Cryptic diversity within two widespread diadromous freshwater fishes (Teleostei: Galaxiidae).

Identification of taxonomically cryptic species is essential for the effective conservation of biodiversity. Freshwater-limited organisms tend to be genetically isolated by drainage boundaries, and thus may be expected to show substantial cryptic phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity. By comparison, populations of diadromous taxa, that migrate between freshwater and marine environments, are expected to show less genetic differentiation. Here we test for cryptic diversity in Australasian populations (both diadromous and non-diadromous) of two widespread Southern Hemisphere fish species, Galaxias brevipinnis and Galaxias maculatus. Both mtDNA and nuclear markers reveal putative cryptic species within these taxa. The substantial diversity detected within G. brevipinnis may be explained by its strong climbing ability which allows it to form isolated inland populations. In island populations, G. brevipinnis similarly show deeper genetic divergence than those of G. maculatus, which may be explained by the greater abundance of G. maculatus larvae in the sea allowing more ongoing dispersal. Our study highlights that even widespread, 'high-dispersal' species can harbour substantial cryptic diversity and therefore warrant increased taxonomic and conservation attention.

The Impact of the Closure and Reopening of Golf Courses in the United Kingdom on Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Study Approach.

The purpose of this multi-study was to assess what impact the closure and reopening of golf courses had on: personal competence; sense of belonging; enjoyment; self-esteem; self-confidence; resilience; social connections; wellbeing and life satisfaction (hereafter referred to collectively as "key variables of interest") during the COVID-19 pandemic. Golfers (Study 1: n = 298, Study 2: n = 124) ≥16 years old residing in the UK participated in this study which collected data using online surveys. Study 1 was conducted during a period of quarantine restrictions (4-12th May 2020), whilst study 2 took place following the easing of the COVID-19 quarantine restrictions (6-14th July 2020). Within study 1 and study 2, key variables of interest levels were also collected to investigate the association with golf related activities. The findings of study 1 highlighted that negligible and non-significant correlations were observed between golf physical and sedentary activities and key variables of interest (r < 0.3, p > 0.05) except sense of belonging and sedentary golf activities (r = 0.178, p = 0.003). Study 2 highlighted that sense of belonging, enjoyment and wellbeing were significantly associated with outdoor golf course activity (r = 0.186-0.252, p ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, when comparing study 1 and study 2, sense of belonging and life satisfaction significantly improved (p < 0.05, d = 0.2). Based on these findings, playing golf on outdoor golf courses appears to be positively related to sense of belonging, enjoyment and wellbeing. Also, with the reopening of golf courses life satisfaction improved which, together, highlights the beneficial impact that outdoor golf can impart.

Do lemurs know when they could be wrong? An investigation of information seeking in three species of lemur (Lemur catta, Eulemur rubriventer, and Varecia variegata).

A total of 16 lemurs, including representatives from three species (Lemur catta, Eulemur rubriventer, and Varecia variegata), were presented with a food-seeking task in which information about the rewards location, in one of two plastic tubes, was either known or not known. We evaluated whether lemurs would first look into the tube before making a choice. This information-seeking task aimed to assess whether subjects would display memory awareness, seeking additional information when they became aware they lacked knowledge of the rewards location. We predicted lemurs would be more likely to look into the tube when they had insufficient knowledge about the rewards position. Lemurs successfully gained the reward on most trials. However, they looked on the majority of trials regardless of whether they had all the necessary information to make a correct choice. The minimal cost to looking may have resulted in checking behavior to both confirm what they already knew and gain knowledge they did not have. When the cost of looking increased (elevating the end of tube, requiring additional energy expenditure to look inside-Experiment 2), lemurs still looked into tubes on both seen and unseen trials; however, the frequency of looking increased when opaque tubes were used (where they could not see the rewards location after baiting). This could suggest they checked more when they were less sure of their knowledge state. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Personally meaningful recovery in people with psychological trauma: Initial validity and reliability of the Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter (I.ROC).

Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter (I.ROC) is a brief tool measuring personal recovery designed for collaborative use within support. This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of a self-report version of the I.ROC within a trauma population. A total of 107 adults attending trauma interventions in an NHS service in Scotland completed I.ROC alongside measures of self-esteem, mental illness symptoms, and functional impairment. Scores on each measure were compared to evaluate the convergent validity of I.ROC. Internal consistency and factor analytical techniques were also used to assess the structural validity and reliability of the measure. Results of internal consistency, convergent validity, and factor analysis provide preliminary support for I.ROC's validity within a trauma population. Previously proposed models were a poor fit for the current sample; principal components analysis suggested a three-factor structure with acceptable internal consistency, comprising ten of the original twelve items (I.ROC-10). Correlations with all measures reached significance for the original and modified I.ROC and its subscales. I.ROC appears to be a valid and reliable tool for use in measuring recovery within a trauma population, but further research is needed to examine the structural validity of I.ROC.

Factor validation and Rasch analysis of the individual recovery outcomes counter.

OBJECTIVE: The individual recovery outcomes counter is a 12-item personal recovery self-assessment tool for adults with mental health problems. Although widely used across Scotland, limited research into its psychometric properties has been conducted. We tested its' measurement properties to ascertain the suitability of the tool for continued use in its' present form. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Anonymised data from the assessments of 1743 adults using mental health services in Scotland were subject to tests based on principles of Rasch measurement theory, principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: Rasch analysis revealed that the six-point response structure of the individual recovery outcomes counter (I.ROC) was problematic. Re-scoring on a four-point scale revealed well-ordered items that measure a single, recovery-related construct, and has acceptable fit statistics. Confirmatory factor analysis supported this. Scale items covered around 75% of the recovery continuum; those individuals least far along the continuum were least well addressed. CONCLUSIONS: A modified tool worked well for many, but not all, service users. The study suggests specific developments are required if the I.ROC is to maximise its' utility for service users and provide meaningful data for service providers. Implications for Rehabilitation Agencies and services working with people with mental health problems aim to help them with their recovery. The individual recovery outcomes counter has been developed and is used widely in Scotland to help service users track their progress to recovery. Using a large sample of routinely collected data we have demonstrated that a number of modifications are needed if the tool is to adequately measure recovery. This will involve consideration of the scoring system, item content and inclusion, and theoretical basis of the tool.

Compounding Effects of Agricultural Land Use and Water Use in Free-Flowing Rivers: Confounding Issues for Environmental Flows.

Defining the ecological impacts of water extraction from free-flowing river systems in altered landscapes is challenging as multiple stressors (e.g., flow regime alteration, increased sedimentation) may have simultaneous effects and attributing causality is problematic. This multiple-stressor context has been acknowledged in environmental flows science, but is often neglected when it comes to examining flow-ecology relationships, and setting and implementing environmental flows. We examined the impacts of land and water use on rivers in the upper Ringarooma River catchment in Tasmania (south-east Australia), which contains intensively irrigated agriculture, to support implementation of a water management plan. Temporal and spatial and trends in river condition were assessed using benthic macroinvertebrates as bioindicators. Relationships between macroinvertebrate community structure and environmental variables were examined using univariate and multivariate analyses, focusing on the impacts of agricultural land use and water use. Structural changes in macroinvertebrate communities in rivers in the catchment indicated temporal and spatial declines in the ecological condition of some stretches of river associated with agricultural land and water use. Moreover, water extraction appeared to exacerbate impairment associated with agricultural land use (e.g., reduced macroinvertebrate density, more flow-avoiding taxa). The findings of our catchment-specific bioassessments will underpin decision-making during the implementation of the Ringarooma water management plan, and highlight the need to consider compounding impacts of land and water use in environmental flows and water planning in agricultural landscapes.

Handedness and social anxiety: Using Bryden's research as a catalyst to explore the influence of familial sinistrality and degree of handedness.

