scholarly journals Untangling Tales of Tropical Sardines: Local Knowledge From Fisheries in Timor-Leste

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley Hunnam ◽  
Imelda Carlos ◽  
Michael P. Hammer ◽  
Joctan Dos Reis Lopes ◽  
David J. Mills ◽  
...  

Tropical sardines (Family Clupeidae) are an important component of many marine fisheries in the Indo-West Pacific region. In Timor-Leste, a small, less-developed country within this region, ‘sardiña’ are some of the more commonly caught and consumed fish. Yet there is little published information from Timor-Leste about the species composition of these fisheries, nor their biology or ecology. We document the knowledge of Timorese fishers on nine locally distinguished sardine types that contribute to fisheries, and relate these to at least nine species: four species of ‘Flat-bodied Sardinellas’ (Sardinella subg. Clupeonia spp.), one species of ‘Round-bodied Sardinella’ (Sardinella subg. Sardinella lemuru), two species of ‘Tropical Pilchards’ (Amblygaster spp.) and a ‘Tropical Herring’ species (Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus), all from the Clupeidae family; and one Dussumieria species from the Dussumieriidae family. We record variations in local sardine names across the country and document aspects of fishers’ knowledge relevant to understanding and managing the fisheries, including local sardine species’ seasonality, habitat, movements, interannual variation, as well as post-harvest characteristics in relation to perishability. In general, local names relate more closely with groups of species than individual species, although some names also distinguish fish size within species-groups. The local knowledge identified in this study has immediate application to inform fisheries monitoring and management, and to identify areas for future research. Notably, Timorese fishers recognize and make use of the strong association between some sardine species-groups and seasonally turbid river plumes. While further research is required to understand the underlying mechanisms of this association, this emphasizes the need to consider coastal fisheries and fisher livelihood impacts when assessing any plans or proposals that may alter river flow or water quality. Fishers also recognize migratory behavior of some sardine species, in particular the Flat bodied Sardinellas (S. gibbosa and others) along the north-west coast of Timor-Leste and across the border into Indonesian West Timor. Such insights complicate and need to be accounted for in initiatives for co-management or community-based management of Timor-Leste’s coastal waters and their fisheries.

1959 ◽  
Vol 91 (S10) ◽  
pp. 5-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Rae MacKay

AbstractThe late-instar larvae of about 185 species of the North American Olethreutidae are described and most of them illustrated. Included in these are many pests, such as Grapholitha molesta, Carpocapsa pomonella, and Spilonota ocellana on fruit trees, Paralobesia viteana on grapes, Ancylis comptana fragariae on strawberries, Laspeyresia nigricana in pea pods, Laspeyresia caryana in hickory and pecan nuts, Taniva albolineana in spruce needles, and species of Rhyacionia and Petrova on pines. Keys to species groups and to individual species are provided. Of the diagnostic and specialized characters listed, the most useful include the setae, the spinneret, and the shape of the larva, especially of its head and anal shield. The main characters are given for the postulated ancestral larva and for the highly developed larva. Most of the species groups are arranged according to the suggested phylogenetic relationship of their larvae, emphasizing the necessity of a revision of the family. Larvae of some genera previously difficult to classify, such as Pseudogalleria and Hystricophora, indicate the relationship of those genera to other groups; conversely, lack of relationship is clearly shown in other instances, e.g., between Carpocapsa pomonella and Carpocapsa saltitans, and between the two species Epiblema culminana and E. suffusana and other members of the genus Epiblema.


Author(s):  
J Blackford ◽  
N Jones ◽  
R Proctor ◽  
J Holt ◽  
S Widdicombe ◽  
...  

If carbon capture and storage is to be adopted as a CO2 mitigation strategy, it is important to understand the associated risks. The risk analysis consists of several elements such as leakage probability, assessing the strength of environmental perturbation, and quantifying the ecological, economic, and social impacts. Here, the environmental perturbation aspect is addressed by using a marine system model of the North West European Shelf seas to simulate the consequences of CO2 additions such as those that could arise from a failure of geological sequestration schemes. Little information exists to guide the choice of leak scenario and many assumptions are required; for consistency the assumptions err towards greater impact and what would be in likelihood extreme scenarios. The simulations indicate that only the largest leakage scenarios tested are capable of producing perturbations that are likely to have environmental consequences beyond the locality of a leak event. It is shown that, given the available evidence, the chemical perturbation of a sequestration leak, regionally integrated, is likely to be insignificant when compared with that from continued non-mitigated atmospheric CO2 emissions and the subsequent acidification of the marine system. The potential ecological impacts of a large environmental CO2 perturbation are reviewed, indicating that the biogeochemical functioning and biodiversity are sensitive. The key unknowns that must be addressed in future research are identified; namely, the fine scale dispersion of CO2 and the ability of ecological systems to recover from perturbation.


