The silver king in the Magic City: Observation of Atlantic tarpon Megalops atlanticus aggregation off Miami, Florida.

Due to the logistical and financial challenges in studying migratory marine species, there is relatively limited knowledge of the reproductive biology, behavior, and habitat use of many ecologically important marine megafauna species, including the Atlantic tarpon Megalops atlanticus. Here, we present a novel observation using consumer-grade aerial drones to observe, quantify the scale of, and classify behaviors within a previously unreported tarpon aggregation (N = 182) over the course of a 2-day fish aggregation event. After the event, we analysed and compared observed behaviors (e.

Evidence for gene flow from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean in bonnethead sharks ().

Gene flow is important for maintaining the genetic diversity required for adaptation to environmental disturbances, though gene flow may be limited by site fidelity in small coastal sharks. Bonnethead sharks ()-a small coastal hammerhead species-demonstrate site fidelity, as females are philopatric while males migrate to mediate gene flow. Consequently, bonnetheads demonstrate population divergence with distance, and Atlantic populations are genetically distinct from those of the Gulf of Mexico.

Public perception of an important urban estuary: Values, attitudes, and policy support in the Biscayne Bay-Miami Social Ecological System.

Understanding public perceptions, values, and preferences can be fundamental to effective conservation governance, management, and outreach. This is particularly true in socially and ecologically complex marine and coastal spaces, where many relevant questions remain. The social-ecological system of Biscayne Bay and Miami-Dade are on the frontier of problems that will soon engulf many coastal-urban systems.

"A prized Pacific shark": the rise and fall (and rise again…?) of the world's first ecolabel certified sustainable shark fishery.

There is intense public interest surrounding the conservation and management of sharks, including a debate over whether sustainable shark fisheries are possible or fishing bans on sharks are needed to conserve these animals. An important but rarely discussed data point in discussions of global shark fisheries is the case of British Columbia's fishery for Pacific spiny dogfish, Squalus suckleyi, which in 2011 became the first Marine Stewardship Council-certified shark fishery anywhere in the world. A few years later, despite reportedly healthy local stocks and thriving global markets for this shark, the fishery voluntarily withdrew its MSC certification, and in recent years more than 95% of the quota for Pacific spiny dogfish has been left in the water.

Perceptions of environmental problems and solutions in Florida across sectors: A survey of key stakeholders and the public.

We build on environmental attitude research to provide a foundation for considering policies making economic and environmental trade-offs. We conducted a large online survey of Florida public attitudes (n = 829), a state grappling with trade-offs between economic development and environmental quality. Findings provide the first baseline understanding of Floridian perceptions of relationships between key economic drivers and the environment.

A content analysis of 32 years of Shark Week documentaries.

Despite evidence of their importance to marine ecosystems, at least 32% of all chondrichthyan species are estimated or assessed as threatened with extinction. In addition to the logistical difficulties of effectively conserving wide-ranging marine species, shark conservation is believed to have been hindered in the past by public perceptions of sharks as dangerous to humans. Shark Week is a high-profile, international programming event that has potentially enormous influence on public perceptions of sharks, shark research, shark researchers, and shark conservation.

Agriculture and downstream ecosystems in Florida: an analysis of media discourse.

Environmental media discourse analysis allows researchers to explore thematic patterns in media coverage of environmental issues through qualitative observations and quantitative coding. In this paper, we review newspaper media coverage in Florida pertaining to the connections between agriculture, other non-point pollution sources, and downstream ecosystem health. We analyzed 930 articles from 2007 through 2019 to determine common patterns in how these issues are covered by Florida media, including patterns in the causes of environmental problems, potential solutions, and stakeholders mentioned.

In Its Southern Edge of Distribution, the Tawny Owl () Is More Sensitive to Extreme Temperatures Than to Rural Development.

Populations at the warm edge of distribution are more genetically diverse, and at the same time are more susceptible to climate change. Between 1987-1996, we studied Tawny Owls in Israel, the species' global southern edge of distribution and a country undergoing a rapid land cover transformation for over a century. To assess the potential impacts of land cover transformation, we modelled the species' most suitable habitat and climate and analyzed how climate and habitat affected the nesting success and prey selection.

The role and value of science in shark conservation advocacy.

Many species of sharks are threatened with extinction, and there has been a longstanding debate in scientific and environmental circles over the most effective and appropriate strategy to conserve and protect them. Should we allow for sustainable fisheries exploitation of species which can withstand fishing pressure, or ban all fisheries for sharks and trade in shark products? In the developing world, exploitation of fisheries resources can be essential to food security and poverty alleviation, and global management efforts are typically focused on sustainably maximizing economic benefits. This approach aligns with traditional fisheries management and the perspectives of most surveyed scientific researchers who study sharks.

