25 Monkstown Road
St. John's, Newfoundland
Canada A1C 3T2

e-mail: kbellATmun.ca
         : mailATsnapopen.com

(photo credit: Dave Trattles, courtesy Canadian Geographic, July 1998)

Bell, K.N.I. 2008. Analysing Cycles in Biology and Medicine—a practical introduction to circular variables & periodic regression. 2nd edition, Razorbill Press. ISBN 978-0-9736209-2-4. xv+163 pp.   (Cycles surround us—indeed, they are the essence of life. Despite that, they are often mishandled, or even ignored, making conclusions potentially meaningless. Proper analysis is however within reach. Written in an accessible style, the book anticipates readers from apprehensive to advanced. With conceptual diagrams and worked-out examples, it contains everything needed, from basic trigonometry to a crisp stats refresher.     You can preview or order via Amazon.)
     [See the REVIEW by F.J. Rohlf,* 2010. Quart. Rev. Biol 85(1):123. Excerpt: "... well-written ... Overall, I found the book to be a useful, interesting, and even entertaining introduction to the analysis of periodic data in biology." (*of Sokal & Rohlf, Biometry)]

Bell, K. N. I.   2009. What Comes Down Must Go Up: The Migration Cycle of Juvenile-Return Anadromous Taxa. p321-342 in Dadswell, M. and Haro, A., Eds., Challenges for Diadromous Fishes in a Dynamic Global Environment, American Fisheries Society 2nd Symposium on Diadromous Fishes. (Invited speaker.)
(Uses Sicydium punctatum as a pattern/examplar for juvenile-return anadromous [a.k.a. amphidromous, but that term is flawed] taxa. Includes: brief overview of *first empirical method and estimates of in situ drift mortality, never measured before my work (see PhD thesis); drift environment probably the most hazardous known natural environment because drift mortalities exceed 0.5 per h and have profound implications (hypotheses) for conservation (esp. coastal zone) and behavioural ecology; *new hypothesized "rolling rug" circulation (see figure) on windward coasts with high rainfall.) PDF (3.4 MB) ΔΔ

Bell K.N.I. 2007. Opportunities in Stream Drift: Methods, Goby Larval Types, Temporal Cycles, In situ Mortality Estimation, and Conservation Implications. In Biology of Hawaiian Streams and Estuaries. Edited by N.L. Evenhuis & J.M. Fitzsimons. Bishop Museum Bulletin in Cultural and Environmental Studies 3: 35–61 (2007).  From symposium 2005, Hilo, Hawai'i. (Invited speaker.) [PDFs: low res: 1MB  hi res: 57MB. go to Proceedings site (for all papers)]. ( Rheoplankton sampling methods; goby larval types; seasonal, lunar and diurnal cycles; briefly, conservation implications of drift mortality) ΔΔ

Bell, K.N.I. 2005. Invited presentation to: House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, Sept. 29, on causes of collapse and non-recovery of Atlantic Cod, Gadus morhua. [html]

Bell, K.N.I. 2004. Special designation would protect Cod. St. John's Telegram (Nov. 06, 2004, Forum article, page A11) [scan] [fuller version html, with SARA references]

Bell, K.N.I. 2004. Cheating the Future --- SARA and the official "writing-off" of endangered populations. NHS forum 041113 (html)

Bell, K. N. I. 2001. Africa: Bypassed or sidelined?  Pp 119-125 in E. Feoli & Nauen, C.E. (Eds.), Proceedings of the INCO-DEV International Workshop on Information Systems for Policy and Technical Support in Fisheries and Aquaculture, Los Banos, Philippines, June 5-7, 2000. Brussels: ACP-EU Fish. Res. Rep., no. 8 (135 pp). (Invited speaker.) (Argument for stable infrastructural support and supplementation for science in African insitutions)....( download directly, or get full proceedings as PDF via EC Aquatic)

*Bell, K. N. I., Cowley, P. D.,Whitfield, A. K. 2001. Seasonality in Frequency of Marine Access to an Intermittently Open Estuary: Implications for Recruitment Strategies. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 52:327-337. [PDF] (Analysis of physical data, showing that peak recruitment to these estuaries should (hypothesis; supported in next paper from other data) be in mid-winter, challenging the prevaling assumption of mid-summer as general peak.)

Cowley, P. D., Whitfield, A. K., Bell, K. N. I. 2001. The Surf Zone Ichthyoplankton Adjacent to an Intermittently Open Estuary, with Evidence of Recruitment during Marine Overwash Events. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 52:339-348. [PDF] (Analysis of biological data supports the model [above] based on physical data. Together, these papers reversed an important assumption about recruitment timing, with implications for fisheries management and seasonal water withdrawal allowances.)