2002 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. HUNTER ◽  
Q. SYED

We took the opportunity provided by a large outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in the North West of England to investigate the potential impact of recall bias on strength of association and on estimates of outbreak size. We conducted a community-based survey of 4 towns within the outbreak area and 4 control towns. A postal questionnaire was sent to 120 homes, chosen at random from the local telephone directory, in each of the 8 towns. Although not statistically significant, the prevalence of self-reported diarrhoeal disease was marginally higher in the control towns than in the outbreak towns. There was a very strong association between self-reported diarrhoea and drinking water consumption in both control and outbreak areas. The impact of recall bias in outbreak investigations is much greater than previously thought. Identification of the cause of outbreaks should not be based solely on case-control studies conducted after the press has reported the outbreak. Such evidence is likely to be unreliable and give falsely significant associations between water consumption and disease.


1985 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 753 ◽  
Author(s):  
PE Holloway ◽  
SE Humphries ◽  
M Atkinson ◽  
J Imberger

An upper bound for the rate of supply of new nitrate required to maintain the observed primary production on the North West Shelf is estimated to be 0.1 g N m-2 day -1. Nitrate concentrations over the shelf and slope regions are high ( > 100 mg N m-3, in water deeper than - 100 m and usually low (~10 mg N m-3), on the shelf. River flow is weak and carries little nutrient into the shelf waters and so it remains for ocean physical processes to advect and mix the nutrient-rich deep waters onto the shallower shelf regions to meet the nutrient demand. Several mechanisms are reviewed to determine their potential in carrying out the required transport processes. Estimates of the advection of nitrate onto the shelf show that both semi-diurnal tidal flow and low-frequency (periods > 35 h) upwelling events can each contribute approximately half the required demand, providing there is rapid use of nutrients. The upwelling events occur in summer and are associated with reversals of the south-west-flowing Leeuwin Current. Tropical cyclones are also shown to be capable of meeting a small, but significant, portion of the demand through enrichment of the surface layers in the offshelf waters by upwelling and vertical mixing. The enriched water can then be advected onto the shelf. Both tidal and internal tidal motion have the potential to transport nitrate onto the shelf from deeper water through vertical and horizontal mixing processes. However, these processes are difficult to quantify accurately. It is concluded that nitrogen is supplied to this shelf ecosystem by physical processes that are regular throughout the year, as opposed to large sporadic events that occur only once or twice a year.


Author(s):  
Christo Van Wyk

The central question to be examined revolves around the perceptions, attitudes and awareness regarding HIV/AIDS among undergraduate students at the North-West University (Vaal Triangle Campus). Therefore, the objective of this research was to assess these perceptions, attitudes and awareness regarding HIV/AIDS. A convenience sample of undergraduate students was used in a cross-sectional design (N = 290). A semi-standardised questionnaire as well as a biographical questionnaire was administered. The semi-standardised questionnaire was proven to be reliable. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of between 0.65 and 0.71 was obtained. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Results indicated that students experienced and perceived differences with regards to their biographical variables in terms of their perceptions, attitudes and awareness regarding HIV/AIDS. Differences were also found between students in different study modules and study years. The findings revealed that the majority of the students were quite knowledgeable regarding HIV/AIDS. While some students had detailed knowledge of the disease and its prevention, others (the minority) were either completely ignorant about it or deny its existence. Recommendations were made for future research in the area of HIV/AIDS within the context of tertiary education.


2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Miller ◽  
T. R. Kjeldsen ◽  
J. Hannaford ◽  
D. G. Morris

In November 2009, record-breaking rainfall resulted in severe, damaging flooding in Cumbria, in the north-west of England. This paper presents an analysis of the river flows and lake levels experienced during the event. Comparison with previous maxima shows the exceptional nature of this event, with new maximum flows being established at 17 river flow gauging stations, particularly on catchments influenced by lakes. The return periods of the flood peaks are estimated using the latest Flood Estimation Handbook statistical procedures. Results demonstrate that the event has had a considerable impact on estimates of flood frequency and associated uncertainty. Analysis of lake levels suggests that their record high levels reduced their attenuating effect, significantly affecting the timing and magnitude of downstream peaks. The peak flow estimate of 700 m3s–1 at Workington, the lowest station on the Derwent, was examined in the context of upstream inputs and was found to be plausible. The results of this study have important implications for the future development of flood frequency estimation methods for the UK. It is recommended that further research is undertaken on the role of abnormally elevated lake levels and that flood frequency estimation procedures in lake-influenced catchments are reviewed.


