Judith Gobin | The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine Trinidad and Tobago (original) (raw)

Papers by Judith Gobin

PLOS ONE, Jun 9, 2020

There is a global lack of data concerning shark consumption trends, consumer attitudes, and publi... more There is a global lack of data concerning shark consumption trends, consumer attitudes, and public knowledge regarding sharks. This is the case in Trinidad and Tobago, where shark is a popular culinary delicacy. A Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey was conducted in Trinidad and Tobago. Six hundred and seven questionnaires were administered. Univariate and stepwise multivariate logistic regressions were performed to test the association between KAP and demographic categories. The response rate was 93.4% with 567 questionnaires returned (473 from Trinidad and 94 from Tobago). Two hundred and seventeen (38.3%) participants were knowledgeable, 422 (74.4%) displayed attitudes in favour of shark conservation and sustainable use, and 270 (47.6%) displayed practices promoting shark conservation and sustainable use. Island (AOR = 2.81, CI = 1.78, 4.46) and tertiary education (AOR = 2.31, CI = 1.20, 4.46) significantly influenced knowledge level. Gender (AOR = 1.50, CI = 1.02, 2.20) and island (AOR = 0.56, CI = 0.35, 0.90) significantly influenced attitude. Gender (COR = 1.59, CI = 1.14, 2.22) was significantly associated with practices. Over 70% of respondents ate shark, and 54.7% ate shark infrequently enough to avoid risks from heavy metal toxicity. Our results may be useful to develop public awareness and practice improvement initiatives in order to improve KAP regarding shark meat consumption.

Frontiers in Marine Science, May 31, 2021

Growing human activity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is driving increasing impacts... more Growing human activity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is driving increasing impacts on the biodiversity of this vast area of the ocean. As a result, the United Nations General Assembly committed to convening a series of intergovernmental conferences (IGCs) to develop an international legally-binding instrument (ILBI) for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of ABNJ [the biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) agreement] under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The BBNJ agreement includes consideration of marine genetic resources (MGR) in ABNJ, including how to share benefits and promote marine scientific research whilst building capacity of developing states in science and technology. Three IGCs have been completed to date with the fourth delayed by the Covid pandemic. This delay has allowed a series of informal dialogues to take place between state parties, which have highlighted a number of areas related to MGR and benefit sharing that require technical guidance from ocean experts. These include: guiding principles on the access and use of MGR from ABNJ; the sharing of knowledge

ICES Journal of Marine Science

Diverse and inclusive marine research is paramount to addressing ocean sustainability challenges ... more Diverse and inclusive marine research is paramount to addressing ocean sustainability challenges in the 21st century, as envisioned by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Despite increasing efforts to diversify ocean science, women continue to face barriers at various stages of their career, which inhibits their progression to leadership within academic institutions. In this perspective, we draw on the collective experiences of thirty-four global women leaders, bolstered by a narrative review, to identify practical strategies and actions that will help empower early career women researchers to become the leaders of tomorrow. We propose five strategies: (i) create a more inclusive culture, (ii) ensure early and equitable career development opportunities for women ECRs, (iii) ensure equitable access to funding for women ECRs, (iv) offer mentoring opportunities and, (v) create flexible, family-friendly environments. Transformational, meaningful, and lasting chan...

One Earth

Interdisciplinary research is paramount to addressing ocean sustainability challenges in the 21 s... more Interdisciplinary research is paramount to addressing ocean sustainability challenges in the 21 st century. However, women leaders have been underrepresented in interdisciplinary marine research and there is little guidance on how to achieve the conditions that will lead to an increased proportion of women scientists in positions of leadership. Here, we conduct in-depth qualitative research to explore the main barriers and enablers to women's leadership, in an academic interdisciplinary marine research context. We found that interdisciplinarity can present unique and additional barriers to women leaders (e.g. complexity and lack of value attributed interdisciplinary research) and are 4 exacerbated by existing gender-specific issues women experience (e.g. isolation and underrepresentation and stereotyping). Together these barriers overlap forming the 'glass obstacle course'and are particularly challenging for women in minoritized groups. Here, we provide a list of concrete, ambitious and actionable enablers that can promote and support women's leadership in academic interdisciplinary marine research.

