Social conformity in pandemics: How our behaviors spread faster than the virus itself

Researchers have produced a model for disease transmission that factors in the effects of social dynamics, specifically, how masking and social distancing are affected by social norms

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

The behaviors and actions of hypersocial species like humans are heavily influenced by the behaviors and actions of those around them. This was evidenced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic; protective measures such as masking and social distancing varied widely as these behaviors were affected by where people were and who they were around, which in turn affected disease prevalence and transmission rates.

Now, researchers from the School of Arts & Science at the University of Pennsylvania and Queen’s University in Canada have produced a theoretical model for disease transmission that factors in the effects of social dynamics, specifically, how non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) like masking and social distancing are affected by social norms.

The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, shows that social conformity creates a type of “stickiness” wherein individuals are reluctant to change their NPI usage if it differs from what others are doing.

“Generally, when there’s an infectious disease going around, rational actors are uncomfortable taking risks and will try to avoid getting sick, so naturally you’d think that they’d change their behaviors based on these concerns,” says Erol Akçay, associate professor of biology at Penn. “But it turns out populations, and by extension disease transmission rates, are equally, if not more, affected by social norms.”

The researchers aimed to better understand of how the prioritization of risk and social norms affects the adoption of NPIs during a pandemic.

To achieve this, they developed a model that considers the risk of infection, the cost of NPIs, and the social cost of deviating from NPI-usage norms. The model describes threshold dynamics in the number of individuals needed to support a behavioral change, which creates “tipping points” in the adoption of NPI behaviors where a small change in the disease prevalence can cause a significant shift in population behavior.

“Our model found that small changes in certain factors like the effectiveness of NPIs, transmission rate, and costs of interventions can lead to large changes in rate of disease spread, or attack rate,” Akçay says.

He explains that this is in part due to people being conformist and therefore slow to adopt new behaviors such as mask wearing, until the disease reaches levels so high that the risk perception overrides conformity, when the population tips over. Conformism works the other way, too; the new behavior persists longer in the population than it would if people cared only about their individual risks and costs. This creates distinct infection and NPI behavior waves.

As variables such as the cost or effectiveness of the NPI behavior change, it can create more or fewer waves of change and lead to more or fewer people infected at the end of the epidemic. The researchers found that the attack rate did not increase as smoothly as anticipated; rather, it had a more “sawtooth look” when graphed. These results highlight a complex relationship between social norms and disease spread.

“It increases and then decreases, over and over, and we noticed this trend in other parameters, even the transmission rate,” says first author Bryce Morsky, who started working on this project as a postdoctoral researcher in Akçay’s lab and is now an assistant professor at Florida State University.

The team, which also includes Felicia Magpantay and Troy Day from Queen’s University in Canada, explains that when they ran an epidemiological simulation with no NPI use at the start of the epidemic they had a predictably high attack rate, and eventually, individuals began NPI usage due to fears of infection risk.

The onset of NPI usage, however, comes much later when the parameters for the cost of deviating from social norms are set higher “because if nobody’s masking you don’t want to be the first person,” Akçay says.

“So, increasing this parameter leads to a delay in masking, which drives the first wave of the epidemic much higher than it would have been if individuals were reacting to their risk levels. On the other hand, when we ran the simulation with masking and the case numbers started going down, there was a reluctance to stop masking because nobody wanted to be the first person to stop masking, which we referred to as stickiness.”

Morsky explains that the model was initially motivated by some results from a previous study investigating social norms and their effects as it relates to reciprocity behavior, where conformist behavior can induce boom-and-bust cycles in cooperative communities. Here, conformist behavior makes epidemic waves inherently more distinct than they would have been otherwise, even in the absence of external factors such as seasonal variation in transmission rates.

Akçay says that information on these trends and social dynamics can be useful for policymakers weighing decisions about responding to human behavior. And the researchers want to investigate how the interplay of different populations and socioeconomic backgrounds affects the social behaviors of disease intervention.

Erol Akçay is an associate professor in the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Biology.

Bryce Morsky was a postdoc at Penn and is now an assistant professor at Florida State University.

The work was supported by the One Society Network funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation.

