scholarly journals Evidence-based management to regulate the impact of tourism at a key marine turtle rookery on Zakynthos Island, Greece

Oryx ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 584-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kostas A. Katselidis ◽  
Gail Schofield ◽  
Giorgos Stamou ◽  
Panayotis Dimopoulos ◽  
John D. Pantis
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Marine Turtle ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Marine Turtles ◽  
Nest Placement ◽  
Conservation Effort ◽  
Natural Nest ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Scientific Tool ◽  
Beach Use

AbstractThis study evaluates how key beach features influence suitability for nesting by Endangered loggerhead marine turtles Caretta caretta at an internationally important rookery on Zakynthos Island, Greece. During 2007–2009 we assimilated information on beach structure (elevation above sea level and width), the distribution of all nesting (turtle tracks that resulted in nests) and non-nesting (turtle tracks that did not result in nests) turtle emergences from the sea along 6 km of beach, nest placement parameters (distance from sea and elevation above sea level), and beach use by visitors. We found that turtles preferentially emerged on steeper sections of beach, with higher nesting densities occurring on the most environmentally stable beaches. Elevation was a more reliable indicator of nest placement (1 m above sea level) than distance to shore. However, because nests on steeper slopes are located closer to shore, the risk of damage by tourism is increased in such areas. We calculated a potential 36% overlap of natural nest locations with use of the beach by tourists; however, the recorded overlap was 7% because of existing management protocols. This overlap could be further reduced by focusing conservation effort (i.e. further restricting use by people) on beach sections with the steepest inclines. For example, slopes of > 22° comprise 1 km of total beach area annually, the closure of which (above the immediate shoreline to allow passage) would completely protect 50% of nests. This study shows the value of evidence-based management as a practical scientific tool to conserve threatened species in dynamic protected areas that are of both environmental and economic importance.

scholarly journals Escalation of threats to marine turtles

Oryx ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Hutchinson ◽  
Mark Simmonds
Keyword(s):  
World Wide ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Marine Turtle ◽  
Marine Turtles ◽  
The Impact

Many, if not all, marine turtle populations world-wide have become seriously depleted by the impact of numerous factors over the years. Populations of marine turtles are now classified as endangered or threatened. National and international legislation designed to protect sea turtles has been unsuccessful and, despite evergrowing interest, there is disturbing evidence of new and increasingly important threats: increased incidence of disease; oil and organochlorine contamination and marine ‘macro-pollution’.

scholarly journals Assessing the impact of sea-level rise on a vulnerable coastal community in Accra, Ghana

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwasi Appeaning Addo ◽  
Michael Adeyemi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
High Tide ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Marine Turtle ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Coastal Community ◽  
The Impact

Climate change and its associated sea-level rise are expected to significantly affect vulnerable coastal communities. Although the extent of the impact will be localised, its assessment will adopt a monitoring approach that applies globally. The topography of the beach, the type of geological material and the level of human intervention will determine the extent of the area to be flooded and the rate at which the shoreline will move inland. Gleefe, a coastal community in Ghana, has experienced frequent flooding in recent times due to the increasing occurrence of storm surge and sea-level rise. This study used available geospatial data and field measurements to determine how the beach topography has contributed to the incidence of flooding at Gleefe. The topography is generally low-lying. Sections of the beach have elevations of around 1 m, which allows seawater to move inland during very high tide. Accelerated sea-level rise as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will destroy homes of the inhabitants and inundate the Densu wetlands behind the beach. Destruction of infrastructure will render the inhabitants homeless, whilst flooding of the wetlands will destroy the habitats of migratory birds and some endangered wildlife species such as marine turtle. Effective adaptation measures should be adopted to protect this very important coastal environment, the ecology of the wetlands and the livelihoods of the community dwellers.

scholarly journals Assessing the effect of recreational scallop harvest on the distribution and behaviour of foraging marine turtles

