MATTHEW T. CRAIG results 52
· Newest (Page 1/3, per page 25)
Author: MATTHEW T. CRAIG ×Clear All Filters
Search Results
Bottom‐tow gear fisheries (trawls and dredges) produce ~24 million mt of harvest annually, representing a globally important animal‐sourced food system. While many are currently sustainably managed, growing concern over the potential for ecosystem impacts from bottom‐tow gears has increased pressure to improve these fisheries. We assembled an international working group of > 30 contributors, including fishing industry particip...
First direct evidence of spawning by Japanese sardine Sardinops melanosticta (Temminck and Schlegel) in the eastern Pacific OceanNARA Subscribed
In 2022 the presence of the Japanese sardine, Sardinops melanosticta (Temminck and Schlegel), was detected in the eastern Pacific Ocean, far outside its known western North Pacific range. The species was collected along with the Pacific sardine, Sardinops sagax (Jenyns), which is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Here, we report the first direct evidence for spawning by S. melanosticta in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Navigating Through the Noise: A Roadmap for Combining Interdisciplinary High Dimensional Data in Biological SystemsNARA Subscribed
The explosion of different “omic” technologies and methods has led to many advances in ecology, evolution, and developmental biology, identifying countless novel phenotypes and molecular variants of interest as well as establishing new biological principals. The logical next step is to integrate these methods to deepen our understanding of these phenotypes and uncover biologically meaningful relationships, yet the pace of this...
We examined the age and growth of the Pacific goliath grouper ( Epinephelus quinquefasciatus ) from 210 samples collected from the main fish markets in Panama and Colombia. Ages from otoliths ranged from young‐of‐the‐year to 13 years, predominantly between 1 and 4 years. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters were L∞ = 207 cm, k = 0.13 year −1 and t 0 = −1.87 years. Instantaneous mortality rates ( Z ) were estimated at 36% in C...
Aim The urgency for remote, reliable and scalable biodiversity monitoring amidst mounting human pressures on ecosystems has sparked worldwide interest in Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM), which can track life underwater and on land. However, we lack a unified methodology to report this sampling effort and a comprehensive overview of PAM coverage to gauge its potential as a global research and monitoring tool. To address this...
Remotely Sensed Fire Heterogeneity and Biomass Recovery Predicts Empirical Biodiversity ResponsesNARA Subscribed
Aim To compare field‐based evidence of plant and animal responses to fire with remotely sensed signals of fire heterogeneity and post‐fire biomass recovery. Location South‐eastern Australia; New South Wales. Time Period 2019–2022. Major Taxa Studied A total of 982 species of plants and animals, in eight taxonomic groups: amphibians, birds, fish, insects, mammals, molluscs, plants and reptiles. Methods We collated 545,223 plant...
Prey targeted by lactating Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in Erebus Bay, AntarcticaNARA Subscribed
Female Weddell seals ( Leptonychotes weddellii ) display a mixed capital-income breeding strategy, losing up to 40% of their body mass between birthing and weaning their pups. How and when they regain energy stores, however, remains to be fully explored. To better understand the foraging by lactating Weddell seals, we fitted time-depth recorders and head-mounted cameras on 26 seals in Erebus Bay, Ross Sea, for ~ 5 days in Nove...
Recent increases in frequency and intensity of warm water anomalies and marine heatwaves have led to shifts in species ranges and assemblages. Genomic tools can be instrumental in detecting such shifts. In the early stages of a project assessing population genetic structure in Pacific Sardine ( Sardinops sagax ), we detected the presence of Japanese Sardine ( Sardinops melanosticta ) along the west coast of North America for t...
‘Drivin' with your eyes closed’: Results from an international, blinded simulation experiment to evaluate spatial stock assessmentsNARA Subscribed
Spatial models enable understanding potential redistribution of marine resources associated with ecosystem drivers and climate change. Stock assessment platforms can incorporate spatial processes, but have not been widely implemented or simulation tested. To address this research gap, an international simulation experiment was organized. The study design was blinded to replicate uncertainty similar to a real‐world stock assess...
Attaching cameras to marine mammals allows for first-hand observation of underwater behaviours that may otherwise go unseen. While studying the foraging behaviour of 26 lactating Weddell seals ( Leptonychotes weddellii ) in Erebus Bay during the austral spring of 2018 and 2019, we witnessed three adults and one pup investigating the cavities of Rossellidae glass sponges, with one seal visibly chewing when she removed her head...
Data capturing multiple axes of tree size and shape, such as a tree's stem diameter, height and crown size, underpin a wide range of ecological research—from developing and testing theory on forest structure and dynamics, to estimating forest carbon stocks and their uncertainties, and integrating remote sensing imagery into forest monitoring programmes. However, these data can be surprisingly hard to come by, particularly for...
Ecosystem engineers often exert strong effects on the recruitment of other species through modification of the local abiotic and biotic environment. In 2015, artificial reefs in eastern Tasmania (− 42.64693, 148.01481) spanning seven different patch sizes (0.12–7.68 m 2 ) and supporting four densities of transplanted kelp ( Ecklonia radiata at 0, 4.1, 8.2 and 16.4 kelp m −2 ) were used to determine how the patch size and densi...
Prolonging survival in good health is a fundamental societal goal. However, the leading determinants of disability-free survival in healthy older people have not been well established. Data from ASPREE, a bi-national placebo-controlled trial of aspirin with 4.7 years median follow-up, was analysed. At enrolment, participants were healthy and without prior cardiovascular events, dementia or persistent physical disability. Disab...
Offshore platforms, subsea pipelines, wells and related fixed structures supporting the oil and gas (O&G) industry are prevalent in oceans across the globe, with many approaching the end of their operational life and requiring decommissioning. Although structures can possess high ecological diversity and productivity, information on how they interact with broader ecological processes remains unclear. Here, we review the curren...
Genome-wide markers reveal differentiation between and within the cryptic sister species, sunset and vermilion rockfishNARA Subscribed
The vermilion rockfish complex, which consists of the cryptic sister species vermilion and sunset rockfish, is one of the most valuable recreational fisheries on the U.S. West Coast. These species are currently managed as a single complex, and because of uncertainty surrounding the relative contribution of each species within existing data sources, the stock status of each species is not fully known. A reliable and cost-effect...
Testing a global standard for quantifying species recovery and assessing conservation impactNARA Subscribed
Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a “Green List of Species” (now the IUCN Green Status of Species). A draft Green Status framework for assessing species’ progress toward recovery, published in 2018, proposed 2 separate but interlinked components: a standardized method (i.e., measurement aga...
Co‐operation in the management of shared fish stocks is often necessary to achieve sustainability and reduce uncertainty. The United States of America (USA) and Mexico share a number of fish stocks and marine ecosystems, while there is some binational co‐operation in scientific research, unilateral management decisions are generally the rule. We present a case study using the giant sea bass ( Stereolepis gigas , Polyprionidae)...
Collisions with buildings cause up to 1 billion bird fatalities annually in the United States and Canada. However, efforts to reduce collisions would benefit from studies conducted at large spatial scales across multiple study sites with standardized methods and consideration of species‐ and life‐history‐related variation and correlates of collisions. We addressed these research needs through coordinated collection of data on...