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JOURNAL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2221479120 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

The impact of threshold decision mechanisms of collectivebehavior on disease spread

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-May-2023

Risk of long COVID higher for people living in most deprived areas

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON

New research led by the universities of Southampton and Oxford has found that the risk of long COVID is strongly associated with area-level deprivation, with the odds of having long COVID 46 percent higher for people from the most deprived areas, compared to those in the least deprived areas.

Published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, the study analysed over 200,000 working-age adults and is the first to quantify the association between long COVID and socioeconomic status across a range of occupation sectors.

Analysing data from the Office for National Statistics COVID-19 Infection Survey, the researchers found that females had a higher risk of long COVID, with the risk of long COVID in females in the least deprived areas comparable to that in males in the most deprived areas.

People living in the most deprived areas and working in the healthcare and education sectors had the highest risk of long COVID compared to the least deprived areas. There was no significant association between the risk of long COVID and the most and least deprived areas for people working in the manufacturing and construction sectors.

Lead researcher Dr Nazrul Islam, of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton and Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, said: “Although certain occupational groups, especially frontline and essential workers, have been unequally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, studies on long COVID and occupation are sparse.

“Our findings are consistent with pre-pandemic research on other health conditions, suggesting that workers with lower socioeconomic status have poorer health outcomes and higher premature mortality than those with higher socioeconomic position but a similar occupation. However, the socioeconomic inequality may vary considerably by occupation groups.”

According to the researchers, the study indicates the need for a diverse range of public health interventions after recovery from COVID-19 across multiple intersecting social dimensions. Future health policy recommendations, they say, should incorporate the multiple dimensions of inequality, such as sex, deprivation and occupation when considering the treatment and management of long COVID.

Dr Islam added: “The inequalities shown in this study show that such an approach can provide more precise identification of risks and be relevant to other diseases and beyond the pandemic.

“These findings will help inform health policy in identifying the most vulnerable sub-groups of populations so that more focused efforts are given, and proportional allocation of resources are implemented, to facilitate the reduction of health inequalities.”

Ends


Notes to editors

1. Socioeconomic inequalities of long COVID: a retrospective population-based cohort study in the United Kingdom (DOI: 10.1177/01410768231168377) by Sharmin Shabnam, Cameron Razieh, Hajira Dambha-Miller, Tom Yates, Clare Gillies, Yogini V Chudasama, Manish Pareek, Amitava Banerjee, Ichiro Kawachi, Ben Lacey, Eva JA Morris, Martin White, Francesco Zaccardi, Kamlesh Khunti and Nazrul Islam will be published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine at 00:05 hrs (UK time) on Thursday 11 May 2023. The link for the full text of the paper when published will be: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01410768231166377
    
2. For further information or a copy of the paper please contact:
   
   Peter Franklin, Media Relations, University of Southampton +44 23 8059 3212 or press@soton.ac.uk
   
   Rosalind Dewar Media Office, Royal Society of Medicine +44 (0) 1580 764713 M: +44 (0) 7785 182732 media@rsm.ac.uk
    
3. The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM) is a leading voice in the UK and internationally for medicine and healthcare. Published continuously since 1809, JRSM features scholarly comment and clinical research. JRSM is editorially independent from the Royal Society of Medicine, and its editor is Professor Kamran Abbasi. JRSM is a journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and it is published by SAGE Publishing. Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE is a leading international provider of innovative, high-quality content publishing more than 1000 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company’s continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. www.sagepublishing.com
    
4. The University of Southampton drives original thinking, turns knowledge into action and impact, and creates solutions to the world’s challenges. We are among the top 100 institutions globally (QS World University Rankings 2023). Our academics are leaders in their fields, forging links with high-profile international businesses and organisations, and inspiring a 22,000-strong community of exceptional students, from over 135 countries worldwide. Through our high-quality education, the University helps students on a journey of discovery to realise their potential and join our global network of over 200,000 alumni. www.southampton.ac.uk

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JOURNAL

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine

DOI

10.1177/01410768231168377 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Socioeconomic inequalities of long COVID: a retrospective population-based cohort study in the United Kingdom

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-May-2023

Save the phages to protect Big Blue

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUTE OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY OF THE POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

 