Oryx ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Wildermann ◽  
Christopher Sasso ◽  
Christian Gredzens ◽  
Mariana M. P. B. Fuentes
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Travel Speed ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Local Effect ◽  
Marine Turtle ◽  
Relative Distribution ◽  
Recreational Fisheries ◽  
Marine Turtles ◽  
Marine Megafauna ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe impact of fisheries on marine megafauna is widely known but most studies have focused on commercial fisheries, overlooking the effect of local recreational fisheries. This is particularly important for marine turtles in near-shore habitats that overlap with recreational fisheries. We assessed the effect of recreational scallop fisheries on the distribution and behaviour of foraging marine turtles in the coastal waters of the upper Eastern Gulf of Mexico. Before and during the scallop season we quantified the density and overlap of marine turtles and vessels sighted, and satellite tracked four turtles to assess their distribution and behaviour. The relative distribution of marine turtles sighted during the scallop season overlapped with 48% of the area most frequently used by harvesters, and marine turtle activity hotspots shifted between seasons. In addition, during the scallop season the home range size of individual turtles appeared to decrease, and turtles displayed frequent changes in travel speed and directionality. We hypothesize that such changes are probably related to the distribution and movement of vessels and the abundant presence of people in the water. Our study highlights the importance of considering recreational fisheries and their local effect on marine megafauna for informing future adaptive management practices. However, further studies are needed to quantify the direct and indirect impacts of recreational fisheries and to assess the degree of risk of associated activities to marine turtle populations.

The Impact of TimeSlips on Undergraduate Students in Service Learning With Older Adults

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Sabine Heuer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Attitudes Toward Older Adults ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Attitude Shift ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Journal Entries

Purpose Future speech-language pathologists are often unprepared in their academic training to serve the communicative and cognitive needs of older adults with dementia. While negative attitudes toward older adults are prevalent among undergraduate students, service learning has been shown to positively affect students' attitudes toward older adults. TimeSlips is an evidence-based approach that has been shown to improve health care students' attitudes toward older adults. The purpose of this study is to explore the change in attitudes in speech-language pathology students toward older adults using TimeSlips in service learning. Method Fifty-one students participated in TimeSlips service learning with older adults and completed the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS) before and after service learning. In addition, students completed a reflection journal. The DAS data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics, and journal entries were analyzed using a qualitative analysis approach. Results The service learners exhibited a significant increase in positive attitude as indexed on the DAS. The reflective journal entries supported the positive change in attitudes. Conclusions A noticeable attitude shift was indexed in reflective journals and on the DAS. TimeSlips is an evidence-based, patient-centered approach well suited to address challenges in the preparation of Communication Sciences and Disorders students to work with the growing population of older adults.

Systematic review methodology for development: An example from microfinance

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina Van Rooyen ◽  
Ruth Stewart ◽  
Thea De Wet
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
International Development ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Systematic Review Methodology ◽  
Development Interventions ◽  
The Us ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Evidence Based Decision Making

Big international development donors such as the UK’s Department for International Development and USAID have recently started using systematic review as a methodology to assess the effectiveness of various development interventions to help them decide what is the ‘best’ intervention to spend money on. Such an approach to evidence-based decision-making has long been practiced in the health sector in the US, UK, and elsewhere but it is relatively new in the development field. In this article we use the case of a systematic review of the impact of microfinance on the poor in sub-Saharan African to indicate how systematic review as a methodology can be used to assess the impact of specific development interventions.

Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Bark and Leaf Extracts of Cupressus sempervirens and Juniperus phoenicea Grown in Al- Jabel Al-Akhdar Region, Libya

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 268-279
Author(s):  
Mohamed E.I. Badawy ◽  
Ibrahim E.A. Kherallah ◽  
Ahmed S.O. Mohareb ◽  
Mohamed. Z.M. Salem ◽  
Hameda A. Yousef
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Plant Extracts ◽  
Complex Mixture ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Cupressus Sempervirens ◽  
Leaf Extracts ◽  
Juniperus Phoenicea ◽  
The Impact

Background:Plant extracts are important products in the world and have been widely used for isolation of important biologically active products. Because of their significant environmental impact, extensive research has been explored to determine the antimicrobial activity of plant extracts.Methods:Acetone extracts of the bark and leaf of Cupressus sempervirens and Juniperus phoenicea, collected from three different altitudes (125, 391, and 851 m high of sea level) at Al- Jabel Al-Akhdar area, Libya were obtained and analyzed by GC/MS. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was further evaluated against plant bacteria Rhizobium radiobacter, Erwinia carotovora, Rhodococcus fascians and Ralstonia solanacearum and fungus Botrytis cinerea.Results:The impact of the altitude from the sea level on the quantity and chemical constituents of the extracts was investigated. The yield was largely dependent on tree species and the highest yield (6.50%) was obtained with C. sempervirens L bark of altitude III (851 m of the sea level), while the lowest (1.17%) was obtained with the leaf extract of C. sempervirens L from altitude I (125 m). The chemical composition analyzed by GC/MS confirmed that the leaf extracts of C. sempervirens and J. phoenicea contained a complex mixture of monoterpene hydrocarbons, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, diterpenoids, terpenophenolic, steroids and phthalates. However, the bark extracts of both trees contained a mixture of sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, diterpenoids, terpenophenolics, phthalates, retinol and steroids. These constituents revealed some variability among the extracts displaying the highest interesting chemotype of totarol (terpenophenolic) in all extracts (14.63-78.19% of the total extract). The extracts displayed a noteworthy antifungal potency with varying degrees of inhibition of growth with EC50 values ranged from 78.50 to 206.90 mg/L. The extracts obtained from the leaves of C. sempervirens showed that the highest inhibitory activity was obtained with the extract of altitude II (391 m) with MIC 565, 510, 380 and 710 mg/L against E. carotovora, R. fascians, and R. radiobacter and R. solanacearum, respectively.Conclusion:Based on antimicrobial activity, raw plant extracts can be a cost-effective way to protect crops from microbial pathogens. Because plant extracts contain several antimicrobial compounds, the development of resistant pathogens can be delayed.

