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- OPEN ACCESS
- Vanessa Gruben,
- Elaine Hyshka,
- Matthew Bonn,
- Chelsea Cox,
- Marilou Gagnon,
- Adrian Guta,
- Martha Jackman,
- Jason Mercredi,
- Akia Munga,
- Eugene Oscapella,
- Carol Strike, and
- Hakique Virani
The International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy recommend that states commit to adopting a balanced, integrated, and human rights-based approach to drug policy through a set of foundational human rights principles, obligations arising from human rights standards, and obligations arising from the human rights of particular groups. In respect of the Guidelines and standing obligations under UN Treaties, Canada must adopt stronger and more specific commitments for a human rights-based, people-centered, and public health approach. This approach must commit to the decriminalization of people who use drugs and include the decriminalization of possession, purchase, and cultivation for personal consumption. In this report, we will first turn to the legal background of Canada's drug laws. Next, we will provide an overview of ongoing law reform proposals from civil society groups, various levels of government, the House of Commons, and the Senate. We end with a three-staged approach to reform and a series of targeted recommendationscr. - OPEN ACCESS
- Jessie S. Reynolds,
- Chris K. Elvidge,
- Ian J. Vander Meulen,
- Caleb T. Hasler,
- Richard A. Frank,
- John V. Headley,
- L. Mark Hewitt, and
- Diane M. Orihel
We evaluated whether naphthenic acid fraction compounds (NAFCs) extracted from oil sand tailings adversely affect fish survival and behaviour. Following a before–after-control-impact design, we housed wild-caught juvenile yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in outdoor mesocosms to assess survival and behaviour under baseline conditions, then exposed fish to one of three treatments: negative control, 2 mg/L NAFC, or 15 mg/L NAFC. We performed behavioural assays (no-stimulus activity, food stimulus, and predator stimulus using a model bird) and assessed a comprehensive suite of endpoints (equilibrium losses, activity, shoaling, burst swimming, freezing, and space use). We found that exposure to 15 mg/L NAFCs substantially reduced fish survival and impaired fish equilibrium in all three behavioural tests. Furthermore, exposure to NAFCs impaired anti-predator behaviour: while the activity of control fish increased by two-fold in response to a predator stimulus, fish exposed to 2 or 15 mg/L NAFC did not change their activity levels after stimulation. No significant changes were observed in other behavioural endpoints. Overall, our findings suggest that a week-long exposure to NAFCs at concentrations commonly found in tailings ponds, constructed wetlands, and other mining-impacted waters may affect multiple facets of fish behaviour that could ultimately lead to reduced fitness in fish populations. - OPEN ACCESS
- Lesya Marushka,
- Xue Feng Hu,
- Tiff-Annie Kenny,
- Malek Batal,
- Karen Fediuk,
- Tonio Sadik,
- Christopher D. Golden,
- William W. L. Cheung,
- Anne K. Salomon, and
- Hing Man Chan
The objective of this study is to examine the potential cardiovascular risk of climate-related declines in seafood consumption among First Nations in British Columbia by assessing the combined effects of reduced omega-3 fatty acids and mercury intake from seafood on the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in 2050 relative to 2009. The data were derived from the First Nations Food, Nutrition, and Environment Study. Seafood consumption among 369 randomly selected participants was estimated, and hair mercury concentrations were measured. Declines in seafood consumption were modelled based on previously projected climate change scenarios, and the associated changes in nutrients and contaminants were used to estimate the cardiovascular risk. Reduced seafood consumption was projected to increase the risk of MI by 4.5%–6.5% among older individuals (≥50 years), by 1.9%–2.6% in men, and by 1.3%–1.8% in women under lower and upper climate change scenarios, respectively. Reduced seafood consumption may have profound cardiovascular implications. Effective strategies are needed to promote sustainable seafood harvests and access to seafood for coastal First Nations. - OPEN ACCESSAssessing cat local abundance provides information on where wandering cat numbers are highest and what habitats or factors are associated with wandering cats. A variety of stakeholders can lead this research and then use the findings to make scientifically informed decisions to guide the physical locations of cat management actions. Here, we document a framework that engages community members, uses minimal equipment (six trail cameras), and provides scientifically derived information for interested parties to inform, direct, or test the effectiveness of cat management practices. Using these methods in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, we demonstrate how we estimated cat population size and cat local abundances across a variety of co-variates while accounting for non-perfect detection by using 55 trail camera sites and N-mixture models. Urban areas had three-fold higher local wandering cat abundances than parkland areas, and neighbourhoods below the median income had the highest local abundances of wandering cats. We estimated there are between 8905 and 48,419 (mean 21,298) wandering cats in Gatineau, with 18%–73% of those cats being unowned. These findings can be used to identify locations for future cat management. If estimates of cat abundance are repeated, they can assess the effectiveness of management actions.
- OPEN ACCESSLong-term ecological research (LTER) projects are considered valuable training grounds for graduate student researchers, yet student voices are largely absent from discussions of LTER merits in the literature. We aimed to identify benefits and challenges encountered by current and former graduate students in conducting graduate research within LTER projects. To explore graduate student experiences and perspectives, we conducted a survey comprising both closed-ended questions (i.e., multiple choice and Likert scale) and open-ended questions. From the responses, we identified emergent categories related to positive and negative experiences using sentiment analysis. We found agreement with purported benefits in areas including networking and access to established field sites and protocols. However, participants also identified data accessibility, authorship decisions, communication, and interpersonal conflicts as significant sources of challenges. We synthesized survey results with existing literature to provide actionable recommendations for principal investigators in four main areas (data, authorship, communication, and management) through an LTER lens. In addition to providing longitudinal data, LTER projects offer graduate students both physical and methodological infrastructure that can serve as the scaffold for new research questions to be developed. However, the likelihood of success of student research, as well as the success of the students themselves, can be improved when the needs of graduate students are prioritized.
