Pilot investigation of remote sensing for intertidal oyster mapping in coastal South Carolina: a methods comparison

South Carolina’s oyster reefs are a major component of the coastal landscape. Eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica are an important economic resource to the state and serve many essential functions in the environment, including water filtration, creek bank stabilization and habitat for other plants and animals. Effective conservation and management of oyster reefs is dependent on an understanding of their abundance, distribution, condition, and change over time. In South Carolina, over 95% of the state’s oyster habitat is intertidal. The current intertidal oyster reef database for South Carolina was developed by field assessment over several years. This database was completed in the early 1980s and is in need of an update to assess resource/habitat status and trends across the state. Anthropogenic factors such as coastal development and associated waterway usage (e.g., boat wakes) are suspected of significantly altering the extent and health of the state’s oyster resources. In 2002 the NOAA Coastal Services Center’s (Center) Coastal Remote Sensing Program (CRS) worked with the Marine Resources Division of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) to develop methods for mapping intertidal oyster reefs along the South Carolina coast using remote sensing technology. The objective of this project was to provide SCDNR with potential methodologies and approaches for assessing oyster resources in a more efficiently than could be accomplished through field digitizing. The project focused on the utility of high-resolution aerial imagery and on documenting the effectiveness of various analysis techniques for accomplishing the update. (PDF contains 32 pages)

Observations on the behaviour of Polyphemus pediculus and functions of its extremities in the process of feeding. [Translation of: Materialy po biologii i gidrologii Volzhskikh vodokhranilishch, pp. 13-16. Moscow, 1965]

The author summarises observations on the behaviour of Polyphemus pediculus and functions of its extremities in the process of feeding. The crustacean Polyphemus pediculus seizes its prey, kills it and pulverises its food with the help of its extremities. Therefore for a study of its feeding method was necessary not only to have been acquainted in detail with the structure of its extremities, but also to have observed their interaction for the accomplishment of the stated functions.

Design for Survival: Sustainability for Planet and Structure

Buildings in Port Aransas encounter drastic environmental challenges: the potential catastrophic storm surge and high winds from a hurricane, and daily conditions hostile to buildings, vehicles, and even most vegetation. Its location a few hundred feet from the Gulf of Mexico and near-tropical latitude expose buildings to continuous high humidity, winds laden with scouring sand and corrosive salt, and extremes of temperature and ultraviolet light. Building construction methods are able to address each of these, but doing so in a sustainable way creates significant challenges. The new research building at the Marine Science Institute has been designed and is being constructed to meet the demand for both survivability and sustainability. It is tracking towards formal certification as a LEED Gold structure while being robust and resistant to the harsh coastal environment. The effects of a hurricane are mitigated by elevating buildings and providing a windproof envelope. Ground-level enclosures are designed to be sacrificial and non-structural so they can wash or blow away without imposing damage on the upper portions of the building, and only non-critical functions and equipment will be supported within them. Design features that integrate survivability with sustainability include: orientation of building axis; integral shading from direct summer sunlight; light wells; photovoltaic arrays; collection of rainwater and air conditioning condensate for use in landscape irrigation; reduced impervious cover; xeriscaping and indigenous plants; recycling of waste heat from air conditioning systems; roofing system that reflects light and heat; long life, low maintenance stainless steel, high-tensile vinyl, hard-anodized aluminum and hot-dipped galvanized mountings throughout; chloride-resistant concrete; reduced visual impact; recycling of construction materials.

Organization, functions, and achievements of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission

ENGLISH: The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) operates under the authority and direction of a Convention originally entered into by the governments of Costa Rica and the United States. The Convention, which came into force in 1950, is open to the adherence by other governments whose nationals participate in the fisheries for tropical tunas in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The member nations of the Commission now are t in addition to Costa Rica and the United States, Canada, France, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.This report is a description of the organization, functions, and achievements of the Commission. It has been prepared to provide in a convenient format answers to requests for information concerning the Commission. It replaces a similar, earlier report (Carroz, 1965), which is now largely outdated. SPANISH: La Comisión Interamericana del Atún Tropical (CIAT) funciona bajo la autoridad y dirección de un Convenio firmado originalmente por los gobiernos de Costa Rica y los Estados Unidos de America. El Convenio, que entro en vigencia en 1950, se encuentra libre para que otros gobiernos cuyos ciudadanos participen en la pesca de atunes tropicales en el Océano Pacifico oriental se afilien a el. Las naciones miembros de la Comisión, además de Costa Rica y los Estados Unidos, son Cañada, Francia, Japón, México, Nicaragua y Panamá. Este informe es una descripción de la organización, funciones y resultados de la Comisión. Ha sido preparado para suministrar en forma conveniente respuestas a preguntas sobre la Comisión. Reemplaza un informe anterior similar (Carroz 1965), que ya es anticuado en su mayor parte.

