title: Fake webs, real results: Artificial spiderwebs for eDNA collection

authors: McGaughran, Angela

subjects: artificial spiderwebs

abstract: Environmental DNA (eDNA)-based detection is a valuable biomonitoring tool that is well-developed for water, soil, and scat substrates. Emergent research is focusing on air as a new substrate, including opportunistically collected natural spiderwebs which may have negative impacts on local spider diversity. Here, we design novel artificial spiderwebs and compare their effectiveness with natural spiderwebs and aquatic eDNA approaches for biomonitoring of terrestrial taxa. A total of 33 eDNA samples (18 water, 6 natural spiderwebs, 9 artificial spiderwebs) were collected from a rural property in Palmerston North (Aotearoa New Zealand). Three amplicons (COI, 16S, and ITS) were sequenced for each sample to evaluate the performance of each collection method for detecting invertebrates, vertebrates, and plant/algal taxa. The 16S amplicon performed best in terms of sequencing output and consistency, as well as species accumulation curves, with the COI dataset performing worst for all eDNA collection methods. Alpha diversity varied by amplicon and collection method in both value and consistency among samples, with 16S and ITS retrieving higher diversity for water samples and both artificial and natural webs outperforming water in fungal COI diversity recovery. Ordination plots showed clear differences in sample similarity across biomes, with all three amplicons showing differentiation between water and either web type. However, specialist species were recovered by each of the two web types, with artificial webs consistently recovering more unique diversity than natural webs. Our results suggest that artificial spiderwebs could be a promising new method in the eDNA biomonitoring toolbox, providing biodiversity data that complements water-based collections and, depending on the research question, may serve as a sufficient proxy for natural spiderweb studies.

text: Fake webs, real results: Artificial spiderwebs for eDNA collection Environmental DNA (eDNA)-based detection is a valuable biomonitoring tool that is well-developed for water, soil, and scat substrates. Emergent research is focusing on air as a new substrate, including opportunistically collected natural spiderwebs which may have negative impacts on local spider diversity. Here, we design novel artificial spiderwebs and compare their effectiveness with natural spiderwebs and aquatic eDNA approaches for biomonitoring of terrestrial taxa. A total of 33 eDNA samples (18 water, 6 natural spiderwebs, 9 artificial spiderwebs) were collected from a rural property in Palmerston North (Aotearoa New Zealand). Three amplicons (COI, 16S, and ITS) were sequenced for each sample to evaluate the performance of each collection method for detecting invertebrates, vertebrates, and plant/algal taxa. The 16S amplicon performed best in terms of sequencing output and consistency, as well as species accumulation curves, with the COI dataset performing worst for all eDNA collection methods. Alpha diversity varied by amplicon and collection method in both value and consistency among samples, with 16S and ITS retrieving higher diversity for water samples and both artificial and natural webs outperforming water in fungal COI diversity recovery. Ordination plots showed clear differences in sample similarity across biomes, with all three amplicons showing differentiation between water and either web type. However, specialist species were recovered by each of the two web types, with artificial webs consistently recovering more unique diversity than natural webs. Our results suggest that artificial spiderwebs could be a promising new method in the eDNA biomonitoring toolbox, providing biodiversity data that complements water-based collections and, depending on the research question, may serve as a sufficient proxy for natural spiderweb studies.

year: 2025-11

title: Enhancing the assessment of gratitude in Mindfulness Research: a Rasch Analysis of the 6-Item Gratitude Questionnaire

authors: Bartholomew, Emerson J.

abstract: Objectives
The 6-item gratitude questionnaire (GQ-6) is a widely used measure reported to be reliable and valid under traditional and Rasch investigations. However, recent investigations were inconsistent regarding the item structure of the GQ-6, with three investigations concluding that item 6 be removed. Previous Rasch analyses also did not produce interval conversion tables, a key benefit of this method which provides a means of improving scale accuracy and aligning the scale with the fundamental principles of measurement.

Methods
A Partial Credit Rasch Model was used to evaluate psychometric properties of the GQ-6 using a combined sample of 663 respondents from the USA (n = 345) and India (n = 318).

Results
Initial analysis showed significant scale dysfunction, with overall and individual item misfit, local dependency, disordered response thresholds, instances of differential item functioning by age and nationality, along with poor reliability. Through the use of recent advances in the Rasch methodology, locally dependent items were combined into two super-items and the best fit to the Rasch model was obtained with evidence of strict unidimensionality, invariance, and strong reliability. Results indicate the GQ-6 is suitable for individual and group assessment, while also permitting the creation of an ordinal-to-interval conversion algorithm which has been provided here.

Conclusions
This study confirmed the robust psychometric properties of the GQ-6 after minor modifications and provides a means for clinicians and researchers to improve the accuracy of this widely used measure in mindfulness research and other relevant studies without modification of its original response format.

text: Enhancing the assessment of gratitude in Mindfulness Research: a Rasch Analysis of the 6-Item Gratitude Questionnaire Objectives
The 6-item gratitude questionnaire (GQ-6) is a widely used measure reported to be reliable and valid under traditional and Rasch investigations. However, recent investigations were inconsistent regarding the item structure of the GQ-6, with three investigations concluding that item 6 be removed. Previous Rasch analyses also did not produce interval conversion tables, a key benefit of this method which provides a means of improving scale accuracy and aligning the scale with the fundamental principles of measurement.

Methods
A Partial Credit Rasch Model was used to evaluate psychometric properties of the GQ-6 using a combined sample of 663 respondents from the USA (n = 345) and India (n = 318).

Results
Initial analysis showed significant scale dysfunction, with overall and individual item misfit, local dependency, disordered response thresholds, instances of differential item functioning by age and nationality, along with poor reliability. Through the use of recent advances in the Rasch methodology, locally dependent items were combined into two super-items and the best fit to the Rasch model was obtained with evidence of strict unidimensionality, invariance, and strong reliability. Results indicate the GQ-6 is suitable for individual and group assessment, while also permitting the creation of an ordinal-to-interval conversion algorithm which has been provided here.

Conclusions
This study confirmed the robust psychometric properties of the GQ-6 after minor modifications and provides a means for clinicians and researchers to improve the accuracy of this widely used measure in mindfulness research and other relevant studies without modification of its original response format.

year: 2022

title: Whāia ngā pae o te māramatanga: our horizons of pursuit

authors: Ruru, Jacinta

abstract: In Aotearoa New Zealand there is a growing recognition that Māori engagement and leadership across the science and research sector is essential for addressing national challenges and realising the distinctive contribution of mātauranga Māori to innovation and knowledge creation (Ministry of Education 2013a). To reap the benefits of the nation’s changing demographics and to centre Te Tiriti o Waitangi in society, it is critical that Māori are engaged in research and decision making in all disciplines and in all sectors. This article considers how Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM), New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence, is contributing towards addressing and developing challenges and opportunities at the interface between mātauranga Māori and science. The article traces the contribution of NPM as a positive transformative contributor to research in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally

text: Whāia ngā pae o te māramatanga: our horizons of pursuit In Aotearoa New Zealand there is a growing recognition that Māori engagement and leadership across the science and research sector is essential for addressing national challenges and realising the distinctive contribution of mātauranga Māori to innovation and knowledge creation (Ministry of Education 2013a). To reap the benefits of the nation’s changing demographics and to centre Te Tiriti o Waitangi in society, it is critical that Māori are engaged in research and decision making in all disciplines and in all sectors. This article considers how Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM), New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence, is contributing towards addressing and developing challenges and opportunities at the interface between mātauranga Māori and science. The article traces the contribution of NPM as a positive transformative contributor to research in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally

year: 2019