Household Composition, Income, and Body Mass Index Among Adults by Race/Ethnicity and Sex.

Objective: Disparities in obesity highlight the need for an examination of determinants that may be uniquely experienced by race and sex. An understudied factor is household composition with the potential for variation in its obesogenic impacts. This study examines the association between household composition and body mass index (BMI) among Black, Hispanic, and White adults and determines whether income moderates these associations.

Amphipithecine primates are stem anthropoids: cranial and postcranial evidence.

Since their discovery in 1927, the phylogenetic status of the Myanmar amphipithecines has been highly debated. These fossil primates are recognized either as anthropoids or as adapiform strepsirrhines. This uncertainty was largely the consequence of a limited fossil record consisting mostly of jaw fragments but lacking the critical cranial elements that might resolve this debate.

Inaccurate and Biased Global Media Coverage Underlies Public Misunderstanding of Shark Conservation Threats and Solutions.

Sharks are a taxon of significant conservation concern and associated public interest. The scientific community largely supports management policies focusing on sustainable fisheries exploitation of sharks, but many concerned members of the public and some environmental advocates believe that sustainable shark fisheries cannot and do not exist and therefore support total bans on all shark fisheries and/or trade in shark products. The belief that sustainable shark fisheries cannot and do not exist persists despite scientific evidence showing that they can and do, and are important to livelihoods.

Ethically Managing Risks in Global Health Fieldwork: Human Rights Ideals Confront Real World Challenges.

Global health is an interdisciplinary field engaged with implementation of the human right to health, yet ethical dimensions of the on-the-ground realities of this work have been underexplored. Fieldwork in global health produces knowledge through both primary research and the lessons of practical program implementation. Much of this essential knowledge, which often documents health disparities and other human rights abuses, arises from work in dangerous contexts.

Bioarchaeological evidence of care provided to a physically disabled individual from Pachacamac, Peru.

This paper presents a bioarchaeology of care case study based on the skeletonized remains of an elderly female with a congenital condition that compromised both mobility and independence in undertaking certain basic tasks, and which generated requirements for long-term care in the form of both direct support and accommodation. The remains show evidence of bilateral cervical ribs, severe osteoarthritic destruction in the right shoulder joint, and a healed skull trepanation. The remains were recovered from a cemetery dating to the initial part of the Late Intermediate Period at the archaeological site of Pachacamac, Peru.

A prospective cohort study of meat and fish consumption and endometriosis risk.

Background: Only 2 case-control studies have examined the associations between consumption of meat products and endometriosis risk with inconsistent results. Consumption of animal products has the potential to influence endometriosis risk through effects on steroid hormones levels.

Objective: We sought to determine whether higher intake of red meat, poultry, fish, and seafood are associated with risk of laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis.

Freedom of choice, expressions of gratitude: Patient experiences of short-term surgical missions in Guatemala.

Lack of surgical care has been highlighted as a critical global health problem, and short-term medical missions (STMMs) have become a de facto measure to address this shortfall. Participation in STMMs is an increasingly popular activity for foreign medical professionals to undertake in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where their clinical skills may be in short supply. While there is emerging literature on the STMM phenomenon, patient experiences of surgical missions are underrepresented.

Peak expiratory flow, breath rate and blood pressure in adults with changes in particulate matter air pollution during the Beijing Olympics: a panel study.

Objectives: This study aims to examine whether changes in short-term exposures to particulate matter are associated with changes in lung function, breath rate, and blood pressure among healthy adults and whether smoking status modifies the association.

Methods: We took advantage of the artificially controlled changes in air pollution levels that occurred during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China and conducted a panel study of 201 Beijing residents. Data were collected before, during, and after the Olympics, respectively.

Aging in cultural context and as narrative process: conceptual foundations of the anthropology of aging as reflected in the works of Margaret Clark and Sharon Kaufman.

Although the discipline of anthropology has much to contribute to the understanding of the nature and experience of aging, it is a relative latecomer to gerontology. After briefly discussing why this is the case, the authors discuss the contributions of two anthropologists who brought a substantive anthropological voice to gerontological discussion of aging. Examining the "ancestral roots" of the anthropology of aging, we spotlight the intellectual heritage of Margaret Clark, arguably the "mother" of this anthropological subfield, and that of Sharon Kaufman, her student, colleague, and a pioneer in her own right.