Stream segregation on a single electrode as a function of pulse rate in cochlear implant listeners.

While cochlear implants (CIs) usually provide high levels of speech recognition in quiet, speech recognition in noise remains challenging. To overcome these difficulties, it is important to understand how implanted listeners separate a target signal from interferers. Stream segregation has been studied extensively in both normal and electric hearing, as a function of place of stimulation. However, the effects of pulse rate, independent of place, on the perceptual grouping of sequential sounds in electric hearing have not yet been investigated. A rhythm detection task was used to measure stream segregation. The results of this study suggest that while CI listeners can segregate streams based on differences in pulse rate alone, the amount of stream segregation observed decreases as the base pulse rate increases. Further investigation of the perceptual dimensions encoded by the pulse rate and the effect of sequential presentation of different stimulation rates on perception could be beneficial for the future development of speech processing strategies for CIs.

Operationalizing the social-ecological systems framework to assess sustainability.

Environmental governance is more effective when the scales of ecological processes are well matched with the human institutions charged with managing human-environment interactions. The social-ecological systems (SESs) framework provides guidance on how to assess the social and ecological dimensions that contribute to sustainable resource use and management, but rarely if ever has been operationalized for multiple localities in a spatially explicit, quantitative manner. Here, we use the case of small-scale fisheries in Baja California Sur, Mexico, to identify distinct SES regions and test key aspects of coupled SESs theory. Regions that exhibit greater potential for social-ecological sustainability in one dimension do not necessarily exhibit it in others, highlighting the importance of integrative, coupled system analyses when implementing spatial planning and other ecosystem-based strategies.