Related Environmental Factors Research Articles

청년층 스트레스 집단별 실내환경요소 치유효과 인식 차이

The purpose of this study is to identify the differences in the perception of the therapeutic effects of interior environmental factors in relation to the stress levels of young adults in their 20s, who are the generation experiencing the highest stress levels. This research seeks to provide evidence-based results for a user-centered therapeutic environmental plan. Five studies from abroad examining therapeutic environmental factors were analyzed and subsequently reorganized to be utilized as an investigative tool. The Psychosocial Wellbeing Index Scale-Short Form (PWI-SF) was employed to measure the stress levels of young adults in their 20s. Further, 411 adults in this age group completed an online questionnaire to assess their general perception of stressful environments and that of the therapeutic effects of interior environmental factors. The results are as follows: First, the group with higher stress levels had a higher level of stress regarding the environment and a lower level of satisfaction with space. Second, the higher the stress, the more the participants tended to perceive the therapeutic effects of interior environmental factors negatively. Third, regardless of their stress levels, the respondents noted that the protection of privacy and provision of personal territory helped alleviate stress. Fourth, different perceptions of therapeutic effects were revealed toward positive distraction and interaction-supporting space factors in relation to stress levels. Fifth, there was a high level of perception that factors related to humidity control, sanitation, and finishing materials did not help with stress relief.

An Assessment of Environmental Sustainability Factors in the Development of Tourism in Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island) of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The core intent of the paper is to study the different environmental sustainability factors in relation to the development of tourism in Swaraj Dweep of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The study is limited and based on the different perceptions of tourists concerning different environmental sustainability factors effecting tourism development on the island. Consequently, from various literatures, a listing of different environmental sustainability factors of tourism development has been carried out. A convenient sample survey has been conducted among 400 tourists who have visited the islands to find out their perceptions on the environmental factors. The average perception of tourists shows that “Protection of Natural Vegetation and Marine life” is the most important environmental sustainability factor for tourism development in the islands. The paired sample “t-test analysis” that has been applied by the researcher to find out the degree of influence amongst the different listed environmental sustainability factors in the course of the development of tourism on the islands. The outcome of this paper will help policymakers to devise and execute policies related to sustainable tourism development on the basis of tourists’ viewpoint in Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island) - one of the promising tourist destinations of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Can we trust a chatbot like a physician? A qualitative study on understanding the emergence of trust toward diagnostic chatbots

Technological advancements in the virtual assistants' domain pave the way to implement complex autonomous agents like diagnostic chatbots. Drawing on the assumption that chatbots are perceived as both technological tools and social actors, we aim to create a deep understanding of trust-building processes towards diagnostic chatbots compared to trust in medical professionals. We conducted a laboratory experiment in which participants interacted either with a diagnostic chatbot only or with an additional telemedicine professional before we interviewed them primarily on trust-building factors. We identified numerous software-related, user-related, and environment-related factors and derived a model of the initial trust-building process. The results support our assumption that it is equally essential to consider dimensions of physician and technology trust. One significant finding is that trust in a chatbot arises cognitively, while trusting a human agent is affect-based. We argue that the lack of affect-based trust inhibits the willingness to rely on diagnostic chatbots and facilitates the user's desire to keep control. Considering dimensions from doctor-patient trust, we found evidence that a chatbot's communication competencies are more important than empathic reactions as the latter may evoke incredibility feelings. To verify our findings, we applied the derived code system in a larger online survey.

The Situation-Specific Theory of Heart Failure Self-care: An Update on the Problem, Person, and Environmental Factors Influencing Heart Failure Self-care.

Many studies of heart failure (HF) self-care have been conducted since the last update of the situation-specific theory of HF self-care.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to describe the manner in which characteristics of the problem, person, and environment interact to influence decisions about self-care made by adults with chronic HF.MethodsThis study is a theoretical update. Literature on the influence of the problem, person, and environment on HF self-care is summarized.ResultsConsistent with naturalistic decision making, the interaction of the problem, person, and environment creates a situation in which a self-care decision is needed. Problem factors influencing decisions about HF self-care include specific conditions such as cognitive impairment, diabetes mellitus, sleep disorders, depression, and symptoms. Comorbid conditions make HF self-care difficult for a variety of reasons. Person factors influencing HF self-care include age, knowledge, skill, health literacy, attitudes, perceived control, values, social norms, cultural beliefs, habits, motivation, activation, self-efficacy, and coping. Environmental factors include weather, crime, violence, access to the Internet, the built environment, social support, and public policy.ConclusionsA robust body of knowledge has accumulated on the person-related factors influencing HF self-care. More research on the contribution of problem-related factors to HF self-care is needed because very few people have only HF and no other chronic conditions. The research on environment-related factors is particularly sparse. Seven new propositions are included in this update. We strongly encourage investigators to consider the interactions of problem, person, and environmental factors affecting self-care decisions in future studies.

