The presence and abundance of non-indigenous, and/or harmful or toxic dinoflagellate species in ballast sediments is examined for 65 cargo ships visiting ports on the East coast of Canada, as part of the Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network (CAISN). Ships visiting several ports in the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were sampled during three summers (2007, 2008, 2009). These ships included general cargo, bulk carriers and oil tankers, and they represented two major categories: ships undergoing continental and trans-oceanic voyages. Our results show that potentially viable dinoflagellate cysts are present in ballast sediments of all the categories of ships arriving to the East coast of Canada. The concentrations of all types of dinoflagellate cysts are higher in continental ships without ballast water exchange (BWE) than in ships with BWE, including trans-oceanic ships, which presented lower risk of introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) of dinoflagellates. We identified 14 non-indigenous dinoflagellate cyst species not yet reported from Canadian coasts, including 4 potentially harmful/toxic species, representing a possibility of new introductions. These introductions of toxic NIS could represent a problem for marine Canadian ecosystems, with potentially disastrous effects on fish communities, aquaculture and human health. This potential risk may be facilitated with climate change.
The Arctic is undergoing large-scale changes that are likely to accelerate in future decades such as introductions and expansions of invasive species. The Arctic is in a unique position to prevent new introductions and spread of existing invasive species by adopting policies and actions aimed at early detection. Responding to threats from invasive species to minimize impacts to ecosystems, communities, food security, and northern economies will necessitate extensive observations and monitoring, but resource managers often face decisions without having adequate data and resources at hand. Local observing programs such as citizen science and community-based monitoring programs present attractive methods for increasing observing capacity that span contributory and co-created approaches while raising awareness of an issue among stakeholders. While the co-created model has been widely applied and encouraged in the Arctic context, contributory citizen science programs offer an additional tool for addressing observing needs in the Arctic. We showcase three contributory citizen science programs related to freshwater, terrestrial, and marine environments that have supported the objectives of the Alaska Invasive Species Partnership. We discuss criteria for achieving ARIAS priority actions at the participant scale related to participants’ motivation and participants’ understanding of the value of their contributions, at the programmatic scale, for example promoting accessible, reciprocal, and transparent knowledge exchange, and at the policy and science scale where management action is data driven. The approach is aimed at successful integration of citizen science into Arctic policy making. Finally, we discuss challenges related to broader global data collection and future directions for contributory citizen science within Arctic observing networks.
BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests a rise in childhood disability rates across the United States with males and those with lower socioeconomic status bearing greater burden. We investigated childhood disability rates in the Mississippi Delta (MDR) and Appalachian regions (AR) in comparison to other parts of the country.
METHODS:Using data from the US Census Bureau, we calculated childhood disability rates by type and sex at national, regional, and subregional levels. We used risk ratios (RR) to compare childhood disability rates by sex, type, and region. We generated choropleth maps to represent the geographic distribution of disability.
RESULTS:Childhood disability was more prevalent, at the national level, among boys (6.64%) than girls (4.08%). Children in the MDR (boys = 8.60%; girls = 5.08%) and AR (boys = 7.81%; girls = 4.83%) had greater risk of disability than those elsewhere in the country (boys = 6.47%; girls = 3.98%), with rates generally higher in rural compared to urban areas in said regions.
CONCLUSIONS:Childhood disability affects rural areas of the country more extensively, with the MDR and AR affected to an even greater extent. School-based health centers, in particular, which are disproportionately located in urban areas, could benefit disabled children living in the MDR and AR.
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