IMAGE: MICROPLASTICS ARE ENEMIES OF LIVING ORGANISMS. THEY PENETRATE THE ORGANS AND BLOODSTREAM OF LIVING BEINGS, DISTURBING EVERY ECOSYSTEM ON EARTH. AN AVERAGE PERSON EATS SEVERAL TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MICROPLASTIC PARTICLES EVERY YEAR. PHOTO: GRZEGORZ KRZYZEWSKI view more 

CREDIT: SOURCE IPC PAS, GRZEGORZ KRZYZEWSKI

The plastic era has begun, and for sure, it will last for decades or even longer. Polymer-based materials are almost everywhere, reaching even the deepest regions of the oceans, and their global production is larger than recycling, leading to the generation of tremendous amounts of water pollution with microplastics. These tiny polymer particles not only release chemicals but also reduce the number of bacteriophages. Recently, researchers from the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, led by Prof. Jan Paczesny, explored this field, showing the scale of such a problem. In their work, they studied the effects of microplastics on the infectivity of the bacteriophages in an aqueous environment.

It is challenging to imagine a world without plastic-based products. Synthetic materials are used in every field of life, from textiles, food packaging, and pharmacy, to materials used in the building industry. They are an indispensable part of life because of their multi-functionality. Plastics are lightweight, easily shaped, resistant to environmental conditions, and cheaper than many other synthetic materials, which makes them so popular. However, they are not necessarily friendly to health and the environment, especially when the plastic particles are small. Getting to the water reservoirs, synthetic materials are easily mechanically fragmented into even smaller pieces. They can also undergo degradation under UV radiation, chemical degradation, or even biodegradation, so small plastic particles flow in the aqueous reservoirs for a very long time. Such microplastics with a diameter below 5 mm or smaller pieces like nanoplastic (even a million times smaller than microplastic) are everywhere, even in tap water or the milk of mammals. When these tiny plastic particles get into the environment, they become a serious problem for aquatic systems like lakes, rivers, seas, and even oceans, where they slowly decompose, releasing many harmful chemicals. Unfortunately, the list of them is quite long, starting from plasticizers, pigments, and flame retardants to even heavy metal ions that can cause many disorders or diseases. What is more, the surface of microplastic adsorbs organic compounds that work as food storage for microbial biofilms, leading to an imbalance between the particular groups of microorganisms forming biofilms, including bacteriophages.

Here, the science story begins. Recently, the team of Prof. Jan Paczesny from the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, demonstrated the effects of various microplastics on different types of bacteriophages in aqueous media. In their work, scientists used twelve different types of commonly used polymers, e.g., polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), PET, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polypropylene (PP), etc., cut them into tiny pieces, and used them as sources for all prepared materials.

 “We judiciously chose industrial-grade polymers to reflect the real sources of microplastic in the environment. We prepared polymer samples by mechanically crumbling larger pieces of commercial-grade plastics. This process simulates how plastic fragments are created in the environment.” - claims prof. Jan Paczesny.

Sounds easy, right? In fact, the experiment is much more complicated to simulate the natural environmental conditions. Besides many features influencing the experiment, the commonly used leachates used as polymer additives play an important role. Researchers found a correlation between the decrease in bacteriophages on the microplastic’s surface and the presence of particular leachates.

Interestingly, the decrease in the number of phages on the surface of microplastic can undergo two different mechanisms. The first one relates to the presence of leachates that can deactivate even 50% of phages. The second one correlates with certain sizes of polymer materials, where the generation of nano- and sub-microparticles plays a key role and the adsorption results in phage scavenging. 

Prof. Paczesny remarks - “The effect of leachables was measured upon exposure of phages not to particles themselves but to the buffer preincubated with microplastics. A double-overlay plaque counting method was used to assess phage titers. We employed a classical linear regression model to verify which physicochemical parameters (65 variables were tested) govern the decrease of phage titers.”