Bell, K. N. I. (in review -- submitted at invitation of editor) Status of Atlantic Cod, Gadus morhua, in Canada (abridged v. of COSEWIC report). Canadian Field-Naturalist. (see full Report in html, linked below)

Bell, K. N. I. 1999. Overview of goby-fry fisheries. NAGA - the ICLARM quarterly 22 (4):30-36. [PDF (this PDF is of the galley proof, and has a few formatting errors)]

Bell, K. N. I. 1998. An object lesson for demersal African fisheries from the collapse of Canadian Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua). In L. Coetzee, J. Gon, & C. Kulongowski (Eds), African Fishes and Fisheries - diversity and utilisation. Vol. I (Book of Abstracts) (p. 91). Grahamstown, South Africa, Sept. 13-18 1998. JLB Smith Inst. of Ichthyology, for The Paradi Association and The Fisheries Society of Africa. [MORE] (Case study showing the need for an ethical framework for participants in science-based decision-making; an echo of C.P. Snow's (1962) Science and Government.)

*Bell, K. N. I. 1998. Status of Atlantic Cod, Gadus morhua, in Canada. Commissioned by federal committee COSEWIC (supported by WWF). ≈100 pp.+8 figs., 137 refs.   (Accepted by COSEWIC 1998; resulted in first Canadian at-risk designation of a commercial marine fish. [REPORT html] [More on the cod and Listing issue]   Three independent peer-reviewers [see] and numerous bureaucratic reviewers [e.g. see Report's Addendum].)

Bell, K. N. I., Pepin, P. and Brown, J. A. 1997. (Abstract) Variation in age-at-recruitment can drive recruitment dynamics: the example of Sicydium spp. (Pisces: Gobiidae) in Dominica, West Indies. Micronesica 30: 25.

*Bell, K. N. I. 1997. Complex recruitment dynamics with Doppler-like effects caused by shifts and cycles in age-at-recruitment. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 54: 1668-1681. [PDF] (First example of Doppler-like effect that is outside light, sound etc.; also a new source of recruitment variation and generation of surrounding theory; first time (of course) this has been shown capable of modelling a naturally observed recruitment series. Theory has general implications in situations of variable time delays, and has potential application in economics/business/engineering etc.)

*Bell, K. N. I., Pepin, P., & Brown, J. A. 1995. Seasonal, inverse cycling of length- and age-at-recruitment in the diadromous gobies Sicydium punctatum and Sicydium antillarum (Pisces) in Dominica, West Indies. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 52:1535-1545. (Seasonal variation in age-at-recruitment had never before been shown or even suggested; both species show seasonal variation (statistically highly significant), but their means (mesors) differ, which is interesting.) [PDF 3.3MB, from scans]

*Bell, K. N. I., & Brown, J. A. 1995. Active salinity choice and enhanced swimming endurance in 0 to 8-d-old larvae of diadromous gobies, with emphasis on Sicydium punctatum (Pisces), in Dominica, West Indies. Mar. Biol. 121: 409-417. (First report of active salinity choice for any fish larva. Implications for early-rearing habitat.) [PDF 1.5MB, from scans]

*Bell, K. N. I. 1994. Life cycle, early life history, fisheries and recruitment dynamics of diadromous gobies of Dominica, W.I., emphasising Sicydium punctatum Perugia. Ph.D. thesis, Memorial Univ. of Nfld. St. John's, Nfld., Canada A1B 3X9. 9 chapters; xviii+275 pp. [*PDFs list]

Bell, K. N. I. 1988. Grazing rates of Pleurobrachia pileus. M.Sc. thesis, Biology Department, Dalhousie University. 4 chapters; xii + 124 pp.

MANUALS & TEACHING DOCUMENTS:

Bell, K.N.I. 2005. The 3 D's of Plagiarism: Defining, Detecting, Deterring. Prepared as resource for MUN 'T.O.G.A' graduate teaching program. (Document is, of course, copyright KNIB, but you are welcome to use it in teaching provided it is not altered and it is credited.). html

*Bell, K. N. I. 2004. Introduction to Circular Variables & Periodic Regression in Biology. (e-book in PDF format). Razorbill Press. ISBN 0-9736209-0-0. ca. 50 pp.
(This book has been informally distributed from 1995 up to now, with intermittent (not to say periodic) revisions. See below for an idea of what is in it; and see the papers (1995, 1997, 2001a, 2001b) for examples of its application. It has since been revised and published as ANALYSING CYCLES in paperback, see above.)

