Predicting species distribution from fishers’ local ecological knowledge: a new alternative for data-poor management

Many developing countries lack information to manage their endangered species, urging the need for affordable and reliable information. We used Bayesian hierarchical spatial models, with oceanographic variables, to predict the distribution range of Epinephelus marginatus, the dusky grouper, for the entire Southwest Atlantic. We ran a model using scientific information gathered from the literature and another using information gathered from fishers on species presence or absence. In both models, temperature was an important determinant of species occurrence. The predicted occurrence of the dusky grouper overlapped widely (Schoener’s D = 0.71; Warren’s I = 0.91) between the models, despite small differences on the southern and northern extremes of the distribution. These results suggest that basic information provided by fishers on species occurrence in their area can be reliable enough to predict species occurrence over large scales and can be potentially useful for marine spatial planning. Fishers’ knowledge may be an even more viable alternative to data collection than what was previously thought, for countries that both struggle with financial limitations and have urgent conservation needs.

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Contribution of local fishermen to improving knowledge of the marine ecosystem and resources in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f2011-061 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 68 (8) ◽

pp. 1454-1469 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Jean Le Fur ◽

Athanase Guilavogui ◽

Antoine Teitelbaum

Keyword(s):

Local Ecological Knowledge ◽

Marine Ecosystem ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Published Data ◽

Ecological Knowledge ◽

Fish Diet ◽

Republic Of Guinea ◽

Substrate Preferences ◽

Trophic Network ◽

The Republic

We assessed the quality of fishermen’s local ecological knowledge, or LEK, as a potential source of information about coastal ecosystem functioning in the Republic of Guinea. Interviews were conducted by means of partial immersion or repeated surveys at six landing sites. In each site and for each topic, discussions were conducted with 3 to 15 individual fishermen and 1 to 10 groups of fishermen. Knowledge was obtained about habitats, substrate preferences, the location of nurseries, reproductive cycles, fish diet, and the trophic network of the Sciaenid community, the major resource for fisheries in this area. We systematically compared the reliability of the information collected with that of scientific information collected in parallel surveys or published data. The contribution of LEK should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Indeed, LEK could be used as (i) a supplementary source of scientific studies (seabed description), (ii) a basis for new scientific investigation (species reproductive cycle), (iii) the only possibility to obtain information (nursery location), (iv) a surrogate to scientific surveys providing an identical level of validity (fish diets) or a satisfactory proxy (trophic network) in a context of limited resources and data in which wide-ranging knowledge relating to the entire coast must be obtained.

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Bayesian hierarchical spatial models: Implementing the Besag York Mollié model in stan

Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology ◽

10.1016/j.sste.2019.100301 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

pp. 100301 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Mitzi Morris ◽

Katherine Wheeler-Martin ◽

Dan Simpson ◽

Stephen J. Mooney ◽

Andrew Gelman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Models ◽

Bayesian Hierarchical ◽

Hierarchical Spatial Models

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Integrating science and citizen science: the dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) sustainable fishery of Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

10.1101/759357 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Alpina Begossi ◽

Svetlana V. Salivonchyk

Keyword(s):

Citizen Science ◽

Rio De Janeiro ◽

Local Ecological Knowledge ◽

Management Training ◽

Small Scale ◽

Ecological Knowledge ◽

Small Scale Fisheries ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Dusky Grouper ◽

Sustainable Fishery

AbstractWe followed landings of dusky grouper, Epinephelus marginatus, from 2013 to 2019. We observed 1,896 individuals of dusky grouper, Epinephelus marginatus, in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, from September 2013 to February 2019. The total weight of the catches was 6,065.57 kg, with an average of 1,442.50 kg/year and a std of 147.30 kg.We integrated fishers in our study through citizen science (CS): individuals were trained to monitor grouper gonads and supplied information on fishing spots and prices. After comparing catch curves (based on weight) and curve prices (in the Brazilian monetary currency of reals), our results showed that catches in the Copacabana fishery have been stable (the results of the Kruskal-Wallis test showed no significant difference for either the weight of the catches or the average prices of dusky groupers in the years compared). Copacabana has been a sustainable fishery when considering its catches of dusky grouper. This is a very important result for conservation and management, considering the importance of small-scale fisheries in terms of their low fishing efforts and their possible effects on vulnerable species, as well as their ecological and economic importance in developing countries. Citizen science, alomng with local ecological knowledge, helps integrate research and fisheries as well as researchers and fishers and allows for larger sampling efforts and management training for fishers.

