Within the geographic range of salmonid fishes, many apparently suitable rivers and streams are used for reproduction by some species but not others. This is widely known but seldom addressed, as ...studies often examine factors determining the distribution of one or only a few species. We examined physical factors associated with the spawning distribution of six native Pacific salmonids (pink, chum, coho, and Chinook salmon, bull trout, and steelhead) in the Skagit River basin, Washington. Annual mean temperature and catchment elevation had the strongest association with spawning assemblage distribution, but stream length, annual discharge, seasonal hydrology, and land use were also influential. Some species (e.g., pink and Chinook salmon) were more closely associated with each other and with common variables than others, and bull trout were the most distinctive. For interpretation, we investigated the roles of adult body size, timing of spawning, and duration of juvenile rearing, but none of these factors explained groupings in the data. Interspecific differences in habitat association remained, suggesting fundamental constraints on species distributions with implications for conservation and restoration.
Median timing of reproduction in salmonid populations is generally consistent among years, reflecting long-term patterns of natural selection from characteristics of the local environment. However, ...altered selection from factors related to climate change or human intervention might shift timing over generations, with implications for the population’s persistence. To study these processes, we modeled median timing of redd (nest) counts as an index of spawning timing by natural-origin Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Skagit River system in Washington State, USA. Over the last 2–6 decades, natural-origin salmon have been spawning later by 0.03–0.52 days·year
–1
, while a naturally spawning group that is influenced by strays from a hatchery has been spawning earlier by 0.19 days·year
–1
. Trends in the spawning timing of hatchery-origin strays may reflect opposing selection from the hatchery, where egg take for propagation has become earlier by 0.58 days·year
–1
. As mean August river temperatures have risen over the period of record, hatchery timing trends may be moving in the opposite direction from the plastic or adaptive patterns expressed by natural-origin fish.
OBJECTIVESAccess in the early years to integrated community-based services that are flexible in their approach, holistic and culturally strong is a proven critical predictor of a child's successful ...transition to school and lifelong education and employment outcomes, providing long-term wellbeing. Studies show that participation in maternal and child health (MCH) services in Victoria, Australia, improve health outcomes for children and families, particularly for Aboriginal families. Poorer health outcomes and lower participation rates for these families in MCH services suggest there is a need for an urgent review of the current service model. The purpose of this paper is to outline the Early Assessment Referral Links (EARL) concept that was trialled in the Glenelg Shire in Victoria, Australia (2009-2014) to improve the engagement of Aboriginal families in MCH services. METHODSDevelopment of EARL involved the core principles of appreciative inquiry to change existing patterns of conversation and give voice to new and diverse perspectives. A broad cross-section of the Aboriginal community and their early years health service providers were consulted and stakeholders recruited. Regular meetings between these stakeholders, in consultation with the Aboriginal community, were held to identify families that weren't engaged in MCH services and also to identify families who required further assessment, intervention, referral and/or support, ideally from the preconception or antenatal periods. Outcome measures used to evaluate the EARL concept include stakeholder meetings data, numbers of referrals, and participation rates of women and children in MCH services. RESULTSParticipation of Aboriginal women and children in MCH services was consistently above the state average during the pilot period, and significant numbers of Aboriginal women and children were referred to EARL stakeholders and other health professionals via EARL referrals. Additionally, there were increases in Aboriginal children being breastfed, fully immunised and attending Early Start Kindergarten. Identification of Aboriginal women and children at risk of vulnerability also improved with a dramatic increase in referrals for family violence and child protection, and decreased episodes of out-of-home care (OoHC) for children. CONCLUSIONSEvaluation of pilot outcomes indicate that the EARL concept improved women and children's access to and engagement with MCH services, and identified more families at risk of vulnerability than the traditional MCH service model, particularly for Aboriginal women and children.
Aims
To explore the impact of social determinants of health and health outcomes of Australian Indigenous women on their access and engagement in maternal child health services.
Design
A qualitative ...study, guided by the methodological principles of narrative inquiry integrated with the Indigenous philosophy ‘Dadirri’, and thematic analysis of the data.
Methods
Interviews of 35 Aboriginal mothers with children aged birth to 5 years in December 2021, to explore factors that influence their access and engagement in maternal child health services.