scholarly journals Deterministic approach for multiple-source tsunami hazard assessment for Sines, Portugal

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 2557-2568 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Wronna ◽  
R. Omira ◽  
M. A. Baptista
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Wave Height ◽  
Hazard Assessment ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Tsunami Hazard ◽  
Deterministic Approach ◽  
Flow Depth ◽  
Mean Sea Level ◽  
Tsunami Hazard Assessment ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. In this paper, we present a deterministic approach to tsunami hazard assessment for the city and harbour of Sines, Portugal, one of the test sites of project ASTARTE (Assessment, STrategy And Risk Reduction for Tsunamis in Europe). Sines has one of the most important deep-water ports, which has oil-bearing, petrochemical, liquid-bulk, coal, and container terminals. The port and its industrial infrastructures face the ocean southwest towards the main seismogenic sources. This work considers two different seismic zones: the Southwest Iberian Margin and the Gloria Fault. Within these two regions, we selected a total of six scenarios to assess the tsunami impact at the test site. The tsunami simulations are computed using NSWING, a Non-linear Shallow Water model wIth Nested Grids. In this study, the static effect of tides is analysed for three different tidal stages: MLLW (mean lower low water), MSL (mean sea level), and MHHW (mean higher high water). For each scenario, the tsunami hazard is described by maximum values of wave height, flow depth, drawback, maximum inundation area and run-up. Synthetic waveforms are computed at virtual tide gauges at specific locations outside and inside the harbour. The final results describe the impact at the Sines test site considering the single scenarios at mean sea level, the aggregate scenario, and the influence of the tide on the aggregate scenario. The results confirm the composite source of Horseshoe and Marques de Pombal faults as the worst-case scenario, with wave heights of over 10 m, which reach the coast approximately 22 min after the rupture. It dominates the aggregate scenario by about 60 % of the impact area at the test site, considering maximum wave height and maximum flow depth. The HSMPF scenario inundates a total area of 3.5 km2.

The Impact of Environmental Stress on Cognitive Performance: A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (8) ◽  
pp. 1205-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristy Martin ◽  
Emily McLeod ◽  
Julien Périard ◽  
Ben Rattray ◽  
Richard Keegan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Environmental Stress ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Healthy Human ◽  
The Impact

Objective: In this review, we detail the impact of environmental stress on cognitive and military task performance and highlight any individual characteristics or interventions which may mitigate any negative effect. Background: Military personnel are often deployed in regions markedly different from their own, experiencing hot days, cold nights, and trips both above and below sea level. In spite of these stressors, high-level cognitive and operational performance must be maintained. Method: A systematic review of the electronic databases Medline (PubMed), EMBASE (Scopus), PsycINFO, and Web of Science was conducted from inception up to September 2018. Eligibility criteria included a healthy human cohort, an outcome of cognition or military task performance and assessment of an environmental condition. Results: The search returned 113,850 records, of which 124 were included in the systematic review. Thirty-one studies examined the impact of heat stress on cognition; 20 of cold stress; 59 of altitude exposure; and 18 of being below sea level. Conclusion: The severity and duration of exposure to the environmental stressor affects the degree to which cognitive performance can be impaired, as does the complexity of the cognitive task and the skill or familiarity of the individual performing the task. Application: Strategies to improve cognitive performance in extreme environmental conditions should focus on reducing the magnitude of the physiological and perceptual disturbance caused by the stressor. Strategies may include acclimatization and habituation, being well skilled on the task, and reducing sensations of thermal stress with approaches such as head and neck cooling.

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