Quantifying Physiological, Behavioral and Ecological Consequences of Hypoxic Events in Kelp Forest

Science.gov (United States)

Litvin, S. Y.; Beers, J. M.; Woodson, C. B.; Leary, P.; Fringer, O. B.; Goldbogen, J. A.; Micheli, F.; Monismith, S. G.; Somero, G. N.

2016-02-01

Rocky reef kelp forests that extend along the coast of central California, like many habitats in upwelling systems, often experience inundations of low dissolved oxygen (DO) or hypoxic waters. These events have the potential to influence the structure and function of coastal ecosystems. The ecological consequences of hypoxia for these systems will be mediated by physiological thresholds and behavioral responses of resident organisms in the context of the spatial and temporal variability of DO, and other potential stressors. Our research focuses on Sebastes (i.e. rockfish) because of their commercial, recreational and ecological importance, high abundance across near shore habitats and the potentially severe impacts of physiological stress due to hypoxia. In the lab, to investigate how hypoxic events physiologically effect rockfish, we exposed young of the year (YOY) of 5 species and two life stages of blue rockfish, S. mystinus (YOY and 1+), to DO concentrations representative of upwelling conditions and measured a suite of whole organisms and tissue level responses including metabolic rate, ventilation, tissue-level metabolism, and blood biochemistry. Results demonstrate species and life stage specific differences in physiological stress under upwelling driven hypoxic conditions and suggest YOY rockfishes may currently be living near their physiological limits. In the laboratory we further explored if physiological impacts result in behavioral consequences by examining the startle response of YOY rockfish, a relative measure of predator avoidance ability, under a range of DO concentrations and exposure durations. To further explore behavioral responses of rockfish to low in DO within the kelp forest we are using two approaches, monitoring the vertical distribution of fish communities across the water column using an acoustic imaging camera (ARIS 3000, Soundmetrics Inc.) and acoustic tagging, with 3-D positioning ability (VPS, VEMCO Inc.), of larger blue rockfish

Frugivores and seed dispersal: mechanisms and consequences for biodiversity of a key ecological interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Jordano, Pedro; Forget, Pierre-Michel; Lambert, Joanna E; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin; Traveset, Anna; Wright, S Joseph

2011-06-23

The 5th Symposium on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal, held in Montpellier (France), 13-18 June 2010, brought together more than 220 researchers exemplifying a wide diversity of approaches to the study of frugivory and dispersal of seeds. Following Ted Fleming and Alejandro Estrada's initiative in 1985, this event was a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the first meeting in Veracruz, Mexico. Frugivory and seed dispersal are active research areas that have diversified in multiple directions since 1985 to include evolution (e.g. phylogenetic diversity and dispersal adaptations), physiology (e.g. sensory cues and digestion), landscape ecology (movement patterns), molecular ecology (e.g. gene flow, genetic diversity and structure), community ecology (e.g. mutualistic interaction networks) and conservation biology (effects of hunting, fragmentation, invasion and extinction), among others. This meeting provided an opportunity to assess conceptual and methodological progress, to present ever more sophisticated insights into frugivory in animals and dispersal patterns in plants, and to report the advances made in examining the mechanisms and consequences of seed dispersal for plants and frugivores.

About petroleum-chemical soil pollution and their ecological consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faizov, K.Sh; Asanbaev, I.K.

1997-01-01

It is reported, that in Kazakhstan 20-25 million t of petroleum have mined every year, 90 % of them are in desert areas of Atyrau and Mangistau regions. There are 160 petroleum and gas deposits on different rate of mastering. In near-time outlook the mastering of richest petroleum stocks in the Caspian Sea shelf zone (3.5 billion t) and the Perm oils is planned, area of petroleum-gas regions will be increased up to 1,7 million km 2 , petroleum production will be increased to up 70 million t in 2010. Influence of pollution by petroleum on genetic properties of soils and its ecological consequences as well as issues of rehabilitation of polluted soils with help carbon-oxidation microorganisms are considered. It is reported, that there are cultures of microbes-destructors for hydrocarbon raw materials are able effectively to utilize raw petroleum, gasoline and diesel fuel (up 94-98 %) recommended by Kazakhstan microbiologists. The Munajbak microbe preparation for water and soil purification is able to utilize petroleum on 31-36 %

Functional and ecological consequences of saprotrophic fungus-grazer interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowther, Thomas W; Boddy, Lynne; Hefin Jones, T

2012-11-01

Saprotrophic fungi are key regulators of nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. They are the primary agents of plant litter decomposition and their hyphal networks, which grow throughout the soil-litter interface, represent highly dynamic channels through which nutrients are readily distributed. By ingesting hyphae and dispersing spores, soil invertebrates, including Arthropoda, Oligochaetae and Nematoda, influence fungal-mediated nutrient distribution within soil. Fungal physiological responses to grazing include changes to hydrolytic enzyme production and respiration rates. These directly affect nutrient mineralisation and the flux of CO(2) between terrestrial and atmospheric pools. Preferential grazing may also exert selective pressures on saprotrophic communities, driving shifts in fungal succession and community composition. These functional and ecological consequences of grazing are intrinsically linked, and influenced by invertebrate grazing intensity. High-intensity grazing often reduces fungal growth and activity, whereas low-intensity grazing can have stimulatory effects. Grazing intensity is directly related to invertebrate abundance, and varies dramatically between species and functional groups. Invertebrate diversity and community composition, therefore, represent key factors determining the functioning of saprotrophic fungal communities and the services they provide.

Ecology-genetic consequences of the chronic irradiation of animals in Chernobyl alienation zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glazko, V.I.; Grodzinskij, D.M.; Glazko, T.T.

2006-01-01

The investigation with the use of different molecular-genetic markers and the cytogenetic analysis of genetic-population consequences in different species of voles and experimental cattle herd reproduced in Chernobyl's alienation zone is carried out. The decrease in the number of animals with cytogenetic anomalies in bone marrow cells in voles, was revealed, that testified to the selection by the radioresistance. The obtained data allow us to make conclusion that the increase of ionizing radiation is a particular case of ecological changes leading to the microevolution events connected with the selection by the stability to new conditions of the reproduction of populations

Efeitos de hexazinone e diuron, e suas misturas, no controle de capim-de-colchão (Digitaria sanguinalis (L. Scop em cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp Effects of hexazinone and diuron and mixtures on crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis (L. Scop control on sugarcane (Saccharum spp

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. S. P. Cruz

1983-06-01

Full Text Available Foi conduzido em 1976 /77, um experimento de campo em área do Centro de Tecnologia da Copersucar, em Piracicaba, SP , com a finalidade de se conhecer o efeito dos herbicidas hexazinone e diuron , assim como o de suas misturas, no controle do capim-de -colchão (Digitaria sanguinalis (L. Scop em avançado estádio de desenvolvimento vegetativo infestando cultura de cana-deaçúcar (Saccharum spp. Os tratamentos constaram da aplicação pós - emergente de hexazinone a 0,30, 0,35, 0,45 e 0, 65 kg/h a; de diuro na 0, 88 , 1, 20 e 2, 50 kg/h a; de hexazinone -i - diuron a 0,30 0,88, 0,35 + 1 , 2 0 e 0 , 4 5 + 1 , 3 6 kg / ha . Foram incluídos mais dois tratamentos com herbicidas ( ter - bacila 0,9 6 kg/ ha e metribuzin a 1,5 0 kg/ ha e um sem herbicida, mantidos empreno limpo com o auxílio de enxada. Esses 13 tratamentos foram distribuídos em blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições. Foram determinados também os efeitos dos tratamentos sobre a produção de cana -de-açúcar no campo e sobre suas características tecnológicas (Brix, Pol, Pureza, Fibra. Os melhores resultados de controle da gramínea , aos 15 dias da aplicação dos herbicidas , foram obtidos com a mistura de hexazinone a 0, 45 kg/h a com diuron a 1, 36 kg/h a. Hexazinon e a 0,6 4 kg /h a, aplicado isolado, também apresentou bons resultados de controle. Nos tratamentos com hexazinone apareceram sintomas de fitotoxicidade na cana-de-açúcar, os quais desapareceram posteriormente, sem interferir na produção. Os demais tratamentos também não foram prejudiciais à cana de-açúcar.A field experiment was carried out at the Centre of Technology of Copers ucar, Piracicaba , SP, to know the action of hexazinone and diuron and mixtures on crab grass (Digitaria sanguinali s (L . Scop control, at advanced stage of development in sugarcane crop. Treatments were post -emergence aplication of hexazinone at 0,30; 0,35; 0,45 and 0,64 kg/ha; diuron at 0,88; 1,20 ; 1,36 and 2, 50 kg/h a

Unexpected Nongenetic Individual Heterogeneity and Trait Covariance in Daphnia and Its Consequences for Ecological and Evolutionary Dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cressler, Clayton E; Bengtson, Stefan; Nelson, William A

2017-07-01

Individual differences in genetics, age, or environment can cause tremendous differences in individual life-history traits. This individual heterogeneity generates demographic heterogeneity at the population level, which is predicted to have a strong impact on both ecological and evolutionary dynamics. However, we know surprisingly little about the sources of individual heterogeneity for particular taxa or how different sources scale up to impact ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Here we experimentally study the individual heterogeneity that emerges from both genetic and nongenetic sources in a species of freshwater zooplankton across a large gradient of food quality. Despite the tight control of environment, we still find that the variation from nongenetic sources is greater than that from genetic sources over a wide range of food quality and that this variation has strong positive covariance between growth and reproduction. We evaluate the general consequences of genetic and nongenetic covariance for ecological and evolutionary dynamics theoretically and find that increasing nongenetic variation slows evolution independent of the correlation in heritable life-history traits but that the impact on ecological dynamics depends on both nongenetic and genetic covariance. Our results demonstrate that variation in the relative magnitude of nongenetic versus genetic sources of variation impacts the predicted ecological and evolutionary dynamics.

Ecological consequences of alternative fuel reduction treatments in seasonally dry forests: the national fire and fire surrogate study

Science.gov (United States)

J.D. McIver; C.J. Fettig

2010-01-01

This special issue of Forest Science features the national Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS), a niultisite, multivariate research project that evaluates the ecological consequences of prescribed fire and its mechanical surrogates in seasonally dry forests of the United States. The need for a comprehensive national FFS study stemmed from concern that information on...

Ecological consequences of shifting the timing of burning tallgrass prairie.

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E Gene Towne

Full Text Available In the Kansas Flint Hills, grassland burning is conducted during a relatively narrow window because management recommendations for the past 40 years have been to burn only in late spring. Widespread prescribed burning within this restricted time frame frequently creates smoke management issues downwind. A potential remedy for the concentrated smoke production in late spring is to expand burning to times earlier in the year. Yet, previous research suggested that burning in winter or early spring reduces plant productivity and cattle weight gain while increasing the proportion of undesirable plant species. In order to better understand the ecological consequences of burning at different times of the year, plant production and species abundance were measured for 20 years on ungrazed watersheds burned annually in autumn, winter, or spring. We found that there were no significant differences in total grass production among the burns on either upland or lowland topographic positions, although spring burned watersheds had higher grass culm production and lower forb biomass than autumn and winter burned watersheds. Burning in autumn or winter broadened the window of grass productivity response to precipitation, which reduces susceptibility to mid-season drought. Burning in autumn or winter also increased the phenological range of species by promoting cool-season graminoids without a concomitant decrease in warm-season grasses, potentially widening the seasonal window of high-quality forage. Incorporating autumn and winter burns into the overall portfolio of tallgrass prairie management should increase the flexibility in managing grasslands, promote biodiversity, and minimize air quality issues caused by en masse late-spring burning with little negative consequences for cattle production.

Extraordinary sex ratios: cultural effects on ecological consequences.

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Ferenc Molnár

Full Text Available We model sex-structured population dynamics to analyze pairwise competition between groups differing both genetically and culturally. A sex-ratio allele is expressed in the heterogametic sex only, so that assumptions of Fisher's analysis do not apply. Sex-ratio evolution drives cultural evolution of a group-associated trait governing mortality in the homogametic sex. The two-sex dynamics under resource limitation induces a strong Allee effect that depends on both sex ratio and cultural trait values. We describe the resulting threshold, separating extinction from positive growth, as a function of female and male densities. When initial conditions avoid extinction due to the Allee effect, different sex ratios cannot coexist; in our model, greater female allocation always invades and excludes a lesser allocation. But the culturally transmitted trait interacts with the sex ratio to determine the ecological consequences of successful invasion. The invading female allocation may permit population persistence at self-regulated equilibrium. For this case, the resident culture may be excluded, or may coexist with the invader culture. That is, a single sex-ratio allele in females and a cultural dimorphism in male mortality can persist; a low-mortality resident trait is maintained by father-to-son cultural transmission. Otherwise, the successfully invading female allocation excludes the resident allele and culture and then drives the population to extinction via a shortage of males. Finally, we show that the results obtained under homogeneous mixing hold, with caveats, in a spatially explicit model with local mating and diffusive dispersal in both sexes.

Short-term ecological consequences of collaborative restoration treatments in ponderosa pine forests of Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Briggs, Jenny S.; Fornwalt, Paula J.; Feinstein, Jonas A.

2017-01-01

Ecological restoration treatments are being implemented at an increasing rate in ponderosa pine and other dry conifer forests across the western United States, via the USDA Forest Service’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) program. In this program, collaborative stakeholder groups work with National Forests (NFs) to adaptively implement and monitor ecological restoration treatments intended to offset the effects of many decades of anthropogenic stressors. We initiated a novel study to expand the scope of treatment effectiveness monitoring efforts in one of the first CFLR landscapes, Colorado’s Front Range. We used a Before/After/Control/Impact framework to evaluate the short-term consequences of treatments on numerous ecological properties. We collected pre-treatment and one year post-treatment data on NF and partner agencies’ lands, in 66 plots distributed across seven treatment units and nearby untreated areas. Our results reflected progress toward several treatment objectives: treated areas had lower tree density and basal area, greater openness, no increase in exotic understory plants, no decrease in native understory plants, and no decrease in use by tree squirrels and ungulates. However, some findings suggested the need for adaptive modification of both treatment prescriptions and monitoring protocols: treatments did not promote heterogeneity of stand structure, and monitoring methods may not have been robust enough to detect changes in surface fuels. Our study highlights both the effective aspects of these restoration treatments, and the importance of initiating and continuing collaborative science-based monitoring to improve the outcomes of broad-scale forest restoration efforts.

Coastal urban lighting has ecological consequences for multiple trophic levels under the sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolton, D; Mayer-Pinto, M; Clark, G F; Dafforn, K A; Brassil, W A; Becker, A; Johnston, E L

2017-01-15

Urban land and seascapes are increasingly exposed to artificial lighting at night (ALAN), which is a significant source of light pollution. A broad range of ecological effects are associated with ALAN, but the changes to ecological processes remain largely unstudied. Predation is a key ecological process that structures assemblages and responds to natural cycles of light and dark. We investigated the effect of ALAN on fish predatory behaviour, and sessile invertebrate prey assemblages. Over 21days fish and sessile assemblages were exposed to 3 light treatments (Day, Night and ALAN). An array of LED spotlights was installed under a wharf to create the ALAN treatments. We used GoPro cameras to film during the day and ALAN treatments, and a Dual frequency IDentification SONar (DIDSON) to film during the night treatments. Fish were most abundant during unlit nights, but were also relatively sedentary. Predatory behaviour was greatest during the day and under ALAN than at night, suggesting that fish are using structures for non-feeding purposes (e.g. shelter) at night, but artificial light dramatically increases their predatory behaviour. Altered predator behaviour corresponded with structural changes to sessile prey assemblages among the experimental lighting treatments. We demonstrate the direct effects of artificial lighting on fish behaviour and the concomitant indirect effects on sessile assemblage structure. Current and future projected use of artificial lights has the potential to significantly affect predator-prey interactions in marine systems by altering habitat use for both predators and prey. However, developments in lighting technology are a promising avenue for mitigation. This is among the first empirical evidence from the marine system on how ALAN can directly alter predation, a fundamental ecosystem process, and have indirect trophic consequences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Alteration of streamflow magnitudes and potential ecological consequences: A multiregional assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Carlisle, Daren M.; Wolock, David M.; Meador, Michael R.

2011-01-01

Human impacts on watershed hydrology are widespread in the US, but the prevalence and severity of stream-flow alteration and its potential ecological consequences have not been quantified on a national scale. We assessed streamflow alteration at 2888 streamflow monitoring sites throughout the conterminous US. The magnitudes of mean annual (1980–2007) minimum and maximum streamflows were found to have been altered in 86% of assessed streams. The occurrence, type, and severity of streamflow alteration differed markedly between arid and wet climates. Biological assessments conducted on a subset of these streams showed that, relative to eight chemical and physical covariates, diminished flow magnitudes were the primary predictors of biological integrity for fish and macroinvertebrate communities. In addition, the likelihood of biological impairment doubled with increasing severity of diminished streamflows. Among streams with diminished flow magnitudes, increasingly common fish and macroinvertebrate taxa possessed traits characteristic of lake or pond habitats, including a preference for fine-grained substrates and slow-moving currents, as well as the ability to temporarily leave the aquatic environment.

A novel amino acid substitution Trp574Arg in acetolactate synthase (ALS) confers broad resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides in crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis).

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jian; Li, Mei; Gao, Xingxiang; Fang, Feng

2017-12-01

Crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis) is an annual monocotyledonous weed. In recent years, field applications of nicosulfuron have been ineffective in controlling crabgrass populations in Shandong Province, China. To investigate the mechanisms of resistance to nicosulfuron in crabgrass populations, the acetolactate synthase (ALS) gene fragment covering known resistance-confering mutation sites was amplified and sequenced. Dose-response experiments suggested that the resistant population SD13 (R) was highly resistant to nicosulfuron (resistance index R/S = 43.7) compared with the sensitive population SD22 (S). ALS gene sequencing revealed a Trp574Arg substitution in the SD13 population, and no other known resistance-conferring mutations were found. In vitro ALS enzyme assays further confirmed that the SD13 population was resistant to all tested ALS-inhibiting herbicides. The resistance pattern experiments revealed that, compared with SD22, the SD13 population exhibited broad-spectrum resistance to nicosulfuron (43.7-fold), imazethapyr (11.4-fold) and flumetsulam (16.1-fold); however, it did not develop resistance to atrazine, mesotrione and topramezone. This study demonstrated that Trp574Arg substitution was the main reason for crabgrass resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Trp574Arg substitution in a weed species, and is the first report of target-site mechanisms of herbicide resistance for crabgrass. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Population genetics meets ecological genomics and community ecology in Cornus Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Understanding evolutionary/ecological consequences of alien pests on native forests is important to conservation. Cornus florida L. subsp. florida is an ecologically important understory tree in forests of the eastern United States but faces heavy mortality from dogwood anthracnose. Understanding ge...

Evaluation of ecological consequences of coal mine closure in Kuzbass coal region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schastlivcev, E.L.; Barannic, L.P.; Ovdenko, B.I.; Bykov, A.A.

2000-01-01

Kemerovo region (otherwise called Kuzbass) is the most industrially developed and urbanized region of Siberia, Russia. The main industrial branch of Kuzbass is coal output. Open pits and underground mines of Kuzbass produce about 40% of total amount of coal in Russia and more than 70% of coking coal. In the current process of the coal industry's restructuring, the closing of many unprofitable coal enterprises is associated with radical changes in their influence on the environment. The task to provide a probable forecast of ecological consequence of mine closure is both practically significant and complicated. In order to find some scientific approach to solve named problem the authors made in the paper the first attempts to analyze of accessible closed mines data in Kuzbass, to classify coal mines (working and closed) with respect to there negative influence on soil, water and atmosphere and to obtain some numerical estimates of possible bounds of this influence. 7 refs

Globalization and sustainable development: a political ecology strategy to realize ecological justice

OpenAIRE

Byrne, John; Glover, Leigh; Alrøe, Hugo Fjelsted

2006-01-01

Organic agriculture is, like mainstream agriculture, faced with the challenges of globalization and sustainable development. Ecological justice, the fair distribution of livelihoods and environments, has emerged as a key concept in efforts, on the one hand, to resist negative consequences of globalization and ecological modernization and, on the other to propose new agenda and institutional arrangements. This chapter investigates the role that ecological justice as a political ecology strateg...

The French-German initiative for Chernobyl. Programme 2 study of the radio-ecological consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-03-01

The data compiled and processed within the framework of the French-German Initiative represent the so far most comprehensive collection of electronic data that has ever been put together on the topic of the 'Study of the radioecological consequences of the Chernobyl accident'.The R.E.D.A.C. database system provides a powerful tool for the reconstruction of the dispersion of radionuclides through ecosystems and food chains and for the interpretation and prediction of their long-term behaviour. This allows the development of effective countermeasures to minimise risks to human health and improve the overall environmental situation. R.E.D.A.C. can also be used for the development and verification of realistic radioecology models. As the data were acquired under realistic conditions, the results can be used directly for model calculations in emergencies. This allows concrete planning, e. g. in connection with the securing of waste, its disposal, and the ecological restoration of waste disposal sites. The data also allow a reconstruction of the radioecological situation in the past, an analysis of the current situation, and predictions of future developments of the accident consequences on a large as well as on a small scale. (N.C.)

Radiating toxicological and ecological consequences of extraction of uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svambaev, Z.A.; Svambaev, E.A.; Sultanbekov, G.A; Tusupbekova, S.T.

2010-01-01

In scientific work researchers take up questions of radiation, toxicity and ecological danger at extraction of natural uranium. In work it is resulted results of gauging of radiation in separate parts of a cycle, and also as a whole at underground extractions of uranium. The level of ionization actions of photon radiation in a radiating field with a productive solution which represents the big radiating, toxicological and ecological danger to Wednesday is shown on the average on cycles of feature of work.

River corridor science: Hydrologic exchange and ecological consequences from bedforms to basins

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Judson; Gooseff, Michael

2015-01-01

Previously regarded as the passive drains of watersheds, over the past 50 years, rivers have progressively been recognized as being actively connected with off-channel environments. These connections prolong physical storage and enhance reactive processing to alter water chemistry and downstream transport of materials and energy. Here we propose river corridor science as a concept that integrates downstream transport with lateral and vertical exchange across interfaces. Thus, the river corridor, rather than the wetted river channel itself, is an increasingly common unit of study. Main channel exchange with recirculating marginal waters, hyporheic exchange, bank storage, and overbank flow onto floodplains are all included under a broad continuum of interactions known as “hydrologic exchange flows.” Hydrologists, geomorphologists, geochemists, and aquatic and terrestrial ecologists are cooperating in studies that reveal the dynamic interactions among hydrologic exchange flows and consequences for water quality improvement, modulation of river metabolism, habitat provision for vegetation, fish, and wildlife, and other valued ecosystem services. The need for better integration of science and management is keenly felt, from testing effectiveness of stream restoration and riparian buffers all the way to reevaluating the definition of the waters of the United States to clarify the regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act. A major challenge for scientists is linking the small-scale physical drivers with their larger-scale fluvial and geomorphic context and ecological consequences. Although the fine scales of field and laboratory studies are best suited to identifying the fundamental physical and biological processes, that understanding must be successfully linked to cumulative effects at watershed to regional and continental scales.

Global warming increases the interspecific competitiveness of the invasive plant alligator weed, Alternanthera philoxeroides.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Hao; Ismail, Mohannad; Ding, Jianqing

2017-01-01

Global warming could accelerate the spread of invasive species to higher latitudes and intensify their effects on native species. Here, we report results of two years of field surveys along a latitudinal gradient (21°N to 31°N) in southern China, to determine the species structure of the invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides community. We also performed a replacement series experiment (mono and mixed) to evaluate the effects of elevated temperature on the competitiveness of A. philoxeroides with the native co-occurring species Digitaria sanguinalis. In the field survey, we found that the dominance of A. philoxeroides increased with increasing of latitude gradient while cover of D. sanguinalis decreased. In monospecific plantings, artificial warming reduced the length of D. sanguinalis roots. In mixed plantings, warming reduced both A. philoxeroides abundance and D. sanguinalis stem length when A. philoxeroides was more prevalent in the planting. Warming also significantly reduced D. sanguinalis biomass, but increased that of A. philoxeroides. In addition, elevated temperatures significantly reduced the relative yield (RY) of D. sanguinalis, particularly when A. philoxeroides was planted in higher proportion in the plot. These results suggest that the invasiveness of A. philoxeroides increased with increasing latitude, and that warming may increase the effectiveness of its interspecific competition with D. sanguinalis. Hence, under global warming conditions, the harm to native species from A. philoxeroides would increase at higher latitudes. Our findings are critical for predicting the invasiveness of alien species under climate change. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The French-German initiative for Chernobyl. Programme 2 study of the radio-ecological consequences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-03-15

The data compiled and processed within the framework of the French-German Initiative represent the so far most comprehensive collection of electronic data that has ever been put together on the topic of the 'Study of the radioecological consequences of the Chernobyl accident'.The R.E.D.A.C. database system provides a powerful tool for the reconstruction of the dispersion of radionuclides through ecosystems and food chains and for the interpretation and prediction of their long-term behaviour. This allows the development of effective countermeasures to minimise risks to human health and improve the overall environmental situation. R.E.D.A.C. can also be used for the development and verification of realistic radioecology models. As the data were acquired under realistic conditions, the results can be used directly for model calculations in emergencies. This allows concrete planning, e. g. in connection with the securing of waste, its disposal, and the ecological restoration of waste disposal sites. The data also allow a reconstruction of the radioecological situation in the past, an analysis of the current situation, and predictions of future developments of the accident consequences on a large as well as on a small scale. (N.C.)

Ecological and evolutionary consequences of niche construction for its agent.

Science.gov (United States)

Kylafis, Grigoris; Loreau, Michel

2008-10-01

Niche construction can generate ecological and evolutionary feedbacks that have been underinvestigated so far. We present an eco-evolutionary model that incorporates the process of niche construction to reveal its effects on the ecology and evolution of the niche-constructing agent. We consider a simple plant-soil nutrient ecosystem in which plants have the ability to increase the input of inorganic nutrient as an example of positive niche construction. On an ecological time scale, the model shows that niche construction allows the persistence of plants under infertile soil conditions that would otherwise lead to their extinction. This expansion of plants' niche, however, requires a high enough rate of niche construction and a high enough initial plant biomass to fuel the positive ecological feedback between plants and their soil environment. On an evolutionary time scale, we consider that the rates of niche construction and nutrient uptake coevolve in plants while a trade-off constrains their values. Different evolutionary outcomes are possible depending on the shape of the trade-off. We show that niche construction results in an evolutionary feedback between plants and their soil environment such that plants partially regulate soil nutrient content. The direct benefit accruing to plants, however, plays a crucial role in the evolutionary advantage of niche construction.

Foundations of Socio-Cultural Ecology: Consequences for Media Education and Mobile Learning in Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klaus Rummler

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This conceptual paper offers insights to the foundations of Socio-Cultural Ecology and relates this concept to traditional concepts of Ecology e.g. media ecology or Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of child development. It will further discuss the term «ecology» as a relation between learners and their surrounding physical and structural world, e. g. an ecology of resources or the classroom as an ecological system. Thirdly more recent concepts in ecology will be considered e. g. Digital Media Ecology including media ecology (German: Medienökologie from a German perspective. This contribution tries to describe common principles of (media ecologies and will ask after their meaning and relation to media education and mobile learning. One of the main results is the realisation that cultural practices of school learning and cultural practices of media acquisition take place in different worlds or in different ecological spheres. The question is thus again of how to bridge these ecological spheres, and how «agency» developed outside school, can be nourished inside school. In other words: how can we bridge socio-cultural and technological structures within these cultural practices.

Health consequences of Chernobyl disaster in Europe in general and in Norway in particular. Literature review and ecological study.

OpenAIRE

Fedorov, Roman

2012-01-01

Health costs of Chernobyl disaster are still not clear.Main goal of this paper therefore is to investigate health consequences of Chernobyl disaster in Europe (outside the former Soviet Union) as a whole and in Norway in particular as one of the second high contaminated areas after those in the immediate vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. To do that literature review and ecological study with the Incidence rate ratios analysis are conducted. As a result hypothesis about increased...

Human influences on evolution, and the ecological and societal consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendry, Andrew P; Gotanda, Kiyoko M; Svensson, Erik I

2017-01-19

Humans have dramatic, diverse and far-reaching influences on the evolution of other organisms. Numerous examples of this human-induced contemporary evolution have been reported in a number of 'contexts', including hunting, harvesting, fishing, agriculture, medicine, climate change, pollution, eutrophication, urbanization, habitat fragmentation, biological invasions and emerging/disappearing diseases. Although numerous papers, journal special issues and books have addressed each of these contexts individually, the time has come to consider them together and thereby seek important similarities and differences. The goal of this special issue, and this introductory paper, is to promote and expand this nascent integration. We first develop predictions as to which human contexts might cause the strongest and most consistent directional selection, the greatest changes in evolutionary potential, the greatest genetic (as opposed to plastic) changes and the greatest effects on evolutionary diversification We then develop predictions as to the contexts where human-induced evolutionary changes might have the strongest effects on the population dynamics of the focal evolving species, the structure of their communities, the functions of their ecosystems and the benefits and costs for human societies. These qualitative predictions are intended as a rallying point for broader and more detailed future discussions of how human influences shape evolution, and how that evolution then influences species traits, biodiversity, ecosystems and humans.This article is part of the themed issue 'Human influences on evolution, and the ecological and societal consequences'. © 2016 The Author(s).

The movement ecology of seagrasses.

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, Kathryn; van Dijk, Kor-Jent; Ruiz-Montoya, Leonardo; Kendrick, Gary A; Krauss, Siegfried L; Waycott, Michelle; Verduin, Jennifer; Lowe, Ryan; Statton, John; Brown, Eloise; Duarte, Carlos

2014-11-22

A movement ecology framework is applied to enhance our understanding of the causes, mechanisms and consequences of movement in seagrasses: marine, clonal, flowering plants. Four life-history stages of seagrasses can move: pollen, sexual propagules, vegetative fragments and the spread of individuals through clonal growth. Movement occurs on the water surface, in the water column, on or in the sediment, via animal vectors and through spreading clones. A capacity for long-distance dispersal and demographic connectivity over multiple timeframes is the novel feature of the movement ecology of seagrasses with significant evolutionary and ecological consequences. The space-time movement footprint of different life-history stages varies. For example, the distance moved by reproductive propagules and vegetative expansion via clonal growth is similar, but the timescales range exponentially, from hours to months or centuries to millennia, respectively. Consequently, environmental factors and key traits that interact to influence movement also operate on vastly different spatial and temporal scales. Six key future research areas have been identified.

Biodiversity, Extinction, and Humanity’s Future: The Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Human Population and Resource Use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick L. Hindmarsh

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Human actions have altered global environments and reduced biodiversity by causing extinctions and reducing the population sizes of surviving species. Increasing human population size and per capita resource use will continue to have direct and indirect ecological and evolutionary consequences. As a result, future generations will inhabit a planet with significantly less wildlife, reduced evolutionary potential, diminished ecosystem services, and an increased likelihood of contracting infectious disease. The magnitude of these effects will depend on the rate at which global human population and/or per capita resource use decline to sustainable levels and the degree to which population reductions result from increased death rates rather than decreased birth rates.

Green” Technology and Ecologically Unequal Exchange: The Environmental and Social Consequences of Ecological Modernization in the World-System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Bonds

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This paper contributes to understandings of ecologically unequal exchange within the world-systems perspective by offering a series of case studies of ecological modernization in the automobile industry. The case studies demonstrate that “green” technologies developed and instituted in core nations often require specific raw materials that are extracted from the periphery and semi-periphery. Extraction of such natural resources causes significant environmental degradation and often displaces entire communities from their land. Moreover, because states often use violence and repression to facilitate raw material extraction, the widespread commercialization of “green” technologies can result in serious human rights violations. These findings challenge ecological modernization theory, which rests on the assumption that the development and commercialization of more ecologically-efficient technologies is universally beneficial.

Globalization: Ecological consequences of global-scale connectivity in people, resources and information

Science.gov (United States)

Globalization is a phenomenon affecting all facets of the Earth System. Within the context of ecological systems, it is becoming increasingly apparent that global connectivity among terrestrial systems, the atmosphere, and oceans is driving many ecological dynamics at finer scales and pushing thresh...

Ecological risk estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartell, S.M.; Gardner, R.H.; O'Neill, R.V.

1992-01-01

Ecological risk assessment, the process that evaluates the likelihood that adverse ecological effects may occur or are occurring as a result of exposure to one or more stressors, is being developed by the US EPA as a tool for decision making. This book presents one approach to risk assessment-that of applying laboratory toxicity data within an ecosystem model to predict the potential ecological consequences of toxic chemicals. Both Standard Water Column Model (SWACOM), using zooplankton and fish, and Monte Carlo simulations are discussed in detail, along with quantitative explanations for many responses. Simplifying assumptions are explicitly presented. The final chapter discusses strengths, weaknesses, and future directions of the approach. The book is appropriate for anyone who does or uses ecological risk assessment methodologies

Priorities for research in soil ecology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eisenhauer, N.; Antunes, P.M.; Bennett, A.E.; Birkhofer, K.; Bisset, A.; Bowker, M.A.; T., Caruso; B., Chen; Coleman, D.C.; W., De Boer; van Straalen, N.M.

2017-01-01

The ecological interactions that occur in and with soil are of consequence in many ecosystems on the planet. These interactions provide numerous essential ecosystem services, and the sustainable management of soils has attracted increasing scientific and public attention. Although soil ecology

Economic impacts of marine ecological change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groeneveld, Rolf A.; Bartelings, Heleen; Börger, Tobias; Bosello, Francesco; Buisman, Erik; Delpiazzo, Elisa; Eboli, Fabio; Fernandes, Jose A.; Hamon, Katell G.; Hattam, Caroline; Loureiro, Maria; Nunes, Paulo A.L.D.; Piwowarczyk, Joanna; Schasfoort, Femke E.; Simons, Sarah L.; Walker, Adam N.

2018-01-01

Marine ecological change is likely to have serious potential economic consequences for coastal economies all over the world. This article reviews the current literature on the economic impacts of marine ecological change, as well as a number of recent contributions to this literature carried out

Ecological-genetic aspects of consequences of an irradiation at the workers of a nuclear industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Telnov, V.I.

2000-01-01

The urgent problem of genetic consequences of radiation exposure at the workers of atomic plant ''Mayak'' is considered. Two basic aspects of this problem are allocated: influences of radiation on hereditary structures and processes, which is a prerogative of radiation genetics and role of the genetic factors in different reactions to an irradiation, that is a task of ecology genetics, which recently receives the increasing recognition. Proceeding from distinctions in reproduction biology of the human and experimental biological objects determining non-comparable mutation risk at them, is recognized expedient to expand a spectrum of genetic researches in the irradiated people. The results of different genetic researches in total in 2811 peoples executed in view of two named aspects discussed. At radiation-genetic investigation of distribution of genetic polymorphism system (haptoglobin -Hp, Gc-protein -Gc and blood groups ABO) the certain changes in distribution of Hp types and alleles of children of the irradiated workers connected with a gonad external gamma-radiation doses are established. The genetic structure of the grandsons of the irradiated workers has not any deviations. The increase of mutation frequency in minisatellite DNA in germline cells of irradiate workers was not found out. At ecological-genetic investigation the important meaning of haptoglobin genetic system in different radiation resistance of the people established at study of a role of a number of the genetic polymorphism systems (Hp, Gc and ABO) in radiation effects at different levels of biological organization. The integrated estimation of role of Hp genotypes in observable radiation effects carried out. (author)

The several faces of fear: ecological consequences of predation risk in a lagoon model system

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Rafael Dettogni Guariento

Full Text Available AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of predation risk on the occurrence of trophic cascades in a benthic food chain, and detect if the ecological consequences of predation risk can reverberate in patterns observed across different hierarchical scales, such as prey size, prey growth efficiency and nutrient recycling patterns. METHODS: The model system used in the present experiment consisted of a simple linear food chain comprising a predator, a consumer and periphyton as basal resources. For 2 weeks, we manipulated predation risk using caged predators, incapable of killing their prey, across twelve outdoor mesocosms, simulating natural lagoon conditions. RESULTS: Our results showed that predation risk can be responsible for the occurrence of a trophic cascade and the strength of the cascade is proportional to the intensity of risk. Predation risk can also negatively influence prey biomass and growth efficiency as well as affect nutrient recycling patterns by altering prey nutrient excretion rates. Through a simple mathematical formulation, we attempted to show that individual-level experimental results can be generalized to natural populations if evolutionary constraints to prey fitness can be reproduced in experimental conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results corroborate to integrate ecosystem dynamics with animal behavior, highlighting that not only bottom-up but also top-down mechanisms are responsible for determining ecosystem properties. We ultimately claim that prey adaptive foraging may serve to integrate ecosystem and evolutionary ecology, resulting in the development of a more robust and predictive theory of the functioning of aquatic ecosystems.