The research study focuses on the correlation between the number of phages and the physicochemical properties of microplastics as an introduction to the broad field of ecotoxicological studies. As only daily, the bacteriophages terminate up to 40% of bacterial biomass, they play a vital role in the maintenance of homeostasis in the bacterial community in all environments, from Big Blue to wastewaters. Once the microplastic gets into the environment, its surface hosts the biofilm layer, which is a booster for microorganisms to colonize, and here is the problem. Transported through the microplastics, many bacterial strains can colonize uncontrollably. As an effect, they can affect ecosystems in certain aquatic zones without the control of the phages, affecting not only animals but also humans. What does it mean in practice? Let’s take a look at the seafood. Microplastic reaches the digestive tract of fish and other animals, disturbing the gut biota as well as forming aggregates in other tissues. Therefore, when we consume them, such microplastic gets into our digestive system, and with a decrease in the size of these polymer pieces, it can also aggregate in the body, which can lead to severe health issues. It sounds scary, but from the findings of scientists from IPC PAS, it is clearly seen that the growing pollution of the environment with microplastics can have a dramatic effect on global ecosystems.

Based on these findings, the main take-home message is: proper recycling and the deep need for the reduction of plastic in life!

The work on the microplastic effect on phages was published in the Journal of Environmental Quality. The research was financed by the National Science Centre, Poland, within PRELUDIUM BIS grant 2020/39/O/ST5/01017 and SONATA BIS grant 2017/26/E/ST4/00041.

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JOURNAL

Journal of Environmental Quality

DOI

10.1002/jeq2.20459 

Visualizing PET's degradation by bacterial enzymes

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SPANISH NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (CSIC)

 

IMAGE: PHOTO OF PLASTIC BOTTLE DEBRIS WITH THE SHAPE OF_ESRGAN view more 

CREDIT: CREATIVE COMMONS

The rigidity, transparency and hardness of PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) make it one of the most valuable plastics for the manufacture of plastic bottles, packaging and other single-use products. However, these characteristics make it highly persistent in the environment, to the point that a plastic PET bottle may take several hundred years to degrade in the ocean.  

At the molecular level, PET, and all plastics, have a polymeric structure made up of tens of thousands of repetitions of small subunits called monomers. In the last decades, the degradation of PET by a kind of bacterial enzymes called polyester hydrolases (or PETases) has been regarded with much hope, as it is considered as a potential eco-friendly method for recycling plastic waste and recover the original monomers, thus enabling an effective circular-material economy loop. Now, a new study led by the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) and the University of Leipzig (Germany) has revealed the details, at the molecular level, of the PET degradation process by these enzymes.

"The results of our work can be very useful for the industry, as this is the first time we can "see" the motion picture of the process. Also, they pave the way to design new enzymes capable of breaking down the plastic into its original soluble components with high efficiency", explains Francesco Colizzi, a leading author of the study.

From her side, Ania Di Pede-Mattatelli, one of the work co-authors, adds that "these enzymes could also be applied to treat PET microplastics from washing of microfleece textiles that end up in sewage treatment plants, thus contributing to the preservation of the marine environment”.

Experiments and 3D simulations

To unravel the inherent mechanism of biocatalytic degradation of PET at the atomic level, the authors of the work, recently published in the journal ACS Catalysis, designed a glass matrix that stabilized the enzymatic reaction intermediates and allowed their detection in real time by specific experiments of magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Then, using molecular calculations on a supercomputer, they were able to interpret the spectroscopic data and generate a detailed 3D molecular model of the enzymatic process of PET degradation.

Until now, how PET could bind and interact with these enzymes have been the subject of intense research, and controversial hypotheses have been put forward. For example, the simultaneous binding of a large portion of PET to the enzyme was thought to be necessary for the enzyme to break down the plastic polymer into its original components. Instead, this work shows that the interaction of only 2 PET subunits is enough for the enzyme to cut the polymer. Lastly, the study reveals that the enzyme can "walk" or slide on the PET chain to move from one cut to the other.

“Understanding how PET interacts with the enzyme is important to guide the design of new improved systems for recycling. In the end, nature itself provides us with the starting material to reduce plastic pollution, but we must use them appropriately", concludes Colizzi in this regard.

Researchers at ICM-CSIC are currently extending this work to study PET degradation by enzymes from marine bacteria through projects funded by the Spanish Research Agency (AEI). The overall goal of this line of research is to guide the design of highly efficient enzyme variants for biotechnological applications to ultimately give value to plastic waste. This will be done in synergy with the interdisciplinary team already established at ICM-CSIC to understand and mitigate plastic pollution in the ocean.

