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The conservation benefits of marine reserves are well established but their contribution to adjacent fisheries via spillover is less certain and context‐dependent. Theoretical predictions do not always match empirical evidence from individual reserves, so carefully designed studies are essential for accurately assessing spillover and its contribution to fisheries. Biomass buildup within reserves, and spillover from reserve borders, also usually takes time to develop. In 2003, a network of no‐take marine reserves was established in the Northern Channel Islands (NCI) of southern California (CA) to conserve biodiversity and to eventually enhance local fisheries through spillover of larvae, juveniles, and adults. The reserve network impacted the local CA spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus) fishery by removing about 20% of fishing grounds in the NCI. In 2008, a collaborative fisheries research effort detected substantial lobster population increases within reserves, and an indication of the possible spillover of adult lobsters across reserve borders. To estimate whether and how much populations within reserves, and spillover from reserves, have increased through time, we repeated the sampling program 10 years later in 2018 at two of the three original reserves. Scientific trapping was conducted prior to the fishing season along a spatial gradient beginning deep within the reserves to reference sites located outside (≥2 km) of reserve borders. Results showed that legal‐sized lobster abundance in traps (catch per unit effort) increased by 125%–465% deep inside reserves, and by 223%–331% at sites near to reserve borders, and by nearly 400% just outside of reserve borders over the 10‐year period, thus indicating a substantial increase in spillover across reserve borders. A similar pattern was observed in lobster biomass caught in traps at the two reserves. This study demonstrates how spillover scales with biomass buildup and that collaborative fisheries research can be used to assess the efficacy of marine reserves as fishery management tools worldwide.

Winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) once supported robust commercial and recreational fisheries in the New York (USA) region, but since the 1990s populations have been in decline. Available data show that settlement of young-of-the-year winter flounder has not declined as sharply as adult abundance, suggesting that juveniles are experiencing higher mortality following settlement. The recent increase of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) abundance in the New York region raises the possibility that new sources of predation may be contributing to juvenile winter flounder mortality. To investigate this possibility we developed and validated a method to specifically detect winter flounder mitochondrial control region DNA sequences in the gut contents of blue crabs. A survey of 55 crabs collected from Shinnecock Bay (along the south shore of Long Island, New York) in July, August, and September of 2011 showed that 12 of 42 blue crabs (28.6%) from which PCR-amplifiable DNA was recovered had consumed winter flounder in the wild, empirically supporting the trophic link between these species that has been widely speculated to exist. This technique overcomes difficulties with visual identification of the often unrecognizable gut contents of decapod crustaceans, and modifications of this approach offer valuable tools to more broadly address their feeding habits on a wide variety of species.

Winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) once supported robust commercial and recreational fisheries in the New York (USA) region, but since the 1990s populations have been in decline. Available data show that settlement of young-of-the-year winter flounder has not declined as sharply as adult abundance, suggesting that juveniles are experiencing higher mortality following settlement. The recent increase of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) abundance in the New York region raises the possibility that new sources of predation may be contributing to juvenile winter flounder mortality. To investigate this possibility we developed and validated a method to specifically detect winter flounder mitochondrial control region DNA sequences in the gut contents of blue crabs. A survey of 55 crabs collected from Shinnecock Bay (along the south shore of Long Island, New York) in July, August, and September of 2011 showed that 12 of 42 blue crabs (28.6%) from which PCR-amplifiable DNA was recovered had consumed winter flounder in the wild, empirically supporting the trophic link between these species that has been widely speculated to exist. This technique overcomes difficulties with visual identification of the often unrecognizable gut contents of decapod crustaceans, and modifications of this approach offer valuable tools to more broadly address their feeding habits on a wide variety of species.

