Climate change can lead to and intensify drought disasters. Quantifying the vulnerability of disaster-affected elements is significant for understanding the mechanisms that transform drought intensity into eventual loss. This study proposed a growth-stage-based drought vulnerability index (GDVI) of soybean using meteorological, groundwater, land use, and field experiment data and crop growth model simulation. The CROPGRO-Soybean model was used to simulate crop growth and water deficit. Four growth stages were considered since the sensitivity of soybean to drought is strictly related to the growth stage. The GDVI was applied to the Huaibei Plain, Anhui Province, China, with the goal of quantifying the spatiotemporal characteristics of soybean drought vulnerability in typical years and growth stages. The results show that: (1) The sensitivity of leaf-related parameters exceeded that of other parameters during the vegetative growth stage, whereas the top weight and grain yield showed a higher sensitivity in the reproductive growth stage; (2) A semi-logarithmic law can describe the relationship between the drought sensitivity indicators and the GDVI during the four growth stages. The pod-filling phase is the most vulnerable stage for water deficit and with the highest loss upper limit (over 70%); (3) The 2001 and 2002 seasons were the driest time during 1997−2006. Fuyang and Huainan Cities were more vulnerable to drought than other regions on the Huaibei Plain in 2001, while Huaibei and Suzhou Cities were the most susceptible areas in 2002. The results could provide effective decision support for the categorization of areas vulnerable to droughts.

Length-weight relationships are very useful for fisheries research because they: (a) allow growth-in-weight equations for use in stock assessment models; (b) help estimate biomass by means of length observations; (c) enable us to obtain an estimate of the condition of the fish; and (d) are useful for interregional comparisons of life histories in certain species, provided all investigators employ a fully comparable (standardized) sampling methodology (Kara et al., 2018).The LWR equation parameters a and b are important in stock assessment studies when obtained together with a number of population relevant data such as sex, ratio, age at first maturity and fecundity data (Simon & Mazlan, 2008). The present contribution aims to provide new LWRs which includes a wider size range or a larger TLmax compared to existing studies. | MATERIAL S AND ME THODSThis study was conducted at five locations, Tema, Nungua, Sakumono, Prampram and Kpone in the Greater Accra region, Ghana.Inhabitants of these coastal community are mostly engaged in fishing and its related activities. Table 1 shows the geographic coordinates

Some life history aspects, including population parameters of Senegalese tongue sole (Cynoglossus senegalensis), in the coastal waters of Ghana, were studied between July 2018 and June 2019. The length data from a total of 528 specimens from the coastal waters of the Greater Accra region of Ghana was analysed for growth parameters, mortality parameters and biological reference points. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters were estimated at asymptotic length (L∞) = 57.2 cm TL, growth rate (K) = 0.40 per year, and growth performance index (Φ′) = 3.115. Mortality parameters were calculated as total mortality rate (Z) = 0.81 yr −1 , the natural mortality rate (M) = 0.56 yr -1 , and fishing mortality rate (F) 0.26 yr -1 . The exploitation rate (E) of 0.31 was lower than both the optimum level and the exploitation rate at MSY (Emax = 0.64), indicating that C. senegalensis fishery in Ghana is underexploited. However, for sustainable management of the species, there is the need for continuous monitoring of fishing efforts and improve data collection.

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