Creating a collection development model for a marine science library

The purpose of this article is to update and build on the approximate 10,000 item collection of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Library. This article will present a history of Harbor Branch and its library, and a literature review, outlining the collection development methods of other marine science libraries and academic libraries. The article will relate brief histories of three marine science libraries. A comparative table is constructed to compare Harbor Branch Library with three marine science libraries. The methodology, or how the table was created, is explained. The comparative table will be shown and analyzed, and the results of the table discussed. Finally, some recommendations for improvement of the Harbor Branch Library will be presented.

Metrics of monograph use in the Marston Science Library

As academic libraries are increasingly supported by a matrix of databases functions, the use of data mining and visualization techniques offer significant potential for future collection development and service initiatives based on quantifiable data. While data collection techniques are still not standardized and results may be skewed because of granularity problems, faulty algorithms, and a host of other factors, useful baseline data is extractable and broad trends can be identified. The purpose of the current study is to provide an initial assessment of data associated with science monograph collection at the Marston Science Library (MSL), University of Florida. These sciences fall within the major Library of Congress Classification schedules of Q, S, and T, excluding R, TN, TR, and TT. Overall strategy of this project is to look at the potential science audiences within the university community and analyze data related to purchasing and circulation patterns, e-book usage, and interlibrary loan statistics. While a longitudinal study from 2004 to the present would be ideal, this paper presents the results from the academic year July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 which was chosen as the pilot period because all data reservoirs identified above were available.

Galveston Bay Migrates to the Web; DSpace Comes to Texas

This presentation describes how the Galveston Bay Bibliography and Galveston Bay Information Center projects transitioned from a paper world to electronic format. The mission of the Galveston Bay Information Center (GBIC) is to serve as a repository for information and a resource for research on Galveston Bay, its watershed, and the coastal region for all members of the Galveston Bay Community. GBIC was created in response to critical losses of data and information that were identified in the early stages of Galveston Bay National Estuary Program and includes a physical collection as well as a bibliography. With the loss of funding imminent, the administrators of GBIC recognized the need to preserve the collection and its digital bibliography in perpetuity. Enter Texas Digital Library. The University’s participation in TDL enabled GBIC to make the Galveston Bay Bibliography more robust and visible to the entire world.

Tropical river fisheries valuation: background papers to a global synthesis

This report is a compilation of five regional reviews that document the global status of tropical rivers and inland fisheries in three continents: Latin America, Africa and Asia. It explores the role of ‘valuation’ methods and their contribution to policy-making and river fishery management. From the compilation, the best estimate of the global value of inland fisheries for those three continents is US$ 5.58 billion (gross market value), which is equivalent to 19 percent of the current value of annual fish exports from developing countries (US$ 29 billion) for 2004. The compilation shows that there is a general shortage of information on inland fisheries, especially derived from conventional economic valuation methods, though information from economic impact assessment methods and socio-economic and livelihood analysis methods is more widely available. The status of knowledge about the impact of changes in river management on the value of tropical river fisheries is weak and patchy. Although the impacts of large dams on the hydrology, ecology and livelihood support attributes of tropical rivers are well-recognized, there have been only few valuation studies of these issues. The document highlights the need for further valuation studies of tropical river and inland fisheries in developing countries. It underlines how vital it is for policy-makers and other stakeholders to understand the importance of these natural resources in order to make appropriate decisions concerning their role in development policy and illustrates why capacity building in valuation should become a major priority for agencies concerned with fisheries management and policy-making.

Biogeographic analysis of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve: Examining the refuge effect following reserve establishment

Almost 120 days at sea aboard three NOAA research vessels and one fishing vessel over the past three years have supported biogeographic characterization of Tortugas Ecological Reserve (TER). This work initiated measurement of post-implementation effects of TER as a refuge for exploited species. In Tortugas South, seafloor transect surveys were conducted using divers, towed operated vehicles (TOV), remotely operated vehicles (ROV), various sonar platforms, and the Deepworker manned submersible. ARGOS drifter releases, satellite imagery, ichthyoplankton surveys, sea surface temperature, and diver census were combined to elucidate potential dispersal of fish spawning in this environment. Surveys are being compiled into a GIS to allow resource managers to gauge benthic resource status and distribution. Drifter studies have determined that within the ~ 30 days of larval life stage for fishes spawning at Tortugas South, larvae could reach as far downstream as Tampa Bay on the west Florida coast and Cape Canaveral on the east coast. Together with actual fish surveys and water mass delineation, this work demonstrates that the refuge status of this area endows it with tremendous downstream spillover and larval export potential for Florida reef habitats and promotes the maintenance of their fish communities. In Tortugas North, 30 randomly selected, permanent stations were established. Five stations were assigned to each of the following six areas: within Dry Tortugas National Park, falling north of the prevailing currents (Park North); within Dry Tortugas National Park, falling south of the prevailing currents (Park South); within the Ecological Reserve falling north of the prevailing currents (Reserve North); within the Ecological Reserve falling south of the prevailing currents (Reserve South); within areas immediately adjacent to these two strata, falling north of the prevailing currents (Out North); and within areas immediately adjacent to these two strata, falling south of the prevailing currents (Out South). Intensive characterization of these sites was conducted using multiple sonar techniques, TOV, ROV, diver-based digital video collection, diver-based fish census, towed fish capture, sediment particle-size, benthic chlorophyll analyses, and stable isotope analyses of primary producers, fish, and, shellfish. In order to complement and extend information from studies focused on the coral reef, we have targeted the ecotone between the reef and adjacent, non-reef habitats as these areas are well-known in ecology for indicating changes in trophic relationships at the ecosystem scale. Such trophic changes are hypothesized to occur as top-down control of the system grows with protection of piscivorous fishes. Preliminary isotope data, in conjunction with our prior results from the west Florida shelf, suggest that the shallow water benthic habitats surrounding the coral reefs of TER will prove to be the source of a significant amount of the primary production ultimately fueling fish production throughout TER and downstream throughout the range of larval fish dispersal. Therefore, the status and influence of the previously neglected, non-reef habitat within the refuge (comprising ~70% of TER) appears to be intimately tied to the health of the coral reef community proper. These data, collected in a biogeographic context, employing an integrated Before-After Control Impact design at multiple spatial scales, leave us poised to document and quantify the postimplementation effects of TER. Combined with the work at Tortugas South, this project represents a multi-disciplinary effort of sometimes disparate disciplines (fishery oceanography, benthic ecology, food web analysis, remote sensing/geography/landscape ecology, and resource management) and approaches (physical, biological, ecological). We expect the continuation of this effort to yield critical information for the management of TER and the evaluation of protected areas as a refuge for exploited species. (PDF contains 32 pages.)

Information requirements for effective fisheries planning in Nigeria

An examination is made of the current situation regarding fisheries planning in Nigeria, identifying areas where information is required to correct existing imbalances. The artisanal fishery, industrial/commercial fishery and aquaculture sectors and requirements for a comprehensive development policy in each sector are detailed