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JOURNAL

ACS Catalysis

DOI

10.1021/acscatal.3c00259 

‘Sea butterfly’ life cycle threatened by climate change may impact Southern Ocean ecosystem

Scientists examining pteropod life cycles in the Southern Ocean find that some species might be more vulnerable to ocean change than others

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FRONTIERS

 

IMAGE: AN EXAMPLE OF A SUMMER POPULATION OF LIMACINA RANGII FROM THE SCOTIA SEA. LARGER JUVENILES LIVING ALONGSIDE A SMALLER, LARVAL STAGE COHORT view more 

CREDIT: DR VICKY PECK

The world’s oceans absorb approximately a quarter of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. During absorption, CO2 reacts with seawater and oceanic pH levels fall. This is known as ocean acidification and results in lower carbon ion concentrations. Certain ocean inhabitants use carbon ion to build and sustain their shells. Pteropods, which are important components of the marine ecosystem, are among them.  

Certain aspects about pteropods, including life cycles and population dynamics, are not well-studied. This is partly due to their size – some sea butterfly species measure less than a millimeter – and poor long-term survival in captivity. Now, a team of marine scientists has examined life cycles, abundance, and seasonal variability of shelled sea butterflies in the north-east Scotia Sea, a region undergoing some of the fastest climate change in the Southern Ocean.

“Decline in Antarctic Ocean pteropod populations could have cascading ramifications to the food web and carbon cycle,” said Dr Clara Manno, a researcher at the British Antarctic Survey and corresponding author of the study published in Frontiers in Marine Science. “Knowledge about the life cycle of this keystone organism may improve prediction of ocean acidification impacts on the Antarctic ecosystem.”

Population stability essential for species survival

For their work, the scientists collected sea butterflies in a sediment trap, a sampling device moored at 400 meters depth. “It is impossible to observe the full life cycle of sea butterflies in a laboratory setting, so we had to piece together information about their spawning, growth rate and population structure,” added Dr Vicky Peck, a researcher at the British Antarctic Survey and co-author of the study. “Using sediment trap samples, we successfully reconstructed their life cycle over a year.”

For the two dominant species collected – Limacina rangii and Limacina retroversa – the scientists observed contrasting life cycles, leading to different vulnerabilities to changing oceans. L. rangii, a polar species, can be found as both adults and juveniles during the winter months. L. retroversa, a subpolar species, appear to occur only as adults during the winter.

During the coldest season, ocean water is more acidic than during other times of the year because cooler temperatures increase CO2 dissolution in the ocean. The life stages of sea butterflies that exist then are more exposed and vulnerable to increased levels of ocean acidification, the researchers wrote.

The fact that L. rangii adults and juveniles coexist over winter may give them a survival advantage. If one cohort is vulnerable, the overall population stability is not at risk. With L. retroversa, however, if one cohort is removed, the whole population may be vulnerable.

Prolonged exposure is a survival challenge

The researchers noted that despite species being impacted differently, neither is likely to remain unharmed if exposed to unfavorable conditions for extended time periods.

As the intensity and duration of ocean acidification events increase, they begin to overlap with spawning events in the spring. This may put the most vulnerable life stage, the larvae, particularly at risk and could jeopardize future populations, the scientists warned.

To learn how such a scenario might play out in the Scotia Sea, the research team will continue to study sea butterflies dwelling there. “A next step will be to focus on multiyear sediment trap samples to identify potential inter-annual variability in the life cycle associated with environmental change,” said Dr Jessie Gardner of the British Antarctic survey, lead author of the study.

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JOURNAL

Frontiers in Marine Science

DOI

10.3389/fmars.2023.1118570 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Contrasting life cycles of Southern Ocean pteropods alter their vulnerability to climate change

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-May-2023

Songs of the oceans raise environmental awareness #ASA184

Oceanic data is transformed into hypnotic and impactful music that encourages reflection.

Reports and Proceedings

ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

 

IMAGE: MALLOY WITH THE OIL DRUM USED FOR HIS MUSICAL PERFORMANCES. view more 

CREDIT: COLIN MALLOY

CHICAGO, May 10, 2023 – For many people, there are few sounds as relaxing as ocean waves. But the sound of the seas can also convey deeper emotions and raise awareness about pollution.

