Michigan Sea Grant

IntroductionExperts have a well-established consensus regarding the detrimental effects of human activities on the environment, including extreme temperature events, rainfall variability, pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and flood occurrences—all of which significantly stress Earth’s natural systems. This study investigates the level of environmental concern among university students in Bangladesh, considering their socio-demographic factors.MethodsA comprehensive survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire targeting 380 final-year bachelor and master’s students from various academic disciplines at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) Sylhet, Bangladesh. The analysis involved variables such as gender, completion of university courses related to the environment or climate change, disciplinary background, and vulnerability to climate change or extreme weather events in their home locality. Relationships between these variables and the students’ environmental concerns were examined using cross-tabulation with the Chi-square test and mean difference with the ANOVA test.ResultsThe findings indicate a high level of knowledge and significant concern among students regarding environmental issues, with disciplinary background being the primary determinant of environmental concern level. Additionally, completing university courses on environmental or climate change topics and experiencing vulnerability to such events in one’s hometown are significant predictors of environmental concerns.DiscussionThis study highlights the growing environmental concerns among university students and underscores the need for further scientific research to comprehensively understand their impact on population dynamics.

Intraspecific interactions within predator populations can affect predator–prey dynamics and community structure, highlighting the need to better understand how these interactions respond to anthropogenic change. To this end, we used a half-century (1969–2018) of abundance and size-at-age data from Lake Erie’s walleye (Sander vitreus) population to determine how anthropogenic alterations have influenced intraspecific interactions. Before the 1980s, the length-at-age of younger walleye (ages 1 and 2) negatively correlated with older (age 3 +) walleye abundance, signaling a ‘density feedback’ in which intraspecific competition limited growth. However, after the early 1980s this signal of intraspecific competition disappeared. This decoupling of the density feedback was related to multiple anthropogenic changes, including a larger walleye population resulting from better fisheries management, planned nutrient reductions to improve water quality and transparency, warmer water temperatures, and the proliferation of a non-native fish with novel traits (white perch, Morone americana). We argue that these changes may have reduced competitive interactions by reducing the spatial overlap between older and younger walleye and by introducing novel prey. Our findings illustrate the potential for anthropogenic change to diminish density dependent intraspecific interactions within top predator populations, which has important ramifications for predicting predator dynamics and managing natural resources.

Over the past two decades, scientific research on the connections between the health and resilience of marine ecosystems, and human health, well-being, and community prosperity has expanded and evolved into a distinct "metadiscipline" known as Oceans and Human Health (OHH), recognized by the scientific community as well as policy makers. OHH goals are diverse, and seek to improve public health outcomes, promote sustainable use of aquatic systems and resources, and strengthen community resilience. OHH research has historically included some level of community outreach and partner involvement; however, the increasing disruption of aquatic environments and urgency of public health impacts calls for a more systematic approach to effectively identify and engage with community partners to achieve project goals and outcomes. Herein, we present a strategic framework developed collaboratively by community engagement personnel from the four recently established U.S. Centers for Oceans and Human Health (COHH). This framework supports researchers in defining levels of community engagement and in aligning partners, purpose, activities, and approaches intentionally in their community engagement efforts. Specifically, we describe: (1) a framework for a range of outreach and engagement approaches; (2) the need for identifying partners, purpose, activities, and approaches; and (3) the importance of making intentional alignment among them. Misalignment across these dimensions may lead to wasting time or resources, eroding public trust, or failing to achieve intended outcomes. We illustrate the framework with examples from current COHH case studies, and conclude with future directions for strategic community engagement in OHH and other environmental health contexts.

