Southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) are a coastal flatfish species that supports recreational and commercial fisheries but are currently experiencing range‐wide declines. To quantify the range‐wide declines and investigate the role of climate in these declines, fishery‐independent sampling data of age‐0 flounder were obtained from 34 estuaries representing four states in the Gulf of Mexico (TX, LA, AL, and FL) and three states in the Southeastern United States Atlantic Ocean (FL, SC, and NC) spanning from 1976 to 2019. Generalized additive models (GAM) were used to estimate age‐0 recruitment trends. Spatial and temporal synchrony analyses were then conducted using annual GAM‐predicted values to determine if trends were similar between estuaries in close proximity, and if declines occurred at the same time. Because the species is dependent on physical transport (i.e., winds and tides) for recruitment, hourly wind speed, wind direction, water temperature, and air temperature were obtained for estuaries with non‐zero sampling totals and long‐term data sets. Only six estuaries showed significant relationships between age‐0 flounder indices and growing degree days. However, all estuaries with wind data showed significant relationships between age‐0 flounder indices and hourly summed wind speed. Southern flounder also have environmental sex determination, meaning warming estuaries could also account for population changes and declines. We document that water temperatures in the same space and time where southern flounder sexually determine are warmer now than even a decade ago, which could masculinize populations and substantially change population demographics. These results illustrate the vulnerability of estuarine finfish populations to climate change and increased climate variability. Understanding how climate acts on southern flounder biology may help managers respond to and prevent fishery collapses.

In recent years, management agencies across the Gulf of Mexico and southern U.S. Atlantic have recognized Southern Flounder Paralichthys lethostigma as a declining fish stock. Population declines in coastal Louisiana are exhibited by indices of recruitment and biomass, which have reached levels that present management concerns. To develop a better understanding of this declining fishery, we examined fishery-dependent data collected by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries' recreational angler harvest survey (referred to as "LA Creel"). Data were modeled using generalized additive models to estimate temporal components of recreational Southern Flounder landings in both seasonality and trend. Over the study period (2014-2019), recreational landings exhibited a declining trend statewide. Strong seasonal peaks in the fall occurred statewide and regionally in every coastal management zone (i.e., estuary). Understanding the current fishery with the fine-scale resolution provided by the LA Creel survey can be used to help guide future management decisions in the pursuit of a sustainable management strategy inclusive of fishery-dependent information.

BackgroundPulse oximeters are a standard non-invasive tool to measure blood oxygen levels, and are used in multiple healthcare settings. It is important to understand the factors affecting their accuracy to be able to use them optimally and safely. This analysis aimed to explore the association of the measurement error of pulse oximeters with systolic BP, diastolic BP and heart rate (HR) within ranges of values commonly observed in clinical practice.MethodsThe study design was a retrospective observational study of all patients admitted to a large teaching hospital with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection from February 2020 to December 2021. Data on systolic and diastolic BPs and HR levels were available from the same time period as the pulse oximetry measurements.ResultsData were available for 3420 patients with 5927 observations of blood oxygen saturations as measured by pulse oximetry and ABG sampling within 30 min. The difference in oxygen saturation using the paired pulse oximetry and arterial oxygen saturation difference measurements was inversely associated with systolic BP, increasing by 0.02% with each mm Hg decrease in systolic BP (95% CI 0.00% to 0.03%) over a range of 80–180 mm Hg. Inverse associations were also observed between the error for oxygen saturation as measured by pulse oximetry and with both diastolic BP (+0.03%; 95% CI 0.00% to 0.05%) and HR (+0.04%; 95% CI 0.02% to 0.06% for each unit decrease in the HR).ConclusionsCare needs to be taken in interpreting pulse oximetry measurements in patients with lower systolic and diastolic BPs, and HRs, as oxygen saturation is overestimated as BP and HR decrease. Confirmation of the oxygen saturation with an ABG may be appropriate in some clinical scenarios.

No abstract