At the upcoming 184th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Colin Malloy of Ocean Network Canada will present his method to transform ocean data into captivating, solo percussion songs. The talk, “Sonification of ocean data in art-science,” will take place Wednesday, May 10, at 3:25 p.m. in the Indiana/Iowa room. The meeting will run May 8-12 at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile Hotel.

To construct his compositions, Malloy employs sound from underwater microphones, called hydrophones, and introduces elements inspired by ocean-related data such as temperature, acidity, and oxygenation. Listeners can find performances of Malloy’s music on YouTube.

In his piece, Oil & Water, Malloy represents the impact of oil production on the oceans. He plays an eerily catchy melody on steel drums and inserts noise to represent oil production over the past 120 years. The interjections increase throughout the piece to mimic the increased production in recent years. Near the end of the song, he uses oil consumption data as the oscillator of a synthesizer.

By representing data in this way, he hopes his music encourages listeners to reflect on the meaning and the medium.

“Art helps people digest information on an emotional level that typical science communication may not,” Malloy said. “I hope that in listening to these pieces, people use them as a space to reflect on what each piece is trying to portray. Ultimately, I'd like for them to help create awareness of the various issues surrounding the oceans.”

The aptly named field ArtScience encourages scientists and artists to learn from each other about communication, connection, and science. Ocean Network Canada’s artist-in-residence program recruits artists to work with scientists, engage with research, and connect to a larger cultural audience.

Malloy, who has an educational background in mathematics, computer science, and music, believes working in the balance of science and art provides him with a unique perspective.

“There is a lot of art in science and a lot of science to art -- more than most people realize for either direction,” said Malloy.

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----------------------- MORE MEETING INFORMATION -----------------------

Main meeting website: https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-meetings/ 
Technical program: https://eppro02.ativ.me/web/planner.php?id=ASASPRING23&proof=true    

ASA PRESS ROOM

In the coming weeks, ASA's Press Room will be updated with newsworthy stories and the press conference schedule at https://acoustics.org/asa-press-room/. 

LAY LANGUAGE PAPERS

ASA will also share dozens of lay language papers about topics covered at the conference. Lay language papers are summaries (300-500 words) of presentations written by scientists for a general audience. They will be accompanied by photos, audio, and video. Learn more at https://acoustics.org/lay-language-papers/.

PRESS REGISTRATION

ASA will grant free registration to credentialed and professional freelance journalists. If you are a reporter and would like to attend the meeting or virtual press conferences, contact AIP Media Services at media@aip.org. For urgent requests, AIP staff can also help with setting up interviews and obtaining images, sound clips, or background information.

ABOUT THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is the premier international scientific society in acoustics devoted to the science and technology of sound. Its 7,000 members worldwide represent a broad spectrum of the study of acoustics. ASA publications include The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (the world's leading journal on acoustics), JASA Express Letters, Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Acoustics Today magazine, books, and standards on acoustics. The society also holds two major scientific meetings each year. See https://acousticalsociety.org/.

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Singing humpback whales respond to wind noise, but not boats

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

 

IMAGE: UQ RESEARCHERS RECORDED HUMPBACK WHALES OFF THE QUEENSLAND COAST FOR THE STUDY. view more 

CREDIT: THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

A University of Queensland study has found humpback whales sing louder when the wind is noisy, but don’t have the same reaction to boat engines.

Research lead Dr Elisa Girola from UQ’s Faculty of Science said this quirk of whale evolution could have consequences for breeding and behaviour.

“Humpback whales evolved over millions of years with noise from natural sources but noise from man-made vessels is foreign to their instincts,” Dr Girola said.

“It’s a surprising finding given engine noise has a similar frequency range to the wind.

“It’s possible the whales are picking out other differences such as wind noise being broadband and the same over large areas, while vessel noise is generated by a single-point source with specific peaks in frequency.

“We don’t know yet if this lack of response to boat noise is making whales communicate less effectively or making breeding practices more difficult.

“Male humpback whale singing is probably used to mediate reproductive interactions, but we can’t say if vessel noise is interfering.”

The audio data for the study was collected in late 2010 off Peregian Beach in Queensland, during the whales’ southward migration from breeding grounds in the lagoon of the Great Barrier Reef to feeding grounds in Antarctica.

