Publications by authors named "Gina Ralph"

Article Synopsis
  • Awareness is growing about the threats to marine invertebrates like abalones, which are vulnerable due to slow growth and dense population needed for reproduction, compounded by fishing pressures and climate change.
  • An IUCN Red List assessment revealed that 71.43% of commercially fished abalone species are classified as threatened, compared to only 15.15% of unexploited species, highlighting the severe impact of fishing practices.
  • The North American Pacific coast shows the highest concentration of threatened abalone species, while areas like South Africa and Australia face issues with poaching and mass mortalities, prompting measures like ranching and stock enhancement to address these challenges.
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Biodiversity loss is a major global challenge and minimizing extinction rates is the goal of several multilateral environmental agreements. Policy decisions require comprehensive, spatially explicit information on species' distributions and threats. We present an analysis of the conservation status of 14,669 European terrestrial, freshwater and marine species (ca.

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The scale and drivers of marine biodiversity loss are being revealed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment process. We present the first global reassessment of 1,199 species in Class Chondrichthyes-sharks, rays, and chimeras. The first global assessment (in 2014) concluded that one-quarter (24%) of species were threatened.

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A fundamental understanding of the impact of petrochemicals and other stressors on marine biodiversity is critical for effective management, restoration, recovery, and mitigation initiatives. As species-specific information on levels of petrochemical exposure and toxicological response are lacking for the majority of marine species, a trait-based assessment to rank species vulnerabilities to petrochemical activities in the Gulf of Mexico can provide a more comprehensive and effective means to prioritize species, habitats, and ecosystems for improved management, restoration and recovery. To initiate and standardize this process, we developed a trait-based framework, applicable to a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate species, that can be used to rank relative population vulnerabilities of species to petrochemical activities in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Knowledge products comprise assessments of authoritative information supported by standards, governance, quality control, data, tools, and capacity building mechanisms. Considerable resources are dedicated to developing and maintaining knowledge products for biodiversity conservation, and they are widely used to inform policy and advise decision makers and practitioners. However, the financial cost of delivering this information is largely undocumented.

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Article Synopsis
  • Multiple human impacts and bleaching events in the Gulf have led to significant declines in coral populations, especially in near-shore areas.
  • Research identifies coral-dependent fishes in the region and assesses their risk of extinction using IUCN criteria, finding that most are at elevated risk due to habitat degradation.
  • Effective management and protection of coral assemblages require cross-boundary collaboration among Gulf States to safeguard these vital ecosystems and their associated marine life.
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Parasites have developed myriad strategies to reach and infect their specific hosts. One of the most common mechanisms for non-vector transmitted parasites to reach the internal host environment is by ingestion during feeding. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of oyster host colonization by the alveolate Perkinsus marinus and focused on how oysters process infective waterborne P.

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