The contribution of aquatic foods to human nutrient intake and adequacy in a small Island developing state.

Many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are experiencing a nutrition transition, wherein high prevalence of malnutrition co-occurs with growing rates of diet-related non-communicable diseases. Sustainably managed and accessible aquatic foods can serve as a rich and bioavailable source of nutrients, helping communities achieve healthy diets and meet key sustainable development goals (e.g.

Prevalence and spatio-demographic variability of nutrition-related health issues in Kiribati.

The nutrition transition in Small Island Developing States like Kiribati has led to a significant shift from traditional diets to processed, imported foods, resulting in a double burden of malnutrition. This study provides the first comprehensive assessment of nutrition-related health issues in Kiribati, analyzing data from a nationally representative household survey conducted in 2019-2020 (with over 12,000 participants). We examined anthropometric measures and biomarkers related to both under- and overnutrition across 21 islands, including obesity, anemia, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia.

Downscaling global reference points to assess the sustainability of local fisheries.

Multispecies coral reef fisheries are typically managed by local communities who often lack research and monitoring capacity, which prevents estimation of well-defined sustainable reference points to perform locally relevant fishery assessments. Recent research modeling coral reef fisheries globally has estimated multispecies sustainable reference points (i.e.

Managing nutrition-biodiversity trade-offs on coral reefs.

Coral reefs support an incredible abundance and diversity of fish species, with reef-associated fisheries providing important sources of income, food, and dietary micronutrients to millions of people across the tropics. However, the rapid degradation of the world's coral reefs and the decline in their biodiversity may limit their capacity to supply nutritious and affordable seafood while meeting conservation goals for sustainability. Here, we conduct a global-scale analysis of how the nutritional quality of reef fish assemblages (nutritional contribution to the recommended daily intake of calcium, iron, and zinc contained in an average 100 g fish on the reef) relates to key environmental, socioeconomic, and ecological conditions, including two key metrics of fish biodiversity.

Characterizing pathways of seafood access in small island developing states.

Ensuring healthy and sustainable food systems in increasing social, economic, and ecological change is a key global priority to protect human and environmental health. Seafood is an essential component of these food systems and a critical source of nutrients, especially in coastal communities. However, despite rapid transformations in aquatic food systems, and our urgent need to understand them, there is a dearth of data connecting harvested food production to actualized food consumption.

Sustainable reference points for multispecies coral reef fisheries.

Sustainably managing fisheries requires regular and reliable evaluation of stock status. However, most multispecies reef fisheries around the globe tend to lack research and monitoring capacity, preventing the estimation of sustainable reference points against which stocks can be assessed. Here, combining fish biomass data for >2000 coral reefs, we estimate site-specific sustainable reference points for coral reef fisheries and use these and available catch estimates to assess the status of global coral reef fish stocks.

Nutrient supply from marine small-scale fisheries.

Over 2 billion people are unable to access safe, nutritious and sufficient food year-round. While global fisheries are considered key in providing essential nutrients to hundreds of millions of people around the globe, the specific contribution of small-scale fisheries to the nutrient supply given other available food supplies is unknown. Here, we combined multiple global databases to quantify the importance of marine small-scale fisheries to national-level nutrient supply of coastal populations.

Study Protocol: Interactive Dynamics of Coral Reef Fisheries and the Nutrition Transition in Kiribati.

The Kiribati 2019 Integrated Household Income and Expenditure Survey (Integrated HIES) embeds novel ecological and human health research into an ongoing social and economic survey infrastructure implemented by the Pacific Community in partnership with national governments. This study seeks to describe the health status of a large, nationally representative sample of a geographically and socially diverse I-Kiribati population through multiple clinical measurements and detailed socio-economic surveys, while also conducting supporting food systems research on ecological, social, and institutional drivers of change. The specific hypotheses within this research relate to access to seafood and the potential nutritional and health benefits of these foods.

Linking key human-environment theories to inform the sustainability of coral reefs.

Effective solutions to the ongoing "coral reef crisis" will remain limited until the underlying drivers of coral reef degradation are better understood. Here, we conduct a global-scale study of how four key metrics of ecosystem states and processes on coral reefs (top predator presence, reef fish biomass, trait diversity, and parrotfish scraping potential) are explained by 11 indicators based on key human-environment theories from the social sciences. Our global analysis of >1,500 reefs reveals three key findings.

Meeting fisheries, ecosystem function, and biodiversity goals in a human-dominated world.

The worldwide decline of coral reefs necessitates targeting management solutions that can sustain reefs and the livelihoods of the people who depend on them. However, little is known about the context in which different reef management tools can help to achieve multiple social and ecological goals. Because of nonlinearities in the likelihood of achieving combined fisheries, ecological function, and biodiversity goals along a gradient of human pressure, relatively small changes in the context in which management is implemented could have substantial impacts on whether these goals are likely to be met.

Node self-connections and metapopulation persistence: reply to Saura (2018).

Saura () claims that studies using the Probability of Connectivity metric (PC) had already demonstrated the importance of including node self-connections in network metrics. As originally defined and used, PC cannot test the importance of self-connections. However, with key terms redefined, PC could be a useful tool in future work.

Network theory and metapopulation persistence: incorporating node self-connections.

Network analysis is gaining increasing importance in conservation planning. However, which network metrics are the best predictors of metapopulation persistence is still unresolved. Here, we identify a critical limitation of graph theory-derived network metrics that have been proposed for this purpose: their omission of node self-connections.