Results
Enabling factors that influence access and engagement of Indigenous women in maternal child health services include service models or interventions that are culturally sensitive and effective. Models that recognize the social determinants of health and well‐being, are timely, appropriate, culturally strong, flexible, holistic and effective community‐based services that support continuity of care and communication and encourage earlier identification of risk and further assessment, intervention, referral and support from the antenatal period to the child's fifth birthday (the first 2000 days), also support access and engagement. Barriers to access and engagement include an ineffective service model built on mistrust and poor communication from cultural differences between client and provider, a lack of continuity of care between services, limited flexibility of service delivery to suit individual needs and a healthcare model that does not recognize the importance of the social determinants of health and well‐being.
Conclusion
Nurses' understanding of Indigenous culture, and the impact of the social determinants of health and health outcomes on the well‐being of Indigenous women, is critical to improve their access and engagement in maternal child health services.
Impact
The findings of this research support the benefit of models or interventions that recognize the interactions and effects of the social determinants of health and health outcomes of Indigenous women and their healthcare access.
Patient or Public Contribution
Data from Indigenous mothers residing in the Glenelg Shire with at least one child aged birth to 5 years were collected through face‐to‐face, in‐depth semi‐structured discussion (‘yarning’) at the Dhauwurd Wurrung Elderly and Community Health Service and the Winda‐Mara Aboriginal Corporation Aboriginal and Community Controlled Health Organizations (ACCHO's) in December 2021, co‐facilitated by key staff from the ACCHO's. To ensure cultural safety and an Indigenous lens to the research, consultation with traditional owners residing in the Glenelg Shire was sourced to assist with the development of the research guide and to develop interview questions. A panel of experts was then consulted to clarify the relevance and clarity of each question/discussion prompt on the indicative interview schedule and establish face validity. The panel of experts comprised of the research project team, an experienced Maternal and Child Health (MCH) nurse researcher and key representatives from the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization (VACCHO) and the ACCHO sites. A small number of the target group, independent of the research, piloted the questions. Any valid suggestions from the expert panel and pilot testing were incorporated into the interview schedule design and clarifications were made to the questions/prompts where appropriate. Following full approval of the research, the Chief Executive Officers (CEO's) of the two ACCHO's were provided with an overview of the project and timeframes, and an Indigenous employee within each ACCHO was appointed by the CEO as a ‘site coordinator’ to act as the chief point of contact with the project team and assist with recruitment of discussion participants. Women who met the inclusion criteria were then invited to participate in the research. To ensure procedural and interpretative rigour, and to gain a deeper, comprehensive insight and understanding of First Nation women's access and engagement in MCH Services, the ACCHO Site Coordinators, key staff from VACCHO and an Indigenous academic consultant with research experience interviewing Indigenous mothers in ‘the first 1000 days’ of their child's life, also participated in the analysis of the data.
As they return to spawn and die in their natal streams, anadromous, semelparous fishes such as Pacific salmon import marine-derived nutrients to otherwise nutrient-poor freshwater and riparian ...ecosystems. Diverse organisms exploit this resource, and previous studies have indicated that riparian tree growth may be enhanced by such marine-derived nutrients. However, these studies were largely inferential and did not account for all factors affecting tree growth. As an experimental test of the contribution of carcasses to tree growth, for 20 yr, we systematically deposited all sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) carcasses (217,055 individual salmon) in the riparian zone on one bank of a 2-km-long stream in southwestern Alaska, reducing carcass accumulation on one bank and enhancing it on the other. After accounting for partial consumption and movement of carcasses by brown bears (Ursus arctos) and variation in salmon abundance and body size, we estimated that 267,620 kg of salmon were deposited on the enhanced bank and 45,200 kg on the depleted bank over the 20 yr, for a 5.9-fold difference in total mass. In 2016, we sampled needles of 84 white spruce trees (Picea glauca) the dominant riparian tree species, for foliar nitrogen (N) content and stable isotope ratios (δ15N), and took core samples for annual growth increments. Stable isotope analysis indicated that marine-derived N was incorporated into the new growth of the trees on the enhanced bank. Analysis of tree cores indicated that in the two decades prior to our enhancement experiment, trees on the south-facing (subsequently the depleted) bank grew faster than those on the north-facing (later enhanced) bank. This difference was reduced significantly during the two decades of fertilization, indicating an effect of the carcass transfer experiment against the background of other factors affecting tree growth.
Median bull trout Salvelinus confluentus breeding was 2 weeks earlier in a cool stream than in a proximate warmer stream, aligning with expectations for salmonids, followed by emergence timing ...calculated to be 6 weeks later in the cool stream than the warm stream. This pattern is consistent with both site‐specific adaptation and thermal spawning threshold hypotheses for life‐history event timing in this threatened species.