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Association of Population Density and Distance to the City with the Risks of COVID-19: A Bayesian Spatial Analysis

Journal of Physics Conference Series ◽

10.1088/1742-6596/2123/1/012001 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2123 (1) ◽

pp. 012001

Author(s):

M A Tiro ◽

A Aswi ◽

Z Rais

Keyword(s):

Relative Risk ◽

Population Density ◽

Spatial Models ◽

Credible Interval ◽

Information Criteria ◽

Capital City ◽

Bayesian Hierarchical ◽

Inverse Gamma ◽

Hierarchical Spatial Models ◽

The City

Abstract The outbreak of Coronavirus disease-2019 (Covid-19) poses a severe threat around the world. Although several studies of modelling Covid-19 cases have been done, there appears to have been limited research into modelling Covid-19 using Bayesian hierarchical spatial models. This study aims to examine the most suitable Bayesian spatial CAR Leroux models in modelling the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases without and with covariates namely distance to the capital city and population density. Data on the number of confirmed positive cases of Covid-19 (March 20, 2020 - August 30, 2021) in 15 sub-districts in Makassar City, the number of populations, population density, and distance to the city are used. The best model selection is based on several criteria, namely Deviance Information Criteria (DIC), Watanabe Akaike Information Criteria (WAIC), residuals from Moran’s I Modification (MMI), and the 95% credible interval does not contain zero. The results showed that the best model in modelling Covid-19 is spatial CAR Leroux with hyperprior Inverse-Gamma (0.5, 0.05) model with the incorporation of distance to the capital city. It is found that there was a negative correlation between the distance to the capital city and Covid-19 risk, but the association between population density and the relative risk of Covid-19 was not statistically significant. Ujung Pandang district and Sangkarrang Island have the highest and the lowest relative risk respectively.

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Four years on the track of Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1986): reconstructing the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula using social networks sites and citizen science.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-195650/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

David Izquierdo Gomez

Keyword(s):

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Callinectes Sapidus ◽

Local Ecological Knowledge ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Alien Invasive Species ◽

Ecological Knowledge ◽

Western Basin ◽

Portunid Crab ◽

Spatio Temporal

Abstract Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) is one of the 100 worst alien invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea, first reported in Venice in 1949. Firstly, the portunid crab colonized the Northern Levantine basin, and half a century later the species spreads rapidly in the Western basin. The general use of social network sites and smart phones have derived in the bloom of citizen science, which enlists the general public in gathering scientific information across large spatio-temporal scales. This research, describes the use of citizen science to unveil the colonization of C. sapidus in the Iberian Peninsula, using the Local Ecological Knowledge of recreational fishermen. Overall, C. sapidus has been detected in more than 300 locations, including a number of Natura2000 areas and 18 rivers. Eventually, recreational fishermen perceived the presence of the portunid crab as detrimental for the ecosystem.

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Fishers and groupers (Epinephelus marginatus and E. morio) in the coast of Brazil: integrating information for conservation

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine ◽

10.1186/s13002-019-0331-2 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Alpina Begossi ◽

Svetlana Salyvonchyk ◽

Branko Glamuzina ◽

Shirley Pacheco de Souza ◽

Priscila F. M. Lopes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Local Knowledge ◽

Rio De Janeiro ◽

Local Ecological Knowledge ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Small Scale ◽

Ecological Knowledge ◽

São Paulo ◽

Red Grouper ◽

Dusky Grouper

Abstract Background Groupers are a vulnerable but economically important group of fish, especially for small-scale fisheries. We investigated catches and local ecological knowledge (LEK) of diet, habitat, and past fishing experiences. Methods Landings, prices, interviews, and restaurants demand for two species, Epinephelus marginatus (dusky grouper) and Epinephelus morio (red grouper), were registered. Results We visited 74 markets and 79 sites on the coast of Brazil in 2017–2018, and we interviewed 71 fishers: Bahia (NE), Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (SE), and Santa Catarina (S). The landings sampled of dusky grouper (2016–2017) in Rio de Janeiro were: n = 222, size 38–109 cm, weight 1–24 kg, average 3.84 kg; in São Paulo, São Sebastião were: n = 47, size 39–106 cm, weight 2–8 kg, average of 2.77 kg; and at Santos: n = 80, 26–120 cm, weight 0.36–15 kg, average 2.72 kg. Red grouper was observed in markets in the northeastern Brazil. We did not observe Epinephelus marginatus from Bahia northward; a maximum size of 200 cm was reported south of the Bahia, besides Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo coasts, 20 years ago (or longer) by 12 fishers. Local knowledge of fishers was important for grouper data of habitat and diet; the reproduction period was identified by fishers as September to March. Conclusions Groupers can be considered as a cultural and ecological keystone species. We suggest protective measures: 1) fishing zoning, 2) islands (MPAs) with the surveillance of fishers, 3) late Spring and early Summer as key periods for management (grouper reproduction), 4) studies on grouper larvae, 5) mapping of fishing spots, 6) studies on local knowledge. Collaboration with small-scale fishers and local knowledge could contribute to low-conflict management measures. In that regard, integrative models of management from Latin America, by using local knowledge and citizen science, could produce successful grouper management for Brazilian data-poor fisheries, a contrasting reality to the Mediterranean areas. Finally, the distribution of E. marginatus in Brazil leave us with questions: a) Have dusky groupers disappeared from Bahia because of a decline in the population? b) Was it uncommon in Northeast Brazil? c) Did changes in water temperatures forced a movement southward?

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