Taxonomic status of Oryza glumaepatula Steud. I. Comparative morphological studies of New World diploids and Asian AA genome species

This study was carried out to clarify the taxonomic status of the New World diploid wild rice species, Oryza glumaepatula. The morphological variation of 26 diploid rice accessions in the International Rice Genebank at IRRI from South America and Cuba was compared with that of O. rufipogon and O. nivara from Asia. The 28 morphological characters included 16 spikelet and grain, eight leaf and culm, and four panicle characters, and were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis. The first two principal components accounted for 53.6% of the total variation. The first component was characterized by leaf and sterile lemma characters, 5-panicle dry weight, and grain length, and the second by anther length and its ratio to grain length, grain width, thickness, and 20-hulled grain weight. The characters effectively differentiated the wild rices from Surinam, French Guiana, and the lower Amazon River basin in Brazil, which showed high negative scores along both axes, from other accessions from Venezuela, Colombia, and Cuba, and the Asian species. Most of the accessions from South America are quite distinct from O. rufipogon, with which they have often been grouped as a single species in some taxonomic treatments. Groupings obtained from cluster analysis corresponded closely with the results from PCA. This study supports a distinct taxonomic status of a group of diploid wild rices from South America as O. glumaepatula.     

Policy and transparency gaps for oceanic shark and rays in high seas tuna fisheries

The incidental capture by marine fisheries as bycatch poses a global threat to pelagic sharks and rays. In large, industrialized fisheries that often operate in areas beyond national jurisdiction, at least 22 threatened species of pelagic elasmobranchs are caught as bycatch, representing the majority of megafauna bycatch in tuna fisheries. Here, we investigate (1) the efficacy of the current policies of the five tuna-related Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (tRFMOs) in mitigating elasmobranch bycatch, (2) data needed to better assess the amount and impact of elasmobranch bycatch and (3) the research necessary for the adoption of new policies. We found that tRFMOs have adopted 34 active policies that address pelagic elasmobranch bycatch. However, most policies (~76%, n = 26) are unlikely to avoid or minimize elasmobranch bycatch. Instead, most policies focus on mitigating post-capture mortality via remediation and requiring or encouraging research and data collection. Despite the emphasis on research mandates, we find that the existence of research was not related to policy adoption, suggesting that lack of research has not historically prohibited policymaking. Overall, we suggest that current research and data transparency, though perhaps not necessary for policy adoption, are not sufficient to adequately evaluate the population-level impacts of bycatch on many elasmobranch species in tRFMO-managed fisheries. Given these results, we recommend a precautionary approach that involves reforms in tRFMO voting processes to facilitate the adoption of binding requirements for elasmobranch catch limits, bycatch avoidance, pre- and post-capture handling and release modifications and protection of areas important to threatened pelagic elasmobranchs.     

Functionality Behavior of Raw and Extruded Corn Starch Mixtures

Relationships between the structural properties of raw and extruded corn starches and their functionalities were investigated using mixtures of these starch types. Extruded starch had higher water absorption and water solubility indices, and produced lower RVA viscosity profiles when compared with raw starch. It also had no differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) endotherm. Gel cohesiveness and adhesiveness of both starch types were similar, while extruded starch gels were softer. Extruded starch produced lower Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA) viscosity profiles than raw starch due to starch degradation during extrusion. The raw and extruded starch components had negative interaction coefficients, thus RVA viscosity parameters were lowered as the fraction of extruded starch in the mixture increased. Starch degradation in the extruded starch was a likely significant factor associated with low viscosity profiles. Mixtures of raw and extruded starches could be commercially prepared to obtain finished starch products with a range of functional attributes.     

Challenges to traditional management of connected ecosystems within a fractured regulatory landscape: A case study from southern New Zealand

1. Indigenous people often manage natural environments and resources based on landscape features. Rights and management responsibilities that follow pathways of water from their source in alpine areas down and ultimately into and out to sea are common. Contemporary frameworks that seek to support management of the environment, ecosystems and resources from marine areas to alpine zones are not so connected.
2. The East Otago Taiāpure and Waikouaiti Mātaitai are Customary Protection Areas (CPAs) that connect from fresh water into the marine environment. These CPAs fall within the cultural landscape of Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki, the hapū (sub‐tribe) of Ngāi Tahu, the iwi (tribe) who holds mana whenua (authority) over East Otago. CPAs may provide a way for iwi and hapū to manage a catchment as a whole, and to allow for traditional approaches to management within a contemporary legislative framework.
3. Despite local successes in restoring habitat, changing legislation, gaining knowledge and building community support for change, fundamental issues remain. Members of the East Otago Taiāpure Committee reflect on the last 15 years of management and identify constraints and enablers of community‐led management across inherently connected ecosystems using a kaupapa Māori approach. A compartmentalized view of connected ecosystems, complex legislation and government‐focused processes emerge as issues that make even seemingly simple issues complicated for community managers.
4. If locally led management models are to work, continuity of the relationships between government agencies and the community, an understanding of the long‐term and connected view of community groups, resourcing and support beyond the issue of the day, and clear pathways to affect change are key.
5. For true community‐led ecosystem management to be effective, we must focus on the needs and the perspectives of the community and move away from structures designed to ease the role of government in managing natural resources and the environment.