Organization, functions, and achievements of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission

ENGLISH: The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) operates under the authority and direction of a Convention originally entered into by the governments of Costa Rica and the United states. The Convention, which came into force in 1950, is open to the adherence by other governments whose nationals participate in the fisheries for tropical tunas in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The member nations of the Commission now are France. Japan, Nicaragua. Panama, and the United States. This report is a description of the organization, functions. and achievements of the Commission. It has been prepared to provide in a convenient format answers to requests for information concerning the Commission. It replaces similar, earlier reports (Carroz, 1965; Spec. Rep., 1), which are now largely outdated. SPANISH: La Comisión Interamericana del Atún Tropical (CIAT) funciona bajo la autoridad y dirección de un Convenio firmado originalmente por los gobiernos de Costa Rica y los Estados Unidos de America. El Convenio, Que entre en vigencia en 1950, se encuentra libre para Que otros gobiernos cuyos ciudadanos participan en la pesca de los atunes tropicales en el Océano Pacifico oriental se afilien a 61. Las naciones actuales que son miembros de la Comisión son: Francia, Japón, Nicaragua, Panamá y los Estados Unidos. Este informe es una descripci6n de la organización, funciones y resultados de la Comisión. Se ha preparado para suministrar en forma conveniente, informaci6n sobre la Comisión. Este informe renueva otros anteriores similares (Carroz, 1965; CIAT, Inf. Esp., 1) que en su mayor parte determinados.

Organization, functions, and achievements of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission

This report is a description of the organization, functions, and achievements of the IATTC. It has been prepared to provide, in a convenient format, answers to requests for information concerning the IATTC. It replaces similar, earlier reports (Carroz, 1965; IATTC Spec. Rep., 1 and 5), which are now largely outdated. In order to make each section of the report independent of the others, some aspects of the IATTC are described in more than one section. For example, work on the early life history of tunas financed by the Overseas Fishery Cooperation Foundation of Japan is mentioned in the subsection entitled Finance, the subsection entitled Biology of tunas and billfishes, and the section entitled RELATIONS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. Due to space constraints, however, it is not possible to describe the IATTC's activities in detail in this report. Additional information is available in publications of the IATTC, listed in Appendix 6, and in its web site, www.iattc.org. Many abbreviations are used in this report. The names of the organizations or the terms are written out the first time they are used, and, for convenience, they are also listed in the Glossary.

Interactions of age-dependent mortality and selectivity functions in age-based stock assessment models

The natural mortality rate (M) of fish varies with size and age, although it is often assumed to be constant in stock assessments. Misspecification of M may bias important assessment quantities. We simulated fishery data, using an age-based population model, and then conducted stock assessments on the simulated data. Results were compared to known values. Misspecification of M had a negligible effect on the estimation of relative stock depletion; however, misspecification of M had a large effect on the estimation of parameters describing the stock recruitment relationship, age-specific selectivity, and catchability. If high M occurs in juvenile and old fish, but is misspecified in the assessment model, virgin biomass and catchability are often poorly estimated. In addition, stock recruitment relationships are often very difficult to estimate, and steepness values are commonly estimated at the upper bound (1.0) and overfishing limits tend to be biased low. Natural mortality can be estimated in assessment models if M is constant across ages or if selectivity is asymptotic. However if M is higher in old fish and selectivity is dome-shaped, M and the selectivity cannot both be adequately estimated because of strong interactions between M and selectivity.

Beverton and Holt equations: spreadsheet functions and uncertainty

This contribution illustrates how modern spreadsheets aid the calculation and visualization of yield models and how the effects of uncertainties may be incorporated using Monte Carlo simulation. It is argued that analogous approaches can be implemented for other assessment models of simple to medium complexity justifying wider use of spreadsheets in fisheries analysis and training.

Oak Mere continuous monitoring summary report, 1997 to 2000

This is the Oak Mere continuous monitoring summary report, 1997 to 2000 from the Environment Agency North West. This report focuses on the continuous monitoring programme made by a multi -parameter probe in Oak Mere since summer 1997. From 1999 nutrient and chlorophyll samples were taken when the water quality instrument was serviced. Water level measurements were made since 1998. Moreover, the report shows a summary Oak mere water quality of each year (1997-2000). The physico-chemical parameters and nutrient levels included are: temperature, specific conditions, dissolved oxygen, pH, Depth, secchi disc measurements, chlorophyll a, total Phosphorus, orto-Phosphate, Nitrate, Ammonia, and Silicate.