Phil Bryden's work has impacted on many areas of laterality, including degree and measurement of hand preference, as well as influences of familial sinistrality (FS). For example, Bryden[(1977). Measuring handedness with questionnaires. Neuropsychologia, 15, 617-624] is a well-cited and influential paper that remains relevant to this day. Inspired by this we extended our analysis of the relationship between handedness and anxiety in a number of ways. We used familial handedness and strength of handedness to examine their potential influences on anxiety, and extended our research by exploring their relationship to social anxiety, using the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN). Inconsistent left-handers (ILH) were found to be more socially anxious. In all categories of SPIN except avoidance, ILH were significantly more anxious than consistent right- and left-handers. There were FS differences between ILH with a first degree left-handed relative (FS+) compared to ILH with no first degree left-handed relative (FS-) on all categories of anxiety scores. Within FS+ participants, ILH had significantly higher anxiety scores, compared with consistent handers across all categories. This suggests that ILH's social anxiety may be influenced by a close left-handed relative. Inspired by examining Bryden's work for this special issue, we will continue to add both strength of preference and familial handedness to our work.

Left-handers look before they leap: handedness influences reactivity to novel Tower of Hanoi tasks.

A sample of 203 task naïve left- and right-handed participants were asked to complete a combination of the 3- and 4-disk Towers of Hanoi (ToH), manipulating novelty and complexity. Self-reported state anxiety and latency to respond (initiation time) were recorded before each ToH. Novelty had a major effect on initiation time, particularly for left-handers. Left-handers had a longer latency to start and this was significantly longer on the first trial. Irrespective of hand-preference, initiation time reduced on the second trial, however, this was greatest for left-handers. Condition of task did not systematically influence initiation time for right handers, but did for left-handers. State anxiety was influenced by task novelty and complexity in a more complicated way. During the first trial, there was a significant handedness × number of disks interaction with left-handers having significantly higher state anxiety levels before the 3-disk ToH. This suggests that the initial reaction to this task for left-handers was not simply due to perceived difficulty. On their second trial, participants completing a novel ToH had higher state anxiety scores than those completing a repeated version. Overall, left-handers had a larger reduction in their state anxiety across trials. Relating to this, the expected strong positive correlation between state and trait anxiety was absent for left-handed females in their first tower presentation, but appeared on their second. This was driven by low trait anxiety individuals showing a higher state anxiety response in the first (novel) trial, supporting the idea that left-handed females respond to novelty in a way that is not directly a consequence of their trait anxiety. A possible explanation may be stereotype threat influencing the behavior of left-handed females.

Differences between left- and right-handers in approach/avoidance motivation: influence of consistency of handedness measures.

Hand preference is often viewed as a troublesome variable in psychological research, with left-handers routinely excluded from studies. Contrary to this, a body of evidence has shown hand preference to be a useful variable when examining human behavior. A recent review argues that the most effective way of using handedness as a variable, is a comparison between individuals who use their dominant hand for virtually all manual activities (consistent handers) versus those who use their other hand for at least one activity (inconsistent handers). The authors contend that researchers should only focus on degree of handedness rather than direction of preference (left versus right). However, we argue that the field suffers from a number of methodological and empirical issues. These include a lack of consensus in choice of cut-off point to divide consistent and inconsistent categories and importantly a paucity of data from left-handers. Consequentially, researchers predominantly compare inconsistent versus consistent right-handers, largely linked to memory, cognition and language. Other research on response style and personality measures shows robust direction of handedness effects. The present study examines both strength and direction of handedness on self-reported behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) scores, using evidence from a large (N = 689) dataset including more than 200 left-handers. There were degree of handedness effects on BIS and BAS-Fun Seeking, but effects are largely driven by differences between consistent left-handers and other groups. Choice of cut-off point substantively influenced results, and suggests that unless a suitable sample of left-handers is included, researchers clarify that their degree of handedness effects are applicable only to right-handers. We concur that strength of hand preference is an important variable but caution that differences related to consistency may not be identical in right and left-handers.