- OPEN ACCESSThe parallel evolution of lateral plates and body shape in the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is an iconic example of adaptation. We test a case of contemporary evolutionary transition in a recently isolated population of marine G. aculeatus in British Columbia, Canada. We investigate Ectodysplasin (Eda) genotypes, plate counts, neutral genetic divergence, and whole-body phenotypes to determine the genetic and phenotypic distance between this population and nearby comparative populations. Our focal population is in the process of adapting both genetically and phenotypically to a freshwater environment, and we provide an example of the genetic basis for parallel evolution on a contemporary timescale. The frequency of Eda genotypes and lateral plate phenotypes in our focal population is not consistent with those of marine or fully freshwater populations. Although our focal population is genetically distinct from nearby marine populations, these fish still more closely resemble marine populations in overall body shape while demonstrating an intriguing intermediate phenotype. Eda frequency and lateral plate phenotype change faster than body shape in response to freshwater conditions, suggesting that the pace of adaptation differs across traits in response to the same environmental conditions. Our results further bolster the case for G. aculeatus as a key model of contemporary evolution.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Samantha M. Knight,
- Barbara I. Bleho,
- Melissa A. Grantham,
- Richard Westwood,
- Nicola Koper, and
- Cary D. Hamel
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek Parker, 1870) populations have declined precipitously in the past few decades, and their global range is now restricted to two isolated regions, one of which is the managed Manitoba tall grass prairie in Canada. In this paper, we used a decade of survey data from 2010 to 2019 to understand how habitat features, management practices, and extreme weather impact Poweshiek skipperling abundance in Manitoba. The strongest predictor of abundance was the density of black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta L.), a primary nectar plant for adults. Poweshiek skipperling abundance also had a negative relationship with both the number of years since a burn occurred and the number of years since grazing occurred. Cumulative precipitation during their active period (May–June) had a negative relationship with skipperling abundance, whereas warm early springs and cool temperatures during the active period had positive relationships. These results suggest that management actions that maintain tall grass prairie habitat in an early successional stage (burning and grazing) and maintain important nectar sources benefit this population. In contrast, extreme weather events had varying effects on Poweshiek skipperling abundance. Results from this study inform ongoing management practices in the Manitoba tall grass prairie to support this endangered population. - OPEN ACCESSExpanding local rice production to meet consumer demand is a priority action under the Government of Ghana’s Planting for Food and Jobs initiative. While studies on yield-enhancing interventions abound, fewer studies focus on food safety issues (e.g., the potential toxic element status of the production ecosystems). This study was, therefore, conducted to bridge the knowledge gap. Chemical analyses were conducted on water, soil, and rice grain samples from different production ecosystems in the Northern and Upper East regions of Ghana. Statistical analysis of the data showed that soil and rice grain arsenic concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in the Upper East region. In the Northern region, mean cadmium concentration in rice grains from the irrigated lowland fields (0.023±0.003 mg/kg) was significantly higher than in grains from the rainfed fields. All recorded concentrations of rice grain arsenic, cadmium, and lead were, however, within permissible limits, indicating a low risk of dietary exposure. The observed differences in concentrations within and between regions suggest that soil texture and other geogenic factors could influence the potential toxic element status of the rice production ecosystems. Regular monitoring is, therefore, recommended to maintain the safety of Ghana’s locally produced rice for human consumption.
- OPEN ACCESSHistorical gold mining operations between the 1860s and 1940s have left substantial quantities of arsenic- and mercury-rich tailings near abandoned mines in remote and urban areas of Nova Scotia, Canada. Large amounts of materials from the tailings have entered the surface waters of downstream aquatic ecosystems at concentrations that present a risk to benthos. We used paleolimnological approaches to examine long-term trends in sedimentary metal(loid) concentrations, assess potential sediment toxicity, and determine if geochemical recovery has occurred at four lakes located downstream of three productive gold-mining districts. During the historical mining era, sedimentary total arsenic and mercury concentrations and enrichment factors increased substantially at all downstream lakes that received inputs from tailings. Similarly, chromium, lead, and zinc concentrations increased in the sediments after mining activities began and the urbanization that followed. The calculated probable effects of concentration quotients (PEC-Qs) for sediments exceeded the probable biological effects threshold (PEC-Q > 2) during the mining era. Although sedimentary metal(loid) concentrations have decreased for most elements in recent sediments, relatively higher PEC-Q and continued exceedance of Canadian Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines suggest that complete geochemical recovery has not occurred. It is likely that surface runoff from tailing fields, urbanization, and climate-mediated changes are impacting geochemical recovery trajectories.
- OPEN ACCESS
- K. Lowitt,
- A. Francis,
- L. Gunther,
- B.N. Madison,
- L. McGaughey,
- A. Echendu,
- M. Kaur,
- K.A. Roussel,
- Z. St Pierre, and
- A. Weppler
This paper examines fish consumption advisories (FCAs) as a site of transboundary governance in the Upper St Lawrence River with the aim of identifying opportunities for enhanced coordination and power sharing to address environmental injustices. The Upper St Lawrence River is part of the Great Lakes watershed of North America and the traditional territory of multiple Indigenous Nations, as well as the present-day jurisdictions of Ontario (Canada), Quebec (Canada), and New York State (USA). Through an analysis of publicly available information on FCA programs, we examine similarities and differences in these programs across jurisdictions. We find an overall lack of coordination in fish monitoring and differences in consumption advice for a waterway in which fish may easily move between transboundary areas. We offer recommendations for improving FCAs in this transboundary waterway from the lens of environmental justice, focusing on (1) a shared and transparent approach to monitoring contaminant levels and fish species; (2) integration of cultural food practices; (3) enhanced outreach to angler populations; and (4) upholding the self-determination of Indigenous communities. We also underscore that FCAs should not be seen as a permanent solution. Preventing and reducing contaminants, including associated harm reduction in communities affected by FCAs, need to be priorities. - OPEN ACCESSGenetic testing's increased availability has raised concerns about “genetic discrimination” (GD), where individuals may face unfair treatment, particularly when purchasing personal insurance, because of their genetic characteristics. In 2017, Canada passed the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act (GNDA) to prevent GD. This manuscript reviews post-GNDA life insurance application forms and compares them with pre-2014 application forms to assess the impact of the GNDA on insurance practices in Canada. Based on our comparative assessment, we found that the GNDA has had a modest impact on the practice of life insurers in Canada. Our study also confirms that questions about family history of disease and broadly formulated inquiries are still used on life insurance application forms. Both can, in the absence of clear instructions, lead applicants to disclose protected genetic information.
- OPEN ACCESSContemporaneous reforms to Canada and British Columbia's environmental impact assessment legislation have the potential to advance Access to Environmental Justice. Access to Environmental Justice is the ability of individuals and communities who are disproportionately and negatively impacted by environmental decisions to access legal and regulatory processes and to have their concerns heard and addressed through environmental decision-making and dispute resolution. Access to Environmental Justice connects concepts of environmental justice, public participation, the rule of law, and access to justice to provide a framework for evaluating the implementation of environmental impact assessment laws. We conducted a preliminary analysis of early implementation of legislative reforms in Canada and British Columbia. Our analysis indicates that a number of factors influence who is seeking to access environmental justice through environmental impact assessment, including geography, project type, and the availability of a legislative mechanism that allows anyone to request an assessment. Whether Canada and British Columbia's reforms are advancing Access to Environmental Justice requires continued analysis as projects continue to be assessed under the new laws.