Zootaxa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 1501 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
FALITIANA C.E. RABEMANANJARA ◽  
ANGELICA CROTTINI ◽  
YLENIA CHIARI ◽  
FRANCO ANDREONE ◽  
FRANK GLAW ◽  
...  

Malagasy poison frogs of the genus Mantella with its 16 species are currently sub-divided into 5 major groups. Of these, the Mantella betsileo group is traditionally understood as containing four species, Mantella betsileo, M. expectata, M. viridis and M. manery, while the M. laevigata group is considered to be monospecific. A phylogenetic analysis of samples from multiple localities of all species in these two groups, based on sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, shows the existence of several well-distinct clades in what is currently considered to be Mantella betsileo: (1) central-western populations from Kirindy, Isalo, and near Antsirabe close to the Betsileo region, to which the name M. betsileo is to be applied, (2) populations of the north-east and north-west, which are closely related to M. viridis and to which the name M. ebenaui is to be applied, and (3) a clade from southernmost Madagascar and from the Tsingy de Bemaraha, which is sister to M. expectata and furthermore includes important intra-clade variation, therefore probably representing one or two undescribed species. Our data also support a large genetic distance of M. manery to all other species and its probable sister-group relationship to the sympatric M. laevigata; M. manery is consequently transferred from the M. betsileo group to the M. laevigata group.


1979 ◽  
Vol 19 (101) ◽  
pp. 684 ◽  
Author(s):  
GJ Warr ◽  
AR Gilmour ◽  
NK Wilson

Four shearing times, summer, autumn, winter and spring, were examined in relation to the quantity and type of vegetable fault in Merino wool in seven districts of New South Wales in 1974 and 1975. Shearing time did not affect total vegetable matter (VM) content in six of the seven districts surveyed. Shearing in summer in the Central-West Slopes and Plains lowered (P < 0.05) VM compared with autumn and winter shearing; levels of burr and seed were also lower (P < 0.05). In other districts, burr or seed components were decreased at particular times of shearing, but there was no effect on total VM content. Seed contamination was lowest with spring and summer shearing in all districts in survey 1. Thus, in most districts, shearing time did not reduce VM, but in particular areas such changes may be of considerable value in reducing contamination from individual species. Wools from the North-West Slopes and Plains, Central-West Slopes and Plains and Western Division were heavily contaminated with burr and seed, whereas in wools from the Tablelands and Southern Slopes, seed was the major contaminant.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 257-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena De Uña-Álvarez ◽  
Miguel Ángel Álvarez-Vázquez ◽  
María del Carmen Cuquejo-Bello

Abstract Landform assemblages may be used to define sites of geomorphological interest which are resources for rural sustainability. This paper focuses on the valuation and significance of such sites in the context of one European internal border region, illustrated using a case study from the inland mountains of the Spanish-Portuguese border: the Serra do Larouco. The theoretical and methodological approach used includes the recognition, inventory and assessment of a preliminary list of twenty-eight sites. They comprise diverse granitic landforms which characterise the rural inland landscapes in the North West of the Iberian Peninsula. The results from the qualitative and quantitative assessments were the basis for a final selection of nine sites as significant land resources. An analysis of their key values supports the proposal of different use and management options to promote rural sustainability. A review of the methodology applied and the consideration of other case studies provide a means to interpret and discuss the regional and local significance of the selected sites. The conclusions emphasise the crucial role that values linked to landforms can play in little-known mountainous and rural border regions, suggesting a future research agenda.


1993 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Morgan ◽  
C.P. Newman ◽  
D.N. Hutchinson ◽  
A. M. Walker ◽  
B. Rowe ◽  
...  

SummarySixteen cases of verotoxin producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) O 157:H7 Phage Type 49 infection were identified in the North West of England from 1 September to 1 November 1991, eight of whom lived in or around the same large town. Eleven of the cases were aged 10 years or less, and five of the affected children developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome. A case control study demonstrated a strong association between VTEC O 157: H7 PT 49 infection and the consumption of a locally produced live yoghurt. This is the first time that an outbreak of VTEC O 157 infection has been linked to the consumption of yoghurt and this vehicle of infection should be considered when investigating such outbreaks in future.


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