Scientists create a DNA test that identifies Lyme disease in horses

A test under development by a Rutgers professor could have applications for humans and dogs, too

Peer-Reviewed Publication

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

A Rutgers scientist aiming to help heal a sick horse created an ultra-sensitive DNA test that could have applications for difficult-to-detect illnesses in humans such as Lyme disease

As described in a study published in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation, a special DNA test devised by Steven Schutzer, a professor of medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, helped a Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine team identify Neurologic Lyme disease in a sick 11-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare.

Although Lyme disease was suspected, a standard PCR test didn’t detect the disease agent, the corkscrew-shaped bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.

As with the treatment of most diseases, early detection is essential with Lyme.

“Early diagnosis leads to immediate treatment,” Schutzer said. “And, naturally, that gives the best chance for a cure.”

The Schutzer team’s “genomic hybrid capture assay,” a highly sensitive test the team has been developing, identified the pathogen in a sample of the horse’s spinal fluid, allowing it to be diagnosed and successfully treated. The test works by first selectively isolating DNA from the microorganism causing the disease.

“The method is like having a special, specific ‘fishhook’ that only grabs Borrelia DNA and not the DNA of other microbes, nor the DNA of the host (animal or human),” Schutzer said. “Detecting DNA of the disease is a direct test, meaning we know you have active disease if it’s circulating in the blood or spinal fluid.”

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In humans, a characteristic skin rash may or may not occur, along with fever, headache and fatigue. Unchecked, the infection can move to the nervous system, the joints and the heart.

Similar to humans, horses are incidental, dead-end hosts for B. burgdorferi, meaning the hosts carry the infection but do not infect others. Not all

infected horses develop clinical signs of Lyme disease. If symptoms occur, they can include chronic weight loss, lameness and low-grade fever. Antibody tests usually are administered when a Lyme disease infection is suspected.

In the case described in the study, an antibody test and a PCR test of the mare didn’t indicate an infection. Only Schutzer’s advanced test detected the disease.

Lyme disease in horses can cause long-term complications that include damage to the nervous system, joints, skin and even vision.

“The diagnosis of Lyme neuroborreliosis (Neurologic Lyme disease) in horses is rarely confirmed antemortem and has frustrated veterinarians for years,” said Thomas Divers, the veterinarian who led the equine team on the paper and who is a professor of medicine and co-chief of the Section of Large Animal Medicine at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in New York. “This is a very promising technique. Focused treatment against B. burgdorferi administered in this case resulted in the horse’s complete athletic recovery.”

While many illnesses, such as COVID-19 and strep throat, attack humans with many numbers of pathogens, in other diseases, such as Lyme disease, the bacteria slowly reproduce within a host, producing far fewer numbers and making detection more difficult.

Schutzer, an expert in Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, has been working to devise ways to better detect diseases that possess what he terms “low copy numbers” of a pathogen.

According to the CDC, about 476,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported in humans each year. The black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick, is responsible for most cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. and seems to be increasing in abundance and geographic spread.

Other scientists on the study included Claire Fraser and Emmanuel Mongodin of the Institute of Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine; Christopher Miller of Miller and Associates Equine Practice in Brewster, N.Y.; Rodney Belgrave of Mid-Atlantic Equine Hospital in Ringoes, N.J.; and Rachel Gardner of B.W. Furlong and Associates in Oldwick, N.J.

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JOURNAL

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation

DOI

10.1177/10406387221112617 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Genomic hybrid capture assay to detect Borrelia burgdorferi: an application to diagnose neuroborreliosis in horses

How young chickens play can indicate how they feel

Peer-Reviewed Publication

LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: YOUNG CHICKENS SPEND LOTS OF TIME PLAYING IN DIFFERENT WAYS – JUST LIKE PUPPIES AND KITTENS – ACCORDING TO RESEARCH FROM LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY. view more 

CREDIT: PER JENSEN

It is common for young animals, in particular mammals, to play. Researchers at Linköping University (LiU), Sweden,  have for the first time mapped the development of play in young chickens. The results show that the young chickens spend lots of time playing in different ways – just like puppies and kittens.

“We studied the development of young chickens from hatching onwards, by offering them a special ‘playground’ several times a week”, says Per Jensen, professor at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology at LiU. Professor Jensen has led the investigation.

The researchers filmed the young chickens’ behaviour and identified, in total, 14 different kinds of play. For example, the young chickens picked up objects in their beaks and chased each other around, or conducted “play fighting” by jumping and bumping their chests against one another. The intensity of the play reached its peak around 6–7 weeks of age, just before the young chickens would have become independent from their parents in the wild.  