Ecological consequences of petroleum spillage in the coastal waters of Puerto Rico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopez, J M

1978-01-01

Ecological consequences of petroleum spillage in the coastal waters of Puerto Rico can be severe to corals, sea grasses, and mangroves, particularly red mangroves, according to case studies. The initial acute effect can be large, but chronic long-term effects are also possible. Oil coating of fringing stands of the red mangrove and the associated intertidal communities of their prop roots impairs productivity and destroys the attached organisms. Oil becomes trapped and may not be retrieved or cleaned from the forest. The abundance and persistence of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments within the roots correlate with the absence of benthic organisms four years after an oil spill. Coral reefs are least impacted, and beds of the sea grass. Petroleum spills near the Puerto Rican coast include dumping of 10,000 tons of crude oil from the grounded Argea Prima on July 16, 1962., spilling the entire crude oil cargo of the Ocean Eagle on March 3, 1968 (after which dispersants did more harm than good), dumping of 37,000 bbl of crude oil by the grounded Zoe Colocotronis on March 18, 1973, spilling of 10,000 bbl of bunker C and 2000 bbl or diesel fuel from a barge on December 9, 1975, and dumping of 1000 bbl of crude from a grounded tanker in March 1977.

Statistical ecology comes of age

Science.gov (United States)

Gimenez, Olivier; Buckland, Stephen T.; Morgan, Byron J. T.; Bez, Nicolas; Bertrand, Sophie; Choquet, Rémi; Dray, Stéphane; Etienne, Marie-Pierre; Fewster, Rachel; Gosselin, Frédéric; Mérigot, Bastien; Monestiez, Pascal; Morales, Juan M.; Mortier, Frédéric; Munoz, François; Ovaskainen, Otso; Pavoine, Sandrine; Pradel, Roger; Schurr, Frank M.; Thomas, Len; Thuiller, Wilfried; Trenkel, Verena; de Valpine, Perry; Rexstad, Eric

2014-01-01

The desire to predict the consequences of global environmental change has been the driver towards more realistic models embracing the variability and uncertainties inherent in ecology. Statistical ecology has gelled over the past decade as a discipline that moves away from describing patterns towards modelling the ecological processes that generate these patterns. Following the fourth International Statistical Ecology Conference (1–4 July 2014) in Montpellier, France, we analyse current trends in statistical ecology. Important advances in the analysis of individual movement, and in the modelling of population dynamics and species distributions, are made possible by the increasing use of hierarchical and hidden process models. Exciting research perspectives include the development of methods to interpret citizen science data and of efficient, flexible computational algorithms for model fitting. Statistical ecology has come of age: it now provides a general and mathematically rigorous framework linking ecological theory and empirical data. PMID:25540151

Statistical ecology comes of age.

Science.gov (United States)

Gimenez, Olivier; Buckland, Stephen T; Morgan, Byron J T; Bez, Nicolas; Bertrand, Sophie; Choquet, Rémi; Dray, Stéphane; Etienne, Marie-Pierre; Fewster, Rachel; Gosselin, Frédéric; Mérigot, Bastien; Monestiez, Pascal; Morales, Juan M; Mortier, Frédéric; Munoz, François; Ovaskainen, Otso; Pavoine, Sandrine; Pradel, Roger; Schurr, Frank M; Thomas, Len; Thuiller, Wilfried; Trenkel, Verena; de Valpine, Perry; Rexstad, Eric

2014-12-01

The desire to predict the consequences of global environmental change has been the driver towards more realistic models embracing the variability and uncertainties inherent in ecology. Statistical ecology has gelled over the past decade as a discipline that moves away from describing patterns towards modelling the ecological processes that generate these patterns. Following the fourth International Statistical Ecology Conference (1-4 July 2014) in Montpellier, France, we analyse current trends in statistical ecology. Important advances in the analysis of individual movement, and in the modelling of population dynamics and species distributions, are made possible by the increasing use of hierarchical and hidden process models. Exciting research perspectives include the development of methods to interpret citizen science data and of efficient, flexible computational algorithms for model fitting. Statistical ecology has come of age: it now provides a general and mathematically rigorous framework linking ecological theory and empirical data.

Network spandrels reflect ecological assembly.

Science.gov (United States)

Maynard, Daniel S; Serván, Carlos A; Allesina, Stefano

2018-03-01

Ecological networks that exhibit stable dynamics should theoretically persist longer than those that fluctuate wildly. Thus, network structures which are over-represented in natural systems are often hypothesised to be either a cause or consequence of ecological stability. Rarely considered, however, is that these network structures can also be by-products of the processes that determine how new species attempt to join the community. Using a simulation approach in tandem with key results from random matrix theory, we illustrate how historical assembly mechanisms alter the structure of ecological networks. We demonstrate that different community assembly scenarios can lead to the emergence of structures that are often interpreted as evidence of 'selection for stability'. However, by controlling for the underlying selection pressures, we show that these assembly artefacts-or spandrels-are completely unrelated to stability or selection, and are instead by-products of how new species are introduced into the system. We propose that these network-assembly spandrels are critically overlooked aspects of network theory and stability analysis, and we illustrate how a failure to adequately account for historical assembly can lead to incorrect inference about the causes and consequences of ecological stability. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Ecological consequences of United Enterprises 'Majak' activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romanov, G.N.; Drozko, Y.G.

1996-01-01

The United Enterprises ''Majak'' held in 1948 in Soviet Union has mainly dealt of plutonium production for military use. The consequence for environment of their activities has been extensively investigated. The soil, water and air contamination in the Czelabinsk region where the Majak Enterprises was localized have been recognized. The program of environment recultivation and radiation safety assurance in Majak Enterprises have been worked out and already accepted for realization. 6 figs, 10 tabs

Environmental and ecological changes associated with a marina.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivero, Natalie K; Dafforn, Katherine A; Coleman, Melinda A; Johnston, Emma L

2013-01-01

Anthropogenic modifications to waterways are common and their ecological consequences must be understood to effectively conserve local biodiversity. The facilitation of recreational boating activities often requires substantial alteration of natural areas, however the environmental and ecological consequences of such alterations are rarely described in the scientific literature. In this study, ecological and physico-chemical conditions were investigated in a recreational boating marina, located inside a marine park on the south-east coast of Australia. Recruitment panels were deployed for 8 weeks both inside and outside the marina, and differences in the composition of the developing fouling communities were observed. The recruitment of taxa, which often have short-lived larvae, was increased inside the marina (bryozoans, spirorbids and sponges) while the recruitment of taxa, which often have longer-lived larvae, was reduced or absent (barnacles, solitary ascidians and non-spirorbid polychaetes). Differences were also observed in environmental conditions inside the marina cf. directly outside. The marina environment had higher turbidity, temperature and pH along with higher concentrations of lead and copper in suspended sediments, while flow rates and trapped sediment loads were reduced inside the marina. The differences observed in the study suggest that there may be marked environmental changes associated with marina developments. The potential ecological consequences of these changes should be a primary consideration during the planning process, particularly for developments in locations of notable ecological value.

Relationship among values, beliefs, norms and ecological behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

González López, Antonio; Amérigo Cuervo-Arango, María

2008-11-01

The present study focuses mainly on the relationship between psychological constructs and ecological behaviour. Empirical analysis links personal values, ecological beliefs, consequences of environmental conditions, denial of ecological obligation, environmental control, personal norms and environment protection behaviour. Survey data from a path analysis of a Spanish sample of 403 individuals were used, showing that ecological beliefs, personal norms and eco-altruistic values have become the main psychological explanatory variables of environment protective behaviour. Ecological beliefs, when measured by the New Ecological Paradigm Scale, affected ecological behaviour decisively. Environmental and altruistic values were shown to be related to moral obligation, and a basic variable to understand behaviour. Personal norm mediated the effects of values and environmental control on ecological behaviour.

Marx, Engels and Ecology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Löwy

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This is a brief survey of Marx and Engels’ views on ecology, from the viewpoint of their relevance for 21th Century ecosocialism. While there are some serious limitations in the way both consider the “development of productive forces”, there are powerfull insights in their discussion of the destructive consequences of capitalist expansion for the environment - an expansion that generates a disastrous metabolic rift in the exchanges between human societies and nature. Some ecological Marxists distinguish between “first stage ecosocialists” - who believe that Marx analyses on ecological issues are too incomplete and dated to be of real relevance today - and “second stage ecosocialists” that emphasize the contemporary methodological significance of Marx’s ecological critique of capitalism. This paper tries to argue for a third position (which probably could be accepted by several people of the two groups above: Marx and Engels discussion on ecological issues is incomplete and dated, but inspite these shortcomings, it has real relevance and methodological significance today.

Fire ecology of Scots pine in Northwest Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hille, M.G.

2006-01-01

Keywords: biodiversity, fire ecology, fuel modelling, succession, tree regenerationIn this thesis the ecological consequences of forest fire are studied in North-west European Scots pine {Pinus sylvestris) forests. The focus is on post-fire succession, and the factors and mechanisms that influence

Political ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strohm, H.

1979-01-01

Using facts and examples, this didactically structures textbook gives an insight into the extent and consequences of the damage to the environment, with the subjects - fundamentals of ecology; - population and food problems; - the energy problem; - economic growth; scarcity of resources, recycling; - ground, water, and air pollution, - city and traffic problems; - work protection and medical care; - political alternatives and 'soft technologies'. The analysis of the political and economic reasons is combined with social and technical alternatives from which demands to be made and measures to be taken can be derived for individuals, citizens' interest groups, political groups and trade unions. Teaching models intend to help teachers to work on specific problems of ecology. (orig.) [de

The evolutionary and ecological consequences of animal social networks: emerging issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurvers, Ralf H J M; Krause, Jens; Croft, Darren P; Wilson, Alexander D M; Wolf, Max

2014-06-01

The first generation of research on animal social networks was primarily aimed at introducing the concept of social networks to the fields of animal behaviour and behavioural ecology. More recently, a diverse body of evidence has shown that social fine structure matters on a broader scale than initially expected, affecting many key ecological and evolutionary processes. Here, we review this development. We discuss the effects of social network structure on evolutionary dynamics (genetic drift, fixation probabilities, and frequency-dependent selection) and social evolution (cooperation and between-individual behavioural differences). We discuss how social network structure can affect important coevolutionary processes (host-pathogen interactions and mutualisms) and population stability. We also discuss the potentially important, but poorly studied, role of social network structure on dispersal and invasion. Throughout, we highlight important areas for future research. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Actual directions in study of ecological consequences of a highly toxic 1,1-dimethylhydrazine-based rocket fuel spills

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bulat Kenessov

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The paper represents a review of the actual directions in study of ecological consequences of highly toxic 1,1-dimethylhydrazine-based rocket fuel spills. Recent results on study of processes of transformation of 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, identification of its main metabolites and development of analytical methods for their determination are generalized. Modern analytical methods of determination of 1,1-dimethylhydrazine and its transformation products in environmental samples are characterized. It is shown that in recent years, through the use of most modern methods of physical chemical analysis and sample preparation, works in this direction made significant progress and contributed to the development of studies in adjacent areas. A character of distribution of transformation products in soils of fall places of first stages of rocket-carriers is described and the available methods for their remediation are characterized.

Book review: Bayesian analysis for population ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Link, William A.

2011-01-01

Brian Dennis described the field of ecology as “fertile, uncolonized ground for Bayesian ideas.” He continued: “The Bayesian propagule has arrived at the shore. Ecologists need to think long and hard about the consequences of a Bayesian ecology. The Bayesian outlook is a successful competitor, but is it a weed? I think so.” (Dennis 2004)

Rapid evolution mitigates the ecological consequences of an invasive species (Bythotrephes longimanus) in lakes in Wisconsin.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillis, Michael K; Walsh, Matthew R

2017-07-12

Invasive species have extensive negative consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem health. Novel species also drive contemporary evolution in many native populations, which could mitigate or amplify their impacts on ecosystems. The predatory zooplankton Bythotrephes longimanus invaded lakes in Wisconsin, USA, in 2009. This invasion caused precipitous declines in zooplankton prey ( Daphnia pulicaria ), with cascading impacts on ecosystem services (water clarity). Here, we tested the link between Bythotrephes invasion, evolution in Daphnia and post-invasion ecological dynamics using 15 years of long-term data in conjunction with comparative experiments. Invasion by Bythotrephes is associated with rapid increases in the body size of Daphnia Laboratory experiments revealed that such shifts have a genetic component; third-generation laboratory-reared Daphnia from 'invaded' lakes are significantly larger and exhibit greater reproductive effort than individuals from 'uninvaded' lakes. This trajectory of evolution should accelerate Daphnia population growth and enhance population persistence. We tested this prediction by comparing analyses of long-term data with laboratory-based simulations, and show that rapid evolution in Daphnia is associated with increased population growth in invaded lakes. © 2017 The Authors.

Ecological principles relevant to nuclear war

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutchinson, T.C.; Cropper, W.P. Jr.; Grover, H.D.

1985-01-01

The ecological principles outlined are very basic ones; the authors anticipate a readership trained in a broad range of disciplines, including those unfamiliar with the academic discipline of ecology. The authors include substantial discussion on ecophysiology (i.e., the responses of organisms to their environment) because this is relevant to the new understanding of the potential climatic consequences of nuclear war. In particular, the physiological sensitivity of organisms to reduced levels of light and temperature are a key part of the analysis of the potential ecological effects and agricultural effects of nuclear war. Much of the ecological analysis has been organized around major biological units called biomes. The authors describe the biome concept and discuss some of the environmental-climatic factors that are believed to control biome distribution. Emphasis is given to plants because of their controlling influence on ecosystem functions through their role as primary producers. Future reports are needed to address more fully the potential effects on animals. Much more research needs to be done on both plant and animal responses to the types of perturbations possible for the aftermath of a nuclear war. Another important element for analysis of the potential ecological consequences of nuclear war concerns recovery processes. As the post-nuclear war environmental extremes ameliorate, ecological communities in devastated regions would begin to reorganize. It is not possible to predict the course of such a succession precisely, but some principles concerning post-perturbation replacement (such as seed banks and germination), relevant successional patterns, and organism strategies are discussed

Predicting the consequences of species loss using size-structured biodiversity approaches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brose, Ulrich; Blanchard, Julia L.; Eklöf, Anna

2017-01-01

Understanding the consequences of species loss in complex ecological communities is one of the great challenges in current biodiversity research. For a long time, this topic has been addressed by traditional biodiversity experiments. Most of these approaches treat species as trait-free, taxonomic...... stability, and (iii) ecosystem functioning. Contrasting current expectations, size-structured approaches suggest that the loss of large species, that typically exploit most resource species, may lead to future food webs that are less interwoven and more structured by chains of interactions and compartments...... trait when analysing the consequences of biodiversity loss for natural ecosystems. Applying size-structured approaches provides an integrative ecological concept that enables a better understanding of each species' unique role across communities and the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss....

World-Ecology and Ireland: The Neoliberal Ecological Regime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharae Deckard

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Since the collapse of the Celtic Tiger, the socio-economic particularity of neoliberal capitalism in its Irish manifestation has increasingly been critiqued, but little attention has been paid to neoliberalism as ecology within Ireland. This article conducts an exploratory survey of the characteristics of the Irish neoliberal ecological regime during and after the Celtic Tiger, identifying the opening of new commodity frontiers (such as fracking, water, agro-biotechnology, and biopharma constituted in the neoliberal drive to appropriate and financialize nature. I argue for the usefulness of applying not only the tools of world-systems analysis, but also Jason W. Moore’s world-ecological paradigm, to analysis of Ireland as a semi-periphery. What is crucial to a macro-ecological understanding of Ireland’s role in the neoliberal regime of the world-ecology is the inextricability of its financial role as a tax haven and secrecy jurisdiction zone from its environmental function as a semi-peripheral pollution and water haven. We can adapt Jason W. Moore’s slogan that “Wall Street…becomes a way of organizing all of nature, characterized by the financialization of any income-generating activity” (Moore 2011b: 39 to say that to say that the “IFSC is a way of organizing nature,” with pernicious consequences for water, energy, and food systems in Ireland. Financial service centers and pharmaceutical factories, plantations and cattle ranches, tax havens and pollution havens, empires and common markets are all forms of environment-making that constellate human relations and extra-human processes into new ecological regimes. More expansive, dialectical understandings of “ecology” as comprising the whole of socio-ecological relations within the capitalist world-ecology—from farming to pharma to financialization—are crucial to forming configurations of knowledge able not only to take account of Ireland’s role in the environmental

Increase of ecological safety of the pipeline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dr Movsumov, Sh.N.; Prof Aliyev, F.G.

2005-01-01

points on a line on various types of risks (ecological, economic, social and cultural - architectural); The edition of methodical benefits for carrying out of seminars and distribution of the information through the electronic bulletin, thematic releases and magazines. For carrying out of public ecological monitoring, it is necessary to create public laboratories along a line of the pipeline which would allow leading the analysis of components of the surrounding natural environment. For the personnel of laboratory alongside with carrying out of trainings - seminars, instructions should be prepared, methodical materials, other help data and are created bank of the reference data. For carrying out of public ecological monitoring performed the following works: The organization of the laboratory analysis of the components of a reservoir, traversable pipeline; Revealing observance of zone security norm of the pipeline; The equipment most ecologically dangerous sites of the pipeline in capacities for gathering oil. The purpose of the public plan to reaction to floods of oil is development of instructions for liquidation of consequences of flood and carrying out of necessary actions for minimization of influences on an environment. The public plan of liquidation of consequences of flood should be determined: Coordinating public organization, its functions and duty; a policy of decision-making at liquidation of consequences of flood; Adjustments of communication between public organizations for reception and transfer of the information on failure; Areas of priority protection which should be immediately cleared of oil waste; Export and utilization of the oil waste products collected in area of flood of oil; the monitoring system and monitoring of an environment (air, water and ground) after liquidation of consequences of flood. In conformity of the public plan, carrying out of meetings with the public, for acquaintance and an explanation of the problems, put before the public is

Chernobylsk accident (Causes and Consequences)- Part 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esteves, D.

1986-09-01

The causes and consequences of the nuclear accident at Chernobylsk-4 reactor are shortly described. The informations were provided by Russian during the specialist meeting, carried out at seat of IAEA. The Russian nuclear panorama; the site, nuclear power plant characteristics and sequence of events; the immediate measurements after accident; monitoring/radioactive releases; environmental contamination and ecological consequences; measurements of emergency; recommendations to increase the nuclear safety; and recommendations of work groups, are presented. (M.C.K.) [pt

Ecology of gelatious plankton

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jaspers, Cornelia

as a result of this invasion and its ecological and economic impacts. In 2005, when M. leidyi was sighted in Northern Europe for the first time, similar consequences were feared. The aim of my PhD project was to understand the potential impact of M. leidyi on the Baltic Sea ecosystem and constrains on its...... in high and intermediate saline areas in Northern Europe. While the ecological impact of M. leidyi in the central Baltic appears to be limited concern, the environment in other European waters should be more favourable to their populations. In these areas, it is suggested that M. leidyi constitutes...

Rivers are social–ecological systems: Time to integrate human dimensions into riverscape ecology and management

Science.gov (United States)

Dunham, Jason B.; Angermeier, Paul L.; Crausbay, Shelley D.; Cravens, Amanda; Gosnell, Hannah; McEvoy, Jamie; Moritz, Max A.; Raheem, Nejem; Sanford, Todd

2018-01-01

Incorporation of concepts from landscape ecology into understanding and managing riverine ecosystems has become widely known as riverscape ecology. Riverscape ecology emphasizes interactions among processes at different scales and their consequences for valued ecosystem components, such as riverine fishes. Past studies have focused strongly on understanding the ecological processes in riverscapes and how human actions modify those processes. It is increasingly clear, however, that an understanding of the drivers behind actions that lead to human modification also merit consideration, especially regarding how those drivers influence management efficacy. These indirect drivers of riverscape outcomes can be understood in the context of a diverse array of social processes, which we collectively refer to as human dimensions. Like ecological phenomena, social processes also exhibit complex interactions across spatiotemporal scales. Greater emphasis on feedbacks between social and ecological processes will lead scientists and managers to more completely understand riverscapes as complex, dynamic, interacting social–ecological systems. Emerging applications in riverscapes, as well as studies of other ecosystems, provide examples that can lead to stronger integration of social and ecological science. We argue that conservation successes within riverscapes may not come from better ecological science, improved ecosystem service analyses, or even economic incentives if the fundamental drivers of human behaviors are not understood and addressed in conservation planning and implementation.

Antecedents and consequences of cannabis use among racially diverse cannabis users: an analysis from Ecological Momentary Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Buckner, Julia D; Zvolensky, Michael J; Crosby, Ross D; Wonderlich, Stephen A; Ecker, Anthony H; Richter, Ashley

2015-02-01

Cannabis remains the most commonly used illicit substance and use rates are rising. Notably, the prevalence of cannabis use disorders (CUD) nearly equals that of other illicit substance use disorders combined. Thus, the present study aimed to identify cognitive, affective, and situational predictors and consequences of ad-lib cannabis use in a racially diverse sample. The sample consisted of 93 current cannabis users (34.4% female; 57.1% non-Hispanic Caucasian), 87.1% of whom evinced a current CUD. Ecological Momentary Assessment was used to collect frequent ratings of cannabis withdrawal, craving, affect, cannabis use motives, and peer cannabis use over two weeks. Mixed effects linear models examined within- and between-day correlates and consequences of cannabis use. Withdrawal and craving were higher on cannabis use days than non-use days. Withdrawal, craving, and positive and negative affect were higher immediately prior to cannabis use compared to non-use episodes. Withdrawal and craving were higher among those who subsequently used cannabis than those who did not. Cannabis use resulted in less subsequent withdrawal, craving, and negative affect. Enhancement and coping motives were the most common reasons cited for use. Withdrawal and negative affect were related to using cannabis for coping motives and social motives. Participants were most likely to use cannabis if others were using, and withdrawal and craving were greater in social situations when others were using. Data support the contention that cannabis withdrawal and craving and affect and peer use play important roles in the maintenance of cannabis use. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An evaluation of the ecological consequences of partial-power operation of the K Reactor, SRS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gladden, J.B.; Mackey, H.E.; Paller, M.H.; Specht, W.L.; Wike, L.D.; Wilde, E.W.

1991-06-01

The K Reactor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) shut-down in spring 1988 for maintenance and safety upgrades. Since that time the receiving stream for thermal effluent, Indian Grave Branch and Pen Branch, have undergone a pattern of post-thermal recovery that is typical of other SRS streams following removal of thermal stress. Divesity of fish and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities has increased and available habitats have been colonized by numerous species of herbaceous and woody plants. K Reactor is scheduled to resume operation in 1991 and operate through 1992 without a cooling tower to cool the discharge. It is likely that the reactor will operate at approximately one-third to one-half of full power (800--1200 MW thermal) during this period and effluent temperatures will be substantially lower than earlier operation at full power. Monthly average discharge temperatures at half-power operation will range from approximately 42 degrees C in winter to 49 degrees C in summer. The volume of water discharged will not be affected by altered power levels and will average approximately 10--11 m 3 /s. The ecological consequences of this mode of operation on the Indian Grave/Pen Branch stream system have been evaluated

Synthetic microbial ecology and the dynamic interplay between microbial genotypes.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolinšek, Jan; Goldschmidt, Felix; Johnson, David R

2016-11-01

Assemblages of microbial genotypes growing together can display surprisingly complex and unexpected dynamics and result in community-level functions and behaviors that are not readily expected from analyzing each genotype in isolation. This complexity has, at least in part, inspired a discipline of synthetic microbial ecology. Synthetic microbial ecology focuses on designing, building and analyzing the dynamic behavior of ‘ecological circuits’ (i.e. a set of interacting microbial genotypes) and understanding how community-level properties emerge as a consequence of those interactions. In this review, we discuss typical objectives of synthetic microbial ecology and the main advantages and rationales of using synthetic microbial assemblages. We then summarize recent findings of current synthetic microbial ecology investigations. In particular, we focus on the causes and consequences of the interplay between different microbial genotypes and illustrate how simple interactions can create complex dynamics and promote unexpected community-level properties. We finally propose that distinguishing between active and passive interactions and accounting for the pervasiveness of competition can improve existing frameworks for designing and predicting the dynamics of microbial assemblages.

Temporal ecology in the Anthropocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolkovich, E M; Cook, B I; McLauchlan, K K; Davies, T J

2014-11-01

Two fundamental axes - space and time - shape ecological systems. Over the last 30 years spatial ecology has developed as an integrative, multidisciplinary science that has improved our understanding of the ecological consequences of habitat fragmentation and loss. We argue that accelerating climate change - the effective manipulation of time by humans - has generated a current need to build an equivalent framework for temporal ecology. Climate change has at once pressed ecologists to understand and predict ecological dynamics in non-stationary environments, while also challenged fundamental assumptions of many concepts, models and approaches. However, similarities between space and time, especially related issues of scaling, provide an outline for improving ecological models and forecasting of temporal dynamics, while the unique attributes of time, particularly its emphasis on events and its singular direction, highlight where new approaches are needed. We emphasise how a renewed, interdisciplinary focus on time would coalesce related concepts, help develop new theories and methods and guide further data collection. The next challenge will be to unite predictive frameworks from spatial and temporal ecology to build robust forecasts of when and where environmental change will pose the largest threats to species and ecosystems, as well as identifying the best opportunities for conservation. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Efficacy of Two Different Instructional Methods Involving Complex Ecological Content

Science.gov (United States)

Randler, Christoph; Bogner, Franz X.

2009-01-01

Teaching and learning approaches in ecology very often follow linear conceptions of ecosystems. Empirical studies with an ecological focus consistent with existing syllabi and focusing on cognitive achievement are scarce. Consequently, we concentrated on a classroom unit that offers learning materials and highlights the existing complexity rather…

A Landscape Indicator Approach to the Identification and Articulation of the Ecological Consequences of Land Cover Change in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, 1970-2000

Science.gov (United States)

Slonecker, Terrence

2008-01-01

The advancement of geographic science in the area of land surface status and trends and land cover change is at the core of the current geographic scientific research of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (McMahon and others, 2005). Perhaps the least developed or articulated aspects of USGS land change science have been the identification and analysis of the ecological consequences of land cover change. Changes in land use and land cover significantly affect the ability of ecosystems to provide essential ecological goods and services, which, in turn, affect the economic, public health, and social benefits that these ecosystems provide. One of the great scientific challenges for geographic science is to understand and calibrate the effects of land use and land cover change and the complex interaction between human and biotic systems at a variety of natural, geographic, and political scales. Understanding the dynamics of land surface change requires an increased understanding of the complex nature of human-environmental systems and will require a suite of scientific tools that include traditional geographic data and analysis methods, such as remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS), as well as innovative approaches to understanding the dynamics of complex systems. One such approach that has gained much recent scientific attention is the landscape indicator, or landscape assessment, approach, which has been developed with the emergence of the science of landscape ecology.

Advances in Ecological Speciation: an integrative approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Faria, Rui; Renaut, Sebastien; Galindo, Juan; Pinho, Catarina; Melo-Ferreira, José; Melo, Martim; Jones, Felicity; Salzburger, Walter; Schluter, Dolph; Butlin, Roger

2014-02-01

The role of natural selection in promoting reproductive isolation has received substantial renewed interest within the last two decades. As a consequence, the study of ecological speciation has become an extremely productive research area in modern evolutionary biology. Recent innovations in sequencing technologies offer an unprecedented opportunity to study the mechanisms involved in ecological speciation. Genome scans provide significant insights but have some important limitations; efforts are needed to integrate them with other approaches to make full use of the sequencing data deluge. An international conference 'Advances in Ecological Speciation' organized by the University of Porto (Portugal) aimed to review current progress in ecological speciation. Using some of the examples presented at the conference, we highlight the benefits of integrating ecological and genomic data and discuss different mechanisms of parallel evolution. Finally, future avenues of research are suggested to advance our knowledge concerning the role of natural selection in the establishment of reproductive isolation during ecological speciation. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Consequences of packaging on bacterial growth. Meat is an ecological niche.

Science.gov (United States)

Labadie, J

1999-07-01

Meat is a good support for bacterial growth and particularly for bacteria which are specific of meat and meat products. Little is known about the physiological and biochemical factors which could explain why some bacterial species are only isolated from meat. This review tentatively points out, from an ecological point of view, some of these factors in Gram negative and Gram positive micro-organisms influencing storage life.

Should we stay or should we go: mechanisms and ecological consequences for biofilm dispersal.

Science.gov (United States)

McDougald, Diane; Rice, Scott A; Barraud, Nicolas; Steinberg, Peter D; Kjelleberg, Staffan

2011-11-28

In most environments, bacteria reside primarily in biofilms, which are social consortia of cells that are embedded in an extracellular matrix and undergo developmental programmes resulting in a predictable biofilm 'life cycle'. Recent research on many different bacterial species has now shown that the final stage in this life cycle includes the production and release of differentiated dispersal cells. The formation of these cells and their eventual dispersal is initiated through diverse and remarkably sophisticated mechanisms, suggesting that there are strong evolutionary pressures for dispersal from an otherwise largely sessile biofilm. The evolutionary aspect of biofilm dispersal is now being explored through the integration of molecular microbiology with eukaryotic ecological and evolutionary theory, which provides a broad conceptual framework for the diversity of specific mechanisms underlying biofilm dispersal. Here, we review recent progress in this emerging field and suggest that the merging of detailed molecular mechanisms with ecological theory will significantly advance our understanding of biofilm biology and ecology.

Ecological impact of the end-Cretaceous extinction on lamniform sharks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel A Belben

Full Text Available Lamniform sharks are apex marine predators undergoing dramatic local and regional decline worldwide, with consequences for marine ecosystems that are difficult to predict. Through their long history, lamniform sharks have faced widespread extinction, and understanding those 'natural experiments' may help constrain predictions, placing the current crisis in evolutionary context. Here we show, using novel morphometric analyses of fossil shark teeth, that the end-Cretaceous extinction of many sharks had major ecological consequences. Post-extinction ecosystems supported lower diversity and disparity of lamniforms, and were dominated by significantly smaller sharks with slimmer, smoother and less robust teeth. Tooth shape is intimately associated with ecology, feeding and prey type, and by integrating data from extant sharks we show that latest Cretaceous sharks occupied similar niches to modern lamniforms, implying similar ecosystem structure and function. By comparison, species in the depauperate post-extinction community occupied niches most similar to those of juvenile sand tigers (Carcharias taurus. Our data show that quantitative tooth morphometrics can distinguish lamniform sharks due to dietary differences, providing critical insights into ecological consequences of past extinction episodes.

Ecological impact of the end-Cretaceous extinction on lamniform sharks.

Science.gov (United States)

Belben, Rachel A; Underwood, Charlie J; Johanson, Zerina; Twitchett, Richard J

2017-01-01

Lamniform sharks are apex marine predators undergoing dramatic local and regional decline worldwide, with consequences for marine ecosystems that are difficult to predict. Through their long history, lamniform sharks have faced widespread extinction, and understanding those 'natural experiments' may help constrain predictions, placing the current crisis in evolutionary context. Here we show, using novel morphometric analyses of fossil shark teeth, that the end-Cretaceous extinction of many sharks had major ecological consequences. Post-extinction ecosystems supported lower diversity and disparity of lamniforms, and were dominated by significantly smaller sharks with slimmer, smoother and less robust teeth. Tooth shape is intimately associated with ecology, feeding and prey type, and by integrating data from extant sharks we show that latest Cretaceous sharks occupied similar niches to modern lamniforms, implying similar ecosystem structure and function. By comparison, species in the depauperate post-extinction community occupied niches most similar to those of juvenile sand tigers (Carcharias taurus). Our data show that quantitative tooth morphometrics can distinguish lamniform sharks due to dietary differences, providing critical insights into ecological consequences of past extinction episodes.

The raison d'être of chemical ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Raguso, Robert A; Agrawal, Anurag A; Douglas, Angela E; Jander, Georg; Kessler, André; Poveda, Katja; Thaler, Jennifer S

2015-03-01

Chemical ecology is a mechanistic approach to understanding the causes and consequences of species interactions, distribution, abundance, and diversity. The promise of chemical ecology stems from its potential to provide causal mechanisms that further our understanding of ecological interactions and allow us to more effectively manipulate managed systems. Founded on the notion that all organisms use endogenous hormones and chemical compounds that mediate interactions, chemical ecology has flourished over the past 50 years since its origin. In this essay we highlight the breadth of chemical ecology, from its historical focus on pheromonal communication, plant-insect interactions, and coevolution to frontier themes including community and ecosystem effects of chemically mediated species interactions. Emerging approaches including the -omics, phylogenetic ecology, the form and function of microbiomes, and network analysis, as well as emerging challenges (e.g., sustainable agriculture and public health) are guiding current growth of this field. Nonetheless, the directions and approaches we advocate for the future are grounded in classic ecological theories and hypotheses that continue to motivate our broader discipline.

Ecological aspects in civil engineering and physical planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engelhardt, W.

1983-01-01

This book presents an introduction to aspects of ecology and has been quite purposefully restricted to the aspects of interest in connection with civil engineering and physical planning. The various chapters deal with soil, water bodies, air, plants and plant communities, trees in towns, animal life, noise and health, as well as high-energy radiation and its impact on man and environment. The book is intended to make engineers and other interested readers working in the technical professions familiar with ecologic principles and ecologically minded thinking in order to pave the way for ecology-mindedness in civil engineering and physical planning, hopefully contributing to avoiding mistakes and their harmful consequences. (orig.) [de

An integrated conceptual framework for long-term social-ecological research

Science.gov (United States)

S.L. Collins; S.R. Carpenter; S.M. Swinton; D.E. Orenstein; D.L. Childers; T.L. Gragson; N.B. Grimm; J.M. Grove; S.L. Harlan; J.P. Kaye; A.K. Knapp; G.P. Kofinas; J.J. Magnuson; W.H. McDowell; J.M. Melack; L.A. Ogden; G.P. Robertson; M.D. Smith; A.C. Whitmer

2010-01-01

The global reach of human activities affects all natural ecosystems, so that the environment is best viewed as a social-ecological system. Consequently, a more integrative approach to environmental science, one that bridges the biophysical and social domains, is sorely needed. Although models and frameworks for social-ecological systems exist, few are explicitly...

Modelling dendritic ecological networks in space: anintegrated network perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Erin E.; Ver Hoef, Jay M.; Isaak, Dan J.; Falke, Jeffrey A.; Fortin, Marie-Josée; Jordon, Chris E.; McNyset, Kristina; Monestiez, Pascal; Ruesch, Aaron S.; Sengupta, Aritra; Som, Nicholas; Steel, E. Ashley; Theobald, David M.; Torgersen, Christian E.; Wenger, Seth J.

2013-01-01

Dendritic ecological networks (DENs) are a unique form of ecological networks that exhibit a dendritic network topology (e.g. stream and cave networks or plant architecture). DENs have a dual spatial representation; as points within the network and as points in geographical space. Consequently, some analytical methods used to quantify relationships in other types of ecological networks, or in 2-D space, may be inadequate for studying the influence of structure and connectivity on ecological processes within DENs. We propose a conceptual taxonomy of network analysis methods that account for DEN characteristics to varying degrees and provide a synthesis of the different approaches within

The ecological importance of intraspecific variation.