- OPEN ACCESS
- John Chételat,
- Joel P. Heath,
- Lucassie Arragutainaq,
- John Lameboy,
- Christine McClelland, and
- Raymond Mickpegak
Spatial patterns of bioaccumulated mercury were evaluated in coastal marine food webs of east Hudson Bay and east James Bay in the boreal subarctic of Canada. Two marine species, blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) and common eider ducks (Somateria mollissima) that consume mussels, were collected by a regional community-based monitoring network established in five communities. Stable isotope tracers (carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and mercury) were measured to evaluate environmental drivers of mercury spatial patterns. Mercury concentrations of blue mussels and common eiders were twofold and fivefold higher, respectively, on the James Bay coast near the community of Chisasibi compared to sites in east Hudson Bay. Liver and muscle mercury concentrations of eiders from James Bay are among the highest values reported for the circumpolar subarctic and Arctic. Multiple lines of evidence (mercury spatial patterns, crustal elements in blue mussels, and mercury isotope values of common eiders) suggest elevated mercury in the coastal food web of east James Bay may be due to mercury loading from the La Grande River, which drains one of the largest hydroelectric developments in the world. These findings highlight the importance of further research on environmental processes linking large rivers to mercury bioaccumulation in northern coastal food webs. - OPEN ACCESS
- Emily M. Rubidge,
- Carrie K. Robb,
- Patrick L. Thompson,
- Chris McDougall,
- Karin M. Bodtker,
- Katie S.P. Gale,
- Stephen Ban,
- Kil Hltaanuwaay Tayler Brown,
- Vicki Sahanatien,
- Sachiko Ouchi,
- Sarah K. Friesen,
- Natalie C. Ban,
- Karen L. Hunter,
- Angelica Pena,
- Amber Holdsworth, and
- Rebecca Martone
Marine protected area (MPAs) networks can buffer marine ecosystems from the impacts of climate change by allowing species to redistribute as conditions change and by reducing other stressors. There are, however, few examples where climate change has been considered in MPA network design. In this paper, we assess how climate change considerations were integrated into the design of a newly released MPA network in the Northern Shelf Bioregion in British Columbia, Canada, and then evaluate the resulting network against projected physical and biogeochemical changes and biological responses. We found that representation, replication, and size and spacing recommendations integrated into the design phase were met in most cases. Furthermore, despite varying degrees of projected changes in temperature, dissolved oxygen, and aragonite saturation across the MPA network, suitable habitat for demersal fish species is projected to remain in the network despite some redistribution among sites. We also found that mid-depth MPAs are particularly important for persistence, as fish are projected to move deeper to avoid warming in shallower areas. Our results highlight that a representative MPA network with adequate replication, that incorporates areas of varying climate change trajectory, should buffer against the impacts of climate change. - OPEN ACCESS
- S.E. Cannon,
- J.W. Moore,
- M.S. Adams,
- T. Degai,
- E. Griggs,
- J. Griggs,
- T. Marsden,
- A.J. Reid,
- N. Sainsbury,
- K.M. Stirling,
- Axdii A. Yee S. Barnes,
- R. Benson,
- D. Burrows,
- Gala'game R. Chamberlin,
- B. Charley,
- D. Dick,
- A.T. Duncan,
- Kung Kayangas M. Liddle,
- M. Paul,
- N. Paul Prince,
- C. Scotnicki,
- K. Speck,
- J. Squakin,
- C. Van Der Minne,
- J. Walkus,
- K. West,
- Kii'iljuus B. Wilson, and
- The Indigenous Data Sovereignty Workshop Collective
In this paper, we argue that Indigenous data sovereignty (IDS) is vital for addressing threats to ecosystems, as well as for Indigenous Peoples re-establishing and maintaining sovereignty over their territories. Indigenous knowledge-holders face pressure from non-Indigenous scientists to collaborate to address environmental problems, while the open data movement is pressuring them to make their data public. We examine the role of IDS in the context of cumulative effects and climate change that threaten salmon-bearing ecosystems in British Columbia, guided by content from an online workshop in June 2022 and attended exclusively by a Tier-1 audience (First Nations knowledge-holders and/or technical staff working for Nations). Attention to data is required for fruitful collaborations between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous researchers to address the impacts of climate change and the cumulative effects affecting salmon-bearing watersheds in BC. In addition, we provide steps that Indigenous governments can take to assert sovereignty over data, recommendations that external researchers can use to ensure they respect IDS, and questions that external researchers and Indigenous partners can discuss to guide decision-making about data management. Finally, we reflect on what we learned during the process of co-creating materials. - OPEN ACCESSPathogen dispersal from infected aquaculture sites into the surrounding ocean poses risks of infection to wild and farmed species, but is difficult to predict. This study aimed to build a framework using an ocean circulation and a particle tracking model in conjunction with a dynamic infection model and a virus inactivation model to simulate the dispersal of the infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) from Atlantic salmon farms. Simulated particles were released from hypothetically infected farms and advected by modelled currents. Inactivation of viral cohorts by ambient ultraviolet radiation and natural microbial communities was simulated during advection. Simulations showed that ISAV concentration varied spatiotemporally with the progression of the outbreak, current speed and direction, tidal elevation amplitude, and environmental decay. Connectivity among aquaculture sites varied in relation to seaway distances, though simulations showed that connectivity can also be asymmetrical between farm sites. Sensitivity analyses showed that the dispersal of ISAV was moderately sensitive to uncertainty associated with the viral decay model, highlighting the importance of obtaining accurate estimates of inactivation rates of ISAV. This framework provides an approach to simulate waterborne viral transmission that considers the biology and epidemic features of significance for pathogens and the dynamic conditions of the ocean.
- OPEN ACCESSUniversity campus networks need wired (ethernet) and dense wireless fidelity networks that have devices like access points, switches, and routers that are always turned on. Consequently, they generate two important problems: the energy bill and the influence of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Energy savings are the solution to those problems. There are several proposals to augment the energy savings separately in ethernet and wireless fidelity, but there is no integrated method to simultaneously reduce them in both parts of the networks. Our novel method combines idle cycling and machine learning techniques to efficiently obtain energy savings in both parts of the network simultaneously. We categorize network devices into two groups: (a) those that are always turned on and (b) those that can be dynamically turned on or off based on network performance. We formulated two algorithms that decide when to turn on and off access points. We use Ward's machine learning hierarchical clustering technique to optimize the energy savings of our model in the network of the Unidades Tecnológicas de Santander (Bucaramanga, Colombia). We showed that energy savings of 21.5 kWh per day are possible. The success of the model in this context highlights its potential to achieve substantial energy savings.
- OPEN ACCESSWith the influence of climate change on marine systems expanding, climate adaptation will be fundamental for the future of fisheries management. An exponential increase in Atlantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus landings over the past decade has coincided with warming ocean temperatures. Here, we explore how historical changes in abundance have been linked to changing thermal habitat conditions and project trends with a warming climate under different emissions scenarios. From 1990 to 2018, available thermal habitat increased by 11.6 ± 7.35% and growing degree days have increased by 13.5 ± 7.86 °C·days across the region. With warming, the probability of occurrence is projected to increase up to 20.5% in Canada by 2085 under RCP 8.5 for Atlantic halibut. Our results suggest that shifting patterns of halibut distribution and abundance are linked to thermal conditions and that continued warming will likely continue to enhance habitat conditions, leading to increased abundance in the Canadian range. Collectively, these results illustrate the influence of shifting environmental conditions on population dynamics and emphasize the importance of adaptive management practices in a dynamic future climate.
- OPEN ACCESSTrash capture devices (TCDs) are a rapidly evolving tool for municipal governments, non-governmental organizations, and industries to divert litter from our waterways. Here, we introduce protocols to initiate trash trapping projects to quantify and characterize captured anthropogenic litter based on a case study using Seabins. In addition, we have introduced a network for global data collection via TCDs. Our first protocol is a visual audit of the potential site to inform the type and location for TCD deployment. Our next two protocols quantify and characterize the litter captured by TCDs: (1) a simple protocol intended for daily monitoring and (2) a detailed protocol to characterize and quantify all large debris (>3 cm) and a subset of the small debris (2 mm–3 cm) caught in the devices. Using Seabins in the Toronto Harbour to test our methodology, we found that our subsampling methodology has a 6.9% error rate. Over a 19-week period, the Seabins captured ∼85 000 pieces of small debris. Our study highlights the utility of TCDs and proposes methods to realize this utility globally. TCDs should become more widespread and utilized as a triple threat: a cleanup tool, a data collection tool, and a platform for outreach and education.