To see how play is affected in the transition from living in the wild to being tame, modern and domesticated laying young chickens were compared with their ancestors, red junglefowl. 

“We discovered that both played in exactly the same way. So almost 10,000 years of domestication hadn’t changed their play behaviour. However, the tame young chickens played a lot more than their ancestors. This supports the theory that domestication often leads to animals becoming more ‘childish’ in their behaviour”, says Rebecca Oscarsson, who worked on the study during her master’s programme.

In many animals, playing is affected by their mental state, and animals play less when they experience stress or discomfort. Therefore, another study looked at young chickens who were subject to stress during hatching.

“The hypothesis was that the experience of early stress would make the young chickens less likely to play. But instead, we saw the complete opposite. Maybe stressed animals have an unmet need for an outlet for positive behaviour. But it’s up to future research to show that”, says Gabrielle Lundén, who also was a master’s student during the experiment.

Per Jensen believes that how animals play can indicate how they feel, and that play is used to improve their lives.

“We’re planning a study in which we will stimulate stressed animals into playing, in order to increase their wellbeing. This could be a way of improving the quality of life of animals used in food production”, says Per Jensen.

The study has received funding from the research council Formas and the Swedish Research Council.

The article: Play ontogeny in young chickens is affected by domestication and early stress, Gabrielle Lundén, Rebecca Oscarsson, Louise Hedlund, Johanna Gjøen, Per Jensen, Scientific Reports 12:13576, published online 9 August 2022, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17617-x

For further information, please contact:

Per Jensen, professor, per.jensen@liu.se, +46 13 28 12 98

Karin Söderlund Leifler, press information officer, karin.soderlund.leifler@liu.se, +46 13 28 13 95

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JOURNAL

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-022-17617-x 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Play ontogeny in young chickens is affected by domestication and early stress

Wireless tech measures soil moisture at multiple depths in real time

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a wireless system that uses radio transmitters and receivers to estimate soil moisture in agricultural fields at multiple depths in real time, improving on existing technologies that can be used to inform irrigation practices that both improve crop yield and reduce water consumption.

“Estimating soil moisture is important because it can be used by growers to irrigate their fields more efficiently – only irrigating fields when and where the water is needed,” says Usman Mahmood Khan, first author of a paper on the work and a Ph.D. student at NC State. “This both conserves water resources and supports things like smart agriculture technologies, such as automated irrigation systems. What’s more, conserving water resources can also help reduce carbon emissions, because less energy is used to pump water through the irrigation system.”

The new technology, called Contactless Moisture Estimation (CoMEt), does not require any in-ground sensors. Instead, CoMEt assesses soil moisture using something called “phase,” which is a characteristic of radio waves that is affected by both the wavelength of the radio waves and the distance between the radio wave’s transmitter and the wave’s receiver.

Wireless signals are radio waves, and the medium that these signals are traveling through affects the wavelength of those radio waves. When the signal travels through a medium like air, it will have a specific wavelength. But when the signal travels through a different medium, such as soil, its wavelength changes.

“We know that these phase shifts are also influenced by the amount of water in the soil. If we know how far the signal has traveled, and we measure how a wireless signal’s wavelength has changed, we can determine the phase shift of the signal,” Khan says. “This, in turn, allows us to estimate the amount of water in the soil.”

CoMEt relies on an above-ground wireless device that transmits radio waves into the soil. Some portion of the radio waves passes through the soil before being reflected back into the air, where the wireless device can receive the signal and measure the phase shift. The system allows users to assess soil moisture at multiple depths by increasing the power of the transmitted signal – the more powerful the signal, the deeper the assessment.

“This process allows us to assess soil moisture at multiple depths using a single signal, without using any sensors in the soil or in contact with the ground surface,” says Muhammad Shahzad, co-author of the paper and an associate professor of computer science at NC State. “For example, we’ve demonstrated in experimental testing that if we use a signal that is powerful enough to penetrate 38 centimeters into the soil, we are able to assess how the phase of the signal changed at the surface level of soil, 38 centimeters beneath the surface, and at an intermediate level between those two.”

This is possible because the CoMEt device contains multiple antennas, allowing it to capture a significant amount of data from the radio waves that “bounce” out of the soil. The measurements collected by the device’s suite of antennas are then plugged into an algorithm that can determine both changes in the signal’s wavelength and how deep the signal traveled into the soil. This allows the CoMEt device to accurately assess the phase change of the signal, which in turn gives users a soil moisture estimate for the relevant depths.