Are left-handers really more anxious?

Research examining anxiety and handedness is inconclusive. Davidson and Schaffer (1983) found left-handers had higher trait anxiety, while Beaton and Moseley (1991) found no state or trait differences. Such studies potentially have methodological issues, and we have argued that handedness related reactivity differences (Wright & Hardie, 2011) suggest that state anxiety needs to be measured within a context. Thus the current study investigated state and trait anxiety levels in an experimental situation. We found left-handers had significantly higher state scores, supporting the right hemisphere's role in negative affect and inhibition. It also fits with predictions based on the behavioural inhibition system's role in the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (rRST). No trait differences were found, but there was a significant relationship between trait and state anxiety. Using ANCOVA to control for the influence of trait anxiety on state anxiety, we still found a handedness effect. When participant's trait anxiety levels were similar, left-handers showed a relatively larger state response. We conclude that in the context of an experiment, state anxiety was directly correlated with trait anxiety but that the relatively higher reactivity of left-handers may be a major influence on how they respond in a new situation.

"Not ready to sort it yet": revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (rRST) predicts left-handed behavioural inhibition during a manual sorting task.

Wright, Hardie, and Rodway (2004) showed that left-handers were slower to respond initially to the Tower of Hanoi, and proposed that this was due to either anxious or inhibited behaviour in their approach or to right hemisphere superiority in spatial tasks. The revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (Gray & McNaughton, 2000) offers a rationale for the influence of anxiety, and Wright, Hardie, and Wilson (2009) demonstrated a behavioural inhibition system (BIS) difference related to handedness, arguing that, due to their increased BIS sensitivity, left-handers may show more anxiety-induced goal conflict and should take longer to initiate any novel task. On the basis of this, the current study tested the prediction of increased left-handed inhibition of action, using a manual sorting task. A total of 78 participants took part and analyses revealed that left-handers took significantly longer to move the first card. A significant handedness×sex interaction was found for task completion time. The significant initiation difference further supports the idea that rBIS sensitivity differences may be the source of divergent responses in novel tasks, rather than hemispheric dominance related withdrawal (Davidson, 1995), and provides support for the new role of BIS in the revised rather than original reinforcement sensitivity theory (Gray, 1982).

Reciprocation and interchange in wild Japanese macaques: grooming, cofeeding, and agonistic support.

Social primates spend a significant proportion of their time exchanging grooming with their group companions. Although grooming is mainly exchanged in kind, given its hygienic and tension-reducing functions, it is still debated whether grooming also provides some social benefits, such as preferential access to resources (e.g., food or mating partners). In this study we analyzed grooming distribution among wild female Japanese macaques living in two groups on Yakushima. We tested the tendency of monkeys to reciprocate the amount of grooming received, and to direct their grooming up the hierarchy. Then we analyzed the relation of grooming to three of its possible benefits: reduced aggression, increased tolerance over food, and agonistic support against a male aggressor. The data were analyzed by means of row-wise matrix correlations. Grooming was highly reciprocated (i.e., exchanged in kind) and directed up the hierarchy in both the study groups. No significant relationship was found between grooming and aggression. Conversely, grooming favored tolerance over food, since it was positively correlated with presence on the same food patch, close proximity, and close approaches (both within 1 m) during feeding. Grooming was also positively related to agonistic support against adult males, although this relationship became nonsignificant when we controlled for kinship. Although these results are not definitive, they suggest that monkeys may derive various social benefits from grooming. This conclusion is supported by the fact that in various primate species animals tend to prefer high-ranking individuals as grooming partners.

The enigma of facial asymmetry: is there a gender-specific pattern of facedness?