- OPEN ACCESSClimate change is affecting the ocean, altering the biogeography of marine species. Yet marine protected area (MPA) planning still rarely incorporates projected species range shifts. We used the outputs of species distribution models fitted with biological and climate data as inputs to identify trends in occurrence for marine species in British Columbia (BC), Canada. We assessed and compared two ways of incorporating climate change projections into MPA planning. First, we overlaid 98 species with modelled distributions now and by the mid-21st century under two contrasting (“no mitigation” and “strong mitigation”) climate change scenarios with existing Provincial marine parks in BC, to ask which species could overlap with protected areas in the future. Second, we completed a spatial prioritization analysis using Marxan with the projected future species ranges as inputs, to ask where priority regions exist for the 98 marine species. We found that many BC marine parks will lose species in both climate scenarios that we analyzed, and that protecting 30% of important marine species will be challenging under the “no mitigation” climate change scenario. Challenges included the coarse resolution of the data and uncertainty in projecting species range shifts.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Michèle Hamers,
- Angie Elwin,
- Rosemary-Claire Collard,
- Chris R. Shepherd,
- Emma Coulthard,
- John Norrey,
- David Megson, and
- Neil D'Cruze
In Canada, there have been calls for increased research into and surveillance of wildlife trade and associated zoonotic disease risks. We provide the first comprehensive analysis of Canadian live wildlife imports over a 7-year period (2014–2020), based on data from federal government databases obtained via Access to Information requests. A total of 1 820 313 individual animals (including wild-caught and captive-bred animals but excluding fish, invertebrates, Columbiformes (pigeons), and Galliformes (game birds)), from 1028 documented import records, were imported into Canada during 2014–2020. Birds were the most imported taxonomic class (51%), followed by reptiles (28%), amphibians (19%), and mammals (2%). In total, 22 taxonomic orders from 79 countries were recorded as imported. Approximately half of the animals (49%) were imported for the exotic pet market. Based on existing literature and a review of the Canadian regulatory apparatus, we gesture to these importations' potential implications for zoonotic disease risk and discuss potential biosecurity challenges at the Canadian border. Finally, we identify data gaps that prevent an extensive assessment of the zoonotic disease risk of live wildlife imports. We recommend data collection for all wildlife importation and improved coordination between agencies to accurately assess zoonotic disease risk. - OPEN ACCESSTitles of scientific papers play a key role in their discovery, and “good” titles engage and recruit readers. Humour is a particularly interesting aspect of title construction, but little is known about whether funny titles boost or limit paper impact. We used a panel of scorers to assess title humour for 2439 papers in ecology and evolution, and measured associations between humour and subsequent citation (self-citation and citation by others). Papers with funnier titles were cited less, but this appears to reflect confounding with paper importance: self-citation data suggest that authors give funnier titles to papers they consider less important. After correction for this, papers with funny titles have significantly higher citation rates (P < 2.2 × 10−16; roughly doubling from lowest to highest humour score)—suggesting that humour recruits readers. We also examined associations between citation rates and other features of titles. Inclusion of acronyms and taxonomic names was associated with lower citation rates, while assertive-statement phrasing and presence of colons, question marks, and political regions were associated with somewhat higher citation rates. Title length had no effect on citation. Our results suggest that scientists can use creativity with titles without having their work condemned to obscurity.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Juliano Palacios-Abrantes,
- Sarah M. Roberts,
- Talya ten Brink,
- Tim Cashion,
- William W.L. Cheung,
- Anne Mook, and
- Tu Nguyen
The world has set ambitious goals to protect marine biodiversity and improve ocean health in the face of anthropogenic threats. Yet, the efficiency of spatial tools such as marine reserves to protect biodiversity is threatened as climate change shifts species distributions globally. Here, we investigate the ability of global marine reserves to protect fish biomass under future climate change scenarios. Moreover, we explore regional patterns and compare worlds with and without marine reserves. We rely on computer modeling to simulate an utopian world where all marine reserves thrive and ocean governance is effective. Results suggest that climate change will affect fish biomass in most marine reserves and their surrounding waters throughout the 21st century. The biomass change varies among regions, with tropical reserves losing biomass, temperate ones gaining, and polar reserves having mixed effects. Overall, a world with marine reserves will still be better off in terms of fish biomass than a world without marine reserves. Our study highlights the need to promote climate resilient conservation methods if we are to maintain and recover biodiversity in the ocean under a changing world. - OPEN ACCESS
Evaluating community science sampling for microplastics in shore sediments of large river watersheds
A community science project in the Ottawa River Watershed in Canada interacted with an existing volunteer base to collect sediment from 68 locations in the watershed over approximately 750 km. Ninety-one percent of the distributed kits were returned with 42 volunteers taking part in the project. After analysis, particle concentrations were relatively low compared to previous freshwater microplastic sediment research, with contributing factors including (but not limited to) the large size of the watershed, a lower population base compared to other researched freshwater watersheds, the relative size and discharge of the Ottawa River and the large seasonal fluxes experienced in the river basin. Utilising community science for sampling large freshwater watersheds demonstrated its advantages in the research, especially spatially. However, careful consideration to research design and implementation is essential for community science projects examining microplastics in freshwater sediments. Research teams should ensure they are responsible for strict quality assurance and quality control protocols, especially in the laboratory with sample preparation and processing. Nonetheless, community science is potentially an extremely useful approach for researchers to use for microplastic sampling projects over large spatial areas. - OPEN ACCESSAn exponentially growing body of international research engages with plastic pollution using different ideas on the right ways to frame, research, and intervene in the problem. The premise of this study is that all scientists work with understandings of what is right and wrong and why that is (models of justice) in their research, even when it is not explicitly stated, reflected upon, or a conscious part of the discussion. We surveyed 755 published articles on marine debris and plastic chemical additives and found that all evoked at least one model of justice, and often more. The most routinely used models included: developmental justice, distributive justice, and procedural justice. More rarely, we found appeals to environment-first justice and Indigenous sovereignty. While occasionally these multiple models worked synergistically, more often they conflicted. Our findings ground a call for fellow researchers to use a more intentional and systematic approach to evoking models of justice in our work. Our goal is to offer descriptions and insights about models of justice that are already being deployed to increase the sophistication of the ethical and normative orientations of our research and our fields, both in plastic pollution sciences and beyond.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Christine Fahim,
- Danielle Kasperavicius,
- Robyn Beckett,
- Keelia Quinn de Launay,
- Arthana Chandraraj,
- Amanda Crupi,
- Suvabna Theivendrampillai, and
- Sharon E. Straus