“Estimating the soil moisture at multiple depths is important, because farmers often need to maintain certain levels of moisture at different depths depending on the crop and where they are in the crop-cycle,” Khan explains.

“We think CoMEt could be used in multiple ways,” says Shahzad. “Growers could manually move the CoMEt device to measure soil moisture at various points in the field; they could use CoMEt in conjunction with a manually operated drone to assess soil moisture; or they could use CoMEt with an automated drone that flies a defined pattern over the field.”

Technologies that are currently in use by growers to measure soil moisture rely on in-ground sensors. However, this approach requires farmers to place multiple sensors around the field in order to capture moisture levels, since moisture levels vary due to differences in drainage, proximity to irrigation lines, and so on. For large fields, growers need a lot of sensors – and that gets expensive.

“We think it would be possible to manufacture CoMEt devices for about the same amount of money as an accurate in-ground sensor,” says Khan. “But where a grower would only need one CoMEt device, they would have to buy quite a few in-ground sensors to collect the same amount of information on soil moisture. In short, we think CoMEt would be significantly more cost effective.

“What’s more, installation and maintenance of in-ground sensors is time-consuming and inconvenient. And CoMEt requires neither.”

“At this point, we’re looking for industry partners to explore how we can get this technology into the hands of growers who will be able to make use of it,” Shahzad says.

The paper, “Estimating Soil Moisture using RF Signals,” will be presented at the 28th Annual International Conference On Mobile Computing And Networking (ACM MobiCom), being held Oct. 17–21 in Sydney, Australia.

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METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Estimating Soil Moisture using RF Signals

New research uncovers favoritism in order assignment

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WILEY

An elusive behavior long overlooked by social scientists is order determination: in many types of competitions, the ranking of contestants is affected by the order in which they are evaluated, so placing a preferred contestant in a favorable spot in the order is a subtle way to boost their chances. A recent paper in Economic Inquiry generates statistical methods of detecting this behavior and applies them to numerous contests, including primary elections in Texas and West Virginia. There, law requires the order that candidates are placed on the ballot to be randomly determined, but often this did not happen.

“In those elections, randomness was violated in many different ways,” said author Darren Grant, PhD, an economics professor at Sam Houston State University. “Figuring out the reasons why was like being in a mystery novel. It often came down to some minor detail I had long overlooked.”

In contrast, Grant found no violations of randomness in the TV show American Idol or in Powerball lottery drawings. “The thread connecting these three very different situations is that things are done in an order,” said Grant. “So many things in life are like that. This research has wide applicability.”

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JOURNAL

Economic Inquiry

DOI

10.1111/ecin.13114 

ARTICLE TITLE

Uncovering Bias in Order Assignment

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

17-Aug-2022

Promotion doesn’t add up to gender equity at leading accounting firms

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY

PULLMAN, Wash. – Often instead of making partner, women in public accounting firms appear to be sidelined into less prestigious, less powerful director positions, a study has found.

Examining public audits from the seven largest firms, including Deloitte and KPMG, researchers found that directors signing audit reports for nonprofit entities were twice as likely to be women than men, despite the fact that there are fewer female directors.

The analysis of this data, which is accessible because the audit clients are public institutions like nonprofits or universities, provides a window into promotion practices, said Kathleen Harris, an accounting assistant professor with Washington State University’s Carson College of Business.

“Women and men are hired into these public accounting firms at a very equal ratio, but at the partner level, it's disproportionate,” said Harris, the corresponding author on the study published in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy. “If we want equity in accounting, then both men and women need to be at the table making decisions.”

Partners and directors can both lead audits of nonprofit entities, but there are considerable differences between the two groups. Partners are the top leaders of their firms. They buy into the firm, hold voting power and help strategically plan how the firm goes forward. It is a high risk, high reward position, Harris said. Directors, while highly skilled and compensated, are salaried employees without voting power.

Both leadership levels lack gender equity with women making up 32% of directors but just 18% of partners, according to self-reports by large firms in 2016. This “vertical segregation,” where men are clustered at higher levels than women, was also noted in earlier research in 2011 with the director-level dubbed a “pink-collar ghetto.”  

The current study shows that division is persisting. Harris and her co-authors, Elizabeth Almer of Portland State University as well as Julia Higgs and Joe Rakestraw of Florida Atlantic University, analyzed more than 1500 audit engagements from 2017 Federal Audit Clearinghouse data for the seven largest public accounting firms. They found that among audit signers, directors were more often women, and partners more often men.