Science.gov (United States)

Des Roches, Simone; Post, David M; Turley, Nash E; Bailey, Joseph K; Hendry, Andrew P; Kinnison, Michael T; Schweitzer, Jennifer A; Palkovacs, Eric P

2018-01-01

Human activity is causing wild populations to experience rapid trait change and local extirpation. The resulting effects on intraspecific variation could have substantial consequences for ecological processes and ecosystem services. Although researchers have long acknowledged that variation among species influences the surrounding environment, only recently has evidence accumulated for the ecological importance of variation within species. We conducted a meta-analysis comparing the ecological effects of variation within a species (intraspecific effects) with the effects of replacement or removal of that species (species effects). We evaluated direct and indirect ecological responses, including changes in abundance (or biomass), rates of ecological processes and changes in community composition. Our results show that intraspecific effects are often comparable to, and sometimes stronger than, species effects. Species effects tend to be larger for direct ecological responses (for example, through consumption), whereas intraspecific effects and species effects tend to be similar for indirect responses (for example, through trophic cascades). Intraspecific effects are especially strong when indirect interactions alter community composition. Our results summarize data from the first generation of studies examining the relative ecological effects of intraspecific variation. Our conclusions can help inform the design of future experiments and the formulation of strategies to quantify and conserve biodiversity.

Consequences of teen dating violence: understanding intervening variables in ecological context.

Science.gov (United States)

Banyard, Victoria L; Cross, Charlotte

2008-09-01

Increasing attention has been given to the problem of teen dating violence with more research needed on mediating and moderating factors in the relationship between victimization and negative consequences. This article explores mental health and educational consequences of physical and sexual abuse by peers in a convenience sample of adolescents. Dating violence was associated with higher levels of depression, suicidal thoughts, and poorer educational outcomes. The use of alcohol and depression complicated the relationship between victimization and outcomes. Sex differences in patterns of perceived social support as a moderator were also examined with more significant effects for girls.

Modelling dendritic ecological networks in space: An integrated network perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Erin E. Peterson; Jay M. Ver Hoef; Dan J. Isaak; Jeffrey A. Falke; Marie-Josee Fortin; Chris E. Jordan; Kristina McNyset; Pascal Monestiez; Aaron S. Ruesch; Aritra Sengupta; Nicholas Som; E. Ashley Steel; David M. Theobald; Christian E. Torgersen; Seth J. Wenger

2013-01-01

Dendritic ecological networks (DENs) are a unique form of ecological networks that exhibit a dendritic network topology (e.g. stream and cave networks or plant architecture). DENs have a dual spatial representation; as points within the network and as points in geographical space. Consequently, some analytical methods used to quantify relationships in other types of...

Environmental consequences of alternatives to L Reactor restart

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

Alternatives to renewed L-Reactor operation for increased production of nuclear materials are: restart of R Reactor, construction and operation of a New Production Reactor (NPR), increased throughput of SRP reactors C, K, and P and N Reactor at Hanford, restart of K Reactors at Hanford, and no action - standby ready state for L Reactor. This report compares the environmental consequences from the proposed L-Reactor restart and these alternatives. The environmental consequences considered are radiological releases, radiocesium remobilization, nonradiological releases, ecological impacts and transportation

Economic and Ecological Consequences of Four European Land Use Scenarios

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eickhout, B.; Meijl, van H.; Tabeau, A.A.; Rheenen, van T.

2007-01-01

The impact of globalization on trade, production and land use is key to the Doha development round. This paper deals with the complex interaction between agricultural trade, production, land-use change and environmental consequences on the basis of four different scenarios. In these scenarios, major

Selected bibliography of terrestrial freshwater, and marine radiation ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultz, V.; Whicker, F.W.

1975-01-01

An extensive bibliography is presented of publications related to field or laboratory studies of wild species of plants and animals with respect to radiation effects or metabolic studies involving radionuclides. The references are listed under the following headings: status and needs of radiation ecology; environmental radioactivity; radionuclide concentration; ionizing radiation effects; techniques utilizing radionuclides and ionizing radiation in ecology; measurement of ionizing radiation; peaceful uses of atomic energy; waste disposal; nuclear testing and ecological consequences of a nuclear war; glossaries, standards, and licensing procedures; reviews of radionuclides in the environment; and sources of information

Ecological consequences of anthropogenic pressure in Wari-Maro Forest Reserve (Benin, West Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aubin Guénolé Amagnide

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study assessed ecological consequences of anthropogenic pressure on Wari-Maro Forest Reserve (WMFR. The dynamics of forest cover has been assessed using a diachronic analysis of land cover maps from the Landsat satellite images of 1986, 1995 and 2006. Structural patterns of the forest has been described using forest inventory data with twenty five 1ha plots having two 50 m x 30 m plots set up inside and positioned at the opposite corners of the leading diagonal within each 1 ha plot. Established plots allowed identifying the most targeted species in illegal logging. Plots of 0.15 ha established inside each 1 ha plot helped assessing the volume of trees from which we derived carbon stock and carbon loss using conversion and expansion factors. For the two periods 1986 to 1995 and 1995 to 2006, there was a decline in forest cover which slowed down in the second decade (0.196 %.year-1 and 0.083 %.year-1 respectively. The two vegetation types of the WMFR were mainly distinguished by Lorey's mean height (12.81 m in woodland and 12.44 m in tree-savannah. Top five targeted species in illegal logging activities were: Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir., Afzelia africana Sm., Isoberlinia spp., Anogeissus leiocarpa Guill. and Daniellia oliveri (Rolfe Hutch. & Dalziel. Results also showed mean values of carbon stock and carbon losses for the whole forest of 147.84 tons C.ha-1 and 17.57 tons C.ha-1 respectively and did not depend on vegetation type. Results from this study suggest that management strategies should focus on selectively logged species. Monitoring should also be enhanced to ensure conservation of resources of the reserve which are at high risks of extinction due to selective logging rates. Keywords: anthropogenic pressure, forest cover, structure, carbon stock, Wari-Maro forest reserve, Benin.

Emergence Unites Ecology and Society

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Ronald L. Trosper

2005-06-01

Full Text Available The effort to combine analysis of ecosystems and social systems requires a firm theoretical basis. When humans are present in an ecosystem, their actions affect emergent structures; this paper examines forms of emergence that account for the presence of humans. Humans monitor and regulate ecosystems based on their cultural systems. Cultural systems consist of concepts linked in complicated ways that can form consistent world views, can contain inconsistencies, and may or may not accurately model the properties of a social-ecological system. Consequently, human monitoring and regulating processes will differ, depending on cultural systems. Humans, as agents, change or maintain pre-existing material and cultural emergent structures. The presentation is illustrated with a case study of fire-prone forests. The paper shows that explicit attention to emergence serves very well in unifying the following requirements for social-ecological analysis: coherent and observable definitions of sustainability; ways to link ecological and social phenomena; ways to understand cultural reasons for stability and instability in dynamic social-ecological systems; and ways to include human self-evaluation and culture within dynamic models of social-ecological systems. Analysis of cultural emergent structures clarifies many differences in assumptions among the fields of economics, sociology, political science, ecology, and ecological economics. Because it can be readily applied to empirical questions, the framework provides a good way to organize policy analysis that is not dominated by one or another discipline.

Integrating Remote Sensing and Citizen Science to Study the Environmental Context and Ecological Consequences of Returning Avian Predators

Science.gov (United States)

Zuckerberg, B.; McCabe, J.; Yin, H.; Pidgeon, A. M.; Bonter, D. N.; Radeloff, V.

2017-12-01

Urbanization causes the simplification of animal communities dominated by exotic and invasive species with few top predators. In recent years, however, many animal predators (e.g., coyotes, cougars, and hawks) have become increasingly common in urban environments. As predator recovery is central to the mission of conservation biology, this colonization of urban environments represents a unique experiment in predator colonization and its associated ecological consequences. One such predator that is recovering from decades of widespread population declines are accipiter hawks. These woodland hawks are widely distributed throughout North America and are increasingly common in urban and suburban landscapes. Using data from Project FeederWatch, a national citizen science program, we quantified 25 years (1990-2015) of changes in the spatiotemporal dynamics of accipiter hawks in Washington D.C. and Chicago. We estimated change in hawk occupancy over time and identified the environmental characteristics associated with occupancy for two accipiter hawk species, Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) and Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus), using Bayesian hierarchical models and remotely-sensed temperature (MODIS) and land cover data (NLCD). We found the proportion of sites recording the presence of accipiter hawks increased from 10% in the early 1990's to over 80% in 2015. This increase in occupancy followed a discrete pattern of establishment, growth, and saturation. Colonizing hawks were more strongly associated with remnant forest patches in urban environments. Over time, we found hawks became more tolerant of urban landscapes with higher amounts of impervious surface, suggesting that these predators became adapted to urbanization. The implications of returning predators and altered ecological dynamics in urban environments is of critical importance to conservation biology, and integrating remote sensing observations and citizen science allowed for an unprecedented

Ecotechnology - the magic word. Planning of technology according to ecological criteria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herrmann, H [Gesellschaft fuer Systemtechnik, Essen (Germany, F.R.)

1978-08-01

By means of a system of ecological criteria it can be demonstrated, that alternative solutions for a certain technical task often create different levels of ecological stress. The solution to be favoured for ecological reasons shows partly higher but also partly lower costs than the presently introduced solution. Ecologically optimized technologies may lead to a resubstitution of consumption of resources and environmental stress by capital and labour and consequently to an utilisation of presently unused production capacities. The earlier an adaption is introduced, the lower will be the required expense.

Diversity spurs diversification in ecological communities

Science.gov (United States)

Calcagno, Vincent; Jarne, Philippe; Loreau, Michel; Mouquet, Nicolas; David, Patrice

2017-06-01

Diversity is a fundamental, yet threatened, property of ecological systems. The idea that diversity can itself favour diversification, in an autocatalytic process, is very appealing but remains controversial. Here, we study a generalized model of ecological communities and investigate how the level of initial diversity influences the possibility of evolutionary diversification. We show that even simple models of intra- and inter-specific ecological interactions can predict a positive effect of diversity on diversification: adaptive radiations may require a threshold number of species before kicking-off. We call this phenomenon DDAR (diversity-dependent adaptive radiations) and identify mathematically two distinct pathways connecting diversity to diversification, involving character displacement and the positive diversity-productivity relationship. Our results may explain observed delays in adaptive radiations at the macroscale and diversification patterns reported in experimental microbial communities, and shed new light on the dynamics of ecological diversity, the diversity-dependence of diversification rates, and the consequences of biodiversity loss.

Diversity spurs diversification in ecological communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Calcagno, Vincent; Jarne, Philippe; Loreau, Michel; Mouquet, Nicolas; David, Patrice

2017-06-09

Diversity is a fundamental, yet threatened, property of ecological systems. The idea that diversity can itself favour diversification, in an autocatalytic process, is very appealing but remains controversial. Here, we study a generalized model of ecological communities and investigate how the level of initial diversity influences the possibility of evolutionary diversification. We show that even simple models of intra- and inter-specific ecological interactions can predict a positive effect of diversity on diversification: adaptive radiations may require a threshold number of species before kicking-off. We call this phenomenon DDAR (diversity-dependent adaptive radiations) and identify mathematically two distinct pathways connecting diversity to diversification, involving character displacement and the positive diversity-productivity relationship. Our results may explain observed delays in adaptive radiations at the macroscale and diversification patterns reported in experimental microbial communities, and shed new light on the dynamics of ecological diversity, the diversity-dependence of diversification rates, and the consequences of biodiversity loss.

Ecological effects of exposure to enhanced levels of ionizing radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Geras'kin, Stanislav A

2016-10-01

Irradiation of plants and animals can result in disruption of ecological relationships between the components of ecosystems. Such effects may act as triggers of perturbation and lead to consequences that may differ essentially from expected ones based on effects observed at the organismal level. Considerable differences in ecology and niches occupied by different species lead to substantial differences in doses of ionizing radiation absorbed by species, even when they all are present in the same environment at the same time. This is especially evident for contamination with α-emitting radionuclides. Radioactive contamination can be considered an ecological factor that is able to modify the resistance in natural populations. However, there are radioecological situations when elevated radioresistance does not evolve or persist. The complexity and non-linearity of the structure and functioning of ecosystems can lead to unexpected consequences of stress effects, which would appear harmless if they were assessed within the narrower context of organism-based traditional radioecology. Therefore, the use of ecological knowledge is essential for understanding responses of populations and ecosystems to radiation exposure. Integration of basic ecological principles in the design and implementation of radioecological research is essential for predicting radiation effects under rapidly changing environmental conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecology of Land Cover Change in Glaciated Tropical Mountains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenneth R. Young

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Tropical mountains contain unique biological diversity, and are subject to many consequences of global climate change, exasperated by concurrent socioeconomic shifts. Glaciers are in a negative mass balance, exposing substrates to primary succession and altering downslope wetlands and streams. A review of recent trends and future predictions suggests a likely reduction in areas of open habitat for species of high mountains due to greater woody plant cover, accompanied by land use shifts by farmers and pastoralists along the environmental gradients of tropical mountains. Research is needed on the biodiversity and ecosystem consequences of successional change, including the direct effects of retreating glaciers and the indirect consequences of combined social and ecological drivers in lower elevations. Areas in the high mountains that are protected for nature conservation or managed collectively by local communities represent opportunities for integrated research and development approaches that may provide ecological spaces for future species range shifts.

Recent advances in recreation ecology and the implications of different relationships between recreation use and ecological impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher A. Monz; Catherine M. Pickering; Wade L. Hadwen

2013-01-01

Recreation ecology - the study of the environmental consequences of outdoor recreation/nature-based tourism activities and their effective management - is an emerging field of global importance. A primary research generalization in this field, the use-impact relationship, is commonly described as curvilinear, with proportionally more impact from initial recreation/...

Criminological problems of studying crime consequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabitov R.A.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The phenomenon of crime consequences is studied as a total social and not social, direct and indirect damage caused by crime. The quantitative and qualitative indicators of these consequences are shown. It is determined that concept of crime does not embrace its consequences and victims. The qualitative indicators of crime consequences imply the consequences’ character and structure; the quantitative indicators imply cumulative consequences of certain kinds of crime, the dynamics of certain kinds of consequences and coefficient of certain crime consequences. It is proved that not only physical and juridical persons, but also the public, authorities and associations (groups of people having no indication of juridical person must be recognized as crime sufferers. It is argued that crimes can cause property and moral damage (goodwill damage, ecological damage, considerable damage of interests protected by the law, information, managerial damage and other kinds of damage. Theoretically according to criminal law a crime sufferer is a physical, juridical person, an authority, the public, group of people who suffered from physical, property, moral or other kind of damage caused by a completed or uncompleted crime. The author proves the necessity to fix the concept of crime sufferer in criminal law. The concept of victim should include Russian criminal actualities, foreign experience and embrace not only physical but also juridical persons and groups of people suffered from crimes.

An evolutionary ecology of individual differences

Science.gov (United States)

Dall, Sasha R. X.; Bell, Alison M.; Bolnick, Daniel I.; Ratnieks, Francis L. W.

2014-01-01

Individuals often differ in what they do. This has been recognised since antiquity. Nevertheless, the ecological and evolutionary significance of such variation is attracting widespread interest, which is burgeoning to an extent that is fragmenting the literature. As a first attempt at synthesis, we focus on individual differences in behaviour within populations that exceed the day-to-day variation in individual behaviour (i.e. behavioural specialisation). Indeed, the factors promoting ecologically relevant behavioural specialisation within natural populations are likely to have far-reaching ecological and evolutionary consequences. We discuss such individual differences from three distinct perspectives: individual niche specialisations, the division of labour within insect societies and animal personality variation. In the process, while recognising that each area has its own unique motivations, we identify a number of opportunities for productive ‘crossfertilisation’ among the (largely independent) bodies of work. We conclude that a complete understanding of evolutionarily and ecologically relevant individual differences must specify how ecological interactions impact the basic biological process (e.g. Darwinian selection, development and information processing) that underpin the organismal features determining behavioural specialisations. Moreover, there is likely to be covariation amongst behavioural specialisations. Thus, we sketch the key elements of a general framework for studying the evolutionary ecology of individual differences. PMID:22897772

Lower Mississippi River Environmental Program. Report 10. Evaluation of Bird and Mammal Utilization of Dike Systems Along the Lower Mississippi River.

Science.gov (United States)

1987-11-01

Boehmeria cylindrica - + + + + + - - - - Brunnchia cirrhosa - + + + - + + + + + Campsisradicans - - + + - + + + + - Carya illinoensis ...erythrorhizos - - - + + + + + + - Desmanthus illinoensis + + + - - - - Digitaria ischaemum - - - - + - + + + + Digitaria sanguinalis

Ecological momentary assessment of antecedents and consequences of smoking in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, John T; Dennis, Michelle F; English, Joseph S; Dennis, Paul A; Brightwood, Amy; Beckham, Jean C; Kollins, Scott H

2014-09-01

The current study assessed antecedents and consequences of ad lib cigarette smoking in smokers diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Adult smokers with ADHD (n = 17) completed 870 smoking and 622 nonsmoking electronic diary entries over a 7-day observation period of their naturalistic smoking behavior. Data collection occurred from 2011 to 2012. Generalized estimating equations indicated that ADHD smokers were more likely to smoke when urge to smoke, negative affect, boredom, stress, worry, and restlessness were elevated. In addition, participants were more likely to smoke in situations that elicited higher levels of nervousness and frustration. ADHD symptoms, in general, did not differ between smoking and nonsmoking contexts, though hyperactive-impulsive ADHD symptoms were elevated prior to smoking in frustrating situations. Additional situational antecedent variables were associated with smoking, including being in the presence of others smoking, being in a bar or restaurant, while outside, and while consuming caffeinated or alcoholic beverages. Participants also reported a significant improvement in urge to smoke, negative affect, stress, hunger, and ADHD symptoms after smoking a cigarette. Findings suggest certain contextual factors that may maintain ad lib cigarette smoking in smokers with ADHD and identify potential treatment targets in smoking cessation interventions for this at-risk group. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed. Funding for this study was provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Low concentrations, potential ecological consequences: Synthetic estrogens alter life-history and demographic structures of aquatic invertebrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souza, María Sol; Hallgren, Per; Balseiro, Esteban; Hansson, Lars-Anders

2013-01-01

Contraceptive drugs are nowadays found in aquatic environments around the globe. Particularly, 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE 2 ) may act even at low concentrations, such as those recorded in natural ecosystems. We evaluated the physiological effects of EE 2 on cyclopoids and calanoids, common copepods in both marine and freshwater communities. We used three EE 2 concentrations and assessed its impact on activity of different physiological endpoints: Acetylcholinesterase (neurotransmission), Glutathione S-transferase (detoxifying system), and Caspase-3 (apoptosis). While EE 2 exerts, distinctive effect on detoxifying and apoptotic systems, no effect on AChE was observed at environmental doses. Our results show that EE 2 exposure affects differently copepod physiology endpoints, altering moulting process, adult recruitment in calanoids and calanoid to cyclopoid ratio. The ecological consequences of this underlying physiological process may affect since life history to population and community structures, and this represent a new aspects of this xenobiotic in natural systems. Highlights: •We evaluated physiological effects of 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE 2 ) on copepods. •We measured the EE 2 effect on neurotransmission, detoxifying system and apoptosis. •EE 2 exert distinctive effect on detoxifying and apoptotic systems. •EE 2 affects differently calanoids and cyclopoids moulting and adult recruitment. •Physiological impact in invertebrates' communities is a novel aspect of EE 2 effects. -- Anthropogenic estrogens modify the physiological functioning of aquatic invertebrates

Nature and history today: the ecological crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciano ESPINOSA RUBIO

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Today, the Nature-History relations are the ecological ones: we are living in a global eco-bio-techno-noos-sphere and that means that ecological crisis is a crisis of civilization too. Above all, the climate change and its social and political consequences will have a great impact in our lives, and we must respond without losing our rights. In the intellectual way, we need new narrations in order to affront the situation and perhaps the theory of the lesser evil is one of the better answers that we can find.

Forests, food, and fuel in the tropics: the uneven social and ecological consequences of the emerging political economy of biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Dauvergne, Peter; Neville, Kate J

2010-01-01

The global political economy of biofuels emerging since 2007 appears set to intensify inequalities among the countries and rural peoples of the global South. Looking through a global political economy lens, this paper analyses the consequences of proliferating biofuel alliances among multinational corporations, governments, and domestic producers. Since many major biofuel feedstocks - such as sugar, oil palm, and soy - are already entrenched in industrial agricultural and forestry production systems, the authors extrapolate from patterns of production for these crops to bolster their argument that state capacities, the timing of market entry, existing institutions, and historical state-society land tenure relations will particularly affect the potential consequences of further biofuel development. Although the impacts of biofuels vary by region and feedstock, and although some agrarian communities in some countries of the global South are poised to benefit, the analysis suggests that already-vulnerable people and communities will bear a disproportionate share of the costs of biofuel development, particularly for biofuels from crops already embedded in industrial production systems. A core reason, this paper argues, is that the emerging biofuel alliances are reinforcing processes and structures that increase pressures on the ecological integrity of tropical forests and further wrest control of resources from subsistence farmers, indigenous peoples, and people with insecure land rights. Even the development of so-called 'sustainable' biofuels looks set to displace livelihoods and reinforce and extend previous waves of hardship for such marginalised peoples.

Ecological Recovery Potential of Freshwater Organisms: Consequences for Environmental Risk Asseswsment of Chemicals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gergs, A.; Classen, S.; Strauss, T.; Ottermans, R.; Brock, T.C.M.; Ratte, H.T.; Hommen, U.; Preuss, T.G.

2016-01-01

Chemical contaminants released into the in the environment may have adverse effects on (non-target) species, populations and communities. The return of a stressed system to its pre-disturbance or other reference state, i.e. the ecological recovery, may depend on various factors related to the

Ecological consequences of fragmentation and deforestation in an urban landscape: a case study

Science.gov (United States)

W.C. Zipperer; T.W. Foresman; S.P. Walker; C.T. Daniel

2012-01-01

Landscape change is an ongoing process even within established urban landscapes. Yet, analyses of fragmentation and deforestation have focused primarily on the conversion of non-urban to urban landscapes in rural landscapes and ignored urban landscapes. To determine the ecological effects of continued urbanization in urban landscapes, tree-covered patches were mapped...

[Ecology and ecologies].

Science.gov (United States)

Valera, Luca

2011-01-01

Ecology (from the Greek words οιχοσ, "house" and λογια "study of") is the science of the "house", since it studies the environments where we live. There are three main ways of thinking about Ecology: Ecology as the study of interactions (between humans and the environment, between humans and living beings, between all living beings, etc.), Ecology as the statistical study of interactions, Ecology as a faith, or rather as a science that requires a metaphysical view. The history of Ecology shows us how this view was released by the label of "folk sense" to gain the epistemological status of science, a science that strives to be interdisciplinary. So, the aim of Ecology is to study, through a scientific methodology, the whole natural world, answering to very different questions, that arise from several fields (Economics, Biology, Sociology, Philosophy, etc.). The plurality of issues that Ecology has to face led, during the Twentieth-century, to branch off in several different "ecologies". As a result, each one of these new approaches chose as its own field a more limited and specific portion of reality.

Emerging Network-Based Tools in Movement Ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacoby, David M P; Freeman, Robin

2016-04-01

New technologies have vastly increased the available data on animal movement and behaviour. Consequently, new methods deciphering the spatial and temporal interactions between individuals and their environments are vital. Network analyses offer a powerful suite of tools to disentangle the complexity within these dynamic systems, and we review these tools, their application, and how they have generated new ecological and behavioural insights. We suggest that network theory can be used to model and predict the influence of ecological and environmental parameters on animal movement, focusing on spatial and social connectivity, with fundamental implications for conservation. Refining how we construct and randomise spatial networks at different temporal scales will help to establish network theory as a prominent, hypothesis-generating tool in movement ecology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecological aspects of 'Nevada-Semipalatinsk' movement activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abishev, M.A.

2001-01-01

After the Semipalatinsk test site shutdown a certain work on nuclear explosions consequences study by the 'Nevada-Semipalatinsk' International Antinuclear movement was was fulfilled. Today the Movement mission is concluding in assistance to the suffered lands rehabilitation and a people health recovery. The Movement's Problem Committee 'Radiation, Ecology and Health' was created and is actively operating for these problems solution. The scientific experts are engaging in ecological situation assessment problem. In the first time the radioecological examination was conducted and a map set for STS radiation contamination areas was prepared. A number of areas with the radionuclide permissible limits exceeding is revealed

Potential ecological and economic consequences of climate-driven agricultural and silvicultural transformations in central Siberia

Science.gov (United States)

Tchebakova, Nadezhda M.; Zander, Evgeniya V.; Pyzhev, Anton I.; Parfenova, Elena I.; Soja, Amber J.

2014-05-01

Increased warming predicted from general circulation models (GCMs) by the end of the century is expected to dramatically impact Siberian forests. Both natural climate-change-caused disturbance (weather, wildfire, infestation) and anthropogenic disturbance (legal/illegal logging) has increased, and their impact on Siberian boreal forest has been mounting over the last three decades. The Siberian BioClimatic Model (SiBCliM) was used to simulate Siberian forests, and the resultant maps show a severely decreased forest that has shifted northwards and a changed composition. Predicted dryer climates would enhance the risks of high fire danger and thawing permafrost, both of which challenge contemporary ecosystems. Our current goal is to evaluate the ecological and economic consequences of climate warming, to optimise economic loss/gain effects in forestry versus agriculture, to question the relative economic value of supporting forestry, agriculture or a mixed agro-forestry at the southern forest border in central Siberia predicted to undergo the most noticeable landcover and landuse changes. We developed and used forest and agricultural bioclimatic models to predict forest shifts; novel tree species and their climatypes are introduced in a warmer climate and/or potential novel agriculture are introduced with a potential variety of crops by the end of the century. We applied two strategies to estimate climate change effects, motivated by forest disturbance. One is a genetic means of assisting trees and forests to be harmonized with a changing climate by developing management strategies for seed transfer to locations that are best ecologically suited to the genotypes in future climates. The second strategy is the establishment of agricultural lands in new forest-steppe and steppe habitats, because the forests would retreat northwards. Currently, food, forage, and biofuel crops primarily reside in the steppe and forest-steppe zones which are known to have favorable

The Ecological Role of Sharks on Coral Reefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Roff, George; Doropoulos, Christopher; Rogers, Alice; Bozec, Yves-Marie; Krueck, Nils C; Aurellado, Eleanor; Priest, Mark; Birrell, Chico; Mumby, Peter J

2016-05-01

Sharks are considered the apex predator of coral reefs, but the consequences of their global depletion are uncertain. Here we explore the ecological roles of sharks on coral reefs and, conversely, the importance of reefs for sharks. We find that most reef-associated shark species do not act as apex predators but instead function as mesopredators along with a diverse group of reef fish. While sharks perform important direct and indirect ecological roles, the evidence to support hypothesised shark-driven trophic cascades that benefit corals is weak and equivocal. Coral reefs provide some functional benefits to sharks, but sharks do not appear to favour healthier reef environments. Restoring populations of sharks is important and can yet deliver ecological surprise. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Socio-ecological regime transitions in Austria and the United Kingdom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krausmann, Fridolin; Schandl, Heinz; Sieferle, Rolf Peter

2008-01-01

We employ the concepts of socio-ecological regime and regime transition to better understand the biophysical causes and consequences of industrialization. For two case studies, the United Kingdom and Austria we describe two steps in a major transition from an agrarian to an industrial socio-ecological regime and the resulting consequences for energy use, land use and labour organization. In a first step, the coal based industrial regime co-existed with an agricultural sector remaining within the bounds of the old regime. In a second step, the oil/electricity based industrial regime, agriculture was integrated into the new pattern and the socio-ecological transition had been completed. Industrialization offers an answer to the input and growth related sustainability problems of the agrarian regime but creates new sustainability problems of a larger scale. While today's industrial societies are stabilizing their resource use albeit at an unsustainable level large parts of the global society are in midst of the old industrial transition. This poses severe problems for global sustainability. (author)

Socio-ecological regime transitions in Austria and the United Kingdom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krausmann, Fridolin [Institute of Social Ecology, Klagenfurt University, Klagenfurt (Austria); Schandl, Heinz [CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra (Australia); Sieferle, Rolf Peter [Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of St. Gallen, Sankt Gallen (Switzerland)

2008-03-15

We employ the concepts of socio-ecological regime and regime transition to better understand the biophysical causes and consequences of industrialization. For two case studies, the United Kingdom and Austria we describe two steps in a major transition from an agrarian to an industrial socio-ecological regime and the resulting consequences for energy use, land use and labour organization. In a first step, the coal based industrial regime co-existed with an agricultural sector remaining within the bounds of the old regime. In a second step, the oil/electricity based industrial regime, agriculture was integrated into the new pattern and the socio-ecological transition had been completed. Industrialization offers an answer to the input and growth related sustainability problems of the agrarian regime but creates new sustainability problems of a larger scale. While today's industrial societies are stabilizing their resource use albeit at an unsustainable level large parts of the global society are in midst of the old industrial transition. This poses severe problems for global sustainability. (author)

A new method for analysing socio-ecological patterns of vulnerability

OpenAIRE

Kok, M.; Lüdeke, M.; Lucas, P.; Sterzel, T.; Walther, C.; Janssen, P.; Sietz, D.; de Soysa, I.

2016-01-01

This paper presents a method for the analysis of socio-ecological patterns of vulnerability of people being at risk of losing their livelihoods as a consequence of global environmental change. This method fills a gap in methodologies for vulnerability analysis by providing generalizations of the factors that shape vulnerability in specific socio-ecological systems and showing their spatial occurrence. The proposed method consists of four steps that include both quantitative and qualitative an...

From Elements to Function: Toward Unifying Ecological Stoichiometry and Trait-Based Ecology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cédric L. Meunier

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The theories developed in ecological stoichiometry (ES are fundamentally based on traits. Traits directly linked to cell/body stoichiometry, such as nutrient uptake and storage, as well as the associated trade-offs, have the potential to shape ecological interactions such as competition and predation within ecosystems. Further, traits that indirectly influence and are influenced by nutritional requirements, such as cell/body size and growth rate, are tightly linked to organismal stoichiometry. Despite their physiological and ecological relevance, traits are rarely explicitly integrated in the framework of ES and, currently, the major challenge is to more closely inter-connect ES with trait-based ecology (TBE. Here, we highlight four interconnected nutrient trait groups, i.e., acquisition, body stoichiometry, storage, and excretion, which alter interspecific competition in autotrophs and heterotrophs. We also identify key differences between producer-consumer interactions in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. For instance, our synthesis shows that, in contrast to aquatic ecosystems, traits directly influencing herbivore stoichiometry in forested ecosystems should play only a minor role in the cycling of nutrients. We furthermore describe how linking ES and TBE can help predict the ecosystem consequences of global change. The concepts we highlight here allow us to predict that increasing N:P ratios in ecosystems should shift trait dominances in communities toward species with higher optimal N:P ratios and higher P uptake affinity, while decreasing N retention and increasing P storage.

Evolutionary ecology of virus emergence.

Science.gov (United States)

Dennehy, John J

2017-02-01

The cross-species transmission of viruses into new host populations, termed virus emergence, is a significant issue in public health, agriculture, wildlife management, and related fields. Virus emergence requires overlap between host populations, alterations in virus genetics to permit infection of new hosts, and adaptation to novel hosts such that between-host transmission is sustainable, all of which are the purview of the fields of ecology and evolution. A firm understanding of the ecology of viruses and how they evolve is required for understanding how and why viruses emerge. In this paper, I address the evolutionary mechanisms of virus emergence and how they relate to virus ecology. I argue that, while virus acquisition of the ability to infect new hosts is not difficult, limited evolutionary trajectories to sustained virus between-host transmission and the combined effects of mutational meltdown, bottlenecking, demographic stochasticity, density dependence, and genetic erosion in ecological sinks limit most emergence events to dead-end spillover infections. Despite the relative rarity of pandemic emerging viruses, the potential of viruses to search evolutionary space and find means to spread epidemically and the consequences of pandemic viruses that do emerge necessitate sustained attention to virus research, surveillance, prophylaxis, and treatment. © 2016 New York Academy of Sciences.

Ecological impacts of the late Quaternary megaherbivore extinctions.

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Jacquelyn L

2014-03-01

As a result of the late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions (50,000-10,000 before present (BP)), most continents today are depauperate of megaherbivores. These extinctions were time-transgressive, size- and taxonomically selective, and were caused by climate change, human hunting, or both. The surviving megaherbivores often act as ecological keystones, which was likely true in the past. In spite of this and extensive research on the causes of the Late Quaternary Extinctions, the long-term ecological consequences of the loss of the Pleistocene megafauna remained unknown until recently, due to difficulties in linking changes in flora and fauna in paleorecords. The quantification of Sporormiella and other dung fungi have recently allowed for explicit tests of the ecological consequences of megafaunal extirpations in the fossil pollen record. In this paper, I review the impacts of the loss of keystone megaherbivores on vegetation in several paleorecords. A growing number of studies support the hypothesis that the loss of the Pleistocene megafauna resulted in cascading effects on plant community composition, vegetation structure and ecosystem function, including increased fire activity, novel communities and shifts in biomes. Holocene biota thus exist outside the broader evolutionary context of the Cenozoic, and the Late Quaternary Extinctions represent a regime shift for surviving plant and animal species.

Coping with ecological catastrophe: crossing major thresholds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Cairns, Jr.

2004-08-01

Full Text Available The combination of human population growth and resource depletion makes catastrophes highly probable. No long-term solutions to the problems of humankind will be discovered unless sustainable use of the planet is achieved. The essential first step toward this goal is avoiding or coping with global catastrophes that result from crossing major ecological thresholds. Decreasing the number of global catastrophes will reduce the risks associated with destabilizing ecological systems, which could, in turn, destabilize societal systems. Many catastrophes will be local, regional, or national, but even these upheavals will have global consequences. Catastrophes will be the result of unsustainable practices and the misuse of technology. However, avoiding ecological catastrophes will depend on the development of eco-ethics, which is subject to progressive maturation, comments, and criticism. Some illustrative catastrophes have been selected to display some preliminary issues of eco-ethics.

Used lubricants and ecological problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evdokimov, A.Yu.; Dzhamalov, A.A.; Lashkhi, V.L.

1993-01-01

This planet is undergoing a severe ecological crisis. The consequent problems include not only how to prevent the destruction of contemporary civilization, but also how to preserve mankind as a biological species. In the onset of this crisis, used lubricants (ULs) play a role that is by no means the least important. Every year, the worldwide discharge of petroleum products to the biosphere is approximately 6 million tonnes, of which more than 50% consists of ULs. The ecologically dangerous components of both commercial lubricants and used lubricants are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are originally present in crude oil; polyhalobiphenyls, mainly polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) of anthropogenic origin; sulfur- and chlorine-containing additives; a number of biocides; organic compounds of metals (lead, barium, antimony, zinc); and nitrites. These substances are distributed in the atmosphere, water, and soil, entering the food chain and appearing in foodstuffs. Moreover, hydrocarbons of petroleum and synthetic oils with a low degree of biodegradability (10-30%) accumulate in the environment and may shift the ecological equilibrium (accelerated multiplication and mutation of microorganisms that assimilate petroleum products). 32 refs., 1 fig

Niche construction through phenological plasticity: life history dynamics and ecological consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Donohue, Kathleen

2005-04-01

The ability of an organism to alter the environment that it experiences has been termed 'niche construction'. Plants have several ways whereby they can determine the environment to which they are exposed at different life stages. This paper discusses three of these: plasticity in dispersal, flowering timing and germination timing. It reviews pathways through which niche construction alters evolutionary and ecological trajectories by altering the selective environment to which organisms are exposed, the phenotypic expression of plastic characters, and the expression of genetic variation. It provides examples whereby niche construction creates positive or negative feedbacks between phenotypes and environments, which in turn cause novel evolutionary constraints and novel life-history expression. Copyright New Phytologist (2005).