Knowledge translation (KT) is the science and practice of dissemination and implementation of evidence. We describe how research funders operationalize and evaluate KT initiatives, identify challenges and opportunities, and suggest strategic considerations for KT support. We conducted an environmental scan, which included a systematic search of published and grey literature and a focus group with Canadian funders. A total of 130 published articles and 2415 grey literature sources were screened; 212 unique data sources were included. Published literature commonly described KT initiatives related to “KT practice and science funding.” These initiatives commonly provided funds for infrastructure development (e.g., clinical technologies, database subscriptions) to facilitate translational or applied research to address regional health priorities. Of the articles, 44% outlined an evaluation plan; few provided validated KT metrics. In the grey literature, 364 initiatives were described; the most commonly described initiatives related to “exchange and integrated KT.” Focus group participants hoped to see increased resources to support KT, exchange opportunities with policy/decision-makers, and evaluate KT initiatives. Funders completed various KT initiatives, which tended to engage stakeholders to set research priorities, collaborate with a range of stakeholders, build KT capacity, and mandate KT requirements. We provide six considerations for funders to support KT. - OPEN ACCESSWildlife health surveillance is important in rapidly expanding urban areas, where wildlife live in close association with humans and face unique health risks. Urban areas are not homogeneous, and social and environmental factors may affect the distribution of surveillance data we receive from these environments. The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) operates a national wildlife surveillance programme that receives carcass submissions for diagnostic evaluation. Our objective was to evaluate sociodemographic and environmental factors associated with CWHC submissions within two cities in Ontario, Canada. Submissions were mapped at two geographic scales and linked with census and environmental data. The results of mixed multivariable Poisson and negative binomial regression analyses suggest that natural (e.g., percent parkland) and anthropogenic environmental (e.g., presence of a zoo) and social variables (e.g., low income) are associated with submissions at both administratively relevant scales. Associations that are common across scales may represent robust intervention points and inform surveillance methodology/messaging. Surveillance data may influence public health policy, wildlife management, and other decision-making regarding the benefits/risks associated with coexistence with wildlife. This study highlights gaps in surveillance methodology that may prevent equal opportunity for participation in wildlife health surveillance and enable equal opportunity to benefit from the associated outputs.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Rachael Cadman,
- Megan Dicker,
- Mary Denniston,
- Paul McCarney,
- Rodd Laing,
- Eric C.J. Oliver, and
- Megan Bailey
With Inuit organizations leading the way, there is a growing opportunity for meaningful partnerships between Inuit and visiting researchers to create impactful research programs and policy initiatives that reflect Inuit priorities. Collaborative research methods, where Inuit and visiting researchers work together to meet community needs, offer a potential avenue for braiding knowledge systems, and therefore have become an increasingly popular way to conduct research in the Arctic. In this paper, we outline our use of the data analysis method known as the “Framework Method” during the Imappivut Knowledge Study, a participatory mapping project led by the Nunatsiavut Government. We reflect on both the method's applicability and its usefulness for future research conducted in collaboration between Inuit and non-Inuit researchers. We find that the Framework Method allowed us to work in an iterative and adaptive manner, resulting in comprehensive findings for marine spatial planning. The method also supported data sovereignty for the Nunatsiavut Government. The Framework Method can be used to allow Nunatsiavut greater control over the data internally and self-determining access to external researchers. - OPEN ACCESSSeasonal variation in seagrass growth and senescence affects the provision of ecosystem services and restoration efforts, requiring seasonal monitoring. Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) enable frequent high-resolution surveys at full-meadow scales. However, the reproducibility of RPAS surveys is challenged by varying environmental conditions, which are common in temperate estuarine systems. We surveyed three eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, using an RPAS equipped with a three-color band (red, green, blue [RGB]) camera, to evaluate the seasonal reproducibility of RPAS surveys and assess the effects of flight altitude (30–115 m) on classification accuracy. Habitat percent cover was estimated using supervised image classification and compared to corresponding estimates from snorkel quadrat surveys. Our results revealed inconsistent misclassification due to environmental variability and low spectral separability between habitats. This rendered differentiating between model misclassification versus actual changes in seagrass cover infeasible. Conflicting estimates in seagrass and macroalgae percent cover compared to snorkel estimates could not be corrected by decreasing the RPAS altitude. Instead, higher altitude surveys may be worth the trade-off of lower image resolution to avoid environmental conditions shifting mid-survey. We conclude that RPAS surveys using RGB imagery alone may be insufficient to discriminate seasonal changes in estuarine subtidal vegetated habitats.
- OPEN ACCESSHuman access to surface water resources in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) is challenged by availability and quality, and ecosystem health objectives for these characteristics have not been well developed. Here, we present a predictive multivariate model using the reference condition approach to inform goals for ecosystem health assessment. Benthic communities and abiotic variables were collected at 280 potential reference sites and 8 test sites, and of these, reference sites with least amount of human activity (n = 83) were classified into three community groups and summary metrics. Discriminant function analysis and cross-validation determined that stream order and ecoregion predicted 68.7% of the sites correctly, thus enabling comparison of sites with unknown condition to reference site groups. We then evaluated metrics through Test Site Analysis and stressor gradient analysis in each biological group. Beetle and amphipod fauna were found to be important for condition assessment in addition to traditional metrics of species richness, abundance, detritivory, Ephemeroptera/Plecoptera/Trichoptera dominance, and assemblage composition. These results provide least disturbed reference condition and ecological insights into land use impacts in the NGP. Ultimately, this model is an effective tool for evaluating biotic condition, enables prioritizing river management strategies, and can quantify the efficacy of mitigation measures.
- OPEN ACCESSProtected areas (PAs) are a key component of most conservation strategies because they are thought to enhance biodiversity value relative to similar habitats in working landscapes. To examine whether PAs in Nova Scotia are functioning to enhance the biodiversity value of the landscapes in which they are embedded, we surveyed breeding bird communities in forested wetlands inside and outside of a large PA during 2018 and 2019. We found significantly higher species richness and diversity at sites in the working landscape relative to those inside the PA. Bird communities from different wetland types inside the PA were distinct from each other and those outside the PA, whereas bird communities at outside sites were homogenized and comprised of more early-successional species. There were numerous species of conservation concern at both inside and outside sites, indicating that both types of sites are playing important conservation roles. Abundances of these key species were driven by a combination of local (e.g., water table depth, herb, and shrub cover) and landscape scale factors (e.g., edge density and human disturbance). The higher abundance of long-distance migrants and insectivores at inside sites suggests PAs are providing critical additional support to key guilds that are in steep decline.
