title: Limiting motorboat noise on coral reefs boosts fish reproductive success.

authors: Nedelec, Sophie L.

subjects: Animals

abstract: Anthropogenic noise impacts are pervasive across taxa, ecosystems and the world. Here, we experimentally test the hypothesis that protecting vulnerable habitats from noise pollution can improve animal reproductive success. Using a season-long field manipulation with an established model system on the Great Barrier Reef, we demonstrate that limiting motorboat activity on reefs leads to the survival of more fish offspring compared to reefs experiencing busy motorboat traffic. A complementary laboratory experiment isolated the importance of noise and, in combination with the field study, showed that the enhanced reproductive success on protected reefs is likely due to improvements in parental care and offspring length. Our results suggest noise mitigation could have benefits that carry through to the population-level by increasing adult reproductive output and offspring growth, thus helping to protect coral reefs from human impacts and presenting a valuable opportunity for enhancing ecosystem resilience.

text: Limiting motorboat noise on coral reefs boosts fish reproductive success. Anthropogenic noise impacts are pervasive across taxa, ecosystems and the world. Here, we experimentally test the hypothesis that protecting vulnerable habitats from noise pollution can improve animal reproductive success. Using a season-long field manipulation with an established model system on the Great Barrier Reef, we demonstrate that limiting motorboat activity on reefs leads to the survival of more fish offspring compared to reefs experiencing busy motorboat traffic. A complementary laboratory experiment isolated the importance of noise and, in combination with the field study, showed that the enhanced reproductive success on protected reefs is likely due to improvements in parental care and offspring length. Our results suggest noise mitigation could have benefits that carry through to the population-level by increasing adult reproductive output and offspring growth, thus helping to protect coral reefs from human impacts and presenting a valuable opportunity for enhancing ecosystem resilience.

year: 2022-05-20

title: The gender gap in access to finance: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

authors: Hewa-Wellalage, Nirosha Hewa

subjects: Social Sciences

abstract: Using gender as a theoretical framework, we analyse the dynamics of bank, micro and equity finance during the COVID-19 pandemic for a cross-country sample of 8,921 private firms. We provide evidence of slight female favouritism in the debt market during the pandemic. On average, female-owned/led firms access bank and micro finance more compared to their male counterparts as the main mechanism of dealing with cash flow shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find no evidence of gender differences in access to equity finance. The results are robust after controlling for a larger number of firm-specific characteristics and selection bias. We challenge the assumption of “gender-based discrimination” in the credit market, speculating that in the context of high uncertainty, prototypical forms of femininity may perhaps be slightly advantageous as financial institutions seek to hedge their risk by favouring more conservative borrowers.

text: The gender gap in access to finance: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic Using gender as a theoretical framework, we analyse the dynamics of bank, micro and equity finance during the COVID-19 pandemic for a cross-country sample of 8,921 private firms. We provide evidence of slight female favouritism in the debt market during the pandemic. On average, female-owned/led firms access bank and micro finance more compared to their male counterparts as the main mechanism of dealing with cash flow shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find no evidence of gender differences in access to equity finance. The results are robust after controlling for a larger number of firm-specific characteristics and selection bias. We challenge the assumption of “gender-based discrimination” in the credit market, speculating that in the context of high uncertainty, prototypical forms of femininity may perhaps be slightly advantageous as financial institutions seek to hedge their risk by favouring more conservative borrowers.

year: 2022-05-01

title: Wearing moko: Maori facial marking in today’s world

authors: Nikora, Linda Waimarie

subjects: moko

abstract: The early voyagers, missionaries, settlers all reacted to the pukanohi, to the marked faces of the Maori people, during the period of first contact, and the century following it. Their accounts are vivid, judgemental, revealing, telling us as much about them as they do about the people they described.
Curiosity and horror are mixed with a genuine
fascination; where sternly evangelizing words
failed, armed confrontation occurred; and we
now live with the results, te ao hou, a new world. In this world, today, wahine mau kauae, tangata mau moko, pukanohi – wearers – are speaking for themselves, about themselves, and commenting on how others view them. Unanimously, they insist that the decision to take the marking is about continuity, affirmation, identity and commitment. It is also about wearing those ancestors, carrying them into the future; as their moko become a companion, a salient being with its own life force, its own integrity and power, beyond the face.

text: Wearing moko: Maori facial marking in today’s world The early voyagers, missionaries, settlers all reacted to the pukanohi, to the marked faces of the Maori people, during the period of first contact, and the century following it. Their accounts are vivid, judgemental, revealing, telling us as much about them as they do about the people they described.
Curiosity and horror are mixed with a genuine
fascination; where sternly evangelizing words
failed, armed confrontation occurred; and we
now live with the results, te ao hou, a new world. In this world, today, wahine mau kauae, tangata mau moko, pukanohi – wearers – are speaking for themselves, about themselves, and commenting on how others view them. Unanimously, they insist that the decision to take the marking is about continuity, affirmation, identity and commitment. It is also about wearing those ancestors, carrying them into the future; as their moko become a companion, a salient being with its own life force, its own integrity and power, beyond the face.

year: 2004-04-04