Translational ecology defines a collaborative effort among scientists and stakeholders to rapidly translate environmental problems into action. This approach can be applied in a fisheries management context when information needed to inform regulations is unavailable, yet conservation concerns exist. Our research uses a translational ecology framework to assess the stock status and develop research priorities for the Crevalle Jack (Caranx hippos) in the Florida Keys, U.S.A., a currently unregulated species. Interview data that compiled expert fishing guide knowledge were used to develop hypotheses tested using existing fisheries-dependent datasets to check for agreement among sources and assess the consistency of observed patterns. Six hypotheses were developed concerning the status and trends of the Crevalle Jack population in the Florida Keys, and four of these hypotheses received clear support, with agreement between guide observations and one or more of the fisheries-dependent datasets. The results of our study outline an effective translational ecology approach for recreational fisheries management designed to rapidly recognize potential management needs as identified by fishing guides, which allows for actionable science and proactive management.
This paper describes a way of solving the reservoirsimulation pressure equation using preconditionedconjugate gradients. The preconditioning is based onan approximate inverse using a diagonal ordering ofthe difference equations. The new method has been tested and comparedwith the strongly implicit procedure (SIP) on anumber of problems in both two and threedimensions. In two dimensions, it is generally faster thanSIP; in three dimensions, it is much slower than SIPwhen SIP works well but can be many times faster than SIP when SIP works poorly. Use of the new method generally does not requirethe selection of an iteration parameter, which is asignificant advantage over SIP. Furthermore, it ismuch more reliable than SIP. In other words, it is farless likely to be unable to solve a given problem thanSIP is. Introduction An IMPES reservoir simulator calculates pressuresonce each time step. These pressures are calculatedby solving a matrix of simultaneous equations;thereis one equation for each cell in the system. Usuallythe solution of this set of equations is not difficult, consuming perhaps 30% of the total computing timefor the time step. However, in a difficult problem, the computation time required for this solution mayincrease dramatically, making the reservoirsimulation calculations very expensive. Whether or not the pressure equations can besolved by direct methods depends on the bandwidth.In two dimensions, the bandwidth is proportional tothe smallest dimension; in three dimensions, it isproportional to the product of the smallest twodimensions. When the bandwidth is small, directmethods are quite economical. Unfortunately, most large problems have largebandwidths, so iterative methods are used to solvethem. The most popular of the iterative techniques isprobably SIP. SIP works well in many problems, particularly those which have relativelyhomogeneous reservoir properties, but it works verypoorly in others. Furthermore, its performancedepends on a sequence of iteration parameters, theselection of which is easy in some problems but cantake a lot of time and effort in others. Recently, there has been significant progress madein the application of the preconditioned conjugategradient method. This method is quite fast, and itsuse does not require the selection of iterationparameters. However, a barrier exists to itsapplication to reservoir simulation problems. The conjugate gradient method applies directly only tosymmetric matrices, and the reservoir simulationmatrix of pressure equations is nonsymmetric. In thenew method, this is overcome by solving a symmetricapproximation to the matrix of pressure equations.The pressures so obtained, though only approximate, are usually within the accuracy achieved by iterativemethods. If not, they can be refined by solving thesymmetric matrix again, as necessary. This disposesof the symmetry problem, permitting the use of theconjugate gradient method. SPEJ P. 345^
Seascape ecology, the marine-centric counterpart to landscape ecology, is rapidly emerging as an interdisciplinary and spatially explicit ecological science with relevance to marine management, biodiversity conservation, and restoration. While important progress in this field has been made in the past decade, there has been no coherent prioritisation of key research questions to help set the future research agenda for seascape ecology. We used a 2-stage modified Delphi method to solicit applied research questions from academic experts in seascape ecology and then asked respondents to identify priority questions across 9 interrelated research themes using 2 rounds of selection. We also invited senior management/conservation practitioners to prioritise the same research questions. Analyses highlighted congruence and discrepancies in perceived priorities for applied research. Themes related to both ecological concepts and management practice, and those identified as priorities include seascape change, seascape connectivity, spatial and temporal scale, ecosystem-based management, and emerging technologies and metrics. Highest-priority questions (upper tercile) received 50% agreement between respondent groups, and lowest priorities (lower tercile) received 58% agreement. Across all 3 priority tiers, 36 of the 55 questions were within a ±10% band of agreement. We present the most important applied research questions as determined by the proportion of votes received. For each theme, we provide a synthesis of the research challenges and the potential role of seascape ecology. These priority questions and themes serve as a roadmap for advancing applied seascape ecology during, and beyond, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
The production and transfer of biomass through trophic relationships is a core ecosystem function. The movement of energy through the food web is mediated by organisms operating in their niche space. For generalists, the size of this niche space is inherently plastic and changes in response to available food sources. Therefore, this relationship between ecosystem productivity and niche size is an important determinant of ecosystem function. Competing theories about the nature of this relationship predict that as productivity increases niche size will either increase as species capitalize on a general increase in resource availability or decrease as it becomes viable to focus on preferred production channels. Here, we test these two competing theoretical frameworks using a novel approach to determine trophic niche size using stable isotope analysis and hypervolume metrics. Resource use is quantified in two generalist fish species at three productivity levels in a seagrass ecosystem. Niche size of both species was inversely related to seagrass productivity, consistent with the hypothesis that increasing productivity allows species to focus on a narrower diet. This pattern describes the relationship between ecosystem production and niche size and provides an empirical ecological explanation for the resource maximization behaviors commonly observed in nature.
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