- OPEN ACCESSHolocene fire records from charcoal are critical to understand linkages between regional climate and fire regime and to create effective fire management plans. The Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL) of Canada is one of the largest continuous peatland complexes in the world and is predicted to be increasingly impacted by wildfire. We present three charcoal records from a bog in the western HBL and demonstrate that median fire frequency was higher in the Middle Holocene, related to warmer regional temperatures and higher evaporative demand. Holocene fire frequencies are lower than in western Canadian peatlands, supporting that the HBL lies in the transition between continental and humid boreal fire regimes. Apparent carbon accumulation rates at the site were not significantly different between the Middle and Late Holocene, suggesting that higher fire frequency and enhanced decomposition offset the potential for higher rates of biomass production. We compile records from the boreal region and demonstrate that increasing fire frequency is significantly correlated with diminishing long-term carbon accumulation rates, despite large variation in response of peatlands to fire frequency changes. Therefore, the paleo-record supports that higher fire frequencies will likely weaken the capacity of some northern peatlands to be net carbon sinks in the future.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Britt D. Hall,
- Sichen Liu,
- Cameron G.J. Hoggarth,
- Lara M. Bates,
- Stacy A. Boczulak,
- Jamie D. Schmidt, and
- Andrew M. Ireson
Methylmercury concentrations [MeHg] in whole water were measured in 28 prairie wetland ponds in central Saskatchewan between 2006 and 2012. Ponds fell into four land use categories (established grass, recent grass, traditional cultivated, and certified organic cultivated) and two water level patterns (“Mainly Wet” ponds stayed wet at least until October and “Mainly Dry” ponds dried up each summer). Despite similar atmospheric Hg deposition, average [MeHg] and proportion of total Hg that was MeHg (%MeHg) were higher in water from ponds surrounded with established grass or organic farming; this trend may be driven by high [MeHg] at one Organic site. A stronger relationship was observed with water level patterns. Average [MeHg] and %MeHg were significantly higher in Mainly Wet ponds compared to Mainly Dry ponds. Higher [MeHg] in Mainly Wet ponds were correlated with much higher dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and sulfate (SO4−2) concentrations and higher specific UV absorbance of DOC. We suggest that prairie wetland ponds may not fit the accepted paradigm that wetlands with high [SO4−2] show inhibition of Hg methylation. Our work suggests controls such as the chemical nature of DOC or redox fluctuations in hydrologically dynamic systems may be important in determining net [MeHg] in these sites. - OPEN ACCESS
- Clare L. Ardern,
- Nadia Martino,
- Sammy Nag,
- Robyn Tamblyn,
- David Moher,
- Adrian Mota, and
- Karim M. Khan
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) commenced a Quality Assurance Program in 2019 to monitor the quality of peer review in its Project Grant Competition Peer Review Committees. Our primary aim was to describe the performance of CIHR grant peer reviewers, based on the assessments made by CIHR peer review leaders during the first 3 years of the Research Quality Assurance Program. All Peer Review Committee Chairs and (or) Scientific Officers who led peer review for CIHR in 2019, 2020, and 2021 completed Reviewer Quality Feedback forms immediately following Peer Review Committee meetings. The form assessed Performance, Future potential, Review quality, Participation, and Responsiveness. We summarised and descriptively synthesised data from assessments conducted after each of the four grant competitions. The performance of peer reviewers on 4438 occasions was rated by Chairs and Scientific Officers. Approximately one in three peer reviewers submitted outstanding reviews or discussed additional applications and one in 10 demonstrated potential as a future Peer Review Committee leader. At most, one in 20 peer reviewers was considered to have not performed adequately with respect to review quality, participation, or responsiveness. There is a need for more research on the processes involved in allocating research grant funding. - OPEN ACCESSLake Winnipeg, Manitoba, is Canada’s second largest commercial inland freshwater fishery, and concern over collapse of the walleye fishery is growing. Molecular techniques have been increasingly used to study responses of wild organisms to environmental and anthropogenic stressors. The present study used transcriptomics to examine the physiology of wild-caught walleye (Sander vitreus (Mitchell, 1818)) across Lake Winnipeg using non-lethal techniques. Gill transcriptomes of walleye sampled from the north and south basins of Lake Winnipeg, and the channel connecting them, exhibited distinct profiles implicating regionally specific biological responses. North basin walleye exhibited transcriptomic responses indicative of exposure to environmental stressors. Transcriptomic patterns suggested a shift to increased reliance on anaerobic metabolism and up-regulation of hypoxia-sensitive genes in north basin fish, possibly representing exposure to low-oxygen conditions. Exposure to environmental stressors may also have driven increases in gene transcripts associated with proteasomal catabolism, DNA repair, molecular chaperones, and ion regulation. North basin fish also exhibited transcriptomic patterns indicative of gill remodeling via regulation of the mTOR pathway, cytoskeleton reorganization, and fatty acid synthesis. Our results highlight the complexity of examining wild fish across environmental gradients but also the potential use of molecular techniques in elucidating organismal sensitivity to local environmental factors.
- OPEN ACCESSMarine Protected Areas (MPAs) are conservation tools that promote biodiversity by regulating human impacts. However, because MPAs are fixed in space and, by design, difficult to change, climate change may challenge their long-term effectiveness. It is therefore imperative to consider anticipated ecological changes in their design. We predict the time of emergence (ToE: year when temperatures will exceed a species’ tolerance) of 30 fish and invertebrate species in the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy draft network of conservation areas based on climate projections under two contrasting emission scenarios (RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5). We demonstrate a strong Southwest-to-Northeast gradient of change under both scenarios. Cold water-associated species had earlier ToEs, particularly in southwesterly areas. Under low emissions, 20.0% of habitat and 12.6% of species emerged from the network as a whole by 2100. Under high emissions, 51% of habitat and 42% of species emerged. These impacts are expected within the next 30–50 years in some southwestern areas. The magnitude and velocity of change will be tempered by reduced emissions. Our identification of high- and low-risk areas for species of direct and indirect conservation interest can support decisions regarding site and network design (and designation scheduling), promoting climate resilience.
- OPEN ACCESSBased on the Mindlin solution, this paper considers the influence of factors such as the non-uniform distribution of additional thrust of the cutter head influenced by lateral earth pressure in shield excavation, the non-uniform distribution of friction of shield shell influenced by soil softening and slurry spreading, and the non-uniform distribution of grouting pressure influenced by slurry spreading on the horizontal displacement of soil. The existing prediction formula is revised and verified by engineering examples. It is found that: affected by the shield construction disturbance force, the horizontal displacement behind the excavation surface is larger than that in front of the excavation surface, and the peak value of the horizontal displacement appears around the tunnel axis; through the verification of engineering case, when calculating the horizontal displacement in front of the excavation surface, the calculation results of both the modified formula and the original formula are in good agreement with the measured values, which can reflect the change trend of the measured horizontal displacement; when calculating the horizontal displacement behind the excavation surface, the calculation result of the existing formula has a great error due to the assumption of uniform distribution of disturbance force, which is different from the law of the measured result; the calculation result of the modified prediction formula is obviously in better agreement with the measured deformation value, and the error is smaller, which is more in line with the engineering reality.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Travis G. Gerwing,
- Lily Campbell,
- Diana J. Hamilton,
- Myriam A. Barbeau,
- Gregory S. Norris,
- Sarah E. Dudas, and
- Francis Juanes
While trophic and habitat-related abiotic variables (predation, competition, tolerance, etc.) are known to influence community structure in many ecosystems, some systems appear to be only minimally influenced by these variables. Sampling multiple tidal flat communities in northern BC, Canada, we investigated the relative importance of top-down and middle-out (mesopredators) variables, competition for resources (bottom up), and abiotic variables in structuring an infaunal community (invertebrates living in sediment). Similar to previous studies on mudflats in the Bay of Fundy (also at a north temperate latitude), we determined that these variables accounted for a minor (0%–9%) proportion of the observed variation in this infaunal community, suggesting that these variables play a small role in structuring this community. Based on the results of our study and in combination with previous experiments on infaunal recovery patterns post disturbance, we posit that the main factors influencing these infaunal communities likely operate at a scale of sites (kilometres) and(or) plot (metres or less) but not transects (10–100 m within site). Candidate forces structuring these intertidal communities that need future examination include regional species pools and the variables that affect these pools, sediment biogeochemistry, and disturbance/recovery history of a site. The similarity of our Pacific coast findings to those from the north temperate Atlantic coast suggests some similarity in the processes structuring these distinct infaunal communities. - OPEN ACCESSIn some cases, managing an established invasive species may do more harm to an ecosystem than allowing the invader to persist. Given limited resources available to land managers and the realities of conservation triage, we recognized the need for systematic guidance for management decisions made at the “late end” of the invasion curve. We gathered an interdisciplinary group of experts and practitioners to address the question of “under what circumstances is the active management of an established aquatic invasive species warranted?” Our working group identified three key dimensions to this question: (1) the efficacy of available management options; (2) the net benefits of management actions weighed against the null scenario of no control; and (3) the socio-ecological context that defines management goals, a manager’s ability to achieve said goals, and perceptions of management outcomes. These considerations were used to structure a consensus decision tree that supports a multi-criteria approach to decision-making. Our approach promotes interdisciplinarity and systems thinking and emphasizes the need to consider costs and benefits comprehensively, for example by considering the persistence or reversibility of impacts from both the invasive species and from efforts to suppress or eradicate it.
