James Cook University

About: James Cook University is a education organization based out in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Coral reef. The organization has 9101 authors who have published 27750 publications receiving 1032608 citations. The organization is also known as: JCU.

The innate immune repertoire in Cnidaria - ancestral complexity and stochastic gene loss

Abstract: Background Characterization of the innate immune repertoire of extant cnidarians is of both fundamental and applied interest - it not only provides insights into the basic immunological 'tool kit' of the common ancestor of all animals, but is also likely to be important in understanding the global decline of coral reefs that is presently occurring. Recently, whole genome sequences became available for two cnidarians, Hydra magnipapillata and Nematostella vectensis, and large expressed sequence tag (EST) datasets are available for these and for the coral Acropora millepora.

Variations in the Galactic star formation rate and density thresholds for star formation

Abstract: The conversion of gas into stars is a fundamental process in astrophysics and cosmology. Stars are known to form from the gravitational collapse of dense clumps in interstellar molecular clouds, and it has been proposed that the resulting star formation rate is proportional to either the amount of mass above a threshold gas surface density, or the gas volume density. These star formation prescriptions appear to hold in nearby molecular clouds in our Milky Way Galaxy's disc as well as in distant galaxies where the star formation rates are often much larger. The inner 500 pc of our Galaxy, the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), contains the largest concentration of dense, high-surface density molecular gas in the Milky Way, providing an environment where the validity of star formation prescriptions can be tested. Here, we show that by several measures, the current star formation rate in the CMZ is an order-of-magnitude lower than the rates predicted by the currently accepted prescriptions. In particular, the region 1 degrees several 10(3) cm(-3)) molecular gas - enough to form 1000 Orion-like clusters - but the present-day star formation rate within this gas is only equivalent to that in Orion. In addition to density, another property of molecular clouds must be included in the star formation prescription to predict the star formation rate in a given mass of molecular gas. We discuss which physical mechanisms might be responsible for suppressing star formation in the CMZ.

Socioeconomic Factors that Affect Artisanal Fishers’ Readiness to Exit a Declining Fishery

Abstract: The emerging world crisis created by declining fish stocks poses a challenge to resource users and managers. The problem is particularly acute in poor nations, such as those in East Africa, where fishing is an important subsistence activity but high fishing intensity and use of destructive gear have resulted in declining catches. In this context developing effective management strategies requires an understanding of how fishers may respond to declines in catch. We examined the readiness of 141 Kenyan fishers to stop fishing under hypothetical scenarios of declines in catch and how socioeconomic conditions influenced their decisions. As expected, the proportion of fishers that would exit the fishery increased with magnitude of decline in catch. Fishers were more likely to say they would stop fishing if they were from households that had a higher material style of life and a greater number of occupations. Variables such as capital investment in the fishery and the proportion of catch sold had weak, nonsignificant relationships. Our finding that fishers from poorer households would be less likely to exit a severely declining fishery is consistent with the literature on poverty traps, which suggests the poor are unable to mobilize the necessary resources to overcome either shocks or chronic low-income situations and consequently may remain in poverty. This finding supports the proposition that wealth generation and employment opportunities directed at the poorest fishers may help reduce fishing effort on overexploited fisheries, but successful interventions such as these will require an understanding of the socioeconomic context in which fishers operate.