In addition, audit clients paid more for female partners who signed audits versus female directors or even male partners and directors. This study could not determine exactly why that was the case, but Harris said it is possible that some audit clients with goals for increasing diversity may be specifically asking for women partners to lead their audits, driving up demand for a limited supply.

It is also hard to pinpoint the reasons for the continued gender equity problems in accounting leadership. Harris said it could involve unconscious bias, lack of opportunity for women to develop the necessary skills, or women themselves choosing not to take on leadership roles that require long hours away from family.  

“The first point of change is awareness,” Harris said. “Once you identify a problem, the next step is to discuss what opportunities there are to develop equity in the firm.”

For instance, Harris suggested firms address work-life balance for both men and women versus assuming it is just an issue for one gender, which might help level the playing field. Advocacy and sponsorship are also key to helping women and other underrepresented employees advance into top leadership roles, and once more of them are there, it can help improve diversity overall.

“You can't really hire diversity. You have to create an environment that attracts diversity,” Harris said. “For anybody going into accounting, if they can see themselves as a success story because they can see a partner that looks like them, then, it's more attractive for them to enter that field.”

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JOURNAL

Journal of Accounting and Public Policy

DOI

10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2022.106941 

ARTICLE TITLE

Gender equity in public accounting: Evidence from single audit partner and director engagement leaders

Will your university still exist in the future?

Find out how universities and colleges should prepare for survival in this new book

Book Announcement

WORLD SCIENTIFIC

 

IMAGE: COVER OF "DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FUTURE" view more 

CREDIT: WORLD SCIENTIFIC

With the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen universities worldwide having to pivot quickly to transform their education delivery to an online environment, as well as conduct their business operations virtually and remotely. For the universities who embraced digital transformation, they were able to adapt quickly to this new learning environment. Many others were not as successful. Part of the formula for success is for universities and other institutions of higher education to apply digital transformation technologies, processes, and leadership in this “new normal”.

Looking towards the future, how should universities and colleges prepare for survival? Dr. Jay Liebowitz and his colleagues, some of the leading authorities on the subject worldwide, provide some of the key answers and insights in Digital Transformation for the University of the Future.

Targeted at administrative and faculty staff, and students at institutes of higher learning, the inaugural volume of the new World Scientific book series, Digital Transformation: Accelerating Organizational Intelligence highlights what is needed in for digital transformation in terms of technologies, processes, culture, and leadership considerations.

Digital Transformation for the University of the Future retails for US$98 / £85 (hardcover) and is also available in electronic formats. To order or know more about the book and editor, visit http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12773.

###

About the Editor

Dr. Jay Liebowitz is the Executive-in-Residence for Public Service at Columbia University’s Data Science Institute, as of September 6, 2022. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Stillman School of Business and the MS-Business Analytics Capstone & Co-Program Director (External Relations) at Seton Hall University. He previously served as the Distinguished Chair of Applied Business and Finance at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Before HU, he was the Orkand Endowed Chair of Management and Technology in the Graduate School at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). He served as a Full Professor in the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University. He was ranked one of the top 10 knowledge management researchers/practitioners out of 11,000 worldwide, and was ranked #2 in KM Strategy worldwide according to the January 2010 Journal of Knowledge Management. At Johns Hopkins University, he was the founding Program Director for the Graduate Certificate in Competitive Intelligence and the Capstone Director of the MS-Information and Telecommunications Systems for Business Program, where he engaged over 30 organizations in industry, government, and not-for-profits in capstone projects.

About World Scientific Publishing Co.

World Scientific Publishing is a leading international independent publisher of books and journals for the scholarly, research and professional communities. World Scientific collaborates with prestigious organisations like the Nobel Foundation and US National Academies Press to bring high quality academic and professional content to researchers and academics worldwide. The company publishes about 600 books and over 140 journals in various fields annually. To find out more about World Scientific, please visit www.worldscientific.com.

For more information, contact WSPC Communications at communications@wspc.com.

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DOI

10.1142/12773 

More than a little chemistry

New full-color graphic novel for teens and adults presents all one needs to know about the history of chemistry, why it is important, and how it is central to everyday life

Book Announcement

WORLD SCIENTIFIC

 

IMAGE: COVER OF "O MG! HOW CHEMISTRY CAME TO BE" view more 

CREDIT: WORLD SCIENTIFIC

The history of chemistry is often missing from many modern science libraries for the layman and learner. O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be

Author Stephen M. Cohen, who has a Ph.D. in chemistry and has done comic strips and editorial cartoons in the past, discusses major chemical ideas and important scientists from around the world—from the conservation of matter to the existence of atoms and molecules, to Antoine Lavoisier and Marie Curie, and from environmental chemistry to polymers.