Sprint acceleration training has been highly researched and found that resistance sleds are one of the most effective tools for maximizing training adaptations. The resistance sled is being used by many of the world leaders in athletic training but has yet to be researched for the kinetic and kinematic effects some of its key components cause. The aim of this study was to better understand the effects of the attachment height on the sled and sled rail material on the user’s trunk lean and jerking effect caused by the sled. This was done because it was hypothesized that the attachment height has a direct impact on trunk lean and sled rail material has a direct impact on jerk caused by the sled. To test these assumptions, experimental and theoretical data was collected using a single subject study analyzing trunk lean and acceleration values of the sled. The results presented a significant decrease in trunk lean (more horizontal line of action) when the attachment height was raised. Additionally, no significant values were attained to support the assumption that by modifying the sled rail material, jerking effects will decrease. The results indicate that there is a direct correlation between attachment height and trunk lean. More research is needed to better understand the relationship between sled rail material and jerk.

The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is one of the most widely used tools in assessing depression, however only a handful have looked at the BDI as it pertains to those suffering from chronic pain. Previous studies have shown a two-factor structure with the first factor being affect and the second somatic. Data were collected from a sample of 54 patients with sickle cell disease (27 men and women) from the Duke Pain Center, and a sample of 143 patients with sickle cell disease (69 men and 74 women) from a Jamaica Medical Center in the West Indies to assess indices of multi-dimension pain, demographics, and other health related inventories including the BDI. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted on the BDI from both samples. Results indicate that BDI has a two-factor solution but interestingly, the structure is reversed with somatic concerns being most prevalent and affect as a secondary component. These findings suggest that the somatic nature of the pain experience of SCD patients is constant and has been present indefinitely. This should allow the traditional treatment models that emphasize “fix the body” then “deal with the feelings” to be very effective, but in fact this is not true. Alternative strategies for treating patients with SCD and depression need to be further explored.

Globally, most fisheries are managed ineffectively. Model-based stock assessments that estimate biomass-based reference points work well for sustainably managing data-rich fisheries, but small-scale fisheries typically lack the data and/or resources needed to perform these assessments. These fisheries comprise the majority of fisheries worldwide, and they require alternative monitoring and assessment methods to better understand fishing’s impact on targeted populations and to enhance the sustainability of fished stocks. In this dissertation, I focus on the application of alternative monitoring and assessment techniques to improve understanding and management of two invertebrate fisheries in the Santa Barbara Channel (SBC) in southern California (CA). The first two chapters focus on the multispecies southern CA rock crab fishery, which experienced rapid growth from 2010 to 2015 in the SBC. However, rock crab stock health has never been assessed because substantial biological data limitations exist, species-specific catch data is often unreported, and effort data is not available in this fishery. In the first chapter, I performed five data-limited assessments in an effort to identify any early warning signs of depletion in the fishery. Methods selection was supported by novel decision support software (FishPath) designed to facilitate the selection of context-appropriate assessment and management options for coastal fisheries. Expert opinion of stakeholders was vital when interpreting the suite of assessment results, which suggested that the rock crab fishery may be experiencing serial depletion, effort creep, and regional overfishing. The approach taken delivers a widely applicable means for improving understanding of fishery impacts in data limited circumstances, and I suggest a proactive management strategy to address warning signs of overfishing for southern CA rock crab. In chapter two, I employed a collaborative approach to further assess these early warning signs of overfishing. The rock crab fishery is managed as one assemblage despite life history differences across species and space, as well as spatial variation in fishing effort and species composition of the catch. Uniformly managing such a complex system renders it difficult to assess which rock crab stocks are most affected by the increased fishing pressure in the SBC. I tested for stock-specific declines by replicating a 2008 study in 2016-17, where local fishers collected key fishery-dependent indicator data across the SBC and I compared indicator values between studies. Spatially explicit multiple regression analyses revealed significant declines in male crab sizes, overall CPUE, and the proportion of crab retained (versus discarded) for all heavily targeted stocks. Evidence of decline varied with species, location, and sex, but overall, fishers caught fewer pounds of crab per trap in 2016-17 than in 2008. This work provides a foundation for an adaptive, spatially explicit, empirical management strategy for southern CA rock crab, which may help fishers to avoid financial loss and further depletion of certain stocks. It also demonstrates that relatively simple collaborative approaches can provide valuable insight into complex fishery systems in need of improved management. In chapter three, I focus on the use of no-take marine reserves as a tool for fisheries management. Marine reserves are a widely used and successful strategy for conserving biodiversity, but their ability to benefit adjacent fisheries through spillover of larvae, juveniles, and adults is often uncertain. Assessing fishery-related benefits of individual reserves requires careful evaluation on a case-by-case basis. This chapter examines spillover contributions from a no-take marine reserve network established in 2003 at the Northern Channel Islands, CA to the southern CA spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus) fishery. Collaborative fisheries research (CFR) in 2006-08 found considerable population increases within these reserves and potential spillover across reserve borders. I replicated the 2006-08 effort in two reserves in 2018 to quantify further accumulation of biomass inside the reserves, and to test whether spillover led to increased trap yield outside reserve borders following 15 years of reserve protection. The study design controlled for individual reserve characteristics, fisher behavior, and environmental conditions. I found that catch per trap increased 125–465% deep within reserves, 223–331% near outer reserve boundaries, and did not increase at control sites. Spillover therefore contributes to enhanced catch for the Southern CA spiny lobster fishery, and this study illustrates the utility of CFR for assessing the effectiveness of marine reserves as fishery management tools worldwide. As a whole, this dissertation exemplifies the use of collaborative, alternative approaches to stock monitoring and assessment that can be applied to improve the management of small-scale fisheries worldwide.