[excerpt] Visualising periodic regression: a sinusoidal function, or data, is visualised as a sinusoidal curve ‘peeled’ or ‘printed’ from a flat plot onto a cylinder (or vice versa). A flat plot would normally be labelled X and Y, but the cylindrical visualisation requires 2 dimensions of independent variables, so to keep the dependent variable as Y we label the true circular coordinates X" and Y". Mesor, Peak, and Amplitude (A) are also identified. The Mesor can also be found as the center of the intersection of plane and cylinder, and is a "time-corrected" estimate of population's central tendency, better than the average of all data is. A point at (x",y") represents the proper sine and cosine transform of the pseudo-linear time scale X, given its period (it is converted, usually to radians, to enable taking sin and cos). The phasing of the data peak relative to the nominal zero of the cycle is ∂ = P-t0.  ∂ can be identified iteratively, or graphically, or explicitly by regression using X” and Y” to model the variation in Y. (The next graph will help visualise the appearance of the data rotated about the proxy X-axes X" and Y".) My reason for writing this manual was/is to improve how biologists typically handle cyclic or periodic data, and make this powerful technique accessible. Cycles are pervasive in biology, yet are treated as no more than a nuisance.   C.I. Bliss said it best:    “Periodic phenomena in biology and climatology occur so widely that we tend either to adapt to them as unavoidable nuisances or are overimpressed by their day to day deviations. We can’t see the forest for the trees” -- C.I. Bliss, 1958.

Bell, K. N. I. 2004. A gentle intro to spreadsheets (Excel). (e-book in PDF format). Razorbill Press. ISBN 0-9736209-1-9. ca. 10 pp. (Written for beginners from undergrad to grad; warns of some mistakes that easily happen.)

Bell, K. N. I. 1998. Data, Data Management & Statistics. (Covers data documentation and archiving, and understanding basic parametric inferential statistics emphasising regression and residuals).

Bell, K.N.I. 1999. Age and Growth. Short manual for workshop segment (Age and Growth, principles and estimation) in JLBSI/DIFS (Rhodes U.) course for fisheries officers (pre-matric level) of SADC countries.

Bell, K.N.I. 1999. Data sheets and keeping track of data. Manual for workshop segment in JLBSI/DIFS course for fisheries officers of SADC countries.

Bell, K.N.I.  1989+Unpub. MS. An effective inexpensive trap for upstream-migrating fish and other aquatic animals (cite as pers. com, or unpub. MS, &/or Ch.8 in (Bell 1994) [PDF]

Bell, K. N. I. 1998. Inexpensive and easily constructed current meters for use in aquatic ecology: design, construction, calibration and use. (Instead of paying $500, or if your funding can't support that expense ... you can make an excellent current meter for $5 worth of scrounged parts, and how to calibrate it easily and properly.) 

Bell, K.N.I. 1999. Interpretation spreadsheet for periodic regression (spreadsheet). Calculates amplitude, peak time, and gives regression equation in two parameters in component (sine, cosine) format and cosine-and-lag (Fourier) format, calculates upper and lower bounds for peak and amplitude suitable for plotting.

Bell, K.N.I. 2000. Excel Add-In-Module for Circular and Periodic Stats. VBA module with functions useful in periodic statistics. Part A: Routines useful in both the pre- and post-analysis processes: functions automate calculations (e.g. resultant and mean vectors, circular averages), transformations (e.g. sine and cosine for variables of any period) required for analysis, and determine quadrant, calculate peaks and amplitudes from regression coefficients. Includes functions enabling plotting and analysis of numerically noncomformant systems: e.g. converting dates (month and day) to/from DOY (day of year), hour and minute of day to/from decimal day. Part B: Accompanying manual.

(There's rarely much point in patenting up-migration traps, plankton sorting pipettes, etc., because there isn't the market and patents cost a huge amount of money. The item below, however, fits into a very large market and seemed to have commercial potential, thus the potential to support research if it could take a little market share.)

Bell KNI 2000*. Method of Opening for Bags of Supple Polymeric Material Subject to Interlayer Cling. (*Priority date. Patents awarded in several countries, including US 7,223,016 awarded 2007.)
     This patent family covers several implementations based on a central principle. The patents teach how to improve plastic bags, with consequent savings in waste, in time/wages/money, and in hygiene. My intention is to get this to the stage where managers can take over, so it can finance research. Intention is not to exacerbate the plastic waste problem, on the contrary: it reduces wastage and may help facilitate use of recycled/biodegradable materials, thus minimising the impact of bags that are used. One product adopted in Norwegian food retail chains (commercial milestone). Dedicated web site for commercialisation: www.snapopen.com.

      There are pleasing parallels between a patent document and a scholarly publication. Both survey the state of the art, cite references, refer to figures, identify a problem, and then propose either a novel piece of knowledge about it, or solution to it, or way to gain information on it, etc. But patent English differs in structure, with many long (long, long) sentences.
       Intellectual Property knowledge gained in this project has clear value in academia, because IP (patents and copyrights) are becoming increasingly important assets which are often apt to be forfeit due to lack of knowledge of the process. For example: if, before a patent application is filed, the concept is published, or described without confidentiality to a colleague, that could constitute "publication" in the patent sense and result in loss of patent rights. There are, however, safe disclosure protocols. Other good advice from my patent agent? "Patenting is not for the faint of heart". You bet.
      Subtle paradoxes about patents: [1] they always don't give you the right to make the item, they just give you the right to stop someone else making it; and [2] although they confer monopolies, the founding intention is to enrich the public domain.