World Seas: an Environmental Evaluation, 2019

The First Global Integrated Marine Assessment

Rocky shores are areas of high diversity and productivity providing goods and services. Since hum... more Rocky shores are areas of high diversity and productivity providing goods and services. Since humans are altering nature at an unprecedented rate, producing shifts in important parameters for life such as temperature, habitat availability, water quality, among others, it is expected that species will respond by changing their natural distributions and/or abundances. To understand how species will respond to such changes, it is necessary to learn the processes that determine these patterns. The South American Research Group on Coastal Ecosystems was established to assess marine diversity and biomass along both coasts of South America through an international collaboration. The main goals of SARCE are to: (1) Test hypotheses about latitudinal gradients and patterns of local and regional biodiversity, (2) Identify the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, (3) Assess the effect of environmental gradients and anthropogenic stressors, (4) Carry out capacity building and training activities aimed to solve environmental problems for the benefit of society. The SARCE network has sampled the coasts of nine countries around South America with a standardized protocol in more than 150 sites (2010-2014), ranging from 11º North to 55º South. This chapter provides a description of the biodiversity of the sites sampled by SARCE, along with a review of the uses and services that these ecosystems provide to human populations and the main threats and impacts these uses have caused.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

The deep ocean is the largest ecosystem on the planet, constituting greater than 90% of all habit... more The deep ocean is the largest ecosystem on the planet, constituting greater than 90% of all habitable space. Over three-quarters of countries globally have deep ocean within their Exclusive Economic Zones. While maintaining deep-ocean function is key to ensuring planetary health, deficiencies in knowledge and governance, as well as inequitable global capacity, challenge our ability to safeguard the resilience of this vast realm, leaving the fate of the deep ocean in the hands of a few. Historically, deep-ocean scientific exploration and research have been the purview of a limited number of nations, resulting in most of humankind not knowing the deep ocean within their national jurisdiction or beyond. In this article, we highlight the inequities and need for increased deep-ocean knowledge generation, and discuss experiences in piloting an innovative project ‘My Deep Sea, My Backyard’ toward this goal. Recognizing that many deep-ocean endeavours take place in countries without deep-oc...

Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 2022

FIGURE 7. Megabalanus zebra (Darwin, 1854) cirri from three specimens collected from boat hulls a... more FIGURE 7. Megabalanus zebra (Darwin, 1854) cirri from three specimens collected from boat hulls at Chaguaramas, Trinidad. A, cirrus I; B, cirrus II; C, cirrus III; D, cirrus VI; E, F and G, detail of external side of outer rami median segments of cirrus III, IV and VI, respectively. Figures A, B, E, F and G from specimen MNRJ 25245; C and E from MNRH 25248; D from MNRJ 25255. Scale bar: A, B and C = 2 mm; D = 4 mm; E, F and G = 1 mm.

FIGURE 2. Specimens of Megabalanus zebra (Darwin, 1854) collected on boat hulls sampled in Trinid... more FIGURE 2. Specimens of Megabalanus zebra (Darwin, 1854) collected on boat hulls sampled in Trinidad. A and C, specimen from Progression (MNRJ 25244), left lateral and upper view respectively; B, specimens attached to Lepas anatifera (Linnaeus, 1758), collected from Ƒiking IƑ (MNRJ 25258); D, two specimens of M. zebra attached to Amphibalanus amphitrite (Darwin, 1854) from Alcazar; left (MNRJ 25255), right (MNRJ 25254). Scale bar: A, C and D = 0.5 cm; B = 1 cm.

Frontiers in Marine Science, 2021

FIGURE 6. Two specimens of Megabalanus zebra (Darwin, 1854) from a pier piling at Piscadero Harbo... more FIGURE 6. Two specimens of Megabalanus zebra (Darwin, 1854) from a pier piling at Piscadero Harbor, Curaçao. A–F, MNRJ 25256; G–L, MNRJ 25257. A, shell top view; B, shell left lateral view; G and H, outer and inner view of right parietal plates, respectively; C, I and D, J, right scutum outer and inner faces; E, K and F, L, right tergum inner and outer faces. Scale bar: A and B = 1 cm, C- F = 6.5 mm; G, H = 0.7 mm; I-L = 5mm.

FIGURE 4. Megabalanus zebra (Darwin, 1854) right parietal plates from a specimen collected from t... more FIGURE 4. Megabalanus zebra (Darwin, 1854) right parietal plates from a specimen collected from the Progression hull at Chaguaramas, Trinidad (MNRJ 25247). A, external view; B, internal view. al = alae; sh = sheath; rd = radius; c = carina; cl1 = carinolatus 1; cl2 = carinolatus 2. Scale bar = 5 mm.