Healthy ageing through participation in community situated activities: A scoping review of assessment instruments to support occupational therapy practice.

IntroductionThe occupational therapy profession has an essential role to play in healthy ageing that includes enabling participation, a construct that according to The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), incorporates an environmental context. Environmental barriers and enablers of participation in community‐situated activities for people over the age of 65 have been identified. To support practice, occupational therapists require assessments with demonstrated content validity including comprehensive coverage of the construct. The purpose of this scoping review study was to investigate what instruments are available to assess community participation for people over the age of 65 that included environmental factors.MethodsA scoping review of the literature was conducted, utilising the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping review methodology. The evidence source was review articles and inclusion criteria were that they reviewed instruments to assess participation that could be used for people over the age of 65. Items extracted from included instruments were evaluated against a preset list of community‐participation and environment categories that had been developed from the ICF.ResultsTwenty‐three review studies met inclusion criteria and from these 240 instruments were extracted. Twenty instruments were retained after exclusions and from these, 540 instrument items were extracted. Of these, 280 (47%) were coded as community‐participation, and only 20 (3.4%) as environment items. Fourteen of the instruments included no environment items.ConclusionsNo instrument was identified that comprehensively assessed community participation including the related environmental factors. Such an instrument is required to enable occupational therapy practitioners to support healthy ageing. The development of such an instrument will strengthen the profession's capacity to develop new ways of delivering services to older adults in line with emerging ways that aged care will be delivered and to advance its essential role in healthy ageing.

Learning Writing Experience: A Comparative Study Between Offline and Online Writing Learning in Junior High School

Many researchers have conducted research on online learning systems, but in Indonesia, online learning experiences occur more during the COVID-19 pandemic, including junior high school students. Students switch from learning writing in the classroom to distance learning (online). This resulted in students undergoing two different experiences in learning to write EFL. Seeing this, the authorsried to conduct research on the comparison of student satisfaction in learning writing between offline and online classes. The subjects of this study were 40 students of 8th-grade junior high school from UPT SMP Negeri 32 Gresik. The method was a mixed method using questionnaires and interviews. The results indicated that there were valid differences between offline and online students' writing learning satisfaction. From the independent sample T-Test, it is stated that the value of sig. tailed 2 is 0.000 <0.05, which means that the results were proved to be valid and showed a satisfaction score difference between learning writing in offline and online classes. The authors also describe the findings of the comparison into the following three factors, namely instructor-related factor, learner-related factor, and learning environment-related factor. The conclusion obtained is that students prefer to learn writing in offline classes, but the experience gained from learning writing online is very good and has its own satisfaction value.

A Systematic Review of Studies Describing the Effectiveness, Acceptability, and Potential Harms of Place-Based Interventions to Address Loneliness and Mental Health Problems.

Given the links between the built environment and loneliness, there is interest in using place-based approaches (addressing built environment characteristics and related socio-spatial factors) in local communities to tackle loneliness and mental health problems. However, few studies have described the effectiveness, acceptability, or potential harms of such interventions. This review aimed to synthesize the literature describing local community-based interventions that target place-based factors to address loneliness and mental health problems, informing the development of future public health approaches. We searched PsycINFO, Medline, and Embase using a structured search strategy to identify English-language studies evaluating the effectiveness, acceptability, and potential harms of place-based community interventions in addressing loneliness and mental health problems, both in general and clinical populations. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria, classified as evaluating provision of community facilities (such as clubhouses), active engagement in local green spaces, and housing regeneration. None were randomised trials. Quantitative and qualitative findings suggested promising effects and/or acceptability of six interventions, with minimal potential harms. There is a clear need for randomised trials or quasi-experimental studies of place-based interventions to describe their effectiveness in addressing loneliness and mental health problems, as well as complementary qualitative work investigating acceptability. This will inform future policy development.