The “emcee” of the book’s historical tour is the molecular-shaped Ben Zene, with an eccentric sidekick in the form of ancient Greek philosopher Democritus, who first postulated atoms. The chemists presented in O Mg! often speak a phrase in their local language; contextual art, literature, music, history, politics, and even occasional dad-jokes and weird chemical facts also make an appearance in the panels.

Also in the work are occasional sidebars on chemical-related history and the arts, and factoids such as how US President A Herbert Hoover and Isreali President Chaim Weizmann influenced chemistry; how personal politics may have denied Gilbert Lewis the Nobel Prize; a Japanese tale of intrigue mingling with chemistry; and which chemist was the first living person to have an element named after him.

O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be retails for US$39.95 / £30 (paperback) and US$78 / £60 (hardcover) and is also available in electronic formats. To order or know more about the book, visit http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670.

###

About the Author

Stephen Cohen has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Rice University, has traveled around the USA, Europe, and Middle East, and spent one year as a chemistry researcher in the UK. A free-lance writer and technical writer, he has published articles in both general-interest and peer-reviewed journals dealing with chemistry, chemical history, chemical literature in Yiddish, and genealogy. His other books include What’s in a Name?: A Young Person’s Jewish Genealogy Workbook, Introductory Electrochemistry, and America’s Scientific Treasures: A Travel Companion, 2nd ed. Dr. Cohen also is a member of the Board of the Royal Society of Chemistry—US Section. As an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, he drew a daily comic strip, “Buffer’s Solutions,” for the Daily Pennsylvanian, and was Art Editor for Punch Bowl, the student humor magazine. One of his editorial cartoons appeared in a Union of Concerned Scientists calendar, and his articles appeared in the Journal of Irreproducible Results.

About World Scientific Publishing Co.

World Scientific Publishing is a leading international independent publisher of books and journals for the scholarly, research and professional communities. World Scientific collaborates with prestigious organisations like the Nobel Foundation and US National Academies Press to bring high quality academic and professional content to researchers and academics worldwide. The company publishes about 600 books and over 140 journals in various fields annually. To find out more about World Scientific, please visit www.worldscientific.com.

For more information, contact WSPC Communications at communications@wspc.com.

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DOI

10.1142/12670 

Scientists unravel biotic colonization history of subtropical East Asian caves

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES HEADQUARTERS

 

IMAGE: YANGZI CAVE IN GUANGXI, CHINA IS AN EXAMPLE OF A KARST CAVE view more 

CREDIT: IBCAS

Caves have an isolated, strongly zonal environment and are home to unique and fragile biotas with high levels of endemism. However, little is known about how the biotic colonization of caves developed over time, especially in caves at middle and low latitudes. 

To broaden knowledge in this area, researchers led by Prof. WANG Wei from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IBCAS) recently studied caves in subtropical East Asia to unravel their colonization history.

Their study was published in PNAS.

Subtropical East Asia holds the world's largest karst landform with numerous ancient caves. These caves harbor a high diversity of cave-dwelling organisms and are regarded as a biodiversity hotspot.

WANG's team selected 28 clades with 1,437 species for their study. These species belong to 43 genera from ferns, angiosperms, arachnids, amphibians, reptiles, fishes, and fungi.

The study showed that most cave colonization events occurred after the Oligocene-Miocene boundary and the surrounding forest was a major source of cave biodiversity. It also showed that biotic colonization during the Neogene experienced periods of acceleration and decline and was not a random process.

By modeling variations of distribution ranges of East Asian subtropical evergreen broad-leaf forests over time and analyzing paleoclimate data from 19 fossil sites, the researchers proposed that biotic colonization of subtropical East Asian caves during the Neogene occurred in conjunction with large-scale, seasonal climatic changes and the evolution of local forests.

"We discovered that climate changes over time and the evolution of local vegetation, as well as the establishment of seasonal climate, drove the biotic colonization of subtropical East Asian caves over time," said WANG, corresponding author of the study.

The scientists further proposed a climate-vegetation-relict model for subtropical East Asian cave biota, which may also help explain the evolutionary origins of other mid-latitude subterranean biotas.

"Cave biotas may be the extensions of local surface biotas," said WANG.

