Citizen Science for Deep Ocean Biodiversity: A Crowdsourcing Tool in Support of Conservation

Scientific knowledge plays an important role in providing ecosystem services. However, knowledege from the vast deep ocean is less understood and poses challenges to scientists defying the engagement of participatory science that has proven valuable in other disciplines where biodiversity observing and monitoring have had more tradition. Cabled ocean observatories and telepresence offer an opportunity for collecting data through citizen science and crowdsourcing in the next decades. Science and decision-making will be benefited with the early involvement of citizens and increasing the knowledge for conservation and restoration actions. The "Morphotype Atlas of the Abyssal Megafauna in the Revillagigedo Archipelago in the Eastern Tropical Pacific” is an educational initiative based on volunteer work for the identification of seafloor habitats and taxonomic diversity. It offers student training using as an example of a deep ocean national park in Mexico and uses materials obtained from the live video recording from remotely operated vehicle (ROV) cameras in a collaborative cruise with the Ocean Exploration Trust. The possibilities to explore the deep ocean biodiversity were unique to numerous students during the COVID-19 restriction. This volunteer work inspires amateurs, generates new knowledge, connects participants, and increases their literacy of the deep ocean, whose study is limited due to its remoteness and costly accessibility. Among the challenges to overcome for crowdsourcing is the complex identification of deep ocean organisms. "Immersive virtual reality, " a tool that facilitates understanding through a virtual spatial presence, is being explored in a collaborative effort with the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) to virtually represent the deep protected areas in Mexico. Comments on the opportunities and challenges that citizen science can bring in the next decade are presented. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.

Association of COVID-19 and glomerulonephritis with ANCA and anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies Report of one case

Renal involvement in COVID-19 infection is varied and worsens its outcome and prognosis. However, the association of COVID-19 infection with glomerulonephritis is exceptional. We report a 46-year-old woman with COVID-19 who had an acute kidney injury and ANCA associated glomerulonephritis two weeks after the onset of the disease. The kidney biopsy showed a crescentic glomerulonephritis and the presence of anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies (GBM-Abs). She was treated with steroids and oral cyclophosphamide with good response without requiring plasmapheresis. Plasma anti GBM-Abs were negative. This case suggests that the presence of anti-GBM-Abs in the kidney, was temporally related to COVID-19 pulmonary damage. The absence of plasma antibodies is probably due to transient production and glomerular adsorption, but with unknown pathogenic role. © 2022 Sociedad Medica de Santiago. All rights reserved.

Emotional Impact on Children from 3 to 5 Years Old due to Isolation in their Family Environment as a Consequence of COVID-19: Case of "Los Andes" Educational Unit

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 is a disease declared in December 2019 and it develops as a pneumonia that can progress to severe respiratory distress syndrome depending on the personal pathological history of everyone. This pandemic has generated impact worldwide in the health area as well as in the political, social, and psychological spheres;thus, it can be observed at present that isolation has caused various behavioral and psychological disorders in older adults, adults, adolescents and children, which can present as insomnia, anxiety, depression, among others. The objective of this research is to describe the emotional impact suffered by children 3-5 years old from the educational unit "Los Andes" because of isolation in their family environment as a consequence of COVID-19.

Co-designing a safe ocean in the western tropical atlantic within the framework of the UN decade of ocean science for sustainable development

The frequency and intensity of ocean related hazards and its overlapping and cascading effects are escalating with devastating and unsustainable impact on life and livelihoods in the Western Tropical Atlantic. From the Bahamas to Brazil, from Mexico and Central America to the Lesser Antilles, coastal and maritime communities have been impacted by hurricanes, storm surges, earthquakes, sargassum and oil spills along with other climate, weather and human induced events. In addition to the coastal impacts, ocean hazards also have affected the safe and timely delivery of goods and services in a region that is extremely dependent on maritime transport. COVID-19 has compounded even more the situation of millions of people in the region and put extreme pressure on government officials, including disaster management and health professionals as well as the maritime industry. Climate change will only exacerbate the situation. The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) presents itself as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stop the cycle of disasters with “A Safe Ocean” as one of its seven major societal outcomes. The Western Tropical Atlantic Safe Ocean Working Group was established to co-design and co-deliver with local, national and regional partners transformative strategies that will facilitate and inspire actions to reduce and mitigate the ocean related threats while creating resilient and safer coastal communities and maritime activities. At the core is an Integrated Multi Hazard Ocean Data and Forecast System. Its services would be linked to education, outreach, readiness and communication that empowers and recognizes national and local policy decisions and includes individual response for the protection of life and livelihoods. This effort should support relevant science and strengthen capacity leaving no one or country behind. © 2021 The authors.

Marine Genetic Resources in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: Promoting Marine Scientific Research and Enabling Equitable Benefit Sharing

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 arising from research on MGR in ABNJ;and capacity building and technology transfer for developing states. In this paper, we explain what MGR are, the methods required to collect, study and archive them, including data arising from scientific investigation. We also explore the practical requirements of access by developing countries to scientific cruises, including the sharing of data, as well as participation in research and development on shore whilst promoting rather than hindering marine scientific research. We outline existing infrastructure and shared resources that facilitate access, research, development, and benefit sharing of MGR from ABNJ;and discuss existing gaps. We examine international capacity development and technology transfer schemes that might facilitate or complement non-monetary benefit sharing activities. We end the paper by highlighting what the ILBI can achieve in terms of access, utilization, and benefit sharing of MGR and how we might future-proof the BBNJ Agreement with respect to developments in science and technology. © Copyright © 2021 Rogers, Baco, Escobar-Briones, Gjerde, Gobin, Jaspars, Levin, Linse, Rabone, Ramirez-Llodra, Sellanes, Shank, Sink, Snelgrove, Taylor, Wagner and Harden-Davies.