Environmental Impact of Reading Literacy Development

Reading literacy is a basic requirement in the process of teaching and learning. It is one of the important skills needed to be mastered, along with writing skills, speaking skills, and listening skills. The term literacy is not a foreign thing in today’s world of education. In this paper, researchers will focus on reading literacy and the relation of environmental factors based on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory and literacy development. This theory introduces five systems in the ecology of human development, which are microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem. Through this paper, the researcher will try to understand how the environment surrounding the students’ lives will affect their psychological, personality and intellectual development. A good relationship between students and individuals around their surrounding will also make them psychologically balanced human beings. It can also help students to improve their academic performance. In conclusion, a positive environment will help students to achieve excellence, while a negative environment will hamper all such efforts.

Pandemic Pedagogy: Perception of Nursing students’: A cross-sectional study

Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic impacted across the globe disrupting all sectors including the higher education universities. Nursing institutions faced various challenges due to the pandemic restrictions, of which the abrupt shift of implementing the curriculum to online mode posed a major challenge to both the teachers and the students. To assess nursing students' perception of pandemic pedagogy and the challenges faced in online teaching-learning, this cross-sectional survey was conducted among 982 undergraduate nursing students from three Deemed to be University nursing institutions of Southern India. Institutional Ethics Committee approval (IEC 444/2020), permission from the heads of the institutions and study participant’s consent was obtained. Data was collected using an online survey questionnaire which had three domains, including student-related (19 items), teacher-related(5 items), and physical learning environment-related factors (11 items). The reliability was established using Cronbach’s Alpha (0.86). Explored the favouring, hindering factors and challenges faced during the emergency remote teaching with open-ended items. The overall mean score of perceptions on pandemic pedagogy was 89.03±10.03. Sixty-three percent of students had a total perception score above 87 which indicates that they preferred online learning during the pandemic whereas 45% preferred classroom learning. There was a significant difference in the total perception scores and the years of study( F (3, 978) = 4.96, p = 0.002). The factors favouring online learning were, an opportunity to view the recorded classes even after the live classes’ (n=165), and ‘more time to spend for learning activities’ (n=152). Factors that hindered the learning or the challenges faced were poor network connectivity (n=451), and lack of opportunity for group study (n=326). Students favoured online learning during the pandemic; however, there were several challenges. The educational institutions need to prepare themselves to overcome this and focus on a blended learning curriculum.

Effect of host and environment related factors on the distribution of the ectoparasites of the montane grass mouse Akodon montensis (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) in the Atlantic Forest ecoregion in northeastern Argentina

Akodon montensis is dominant in the Urugua-í Provincial Park in northeastern Argentina. We analyse the effect of variables related to the hosts and the environment on the parasitic burden (PB), and specific richness and mean abundance of Laelapidae mites (Mesostigmata) (SL, MAL). PB, SL and MAL were used with the logarithm transformed data in the analysis. One-way ANOVA was used to test differences between rodents of different sex in an exploratory analysis, and the Levene test was then used to confirm the homogeneity of variances. Using the same technique, differences in these parameters were tested between the states of sexual maturity. To test the effect of trapped site and its interaction with the sex of the rodent on MAL and SL, a two-way ANOVA was performed. The PAST software was used. The results support that the sex of the host would be the main factor that modulates PB and MAL, but not SL. The size and weight of the hosts (as a proxy for age), the reproductive stage and site of capture of the rodents, would not affect any of the variables analysed. The results obtained contribute to the comprehension of the epidemiological role of laelapids.

Physical working environment and welfare facilities related factors causing heavy workload: an empirical study among sanitary workers

This survey, quantitative and empirical based descriptive research has the objective of analysing the perception of sanitary workers working in private multi-speciality hospitals in Tirunelveli city of Tamil Nadu, India towards various physical working environment and welfare facilities related factors causing heavy workload. In order to achieve this objective, the study has sampled 80 respondents using both convenience and judgement sampling techniques; and from the chosen respondents the primary data were collected using schedule method with the help of questionnaire (translating the questions in respondents’ mother language, ‘Tamil’) along with interview. The secondary data were collected from journals, conference proceedings and government websites to add appropriate significance to the study. Percentage method has been administered to analyse both demographic characteristics of the study and perception of the respondents towards physical working environment and welfare facilities related factors causing heavy workload. The result of the analysis has discovered that majority of the respondents strongly agreed that the factors: location of the hospital and absence of transport facilities by the hospital, distance between departments and garbage storage, lack of technical support to transport garbage and disposal wastes, not allowed to use the life and need to use the steps compulsorily, complex layout of both the departments and the entire hospital, and size of the hospital are associated with heavy workload under physical working environment related factors. Similarly, majority of the respondents have agreed that the factors: absence of accommodation facilities to stay, absence of dedicated break areas and dress changing room, absence of convenience facilities (drinking water and separate toilet), absence of maternity related aids (crèche and feeding room), and no free lunch or no food with concession rate under welfare facilities related factors.