Effects of elongation on the radiation heat transport down a spheroidal cavity, located in a conducting solid with a diffusely reflecting cavity–solid interface, are examined. An effective conductivity λe and a void radiation conductivity λr are obtained as a function of cavity eccentricity α; and surface emissivity ε. To facilitate the calculations and produce readily applicable equations, a rigorous variational principle is used. Exact solutions are generated in the neighborhood of the spherical cavity (α2 → 0) for any ε > 0, a long needle‐shaped void (α2 → 1) for any ε > 0, and a perfect reflector (ε → 0) for arbitrary elongation (0 ≤α2 ≤ 1). Significant differences arising from the shape change are observed. The α2 → 0 edge demonstrates a linear increase in λr with ε. At the opposite edge α2 → 1 and positive ε, λr is a horizontal line independent of ε, much like the long cylinder, whose conductivity is a factor of 32/(9π) (= 1.13) larger. In the neighborhood of ε 0, λr is always zero for any 0 ≤ α2 ≤ 1. The emissivity slope for ε → 0 starts from unity at α2 = 0 and increases monotonically with elongation to a singularity 3π[16(1 – α2)]‐1 as α2 → 1 for the long needle.

Winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) once supported robust commercial and recreational fisheries in the New York (USA) region, but since the 1990s populations have been in decline. Available data show that settlement of young-of-the-year winter flounder has not declined as sharply as adult abundance, suggesting that juveniles are experiencing higher mortality following settlement. The recent increase of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) abundance in the New York region raises the possibility that new sources of predation may be contributing to juvenile winter flounder mortality. To investigate this possibility we developed and validated a method to specifically detect winter flounder mitochondrial control region DNA sequences in the gut contents of blue crabs. A survey of 55 crabs collected from Shinnecock Bay (along the south shore of Long Island, New York) in July, August, and September of 2011 showed that 12 of 42 blue crabs (28.6%) from which PCR-amplifiable DNA was recovered had consumed winter flounder in the wild, empirically supporting the trophic link between these species that has been widely speculated to exist. This technique overcomes difficulties with visual identification of the often unrecognizable gut contents of decapod crustaceans, and modifications of this approach offer valuable tools to more broadly address their feeding habits on a wide variety of species.