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.

Shifting paradigms in restoration of the world's coral reefs

Abstract: Many ecosystems around the world are rapidly deteriorating due to both local and global pressures, and perhaps none so precipitously as coral reefs. Management of coral reefs through maintenance (e.g., marine-protected areas, catchment management to improve water quality), restoration, as well as global and national governmental agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., the 2015 Paris Agreement) is critical for the persistence of coral reefs. Despite these initiatives, the health and abundance of corals reefs are rapidly declining and other solutions will soon be required. We have recently discussed options for using assisted evolution (i.e., selective breeding, assisted gene flow, conditioning or epigenetic programming, and the manipulation of the coral microbiome) as a means to enhance environmental stress tolerance of corals and the success of coral reef restoration efforts. The 2014–2016 global coral bleaching event has sharpened the focus on such interventionist approaches. We highlight the necessity for consideration of alternative (e.g., hybrid) ecosystem states, discuss traits of resilient corals and coral reef ecosystems, and propose a decision tree for incorporating assisted evolution into restoration initiatives to enhance climate resilience of coral reefs.

A Systematic Review of the Prevalence of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Stroke, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, Head Injury, and Pneumonia.

Abstract: Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a common condition after stroke, Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and can cause serious complications including malnutrition, aspiration pneumonia, and premature mortality. Despite its high prevalence among the elderly and associated serious complications, dysphagia is often overlooked and under-diagnosed in vulnerable patient populations. This systematic review aimed to improve understanding and awareness of the prevalence of dysphagia in susceptible patient populations. MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, PROSPERO, and disease-specific websites were systematically searched for studies reporting oropharyngeal dysphagia prevalence or incidence in people with stroke, PD, AD, traumatic brain injury, and community-acquired pneumonia, from the USA, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan, China, and regional studies. The quality of study descriptions were assessed based on STROBE guidelines. A total of 1207 publications were identified and 33 met inclusion criteria: 24 in stroke, six in PD, two in traumatic brain injury, and one in patients with traumatic brain injury. Dysphagia was reported in 8.1–80 % of stroke patients, 11–81 % of PD, 27–30 % of traumatic brain injury patients, and 91.7 % of patients with community-acquired pneumonia. No relevant studies of dysphagia in AD were identified. This review demonstrates that dysphagia is highly prevalent in these populations, and highlights discrepancies between studies, gaps in dysphagia research, and the need for better dysphagia management starting with a reliable, standardized, and validated method for oropharyngeal dysphagia identification.

Doom and boom on a resilient reef: climate change, algal overgrowth and coral recovery.

Abstract: Background: Coral reefs around the world are experiencing large-scale degradation, largely due to global climate change, overfishing, diseases and eutrophication. Climate change models suggest increasing frequency and severity of warming-induced coral bleaching events, with consequent increases in coral mortality and algal overgrowth. Critically, the recovery of damaged reefs will depend on the reversibility of seaweed blooms, generally considered to depend on grazing of the seaweed, and replenishment of corals by larvae that successfully recruit to damaged reefs. These processes usually take years to decades to bring a reef back to coral dominance. Methodology/Principal Findings: In 2006, mass bleaching of corals on inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef caused high coral mortality. Here we show that this coral mortality was followed by an unprecedented bloom of a single species of unpalatable seaweed (Lobophora variegata), colonizing dead coral skeletons, but that corals on these reefs recovered dramatically, in less than a year. Unexpectedly, this rapid reversal did not involve reestablishment of corals by recruitment of coral larvae, as often assumed, but depended on several ecological mechanisms previously underestimated. Conclusions/Significance: These mechanisms of ecological recovery included rapid regeneration rates of remnant coral tissue, very high competitive ability of the corals allowing them to out-compete the seaweed, a natural seasonal decline in the particular species of dominant seaweed, and an effective marine protected area system. Our study provides a key example of the doom and boom of a highly resilient reef, and new insights into the variability and mechanisms of reef resilience under rapid climate change.

Density-dependent spillover from a marine reserve: long-term evidence

Abstract: Spillover, the net export of adult fish, is one mechanism by which no-take marine reserves may eventually have a positive influence on adjacent fisheries. Although evidence for spillover has increased recently, mechanisms inducing movement of adult fish from reserve to fished areas are poorly understood. While density-dependent export is a reasonable expectation, given that density of fish targeted by fisheries should increase over time inside well-protected no-take reserves, no study to date has demonstrated development of the process. This study provides evidence consistent with density-dependent export of a planktivorous reef fish, Naso vlamingii, from a small no-take reserve (protected for 20 years) at Apo Island, Philippines. Mean density of N. vlamingii increased threefold inside the reserve between 1983 and 2003. Density approached an asymptote inside the reserve after 15–20 years of protection. Modal size in the reserve increased from 35 to 45 cm total length (TL) over 20 years of protection. In addition, both density and modal size increased outside the reserve close to (200–300 m), but not farther from (300–500 m), the reserve boundary over the 20 years of reserve protection. Movement of adult N. vlamingii across the boundaries of the reserve was rare. Aggressive interactions among adult N. vlamingii were significantly higher (by 3.7 times) inside than outside the reserve. This suggests that density-dependent interactions were more intense inside the reserve. When interacting adults differed in size, the larger individual usually chased away the smaller one. Furthermore, the mean size of adult fish captured by experimental fishing decreased from 35-cm TL 50– 100 m outside the boundary, to 32-cm TL 250–300 m outside the boundary. This represents some of the best evidence available for density-dependent home-range relocation of fish from a no-take reserve.

The disappearing mammal fauna of northern Australia: context, cause, and response

Abstract: This article provides a context to, attempts an explanation for, and proposes a response to the recent demonstration of rapid and severe decline of the native mammal fauna of Kakadu National Park. This decline is consistent with, but might be more accentuated than, declines reported elsewhere in northern Australia; however, such a comparison is constrained by the sparse information base across this region. Disconcertingly, the decline has similarities with the earlier phase of mammal extinctions that occurred elsewhere in Australia. We considered four proximate factors (individually or interactively) that might be driving the observed decline: habitat change, predation (by feral cats), poisoning (by invading cane toads), and novel disease. No single factor readily explains the current decline. The current rapid decline of mammals in Kakadu National Park and northern Australia suggests that the fate of biodiversity globally might be even bleaker than evident in recent reviews, and that the establishment of conservation reserves alone is insufficient to maintain biodiversity. This latter conclusion is not new; but the results reported here further stress the need to manage reserves far more intensively, purposefully, and effectively, and to audit regularly their biodiversity conservation performance.