Community Structure of Eukaryotic Phytoplankton in Wetland of Golmud River and Its Lower Reaches and Relative Environmental Factors

Identification of the community structure of phytoplankton is an important link in studying the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. However, research on the community structure of phytoplankton in the Golmud area is very scarce at present. To explore the composition of phytoplankton in the Golmud area, eukaryotic phytoplankton and environmental parameters were sampled in September 2020. The composition and diversity of the eukaryotic phytoplankton community were determined by microscopic observation and Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that a total of 40 species of eukaryotic phytoplankton from 4 phyla were identified by microscopic observation, and 154 species of eukaryotic phytoplankton from 7 phyla were obtained by high-throughput sequencing, mainly Bacillariophyta and Chlorophyta. The dominant species were Dunaliella sp., Teleaulax sp., Parvodinium mixtum, and Lindavia radiosa. The eukaryotic phytoplankton density in summer was 0.09–12.08 × 105 cells/L, the total biomass was 0.002–0.55 mg/L, and the concentration of chlorophyll-a was 0.00–0.91 μg/L. Multiple α diversity indices showed that the diversity of water in different salinities was in the order of freshwater > brackish > saline. The β diversity results showed that the eukaryotic phytoplankton community composition was more similar in water with the same salinity. The redundancy analysis results of water with different salinities showed that environmental factors susc as salinity, total phosphorus concentration, and dissolved oxygen affected the eukaryotic phytoplankton community structure, among which salinity had the greatest influence.

Development of comprehensive service quality assessment framework for sidewalks considering desired and actual conditions

ABSTRACT Pedestrian level of service (PLOS) of sidewalks measures pedestrians’ perceived satisfaction for walking conditions. Available PLOS models consider vehicular traffic, elements of built environment and user’s perception of walking environment for PLOS assessment. The available PLOS models which use pedestrian perception on walking environment require extensive pedestrian survey and the model outcomes are subjective. Moreover these models do not consider pedestrian desires or expectations, which forms the basis of their perceived satisfaction. This work proposes a PLOS assessment framework for sidewalks which considers an exhaustive list of built and walking environment-related factors and the pedestrian perceived gap between desired and actual sidewalk conditions. The relative importance attached by pedestrians to each factor while assessing overall sidewalk condition was obtained through expert survey using Fuzzy Hierarchy Process. A framework for objectively assessing pedestrian perceived satisfaction level for different built and walking environment-related factors is also proposed in this work.

Body image, body composition and environment: do they affect adolescents' physical activity?

BackgroundMost adolescents are less physically active than recommended, despite the strong effort of various stakeholders to promote physical activity (PA). Body image and body composition may play an important role not only in directly facilitating adolescents’ PA but also in enabling environment-related factors. As evidence is lacking, we aimed to assess the associations of adolescents’ PA with body-related and environment-related factors, whether this differs by age and gender, and whether these factors interact.MethodsWe used data on 888 11- to 15-year-old adolescents (mean age = 13.5, 56% boys) from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study conducted in 2018 in Slovakia. We used multinomial logistic regression analysis to assess the association of adolescents’ PA with body-related factors (body image, body composition) and environment-related factors (PA-promoting environment, less leisure constraints), taking into account age and gender.ResultsAdolescents who perceived their body as not too fat were more likely to be physically very active rather than inactive [odds ratios (ORs)/95% confidence interval (CI) 2.15/1.44–3.22], and similarly those who were not overweight/obese (3.24/2.09–5.01) and perceived less leisure constraints (1.74/1.44–2.11). In older adolescents and in girls, the association of adolescents’ PA with body composition and environment-related factors was stronger. The association of adolescents’ PA with perceiving less leisure constraints was stronger among adolescents who did not perceive their body as too fat (OR/95% CI 1.98/1.26–3.14), and for those who were not overweight/obese (OR/95% CI 1.62/1.01–2.57).ConclusionAdolescents’ PA is associated with both body-related and environment-related factors. These associations are stronger in girls and older adolescents, if co-occurring.