Unifying ecology and macroevolution with individual-based theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosindell, James; Harmon, Luke J; Etienne, Rampal S

2015-05-01

A contemporary goal in both ecology and evolutionary biology is to develop theory that transcends the boundary between the two disciplines, to understand phenomena that cannot be explained by either field in isolation. This is challenging because macroevolution typically uses lineage-based models, whereas ecology often focuses on individual organisms. Here, we develop a new parsimonious individual-based theory by adding mild selection to the neutral theory of biodiversity. We show that this model generates realistic phylogenies showing a slowdown in diversification and also improves on the ecological predictions of neutral theory by explaining the occurrence of very common species. Moreover, we find the distribution of individual fitness changes over time, with average fitness increasing at a pace that depends positively on community size. Consequently, large communities tend to produce fitter species than smaller communities. These findings have broad implications beyond biodiversity theory, potentially impacting, for example, invasion biology and paleontology. © 2015 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and CNRS.

Ecological Footprint in relation to Climate Change Strategy in Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Belčáková, Ingrid; Diviaková, Andrea; Belaňová, Eliška

2017-10-01

Ecological footprint determines how much natural resources are consumed by an individual, city, region, state or all inhabitants of our planet in order to ensure their requirements and needs. It includes all activities, from food consumption, housing, transport to waste produced and allows us to compare particular activities and their impacts on the environment and natural resources. Ecological footprint is important issue for making sustainable development concept more popular using simplifications, which provide the public with basic information on situation on our planet. Today we know calculations of global (worldwide), national and local ecological footprints. During our research in cities, we were concentrated on calculation of city’s ecological footprint. The article tries to outline theoretical and assumptions and practical results of climate change consequences in cities of Bratislava and Nitra (Slovakia), to describe potential of mitigating adverse impacts of climate change and to provide information for general and professional public on theoretical assumptions in calculating ecological footprint. The intention is to present innovation of ecological footprint calculation, taking into consideration ecological stability of a city (with a specific focus on micro-climate functions of green areas). Present possibilities to reduce ecological footprint are presented.

Dynamic heterogeneity: a framework to promote ecological integration and hypothesis generation in urban systems

Science.gov (United States)

S. T. A. Pickett; M. L. Cadenasso; E. J. Rosi-Marshall; Ken Belt; P. M. Groffman; Morgan Grove; E. G. Irwin; S. S. Kaushal; S. L. LaDeau; C. H. Nilon; C. M. Swan; P. S. Warren

2016-01-01

Urban areas are understood to be extraordinarily spatially heterogeneous. Spatial heterogeneity, and its causes, consequences, and changes, are central to ecological science. The social sciences and urban design and planning professions also include spatial heterogeneity as a key concern. However, urban ecology, as a pursuit that integrates across these disciplines,...

Ecological stability of landscape - ecological infrastructure - ecological management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The Field Workshop 'Ecological Stability of Landscape - Ecological Infrastructure - Ecological Management' was held within a State Environmental Programme financed by the Federal Committee for the Environment. The objectives of the workshop were to present Czech and Slovak approaches to the ecological stability of the landscape by means of examples of some case studies in the field, and to exchange ideas, theoretical knowledge and practical experience on implementing the concept of ecological infrastructure in landscape management. Out of 19 papers contained in the proceedings, 3 items were inputted to the INIS system. (Z.S.)

Noise pollution alters ecological services: enhanced pollination and disrupted seed dispersal.

Science.gov (United States)

Francis, Clinton D; Kleist, Nathan J; Ortega, Catherine P; Cruz, Alexander

2012-07-22

Noise pollution is a novel, widespread environmental force that has recently been shown to alter the behaviour and distribution of birds and other vertebrates, yet whether noise has cumulative, community-level consequences by changing critical ecological services is unknown. Herein, we examined the effects of noise pollution on pollination and seed dispersal and seedling establishment within a study system that isolated the effects of noise from confounding stimuli common to human-altered landscapes. Using observations, vegetation surveys and pollen transfer and seed removal experiments, we found that effects of noise pollution can reverberate through communities by disrupting or enhancing these ecological services. Specifically, noise pollution indirectly increased artificial flower pollination by hummingbirds, but altered the community of animals that prey upon and disperse Pinus edulis seeds, potentially explaining reduced P. edulis seedling recruitment in noisy areas. Despite evidence that some ecological services, such as pollination, may benefit indirectly owing to noise, declines in seedling recruitment for key-dominant species such as P. edulis may have dramatic long-term effects on ecosystem structure and diversity. Because the extent of noise pollution is growing, this study emphasizes that investigators should evaluate the ecological consequences of noise alongside other human-induced environmental changes that are reshaping human-altered landscapes worldwide.

Noise pollution alters ecological services: enhanced pollination and disrupted seed dispersal

Science.gov (United States)

Francis, Clinton D.; Kleist, Nathan J.; Ortega, Catherine P.; Cruz, Alexander

2012-01-01

Noise pollution is a novel, widespread environmental force that has recently been shown to alter the behaviour and distribution of birds and other vertebrates, yet whether noise has cumulative, community-level consequences by changing critical ecological services is unknown. Herein, we examined the effects of noise pollution on pollination and seed dispersal and seedling establishment within a study system that isolated the effects of noise from confounding stimuli common to human-altered landscapes. Using observations, vegetation surveys and pollen transfer and seed removal experiments, we found that effects of noise pollution can reverberate through communities by disrupting or enhancing these ecological services. Specifically, noise pollution indirectly increased artificial flower pollination by hummingbirds, but altered the community of animals that prey upon and disperse Pinus edulis seeds, potentially explaining reduced P. edulis seedling recruitment in noisy areas. Despite evidence that some ecological services, such as pollination, may benefit indirectly owing to noise, declines in seedling recruitment for key-dominant species such as P. edulis may have dramatic long-term effects on ecosystem structure and diversity. Because the extent of noise pollution is growing, this study emphasizes that investigators should evaluate the ecological consequences of noise alongside other human-induced environmental changes that are reshaping human-altered landscapes worldwide. PMID:22438504

Winter flooding in Dutch stream valley floodplains: biogeochemical effects and vegetation consequences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beumer, V.

2009-01-01

Winter flooding in Dutch stream valley floodplains: biogeochemical effects and vegetation consequences Victor Beumer Climatic change has great impacts on stream catchments and their ecology. Expectations are that more extreme climate events will result in undesired flooding in stream catchments. In

ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC CONFLICTS: AGRICULTURAL USE OR CULTIVATION BIOMASS SECOND GENERATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Trohlyuk

2014-06-01

Full Text Available To negotiate the consequences of agricultural modernization as an example of nature Polissya areas in Ukraine. Studies addressing the conceptual foundations of ecological and economic conflict over agricultural use or cultivation of second generation biomass due to the transformation of land use during the economic reforms in the country. Proposed to solve it through socio-ecological-economic assessment of environmental audit procedure in the context of the strategy of "green" economy.

Fault bars in bird feathers: mechanisms, and ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Jovani, Roger; Rohwer, Sievert

2017-05-01

Fault bars are narrow malformations in feathers oriented almost perpendicular to the rachis where the feather vein and even the rachis may break. Breaks in the barbs and barbules result in small pieces of the feather vein being lost, while breaks in the rachis result in loss of the distal portion of the feather. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of 74 papers on fault bar formation in hopes of providing a clearer approach to their study. First, we review the evidence that the propensity to develop fault bars is modified by natural selection. Given that fault bars persist in the face of survival costs, we conclude that they must be an unfortunate consequence of some alternative adaptation that outweighs the fitness costs of fault bars. Second, we summarize evidence that the development of fault bars is triggered by psychological stress such as that of handling or predation attempts, and that they persist because the sudden contractions of the muscles in the feather follicle that control fright moults also causes the development of fault bars in growing feathers. Third, we review external and physiological (e.g. corticosterone) agents that may affect the likelihood that an acute stress will result in a growing feather exhibiting a fault bar. These modifying factors have often been treated as fundamental causes in the earlier literature on fault bars. Fourth, we then use this classification to propose a tentative model where fault bars of different severity (from light to severe) are the outcome of the interaction between the propensity to produce fault bars (which differs between species, individuals and feather follicles within individuals) and the intensity of the perturbation. This model helps to explain contradictory results in the literature, to identify gaps in our knowledge, and to suggest further studies. Lastly, we discuss ways in which better understanding of fault bars can inform us about other aspects of avian evolutionary ecology, such as the

Sperm viability staining in ecology and evolution: potential pitfalls

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holman, Luke

2009-01-01

The causes and consequences of variation in sperm quality, survival and ageing are active areas of research in ecology and evolution. In order to address these topics, many recent studies have measured sperm viability using fluorescent staining. Although sperm viability staining has produced a nu...

Socio-ecological impact of development schemes in the homelands of South Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

de Wet, C. (Rhodes Univ., Grahamstown (South Africa))

Development schemes in rural areas have a significant ecological impact as they often involve a reorganization of land-use and resource-utilization patterns. This reorganization is usually intended to have a positive ecological effect by combating erosion, promoting rational land-use patterns and using the potential of the area to best effect, thereby also providing economic benefits to the people living there. Often development schemes have the opposite effect - a negative ecological and economic impact as well as causing considerable social disruption, which in its turn has further negative ecological consequences. This paper looks at several kinds of development projects, seeking to understand why they have limited rather than increased ecological, economic and social options, and to what extent such negative effects can be avoided in future development projects in rural areas.

Design of a Course on the Medical Consequences of Nuclear War.

Science.gov (United States)

Cassel, Christine; And Others

1982-01-01

A course is described in which students were to: learn about nuclear weapons and their medical, social, and ecological consequences; identify principles of social ethics defining health professionals' roles; and define professional activities consistent with these principles. Student attitudes toward the course and its content were measured. (MSE)

The consequences of Chernobyl. 2. ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultz, I.

1989-01-01

The investigation on the consequences of Chernobyl in Hessen served to formulate hypotheses for a research programme concept 'social ecology'. Its cope was restricted to groups of women, mothers, and parents, in order to confront the crisis perception of women, respectively women's vehemently publicized experience of catastrophe, with prevailing crisis theories, and hence to develop a programme concept. Furthermore, the brochure contains a description of the ways in which the limiting value problem was dealt with at the administrative-political and scientific level, and an interpretation of its research-political relevance. (DG) [de

Short-term ecological consequences of collaborative restoration treatments in ponderosa pine forests of Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Jennifer S. Briggs; Paula J. Fornwalt; Jonas A. Feinstein

2017-01-01

Ecological restoration treatments are being implemented at an increasing rate in ponderosa pine and other dry conifer forests across the western United States, via the USDA Forest Service’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) program. In this program, collaborative stakeholder groups work with National Forests (NFs) to adaptively implement and monitor...

Risk indices of an ecological catastrophe because of a severe accident, its insurance, and their measurement units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pampuro, V.I.

2001-01-01

The critical analysis of the existing measurement units of the risk of an ecological catastrophe because of severe accidents is performed. The mistake of using the measurement unit 'reactor/year' for estimation of ecological catastrophe's consequences is shown. The complex for risk assessment by costs to ensure the ecological safety is introduced. The index of virtual accident insurance is suggested

Biological invasions, ecological resilience and adaptive governance.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaffin, Brian C; Garmestani, Ahjond S; Angeler, David G; Herrmann, Dustin L; Stow, Craig A; Nyström, Magnus; Sendzimir, Jan; Hopton, Matthew E; Kolasa, Jurek; Allen, Craig R

2016-12-01

In a world of increasing interconnections in global trade as well as rapid change in climate and land cover, the accelerating introduction and spread of invasive species is a critical concern due to associated negative social and ecological impacts, both real and perceived. Much of the societal response to invasive species to date has been associated with negative economic consequences of invasions. This response has shaped a war-like approach to addressing invasions, one with an agenda of eradications and intense ecological restoration efforts towards prior or more desirable ecological regimes. This trajectory often ignores the concept of ecological resilience and associated approaches of resilience-based governance. We argue that the relationship between ecological resilience and invasive species has been understudied to the detriment of attempts to govern invasions, and that most management actions fail, primarily because they do not incorporate adaptive, learning-based approaches. Invasive species can decrease resilience by reducing the biodiversity that underpins ecological functions and processes, making ecosystems more prone to regime shifts. However, invasions do not always result in a shift to an alternative regime; invasions can also increase resilience by introducing novelty, replacing lost ecological functions or adding redundancy that strengthens already existing structures and processes in an ecosystem. This paper examines the potential impacts of species invasions on the resilience of ecosystems and suggests that resilience-based approaches can inform policy by linking the governance of biological invasions to the negotiation of tradeoffs between ecosystem services. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Altered Ecological Flows Blur Boundaries in Urbanizing Watersheds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Todd R. Lookingbill

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The relevance of the boundary concept to ecological processes has been recently questioned. Humans in the post-industrial era have created novel lateral transport fluxes that have not been sufficiently considered in watershed studies. We describe patterns of land-use change within the Potomac River basin and demonstrate how these changes have blurred traditional ecosystem boundaries by increasing the movement of people, materials, and energy into and within the basin. We argue that this expansion of ecological commerce requires new science, monitoring, and management strategies focused on large rivers and suggest that traditional geopolitical and economic boundaries for environmental decision making be appropriately revised. Effective mitigation of the consequences of blurred boundaries will benefit from a broad-scale, interdisciplinary framework that can track and explicitly account for ecological fluxes of water, energy, materials, and organisms across human-dominated landscapes.

Ecological and Socio-Economic Modeling of Consequences of Biological Management Scenarios Implementation in Integrated Watershed Management (Case Study: Simindasht Catchment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. R. Keshtkar

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Integrated watershed management is considered as a new principle for development planning and management of water and soil resources emphasizing on socio-economic characteristics of the region to sustainable livelihoods without vulnerability for plants and the residents of an area. This research, in line with the objectives of integrated management, has been carried out for modelling and evaluating the effects of ecological, socio-economic consequences resulting from the implementation of the proposed management plans on the vegetation changes with a focus on the problems in Simindasht catchment, located in Semnan and Tehran Provinces. After standardization of indices by distance method and weighing them, the scenarios were prioritized using multi-criteria decision-making technique. Trade-off analysis of the results indicates that in the integrated management of Simindasht catchment more than one single management solution, covering all aspects of the system can be recommended in different weighting approaches. The approach used herein, considering the results of different models and comparing the results, is an efficient tool to represent the watershed system as a whole and to facilitate decision making for integrated watershed management.

Ecological studies of polyploidy in the 100 years following its discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramsey, Justin; Ramsey, Tara S

2014-08-05

Polyploidy is a mutation with profound phenotypic consequences and thus hypothesized to have transformative effects in plant ecology. This is most often considered in the context of geographical and environmental distributions-as achieved from divergence of physiological and life-history traits-but may also include species interactions and biological invasion. This paper presents a historical overview of hypotheses and empirical data regarding the ecology of polyploids. Early researchers of polyploidy (1910 s-1930 s) were geneticists by training but nonetheless savvy to its phenotypic effects, and speculated on the importance of genome duplication to adaptation and crop improvement. Cytogenetic studies in the 1930 s-1950 s indicated that polyploids are larger (sturdier foliage, thicker stems and taller stature) than diploids while cytogeographic surveys suggested that polyploids and diploids have allopatric or parapatric distributions. Although autopolyploidy was initially regarded as common, influential writings by North American botanists in the 1940 s and 1950 s argued for the principle role of allopolyploidy; according to this view, genome duplication was significant for providing a broader canvas for hybridization rather than for its phenotypic effects per se. The emphasis on allopolyploidy had a chilling effect on nascent ecological work, in part due to taxonomic challenges posed by interspecific hybridization. Nonetheless, biosystematic efforts over the next few decades (1950s-1970s) laid the foundation for ecological research by documenting cytotype distributions and identifying phenotypic correlates of polyploidy. Rigorous investigation of polyploid ecology was achieved in the 1980s and 1990 s by population biologists who leveraged flow cytometry for comparative work in autopolyploid complexes. These efforts revealed multi-faceted ecological and phenotypic differences, some of which may be direct consequences of genome duplication. Several classical

Genetic Engineering and Human Mental Ecology: Interlocking Effects and Educational Considerations

OpenAIRE

Affifi, Ramsey

2017-01-01

This paper describes some likely semiotic consequences of genetic engineering on what Gregory Bateson has called ?the mental ecology? (1979) of future humans, consequences that are less often raised in discussions surrounding the safety of GMOs (genetically modified organisms). The effects are as follows: an increased 1) habituation to the presence of GMOs in the environment, 2) normalization of empirically false assumptions grounding genetic reductionism, 3) acceptance that humans are capabl...

Ecologically diverse and distinct neighbourhoods trigger persistent phenotypic consequences, and amine metabolic profiling detects them

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hennion, F.; Litrico, I.; Bartish, Igor V.; Weigelt, A.; Bouchereau, A.; Prinzing, A.

2016-01-01

Roč. 104, č. 1 (2016), s. 125-137 ISSN 0022-0477 Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) Fellowship J. E. Purkyně Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : community phylogenetics * microevolution * metabolome Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 5.813, year: 2016

Ecological tax reform - an optimal solution?. Critical remarks on the DIW study ''Economic effects of an ecological tax reform''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehringer, C.; Fahl, H.; Voss, A.

1994-01-01

Through the latest expertise of the German institute for economic research (DIW) regarding an ecological tax reform, the discussion about a tax system considering the shortage of the ressource environment and a deficiency of demand regarding the ressource work is newly provoked. The focus of this article is a critical dealing with the methodical procedure of the German institute for economic reserarch when analyzing the national economic effect of a concretely formulated ecological tax law scenario. When assessing the overall economic consequences of a tax reform, it is recommended to use an analysis instrument, which is farly more consistent compared to the instruments by DIW, and which is more problem adequate through the increased resort to financial knowledge. Based on the obvious weakness of the DIW study, a more extensive comprehension for an ecological tax reform is pleaded for, standing out for an application of taxes based on division of labour and oriented to the objective. (orig./UA) [de

Nuclear toxicology file: ecological consequences of a chronic exposure to uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adam, Ch.; Alonzo, F.; Bonzom, J.M.; Gilbin, R.; Garnier-Laplace, J.; Simon, O.

2008-01-01

This article presents the thought process and the current developments, based on the experimental acquisition of the answers of the alive organisms to the chronic low dose exposures of natural uranium in fresh water, to identify the consequences of this exposure on the populations composing the ecosystems. The results acquired on the zebra fish (Danio rerio) show an impact on the first steps of development. We note a delay of hatching upon 40 % from 20 μg/l of uranium. This delay comes along with a decrease of the size and with a reduction of the growth of larvas as well as with an increase of their mortality for higher uranium concentration. For adults exposed to uranium a decrease of reproduction success is observed from a concentration of 20μg/l. The consequences in term of fertility (total number of laid roes) are drastic, with a reduction of a factor 2 and 60, for the organisms exposed respectively to 20 and 250 μg/l of uranium. A study was also made on several generations (populations of benthic invertebrates), it suggests an adaptation (genetic selection) but created a bigger fragility to a new environment even identical to their environment of origin with notably a decrease of the reproduction. (N.C.)

Ecological risks of pesticides in freshwater ecosystems; Part 1: herbicides

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brock, T.C.M.; Lahr, J.; Brink, van den P.J.

2000-01-01

A literature review of freshwater model ecosystem studies with herbicides was performed to assess the NOEC[sub]ecosystem for individual compounds, to compare these threshold levels with water quality standards, and to evaluate the ecological consequences of exceeding these standards. Studies were

Ecological and economic evaluation of Dutch egg production systems.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dekker, S.E.M.; Boer, de I.J.M.; Vermeij, I.; Aarnink, A.J.A.; Groot Koerkamp, P.W.G.

2011-01-01

The upcoming ban on battery cages in the European Union is expected to cause a shift in husbandry systems from predominantly battery cages to enriched cages and loose housing systems, such as barn, free range and organic systems. To gain insight into ecological and economic consequences of such a

Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Plant Mediation of Multi-Trophic Interactions

OpenAIRE

Abdala, Luis Alejandro

2014-01-01

Consumers are strongly influenced by plant phenotypic variation. Such variation may have a genetic or environmental basis, and occurs when plant genotypes or species vary in traits or when patches of co-occurring plants vary in the number of genotypes or species. However, these sources of plant variation have usually been studied separately, their underlying mechanisms are poorly understood, and the evolutionary consequences are largely unknown. This dissertation aims to fill these gaps in re...

Ecological marketing as instrument of steady development providing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I.V. Zamula

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Anthropogenic influence upon environment and its results cause ecological disbalance of a natural system, destroy of biological connection between a human being and nature. That’s why it’s necessary to protect environment from pollution. To realize this task we have to involve some economical sciences as well. Consequently, our researches are directed to the determination of the place of ecological marketing so that an enterprise could reach the principles of the concept of steady development through the harmonization of interests of producers of goods concerning to the receiving of desirable income amount, consumers concerning to satisfaction of their needs and a society as a whole about reaching a steady development. The article determines the tasks of ecological marketing as an instrument for providing the realization of principles of the steady development concept paying special attention to its constituents such as economical, ecological, and social. The author determines the advantages of implementation of the ecological marketing which allows to get definite competitive advantages at the market and create a positive image of its trade mark and its produce among customers. It is proved that the maximum synthesis of interests of economics and ecology is one of the ways of biosphere protection and reaching a steady development of all the countries and a society as a whole.

Ecological effects of harvesting biomass for energy in the Spanish Mediterranean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zavala, Miguel A.; Marcos, Francisco

1993-01-01

Biomass utilization for energy has major consequences for Spanish Mediterranean landscapes. In this paper we present a synthesis of the ecological effects of harvesting biomass for energy. We compare these effects with other fuel reduction procedures such as prescribed burning. Throughout history we see that some Iberian ecosystems are stabilized by long human interference. One of the stabilizing factors is the utilization of wood as a source of energy. New energy sources and massive human movements towards urban areas have changed the ecosystem dynamics. Reforested areas in Spain during the period from 1940 to 1970 included silviculture treatments that in some cases never took place. This has led to a greater accumulation of biomass. The current perspective of the problem must be analyzed from an economic and political viewpoint. For instance, the Middle East crisis has direct consequences for the budget dedicated to forest energetics, and consequently for the landscape. This shows how ecological problems must be dealt with using a very broad perspective. In Spain current biomass usage should be considered primarily as a complementary silvicultural treatment rather than as a way of producing great biomass outputs. If we are going to manage our forest from an ecological perspective, we have to analyze the effects of these operations at the stand level. At the landscape level fuel management plans should be included in the Forest Management Prescriptions (ordenaciones) whether in terms of harvesting or in a prescribed burning plan

Chapter 1: Hydrologic exchange flows and their ecological consequences in river corridors

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Judson

2016-01-01

The actively flowing waters of streams and rivers remain in close contact with surrounding off-channel and subsurface environments. These hydrologic linkages between relatively fast flowing channel waters, with more slowly flowing waters off-channel and in the subsurface, are collectively referred to as hydrologic exchange flows (HEFs). HEFs include surface exchange with a channel’s marginal areas and subsurface flow through the streambed (hyporheic flow), as well as storm-driven bank storage and overbank flows onto floodplains. HEFs are important, not only for storing water and attenuating flood peaks, but also for their role in influencing water conservation, water quality improvement, and related outcomes for ecological values and services of aquatic ecosystems. Biogeochemical opportunities for chemical transformations are increased by HEFs as a result of the prolonged contact between flowing waters and geochemically and microbially active surfaces of sediments and vegetation. Chemical processing is intensified and water quality is often improved by removal of excess nutrients, metals, and organic contaminants from flowing waters. HEFs also are important regulators of organic matter decomposition, nutrient recycling, and stream metabolism that helps establish a balanced and resilient aquatic food web. The shallow and protected storage zones associated with HEFs support nursery and feeding areas for aquatic organisms that sustain aquatic biological diversity. Understanding of these varied roles for HEFs has been driven by the related disciplines of stream ecology, fluvial geomorphology, surface-water hydraulics, and groundwater hydrology. A current research emphasis is on the role that HEFs play in altered flow regimes, including restoration to achieve diverse goals, such as expanding aquatic habitats and managing dissolved and suspended river loads to reduce over-fertilization of coastal waters and offset wetland loss. New integrative concepts and models are

A new method for analysing socio-ecological patterns of vulnerability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kok, M.; Lüdeke, M.; Lucas, P.; Sterzel, T.; Walther, C.; Janssen, P.; Sietz, D.; Soysa, de I.

2016-01-01

This paper presents a method for the analysis of socio-ecological patterns of vulnerability of people being at risk of losing their livelihoods as a consequence of global environmental change. This method fills a gap in methodologies for vulnerability analysis by providing generalizations of the

Basics of theory of ecological crisis management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stajić Ljubomir

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Today, it is clear that environmental accidents and processes represent, not only potential but also real causes of crises on which states must be aware of. The formation of the ecological crisis is growing exponentially, along with their consequences. The problem with the environmental crisisis lies not in the fact that they exist, but how we treat them. Exploring the causes of the crisis requires an interdisciplinary approach. At the micro level, this approach focuses on the role of individuals. At the middle level of research, focus is on organizational factors and processes that may play important role in causing the crisis. Macro level of approach lists possible causes that seem to make the crisis more or less inevitable and unavoidable features of the modern world. The crisis is also characterized by negative effects (perturbations, deregulation, conflict, confused action, intense stress, which leads to reckless actions and positive effects (mobilization, solidarity, cooperation, improved adaptation to the environment, experiential learning. Furthermore, ecological crisis represents an emergency situation whose beginning and duration are not predetermined. Anti-crisis measures have failed mainly because of the numerous factors influencing on one hand, on a complexity of the crisis and, on the other hand, because of its continuously changing factors throughout the duration of the crisis. Managing ecological crisis occurs, therefore, as a permanently professional inventive and complicated process which aims to prevent the escalation of the crisis, as well as the elimination of the expected and actual negative consequences of the crisis. Mismanagement of such crisis drains system resources, interferes with its function and organization, impacts on the financial opportunities while achieving positive goals. Extreme mismanagement can lead to the entropy of the system itself. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate basic facts of managing

Insect Seed Predators in Erythrina falcata (Fabaceae): Identification of Predatory Species and Ecological Consequences of Asynchronous Flowering.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, C M; Moura, M O; Da-Silva, P R

2014-06-01

Seed predation by insects exerts negative effects on plant reproduction by limiting the supply of seeds and preventing germination. Seed predators of the family Fabaceae are usually generalists, which increases the rate of predation. One strategy to minimize seed predation, developed by plants from temperate regions, is "escape in time," i.e., flowering before or after the peak of predation. For tropical species, few studies have investigated the strategies used by plants to minimize seed predation. Here, using Erythrina falcata, a tropical species of Fabaceae, we test three main hypotheses: (i) escape in time is a mechanism used by E. falcata to minimize seed predation, (ii) the predators of E. falcata seeds are generalists, and (iii) the biometric variables of the pods can influence seed predation. In order to test these hypotheses, we determined the flowering time of E. falcata, rate of seed predation, the predators insects, and biometric variables of the pods. The analyzed trees were grouped into three classes: "early," "peak," and "late" flowering. The average seed predation rates on trees in the early and late classes were 65% and 50%, respectively, and in the peak class, 80%; thus, our first hypothesis can be accepted. Three species of Lepidoptera and two of Coleoptera were found preying on E. falcata seeds. These species were observed to be generalist predators; thus, our second hypothesis can be accepted. The biometric variables of the pods cannot influence seed predation rate. The ecological consequences of asynchronous flowering on plants and insects are discussed.

Sustainability of utility-scale solar energy – critical ecological concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Moore-O'Leary, Kara A.; Hernandez, Rebecca R.; Johnston, Dave S.; Abella, Scott R.; Tanner, Karen E.; Swanson, Amanda C.; Kreitler, Jason R.; Lovich, Jeffrey E.

2017-01-01

Renewable energy development is an arena where ecological, political, and socioeconomic values collide. Advances in renewable energy will incur steep environmental costs to landscapes in which facilities are constructed and operated. Scientists – including those from academia, industry, and government agencies – have only recently begun to quantify trade-offs in this arena, often using ground-mounted, utility-scale solar energy facilities (USSE, ≥1 megawatt) as a model. Here, we discuss five critical ecological concepts applicable to the development of more sustainable USSE with benefits over fossil-fuel-generated energy: (1) more sustainable USSE development requires careful evaluation of trade-offs between land, energy, and ecology; (2) species responses to habitat modification by USSE vary; (3) cumulative and large-scale ecological impacts are complex and challenging to mitigate; (4) USSE development affects different types of ecosystems and requires customized design and management strategies; and (5) long-term ecological consequences associated with USSE sites must be carefully considered. These critical concepts provide a framework for reducing adverse environmental impacts, informing policy to establish and address conservation priorities, and improving energy production sustainability.

The Ecological Rise of Whales Chronicled by the Fossil Record.

Science.gov (United States)

Pyenson, Nicholas D

2017-06-05

The evolution of cetaceans is one of the best examples of macroevolution documented from the fossil record. While ecological transitions dominate each phase of cetacean history, this context is rarely stated explicitly. The first major ecological phase involves a transition from riverine and deltaic environments to marine ones, concomitant with dramatic evolutionary transformations documented in their early fossil record. The second major phase involves ecological shifts associated with evolutionary innovations: echolocation (facilitating hunting prey at depth) and filter-feeding (enhancing foraging efficiency on small prey). This latter phase involves body size shifts, attributable to changes in foraging depth and environmental forcing, as well as re-invasions of freshwater systems on continental basins by multiple lineages. Modern phenomena driving cetacean ecology, such as trophic dynamics and arms races, have an evolutionary basis that remains mostly unexamined. The fossil record of cetaceans provides an historical basis for understanding current ecological mechanisms and consequences, especially as global climate change rapidly alters ocean and river ecosystems at rates and scales comparable to those over geologic time. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Priorities for the next decade of research in radiation ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, F.O. Jr.; McCormick, J.F.

1987-01-01

Radiation ecology is the study of the fate and effects of ionizing radiations in the environment. The 1986 Chernobyl accident provides unprecedented opportunities to test models of the transport of a great variety of radionuclides in a variety of ecosystems under a variety of conditions throughout the world. International collaboration provides exciting opportunities to explore the fate of radionuclides on a global scale. Our understanding of ecological effects of ionizing radiations is based almost entirely upon results of point source gamma studies such as those described in this symposium. While results of these studies are incomplete and insufficient, even less is known of ecological effects resulting from high levels of radioactive fallout. High priority should be given to completing long term studies of previously irradiated ecosystems and to initiating studies of the ecological effects of radioactive fallout. The most challenging task is to improve and couple our knowledge of radionuclide transport, radiation dosimetry and ecological effects so that, for a given level of radioactivity released into specific ecosystems, we can predict immediate and long term consequences

Predicting and detecting reciprocity between indirect ecological interactions and evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Estes, James A; Brashares, Justin S; Power, Mary E

2013-05-01

Living nature can be thought of as a tapestry, defined not only by its constituent parts but also by how these parts are woven together. The weaving of this tapestry is a metaphor for species interactions, which can be divided into three broad classes: competitive, mutualistic, and consumptive. Direct interactions link together as more complex networks, for example, the joining of consumptive interactions into food webs. Food web dynamics are driven, in turn, by changes in the abundances of web members, whose numbers or biomass respond to bottom-up (resource limitation) and top-down (consumer limitation) forcing. The relative strengths of top-down and bottom-up forcing on the abundance of a given web member depend on its ecological context, including its topological position within the food web. Top-down effects by diverse consumers are nearly ubiquitous, in many cases influencing the structure and operation of ecosystems. While the ecological effects of such interactions are well known, far less is known of their evolutionary consequences. In this essay, we describe sundry consequences of these interaction chains on species and ecosystem processes, explain several known or suspected evolutionary effects of consumer-induced interaction chains, and identify areas where reciprocity between ecology and evolution involving the indirect effects of consumer-prey interaction chains might be further explored.

Sustaining visitor use in protected areas: Future opportunities in recreation ecology research based on the USA experience

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher A. Monz; David N. Cole; Yu-Fai Leung; Jeffrey L. Marion

2009-01-01

Recreation ecology, the study of environmental consequences of outdoor recreation activities and their effective management, is a relatively new field of scientific study having emerged over the last 50 years. During this time, numerous studies have improved our understanding of how use-related, environmental and managerial factors affect ecological...

Priorities for research in soil ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenhauer, Nico; Antunes, Pedro M; Bennett, Alison E; Birkhofer, Klaus; Bissett, Andrew; Bowker, Matthew A; Caruso, Tancredi; Chen, Baodong; Coleman, David C; de Boer, Wietse; de Ruiter, Peter; DeLuca, Thomas H; Frati, Francesco; Griffiths, Bryan S; Hart, Miranda M; Hättenschwiler, Stephan; Haimi, Jari; Heethoff, Michael; Kaneko, Nobuhiro; Kelly, Laura C; Leinaas, Hans Petter; Lindo, Zoë; Macdonald, Catriona; Rillig, Matthias C; Ruess, Liliane; Scheu, Stefan; Schmidt, Olaf; Seastedt, Timothy R; van Straalen, Nico M; Tiunov, Alexei V; Zimmer, Martin; Powell, Jeff R

2017-07-01

The ecological interactions that occur in and with soil are of consequence in many ecosystems on the planet. These interactions provide numerous essential ecosystem services, and the sustainable management of soils has attracted increasing scientific and public attention. Although soil ecology emerged as an independent field of research many decades ago, and we have gained important insights into the functioning of soils, there still are fundamental aspects that need to be better understood to ensure that the ecosystem services that soils provide are not lost and that soils can be used in a sustainable way. In this perspectives paper, we highlight some of the major knowledge gaps that should be prioritized in soil ecological research. These research priorities were compiled based on an online survey of 32 editors of Pedobiologia - Journal of Soil Ecology. These editors work at universities and research centers in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia.The questions were categorized into four themes: (1) soil biodiversity and biogeography, (2) interactions and the functioning of ecosystems, (3) global change and soil management, and (4) new directions. The respondents identified priorities that may be achievable in the near future, as well as several that are currently achievable but remain open. While some of the identified barriers to progress were technological in nature, many respondents cited a need for substantial leadership and goodwill among members of the soil ecology research community, including the need for multi-institutional partnerships, and had substantial concerns regarding the loss of taxonomic expertise.

Ecological approaches to the prevention of unintentional injuries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John P. Allegrante

2010-06-01

Full Text Available

Background: Injury as a cause of significant morbidity and mortality has remained fairly stable in countries with developed economies. Although injury prevention often is conceptualised as a biomedical construct, such a reductionist perspective overlooks the importance of the psychological, environmental, and sociocultural conditions as contributing factors to injury and its consequences. This paper describes the potential of the ecological model for understanding the antecedent causes of unintentional injuries and guiding injury prevention approaches. We review the origins and conceptualise the elements of the ecological model and conclude with some examples of applications of ecological approaches to the prevention of unintentional injury and promotion of community safety.

Methods: A review of the English-language literature on the conceptualization of ecological models in public health and injury prevention, including the application of the ecological model in the prevention of falls and road traffic injuries and in the community safety promotion movement.

Results: Three dimensions are important in social-ecological systems that comprise key determinants of injuries: 1 the individual and his or her behaviour, 2 the physical environment, and 3 the social environment. Social and environmental determinants have profound impact on population health and in the causation of injuries.

Conclusions: Social and environmental determinants of injury should be studied with the same energy, urgency, and intellectual rigor as physical determinants. Application of the ecological model in injury prevention shows the most promise in falls injury prevention, road traffic injury prevention, and community safety promotion.

Ecological Recovery Potential of Freshwater Organisms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gergs, André; Classen, Silke; Strauss, Tido

2016-01-01

Chemical contaminants released into the in the environment may have adverse effects on (non-target) species, populations and communities. The return of a stressed system to its pre-disturbance or other reference state, i.e. the ecological recovery, may depend on various factors related...... serve as a decision criterion in the environmental risk assessment of chemical stressors remains to be evaluated. For a generic consideration of recovery in the risk assessment of chemicals, we reviewed case studies of natural and artificial aquatic systems and evaluate five aspects that might cause...... to the affected taxon, the ecosystem of concern and the type of stressor with consequences for the assessment and management of risks associated with chemical contaminants. Whereas the effects caused by short-term exposure might be acceptable to some extent, the conditions under which ecological recovery can...