Freshwater systems worldwide are increasingly facing complex environmental issues. In the Laurentian Great Lakes region, harmful algal blooms are one example spanning agriculture, municipal drinking water, science and monitoring, water quality, and human health. Addressing these challenges and working across stakeholder interests requires sound science and additional skills that are not necessarily taught to graduate students in the apprentice research model. Effective stakeholder engagement and science communication are two areas consistent with emphases on broader impacts from the National Science Foundation, information and dissemination of the National Institutes of Health, and community engagement of the National Institutes of Health's Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The lack of training in these areas creates a gap for outreach, engagement, and science communication training to help enable researchers to translate important science to influential stakeholders, policy makers, and members of the public. To address this gap, we held a Community-Engaged Scholarship Workshop for graduate students and early career faculty. The workshop used an established community-engagement framework and was tailored to address the complex environmental issue of harmful algal blooms. It addressed four community-engagement competencies, including community-engaged partnerships, community-engaged teaching and learning, community-engaged research, and science communications. Here, we report evaluation results on changes in these four competencies and participant satisfaction. We conclude with a discussion of potential improvements and next steps for those seeking to host similar community-engaged trainings.

ABSTRACTAquatic invasive species (AIS) are often impossible to eradicate from an ecosystem once breeding populations are established and widely dispersed. After establishment, control programs become one of the only options available to managers. Agencies are using public outreach programs to increase public awareness and prevent new introductions. This study employed the contingent valuation method to quantify boaters’ willingness to pay (WTP) for public outreach programs. On average, Michigan boaters were willing to pay $20.68 per year for AIS-prevention education, and total economic benefits at the population level were calculated at US$16.74 million. From a cost–benefit perspective, WTP benefits far outweigh aggregated federal, state, and nonprofit costs by a wide margin. One-time exposure to AIS education materials and perception of AIS threats did not affect WTP. Long-term program impacts and the economic benefits of resulting behavior change are important areas for future research. Managerial and policy-related implications are also discussed.

Abstract Despite the societal relevance of sea‐level research, a knowledge‐to‐action gap remains between researchers and coastal communities. In the agricultural and water‐management sectors, intermediaries such as consultants and extension agencies have a long and well‐documented history of helping to facilitate the application of scientific knowledge on the ground. However, the role of such intermediaries in adaptation to sea‐level rise, though potentially of vital importance, has been less thoroughly explored. In this commentary, we describe three styles of science intermediation that can connect researchers working on sea‐level projections with decision‐makers relying on those projections. We illustrate these styles with examples of recent and ongoing contexts for the application of sea‐level research, at different spatial scales and political levels ranging from urban development projects to international organizations. Our examples highlight opportunities and drawbacks for the researchers involved and communities adapting to rising seas.

ABSTRACTThe United States Coast Guard has recently investigated new strategies to maintain cutter propulsion diesel engines. Reliability centered maintenance with statistical methods may allow the time between costly scheduled overhauls to be increased. One indicator of engine aging is the number of failures experienced with increasing operating hours. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the failure‐time relationship of the ALCO 251 marine diesel propulsion engine operated on Reliance class cutters. This analysis used exponential, Weibull, and three‐part composite Weibull failure density functions to model engine casualty data dating back to 1978. The data does not indicate the source of the engine failure, but every failure had a significant operational impact. Results indicate an increasing failure rate as the engine ages to the 24,000 hour overhaul time. The evidence indicates a constant failure useful life region, but the increasing failure rate from the Weibull models suggests that the periodic over‐hauls do not prevent wearout failures. As a result, the Coast Guard should consider refining diesel engine overhaul policy in order to prevent increasing age‐related failures.

This paper will integrate a number of intriguing results from a study of help-seeking in a national representative sample of Americans. It began as a search for an explanation of why women seek professional help at a greater rate than men. I expected two general findings: various facets of demoralization would be correlated with the search for help in both men and women; and women would express more demoralization than men. The results were not so straightforward. As the analyses unfolded, especially as education and age differences were also considered, it became increasingly clear that help-seeking is not singularly dependent on feelings of demoralization and that women are not necessarily more distressed about facets of their lives that should contribute to demoralization. I have attempted to develop a more complex model of professional help-seeking for both men and women suggested by the findings of this study.