Migration of fishes between habitats influences population dynamics and ecological interactions. Some “partially migratory” populations include both migratory and non-migratory individuals, adding ...complexity to these dynamics. For partially migratory fishes with diadromous life histories, freshwater and marine habitats can differ greatly in availability of prey and physical conditions conducive to growth, predation risk, and exposure to fisheries and to contaminants. Therefore, understanding patterns of migratory behavior can inform population biology and conservation. Using otolith microchemistry, we describe observations of partial anadromy in a threatened, iteroparous salmonid species, bull trout (
Salvelinus confluentus
), in the Skagit River basin of Washington State, USA. We found that 59% of the fish sampled (> 338 mm fork length) in the river had not been to marine water, despite easy access. The other 41% had migrated to salt water, typically every year beginning at age 2 or 3. We also observed overwintering in marine waters by some individuals, and extended time in fresh water between otherwise annual migrations to marine waters in others. Additionally, there was no obligatory relationship between anadromy in mothers and their offspring. The facultative nature of migration in this species, and the lack of tight connection between maternal and offspring life history patterns are consistent with studies of other
Salvelinus
species but contrast with the more rigid controls on migration in semelparous salmonids.
Studies show that participation in maternal and child health (MCH) services improves health outcomes for First Nations families. However, accessing MCH services can be associated with fear, anxiety, ...and low attendance at subsequent appointments.
To identify the existing knowledge of models/interventions that support engagement of First Nations women with MCH services in the child's first five years.
An integrative review was undertaken of full-text, peer-reviewed journal articles and grey literature, which were analysed to identify barriers and enabling factors that influenced the engagement of First Nations families with MCH services.
Enabling factors that influenced the engagement with MCH services included service models/interventions that are timely and appropriate, and effective integrated community-based services that are flexible, holistic, culturally strong, and encourage earlier identification of risk and further assessment, intervention, referral, and support from the antenatal period to the child's fifth birthday. Barriers to engagement included inefficient communication, lack of understanding, cultural differences between the client and the provider, poor continuity of care, limited flexibility of service delivery to meet individual needs, and a health care model that does not recognise the importance of the social determinants of health and wellbeing.
Timely, effective, holistic engagement with First Nations women during their child's first 2000 days, which respects their culture and facilitates genuine partnerships built on co-design and shared decision making with the indigenous community, needs to be an essential part of the MCH service model if health care providers seek to practice within First Nations communities.
Improving engagement with MCH services is important for First Nations families, nursing practice, and public health.
Several conventional and recently available tools are available for an integrated control of European rabbits in Australia. We quantified the impact of the release of rabbit haemorrhagic disease ...virus K5 (RHDV K5, hereafter K5) and pindone (2‐pivalyl‐1,3‐indandione) baiting at 13 sites within Cudlee Creek fire scar in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. K5 release was followed by pindone baiting between December 2021 and March 2022; the application of both control methods followed industry best practice. We counted rabbits using spotlights before and after the application of both control methods. Fly samples and livers from dead rabbits were collected to track K5 transmission within and between sites, and to detect the natural circulation of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2). K5 release had minimal impact on rabbit populations, with treated populations increasing by a mean of 65.5% at 14 days post‐release and 27.9% at 77 days post‐K5 release across all sites, comparable to the changes at control sites. K5 detection in flies up to 77 days post its release, and its detection in rabbit livers, demonstrates that it can survive and transmit in the environment for prolonged periods and that it can lethally infect some rabbits. This limited impact of K5 is consistent with previous studies and may be explained by pre‐existing RHDV/RHDV2 immunity in the target populations or the presence of young rabbits with natural innate RHDV immunity. The detection of K5 in flies from control sites demonstrates that it was vectored beyond its release location. A reduction in rabbit counts post‐pindone baiting was observed at most treatment sites, with a mean population reduction of 36.6% across all sites. Landholders need to carefully and strategically plan their integrated rabbit control programmes. Not all combinations of controls, even if theoretically logical, achieve meaningful outcomes for rabbit management.
This study quantified the impact of the release of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus K5 (RHDV K5, K5 hereafter) and pindone baiting at 13 sites within Cudlee Creek fire scar in the Adelaide Hills region, South Australia. K5 release had minimal impact on rabbit populations, whereas a reduction in rabbit counts post‐pindone baiting was observed at most treatment sites. Landholders need to carefully and strategically plan their integrated rabbit control programmes as not all combinations of controls, even if theoretically logical, achieve meaningful outcomes for rabbit management.
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