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Sea turtles are a taxon of conservation concern and are highly migratory, exposing them to a variety of threats (e.g., fisheries bycatch, direct harvest) across their lifetime. Understanding the abundance of nesting females, hatchling production, and migratory movements - three of the most basic biological data needs for this species group - is imperative for population assessment. This study summarizes novel data most relevant to population assessments of the endangered central south Pacific (CSP) green turtle (Chelonia mydas) population, determined from annual rapid assessment surveys (mean survey duration=7.6 days year-1, n=61 survey days over 8 nesting seasons) and satellite telemetry at Rose Atoll, American Samoa, from 2012 to 2019. A minimum of 138 unique females nested in the Rose Atoll NationalWildlife Refuge (RANWR) over the study period with 218 total females observed. Satellite tracks of post-nesting females suggest Fiji (n=33/48, 70.2%) is the primary foraging ground for turtles nesting at RANWR, though other areas throughout the south Pacific Ocean are also important. Limited data suggest hatchling production was high (average hatching success=92.3%) and nest temperature data collected from 2017-2019 suggest primary sex ratios were likely balanced during this time. These are positive signs for the resilience of this nesting population, but climate change poses threats to RANWR and other lowlying tropical islands throughout the central south Pacific, as nesting areas are potentially exposed to beach erosion, tidal inundations, and increasing temperatures leading to sex bias and embryonic death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments explored the neural mechanisms underlying the learning and consolidation of novel spoken words. In Experiment 1, participants learned two sets of novel words on successive days. A subsequent recognition test revealed high levels of familiarity for both sets. However, a lexical decision task showed that only novel words learned on the previous day engaged in lexical competition with similar-sounding existing words. Additionally, only novel words learned on the previous day exhibited faster repetition latencies relative to unfamiliar controls. This overnight consolidation effect was further examined using fMRI to compare neural responses to existing and novel words learned on different days prior to scanning (Experiment 2). This revealed an elevated response for novel compared with existing words in left superior temporal gyrus (STG), inferior frontal and premotor regions, and right cerebellum. Cortical activation was of equivalent magnitude for unfamiliar novel words and items learned on the day of scanning but significantly reduced for novel words learned on the previous day. In contrast, hippocampal responses were elevated for novel words that were entirely unfamiliar, and this elevated response correlated with postscanning behavioral measures of word learning. These findings are consistent with a dual-learning system account in which there is a division of labor between medial-temporal systems that are involved in initial acquisition and neocortical systems in which representations of novel spoken words are subject to overnight consolidation.

God of Life Alice: We in this Assembly have called out to the God of Life, the God of all life. And therefore our yearning for unity needs to follow [...]