The Importance of Considering the Temporal Distribution of Climate Variables for Ecological-Economic Modeling to Calculate the Consequences of Climate Change for Agriculture

Science.gov (United States)

Plegnière, Sabrina; Casper, Markus; Hecker, Benjamin; Müller-Fürstenberger, Georg

2014-05-01

The basis of many models to calculate and assess climate change and its consequences are annual means of temperature and precipitation. This method leads to many uncertainties especially at the regional or local level: the results are not realistic or too coarse. Particularly in agriculture, single events and the distribution of precipitation and temperature during the growing season have enormous influences on plant growth. Therefore, the temporal distribution of climate variables should not be ignored. To reach this goal, a high-resolution ecological-economic model was developed which combines a complex plant growth model (STICS) and an economic model. In this context, input data of the plant growth model are daily climate values for a specific climate station calculated by the statistical climate model (WETTREG). The economic model is deduced from the results of the plant growth model STICS. The chosen plant is corn because corn is often cultivated and used in many different ways. First of all, a sensitivity analysis showed that the plant growth model STICS is suitable to calculate the influences of different cultivation methods and climate on plant growth or yield as well as on soil fertility, e.g. by nitrate leaching, in a realistic way. Additional simulations helped to assess a production function that is the key element of the economic model. Thereby the problems when using mean values of temperature and precipitation in order to compute a production function by linear regression are pointed out. Several examples show why a linear regression to assess a production function based on mean climate values or smoothed natural distribution leads to imperfect results and why it is not possible to deduce a unique climate factor in the production function. One solution for this problem is the additional consideration of stress indices that show the impairment of plants by water or nitrate shortage. Thus, the resulting model takes into account not only the ecological

Missing ecology: integrating ecological perspectives with the social-ecological system framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graham Epstein

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The social-ecological systems framework was designed to provide a common research tool for interdisciplinary investigations of social-ecological systems. However, its origin in institutional studies of the commons belies its interdisciplinary ambitions and highlights its relatively limited attention to ecology and natural scientific knowledge. This paper considers the biophysical components of the framework and its epistemological foundations as it relates to the incorporation of knowledge from the natural sciences. It finds that the mixture of inductive and deductive reasoning associated with socially-oriented investigations of these systems is lacking on the ecological side, which relies upon induction alone. As a result the paper proposes the addition of a seventh core sub-system to the social-ecological systems framework, ecological rules, which would allow scholars to explicitly incorporate knowledge from the natural sciences for deductive reasoning. The paper shows, through an instructive case study, how the addition of ecological rules can provide a more nuanced description of the factors that contribute to outcomes in social-ecological systems.

Arctic systems in the Quaternary: ecological collision, faunal mosaics and the consequences of a wobbling climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoberg, E P; Cook, J A; Agosta, S J; Boeger, W; Galbreath, K E; Laaksonen, S; Kutz, S J; Brooks, D R

2017-07-01

Climate oscillations and episodic processes interact with evolution, ecology and biogeography to determine the structure and complex mosaic that is the biosphere. Parasites and parasite-host assemblages are key components in a general explanatory paradigm for global biodiversity. We explore faunal assembly in the context of Quaternary time frames of the past 2.6 million years, a period dominated by episodic shifts in climate. Climate drivers cross a continuum from geological to contemporary timescales and serve to determine the structure and distribution of complex biotas. Cycles within cycles are apparent, with drivers that are layered, multifactorial and complex. These cycles influence the dynamics and duration of shifts in environmental structure on varying temporal and spatial scales. An understanding of the dynamics of high-latitude systems, the history of the Beringian nexus (the intermittent land connection linking Eurasia and North America) and downstream patterns of diversity depend on teasing apart the complexity of biotic assembly and persistence. Although climate oscillations have dominated the Quaternary, contemporary dynamics are driven by tipping points and shifting balances emerging from anthropogenic forces that are disrupting ecological structure. Climate change driven by anthropogenic forcing has supplanted a history of episodic variation and is eliminating ecological barriers and constraints on development and distribution for pathogen transmission. A framework to explore interactions of episodic processes on faunal structure and assembly is the Stockholm Paradigm, which appropriately shifts the focus from cospeciation to complexity and contingency in explanations of diversity.

Origins and ecological consequences of pollen specialization among desert bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Minckley, R L; Cane, J H; Kervin, L

2000-02-07

An understanding of the evolutionary origins of insect foraging specialization is often hindered by a poor biogeographical and palaeoecological record. The historical biogeography (20,000 years before present to the present) of the desert-limited plant, creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), is remarkably complete. This history coupled with the distribution pattern of its bee fauna suggests pollen specialization for creosote bush pollen has evolved repeatedly among bees in the Lower Sonoran and Mojave deserts. In these highly xeric, floristically depauperate environments, species of specialist bees surpass generalist bees in diversity, biomass and abundance. The ability of specialist bees to facultatively remain in diapause through resource-poor years and to emerge synchronously with host plant bloom in resource-rich years probably explains their ecological dominance and persistence in these areas. Repeated origins of pollen specialization to one host plant where bloom occurs least predictably is a counter-example to prevailing theories that postulate such traits originate where the plant grows best and blooms most reliably Host-plant synchronization, a paucity of alternative floral hosts, or flowering attributes of creosote bush alone or in concert may account for the diversity of bee specialists that depend on this plant instead of nutritional factors or chemical coevolution between floral rewards and the pollinators they have evolved to attract.

Application of Thermoeconomics to Industrial Ecology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alicia Valero

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Industrial Ecology involves the transformation of industrial processes from linear to closed loop systems: matter and energy flows which were initially considered as wastes become now resources for existing or new processes. In this paper, Thermoeconomics, commonly used for the optimization and diagnosis of energy systems, is proposed as a tool for the characterization of Industrial Ecology. Thermoeconomics is based on the exergy analysis (Thermodynamics but goes further by introducing the concepts of purpose and cost (Economics. It is presented in this study as a systematic and general approach for the analysis of waste flow integration. The formulation is based on extending the thermoeconomic process of the cost formation of wastes in order to consider their use as input for other processes. Consequently, it can be applied to important Industrial Ecology issues such as identification of integration possibilities and efficiency improvement, quantification of benefits obtained by integration, or determination of fair prices based on physical roots. The capability of the methodology is demonstrated by means of a case study based on the integration of a power plant, a cement kiln and a gas-fired boiler.

Putting the "Ecology" into Environmental Flows: Ecological Dynamics and Demographic Modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Shenton, Will; Bond, Nicholas R.; Yen, Jian D. L.; Mac Nally, Ralph

2012-07-01

There have been significant diversions of water from rivers and streams around the world; natural flow regimes have been perturbed by dams, barriers and excessive extractions. Many aspects of the ecological `health' of riverine systems have declined due to changes in water flows, which has stimulated the development of thinking about the maintenance and restoration of these systems, which we refer to as environmental flow methodologies (EFMs). Most existing EFMs cannot deliver information on the population viability of species because they: (1) use habitat suitability as a proxy for population status; (2) use historical time series (usually of short duration) to forecast future conditions and flow sequences; (3) cannot, or do not, handle extreme flow events associated with climate variability; and (4) assume process stationarity for flow sequences, which means the past sequences are treated as good indicators of the future. These assumptions undermine the capacity of EFMs to properly represent risks associated with different flow management options; assumption (4) is untenable given most climate-change predictions. We discuss these concerns and advocate the use of demographic modelling as a more appropriate tool for linking population dynamics to flow regime change. A `meta-species' approach to demographic modelling is discussed as a useful step from habitat based models towards modelling strategies grounded in ecological theory when limited data are available on flow-demographic relationships. Data requirements of demographic models will undoubtedly expose gaps in existing knowledge, but, in so doing, will strengthen future efforts to link changes in river flows with their ecological consequences.

Putting the "ecology" into environmental flows: ecological dynamics and demographic modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Shenton, Will; Bond, Nicholas R; Yen, Jian D L; Mac Nally, Ralph

2012-07-01

There have been significant diversions of water from rivers and streams around the world; natural flow regimes have been perturbed by dams, barriers and excessive extractions. Many aspects of the ecological 'health' of riverine systems have declined due to changes in water flows, which has stimulated the development of thinking about the maintenance and restoration of these systems, which we refer to as environmental flow methodologies (EFMs). Most existing EFMs cannot deliver information on the population viability of species because they: (1) use habitat suitability as a proxy for population status; (2) use historical time series (usually of short duration) to forecast future conditions and flow sequences; (3) cannot, or do not, handle extreme flow events associated with climate variability; and (4) assume process stationarity for flow sequences, which means the past sequences are treated as good indicators of the future. These assumptions undermine the capacity of EFMs to properly represent risks associated with different flow management options; assumption (4) is untenable given most climate-change predictions. We discuss these concerns and advocate the use of demographic modelling as a more appropriate tool for linking population dynamics to flow regime change. A 'meta-species' approach to demographic modelling is discussed as a useful step from habitat based models towards modelling strategies grounded in ecological theory when limited data are available on flow-demographic relationships. Data requirements of demographic models will undoubtedly expose gaps in existing knowledge, but, in so doing, will strengthen future efforts to link changes in river flows with their ecological consequences.

Social and ecological factors in the formation of population health in surveillance zone of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prilipko, V.A.; Petrichenko, O.O.

2014-01-01

Most people of radiation-control area estimated ecological state as safe. Respondents pointed to such ecological factors as radionuclide pollutions, irresponsible ecological behavior of people, Rivne Nuclear Power Plant functioning consequences. The last one affects changes of water sanitation and ecological parameters.There is no significant difference between mental state of people of radiation-control area and control group of people by GHQ-28 indices, by somatization scale, anxiety, social disfunction and reactive anxiety. The living life peculiarities are grounded by double risk: life in conditions of radioactive polluted territory and life in radiation-control area. Authors defined the correlation between mental state and factors that characterize ecological living conditions

Use of traits-based bioassessment approaches in biomonitoring and ecological risk assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brink, van den P.J.; Alexander, A.; Desrosiers, M.; Goedkoop, W.; Goethals, P.L.M.; Liess, M.; Dyer, S.

2011-01-01

We discuss the application of traits-based bioassessment approaches in retrospective bioassessment as well as in prospective ecological risk assessments in regulatory frameworks. Both approaches address the interaction between species and stressors and their consequences at different levels of

Overlap and partitioning of the ecological and isotopic niches

Science.gov (United States)

Elizabeth A. Flaherty; Merav Ben-David

2010-01-01

Recently, it was proposed that stable isotope patterns can be used to quantify the width of the ecological niche of animals. However, the potential effects of habitat use on isotopic patterns of consumers have not been fully explored and consequently isotopic patterns may yield deceptive estimates of niche width. Here, we simulated four different scenarios of a...

An Ecological Perspective on the Media and Youth Development.

Science.gov (United States)

McHale, Susan M; Dotterer, Aryn; Kim, Ji-Yeon

2009-04-01

From an ecological perspective, daily activities are both a cause and a consequence of youth development. Research on youth activities directs attention to the processes through which daily activities may have an impact on youth, including: (a) providing chances to learn and practice skills; (b) serving as a forum for identity development; (c) affording opportunities to build social ties; (d) connecting youth to social institutions; and (e) keeping youth from engaging in other kinds of activities. Youth's daily activities, in turn, both influence and are influenced by the multi-layered ecology within which their lives are embedded, an ecology that ranges from the proximal contexts of everyday life (e.g., family, peer group) to the larger political, economic, legal and cultural contexts of the larger society. The paper concludes with consideration of methodological issues and directions for research on the media and youth development.

The ecology of dust: local- to global-scale perspectives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whicker, Jeffrey J [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Field, Jason P [UA; Belnap, Jayne [NON LANL; Breshears, David D [UA; Neff, Jason [CU; Okin, Gregory S [UCLA; Painter, Thomas H [UNIV OF ARIZONA; Ravi, Sujith [UNIV OF ARIZONA; Reheis, Marith C [UCLA; Reynolds, Richard L [NON LANL

2009-01-01

Emission and redistribution of dust due to wind erosion in drylands drives major biogeochemical dynamics and provides important aeolian environmental connectivity at scales from individual plants up to the global scale. Yet, perhaps because most relevant research on aeolian processes has been presented in a geosciences rather than ecological context, most ecological studies do not explicitly consider dust-driven processes. To bridge this disciplinary gap, we provide a general overview of the ecological importance of dust, examine complex interactions between wind erosion and ecosystem dynamics from the plant-interspace scale to regional and global scales, and highlight specific examples of how disturbance affects these interactions and their consequences. Changes in climate and intensification of land use will both likely lead to increased dust production. To address these challenges, environmental scientists, land managers and policy makers need to more explicitly consider dust in resource management decisions.

First international workshop on severe accidents and their consequences. [Chernobyl Accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1989-07-01

An international workshop on past severe nuclear accidents and their consequences was held in Dagomys region of Sochi, USSR on October 30--November 3, 1989. The plan of this meeting was approved by the USSR Academy of Sciences and by the USSR State Committee of the Utilization of Atomic Energy. The meeting was held under the umbrella of the ANS-SNS agreement of cooperation. Topics covered include analysis of the Chernobyl accident, safety measures for RBMK type reactors and consequences of the Chernobyl accident including analysis of the ecological, genetic and psycho-social factors. Separate reports are processed separately for the data bases. (CBS)

Assessing the consequences of nonnative trout in headwater ecosystems in western North America

Science.gov (United States)

Jason B. Dunham; David S. Pilliod; Michael K. Young

2004-01-01

Intentional introductions of nonnative trout into headwater lakes and streams can have numerous effects on the receiving ecosystems, potentially threatening native species and disrupting key ecological processes. In this perspective, we focus on seven key issues for assessing the biological and economic consequences of nonnative trout in headwater ecosystems: (1)...

Public Danger of Ecological Crime: Criminological Aspect​

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuznetsova Natalya I.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This article describes the characteristics of public danger of ecological crime. Specific features that distinguish it from other types of criminality are analyzed. Identified and justified are such features of environmental crime as an increased level of public danger, a wider range of victims, the continuing and deferred nature of the negative consequences, their transboundary nature, the irreversibility of the consequences, causing significant harm to the economic interests of the state, expressed in the withdrawal from the legal turnover of huge amounts of valuable natural resources. On the basis of the conducted research the author suggests wide use of the integrated criminological approach to studying the public danger of environmental crime taking into account its quantitative and qualitative characteristics.

China's transboundary waters: new paradigms for water and ecological security through applied ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Daming; Wu, Ruidong; Feng, Yan; Li, Yungang; Ding, Chengzhi; Wang, Wenling; Yu, Douglas W

2014-10-01

China is Asia's most important upstream riparian country, sharing 110 rivers and lakes with 18 downstream countries. Consequently, China's management of transboundary water resources must consider both environmental and geopolitical risks.The major threats to and conflicts over international rivers in China revolve around biotic homogenisation due to the installation of transport links, water allocation, water pollution, alteration of natural flow patterns and disruption of fisheries due to the installation of hydropower dams, and droughts and floods exacerbated by climate change. Because these problems have an international component, they fall under China's Peaceful Rise strategy, mandating that transboundary conflicts be resolved amicably as part of the overarching goal of increasing regional economic growth with as little conflict as possible.Science-backed policy is more likely to result in long term, mutually agreeable solutions; the results of applied ecological research have already resulted in a number of mitigation measures, including setting operational thresholds to reduce the downstream impact of dams, designating protected areas along key river stretches where dams cannot be installed (one dam in a critical location has been cancelled), and the installation of terrestrial protected-area networks. Synthesis and applications . Applied ecology will continue to play an important role in the diagnosis and resolution of environmental threats to China's transboundary waters. More importantly, applied ecology can inform the development of a transboundary environmental compensation mechanism and regional consultative mechanisms that support informed, cooperative decision-making for China and its riparian neighbours.

Future climate change driven sea-level rise: secondary consequences from human displacement for island biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Wetzel, Florian T; Kissling, W Daniel; Beissmann, Helmut; Penn, Dustin J

2012-09-01

Sea-level rise (SLR) due to global warming will result in the loss of many coastal areas. The direct or primary effects due to inundation and erosion from SLR are currently being assessed; however, the indirect or secondary ecological effects, such as changes caused by the displacement of human populations, have not been previously evaluated. We examined the potential ecological consequences of future SLR on >1,200 islands in the Southeast Asian and the Pacific region. Using three SLR scenarios (1, 3, and 6 m elevation, where 1 m approximates most predictions by the end of this century), we assessed the consequences of primary and secondary SLR effects from human displacement on habitat availability and distributions of selected mammal species. We estimate that between 3-32% of the coastal zone of these islands could be lost from primary effects, and consequently 8-52 million people would become SLR refugees. Assuming that inundated urban and intensive agricultural areas will be relocated with an equal area of habitat loss in the hinterland, we project that secondary SLR effects can lead to an equal or even higher percent range loss than primary effects for at least 10-18% of the sample mammals in a moderate range loss scenario and for 22-46% in a maximum range loss scenario. In addition, we found some species to be more vulnerable to secondary than primary effects. Finally, we found high spatial variation in vulnerability: species on islands in Oceania are more vulnerable to primary SLR effects, whereas species on islands in Indo-Malaysia, with potentially 7-48 million SLR refugees, are more vulnerable to secondary effects. Our findings show that primary and secondary SLR effects can have enormous consequences for human inhabitants and island biodiversity, and that both need to be incorporated into ecological risk assessment, conservation, and regional planning. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Hybridization Associated with Cycles of Ecological Succession in a Passerine Bird.

Science.gov (United States)

Duckworth, Renée A; Semenov, Georgy A

2017-10-01

Identifying the diversity of contexts that can lead to hybridization is important for understanding its prevalence and dynamics in natural populations. Despite the potential of ecological succession to dramatically alter species co-occurrence and abundances, it is unknown whether it directly promotes hybridization and, if so, has long-lasting consequences. Here, we summarize 30 years of survey data across 10 populations to show that in western and mountain bluebirds, heterospecific pairing occurs during repeatable and transient colonization events at the early stages of species turnover. Despite mixed pairing occurring only during early succession, genetic data showed presence of hybrids at both early and late successional stages. Moreover, hybrids showed novel patterns of variation in morphology and behavior, emphasizing that even ephemeral contexts for hybridization can have important evolutionary consequences. Our results suggest that because ecological succession often brings together closely related competitors in disparate numbers but lasts for only a brief period of time, it may be a widespread but underappreciated context for hybridization.

Double coupling: modeling subjectivity and asymmetric organization in social-ecological systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Manuel-Navarrete

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Social-ecological organization is a multidimensional phenomenon that combines material and symbolic processes. However, the coupling between social and ecological subsystem is often conceptualized as purely material, thus reducing the symbolic dimension to its behavioral and actionable expressions. In this paper I conceptualize social-ecological systems as doubly coupled. On the one hand, material expressions of socio-cultural processes affect and are affected by ecological dynamics. On the other hand, coupled social-ecological material dynamics are concurrently coupled with subjective dynamics via coding, decoding, personal experience, and human agency. This second coupling operates across two organizationally heterogeneous dimensions: material and symbolic. Although resilience thinking builds on the recognition of organizational asymmetry between living and nonliving systems, it has overlooked the equivalent asymmetry between ecological and socio-cultural subsystems. Three guiding concepts are proposed to formalize double coupling. The first one, social-ecological asymmetry, expands on past seminal work on ecological self-organization to incorporate reflexivity and subjectivity in social-ecological modeling. Organizational asymmetry is based in the distinction between social rules, which are symbolically produced and changed through human agents' reflexivity and purpose, and biophysical rules, which are determined by functional relations between ecological components. The second guiding concept, conscious power, brings to the fore human agents' distinctive capacity to produce our own subjective identity and the consequences of this capacity for social-ecological organization. The third concept, congruence between subjective and objective dynamics, redefines sustainability as contingent on congruent relations between material and symbolic processes. Social-ecological theories and analyses based on these three guiding concepts would support the

Forest fires and their consequences in the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory

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Makarenko E. L.

2016-07-01

Full Text Available fires in the forests of the central ecological zone are the main disaster, which disturb forests’ ecosystems and reduce the environmental impact of forests. Through statistical analysis the author identified as follows: forest fire situation (square, frequency, and timber loss for the period from 2011 to 2015. Moreover, the research includes the information about the dynamic patterns and main causes of fire.

Plant Ecological Strategies Shift Across the Cretaceous–Paleogene Boundary

Science.gov (United States)

Blonder, Benjamin; Royer, Dana L.; Johnson, Kirk R.; Miller, Ian; Enquist, Brian J.

2014-01-01

The Chicxulub bolide impact caused the end-Cretaceous mass extinction of plants, but the associated selectivity and ecological effects are poorly known. Using a unique set of North Dakota leaf fossil assemblages spanning 2.2 Myr across the event, we show among angiosperms a reduction of ecological strategies and selection for fast-growth strategies consistent with a hypothesized recovery from an impact winter. Leaf mass per area (carbon investment) decreased in both mean and variance, while vein density (carbon assimilation rate) increased in mean, consistent with a shift towards “fast” growth strategies. Plant extinction from the bolide impact resulted in a shift in functional trait space that likely had broad consequences for ecosystem functioning. PMID:25225914

Ecological information on radiation hazards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matveev, V.V.; Stas', K.N.

1992-01-01

The accident at Chernobyl has affected health and has had economic consequences, and it has sharpened the call throughout the work for safety in industry, the supervision of technological processes, and monitoring effects on the environment. Safety and monitoring in the nuclear industry are being given a great deal of attention, and experience is being accumulated on methods of handling such tasks by virtue of the above and also because of features in nuclear processes and the plants based on them and the specific features of ionizing radiation and radioactive substances. The accident at Chernobyl showed that this apparently ill-encompassing monitoring was insufficient. One needs in essence a systematic approach to methods of obtaining, processing, and distributing information as well as organizational measures that together represent an ecological information system. This should be the basis on the one hand for an efficient system for safe operation of existing and developing industrial areas and for minimizing the adverse consequences of accidents, while on the other it should provide for understanding between social movements, specialists, and the population as regards particular ecological situations. To provide a clean environment and deal with pollution, one needs first of all reliable and prompt information on the states of natural and industrial areas, since without detailed evidence one cannot take any action and ensure a positive outcome. Such information is obtained with special equipment and monitoring systems. Monitoring implies the following: (1) measuring physical quantities or nuclide concentrations characterizing the physical fields, compositions, or states of objects or media; (2) interpreting the measurements and forecasting developments and effects

Consequences of the Swedish energy policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Almstroem, P.

2000-01-01

Sweden is unique among the industrialised nations of the world to be affected by a decision that puts its whole future and welfare at risk. The parliamentary decision on energy policy made in spring 1997, is considered a highly unfortunate one. The decision to start a premature phasing-out of nuclear power is especially serious. In order to transform Sweden into an ecological model country, the 'transition program' was launched by the Government. It proposed investments in reducing the electricity consumption and research and development of new energy technology renewable energy sources which produced no results. It is also important to reconsider the environmental consequences of the closure of Barsebaeck NPP. A comparison of emissions in Sweden and Denmark, which has no NPPs reveals that Denmark emits 10 times more carbon dioxide and 20 times more sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The renewable energy sources will become commercially competitive in the future, but meanwhile the Kyoto objective can be reached only by continuing to use nuclear power as long as it is commercially competitive and as long as there are no other ecologically sustainable systems

ecological geological maps: GIS-based evaluation of the Geo-Ecological Quality Index (GEQUI) in Sicily (Central Mediterranean)

Science.gov (United States)

Nigro, Fabrizio; Arisco, Giuseppe; Perricone, Marcella; Renda, Pietro; Favara, Rocco

2010-05-01

The condition of landscapes and the ecological communities within them is strongly related to levels of human activity. As a consequence, determining status and trends in the pattern of human-dominated landscapes can be useful for understanding the overall conditions of geo-ecological resources. Ecological geological maps are recent tools providing useful informations about a-biotic and biotic features worldwide. These maps represents a new generation of geological maps and depict the lithospheric components conditions on surface, where ecological dynamics (functions and properties) and human activities develop. Thus, these maps are too a fundamental political tool to plan the human activities management in relationship to the territorial/environmental patterns of a date region. Different types of ecological geological maps can be develop regarding the: conditions (situations), zoning, prognosis and recommendations. The ecological geological conditions maps reflects the complex of parameters or individual characteristics of lithosphere, which characterized the opportunity of the influence of lithosphere components on the biota (man, fauna, flora, and ecosystem). The ecological geological zoning maps are foundamental basis for prognosis estimation and nature defenses measures. Estimation from the position of comfort and safety of human life and function of ecosystem is given on these maps. The ecological geological prognosis maps reflect the spatial-temporary prognoses of ecological geological conditions changing during the natural dynamic of natural surrounding and the main-during the economic mastering of territory and natural technical systems. Finally, the ecological geological recommendation maps are based on the ecological geological and social-economical informations, aiming the regulation of territory by the regulation of economic activities and the defense of bio- and socio-sphere extents. Each of these maps may also be computed or in analytic or in

Multi-criteria analysis for evaluating the radiological and ecological safety measures in radioactive waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sazykina, T.G.; Kryshev, I.I.

2006-01-01

A methodological approach is presented for multicriterial evaluating the effectiveness of radiation ecological safety measures during radioactive waste management. The approach is based on multicriterial analysis with consideration of radiological, ecological, social, economical consequences of various safety measures. The application of the multicriterial approach is demonstrated taking as an example of decision-making on the most effective actions for rehabilitation of a water subject, contaminated with radionuclides [ru

RECREATIONAL GEOGRAPHY AND DEVELOPMENT OF ECOLOGICAL TOURISM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. R. Arpentieva

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to theoretical analysis of the problems of ecological tourism as a component of the theory and practice of recreational geography (geography, nature. The article reveals the essence and characteristics of ecotourism identifying its issues and determining the direction and tasks of its development. Special attention is paid to types and objects of ecological tourism, main problems and aspects of its development in the context of recreational geography and tourism are highlighted, such as the lack of an overall national concept for the development of rural tourism or the lack of clearly articulated public policies. There are neither standards and regulations applicable to rural tourism nor qualified personnel, knowledge and experience in the service sector of foreign and domestic tourists.There are no regulatory legal acts in the field of rural and ecological tourism which is aggravated by the unwillingness and inability to efficiently use private recreation resources. One of the key problems connected with the development of domestic tourism, including such types as agrotourism (“green tourism”, coupled with the experience of participation in rural works, and rural tourism as a whole, attracting people to rural life. The business problems of development of ecological tourism as an independent tourism industry cannot and should not be addressed to without strategic analysis and forecasting varied (including negative consequences of tourist activity for society, culture and environment as well as without and without the development and implementation of forms of ecological tourism aimed at harmonizing nature and culture of nature management by the population.

Ecological considerations of natural and depleted uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanson, W.C.

1980-01-01

Depleted 238 U is a major by-product of the nuclear fuel cycle for which increasing use is being made in counterweights, radiation shielding, and ordnance applications. This paper (1) summarizes the pertinent literature on natural and depleted uranium in the environment, (2) integrates results of a series of ecological studies conducted at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) in New Mexico where 70,000 kg of depleted and natural uranium has been expended to the environment over the past 34 years, and (3) synthesizes the information into an assessment of the ecological consequences of natural and depleted uranium released to the environment by various means. Results of studies of soil, plant, and animal communities exposed to this radiation and chemical environment over a third of a century provide a means of evaluating the behavior and effects of uranium in many contexts

How to save the earth planet. Ecology and human spirit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al Gore.

1993-01-01

The author has undertaken for 25 years in all the struggles for the environment protection. His ecology competences are worldwide recognized. With ''HOW TO SAVE THE EARTH PLANET'' AL GORE calls for help facing a great importance economic crisis, the consequences of which are dramatic. Beyond the exhaustive report, very well documented on the scientific topics, he proposes a true ecologic ''Marshall PLAN'' at the planet level, and a global reflection followed by precise and concrete measures. In the beginning of the XXIst century the challenge taken up by AL GORE is also a true defence plea for the future. We are all concerned and our children too. 27 refs

The atmospheric and climatic consequences of nuclear war

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagan, C.

1984-01-01

The author discusses his recent research that has uncovered the fact that nuclear war may carry in its wake a climatic catastrophe, which he calls ''nuclear winter.'' He says the effects of nuclear war would not be restricted to the combatant nations. Agriculture in the Northern Hemisphere would be devasted by even a ''small'' nuclear war. The propagating ecological consequences all over the Earth are likely to be severe. The Southern Hemisphere will be cold and dark. Global arsenals, now about twenty times the nuclear winter threshold, are growing

Multiple Stressors in a Top Predator Seabird: Potential Ecological Consequences of Environmental Contaminants, Population Health and Breeding Conditions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan O Bustnes

in Shetland, especially related to BDEs. This indicates stronger fitness consequences of POPs following seasons with very poor breeding conditions and/or high reproductive effort. This study suggests that the impacts of POPs may differ depending on population health and breeding conditions, and that even low concentrations of POPs could have ecological consequences during adverse circumstances. This is important with regard to risk assessment of biomagnifying contaminants in marine ecosystems.

Marine Ecological Environment Management Based on Ecological Compensation Mechanisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qunzhen Qu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The level of marine environmental management is a key factor in the successful implementation of marine power strategies. The improvement in management levels of marine environments requires innovation in marine management. In other words, the transformation of marine environmental management into marine ecological environment management must be done in order to achieve sustainable development of the marine economy. As an environmental economic policy that combines both administrative and market measures, ecological compensation mechanisms have significant advantages in marine ecological environment management. Based on the study of the current development of ecological compensation mechanisms in China, through the analysis of the connotation of marine ecological civilization, existing marine ecological protection practices and marine environmental management methods, this paper posits that the current marine ecological environment management in China should be established on the basis of ecological compensation mechanisms. At present, a lack of laws and regulations for overall marine ecological environment management is the key factor restricting the practice of marine ecological environment management. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the current path of marine ecological environment management in China from the perspective of the construction of legal system of ecological compensation law, the establishment of ecological compensation fees, ecological taxes and ecological compensation fund systems, and the clear status for a marine ecological management and supervision body.

Reconstruction of fire regimes through integrated paleoecological proxy data and ecological modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Iglesias, Virginia; Yospin, Gabriel I; Whitlock, Cathy

2014-01-01

Fire is a key ecological process affecting vegetation dynamics and land cover. The characteristic frequency, size, and intensity of fire are driven by interactions between top-down climate-driven and bottom-up fuel-related processes. Disentangling climatic from non-climatic drivers of past fire regimes is a grand challenge in Earth systems science, and a topic where both paleoecology and ecological modeling have made substantial contributions. In this manuscript, we (1) review the use of sedimentary charcoal as a fire proxy and the methods used in charcoal-based fire history reconstructions; (2) identify existing techniques for paleoecological modeling; and (3) evaluate opportunities for coupling of paleoecological and ecological modeling approaches to better understand the causes and consequences of past, present, and future fire activity.

Beyond positivist ecology: toward an integrated ecological ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Norton, Bryan G

2008-12-01

A post-positivist understanding of ecological science and the call for an "ecological ethic" indicate the need for a radically new approach to evaluating environmental change. The positivist view of science cannot capture the essence of environmental sciences because the recent work of "reflexive" ecological modelers shows that this requires a reconceptualization of the way in which values and ecological models interact in scientific process. Reflexive modelers are ecological modelers who believe it is appropriate for ecologists to examine the motives for their choices in developing models; this self-reflexive approach opens the door to a new way of integrating values into public discourse and to a more comprehensive approach to evaluating ecological change. This reflexive building of ecological models is introduced through the transformative simile of Aldo Leopold, which shows that learning to "think like a mountain" involves a shift in both ecological modeling and in values and responsibility. An adequate, interdisciplinary approach to ecological valuation, requires a re-framing of the evaluation questions in entirely new ways, i.e., a review of the current status of interdisciplinary value theory with respect to ecological values reveals that neither of the widely accepted theories of environmental value-neither economic utilitarianism nor intrinsic value theory (environmental ethics)-provides a foundation for an ecologically sensitive evaluation process. Thus, a new, ecologically sensitive, and more comprehensive approach to evaluating ecological change would include an examination of the metaphors that motivate the models used to describe environmental change.

Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events : Challenges and directions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van de Pol, Martijn; Jenouvrier, Stéphanie; Cornelissen, Johannes H.C.; Visser, Marcel E.

2017-01-01

More extreme climatic events (ECEs) are among the most prominent consequences of climate change. Despite a long-standing recognition of the importance of ECEs by paleo-ecologists and macro-evolutionary biologists, ECEs have only recently received a strong interest in the wider ecological and

Dipterocarps and Mycorrhiza. An ecological adaptation and a factor in forest regeneration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smits, W.Th.M.

1983-01-01

Each dipterocarp has its own species of fungus, forming an ectomycorrhiza. From literature and experiments (in East Kalimantan and in vitro) ecological consequences are explored. These help explain the clumping of dipterocarp trees in the forest, the lack of hybrids, the poor dispersal, and

Considerations of Environmentally Relevant Test Conditions for Improved Evaluation of Ecological Hazards of Engineered Nanomaterials

Science.gov (United States)

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are increasingly entering the environment with uncertain consequences including potential ecological effects. Various research communities view differently whether ecotoxicological testing of ENMs should be conducted using environmentally relevant ...

[Regional ecological construction and mission of landscape ecology].

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Duning; Xie, Fuju; Wei, Jianbing

2004-10-01

The eco-construction on regional and landscape scale is the one which can be used to specific landscape and intercrossing ecosystem in specific region including performing scientific administration of ecosystem and optimizing environmental function. Recently, the government has taken a series of significant projects into action, such as national forest protection item, partly forest restoration, and adjustment of water, etc. Enforcing regional eco-construction and maintaining the ecology security of the nation have become the strategic requisition. In various regions, different eco-construction should be applied, for example, performing ecological safeguard measure in ecological sensitive zone, accommodating the ecological load in ecological fragile zone, etc., which can control the activities of human being, so that, sustainable development can be reached. Facing opportunity and challenge in the development of landscape ecology, we have some key topics: landscape pattern of ecological security, land use and ecological process, landscape changes under human activity stress, quantitative evaluation of the influence on human being activities, evaluation of zonal ecological security and advance warning of ecological risk, and planning and optimizing of model in landscape eco-construction.

The Sphagnome Project: enabling ecological and evolutionary insights through a genus-level sequencing project.

