Abstract Trends towards a more participatory agenda in policy-relevant science imply that the roles and work tasks of scientists become more multifaceted. In Europe, the increased use of multiannual plans creates a need for fishery scientists to contribute with their expertise in a wide variety of situations. We identify and characterize four roles for scientists
ABSTRACT Demersal predators can take advantage of a large pool of potential prey including benthic, demersal and pelagic species; therefore disentangling the variables that influence their diet is of key relevance for food web ecologists. To this aim, we analysed a large dataset of the stomach contents of European hake Merluccius merluccius, a top predator
Abstract An agent-based approach for modelling fisher behavior as a dynamic constraint resolution problem is proposed. The fishers are modeled as agents tasked with optimizing different multi-objective utility functions over a search space subjected to ecological, social, and political constraints derived from existing ecological and social models. The agents search for a satisfactory strategy by
ABSTRACT An on-line drilling system, the tutor-web, has been developed and used for teaching mathematics and statistics. The system was used in a basic course in calculus including 182 students. The students were requested to answer quiz questions in the tutor-web and therefore monitored continuously during the semester. Data available include grades on a status
Abstract Certain facets of the population dynamics of a species are hard to quantify, including stock structure. In particular, geographical boundaries of stocks or populations are often hard to estimate. This document discusses the application of a recent tagging method, applicable when breeding populations overlap on feeding grounds. The tagging efficiency is augmented with information
Abstract Research is described on a system for web-assisted education and how it is used to deliver on-line drill questions, automatically suited to individual students. The system can store and display all of the various pieces of information used in a class-room (slides, examples, handouts, drill items) and give individualized drills to participating students. The
Abstract Baleen and sperm whales, known collectively as the great whales, include the largest animals in the history of life on Earth. With high metabolic demands and large populations, whales probably had a strong influence on marine ecosystems before the advent of industrial whaling: as consumers of fish and invertebrates; as prey to other large-bodied
Abstract Marine mammals are an important part of ecosystems, and their trophic role and potential impact have been increasingly studied. One key question is how these large animals interact with fisheries or compete for similar resources. Consequently, some models once used only for fisheries management are now including pinnipeds and cetaceans. However, fish and marine
Abstract Background Ecological attributes estimated from food web models have the potential to be indicators of good environmental status given their capabilities to describe redundancy, food web changes, and sensitivity to fishing. They can be used as a baseline to show how they might be modified in the future with human impacts such as climate
Abstract The importance of an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management (EAFM) has been highlighted by the Directorate General MARE, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the International Water Center (IWC) and the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO), among others. FAO