Investigating food insecurity, health and environment-related factors, and agricultural commercialization in Southwestern Nigeria: evidence from smallholder farming households.

Hunger and food insecurity remained some of the serious challenges facing our world in present time with great concerns from Sub-Saharan Africa especially countries like Nigeria. This study investigates food insecurity (FI), health and environment-related factors, and agricultural commercialization among smallholder farm households. This study was conducted in Southwestern Nigeria utilizing cross-sectional survey data from 352 farm households and employed multi-stage sampling procedure. The household FI levels was determined using food insecurity access scale (HFIAS), crop commercialization index (CCI) was used to compute each household’s CCI (four levels), while ordered logit model was used to analyse factors influencing FI. Health and environment-related factors’ access were assessed across each FI category. The results indicated that about 13% of cassava farm households are non-participant in the marketing of their produce. The findings revealed that less than 20%, 30%. and 40% of households in all four FI categories had access to piped water, improved toilet facilities, and electricity respectively. The ordered logit regression analysis indicated that age, gender, education level, farm experience, nonfarm income, and ownership of motorcycle significantly influencing FI in the study areas. Therefore, this study stressed the implementation of policy actions capable of promoting rural infrastructure development that will lead to increased agricultural production, marketing, and improved quality of life of rural dwellers.

Abstract P070: Individual And Environmental Correlates Of Objectively Assessed Physical Activity Levels In Rural Residents

Introduction: Rural communities in the US face disproportionately higher rates of physical inactivity as well as coronary heart disease mortality, when compared to their urban and suburban counterparts. As such, increasing physical activity (PA) and reducing barriers to PA is critical in improving population health. Neighborhood characteristics have been shown to influence PA, but are understudied in rural communities. The current analysis: (1) describes PA patterns in rural mid-western communities, and (2) examines the associations of and interactions between individual and environmental correlates of objectively assessed weekly moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) minutes. Hypotheses: Overall, we expected low levels of weekly MVPA in rural residents; with lower levels anticipated in female, older, and low-income participants. We also expected positive associations of favorable perceptions of the neighborhood environment, trail use, and self-efficacy for PA with weekly MVPA. Finally, the test of interactions between intrapersonal and perceived environmental factors in relation to weekly MVPA is exploratory. Methods: Telephone surveys were conducted with 280 adults in 14 rural southeast Missouri communities, who were also asked to wear accelerometer devices for seven days. Participants were recruited via address-based sampling, and at local community events. Participants self-reported demographic information (age, sex, income), individual level behavioral factors (self-efficacy for PA, trail use) and neighborhood environment perceptions (indoor recreational access, safety from traffic, home neighborhood environment). Weekly MVPA minutes were assessed using the accelerometry data. Generalized linear mixed models using a negative binomial distribution were used examining associations of and interactions between individual characteristics and environmental correlates with weekly MVPA (Analyses were conducted using STATA V15). Results: Participants had a weekly average of 97 minutes MVPA, with 21% meeting PA guidelines. Increased age and being female were significantly associated with lower weekly MVPA. Additionally, increased self-efficacy and trail use were significantly associated with higher weekly MVPA. When exploring interaction effects, there was a significant interaction between gender and safety from traffic. For females, increased perceived safety from traffic was associated with lower MVPA. Conclusions: Rural residents have low levels of PA with less than a quarter meeting PA guidelines (75 minutes of vigorous and/or 150 minutes of moderate PA per week). Specifically, female residents face disproportionately lower levels of MVPA, with only 75 weekly minutes compared to 135 weekly minutes in males. Promoting trail use and targeting self efficacy for PA, may be effective strategies for increasing PA in rural residents.