Science.gov (United States)

Weston, David J; Turetsky, Merritt R; Johnson, Matthew G; Granath, Gustaf; Lindo, Zoë; Belyea, Lisa R; Rice, Steven K; Hanson, David T; Engelhardt, Katharina A M; Schmutz, Jeremy; Dorrepaal, Ellen; Euskirchen, Eugénie S; Stenøien, Hans K; Szövényi, Péter; Jackson, Michelle; Piatkowski, Bryan T; Muchero, Wellington; Norby, Richard J; Kostka, Joel E; Glass, Jennifer B; Rydin, Håkan; Limpens, Juul; Tuittila, Eeva-Stiina; Ullrich, Kristian K; Carrell, Alyssa; Benscoter, Brian W; Chen, Jin-Gui; Oke, Tobi A; Nilsson, Mats B; Ranjan, Priya; Jacobson, Daniel; Lilleskov, Erik A; Clymo, R S; Shaw, A Jonathan

2018-01-01

Considerable progress has been made in ecological and evolutionary genetics with studies demonstrating how genes underlying plant and microbial traits can influence adaptation and even 'extend' to influence community structure and ecosystem level processes. Progress in this area is limited to model systems with deep genetic and genomic resources that often have negligible ecological impact or interest. Thus, important linkages between genetic adaptations and their consequences at organismal and ecological scales are often lacking. Here we introduce the Sphagnome Project, which incorporates genomics into a long-running history of Sphagnum research that has documented unparalleled contributions to peatland ecology, carbon sequestration, biogeochemistry, microbiome research, niche construction, and ecosystem engineering. The Sphagnome Project encompasses a genus-level sequencing effort that represents a new type of model system driven not only by genetic tractability, but by ecologically relevant questions and hypotheses. © 2017 UT-Battelle New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

Niche conservatism as an emerging principle in ecology and conservation biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiens, John J; Ackerly, David D; Allen, Andrew P; Anacker, Brian L; Buckley, Lauren B; Cornell, Howard V; Damschen, Ellen I; Jonathan Davies, T; Grytnes, John-Arvid; Harrison, Susan P; Hawkins, Bradford A; Holt, Robert D; McCain, Christy M; Stephens, Patrick R

2010-10-01

The diversity of life is ultimately generated by evolution, and much attention has focused on the rapid evolution of ecological traits. Yet, the tendency for many ecological traits to instead remain similar over time [niche conservatism (NC)] has many consequences for the fundamental patterns and processes studied in ecology and conservation biology. Here, we describe the mounting evidence for the importance of NC to major topics in ecology (e.g. species richness, ecosystem function) and conservation (e.g. climate change, invasive species). We also review other areas where it may be important but has generally been overlooked, in both ecology (e.g. food webs, disease ecology, mutualistic interactions) and conservation (e.g. habitat modification). We summarize methods for testing for NC, and suggest that a commonly used and advocated method (involving a test for phylogenetic signal) is potentially problematic, and describe alternative approaches. We suggest that considering NC: (1) focuses attention on the within-species processes that cause traits to be conserved over time, (2) emphasizes connections between questions and research areas that are not obviously related (e.g. invasives, global warming, tropical richness), and (3) suggests new areas for research (e.g. why are some clades largely nocturnal? why do related species share diseases?). 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Nitrogen deposition effects on Mediterranean-type ecosystems: An ecological assessment

Science.gov (United States)

R. Ochoa-Hueso; E.B. Allen; C. Branquinho; C. Cruz; T. Dias; Mark Fenn; E. Manrique; M.E. Pérez-Corona; L.J. Sheppard; W.D. Stock

2011-01-01

We review the ecological consequences of N deposition on the five Mediterranean regions of the world. Seasonality of precipitation and fires regulate the N cycle in these water-limited ecosystems, where dry N deposition dominates. Nitrogen accumulation in soils and on plant surfaces results in peaks of availability with the first winter rains. Decoupling between N...

Extent and ecological consequences of hunting in Central African rainforests in the twenty-first century.

Science.gov (United States)

Abernethy, K A; Coad, L; Taylor, G; Lee, M E; Maisels, F

2013-01-01

Humans have hunted wildlife in Central Africa for millennia. Today, however, many species are being rapidly extirpated and sanctuaries for wildlife are dwindling. Almost all Central Africa's forests are now accessible to hunters. Drastic declines of large mammals have been caused in the past 20 years by the commercial trade for meat or ivory. We review a growing body of empirical data which shows that trophic webs are significantly disrupted in the region, with knock-on effects for other ecological functions, including seed dispersal and forest regeneration. Plausible scenarios for land-use change indicate that increasing extraction pressure on Central African forests is likely to usher in new worker populations and to intensify the hunting impacts and trophic cascade disruption already in progress, unless serious efforts are made for hunting regulation. The profound ecological changes initiated by hunting will not mitigate and may even exacerbate the predicted effects of climate change for the region. We hypothesize that, in the near future, the trophic changes brought about by hunting will have a larger and more rapid impact on Central African rainforest structure and function than the direct impacts of climate change on the vegetation. Immediate hunting regulation is vital for the survival of the Central African rainforest ecosystem.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF LANDSCAPE CHANGE ON ECOLOGICAL RESOURCES: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE UNITED STATES MID-ATLANTIC REGION

Science.gov (United States)

Spatially explicit identification of changes in ecological conditions over large areas is key to targeting and prioritizing areas for environmental protection and restoration by managers at watershed, basin, and regional scales. A critical limitation to this point has bee...

Five potential consequences of climate change for invasive species.

Science.gov (United States)

Hellmann, Jessica J; Byers, James E; Bierwagen, Britta G; Dukes, Jeffrey S

2008-06-01

Scientific and societal unknowns make it difficult to predict how global environmental changes such as climate change and biological invasions will affect ecological systems. In the long term, these changes may have interacting effects and compound the uncertainty associated with each individual driver. Nonetheless, invasive species are likely to respond in ways that should be qualitatively predictable, and some of these responses will be distinct from those of native counterparts. We used the stages of invasion known as the "invasion pathway" to identify 5 nonexclusive consequences of climate change for invasive species: (1) altered transport and introduction mechanisms, (2) establishment of new invasive species, (3) altered impact of existing invasive species, (4) altered distribution of existing invasive species, and (5) altered effectiveness of control strategies. We then used these consequences to identify testable hypotheses about the responses of invasive species to climate change and provide suggestions for invasive-species management plans. The 5 consequences also emphasize the need for enhanced environmental monitoring and expanded coordination among entities involved in invasive-species management.

Water stress projections for the northeastern and Midwestern United States in 2060: anthropogenic and ecological consequences

Science.gov (United States)

Brian G. Tavernia; Mark D. Nelson; Peter Caldwell; Ge Sun

2013-01-01

Future climate and land-use changes and growing human populations may reduce the abundance of water resources relative to anthropogenic and ecological needs in the Northeast and Midwest (U.S.). We used output from WaSSI, a water accounting model, to assess potential changes between 2010 and 2060 in (1) anthropogenic water stress for watersheds throughout the Northeast...

Chernobyl: what sanitary consequences?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aurengo, A.

2001-11-01

Because of its public health, ecological and industrial consequences, the Chernobyl accident has become a myth which serves as the focus of many fears, justified or not. no one can question the seriousness of the event, but after fifteen years there is still no agreement about the effect it has had or will have on public health. For example, the total number of deaths attributed to Chernobyl varies from less than a hundred to several millions and congenital malformations from negligible to cataclysmic. Effects on public health may be calculated from data on contamination, from the dose received and from the risk, all three of which are likely to be very roughly known; or they may be evaluated on the spot, either by epidemiological studies or by examining medical registers. This report makes an inventory of the different risks and takes stock on them. (N.C.)

Baseline ecological risk assessment Salmon Site, Lamar County, Mississippi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-04-01

The Salmon Site (SS), formerly the Tatum Dome Test Site, located in Mississippi was the site of two nuclear and two gas explosion tests conducted between 1964 and 1970. A consequence of these testing activities is that radionuclides were released into the salt dome, where they are presently contained. During reentry drilling and other site activities, incidental liquid and solid wastes that contained radioactivity were generated, resulting in some soil, ground water and equipment contamination. As part of the remedial investigation effort, a Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment was conducted at the SS. The purpose is to gauge ecological and other environmental impacts attributable to past activities at the former test facility. The results of this facility-specific baseline risk assessment are presented in this document

Baseline ecological risk assessment Salmon Site, Lamar County, Mississippi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-04-01

The Salmon Site (SS), formerly the Tatum Dome Test Site, located in Mississippi was the site of two nuclear and two gas explosion tests conducted between 1964 and 1970. A consequence of these testing activities is that radionuclides were released into the salt dome, where they are presently contained. During reentry drilling and other site activities, incidental liquid and solid wastes that contained radioactivity were generated, resulting in some soil, ground water and equipment contamination. As part of the remedial investigation effort, a Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment was conducted at the SS. The purpose is to gauge ecological and other environmental impacts attributable to past activities at the former test facility. The results of this facility-specific baseline risk assessment are presented in this document.

Landscape and landscape ecology as factors in the process of integrated spatial management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brandt, Jesper

2009-01-01

Congress on Landscape Ecology in Veldhoven in 1981 (Tjallingii and De Veer 1981).Natural landscapes and landscape aspects of nature conservation was certainly a theme on the conference, but the main focus was on man-made landscapes, including urban ecology and the relations between urban and rural...... were very eager to be engaged in practical landscape planning, their scientific responsibility forced them often to be more and more humble concerning the applicability, often confronted with the economic consequences of their advises. As a consequence especially many biologists moved again into pure...... told, that the local farm cooperative had got a loan from the Ministry of Agriculture to cover the expenditures. Due to the experimental character of the project the loan was very attractive: It was free of rent and payment. But one important condition was added: It had to be proved that the corridor...

Mechanisms and ecological implications of plant-mediated interactions between belowground and aboveground insect herbivores

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Papadopoulou, G.V.; Dam, N.M. van

2017-01-01

Plant-mediated interactions between belowground (BG) and aboveground (AG) herbivores have received increasing interest recently. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying ecological consequences of BG–AG interactions are not fully clear yet. Herbivore-induced plant defenses are complex and

The Impact of Organismal Innovation on Functional and Ecological Diversification.

Science.gov (United States)

Wainwright, Peter C; Price, Samantha A

2016-09-01

Innovations in organismal functional morphology are thought to be a major force in shaping evolutionary patterns, with the potential to drive adaptive radiation and influence the evolutionary prospects for lineages. But the evolutionary consequences of innovation are diverse and usually do not result in adaptive radiation. What factors shape the macroevolutionary impact of innovations? We assert that little is known in general about the macroevolutionary outcomes associated with functional innovations and we discuss a framework for studying biological innovations in an evolutionary context. Innovations are novel functional mechanisms that enhance organismal performance. The ubiquity of trade-offs in functional systems means that enhanced performance on one axis often occurs at the expense of performance on another axis, such that many innovations result in an exchange of performance capabilities, rather than an expansion. Innovations may open up new resources for exploitation but their consequences for functional and ecological diversification depend heavily on the adaptive landscape around these novel resources. As an example of a broader program that we imagine, we survey five feeding innovations in labrid fishes, an exceptionally successful and ecologically diverse group of reef fishes, and explore their impact on the rate of evolution of jaw functional morphology. All of the innovations provide performance enhancements and result in changes in patterns of resource use, but most are not associated with subsequent functional diversification or substantial ecological diversification. Because selection acts on a specific performance enhancement and not on the evolutionary potential of an innovation, the enhancement of diversity may be highly serendipitous. The macroevolutionary potential of innovations depends critically on the interaction between the performance enhancement and the ecological opportunity that is exposed. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford

Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events: challenges and directions.

Science.gov (United States)

van de Pol, Martijn; Jenouvrier, Stéphanie; Cornelissen, Johannes H C; Visser, Marcel E

2017-06-19

More extreme climatic events (ECEs) are among the most prominent consequences of climate change. Despite a long-standing recognition of the importance of ECEs by paleo-ecologists and macro-evolutionary biologists, ECEs have only recently received a strong interest in the wider ecological and evolutionary community. However, as with many rapidly expanding fields, it lacks structure and cohesiveness, which strongly limits scientific progress. Furthermore, due to the descriptive and anecdotal nature of many ECE studies it is still unclear what the most relevant questions and long-term consequences are of ECEs. To improve synthesis, we first discuss ways to define ECEs that facilitate comparison among studies. We then argue that biologists should adhere to more rigorous attribution and mechanistic methods to assess ECE impacts. Subsequently, we discuss conceptual and methodological links with climatology and disturbance-, tipping point- and paleo-ecology. These research fields have close linkages with ECE research, but differ in the identity and/or the relative severity of environmental factors. By summarizing the contributions to this theme issue we draw parallels between behavioural, ecological and evolutionary ECE studies, and suggest that an overarching challenge is that most empirical and theoretical evidence points towards responses being highly idiosyncratic, and thus predictability being low. Finally, we suggest a roadmap based on the proposition that an increased focus on the mechanisms behind the biological response function will be crucial for increased understanding and predictability of the impacts of ECE.This article is part of the themed issue 'Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Closing global knowledge gaps : Producing generalized knowledge from case studies of social-ecological systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Magliocca, Nicholas R.; Ellis, Erle C.; Allington, Ginger R.H.; de Bremond, Ariane; Dell'Angelo, Jampel; Mertz, Ole; Messerli, Peter; Meyfroidt, Patrick; Seppelt, Ralf; Verburg, Peter H.

2018-01-01

Concerns over rapid widespread changes in social-ecological systems and their consequences for biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, food security, and human livelihoods are driving demands for globally comprehensive knowledge to support decision-making and policy development. Claims of regional or

System dynamic modelling of industrial growth and landscape ecology in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jian; Kang, Jian; Shao, Long; Zhao, Tianyu

2015-09-15

With the rapid development of large industrial corridors in China, the landscape ecology of the country is currently being affected. Therefore, in this study, a system dynamic model with multi-dimensional nonlinear dynamic prediction function that considers industrial growth and landscape ecology is developed and verified to allow for more sustainable development. Firstly, relationships between industrial development and landscape ecology in China are examined, and five subsystems are then established: industry, population, urban economy, environment and landscape ecology. The main influencing factors are then examined for each subsystem to establish flow charts connecting those factors. Consequently, by connecting the subsystems, an overall industry growth and landscape ecology model is established. Using actual data and landscape index calculated based on GIS of the Ha-Da-Qi industrial corridor, a typical industrial corridor in China, over the period 2005-2009, the model is validated in terms of historical behaviour, logical structure and future prediction, where for 84.8% of the factors, the error rate of the model is less than 5%, the mean error rate of all factors is 2.96% and the error of the simulation test for the landscape ecology subsystem is less than 2%. Moreover, a model application has been made to consider the changes in landscape indices under four industrial development modes, and the optimal industrial growth plan has been examined for landscape ecological protection through the simulation prediction results over 2015-2020. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proceedings of the first international congress of ecology: structure, functioning, and management of ecosystems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1974-01-01

Ninety-six papers were presented; one paper, dealing with ecosystems stability, was abstracted and indexed separately for Energy Research Abstracts. Other subjects included are of interest to limnologists, biologists, botanists, zoologists, microbiologists, and agriculturists. An interdiscipline approach discussed subjects such as energy flow, productivity, diversity, stability and maturity from their different points of view. Special reports are included on systems analysis, remote sensing and methods of experimentation with ecosystems. Biological control, parasitic system, aerobiology and human ecology are also treated in relation to general ecology. Tropical forests are treated with ecological consequences of deforestation for vegetation, soil and aquatic systems in the tropics. In these proceedings, contributions to the plenary sessions are represented only in the form of abstracts. Full texts and summaries of the discussions will be published in a separate book: Unifying Concepts of Ecology. (PCS)

Least square method of estimation of ecological half-lives of radionuclides in sediments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ranade, A.K.; Pandey, M.; Datta, D.; Ravi, P.M.

2012-01-01

Long term behavior of radionuclides in the environment is an important issue for estimating probable radiological consequences and associated risks. It is also useful for evaluating potential use of contaminated areas and the possible effectiveness of remediation activities. The long term behavior is quantified by means of ecological half life, a parameter that aggregates all processes except radioactive decay which causes a decrease of activity in a specific medium. The process involved in ecological half life depends upon the environmental condition of the medium involved. A fitting model based on least square regression approach was used to evaluate the ecological half life. This least square method has to run several times to evaluate the number of ecological half lives present in the medium for the radionuclide. The case study data considered here is for 137 Cs in Mumbai Harbour Bay. The study shows the trend of 137 Cs over the years at a location in Mumbai Harbour Bay. First iteration model illustrate the ecological half life as 4.94 y and subsequently it passes through a number of runs for more number of ecological half-life present by goodness of fit test. The paper presents a methodology for evaluating ecological half life and exemplifies it with a case study of 137 Cs. (author)

Climate change has indirect effects on resource use and overlap among coexisting bird species with negative consequences for their reproductive success.

Science.gov (United States)

Auer, Sonya K; Martin, Thomas E

2013-02-01

Climate change can modify ecological interactions, but whether it can have cascading effects throughout ecological networks of multiple interacting species remains poorly studied. Climate-driven alterations in the intensity of plant-herbivore interactions may have particularly profound effects on the larger community because plants provide habitat for a wide diversity of organisms. Here we show that changes in vegetation over the last 21 years, due to climate effects on plant-herbivore interactions, have consequences for songbird nest site overlap and breeding success. Browsing-induced reductions in the availability of preferred nesting sites for two of three ground nesting songbirds led to increasing overlap in nest site characteristics among all three bird species with increasingly negative consequences for reproductive success over the long term. These results demonstrate that changes in the vegetation community from effects of climate change on plant-herbivore interactions can cause subtle shifts in ecological interactions that have critical demographic ramifications for other species in the larger community. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Climate change has indirect effects on resource use and overlap among coexisting bird species with negative consequences for their reproductive success

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Thomas E.; Auer, Sonya K.

2013-01-01

Climate change can modify ecological interactions, but whether it can have cascading effects throughout ecological networks of multiple interacting species remains poorly studied. Climate-driven alterations in the intensity of plant–herbivore interactions may have particularly profound effects on the larger community because plants provide habitat for a wide diversity of organisms. Here we show that changes in vegetation over the last 21 years, due to climate effects on plant–herbivore interactions, have consequences for songbird nest site overlap and breeding success. Browsing-induced reductions in the availability of preferred nesting sites for two of three ground nesting songbirds led to increasing overlap in nest site characteristics among all three bird species with increasingly negative consequences for reproductive success over the long term. These results demonstrate that changes in the vegetation community from effects of climate change on plant–herbivore interactions can cause subtle shifts in ecological interactions that have critical demographic ramifications for other species in the larger community.

The role of hyperparasitism in microbial pathogen ecology and evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Parratt, Steven R; Laine, Anna-Liisa

2016-08-01

Many micro-organisms employ a parasitic lifestyle and, through their antagonistic interactions with host populations, have major impacts on human, agricultural and natural ecosystems. Most pathogens are likely to host parasites of their own, that is, hyperparasites, but how nested chains of parasites impact on disease dynamics is grossly neglected in the ecological and evolutionary literature. In this minireview we argue that the diversity and dynamics of micro-hyperparasites are an important component of natural host-pathogen systems. We use the current literature from a handful of key systems to show that observed patterns of pathogen virulence and disease dynamics may well be influenced by hyperparasites. Exploring these factors will shed light on many aspects of microbial ecology and disease biology, including resistance-virulence evolution, apparent competition, epidemiology and ecosystem stability. Considering the importance of hyperparasites in natural populations will have applied consequences for the field of biological control and therapeutic science, where hyperparastism is employed as a control mechanism but not necessarily ecologically understood.

Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and Modern Western Ecological ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Indigenous knowledge is often dismissed as 'traditional and outdated', and hence irrelevant to modern ecological assessment. This theoretical paper critically examines the arguments advanced to elevate modern western ecological knowledge over indigenous ecological knowledge, as well as the sources and uses of ...

Application of the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model to Ecological Site Descriptions and Management

Science.gov (United States)

The utility of Ecological Site Descriptions (ESDs) and State-and-Transition Models (STMs) concepts in guiding rangeland management hinges on their ability to accurately describe and predict community dynamics and the associated consequences. For many rangeland ecosystems, plant community dynamics ar...

Consequences of ecological, evolutionary and biogeochemical uncertainty for coral reef responses to climatic stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Mumby, Peter J; van Woesik, Robert

2014-05-19

Coral reefs are highly sensitive to the stress associated with greenhouse gas emissions, in particular ocean warming and acidification. While experiments show negative responses of most reef organisms to ocean warming, some autotrophs benefit from ocean acidification. Yet, we are uncertain of the response of coral reefs as systems. We begin by reviewing sources of uncertainty and complexity including the translation of physiological effects into demographic processes, indirect ecological interactions among species, the ability of coral reefs to modify their own chemistry, adaptation and trans-generational plasticity. We then incorporate these uncertainties into two simple qualitative models of a coral reef system under climate change. Some sources of uncertainty are far more problematic than others. Climate change is predicted to have an unambiguous negative effect on corals that is robust to several sources of uncertainty but sensitive to the degree of biogeochemical coupling between benthos and seawater. Macroalgal, zoanthid, and herbivorous fish populations are generally predicted to increase, but the ambiguity (confidence) of such predictions are sensitive to the source of uncertainty. For example, reversing the effect of climate-related stress on macroalgae from being positive to negative had no influence on system behaviour. By contrast, the system was highly sensitive to a change in the stress upon herbivorous fishes. Minor changes in competitive interactions had profound impacts on system behaviour, implying that the outcomes of mesocosm studies could be highly sensitive to the choice of taxa. We use our analysis to identify new hypotheses and suggest that the effects of climatic stress on coral reefs provide an exceptional opportunity to test emerging theories of ecological inheritance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of dissolved humic acid on the Pb bioavailability in soil solution and its consequence on ecological risk.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Jinsung; Jho, Eun Hea; Nam, Kyoungphile

2015-04-09

Current risk characterization in ecological risk assessment does not consider bioavailability of heavy metals, which highly depends on physicochemical properties of environmental media. This study was set to investigate the effect of humic acid (HA), used as a surrogate of organic matter, on Pb toxicity and the subsequent effect on risk characterization in ecological risk assessment. Pb toxicity was assessed using Microtox(®) in the presence and absence of two different forms of HA, particulate HA (pHA) and dissolved HA (dHA). With increasing contact time, the EC10 values increased (i.e., the toxic effects decreased) and the dissolved Pb concentrations of the filtrates decreased. The high correlation (R = 0.88, p < 0.001) between toxic effects determined using both the mixture and its filtrate as exposure media leads us to conclude that the Pb toxicity highly depends on the soluble fraction. Also, reduced Pb toxicity with increasing dHA concentrations, probably due to formation of Pb-dHA complexes, indicated that Pb toxicity largely comes from free Pb ions. Overall, this study shows the effect of HA on metal toxicity alleviation, and emphasizes the need for incorporating the bioavailable heavy metal concentrations in environmental media as a point of exposure in ecological risk assessment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Problem of resource supply and the main directions of Chernobyl disaster consequence minimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ol'shevskij, V.I.

1994-01-01

Social and economic aspects of the Chernobyl disaster were studied. Ways of its consequences elimination are discussed, analysis of financial aspects is made. This disaster has considerably changed the population migration processes and led to rapid decrease of the birth rate.Study of the death level regional variations indicates on the increased danger of synergetic effect connected with ecological contamination

Living in the branches: population dynamics and ecological processes in dendritic networks

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, E.H.C.; Lowe, W.H.; Fagan, W.F.

2007-01-01

Spatial structure regulates and modifies processes at several levels of ecological organization (e.g. individual/genetic, population and community) and is thus a key component of complex systems, where knowledge at a small scale can be insufficient for understanding system behaviour at a larger scale. Recent syntheses outline potential applications of network theory to ecological systems, but do not address the implications of physical structure for network dynamics. There is a specific need to examine how dendritic habitat structure, such as that found in stream, hedgerow and cave networks, influences ecological processes. Although dendritic networks are one type of ecological network, they are distinguished by two fundamental characteristics: (1) both the branches and the nodes serve as habitat, and (2) the specific spatial arrangement and hierarchical organization of these elements interacts with a species' movement behaviour to alter patterns of population distribution and abundance, and community interactions. Here, we summarize existing theory relating to ecological dynamics in dendritic networks, review empirical studies examining the population- and community-level consequences of these networks, and suggest future research integrating spatial pattern and processes in dendritic systems.

Precipitation alters interactions in a grassland ecological community.

Science.gov (United States)

Deguines, Nicolas; Brashares, Justin S; Prugh, Laura R

2017-03-01

Climate change is transforming precipitation regimes world-wide. Changes in precipitation regimes are known to have powerful effects on plant productivity, but the consequences of these shifts for the dynamics of ecological communities are poorly understood. This knowledge gap hinders our ability to anticipate and mitigate the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. Precipitation may affect fauna through direct effects on physiology, behaviour or demography, through plant-mediated indirect effects, or by modifying interactions among species. In this paper, we examined the response of a semi-arid ecological community to a fivefold change in precipitation over 7 years. We examined the effects of precipitation on the dynamics of a grassland ecosystem in central California from 2007 to 2013. We conducted vegetation surveys, pitfall trapping of invertebrates, visual surveys of lizards and capture-mark-recapture surveys of rodents on 30 plots each year. We used structural equation modelling to evaluate the direct, indirect and modifying effects of precipitation on plants, ants, beetles, orthopterans, kangaroo rats, ground squirrels and lizards. We found pervasive effects of precipitation on the ecological community. Although precipitation increased plant biomass, direct effects on fauna were often stronger than plant-mediated effects. In addition, precipitation altered the sign or strength of consumer-resource and facilitative interactions among the faunal community such that negative or neutral interactions became positive or vice versa with increasing precipitation. These findings indicate that precipitation influences ecological communities in multiple ways beyond its recognized effects on primary productivity. Stochastic variation in precipitation may weaken the average strength of biotic interactions over time, thereby increasing ecosystem stability and resilience to climate change. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2016 British Ecological

Media Ecology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Ašković

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Does the trend in which electronic media are gradually becoming extension of human body have to move towards full enslavement of a human and his personality, or the same human will unpredictably, with the aid of his personal media literacy, exit the whirls of media and technological censorships? Personality crisis is closely related to the crisis of language no matter how contradicted to global ideology of transnational transhumanism it may seem. Considering the fact that recent media presentations of the world are based on commercialization of environmentalism, philosophical and aesthetic thought appears as an important subject of ecology. As media mediates, the scenery of civilized living increasingly becomes more appealing even though it derives from commercial and political background. Consequently, the future of humanity depends by large on the philosophy of media. Media have to truly ecologise returning the humanum to its essence making it into the extension of the natural world.

Ecological investigation of Alaskan resource development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanson, W.C.

1982-01-01

The objective of this research is to provide an integrated program for the definition of ecological consequences of resource developments in northern Alaska. The qualitative and quantitative results obtained describe the environmental costs incurred by petroleum resource extraction and transportation, and the interaction of wildlife populations with industrial activities. Information is presented on: affected populations of arctic foxes, small mammals, and tundra-nesting birds along the Trans-Alaska pipeline and haul road; field studies on the nitrogen fixation patterns of lichens; and on amounts of radionuclides from worldwide fallout in the lichen-caribou-Eskimo food chain

Ecological consistency across space: a synthesis of the ecological aspects of Dromiciops gliroides in Argentina and Chile.

Science.gov (United States)

Fontúrbel, Francisco E; Franco, Marcela; Rodríguez-Cabal, Mariano A; Rivarola, M Daniela; Amico, Guillermo C

2012-11-01

Dromiciops gliroides is an arboreal marsupial found in the temperate forests of South America (36-43 °S). This species is the sole extant representative of the order Microbiotheria, and is a key seed disperser of many native plant species, including the keystone mistletoe Tristerix corymbosus. Here, we synthesized the current knowledge on the ecological aspects of this species, and compared the available information from Argentina and Chile. Population density (23 ± 2 (mean ± SE) individual/ha) and home range (1.6 ± 0.6 ha) appear to be relatively similar across a marked ecological gradient in the mainland, but lower densities (7 ± 2 individual/ha) and smaller home ranges (0.26 ± 0.04 ha) were detected at island sites. We detected regional variation in body condition in Chile, but there were no significant differences across a wider E-W gradient. Movement patterns fit a random walk model; such behavior might have important consequences in shaping plant's spatial patterns. Although our data suggest that D. gliroides is more tolerant to habitat disturbance than previously thought, its incapability to disperse across non-forested areas suggests that the rapid rate of habitat loss and fragmentation that characterizes southern temperate forests likely poses a serious threat to this species. These ecological similarities are surprising given that forests studied receive dramatically different rainfall and correspond to distinct forest types. The evidence synthetized here dispels some of the myths about this species but also stresses the need for more comprehensive ecological studies across its distribution range.

Nuclear energy: technical, economical and ecological data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1975-04-01

This information document aims to present all the different aspects of nuclear energy and the economic, industrial and ecological data from which the French nuclear energy programme was worked out, the techniques and the sites were chosen. Prepared with the collaboration of experts from the public services interested, this document attempts to cover all the questions raised and to provide answers (dependence with respect to oil versus the advantages of nuclear energy, environment and siting problems, consequences for public health and radiation protection, organization of nuclear industry [fr

Shifts in ecosystem services in deprived urban areas : Understanding people’s responses and consequences for well-being

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Derkzen, Marthe L.; Nagendra, Harini; Van Teeffelen, Astrid J.A.; Purushotham, Anusha; Verburg, Peter H.

2017-01-01

Urban commons are under pressure. City development has led to the encroachment and ecological degradation of urban open space. Although there is growing insight that urban ecosystems need to be protected, there is hardly any attention for the consequences (of both pressures and protection efforts)

Shocks in coupled socio-ecological systems: what are they and how can we model them?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Filatova, Tatiana; Polhill, Gary; Seppelt, R.; Voinov, A.A.; Lange, S.; Bankamp, D.

2012-01-01

Coupled socio-ecological systems (SES) are complex systems characterized by self-organization, non-linearities, interactions among heterogeneous elements within each subsystem, and feedbacks across scales and among subsystems. When such a system experiences a shock or a crisis, the consequences are

A guide to statistical analysis in microbial ecology: a community-focused, living review of multivariate data analyses

OpenAIRE

Buttigieg, Pier Luigi; Ramette, Alban Nicolas

2014-01-01

The application of multivariate statistical analyses has become a consistent feature in microbial ecology. However, many microbial ecologists are still in the process of developing a deep understanding of these methods and appreciating their limitations. As a consequence, staying abreast of progress and debate in this arena poses an additional challenge to many microbial ecologists. To address these issues, we present the GUide to STatistical Analysis in Microbial Ecology (GUSTA ME): a dynami...

The Chernobyl accident is the greatest social ecological and technological catastrophe in a human history. Chapter 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babosov, E.M.

1995-01-01

The lessons of the Chernobyl tragedy for mankind are shown. Ecological consequences of the accident are described. It is given the analysis of social and psychological consequences of the Chernobyl accident - change of a mode of life of the people on the contaminated territories, a development post-catastrophe processes, a migration moods of the population, an aggravation of a demographic situation. Problems of an administrative activity on the contaminated territories are discussed and measures for decrease of the Chernobyl accident consequences are offered. 51 refs., 7 tabs

Environmental mutagenesis during the end-Permian ecological crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Visscher, Henk; Looy, Cindy V; Collinson, Margaret E; Brinkhuis, Henk; van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, Johanna H A; Kürschner, Wolfram M; Sephton, Mark A

2004-08-31

During the end-Permian ecological crisis, terrestrial ecosystems experienced preferential dieback of woody vegetation. Across the world, surviving herbaceous lycopsids played a pioneering role in repopulating deforested terrain. We document that the microspores of these lycopsids were regularly released in unseparated tetrads indicative of failure to complete the normal process of spore development. Although involvement of mutation has long been hinted at or proposed in theory, this finding provides concrete evidence for chronic environmental mutagenesis at the time of global ecological crisis. Prolonged exposure to enhanced UV radiation could account satisfactorily for a worldwide increase in land plant mutation. At the end of the Permian, a period of raised UV stress may have been the consequence of severe disruption of the stratospheric ozone balance by excessive emission of hydrothermal organohalogens in the vast area of Siberian Traps volcanism. Copyright 2004 The National Academy of Sciencs of the USA

Editorial: Pedagogical Media Ecologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorothee M. Meister

2014-07-01

://kw.uni-paderborn.de/institute-einrichtungen/mewi/arbeitsschwerpunkte/prof-dr-dorothee-m-meister/tagungen/educational-media- ecologies-international-perspectives/ (2014-7-8. Cf. definitions of the Media Ecology Association (MEA: http://www.media-ecology.org/media_ecology/index.html (2014-7-8. For more about these variations on the terms «media» and «mediation», see: Norm Friesen and Theo Hug. 2009. «The Mediatic Turn: Exploring Consequences for Media Pedagogy.» In Mediatization: Concept, Changes, Consequences, edited by Knut Lundby, 64–81. New York: Peter Lang. http://learningspaces.org/papers/Media_Pedagogy_&_Mediatic_Turn.pdf The project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (project 136617, duration: March 1, 2012 – February 28, 2015.

Social Ecology, Deep Ecology and the Future of Green Political Thought.

Science.gov (United States)

Tokar, Brian

1988-01-01

Describes the differences which divide the social ecology movement and the Deep Ecology Movement. Discusses how each views population ecology, politics, natural resources, and ecological living. Calls for a unified ecological movement. (CW)

Landscape Ecology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Andreas Aagaard; Brandt, Jesper; Svenningsen, Stig Roar

2017-01-01

Landscape ecology is an interdisciplinary field of research and practice that deals with the mutual association between the spatial configuration and ecological functioning of landscapes, exploring and describing processes involved in the differentiation of spaces within landscapes......, and the ecological significance of the patterns which are generated by such processes. In landscape ecology, perspectives drawn from existing academic disciplines are integrated based on a common, spatially explicit mode of analysis developed from classical holistic geography, emphasizing spatial and landscape...... pattern analysis and ecological interaction of land units. The landscape is seen as a holon: an assemblage of interrelated phenomena, both cultural and biophysical, that together form a complex whole. Enduring challenges to landscape ecology include the need to develop a systematic approach able...

Managing consequences of climate-driven species redistribution requires integration of ecology, conservation and social science.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonebrake, Timothy C; Brown, Christopher J; Bell, Johann D; Blanchard, Julia L; Chauvenet, Alienor; Champion, Curtis; Chen, I-Ching; Clark, Timothy D; Colwell, Robert K; Danielsen, Finn; Dell, Anthony I; Donelson, Jennifer M; Evengård, Birgitta; Ferrier, Simon; Frusher, Stewart; Garcia, Raquel A; Griffis, Roger B; Hobday, Alistair J; Jarzyna, Marta A; Lee, Emma; Lenoir, Jonathan; Linnetved, Hlif; Martin, Victoria Y; McCormack, Phillipa C; McDonald, Jan; McDonald-Madden, Eve; Mitchell, Nicola; Mustonen, Tero; Pandolfi, John M; Pettorelli, Nathalie; Possingham, Hugh; Pulsifer, Peter; Reynolds, Mark; Scheffers, Brett R; Sorte, Cascade J B; Strugnell, Jan M; Tuanmu, Mao-Ning; Twiname, Samantha; Vergés, Adriana; Villanueva, Cecilia; Wapstra, Erik; Wernberg, Thomas; Pecl, Gretta T

2018-02-01

Climate change is driving a pervasive global redistribution of the planet's species. Species redistribution poses new questions for the study of ecosystems, conservation science and human societies that require a coordinated and integrated approach. Here we review recent progress, key gaps and strategic directions in this nascent research area, emphasising emerging themes in species redistribution biology, the importance of understanding underlying drivers and the need to anticipate novel outcomes of changes in species ranges. We highlight that species redistribution has manifest implications across multiple temporal and spatial scales and from genes to ecosystems. Understanding range shifts from ecological, physiological, genetic and biogeographical perspectives is essential for informing changing paradigms in conservation science and for designing conservation strategies that incorporate changing population connectivity and advance adaptation to climate change. Species redistributions present challenges for human well-being, environmental management and sustainable development. By synthesising recent approaches, theories and tools, our review establishes an interdisciplinary foundation for the development of future research on species redistribution. Specifically, we demonstrate how ecological, conservation and social research on species redistribution can best be achieved by working across disciplinary boundaries to develop and implement solutions to climate change challenges. Future studies should therefore integrate existing and complementary scientific frameworks while incorporating social science and human-centred approaches. Finally, we emphasise that the best science will not be useful unless more scientists engage with managers, policy makers and the public to develop responsible and socially acceptable options for the global challenges arising from species redistributions. © 2017 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Biodiversity Conservation in Rice Paddies in China: Toward Ecological Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yufeng Luo

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Rice paddies are artificial wetlands that supply people with food and provide wildlife with habitats, breeding areas, shelters, feeding grounds and other services, and rice paddies play an important part in agricultural ecological systems. However, modern agricultural practices with large-scale intensive farming have significantly accelerated the homogenization of the paddy field ecosystem. Modern agriculture mostly relies on chemically-driven modern varieties and irrigation to ensure high production, resulting in the deterioration and imbalance of the ecosystem. Consequently, outbreaks of diseases, insects and weeds have become more frequent in paddy fields. This paper describes the current situation of rice paddy biodiversity in China and analyzes the community characteristics of arthropods and weedy plants. Meanwhile, we discuss how biodiversity was affected by modern agriculture changes, which have brought about a mounting crisis threatening to animals and plants once common in rice paddies. Measures should be focused to firstly preventing further deterioration and, then, also, promoting restoration processes. Ecological sustainability can be achieved by restoring paddy field biodiversity through protecting the ecological environment surrounding the paddy fields, improving paddy cropping patterns, growing rice with less agricultural chemicals and chemical fertilizers, constructing paddy systems with animals and plants and promoting ecological education and public awareness.

Ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Ternjej, Ivancica; Mihaljevic, Zlatko

2017-10-01

Ecology is a science that studies the mutual interactions between organisms and their environment. The fundamental subject of interest in ecology is the individual. Topics of interest to ecologists include the diversity, distribution and number of particular organisms, as well as cooperation and competition between organisms, both within and among ecosystems. Today, ecology is a multidisciplinary science. This is particularly true when the subject of interest is the ecosystem or biosphere, which requires the knowledge and input of biologists, chemists, physicists, geologists, geographists, climatologists, hydrologists and many other experts. Ecology is applied in a science of restoration, repairing disturbed sites through human intervention, in natural resource management, and in environmental impact assessments.

Phenological observations on shrubs to predict weed emergence in turf

Science.gov (United States)

Masin, Roberta; Zuin, Maria Clara; Zanin, Giuseppe

2005-09-01

Phenology is the study of periodic biological events. If we can find easily recognizable events in common plants that precede or coincide with weed emergences, these plants could be used as indicators. Weed seedlings are usually difficult to detect in turf, so the use of phenological indicators may provide an alternative approach to predict the time when a weed appears and consequently guide management decisions. A study was undertaken to determine whether the phenological phases of some plants could serve as reliable indicators of time of weed emergence in turf. The phenology of six shrubs (Crataegus monogyna Jacq., Forsythia viridissima Lindl., Sambucus nigra L., Syringa vulgaris L., Rosa multiflora Thunb., Ziziphus jujuba Miller) and a perennial herbaceous plant [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] was observed and the emergence dynamics of four annual weed species [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop., Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertner, Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv., Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.] were studied from 1999 to 2004 in northern Italy. A correlation between certain events and weed emergence was verified. S. vulgaris and F. viridissima appear to be the best indicators: there is a quite close correspondence between the appearance of D. sanguinalis and lilac flowering and between the beginning of emergence of E. indica and the end of lilac flowering; emergences of S. glauca and S. viridis were predicted well in relation to the end of forsythia flowering. Base temperatures and starting dates required to calculate the heat unit sums to reach and complete the flowering phase of the indicators were calculated using two different methods and the resultant cumulative growing degree days were compared.

Post-ecological discourse in the making.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeyer, Albert; Roth, Wolff-Michael

2013-01-01

This article analyses the discourse of 15- to16-year-old Swiss junior high school students in order to understand public discourse on the environment and environmental protection. Discourse analysis reveals four interpretive repertoires as the building blocks for the so-called post-ecological discourse, which can be used to describe important aspects of current ways of talking about ecological issues in Europe. We show that 10 theoretically identifiable dimensions of this discourse can be understood in terms of a mutual interplay between the four interpretive repertoires. Post-ecological discourse in today's (Swiss) society appears to be at its core a loss-of-control-discourse, which leads (in our students) to a latent eco-depression. Thus, the public understanding of science can be affected by unintended consequences of the talk itself (in this case an unintended environmental depression), that is, by the inherent characteristics of the involved repertoires, here especially the so-called folk science repertoire. Fostering public understanding of science is thus not merely a question of providing the public with scientific 'facts'. It is also an issue of paying attention to the available discursive repertoires. If necessary, viable alternative repertoires may have to be offered. In school, for example, conversations about the nature of science, and about complexity and applied ethics might help students learn new interpretive repertoires and how to mobilize these in talking about the environment and environmental protection.

Morphological evolution, ecological diversification and climate change in rodents

OpenAIRE

Renaud, Sabrina; Michaux, Jacques; Schmidt, Daniela N; Aguilar, Jean-Pierre; Mein, Pierre; Auffray, Jean-Christophe

2005-01-01

Among rodents, the lineage from Progonomys hispanicus to Stephanomys documents a case of increasing size and dental specialization during an approximately 9 Myr time-interval. On the contrary, some contemporaneous generalist lineages like Apodemus show a limited morphological evolution. Dental shape can be related to diet and can be used to assess the ecological changes along the lineages. Consequently, size and shape of the first upper molar were measured in order to quantify the patterns of...

Ecological aspects of the use of fuels and lubricants from plant and animal sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuks, I.G.; Evdokimov, A.Yu.; Dzhamalov, A.A.

1993-01-01

In attacking the problems involved in preventing or mitigating the growing ecological crisis and its consequences, the leading place is occupied by the search for an alternative ecologically clean raw material for the production of various types of energy and the manufacture of chemical products. Fuels and lubricants, whether of petroleum or synthetic origin, pose a significant threat to the environment. Here, the authors are generally speaking of ecologically dangerous products, but in many cases even toxic products. They pollute the air, soil, and water with automotive exhaust, spills of used oils, and the incineration and burial of wastes. Vegetable and animal fats do not have any of the shortcomings that are enumerated above. They are biodegradable, nontoxic, and do not form xenobiotics. The use of fats and oils as base stocks or components of fuels and lubricants may well facilitate and accelerate the solution of certain ecological problems. 26 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs

The Futures Wheel: A method for exploring the implications of social-ecological change

Science.gov (United States)

D.N. Bengston

2015-01-01

Change in social-ecological systems often produces a cascade of unanticipated consequences. Natural resource professionals and other stakeholders need to understand the possible implications of cascading change to prepare for it. The Futures Wheel is a "smart group" method that uses a structured brainstorming process to uncover and evaluate multiple levels of...

Nutrition, ecology and nutritional ecology: towardan integrated framework

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raubenheimer, David; Simpson, Steven J.; Mayntz, David

2009-01-01

requirements: it should be nutritionally explicit, organismally explicit, and ecologically explicit. 4. We evaluate against these criteria four existing frameworks (Optimal Foraging Theory, Classical Insect Nutritional Ecology, the Geometric Framework for nutrition, and Ecological Stoichiometry), and conclude...... in its own right? 2. We suggest that the distinctive feature of nutritional ecology is its integrative nature, and that the field would benefit from more attention to formalizing a theoretical and quantitative framework for developing this. 3. Such a framework, we propose, should satisfy three minimal...

Synergistic selection between ecological niche and mate preference primes diversification.

Science.gov (United States)

Boughman, Janette W; Svanbäck, Richard

2017-01-01

The ecological niche and mate preferences have independently been shown to be important for the process of speciation. Here, we articulate a novel mechanism by which ecological niche use and mate preference can be linked to promote speciation. The degree to which individual niches are narrow and clustered affects the strength of divergent natural selection and population splitting. Similarly, the degree to which individual mate preferences are narrow and clustered affects the strength of divergent sexual selection and assortative mating between diverging forms. This novel perspective is inspired by the literature on ecological niches; it also explores mate preferences and how they may contribute to speciation. Unlike much comparative work, we do not search for evolutionary patterns using proxies for adaptation and sexual selection, but rather we elucidate how ideas from niche theory relate to mate preference, and how this relationship can foster speciation. Recognizing that individual and population niches are conceptually and ecologically linked to individual and population mate preference functions will significantly increase our understanding of rapid evolutionary diversification in nature. It has potential to help solve the difficult challenge of testing the role of sexual selection in the speciation process. We also identify ecological factors that are likely to affect individual niche and individual mate preference in synergistic ways and as a consequence to promote speciation. The ecological niche an individual occupies can directly affect its mate preference. Clusters of individuals with narrow, differentiated niches are likely to have narrow, differentiated mate preference functions. Our approach integrates ecological and sexual selection research to further our understanding of diversification processes. Such integration may be necessary for progress because these processes seem inextricably linked in the natural world. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution �

[Dynamic changes of ecological footprint and ecological capacity in Fujian Province].

Science.gov (United States)

Weng, Boqi; Wang, Yixiang; Huang, Yibin; Ying, Zhaoyang; Huang, Qinlou

2006-11-01

The analysis on the dynamic changes of ecological footprint and ecological capacity in Fujian Province showed that in 1999-2003, the ecological footprint per capita in the Province increased from 1.428 hm2 to 1.658 hm2, while the ecological capacity per capita decreased from 0.683 hm2 to 0.607 hm2, with an increased ecological deficit year after year. The contradiction between the ecological footprint and ecological capacity pricked up gradually, and the ecological environment was at risk. There existed a severe imbalance in the supply and demand of ecological footprint per capita. The main body of the demands was grassland and fossil fuel, accouting for 55.74% - 63.43% of the total, while their supply only occupied 0.77% - 0.82% and next to nothing of the ecological capacity per capita, respectively. As a whole, the ecological footprint per ten thousand yuan GDP declined in the five years, indicating that the resources use efficiency in the Province was improved gradually. Based on the analysis of the present situation of the economic development and resources distribution in the Province, the strategies on reducing ecological deficit were put forward.

Ecological investigation of Alaskan resource development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanson, W.C.; Eberhardt, L.E.

1981-01-01

The objective of this research is to provide an integrated program for the definition of ecological consequences of resource developments in northern Alaska. Information is presented on affected populations of arctic foxes, small mammals, and tundra-nesting birds in the Prudhoe Bay oil field and along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and haul road; findings from similar studies from the Colville River Delta and other affected habitats; field experiments to determine the sensitivity of lichen communities of the Brooks Range to sulfur dioxide concentrations likely to be encountered near pipeline pumping stations; and amounts of radionuclides from worldwide fallout in the lichen-caribou-Eskimo food chain

Landscape metrics application in ecological and visual landscape assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gavrilović Suzana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The development of landscape-ecological approach application in spatial planning provides exact theoretical and empirical evidence for monitoring ecological consequences of natural and/or anthropogenic factors, particularly changes in spatial structures caused by them. Landscape pattern which feature diverse landscape values is the holder of the unique landscape character at different spatial levels and represents a perceptual domain for its users. Using the landscape metrics, the parameters of landscape composition and configuration are mathematical algorithms that quantify the specific spatial characteristics used for interpretation of landscape features and processes (physical and ecological aspect, as well as forms (visual aspect and the meaning (cognitive aspect of the landscape. Landscape metrics has been applied mostly in the ecological and biodiversity assessments as well as in the determination of the level of structural change of landscape, but more and more applied in the assessment of the visual character of the landscape. Based on a review of relevant literature, the aim of this work is to show the main trends of landscape metrics within the aspect of ecological and visual assessments. The research methodology is based on the analysis, classification and systematization of the research studies published from 2000 to 2016, where the landscape metrics is applied: (1 the analysis of landscape pattern and its changes, (2 the analysis of biodiversity and habitat function and (3 a visual landscape assessment. By selecting representative metric parameters for the landscape composition and configuration, for each category is formed the basis for further landscape metrics research and application for the integrated ecological and visual assessment of the landscape values. Contemporary conceptualization of the landscape is seen holistically, and the future research should be directed towards the development of integrated landscape assessment

The functional consequences of mutualistic network architecture.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José M Gómez

Full Text Available The architecture and properties of many complex networks play a significant role in the functioning of the systems they describe. Recently, complex network theory has been applied to ecological entities, like food webs or mutualistic plant-animal interactions. Unfortunately, we still lack an accurate view of the relationship between the architecture and functioning of ecological networks. In this study we explore this link by building individual-based pollination networks from eight Erysimum mediohispanicum (Brassicaceae populations. In these individual-based networks, each individual plant in a population was considered a node, and was connected by means of undirected links to conspecifics sharing pollinators. The architecture of these unipartite networks was described by means of nestedness, connectivity and transitivity. Network functioning was estimated by quantifying the performance of the population described by each network as the number of per-capita juvenile plants produced per population. We found a consistent relationship between the topology of the networks and their functioning, since variation across populations in the average per-capita production of juvenile plants was positively and significantly related with network nestedness, connectivity and clustering. Subtle changes in the composition of diverse pollinator assemblages can drive major consequences for plant population performance and local persistence through modifications in the structure of the inter-plant pollination networks.

Population-level consequences of spatially heterogeneous exposure to heavy metals in soil: An individual-based model of springtails

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meli, Mattia; Auclerc, Apolline; Palmqvist, Annemette

2013-01-01

Contamination of soil with toxic heavy metals poses a major threat to the environment and human health. Anthropogenic sources include smelting of ores, municipal wastes, fertilizers, and pesticides. In assessing soil quality and the environmental and ecological risk of contamination with heavy...... metals, often homogeneous contamination of the soil is assumed. However, soils are very heterogeneous environments. Consequently, both contamination and the response of soil organisms can be assumed to be heterogeneous. This might have consequences for the exposure of soil organisms...

ECOLOGICAL INTELLIGENCE OF COASTAL COMMUNITY ON BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION (Case Study of Bajau Coastal Communities, Gorontalo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramli Utina

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Human behavior is a part of the ecological system, therefore overcoming the ecological crisis and living resources need to explore human traditions, way of life and human behavior toward natural resources. Understanding and translation of human harmonious relationship with all elements along with other living beings is a form of human ecological intelligence. The objective of this study was to describe the traditions and coastal communities behavior that contains the value of ecological intelligence in coastal biodiversity conservation. The study was based on observation, focus group discussion and identification of Bajau coastal community tradition in their lives and livelihoods on fishing, as well as the behavior toward biological resources. Bajau coastal communities settled in three villages in Pohuwato regency, Gorontalo. There are two themes that contains the value of ecological intelligence of  Bajau communities in the conservation of biodiversity, namely; mamia kadialo in tradition of fishing, and fishing behavior. The prohibition in the tradition of mamia kadialo contains the value of conservation of biodiversity. Usage of simple equipment on fishing activities provide a positive ecological consequences for the conservation of coastal biodiversity.

Demography and ecology of nuclear power plant location

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stefanescu, P.; Ghitescu, P.

1997-01-01

To select and licence a NPP site, as well as, once built, to run it, both demography and ecology of the geographical zone are crucial factors to take into account. On the other side the location and running of a NPP is a major factor in the economic and social development of NPP site surroundings. Meanwhile the population distribution around the NPP site has a determining role on intervention and rehabilitation plans. Risk and danger studies should be done for initial situation as well as during NPP running. The character of radioactive risks and the importance of possible consequences of a hypothetical nuclear accident which could affect a big Nuclear Power Plant request a special attention to population distribution around the plant site and surroundings. Therefore safety studies to locate and licence a site should refer to demography and ecology. Available data examination will permit to locate NPP in less-populated and ecologically not-concerning zones. On-site investigation should identify the population groups to watch for in order to estimate the results of a normal evaluation. The inquires will give reference primary data before NPP construction starts. Also they evaluate the possibility of short term population retain on location in case of an accident. (authors)

Consequences of a government-controlled agricultural price increase on fishing and the coral reef ecosystem in the republic of kiribati.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, Sheila M W; Groves, Theodore; Nagavarapu, Sriniketh

2014-01-01

Economic development policies may have important economic and ecological consequences beyond the sector they target. Understanding these consequences is important to improving these policies and finding opportunities to align economic development with natural resource conservation. These issues are of particular interest to governments and non-governmental organizations that have new mandates to pursue multiple benefits. In this case study, we examined the direct and indirect economic and ecological effects of an increase in the government-controlled price for the primary agricultural product in the Republic of Kiribati, Central Pacific. We conducted household surveys and underwater visual surveys of the coral reef to examine how the government increase in the price of copra directly affected copra labor and indirectly affected fishing and the coral reef ecosystem. The islands of Kiribati are coral reef atolls and the majority of households participate in copra agriculture and fishing on the coral reefs. Our household survey data suggest that the 30% increase in the price of copra resulted in a 32% increase in copra labor and a 38% increase in fishing labor. Households with the largest amount of land in coconut production increased copra labor the most and households with the smallest amount of land in coconut production increased fishing the most. Our ecological data suggests that increased fishing labor may result in a 20% decrease in fish stocks and 4% decrease in coral reef-builders. We provide empirical evidence to suggest that the government increase in the copra price in Kiribati had unexpected and indirect economic and ecological consequences. In this case, the economic development policy was not in alignment with conservation. These results emphasize the importance of accounting for differences in household capital and taking a systems approach to policy design and evaluation, as advocated by sustainable livelihood and ecosystem-based management frameworks.

Consequences of a Government-Controlled Agricultural Price Increase on Fishing and the Coral Reef Ecosystem in the Republic of Kiribati

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, Sheila M. W.; Groves, Theodore; Nagavarapu, Sriniketh

2014-01-01

Background Economic development policies may have important economic and ecological consequences beyond the sector they target. Understanding these consequences is important to improving these policies and finding opportunities to align economic development with natural resource conservation. These issues are of particular interest to governments and non-governmental organizations that have new mandates to pursue multiple benefits. In this case study, we examined the direct and indirect economic and ecological effects of an increase in the government-controlled price for the primary agricultural product in the Republic of Kiribati, Central Pacific. Methods/Principal Findings We conducted household surveys and underwater visual surveys of the coral reef to examine how the government increase in the price of copra directly affected copra labor and indirectly affected fishing and the coral reef ecosystem. The islands of Kiribati are coral reef atolls and the majority of households participate in copra agriculture and fishing on the coral reefs. Our household survey data suggest that the 30% increase in the price of copra resulted in a 32% increase in copra labor and a 38% increase in fishing labor. Households with the largest amount of land in coconut production increased copra labor the most and households with the smallest amount of land in coconut production increased fishing the most. Our ecological data suggests that increased fishing labor may result in a 20% decrease in fish stocks and 4% decrease in coral reef-builders. Conclusions/Significance We provide empirical evidence to suggest that the government increase in the copra price in Kiribati had unexpected and indirect economic and ecological consequences. In this case, the economic development policy was not in alignment with conservation. These results emphasize the importance of accounting for differences in household capital and taking a systems approach to policy design and evaluation, as advocated by

A regional-scale ecological risk framework for environmental flow evaluations

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, Gordon C.; Dickens, Chris; Hines, Eleanor; Wepener, Victor; Stassen, Retha; Quayle, Leo; Fouchy, Kelly; MacKenzie, James; Graham, P. Mark; Landis, Wayne G.

2018-02-01

Environmental flow (E-flow) frameworks advocate holistic, regional-scale, probabilistic E-flow assessments that consider flow and non-flow drivers of change in a socio-ecological context as best practice. Regional-scale ecological risk assessments of multiple stressors to social and ecological endpoints, which address ecosystem dynamism, have been undertaken internationally at different spatial scales using the relative-risk model since the mid-1990s. With the recent incorporation of Bayesian belief networks into the relative-risk model, a robust regional-scale ecological risk assessment approach is available that can contribute to achieving the best practice recommendations of E-flow frameworks. PROBFLO is a holistic E-flow assessment method that incorporates the relative-risk model and Bayesian belief networks (BN-RRM) into a transparent probabilistic modelling tool that addresses uncertainty explicitly. PROBFLO has been developed to evaluate the socio-ecological consequences of historical, current and future water resource use scenarios and generate E-flow requirements on regional spatial scales. The approach has been implemented in two regional-scale case studies in Africa where its flexibility and functionality has been demonstrated. In both case studies the evidence-based outcomes facilitated informed environmental management decision making, with trade-off considerations in the context of social and ecological aspirations. This paper presents the PROBFLO approach as applied to the Senqu River catchment in Lesotho and further developments and application in the Mara River catchment in Kenya and Tanzania. The 10 BN-RRM procedural steps incorporated in PROBFLO are demonstrated with examples from both case studies. PROBFLO can contribute to the adaptive management of water resources and contribute to the allocation of resources for sustainable use of resources and address protection requirements.

Controle de plantas daninhas na cultura do milho (Zea mays L. por meio de herbicidas Weed control in maize (Zea mays L. with herbicides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. A. L. dos Santos

1979-12-01

Full Text Available Com o objetivo de se verificar a ação do butylate, aplicado isoladamente e em mistura com atrazine, no controle de plantas daninhas da cultura do milho, foi instalado um experimento de campo em solo fino areno-argiloso. Foram utilizados os seguintes tratamentos: butylate a 2,80; 3,60 e 4,32 kg/ha (p.p.i.; butylate + atrazine a 3,24 + 0,80; 3,24 + 1,20 e 3,60 + 0,96 kg/ha (p.p.i.; atrazine a 3,00 kg/ha e atrazine + metolachlor a 1,40 + 2,10 kg/ha, ambos aplicados em pré-emergência e empregados como herbicidas padrão para a cultura. As plantas daninhas encontradas foram: tiririca - Cyperus rotundus L., carurú comum - .:maranthus viridis L., capim de colchão - Digitaria sanguinalis (L. Scop. e capim pé-de-galinha Eleusine indica (L. Gaertn. Butylate nas três doses apresentou-se bem contra C. rotundus e E. indica; nas doses de 3,60 e 4,32 kg foram obtidos bons resultados sobre D. sanguinalis. Butylate + atrazine controlou, nas três doses, todas as espécies incidentes, o mesmo ocorrendo com a mistura atrazine + metolachlor. Atrazine foi mais eficiente para A. viridis e E. indica. Nas condições em que foi conduzido o experimento nenhum dos herbicidas foi prejudicial para a cultura.Butylate at 2.80; 3.60 and 4.32 kg/ha and butylate + atrazine at. 3.24 + 0.80; 3.24 + 1.20 and 3.60 + 0.96 kg, were applied in preplant incorporated; atrazine at 3.00 kg and atrazine + metolachlor at 1.40 + 2.10 kg were applied in preemergence on corn. The weeds were represented by Cyperus rotundus L., Amaranthus viridis L., Digitaria sanguinalis (L. Scop. and Eleusine indica (L. Gaertn. Butylate + atrazine, in all rates, atrazine + metolachlor and atrazine gave good control of the weeds in general. Butylate, in the three rates, controlled C. rotundus and E. indica; at 3.60 and 4.32 kg/ha controlled well D. sanguinalis. The herbicides did not cause injuries to the crop.

Mechanisms and ecological consequences of plant defence induction and suppression in herbivore communities

Science.gov (United States)

Kant, M. R.; Jonckheere, W.; Knegt, B.; Lemos, F.; Liu, J.; Schimmel, B. C. J.; Villarroel, C. A.; Ataide, L. M. S.; Dermauw, W.; Glas, J. J.; Egas, M.; Janssen, A.; Van Leeuwen, T.; Schuurink, R. C.; Sabelis, M. W.; Alba, J. M.

2015-01-01

Background Plants are hotbeds for parasites such as arthropod herbivores, which acquire nutrients and energy from their hosts in order to grow and reproduce. Hence plants are selected to evolve resistance, which in turn selects for herbivores that can cope with this resistance. To preserve their fitness when attacked by herbivores, plants can employ complex strategies that include reallocation of resources and the production of defensive metabolites and structures. Plant defences can be either prefabricated or be produced only upon attack. Those that are ready-made are referred to as constitutive defences. Some constitutive defences are operational at any time while others require activation. Defences produced only when herbivores are present are referred to as induced defences. These can be established via de novo biosynthesis of defensive substances or via modifications of prefabricated substances and consequently these are active only when needed. Inducibility of defence may serve to save energy and to prevent self-intoxication but also implies that there is a delay in these defences becoming operational. Induced defences can be characterized by alterations in plant morphology and molecular chemistry and are associated with a decrease in herbivore performance. These alterations are set in motion by signals generated by herbivores. Finally, a subset of induced metabolites are released into the air as volatiles and function as a beacon for foraging natural enemies searching for prey, and this is referred to as induced indirect defence. Scope The objective of this review is to evaluate (1) which strategies plants have evolved to cope with herbivores and (2) which traits herbivores have evolved that enable them to counter these defences. The primary focus is on the induction and suppression of plant defences and the review outlines how the palette of traits that determine induction/suppression of, and resistance/susceptibility of herbivores to, plant defences can

Modelling non-Euclidean movement and landscape connectivity in highly structured ecological networks

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Sutherland, Christopher; Fuller, Angela K.; Royle, J. Andrew

2015-01-01

Movement is influenced by landscape structure, configuration and geometry, but measuring distance as perceived by animals poses technical and logistical challenges. Instead, movement is typically measured using Euclidean distance, irrespective of location or landscape structure, or is based on arbitrary cost surfaces. A recently proposed extension of spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models resolves this issue using spatial encounter histories of individuals to calculate least-cost paths (ecological distance: Ecology, 94, 2013, 287) thereby relaxing the Euclidean assumption. We evaluate the consequences of not accounting for movement heterogeneity when estimating abundance in highly structured landscapes, and demonstrate the value of this approach for estimating biologically realistic space-use patterns and landscape connectivity.

Academic inequality through the lens of community ecology: a meta-analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akira S. Mori

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Ecological assemblages are generally characterized by a few dominant species and numerous others. Such unequal distributions of dominance also emerge in human society, including in scientific communities. Here, based on formal community ecological analyses, we show the temporal trends in the number of scientific publication in the discipline of “ecology.” Based on this, we infer possible factors causing the imbalance of reputation and dominance among countries. We relied on 454 ecological meta-analysis papers published from 1998 to 2014, which sourced over 29,000 original publications. Formal meta-analyses are essential for synthesizing findings from individual studies and are critical for assessing issues and informing policy. We found that, despite the rapid expansion of outlets for ecology papers (analogous to an increase in carrying capacity, in ecological systems, country diversity as determined from first author affiliations (analogous to species diversity did not increase. Furthermore, a country identity was more powerful than the popularity of the scientific topic and affected the chance of publication in high-profile journals, independent of the potential novelty of findings and arguments of the papers, suggesting possible academic injustice. Consequently, a rank order and hierarchy has been gradually formed among countries. Notably, this country-dominance rank is not only specific to this scientific domain but also universal across different societal situations including sports and economics, further emphasizing that inequality and hierarchical structure exist even in modern human society. Our study demonstrates a need for having robust frameworks to facilitate equality and diversity in the scientific domain in order to better inform society and policy.

Phytoplankton species composition of four ecological provinces in Yellow Sea, China

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Li, Xiaoqian; Feng, Yuanyuan; Leng, Xiaoyun; Liu, Haijiao; Sun, Jun

2017-12-01

The ecological province based on phytoplankton species composition is important to understanding the interplay between environmental parameters and phytoplankton species composition. The aim of this study was to establish phytoplankton species composition ecological pattern thus elucidate the relationship between environmental factors and the phytoplankton species composition in the ecological provinces. Phytoplankton samples were collected from 31 stations in Yellow Sea (121.00°-125.00°E, 32.00°-39.22°N) in November 2014. The samples were enumerated and identified with the Utermöhl method under an optical inverted microscope-AE2000 with magnifications of 200 × or 400 ×. In the present study, a total of 141 taxa belonging to 60 genera of 4 phyla of phytoplankton were identified, among them 101 species of 45 genera were Bacillariophyta, 36 species of 11 genera were Dinophyta, 3 species of 3 genera were Chrysophyta and 1 species of 1 genera was Chlorophyta. The study area was divided into 4 ecological provinces according to an unsupervised cluster algorithm applied to the phytoplankton biomass. A T-S (Temperature-Salinity) scatter diagram depicted with data of water temperature and salinity defined by environmental provinces matched well with the ecological provinces. The results of Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicated that the phytoplankton species composition was mainly correlated with temperature, salinity and silicate concentration in the studied area. A method of establishing ecological provinces is useful to further understanding the environmental effects on the marine phytoplankton species composition and the consequent marine biogeochemistry.

ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC DYNAMICS OF THE SHUNDE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM UNDER CHINA'S SMALL CITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

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The development of small cities has been adopted as the main strategy to make full use of extra labor in the rural areas of China. The ecological and economic consequences of this development will affect over 100 million people and change the organization of agricultural systems ...

The assembly and disassembly of ecological networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Bascompte, Jordi; Stouffer, Daniel B

2009-06-27

Global change has created a severe biodiversity crisis. Species are driven extinct at an increasing rate, and this has the potential to cause further coextinction cascades. The rate and shape of these coextinction cascades depend very much on the structure of the networks of interactions across species. Understanding network structure and how it relates to network disassembly, therefore, is a priority for system-level conservation biology. This process of network collapse may indeed be related to the process of network build-up, although very little is known about both processes and even less about their relationship. Here we review recent work that provides some preliminary answers to these questions. First, we focus on network assembly by emphasizing temporal processes at the species level, as well as the structural building blocks of complex ecological networks. Second, we focus on network disassembly as a consequence of species extinctions or habitat loss. We conclude by emphasizing some general rules of thumb that can help in building a comprehensive framework to understand the responses of ecological networks to global change.

Reconstructing past ecological networks: the reconfiguration of seed-dispersal interactions after megafaunal extinction.

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Pires, Mathias M; Galetti, Mauro; Donatti, Camila I; Pizo, Marco A; Dirzo, Rodolfo; Guimarães, Paulo R

2014-08-01

The late Quaternary megafaunal extinction impacted ecological communities worldwide, and affected key ecological processes such as seed dispersal. The traits of several species of large-seeded plants are thought to have evolved in response to interactions with extinct megafauna, but how these extinctions affected the organization of interactions in seed-dispersal systems is poorly understood. Here, we combined ecological and paleontological data and network analyses to investigate how the structure of a species-rich seed-dispersal network could have changed from the Pleistocene to the present and examine the possible consequences of such changes. Our results indicate that the seed-dispersal network was organized into modules across the different time periods but has been reconfigured in different ways over time. The episode of megafaunal extinction and the arrival of humans changed how seed dispersers were distributed among network modules. However, the recent introduction of livestock into the seed-dispersal system partially restored the original network organization by strengthening the modular configuration. Moreover, after megafaunal extinctions, introduced species and some smaller native mammals became key components for the structure of the seed-dispersal network. We hypothesize that such changes in network structure affected both animal and plant assemblages, potentially contributing to the shaping of modern ecological communities. The ongoing extinction of key large vertebrates will lead to a variety of context-dependent rearranged ecological networks, most certainly affecting ecological and evolutionary processes.

Using ecological production functions to link ecological ...

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Ecological production functions (EPFs) link ecosystems, stressors, and management actions to ecosystem services (ES) production. Although EPFs are acknowledged as being essential to improve environmental management, their use in ecological risk assessment has received relatively little attention. Ecological production functions may be defined as usable expressions (i.e., models) of the processes by which ecosystems produce ES, often including external influences on those processes. We identify key attributes of EPFs and discuss both actual and idealized examples of their use to inform decision making. Whenever possible, EPFs should estimate final, rather than intermediate, ES. Although various types of EPFs have been developed, we suggest that EPFs are more useful for decision making if they quantify ES outcomes, respond to ecosystem condition, respond to stressor levels or management scenarios, reflect ecological complexity, rely on data with broad coverage, have performed well previously, are practical to use, and are open and transparent. In an example using pesticides, we illustrate how EPFs with these attributes could enable the inclusion of ES in ecological risk assessment. The biggest challenges to ES inclusion are limited data sets that are easily adapted for use in modeling EPFs and generally poor understanding of linkages among ecological components and the processes that ultimately deliver the ES. We conclude by advocating for the incorporation into E

Economic Consequences Of Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Szlávik, János; Füle, Miklós

2009-07-01

Even though the climate conflict resulting from green houses gases (GHG) emissions was evident by the Nineties and the well-known agreements made, their enforcement is more difficult than that of other environmental agreements. That is because measures to reduce GHG emissions interfere with the heart of the economy and the market: energy (in a broader sense than the energy sector as defined by statistics) and economical growth. Analyzing the environmental policy responses to climate change the conclusion is that GHG emission reduction can only be achieved through intensive environmental policy. While extensive environmental protection complements production horizontally, intensive environmental protection integrates into production and the environment vertically. The latter eliminates the source of the pollution, preventing damage. It utilizes the biochemical processes and self-purification of the natural environment as well as technical development which not only aims to produce state-of-the-art goods, but to make production more environmentally friendly, securing a desired environmental state. While in extensive environmental protection the intervention comes from the outside for creating environmental balance, in intensive environmental protection the system recreates this balance itself. Instead of dealing with the consequences and the polluter pays principle, the emphasis is on prevention. It is important to emphasize that climate strategy decisions have complex effects regarding the aspects of sustainability (economical, social, ecological). Therefore, all decisions are political. At present, and in the near future, market economy decisions have little to do with sustainability values under normal circumstances. Taking social and ecological interests into consideration can only be successful through strategic political aims.

The relative importance of rapid evolution for plant-microbe interactions depends on ecological context.

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Terhorst, Casey P; Lennon, Jay T; Lau, Jennifer A

2014-06-22

Evolution can occur on ecological time-scales, affecting community and ecosystem processes. However, the importance of evolutionary change relative to ecological processes remains largely unknown. Here, we analyse data from a long-term experiment in which we allowed plant populations to evolve for three generations in dry or wet soils and used a reciprocal transplant to compare the ecological effect of drought and the effect of plant evolutionary responses to drought on soil microbial communities and nutrient availability. Plants that evolved under drought tended to support higher bacterial and fungal richness, and increased fungal : bacterial ratios in the soil. Overall, the magnitudes of ecological and evolutionary effects on microbial communities were similar; however, the strength and direction of these effects depended on the context in which they were measured. For example, plants that evolved in dry environments increased bacterial abundance in dry contemporary environments, but decreased bacterial abundance in wet contemporary environments. Our results suggest that interactions between recent evolutionary history and ecological context affect both the direction and magnitude of plant effects on soil microbes. Consequently, an eco-evolutionary perspective is required to fully understand plant-microbe interactions.

Ecological Rationality: A Framework for Understanding and Aiding the Aging Decision Maker

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Rui eMata

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Ecological rationality sees human rationality as the result of the adaptive fit between the human mind and the environment. The concept of ecological rationality focuses the study of cognition on two key questions: First, what are the environmental regularities to which people’s decision strategies are matched, and how frequently do these regularities occur in natural environments? Second, how well can people adapt their use of specific strategies to particular environments? Research on aging suggests a number of changes in cognitive function, for instance, deficits in learning and memory that may impact decision-making skills. However, it has been shown that simple strategies can work well in many natural environments, which suggests that age-related deficits in strategy use may not necessarily translate into diminished decision performance. Consequently, we argue that predictions about the impact of aging on decision performance depend not only on how aging affects decision-relevant capacities but also on the decision ecology in which decisions are made. In sum, we propose that the concept of the ecological rationality is crucial to understanding and aiding the aging decision maker.

Use of ecological exposure units in ecological risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferenbaugh, R.; Myers, O.; Gallegos, A.; Breshears, D.; Ebinger, M.

1995-01-01

The traditional approach to ecological risk assessment at hazardous waste sites that are being evaluated for cleanup under CERCLA or RCRA requirements is to focus on the immediate impacts at or adjacent to a site. While this may be acceptable in some situations, it is not ecologically defensible in situations where there are numerous contaminated sites in proximity to each other. In the latter case, transport from the sites, potential cumulative effects, and wide-ranging receptors must be considered. The concept of the Ecological Exposure Unit (EEU) has been proposed to address this situation. Ecological Exposure Units are defined on the basis of ecological considerations and each EEU may contain several to many contaminated sites. The initial steps involved in performing ecological risk assessments using the EEU approach include (1) selection of appropriate receptors and assessment endpoints, and (2) geographical definition of EEUs. At Los Alamos National Laboratory, receptors have been identified and EEUs have been defined for these receptors. GIS is being used as a tool to map EEUs. Receptors include representatives from threatened or endangered species, species reflecting status of ecological health, species with social or cultural relevance, and other species of concern. After definition of EEUs, cumulative impacts of all stressors at all sites within each EEU must be evaluated. The two major advantages to performing ecological risk assessments using this approach are that risk assessments are performed in a more scientifically defensible manner because they are performed on ecologically defined units and that resources are used optimally by minimizing redundant remedial activities

Ecological consequences of the expansion of N2-fixing plants in cold biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Hiltbrunner, Erika; Aerts, Rien; Bühlmann, Tobias; Huss-Danell, Kerstin; Magnusson, Borgthor; Myrold, David D.; Reed, Sasha C.; Sigurdsson, Bjarni D.; Körner, Christian

2014-01-01

Research in warm-climate biomes has shown that invasion by symbiotic dinitrogen (N2)-fixing plants can transform ecosystems in ways analogous to the transformations observed as a consequence of anthropogenic, atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition: declines in biodiversity, soil acidification, and alterations to carbon and nutrient cycling, including increased N losses through nitrate leaching and emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). Here, we used literature review and case study approaches to assess the evidence for similar transformations in cold-climate ecosystems of the boreal, subarctic and upper montane-temperate life zones. Our assessment focuses on the plant genera Lupinus and Alnus, which have become invasive largely as a consequence of deliberate introductions and/or reduced land management. These cold biomes are commonly located in remote areas with low anthropogenic N inputs, and the environmental impacts of N2-fixer invasion appear to be as severe as those from anthropogenic N deposition in highly N polluted areas. Hence, inputs of N from N2 fixation can affect ecosystems as dramatically or even more strongly than N inputs from atmospheric deposition, and biomes in cold climates represent no exception with regard to the risk of being invaded by N2-fixing species. In particular, the cold biomes studied here show both a strong potential to be transformed by N2-fixing plants and a rapid subsequent saturation in the ecosystem’s capacity to retain N. Therefore, analogous to increases in N deposition, N2-fixing plant invasions must be deemed significant threats to biodiversity and to environmental quality.

