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Universal Pattern (universal + pattern)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Global patterns of marine turtle bycatch

CONSERVATION LETTERS, Issue 3 2010
Bryan P. Wallace
Abstract Fisheries bycatch is a primary driver of population declines in several species of marine megafauna (e.g., elasmobranchs, mammals, seabirds, turtles). Characterizing the global bycatch seascape using data on bycatch rates across fisheries is essential for highlighting conservation priorities. We compiled a comprehensive database of reported data on marine turtle bycatch in gillnet, longline, and trawl fisheries worldwide from 1990 to 2008. The total reported global marine turtle bycatch was ,85,000 turtles, but due to the small percentage of fishing effort observed and reported (typically <1% of total fleets), and to a global lack of bycatch information from small-scale fisheries, this likely underestimates the true total by at least two orders of magnitude. Our synthesis also highlights an apparently universal pattern across fishing gears and regions where high bycatch rates were associated with low observed effort, which emphasizes the need for strategic bycatch data collection and reporting. This study provides the first global perspective of fisheries bycatch for marine turtles and highlights region,gear combinations that warrant urgent conservation action (e.g., gillnets, longlines, and trawls in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean) and region,gear combinations in need of enhanced observation and reporting efforts (e.g., eastern Indian Ocean gillnets, West African trawls). [source]

Personality traits of Russians from the observer's perspective

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 7 2009
Jüri Allik
Abstract Data were collected by the members of the Russian character and personality survey from 39 samples in 33 administrative areas of the Russian Federation. Respondents (N,=,7065) identified an ethnically Russian adult or college-aged man or woman whom they knew well and rated the target using the Russian observer rating version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, which measures neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Factor analyses within samples showed that the factor structure of an international sample combining data from 50 different cultures was well replicated in all 39 Russian samples. Sex differences replicated the known pattern in all samples, demonstrating that women scored higher than men on most of the neuroticism, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness facet scales. Cross-sectional analyses demonstrated consistent age differences for four factors: Older individuals compared to younger ones were less extraverted and open but more agreeable and conscientious. The mean levels of traits were similar in all 39 samples. Although in general personality traits in Russians closely followed the universal pattern, some reliable culture-specific effects were also found that future studies can help interpret. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Global Health Governance: Commission on Social Determinants of Health and the Imperative for Change

THE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS, Issue 3 2010
Ruth Bell
In May 2009 the World Health Assembly passed a resolution on reducing health inequities through action on the social determinants of health, based on the work of the global Commission on Social Determinants of Health, 2005,2008. The Commission's genesis and findings raise some important questions for global health governance. We draw out some of the essential elements, themes, and mechanisms that shaped the Commission. We start by examining the evolving nature of global health and the Commission's foundational inspiration , the universal pattern of health inequity and the imperative, driven by a sense of social justice, to make better and more equal health a global goal. We look at how the Commission was established, how it was structured internally, and how it developed external relationships , with the World Health Organization, with global networks of academics and practitioners, with country governments eager to spearhead action on health equity, and with civil society. We outline the Commission's recommendations as they relate to the architecture of global health governance. Finally, we look at how the Commission is catalyzing a movement to bring social determinants of health to the forefront of international and national policy discourse. [source]

Taking species abundance distributions beyond individuals

ECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 6 2009
Hélène Morlon
Abstract The species abundance distribution (SAD) is one of the few universal patterns in ecology. Research on this fundamental distribution has primarily focused on the study of numerical counts, irrespective of the traits of individuals. Here we show that considering a set of Generalized Species Abundance Distributions (GSADs) encompassing several abundance measures, such as numerical abundance, biomass and resource use, can provide novel insights into the structure of ecological communities and the forces that organize them. We use a taxonomically diverse combination of macroecological data sets to investigate the similarities and differences between GSADs. We then use probability theory to explore, under parsimonious assumptions, theoretical linkages among them. Our study suggests that examining different GSADs simultaneously in natural systems may help with assessing determinants of community structure. Broadening SADs to encompass multiple abundance measures opens novel perspectives in biodiversity research and warrants future empirical and theoretical developments. [source]