Although facial symmetry correlates with facial attractiveness, human faces are often far from symmetrical with one side frequently being larger than the other (Kowner, 1998). Smith (2000) reported that male and female faces were asymmetrical in opposite directions, with males having a larger area on the left side compared to the right side, and females having a larger right side compared to the left side. The present study attempted to replicate and extend this finding. Two databases of facial images from Stirling and St Andrews Universities, consisting of 180 and 122 faces respectively, and a third set of 62 faces collected at Abertay University, were used to examine Smith's findings. Smith's unique method of calculating the size of each hemiface was applied to each set. For the Stirling and St Andrews sets a computer program did this automatically and for the Abertay set it was done manually. No significant overall effect of gender on facial area asymmetry was found. However, the St Andrews sample demonstrated a similar effect to that found by Smith, with females having a significantly larger mean area of right hemiface and males having a larger left hemiface. In addition, for the Abertay faces handedness had a significant effect on facial asymmetry with right-handers having a larger left side of the face. These findings give limited support for Smith's results but also suggest that finding such an asymmetry may depend on some as yet unidentified factors inherent in some methods of image collection.

Differential effects of ambient temperature and humidity on allogrooming, self-grooming, and scratching in wild Japanese macaques.

This study presents data on the effects of variations in ambient temperature and humidity on behaviors related to the care of the pelage (allogrooming, self-grooming, and scratching) in wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata yakui). The amount of time monkeys spent allogrooming was essentially unaffected by variations in ambient temperature and relative humidity. Frequency of scratching and, to a lesser extent, time spent self-grooming significantly increased when ambient temperature and/or relative humidity increased. These results are interpreted in relation to the differences in ultimate function that exist between allogrooming (with both hygienic and social functions) and self-grooming and scratching (with a solely hygienic function).

Pause before you respond: handedness influences response style on the Tower of Hanoi task.

Comparative laterality research has indicated that marmoset monkeys with a righthand preference take less time to respond to novel objects within a novel environment (Cameron & Rogers, 1999). This suggests that right hemisphere dominance may be associated with a more cautious cognitive style in novel situations. The present study tested this hypothesis using right- and left-handed human participants to complete a three-disk Tower of Hanoi (TOH) task. It was hypothesised that left-handers would be slower to initiate responding. A total of 84 participants (42 left-handers, 42 right-handers) took part and the time taken to make the first move, completion time, and the number of moves taken to complete the task were recorded. Analysis of Variance revealed a significant main effect of handedness, with left-handers taking longer to move the first disk and significantly fewer moves to complete the task. However, left-handers were not significantly faster at completing the TOH, although males completed the task more quickly than females. These initial findings support the hypothesis that left-hand dominance is associated with a more cautious cognitive style in novel problem-solving situations.

The valence-specific laterality effect in free viewing conditions: The influence of sex, handedness, and response bias.

The right hemisphere has often been viewed as having a dominant role in the processing of emotional information. Other evidence indicates that both hemispheres process emotional information but their involvement is valence specific, with the right hemisphere dealing with negative emotions and the left hemisphere preferentially processing positive emotions. This has been found under both restricted (Reuter-Lorenz & Davidson, 1981) and free viewing conditions (Jansari, Tranel, & Adophs, 2000). It remains unclear whether the valence-specific laterality effect is also sex specific or is influenced by the handedness of participants. To explore this issue we repeated Jansari et al.'s free-viewing laterality task with 78 participants. We found a valence-specific laterality effect in women but not men, with women discriminating negative emotional expressions more accurately when the face was presented on the left-hand side and discriminating positive emotions more accurately when those faces were presented on the right-hand side. These results indicate that under free viewing conditions women are more lateralised for the processing of facial emotion than are men. Handedness did not affect the lateralised processing of facial emotion. Finally, participants demonstrated a response bias on control trials, where facial emotion did not differ between the faces. Participants selected the left-hand side more frequently when they believed the expression was negative and the right-hand side more frequently when they believed the expression was positive. This response bias can cause a spurious valence-specific laterality effect which might have contributed to the conflicting findings within the literature.