchment was evaluated using historic fish distribution records and field survey data. Different methods were employed to collect fishes, including seine nets, fyke nets, and gill nets. The results showed a decrease in the number of native species and the presence of two new non-native species, which may have implications for the conservation and management of freshwater diversity in the catchment.
KNOWLEDGE AND MANAGEMENT OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Miguel Petrere Jr, Davi Butturi-Gomes
Summary: This short communication aims to raise awareness about the misuse of confidence intervals in Ecology and Fisheries statistical models that ignore the lack of independence.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Peter-John F. Hulson, Benjamin C. Williams
Summary: This study evaluates the impact of considering ageing error and growth variability on the determination of input sample size (ISS) in statistical catch-at-age assessment models. The results show that including these sources of uncertainty decreases the ISS determined through bootstrap methods. This indicates that there is more variability in age composition and conditional age-at-length data than previously accounted for. Including these sources of uncertainty improves the estimation of ISS and subsequently improves the quality of stock assessment models.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Jason M. Cope
Summary: Fishery resource assessment is a complex and challenging task, but with the use of different analysis methods and tools, effective management guidance can be provided even with limited data and resources.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Regina L. Cunha, Joana I. Robalo, Sara M. Francisco, Ines Farias, Rita Castilho, Ivone Figueiredo
Summary: Recent advances in genomics have greatly contributed to the assessment of fish stocks by providing precise identification of genetic boundaries. This study used a genotyping-by-sequencing approach to reveal the existence of an additional genetic cluster of blackspot seabream in the northeast Atlantic, which was not previously identified. Factors such as ocean circulation patterns and local upwelling may play a role in the genetic differentiation observed in this study.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Huihua Lee, Mark N. Maunder, Kevin R. Piner
Summary: Estimating growth is important for fish population assessment. Integrated assessment models and the influence of misfitting size composition data have renewed interest in how growth is modeled. The available data types control how the length-at-age relationship is estimated. Estimating length-at-age is complex due to multiple sources of biological variability and difficulties in obtaining representative samples.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
A. Ladino, I. Perez-Arjona, V. Espinosa, M. Chillaron, V. Vidal, L. M. Godinho, G. Moreno, G. Boyra
Summary: This study examines the acoustic properties of skipjack tuna and Atlantic mackerel, both bladderless pelagic fish species, and explains the significant differences observed. The research shows that the differences in material properties of their tissues predict a more than 10 dB greater reduced target strength in skipjack compared to mackerel at certain frequencies.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Nelly Pena-Cutimbo, Cristel Cordero-Maldonado, Clara Ortiz-Alvarez, Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto, Jeffrey C. Mangel
Summary: Bycatch is a global problem for marine megafauna. This study assessed the bycatch interactions of the Peruvian artisanal purse-seine fishery in 2019 and found that all taxa groups were affected by bycatch. Dusky dolphins, guanay cormorants, and eagle rays were the most frequently reported bycatch species.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Jen-Ming Liu, Po-Yuk So
Summary: The set-net fishery is an environmentally friendly fishery posing little risk to the marine ecosystem. This study identified ocean temperature, sea surface factors, and climatic factors as the main factors affecting the installation of set-nets.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Fisheries
Josie L. Palmer, Carina Armstrong, Hasan D. Akbora, Damla Beton, Cigdem Caglar, Brendan J. Godley, Kristian Metcalfe, Meryem Ozkan, Robin T. E. Snape, Annette C. Broderick
Summary: Small-scale fisheries are vital for global food security and cultural heritage, but the lack of information hampers effective management and mitigation of ecological impacts. This study provides the first comprehensive overview of the small-scale fishery fleet in Northern Cyprus. The fleet operates mainly over the continental shelf, using static and demersal gear types, and catches a diverse range of species, some of which are threatened. The findings can be used to improve fisheries management and conservation measures.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2024)