Whale songs were recorded using an acoustic array of five hydrophone buoys, which sent signals back to the beach.

A 19-metre fishing boat was introduced to produce vessel noise.

The researchers say it is possible that humpback whales are using other strategies to compensate for vessel noise.

“Even with a 19-metre boat making a racket, the whales just didn’t sing any louder,” Dr Girola said.

“There are a few things going on – they might be using ‘spatial release from masking’, which is the ability to discriminate between audio signals coming from different directions.

“Or there’s ‘comodulation release from masking’ which is the ability to discriminate between signal and noise when the noise has distinctive frequency components and at least some of these components are not overlapping with the signal.

“There’s still so much more research to be done.

“Understanding humpback whales’ response to noise is important for developing mitigation policies for human activities at sea.

“I’m sure these beautiful, mysterious creatures will continue to surprise and amaze us.”

The UQ research team included Professor Michael Noad and Associate Professor Rebecca Dunlop.

The research is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Dr Elisa Girola collecting data on humpback whales.

CREDIT

Marla Barker

JOURNAL

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

DOI

10.1098/rspb.2023.0204 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Singing humpback whales respond to wind noise, but not to vessel noise

 

Research reveals majority of gig economy workers are earning below minimum wage

Reports and Proceedings

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

As the cost of living continues to spiral, a new report shows more than half of gig economy workers in the UK are paid below the minimum wage.

The first-of-its-kind study, led by the University of Bristol, found 52% of gig workers doing jobs ranging from data entry to food delivery were earning below the minimum wage. On average respondents were earning £8.97 per hour – around 15% below the current UK minimum wage, which rose to £10.42 this month.

More than three-quarters (76%) of survey respondents also experienced work-related insecurity and anxiety.

Lead author Dr Alex Wood, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Future of Work at the University of Bristol Business School, said: “The findings highlight that working in the UK gig economy often entails low pay, anxiety, and stress. As food, fuel and housing costs keep rising, this group of workers are especially vulnerable and need to be more adequately remunerated and better protected.”

Equally concerning, more than a quarter (28%) felt they were risking their health or safety in doing gig work and a quarter (25%) experienced pain on the job.

When asked what would improve their situation, basic rights such as minimum wage rates, holiday and sick pay, and protection against unfair dismissal were most wanted.

Unions and platform councils (similar to works councils that exist in some European countries) to represent their needs and help influence how gig economy platforms operate and affect their working conditions also featured on their wish list. More than three-quarters of respondents believed the introduction of such bodies would bring immediate benefits.

Dr Wood said: “A major factor contributing to low pay rates is that this work involves spending significant amounts of time waiting or looking for work while logged on to a platform. Not only is the work low paid, but it is also extremely insecure and risky.

“The self-employed who are dependent on platforms to make a living are urgently in need of labour protections to shield them against the huge power asymmetries that exist in the sector. This clearly warrants the expansion of the current ‘worker’ status to protect them.”

The study involved 510 UK gig economy workers who were surveyed last year. There was representation from across the sector, with around half being remote freelancers using platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr to pick up jobs ranging from data entry to website design. The other half comprised local drivers providing food delivery and taxi services via platforms including Deliveroo and Uber.

More than just side hustles to earn extra cash, respondents spent on average 28 hours a week undertaking gig work, comprising 60% of their total earnings.

Respondents overwhelmingly considered their work to be best described as self-employment and thought an extension of labour rights to include the self-employed would significantly improve their working lives.

This was the first research to investigate what forms of voice gig workers want. The findings suggest strong support for European style co-determination whereby worker representatives are consulted on and approve changes that impact working conditions and employment. Works councils that exist in countries like Germany could therefore provide a model for platform councils and assemblies in the gig economy to facilitate workers having a say over the decisions which affect their ability to make a living.

Brendan Burchell, Professor in Social Sciences at the University of Cambridge and co-author of the report, added: “Respondents strongly felt the creation of co-determination mechanisms would allow workers, and their representatives, to influence platform provider decisions which could instantly improve their working lives.

“These policies include elected bodies of worker representatives approving all major platform changes that impact jobs and working conditions. Our findings emphasise the potential for trade union growth in this sector, with majorities being willing to join and even organise such bodies.”