Artificial intelligence convolutional neural networks map giant kelp forests from satellite imagery.

Climate change is producing shifts in the distribution and abundance of marine species. Such is the case of kelp forests, important marine ecosystem-structuring species whose distributional range limits have been shifting worldwide. Synthesizing long-term time series of kelp forest observations is therefore vital for understanding the drivers shaping ecosystem dynamics and for predicting responses to ongoing and future climate changes. Traditional methods of mapping kelp from satellite imagery are time-consuming and expensive, as they require high amount of human effort for image processing and algorithm optimization. Here we propose the use of mask region-based convolutional neural networks (Mask R-CNN) to automatically assimilate data from open-source satellite imagery (Landsat Thematic Mapper) and detect kelp forest canopy cover. The analyses focused on the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera along the shorelines of southern California and Baja California in the northeastern Pacific. Model hyper-parameterization was tuned through cross-validation procedures testing the effect of data augmentation, and different learning rates and anchor sizes. The optimal model detected kelp forests with high performance and low levels of overprediction (Jaccard's index: 0.87 ± 0.07; Dice index: 0.93 ± 0.04; over prediction: 0.06) and allowed reconstructing a time series of 32 years in Baja California (Mexico), a region known for its high variability in kelp owing to El Niño events. The proposed framework based on Mask R-CNN now joins the list of cost-efficient tools for long-term marine ecological monitoring, facilitating well-informed biodiversity conservation, management and decision making.

The psychiatric emergency service: where we've been and where we're going.

The Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES) has evolved into a separate service with its own space and staff specialized for the handling of psychiatric emergencies. A study of trends in our PES reveals increased need for children's services, issues with managed care and an expansion in the use of the PES as a filter for the mental health system in dealing with substance abuse. Education and research have been added to the missions of the PES and there is strong potential for future development in this area. PESs of the future may be very different, with advances in communication, safety, computerized records and databases. New dilemmas in balancing the patient's right to confidentiality and autonomy against the potential of these advances are bound to occur.