- OPEN ACCESSInvertebrate pollinators are in trouble: particularly documented are declines among bees and butterflies. Interacting stressors include pesticides, pathogens, habitat loss, nonnative species, and climate change. Many governments have strategies to reduce negative pressures on pollinators, but Canada does not despite widespread public interest in pollinator health. This study serves as a needs assessment for science-based policy solutions for wild pollinator conservation in Canada. We designed a Policy Delphi survey technique to identify solutions that experts deem both desirable and feasible. Our secondary aim was to identify research priorities that would inform the implementation of these solutions. Sixty % of the 83 unique solutions were supported and feasible at a high consensus level (10% were “strongly” supported and “definitely” feasible). General themes included improving the Canadian government's approach in assessing pesticide risk to pollinators, curbing pathogen spillover/spillback between managed and wild pollinators, and reducing the reliance of Canadian agricultural systems on pesticides, among others. We discuss solutions in reference to pollinator conservation policies recommended by the broader scientific community and identify policy levers within the context of Canada's highly decentralized approach to biodiversity conservation/management and a political economy that uses high numbers of managed, mostly nonnative bees for pollination services.
- OPEN ACCESSMalaria is a life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted to humans by infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Early and accurate diagnosis is crucial to reduce the high mortality rate of the disease, especially in eastern Indonesia, where limited health facilities and resources contribute to the effortless spread of the disease. In rural areas, the lack of trained parasitologists presents a significant challenge. To address this issue, a computer-aided detection (CAD) system for malaria is needed to support parasitologists in evaluating hundreds of blood smear slides every month. This study proposes a hybrid automated malaria parasite detection and segmentation method using image processing and deep learning techniques. First, an optimized double-Otsu method is proposed to generate malaria parasite patch candidates. Then, deep learning approaches are applied to recognize and segment the parasites. The proposed method is evaluated on the PlasmoID dataset, which consists of 468 malaria-infected microscopic images containing 691 malaria parasites from Indonesia. The results demonstrate that our proposed approach achieved an F1-score of 0.91 in parasite detection. Additionally, it achieved better performance in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and F1-score for parasite segmentation compared to original semantic segmentation methods. These findings highlight the potential of this study to be implemented in CAD malaria detection, which could significantly improve malaria diagnosis in resource-limited areas.
- OPEN ACCESSBenthic macroinvertebrate communities, which include unionid freshwater mussels, enhance the health of river ecosystems. Human impacts have driven declines within freshwater mussel communities and due to their complex life cycles, mussel recovery efforts are complex. In Canada, conservation of imperiled species has focused on biodiversity hotspots such as the Sydenham River in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin. In practice, species conservation and habitat monitoring are siloed between federal agencies and local conservation authorities, limiting the potential for alignment of conservation policy and practice. Here we bring together federal, local, and our own survey data to explore patterns of co-occurrences between mussel species and other macroinvertebrate taxa to explore the extent to which knowledge of one benthic community informs the other. Mussel communities (species richness, community composition) differed between sites where imperiled mussel species were present and/or absent. Benthic macroinvertebrate metrics (e.g., family richness, percent Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera taxa) and specific indicator taxa were correlated with mussel species richness and the presence of imperiled mussel species. We show that benthic macroinvertebrate diversity indicators provided insight into imperiled species occurrences that warrant further investigation. These findings underscore support for coordinated watershed monitoring efforts and could be crucial for more successful freshwater mussel conservation.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Mohsen Alayche,
- Kelly D. Cobey,
- Jeremy Y. Ng,
- Clare L. Ardern,
- Karim M. Khan,
- An-Wen Chan,
- Ryan Chow,
- Mouayad Masalkhi,
- Ana Patricia Ayala,
- Sanam Ebrahimzadeh,
- Jason Ghossein,
- Ibrahim Alayche,
- Jessie V. Willis, and
- David Moher
Adherence to study registration and reporting best practices is vital to fostering evidence-based medicine. All registered clinical trials on ClinicalTrials.gov conducted in Canada as of 2009 and completed by 2019 were identified. A cross-sectional analysis of those trials assessed prospective registration, subsequent result reporting in the registry, and subsequent publication of study findings. The lead sponsor, phase of study, clinical trial site location, total patient enrollment, number of arms, type of masking, type of allocation, year of completion, and patient demographics were examined as potential effect modifiers to these best practices. A total of 6720 trials were identified. From 2009 to 2019, 59% (n = 3,967) of them were registered prospectively, and 32% (n = 2138) had neither their results reported nor their findings published. Of the 3763 trials conducted exclusively in Canada, 3% (n = 123) met all three criteria of prospective registration, reporting in the registry, and publishing findings. Overall, the odds of having adherence to all three practices concurrently in Canadian trials decrease by 95% when compared with international trials. Canadian clinical trials substantially lacked adherence to study registration and reporting best practices. Knowledge of this widespread non-compliance should motivate stakeholders in the Canadian clinical trial ecosystem to address and continue to monitor this problem. - OPEN ACCESS
- Tyler D. Eddy,
- Daniel Duplisea,
- Matthew D. Robertson,
- Raquel Ruiz-Díaz,
- C. Abraham Solberg, and
- Fan Zhang
Fish populations are dynamic; their productivity depends on the environment, predator and prey interactions, and fisheries harvest rates. Failure to account for these factors in fisheries science and management can lead to a misestimation of stock dynamics and productivity, resulting in overexploitation or forgone fisheries yield. Using an online survey, we asked fisheries scientists, industry stakeholders, Indigenous partners, and non-governmental organizations whether changing ecosystem productivity was a problem in their experience, how often dynamic approaches to fisheries reference points have been adopted, what methods had been used, and what fisheries they had been applied to. Changing fisheries or ecosystem productivity was reported as an issue by 96% of respondents; however, 74% of respondents said they had never seen dynamic reference points implemented, 16% said in very few instances, while 10% said frequently. The most common barriers to implementation of dynamic approaches in fisheries management were institutional inertia and uncertainty about whether a change in productivity was lasting. We discuss trade-offs between fisheries management performance and stability. - OPEN ACCESSPiscine orthoreovirus genotype 1 (PRV-1) is a common virus in farmed and wild salmon in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Its regional occurrence in freshwater is far less clear. From 2019 to 2021, tissues of 5619 juvenile anadromous salmon (primarily Atlantic, Chinook, and coho) sampled from 12 commercial and 27 enhancement British Columbia hatcheries during 83 sampling events were screened for PRV-1 prior to seawater entry. More than 2200 (∼40%) were also screened using a Pan-PRV assay targeting all known PRV genotypes. PRV-1 was detected in four coho salmon at two freshwater enhancement facilities and in one Chinook salmon at a commercial facility. Partial (S1 segment) genome sequencing identified detections to be of the PRV-1 subgenotype endemic to the northeastern Pacific. PRV-1 was not detected (5611 individuals; 99.9%) or test results were inconclusive (3 individuals; 0.05%) for all remaining samples screened for PRV-1. PRV-2 and PRV-3 were not detected using the Pan-PRV assay. It is concluded that commercial and enhancement freshwater hatcheries of British Columbia contribute minimally to the prevalence and persistence of PRV-1 in anadromous salmon of the northeastern Pacific, and these hatcheries appear not to have contracted or participated in the distribution of nonendemic forms of PRV in recent years.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Alexandra Langwieder,
