BACKGROUND Vegetarians are likely to have lower intakes of preformed docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) than omnivorous populations who consume fish and animal products. As such, vegetarian populations have omega-3 indices up to 60% lower than those who consume marine products. Algae, the primary producer of DHA in the marine food chain, offer an alternative source of DHA for those who do not consume m...

Fish reproductive biology plays an important role for fishery management, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to compile all available information and analyze reproduction patterns of marine fishes in three Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs): North, East, and South Brazil Shelves. We tested the hypothesis that the onset and duration of spawning season differ among these th...

The total concentrations and chemical forms of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in the surface sediments of the Laizhou Bay and the surrounding marine area of the Zhangzi Island (hereafter referred to as Zhangzi Island for short) were obtained and multiple indices and guidelines were applied to assess their contamination and ecological risks. The sedimentary conditions were fine in both...

Three multi-metric benthic macrofauna indices were used to assess marine benthic ecological quality status (EcoQS) according to the European Water Framework Directive, in seven pollution gradients mainly, western Scandinavia. The impacts included organic load, hypoxia, metals, urban effluents and physical disturbance. The indices responded in a similar threshold fashion, irrespective of impact ...

Many important questions in ecology and conservation biology require assessment of the body condition of animals, which is often achieved using mass and length data. However, fully quantitative condition indices can be difficult to obtain in the field for large taxa like marine turtles. Therefore, rapid visual-assessment techniques for categorizing condition can be useful for field studies. Her...

Serial assessments of neurocognitive functioning in athletes with concussion are commonly used for return to play decisions. This study provides reliable change indices (RCIs) for computerized tests from 40 NCAA Division I collegiate athletes that suffered a sports-related concussion. The normative data that resulted from the RCIs and subsequent analyses of differences between improved and not ...