CAPTION

Colonization dynamics of subtropical East Asian caves in relation to paleogeoclimate and vegetation changes

CREDIT

IBCAS

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JOURNAL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2207199119 

ARTICLE TITLE

Biotic colonization of subtropical East Asian caves through time

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

15-Aug-2022

Disclaimer: AA

Can water quality trading effectively reduce water pollution?

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WILEY

Water quality trading has been proposed as a way to address water pollution, where one source of pollution is allowed to emit a pollutant at levels greater than required by buying "credits" from another source that is able to control pollution levels below the required threshold. An article published in Contemporary Economic Policy provides a comprehensive review of experiences with water quality trading programs worldwide over more than four decades.

The authors note that one of the biggest challenges of making water quality trading programs work is that agricultural production, an important source of pollution in many watersheds, remains largely unregulated.

"There is potential for water quality trading to evolve further and serve as a cost-effective pollution control instrument, but this requires nudging political will, in particular creating regulatory drivers for all pollution sources, streamlining competing policy programs, and making costs and benefits of trading clear and visible to all program participants,” said corresponding author Haiyan Liu, PhD, of the University of Waterloo, in Canada.

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JOURNAL

Contemporary Economic Policy

DOI

10.1111/coep.12583 

ARTICLE TITLE

What is the future of water quality trading?

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

17-Aug-2022

Embracing tourism could be the blueprint for Cornish fishers' sustainable success

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY

The voyage of Cornish fishers into tourism provides a potential model for the promotion of the 'Blue Economy' elsewhere, according to new research from the University of Surrey.

Researchers found that Cornish fishers' decision to transition to a model incorporating marine tourism – for example, taking customers on fishing trips – is helping to keep its fishing culture and tradition alive while preserving local finishing stocks.  

Dr Anke Winchenbach, Lecturer in Tourism and Transport at the University of Surrey, said:   

"Our study details how Cornish fishers have experienced the transition into tourism – and hopefully shows how fishing and the tourism industry can work together to help maintain the region's traditions while reaping the benefits of positive marine tourism.  

"It's not a question of ditching tradition but showing how valuing tradition while embracing new opportunities delivers real economic and social benefit to the fishers and the region."  

In the UK, the number of fishing operators has declined by 45 per cent since 1994 and 75 per cent between 1938 and 2020. The decline in fishing, as well as a lack of tourism promotion, partly contributes to a situation where 90 per cent of the UK's most deprived communities are at the coast.  

Coastal and marine tourism is the second largest contributor to the Blue Economy and is the fastest growing area of contemporary tourism.  

Surrey's study shows that fishers who transition into marine tourism in Cornwall are not only experiencing a change in fortunes financially but report an improvement in their mental and physical health, thanks to a safer working environment and a sense of pride associated with using their fishing skills and knowledge. The diversification is seen as a win-win, with less pressure on fishing stocks, leading to a more sustainable industry. 

The Surrey team also found that the fishers' new strategy has received support from local communities throughout Cornwall. The new endeavour allows traditions to remain alive and keeps fishers turned marine tourism operators connected to the sea while benefitting the local community. 

Dr Winchenbach added:   

"With tourism accounting for 20 per cent of employment in Cornwall and contributing just over £2 billion to the local economy through visitor-related spending, the regional debate has often pitched tourism against tradition.  

"Our study suggests that tourism and tradition can work hand-in-hand to support the community, deliver economic and personal benefits through increasing social interactions and improving mental health."  

The study has been published in the journal Annals of Tourism Research.

[Ends] 

Notes to Editors:  

• Reference: Anke Winchenbach et al.; Constructing identity in marine tourism diversification; Annals of Tourism Research; Volume 95; July 2022; 10.1016/j.annals.2022.103441.
• If you would like to interview Dr Anke Winchenbach, Lecturer from the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey, please contact the media relations team at mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk   
• The University of Surrey is a world-leading centre for excellence in sustainability – where our multi-disciplinary research connects society and technology to equip humanity with the tools to tackle climate change, clean our air, reduce the impacts of pollution on health and help us live better, more sustainable lives. The University is committed to improving its own resource efficiency on its estate and being a sector leader, aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030. A focus on research that makes a difference to the world has contributed to Surrey being ranked 55th in the world in the Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings 2022, which assesses more than 1,400 universities' performance against the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

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JOURNAL

Annals of Tourism Research

DOI

10.1016/j.annals.2022.103441 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Case study

ARTICLE TITLE

Constructing identity in marine tourism diversification