- Angela Coxon,
- Natasha Louttit,
- Stephanie Varty,
- Felix Boulanger,
- Sanford Diamond,
- John Lameboy,
- Anderson Jolly,
- George Natawapineskum,
- Derek Okimaw, and
- Murray M. Humphries
Wildlife conservation is informed by detailed understanding of species demographics, habitat use, and interactions with environmental drivers. Challenges to collecting this information, particularly in remote places and on widely ranging species, can contribute to data deficiencies that detract from conservation status assessment and the effectiveness of management actions. Polar bears in James Bay face rapidly changing environmental conditions at the southern edge of their global range, but studying their ecology has been limited by community concerns about the methods typically used in polar bear research. Using a community-led and non-invasive approach, we deployed hair snare and camera trap sampling stations across 400 km of the Eeyou Marine Region in eastern James Bay. Stations collected >100 hair samples and thousands of photographs in one eight-week period that allowed for a novel investigation of this population’s distribution and body condition during the ice-free season. Polar bears were in average to above average body condition, and model selection of detections at stations revealed distance to mainland as a significant predictor of polar bear presence. Given its high potential, we suggest community-based monitoring using this method become a standard protocol to expand the scope and local leadership of polar bear research across the North. - OPEN ACCESSThe impact of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery on species bycatch is currently unknown. The composition of the incidental catch, both nonharvestable lobster (by fisheries regulations) and nonlobster species, was systematically collected over the 2015 spring and summer fishing seasons. A total of 51 948 (7147 were nonlobster taxa) individual organisms weighing 13 987.60 kg (1223.91 kg of nonlobster taxa) were captured as bycatch during 73 fishing trips. By weight per trip, the most common lobster bycatch were undersized male and females, and the highest nonlobster species catch were Atlantic rock crab (Cancer irroratus). A semiquantitative assessment of injury and vitality was applied to bycatch as a proxy for discard mortality. The majority of the individuals assessed for visible injury were deemed uninjured (98% both fish and invertebrates); however, postrelease mortality was not measured. A smaller study in 2019 corroborated the 2015 catches and supported current assumptions that the passive gear type, the low diversity of bycatch, and the rapid hand-sorting of the trap minimize the impact of the lobster fishery on incidentally captured taxa. Further scientific monitoring is recommended to better account for all sources of mortality in stock assessments and rebuilding plans.
- OPEN ACCESS
A simulation-based optimization method for emergency evacuation induced by gas pipeline leakage risk
Long-distance gas pipelines with large diameter and high pressure, on which a leakage induces gas diffusion or fire explosion, may result in major influence to nearby buildings and residents. Safety and rapid evacuation of potentially affected people is a top priority. To analyze the affected areas by disasters and improve evacuation efficiency of the affected areas, this study presents a simulation-based optimization method for emergency evacuation induced by gas leakage risk. First, the influence radii of different leakage accidents were calculated based on damage criteria and the evacuation radii around the accidents were determined considering the panic psychology. The number of evacuees and their spatial distribution were calculated. Secondly, an evacuation simulation model for affected communities based on the multi-agent system was established to analyze the evacuation process of residents. Finally, the optimal design method and strategies for community evacuation were proposed. Responsibility areas of organized evacuation service for community exits were determined. The results showed that the evacuation times of the two communities A and C were reduced by 10% and 24%, which indicates organized evacuation is more efficient than unorganized evacuation. The selection of community exits is more balanced. Its rationality of the proposed method was verified by the comparison of evacuation simulation. - OPEN ACCESSAnimal populations take advantage of environmental heterogeneity to partition themselves into microhabitat niches. Such partitioning plays an important role in regulating interspecific competition and community structure by allowing multiple species to coexist. Atlantic Canada has many small coastal staging sites that host southbound migrant shorebirds. However, most shorebird studies in the region have been focused on larger sites in the Bay of Fundy, resulting in limited knowledge about staging ecology at these small sites, which often host more diverse shorebird assemblages. We examined niche partitioning by shorebirds on the Northumberland Strait, New Brunswick, Canada, to better understand how small coastal staging sites support diverse shorebird populations. We found evidence of partitioning on three niche dimensions: space, foraging behaviour, and diet. Most species specialized in at least one dimension, with foraging constraints based on bill morphology and habitat access based on species size likely driving segregation. Environmental heterogeneity at sites on the Northumberland Strait created multiple dimensions for segregation and fulfilled the niche requirements of diverse shorebird species during migratory staging. These findings broaden our understanding of staging ecology of multispecies flocks and suggest that conservation of small coastal sites is important for success of migratory shorebirds in Atlantic Canada.
- OPEN ACCESSThe American common eider (Somateria mollissima dresseri) is a colonially nesting sea duck breeding on islands in the coastal regions of Atlantic Canada. Declines in colony size have been pronounced in some parts of its range, notably in Nova Scotia, and may be attributable to a variety of interconnected factors including changes in habitat conditions. Using surveys collected two decades apart, we compared nesting habitat types, availability, and use by breeding eiders on 16 islands that supported >1600 eider nests in 1992–1993, but 830 nests in 2013. While general patterns of eider nesting habitat use remained consistent (e.g., nesting preferences exhibited for Low Shrubland and Grassland habitats, and avoidance of forest or beach habitats), overall vegetation cover declined, but relative habitat changes were inconsistent across islands. Three of the islands with the greatest change in vegetation had cormorant (Phalacrocorax spp.) colonies in 2013 that were not there in the earlier years. We suggest that changes in vegetation, in some cases facilitated by cormorant colony formation, influenced susceptibility of nesting females to predators, and these interconnected factors may be contributing to local population declines.