Burnout among nurses working in COVID-19 pandemic

Nurses are at high risk of burnout because of the characteristic of their work that expends most of the time in delivering care to the patients. This study aimed to describe burnout among nurses working during corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) using nurses' demographic characteristics. This observational cross-sectional study involved 149 nurses from some hospitals and public health centers in Semarang using an online questionnaire from May 1 to June 15, 2020. Primary data were collected using Maslach Burnout Inventory including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. The study showed that 63.6% of nurses in the COVID-19 unit were at high levels of emotional exhaustion, 56.3% of them were at high levels of depersonalization, and 46.7% of them are at high levels of reduced personal accomplishment. Education was the only demographic factor that was significantly related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (p<0.05) with a weak correlation. The work environment and the reduced anxiety-related factors were not significantly correlated with the reduced personal accomplishment with a very weak correlation, while the nurses’ unit was significantly correlated with depersonalization (p<0.05) with a very weak correlation. The results found that burnout develops among nurses due to the work environment-related factors such as the unit of work, corona-infected patients, personal protective equipment usage, and the specific characteristics of the workplace. Nurses’ characteristics affect their ability to manage the workload even in a pandemic. Nurses need optimal supports to build their self-efficacy. The organizational efforts play an important role in strengthening nurses to prevent burnout.

Teacher stress and burnout in Australia: examining the role of intrapersonal and environmental factors

Concerns regarding high rates of teacher stress and burnout are present globally. Yet there is limited current data regarding the severity of stress, or the role of intrapersonal and environmental factors in relation to teacher stress and burnout within the Australian context. The present study, conducted over an 18-month period, prior to the COVID pandemic, surveyed 749 Australian teachers to explore their experience of work-related stress and burnout; differences in stress and burnout across different demographic groups within the profession; as well as the contributing role of intrapersonal and environmental factors, particularly, emotion regulation, subjective well-being, and workload. Results showed over half of the sample reported being very or extremely stressed and were considering leaving the profession, with early career teachers, primary teachers, and teachers working in rural and remote areas reporting the highest stress and burnout levels. Conditional process analyses highlighted the importance of emotion regulation, workload and subjective well-being in the development of teacher stress and some forms of burnout. Implications for educational practice are discussed.

The density threshold of Streptococcus agalactiae causing Streptococcosis in tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) cultured in freshwater ponds

Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) is one of the key aquaculture species in Vietnam. In freshwater environments, tilapia is most affected by S. agalactiae, but information on S. agalactiae density threshold causes disease in tilapia has been limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the S. agalactiae density threshold causing disease Streptococcosis on tilapia and some related environmental factors such as DO, temperature, pH, NH3, NO2-N. The results showed that S. agalactiaecauses tilapia had typical pathological manifestations when the density of S. agalactiae in fish liver and pond water fluctuated in the range of 1.1x107-2.9x108 cfu/g and 1.0x103-1.2x104 cfu/ml, respectively. Fish infected with S. agalactia showed no pathological symptoms when the S. agalactiae density in fish liver and water ranged from 1.3x103-9.6x105 cfu/g and 2.3x101-8.3x101 cfu/ml, respectively. The density of S. agalactiae in water, temperature, NH3, and pH affected the density of S. agalactiae in fish. The highest probability of disease occurrence was 98.3% when the density of S. agalactiae in water was ≥103 cfu/ml, followed by 71.4% when the temperature was ≥31oC, 25.9% when NH3>0.1 mg/l, 14.01% in case NO2-N>0.05 mg/l, and the lowest was 0.07% when DO<4 mg/l.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of the commercial seabob shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller, 1862) and physico-chemical parameters in a marine protected area: Changes in abundance and distribution after 20 years

Studies comparing parameters before and after the establishment of protected areas in coastal environments allow improvements of management plans and recognition of alterations due to natural or anthropic effects. This study compared spatio-temporal variation in abundance of Xiphopenaeus kroyeri in two equivalent periods. The first period was 12 years before the establishment of the Marine Protected Area and the second was 8 years after. The influence of environmental factors in relation to abundance was also analyzed. Samples were conducted monthly at Ubatuba Bay, Southeast Brazilian coast in period 1 (1995–1996) and 2 (2016–2017). Five transects were sampled using the same methodology, encompassing depths from 5 to 15 meters and areas sheltered or exposed to tidal waves and currents. Abundance varied seasonally. Higher values were obtained in December, March, and June of period 1 and in April and July of period 2. These months correspond to autumn and the beginning of winter. Seasonal fluctuations in abundance seems to be a response to higher and more stable salinity and the efficacy of the closed season (March–May), favoring a higher abundance in the autumn. There was no significant difference of X. kroyeri abundance between periods. Results indicate stability of population density through time in the region, suggesting conservation measurements are aiding species’ protection is spite of a larger fishing fleet. Our study reinforces the importance of measurements to mitigate fishery resources along with other non-commercial species important to preserve local biodiversity.