Aquatic Ecology Section

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brocksen, R.W.

1978-01-01

Population studies were concerned with predicting long-term consequences of mortality imposed on animal populations by man's activities. These studies consisted of development of a generalized life cycle model and an empirical impingement model for use in impact analysis. Chemical effects studies were conducted on chlorine minimization; fouling by the Asiatic clam; identification of halogenated organics in cooling water; and effects of halogenated organics in cooling systems on aquatic organisms. Ecological transport studies were conducted on availability of sediment-bound 137 Cs and 60 Co to fish; 137 Cs and 60 Co in White Oak Lake fish; and chromium levels in fish from a lake chronically contaminated with chromates from cooling towers. Progress is also reported on the following: effects of irradiation on thermal tolerance of mosquito fish; toxicity of nickel to the developing eggs and larvae of carp; accumulation of selected heavy metals associated with fly ash; and environmental monitoring of aquatic ecosystems

The role of ecological theory in microbial ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Prosser, James I; Bohannan, Brendan J M; Curtis, Tom P; Ellis, Richard J; Firestone, Mary K; Freckleton, Rob P; Green, Jessica L; Green, Laura E; Killham, Ken; Lennon, Jack J; Osborn, A Mark; Solan, Martin; van der Gast, Christopher J; Young, J Peter W

2007-05-01

Microbial ecology is currently undergoing a revolution, with repercussions spreading throughout microbiology, ecology and ecosystem science. The rapid accumulation of molecular data is uncovering vast diversity, abundant uncultivated microbial groups and novel microbial functions. This accumulation of data requires the application of theory to provide organization, structure, mechanistic insight and, ultimately, predictive power that is of practical value, but the application of theory in microbial ecology is currently very limited. Here we argue that the full potential of the ongoing revolution will not be realized if research is not directed and driven by theory, and that the generality of established ecological theory must be tested using microbial systems.

Ecological Ethics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oughton, Deborah

2013-01-01

Deborah Oughton started with a view of the work in progress by the ICRP TG 94 on ethics, from the historical context and the principles-based ethics in RP, to continue with an overview of the ethical theories and with the main area of elaboration which concerns the common values, to conclude with considerations about the implementation in different area such as biomedicine, nuclear safety and workers, ecological aspects, and environmental health and society. By reading again the ICRP and IAEA publications on the ethical aspects in the protection of environment from the effects of ionizing radiation, the presentation covers the various and different cultures within the history of environmental ethics, the perception of Nature and the theories of environmental ethics, in particular by focusing on anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism, as philosophical worldwide views, and on conservation, biodiversity, sustainability, environmental justice and human dignity, as primary principles of environmental protection. The influence of western Christianity, with a view of man dominating over every creeping thing on earth, and of the non-western ideas, the human perception of Nature has been analyzed and discussed to conclude that, in reality then, the anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism, as reflected in many cultures and religions, they all support the need to protect the environment and to recognise and preserve the diversity. Three challenges were then discussed in the presentation: the ecosystem approach and ecological economics, for example in the case of Fukushima by asking what is the economic cost of marine contamination; the ecosystem changes with attention to what harms, as in the case of the environment in the contaminated areas around Chernobyl; and the environmental consequences of remediation, which can be considered a source of controversy for environmental ethics and policy

The ecological economics: An ecological economics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castiblanco R, Carmenza

2007-01-01

Ecological Economics arise as a scientific discipline aimed to integrate concepts of economics, ecology, thermodynamics, ethic and other natural and social sciences in order to incorporate a biophysical and integrated perspective of the inter dependences between economies and environment, from a plural conception and a methodology beyond disciplines. Ecological Economics studies the black box of economic processes usually excluded of the traditional economics: thermodynamics and ecology. Although it is relatively a new field of study, it has been strengthening its theoretical framework with scientific basis and analytic principles that lead to its identification as a new discipline that show a whole new paradigm. The scope of this article is to show the conceptual and methodological bases, the main founders, approaches and central debates of this new discipline. This brief introduction is a preamble to the papers of the meeting Ecological Economics: a perspective for Colombia included in this number, that took place on September 22 - 27 of 2007, at the National University of Colombia at Bogota. During tree days national and international experts, professors, researchers, workers of environmental sector and people interested on environmental issues joined together to know the conceptual and methodological achievements reached of this discipline; as well as to analyse and evaluate the environmental problems of the country, from the systemic, interdisciplinary and general perspective that it promotes

Spatial ecology of the aquatic garter snake, Thamnophis atratus, in a free-flowing stream environment

Science.gov (United States)

H. H. Welsh; C. A. Wheeler; A. J. Lind

2010-01-01

Spatial patterns of animals have important implications for population dynamics and can reveal other key aspects of a species' ecology. Movements and the resulting spatial arrangements have fitness and genetic consequences for both individuals and populations. We studied the spatial and dispersal patterns of the Oregon Gartersnake, Thamnophis atratus...

Scientific provision of the problems of overcoming the Chernobyl catastrophe consequences. Chapter 7

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konoplya, E.F.; Rolevich, I.V.; Gurachevskij, V.L.; Poplyko, I.Ya.; Semeshko, A.V.

1998-01-01

At present in the Republic of Belarus the research works on the problems of overcoming of the Chernobyl accident consequences are carried out in the following directions: radiation protection of the population; health of the population affected by the Chernobyl NPP accident; complex radiation-ecological estimation of the environment and conditions of the life activity of the population; rehabilitation of the contaminated territories; instrumental and methodical provision of the radiation control. The experience of the scientific approach to the decision of wide-scale and multiple-discipline tasks of overcoming of the Chernobyl accident consequences promotes for transformation of separate knowledge about radiation safety in holistic conception of safety and protection of the population in emergency caused by industrial accidents, catastrophes, natural disasters

Thirty-Three Years of Ocean Benthic Warming Along the U.S. Northeast Continental Shelf and Slope: Patterns, Drivers, and Ecological Consequences

Science.gov (United States)

Kavanaugh, Maria T.; Rheuban, Jennie E.; Luis, Kelly M. A.; Doney, Scott C.

2017-12-01

The U.S. Northeast Continental Shelf is experiencing rapid warming, with potentially profound consequences to marine ecosystems. While satellites document multiple scales of spatial and temporal variability on the surface, our understanding of the status, trends, and drivers of the benthic environmental change remains limited. We interpolated sparse benthic temperature data along the New England Shelf and upper Slope using a seasonally dynamic, regionally specific multiple linear regression model that merged in situ and remote sensing data. The statistical model predicted nearly 90% of the variability of the data, resulting in a synoptic time series spanning over three decades from 1982 to 2014. Benthic temperatures increased throughout the domain, including in the Gulf of Maine. Rates of benthic warming ranged from 0.1 to 0.4°C per decade, with fastest rates occurring in shallow, nearshore regions and on Georges Bank, the latter exceeding rates observed in the surface. Rates of benthic warming were up to 1.6 times faster in winter than the rest of the year in many regions, with important implications for disease occurrence and energetics of overwintering species. Drivers of warming varied over the domain. In southern New England and the mid-Atlantic shallow Shelf regions, benthic warming was tightly coupled to changes in SST, whereas both regional and basin-scale changes in ocean circulation affect temperatures in the Gulf of Maine, the Continental Shelf, and Georges Banks. These results highlight data gaps, the current feasibility of prediction from remotely sensed variables, and the need for improved understanding on how climate may affect seasonally specific ecological processes.

The ecology of sex explains patterns of helping in arthropod societies.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Nicholas G; Ross, Laura; Gardner, Andy

2016-08-01

Across arthropod societies, sib-rearing (e.g. nursing or nest defence) may be provided by females, by males or by both sexes. According to Hamilton's 'haplodiploidy hypothesis', this diversity reflects the relatedness consequences of diploid vs. haplodiploid inheritance. However, an alternative 'preadaptation hypothesis' instead emphasises an interplay of ecology and the co-option of ancestral, sexually dimorphic traits for sib-rearing. The preadaptation hypothesis has recently received empirical support, but remains to be formalised. Here, we mathematically model the coevolution of sex-specific helping and sex allocation, contrasting these hypotheses. We find that ploidy per se has little effect. Rather, the ecology of sex shapes patterns of helping: sex-specific preadaptation strongly influences who helps; a freely adjustable sex ratio magnifies sex biases and promotes helping; and sib-mating, promiscuity, and reproductive autonomy also modulate the sex and abundance of helpers. An empirical survey reveals that patterns of sex-specific helping in arthropod taxa are consistent with the preadaptation hypothesis. © 2016 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by CNRS and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Accident on the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Getting over the consequences and lessons learned

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nosovskij, A.V.; Vasil'chenko, V.N.; Klyuchnikov, A.A.; Prister, B.S.

2006-01-01

The book is devoted to the 20 anniversary of the accident on the 4th Power Unit of the Chernobyl NPP. The power plant construction history, accident reasons, its consequences, the measures on its liquidation are represented. The current state of activity on the Chernobyl power unit decommission, the 'Shelter' object conversion into the ecologically safe system is described. The future of the Chernobyl NPP site and disposal zone is discussed

An overview on the ecology of Triatominae (Hemiptera:Reduviidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Galvão, Cleber; Justi, Silvia A

2015-11-01

Chagas disease, the American trypanosomiasis, is an important neglected tropical illness caused by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi (Kinetoplastida, Trypanosomatidae) and transmitted by insects of the subfamily Triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). Here we provide an overview on the current knowledge about Triatominae ecology, its association with human, T. cruzi infection and the immediate consequences of habitat fragmentation. We also discuss the geographic distribution of the species and the importance of predicting their distributions to control programs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ecologies of Learning, Ecologies of Creativity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høyrup, Helene

in the light of the new Danish school reform. How can different learning institutions contribute to a “joint” ecology of learning? What would the benefits be from this in terms of young people’s literacies? On what theoretical basis can such an ecology and co-creation take place? And what kind of didactics...

Assessment of metals contamination and ecological risk in ait Ammar abandoned iron mine soil, Morocco

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nouri Mohamed

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The present study is an attempt to assess the pollution intensity and corresponding ecological risk of phosphorus and metals including Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb and Fe using various indices like geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor, pollution and ecological risk index. In all, 20 surface soil samples were collected from the Ait Ammar iron mine of Oued Zem city, province of Khouribga, in central Morocco. The concentrations of heavy metals in soil samples were used to assess their potential ecological risks. According to the results of potential ecological risk index (RI, pollution index (PI, geo-accumulation index (Igeo, enrichment factor (EF, potential contamination index (Cp, contaminant factor (Cf and degree of contamination (Cd, based on the averages, considerable pollution of metals in soils of study area was observed. The consequence of the correlation matrix and principal component analysis (PCA indicated that Fe, Cu, Zn, Cr and P mainly originated from natural sources and Cd and Pb are mostly derived from anthropogenic sources. The results showed that these metals in soil were ranked by severity of ecological risk as Pb > Cd > Cu > Cr > Zn, based on their single-element indexes. In view of the potential ecological risk (RI, soils from all soil samples showed a potential ecological risk. These results will provide basic information for the improvement of soil environment management and heavy metal pollution prevention in Ait Ammar.

Ecological and evolutionary dynamics of a model facultative pathogen: Agrobacterium and crown gall disease of plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Barton, Ian S; Fuqua, Clay; Platt, Thomas G

2018-01-01

Many important pathogens maintain significant populations in highly disparate disease and non-disease environments. The consequences of this environmental heterogeneity in shaping the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of these facultative pathogens are incompletely understood. Agrobacterium tumefaciens, the causative agent for crown gall disease of plants has proven a productive model for many aspects of interactions between pathogens and their hosts and with other microbes. In this review, we highlight how this past work provides valuable context for the use of this system to examine how heterogeneity and transitions between disease and non-disease environments influence the ecology and evolution of facultative pathogens. We focus on several features common among facultative pathogens, such as the physiological remodelling required to colonize hosts from environmental reservoirs and the consequences of competition with host and non-host associated microbiota. In addition, we discuss how the life history of facultative pathogens likely often results in ecological tradeoffs associated with performance in disease and non-disease environments. These pathogens may therefore have different competitive dynamics in disease and non-disease environments and are subject to shifting selective pressures that can result in pathoadaptation or the within-host spread of avirulent phenotypes. © 2017 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ecological risk assessment of cheese whey effluents along a medium-sized river in southwest Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Karadima, Constantina; Theodoropoulos, Chris; Rouvalis, Angela; Iliopoulou-Georgudaki, Joan

2010-01-01

An ecological risk assessment of cheese whey effluents was applied in three critical sampling sites located in Vouraikos river (southwest Greece), while ecological classification using Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EU criteria allowed a direct comparison of toxicological and ecological data. Two invertebrates (Daphnia magna and Thamnocephalus platyurus) and the zebra fish Danio rerio were used for toxicological analyses, while the aquatic risk was calculated on the basis of the risk quotient (RQ = PEC/PNEC). Chemical classification of sites was carried out using the Nutrient Classification System, while benthic invertebrates were collected and analyzed for biological classification. Toxicological results revealed the heavy pollution load of the two sites, nearest to the point pollution source, as the PEC/PNEC ratio exceeded 1.0, while unexpectedly, no risk was detected for the most downstream site, due to the consequent interference of the riparian flora. These toxicological results were in agreement with the ecological analysis: the ecological quality of the two heavily impacted sites ranged from moderate to bad, whereas it was found good for the most downstream site. The results of the study indicate major ecological risk for almost 15 km downstream of the point pollution source and the potentiality of the water quality remediation by the riparian vegetation, proving the significance of its maintenance.

[Regional ecological planning and ecological network construction: a case study of "Ji Triangle" Region].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Bo; Han, Zeng-Lin; Tong, Lian-Jun

2009-05-01

By the methods of in situ investigation and regional ecological planning, the present ecological environment, ecosystem vulnerability, and ecological environment sensitivity in "Ji Triangle" Region were analyzed, and the ecological network of the study area was constructed. According to the ecological resources abundance degree, ecological recovery, farmland windbreak system, environmental carrying capacity, forestry foundation, and ecosystem integrity, the study area was classified into three regional ecological function ecosystems, i. e., east low hill ecosystem, middle plain ecosystem, and west plain wetland ecosystem. On the basis of marking regional ecological nodes, the regional ecological corridor (Haerbin-Dalian regional axis, Changchun-Jilin, Changchun-Songyuan, Jilin-Songyuan, Jilin-Siping, and Songyuan-Siping transportation corridor) and regional ecological network (one ring, three links, and three belts) were constructed. Taking the requests of regional ecological security into consideration, the ecological environment security system of "Ji Triangle" Region, including regional ecological conservation district, regional ecological restored district, and regional ecological management district, was built.

Civic Ecology: A Postmodern Approach to Ecological Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, V. L.

2013-12-01

Human agency is transforming the planetary processes at unprecedented rates risking damaging essential life-support systems. Climate change, massive species extinction, land degradation, resources depletion, overpopulation, poverty and social injustice are all the result of human choices and non-sustainable ways of life. The survival of our modern economic systems depends upon insatiable consumption - a simple way of life no longer satisfies most people. Detached, instrumental rationality has created an ideal of liberalism based on individual pursuit of self-interest, leading the way into unprecedented material progress but bringing with it human alienation, social injustice, and ecological degradation. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce a community-based systems response to a growing sense that the interlocked social-ecological crisis is as much a problem of human thought and behavior as it is about identifying carrying capacities and CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. This approach, referred to here as civic ecology, presents a new and important paradigm shift in sustainability practice that attempts to bring together and integrate ecological ideas and postmodern thinking. As such, it is as much a holistic, dynamic, and synergistic approach to ecological sustainability, as it is a philosophy of life and ethical perspective born of ecological understanding and insight. Civic ecology starts with the proposition that the key factor determining the health of the ecosphere is the behavior of human beings, and therefore many of the most important issues related to sustainability lie in the areas of human thought and culture. Thus, the quest for sustainability must include as a central concern the transformation of psychological and behavioral patterns that have become an imminent danger to planetary health. At the core of this understanding is a fundamental paradigm shift from the basic commitments of modern Western culture to its model of mechanism

Mechanisms and ecological consequences of plant defence induction and suppression in herbivore communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kant, M R; Jonckheere, W; Knegt, B; Lemos, F; Liu, J; Schimmel, B C J; Villarroel, C A; Ataide, L M S; Dermauw, W; Glas, J J; Egas, M; Janssen, A; Van Leeuwen, T; Schuurink, R C; Sabelis, M W; Alba, J M

2015-06-01

Plants are hotbeds for parasites such as arthropod herbivores, which acquire nutrients and energy from their hosts in order to grow and reproduce. Hence plants are selected to evolve resistance, which in turn selects for herbivores that can cope with this resistance. To preserve their fitness when attacked by herbivores, plants can employ complex strategies that include reallocation of resources and the production of defensive metabolites and structures. Plant defences can be either prefabricated or be produced only upon attack. Those that are ready-made are referred to as constitutive defences. Some constitutive defences are operational at any time while others require activation. Defences produced only when herbivores are present are referred to as induced defences. These can be established via de novo biosynthesis of defensive substances or via modifications of prefabricated substances and consequently these are active only when needed. Inducibility of defence may serve to save energy and to prevent self-intoxication but also implies that there is a delay in these defences becoming operational. Induced defences can be characterized by alterations in plant morphology and molecular chemistry and are associated with a decrease in herbivore performance. These alterations are set in motion by signals generated by herbivores. Finally, a subset of induced metabolites are released into the air as volatiles and function as a beacon for foraging natural enemies searching for prey, and this is referred to as induced indirect defence. The objective of this review is to evaluate (1) which strategies plants have evolved to cope with herbivores and (2) which traits herbivores have evolved that enable them to counter these defences. The primary focus is on the induction and suppression of plant defences and the review outlines how the palette of traits that determine induction/suppression of, and resistance/susceptibility of herbivores to, plant defences can give rise to

Introduction to the Special Volume on "Ecology and Ecological Modeling in R"

OpenAIRE

Kneib, Thomas; Petzoldt, Thomas

2007-01-01

The third special volume in the "Foometrics in R" series of the Journal of Statistical Software collects a number of contributions describing statistical methodology and corresponding implementations related to ecology and ecological modelling. The scope of the papers ranges from theoretical ecology and ecological modelling to statistical methodology relevant for data analyses in ecological applications.

Environmental consequences of nuclear war

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harwell, M.A.; Hutchinson, T.C.; Cropper, W.P. Jr.; Harwell, C.C.; Grover, H.D.

1989-01-01

This book addresses the ecological, agricultural, and human effects of nuclear war. The topics covered include: Ecological principles relevant to nuclear war; Vulnerability of ecological systems to climatic effects on nuclear war; Additional potential effects of nuclear war on ecological systems; Potential effects of nuclear war on agricultural productivity; Food availability after nuclear war; and Experiences and extrapolations from Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Red swamp crayfish: biology, ecology and invasion - an overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tainã Gonçalves Loureiro

Full Text Available ABSTRACTAlien species have been transported and traded by humans for many centuries. However, with the era of globalization, biological invasions have reached notable magnitudes. Currently, introduction of alien species is one of the major threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. The North American crayfish Procambarus clarkii is one of the most widely introduced freshwater species in the world, especially due to its high economic importance. It is responsible for great modifications in invaded environments causing irreparable ecological and economic damages. Its impressive ability to successfully colonize a wide range of environments is a consequence of its behavioural and biological characteristics that can adapt to features of the invaded location, conferring to this species a notable ecological plasticity. This review summarizes the available information regarding P. clarkii's biology and invasive dynamics around the world in order to contribute to the understanding of the threats posed by its establishment, as well as to support management and impact mitigation efforts.

Morphological evolution, ecological diversification and climate change in rodents.

Science.gov (United States)

Renaud, Sabrina; Michaux, Jacques; Schmidt, Daniela N; Aguilar, Jean-Pierre; Mein, Pierre; Auffray, Jean-Christophe

2005-03-22

Among rodents, the lineage from Progonomys hispanicus to Stephanomys documents a case of increasing size and dental specialization during an approximately 9 Myr time-interval. On the contrary, some contemporaneous generalist lineages like Apodemus show a limited morphological evolution. Dental shape can be related to diet and can be used to assess the ecological changes along the lineages. Consequently, size and shape of the first upper molar were measured in order to quantify the patterns of morphological evolution along both lineages and compare them to environmental trends. Climatic changes do not have a direct influence on evolution, but they open new ecological opportunities by changing vegetation and allow the evolution of a specialist like Stephanomys. On the other hand, environmental changes are not dramatic enough to destroy the habitat of a long-term generalist like Apodemus. Hence, our results exemplify a case of an influence of climate on the evolution of specialist species, although a generalist species may persist without change.

Adequate data of known accuracy are critical to advancing the field of landscape ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Louis R. Iverson

2007-01-01

The science of landscape ecology is especially dependent on high-quality data because often it focuses on broad-scale patterns and processes and deals in the long term. Likewise, high quality data are necessary as the basis for building policy. When issues, such as climate change, can induce international political and economic consequences, it becomes clear that...

[Ecological carrying capacity and Chongming Island's ecological construction].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Kaiyun; Zou, Chunjing; Kong, Zhenghong; Wang, Tianhou; Chen, Xiaoyong

2005-12-01

This paper overviewed the goals of Chongming Island's ecological construction and its background, analyzed the current eco-economic status and constraints of the Island, and put forward some scientific issues on its ecological construction. It was suggested that for the resources-saving and sustainable development of the Island, the researches on its ecological construction should be based on its ecological carrying capacity, fully take the regional characteristics into consideration, and refer the successful development modes at home and abroad. The carrying capacity study should ground on systemic and dynamic views, give a thorough evaluation of the Island's present carrying capacity, simulate its possible changes, and forecast its demands and risks. Operable countermeasures to promote the Island's carrying capacity should be worked out, new industry structure, population scale, and optimized distribution projects conforming to regional carrying capacity should be formulated, and effective ecological security alarming and control system should be built, with the aim of providing suggestions and strategic evidences for the decision-making of economic development and sustainable environmental resources use of the region.

Philosophy of ecology

CERN Document Server

Brown, Bryson; Peacock, Kent A

2011-01-01

The most pressing problems facing humanity today - over-population, energy shortages, climate change, soil erosion, species extinctions, the risk of epidemic disease, the threat of warfare that could destroy all the hard-won gains of civilization, and even the recent fibrillations of the stock market - are all ecological or have a large ecological component. in this volume philosophers turn their attention to understanding the science of ecology and its huge implications for the human project. To get the application of ecology to policy or other practical concerns right, humanity needs a clear and disinterested philosophical understanding of ecology which can help identify the practical lessons of science. Conversely, the urgent practical demands humanity faces today cannot help but direct scientific and philosophical investigation toward the basis of those ecological challenges that threaten human survival. This book will help to fuel the timely renaissance of interest in philosophy of ecology that is now oc...

High frequency of functional extinctions in ecological networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Säterberg, Torbjörn; Sellman, Stefan; Ebenman, Bo

2013-07-25

Intensified exploitation of natural populations and habitats has led to increased mortality rates and decreased abundances of many species. There is a growing concern that this might cause critical abundance thresholds of species to be crossed, with extinction cascades and state shifts in ecosystems as a consequence. When increased mortality rate and decreased abundance of a given species lead to extinction of other species, this species can be characterized as functionally extinct even though it still exists. Although such functional extinctions have been observed in some ecosystems, their frequency is largely unknown. Here we use a new modelling approach to explore the frequency and pattern of functional extinctions in ecological networks. Specifically, we analytically derive critical abundance thresholds of species by increasing their mortality rates until an extinction occurs in the network. Applying this approach on natural and theoretical food webs, we show that the species most likely to go extinct first is not the one whose mortality rate is increased but instead another species. Indeed, up to 80% of all first extinctions are of another species, suggesting that a species' ecological functionality is often lost before its own existence is threatened. Furthermore, we find that large-bodied species at the top of the food chains can only be exposed to small increases in mortality rate and small decreases in abundance before going functionally extinct compared to small-bodied species lower in the food chains. These results illustrate the potential importance of functional extinctions in ecological networks and lend strong support to arguments advocating a more community-oriented approach in conservation biology, with target levels for populations based on ecological functionality rather than on mere persistence.

An empirical model of the Baltic Sea reveals the importance of social dynamics for ecological regime shifts.

Science.gov (United States)

Lade, Steven J; Niiranen, Susa; Hentati-Sundberg, Jonas; Blenckner, Thorsten; Boonstra, Wiebren J; Orach, Kirill; Quaas, Martin F; Österblom, Henrik; Schlüter, Maja

2015-09-01

Regime shifts triggered by human activities and environmental changes have led to significant ecological and socioeconomic consequences in marine and terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. Ecological processes and feedbacks associated with regime shifts have received considerable attention, but human individual and collective behavior is rarely treated as an integrated component of such shifts. Here, we used generalized modeling to develop a coupled social-ecological model that integrated rich social and ecological data to investigate the role of social dynamics in the 1980s Baltic Sea cod boom and collapse. We showed that psychological, economic, and regulatory aspects of fisher decision making, in addition to ecological interactions, contributed both to the temporary persistence of the cod boom and to its subsequent collapse. These features of the social-ecological system also would have limited the effectiveness of stronger fishery regulations. Our results provide quantitative, empirical evidence that incorporating social dynamics into models of natural resources is critical for understanding how resources can be managed sustainably. We also show that generalized modeling, which is well-suited to collaborative model development and does not require detailed specification of causal relationships between system variables, can help tackle the complexities involved in creating and analyzing social-ecological models.

Ecological and general systems an introduction to systems ecology

CERN Document Server

Odum, Howard T.

1994-01-01

Using an energy systems language that combines energetics, kinetics, information, cybernetics, and simulation, Ecological and General Systems compares models of many fields of science, helping to derive general systems principles. First published as Systems Ecology in 1983, Ecological and General Systems proposes principles of self-organization and the designs that prevail by maximizing power and efficiency. Comparisons to fifty other systems languages are provided. Innovative presentations are given on earth homeostasis (Gaia); the inadequacy of presenting equations without network relationships and energy constraints; the alternative interpretation of high entropy complexity as adaptive structure; basic equations of ecological economics; and the energy basis of scientific hierarchy.

Ecology of the North Sea: Problems, successes, failures, future needs

Science.gov (United States)

Kinne, O.

1995-03-01

After defining ‘ecology’, outlining the basic categories of ecological research and listing examples of modern ecological investigations, this introductory paper focusses on basic considerations; it is, in essence, a programmatic contribution. Research details on the ecology of the North Sea are the subject of the following papers. The problems of ecological North Sea research are formidable. Hydrological and biological fluctuations and variabilities are pronounced. Exchange patterns with the Atlantic are complex, and the inputs of rivers and rain defy exact measurement and prediction. Season, weather, climate—and as yet insufficiently known and controlled human-caused impacts—further complicate the situation. All this results in an unusually high degree of uncertainty. New questions and problems arise before the old ones can be answered or solved. Nevertheless, ecological North Sea research has achieved many successes. The North Sea is the most intensively investigated sea area on our planet. Generations of zoologists, botanists and hydrographers — and more recently microbiologists, meteorologists, climatologists, chemists, pathologists and toxicologists — have produced an impressive body of knowledge. Slowly we are beginning to understand the forces that govern energy budgets and balances, material fluxes, and the factors that control and direct ecosystem dynamics. Essential driving forces of ecosystem dynamics result from microbial, especially bacterial, activities. Ecological modelling has paved the way for new theories and insights, and holds promise for progress towards a predictive ecology. Failures and shortcomings include insufficient long-term research, inadequately designed experiments, and misconceptions in environmental protection. Net changes in ecological processes of an heterogeneous and intensely varying environment such as the North Sea can only be comprehended adequately against the background of sustained measurements over decades

Evolutionary ecology of the interactions between aphids and their parasitoids.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Ralec, Anne; Anselme, Caroline; Outreman, Yannick; Poirié, Marylène; van Baaren, Joan; Le Lann, Cécile; van Alphen, Jacques J-M

2010-01-01

Many organisms, including entomopathogenous fungi, predators or parasites, use aphids as ressources. Parasites of aphids are mostly endoparasitoid insects, i.e. insects which lay eggs inside the body of an other insect which will die as a result of their development. In this article, we review the consequences of the numerous pecularities of aphid biology and ecology for their endoparasitoids, notably the Aphidiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). We first examine the various mechanisms used by aphids for defence against these enemies. We then explore the strategies used by aphidiine parasitoids to exploit their aphid hosts. Finally, we consider the responses of both aphids and parasitoids to ecological constraints induced by seasonal cycles and to environmental variations linked to host plants and climate. The fundamental and applied interest of studying these organisms is discussed. Copyright 2010 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Simulating ecological changes caused by marine energy devices

Science.gov (United States)

Schuchert, Pia; Elsaesser, Bjoern; Pritchard, Daniel; Kregting, Louise

2015-04-01

Marine renewable energy from wave and tidal technology has the potential to contribute significantly globally to energy security for future generations. However common to both tidal and wave energy extraction systems is concern regarding the potential environmental consequences of the deployment of the technology as environmental and ecological effects are so far poorly understood. Ecological surveys and studies to investigate the environmental impacts are time consuming and costly and are generally reactive; a more efficient approach is to develop 2 and 3D linked hydrodynamic-ecological modelling which has the potential to be proactive and to allow forecasting of the effects of array installation. The objective of the study was to explore tools which can help model and evaluate possible far- and near field changes in the environment and ecosystem caused by the introduction of arrays of marine energy devices. Using the commercial software, MIKE by DHI, we can predict and model possible changes in the ecosystem. MIKE21 and ECOLab modelling software provide the opportunity to couple high level hydrodynamic models with process based ecological models and/or agent based models (ABM). The flow solutions of the model were determined in an idealised tidal basin with the dimensions similar to that of Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, a body of water renowned for the location of the first grid-connected tidal turbine, SeaGen. In the first instance a simple process oriented ecological NPZD model was developed which are used to model marine and freshwater systems describing four state variables, Nutrient, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton and Detritus. The ecological model was run and evaluated under two hydrodynamic scenarios of the idealised basin. This included no tidal turbines (control) and an array of 55 turbines, an extreme scenario. Whilst an array of turbines has an effect on the hydrodynamics of the Lough, it is unlikely to see an extreme effect on the NPZD model

Valuation of ecological impacts - a regional approach using the ecological footprint concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knaus, Michael; Loehr, Dirk; O'Regan, Bernadette

2006-01-01

All economic activities impact on the environment but not all environmental impacts are assigned values and taken into consideration in development budgets. At project level, the environmental consequences of proposed economic activities have to be evaluated by conducting an environmental impact assessment. Threshold levels in physical terms are outlined in corresponding laws and regulations. Projects fulfilling the necessary environmental assessment requirements (threshold levels) tend to be permitted without predicting the expected environmental impacts in monetary terms. The economic valuation of environmental impacts tends to be affected by uncertainties. The following example of indirect monetary valuation of environmental impacts uses the Ecological Footprint (EF) concept to calculate the total land use of projects. According to the strong sustainability concept it is assumed that every additional direct or indirect utilisation of land caused by a project requires corresponding offset areas. The offset areas required by different project alternatives are valued with relevant regional guide land values

The evolutionary ecology of molecular replicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Nee, Sean

2016-08-01

By reasonable criteria, life on the Earth consists mainly of molecular replicators. These include viruses, transposons, transpovirons, coviruses and many more, with continuous new discoveries like Sputnik Virophage. Their study is inherently multidisciplinary, spanning microbiology, genetics, immunology and evolutionary theory, and the current view is that taking a unified approach has great power and promise. We support this with a new, unified, model of their evolutionary ecology, using contemporary evolutionary theory coupling the Price equation with game theory, studying the consequences of the molecular replicators' promiscuous use of each others' gene products for their natural history and evolutionary ecology. Even at this simple expository level, we can make a firm prediction of a new class of replicators exploiting viruses such as lentiviruses like SIVs, a family which includes HIV: these have been explicitly stated in the primary literature to be non-existent. Closely connected to this departure is the view that multicellular organism immunology is more about the management of chronic infections rather than the elimination of acute ones and new understandings emerging are changing our view of the kind of theatre we ourselves provide for the evolutionary play of molecular replicators. This study adds molecular replicators to bacteria in the emerging field of sociomicrobiology.

Ecological succession as an energy dispersal process.

Science.gov (United States)

Würtz, Peter; Annila, Arto

2010-04-01

Ecological succession is described by the 2nd law of thermodynamics. According to the universal law of the maximal energy dispersal, an ecosystem evolves toward a stationary state in its surroundings by consuming free energy via diverse mechanisms. Species are the mechanisms that conduct energy down along gradients between repositories of energy which consist of populations at various thermodynamic levels. The salient characteristics of succession, growing biomass production, increasing species richness and shifting distributions of species are found as consequences of the universal quest to diminish energy density differences in least time. The analysis reveals that during succession the ecosystem's energy transduction network, i.e., the food web organizes increasingly more effective in the free energy reduction by acquiring new, more effective and abandoning old, less effective species of energy transduction. The number of species does not necessarily peak at the climax state that corresponds to the maximum-entropy partition of species maximizing consumption of free energy. According to the theory of evolution by natural selection founded on statistical physics of open systems, ecological succession is one among many other evolutionary processes. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

CO2 leakage alters biogeochemical and ecological functions of submarine sands

Science.gov (United States)

Molari, Massimiliano; Guilini, Katja; Lott, Christian; Weber, Miriam; de Beer, Dirk; Meyer, Stefanie; Ramette, Alban; Wegener, Gunter; Wenzhöfer, Frank; Martin, Daniel; Cibic, Tamara; De Vittor, Cinzia; Vanreusel, Ann; Boetius, Antje

2018-01-01

Subseabed CO2 storage is considered a future climate change mitigation technology. We investigated the ecological consequences of CO2 leakage for a marine benthic ecosystem. For the first time with a multidisciplinary integrated study, we tested hypotheses derived from a meta-analysis of previous experimental and in situ high-CO2 impact studies. For this, we compared ecological functions of naturally CO2-vented seafloor off the Mediterranean island Panarea (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) to those of nonvented sands, with a focus on biogeochemical processes and microbial and faunal community composition. High CO2 fluxes (up to 4 to 7 mol CO2 m−2 hour−1) dissolved all sedimentary carbonate, and comigration of silicate and iron led to local increases of microphytobenthos productivity (+450%) and standing stocks (+300%). Despite the higher food availability, faunal biomass (−80%) and trophic diversity were substantially lower compared to those at the reference site. Bacterial communities were also structurally and functionally affected, most notably in the composition of heterotrophs and microbial sulfate reduction rates (−90%). The observed ecological effects of CO2 leakage on submarine sands were reproduced with medium-term transplant experiments. This study assesses indicators of environmental impact by CO2 leakage and finds that community compositions and important ecological functions are permanently altered under high CO2. PMID:29441359

Ecological rationality: a framework for understanding and aiding the aging decision maker.

Science.gov (United States)

Mata, Rui; Pachur, Thorsten; von Helversen, Bettina; Hertwig, Ralph; Rieskamp, Jörg; Schooler, Lael

2012-01-01

The notion of ecological rationality sees human rationality as the result of the adaptive fit between the human mind and the environment. Ecological rationality focuses the study of decision making on two key questions: First, what are the environmental regularities to which people's decision strategies are matched, and how frequently do these regularities occur in natural environments? Second, how well can people adapt their use of specific strategies to particular environmental regularities? Research on aging suggests a number of changes in cognitive function, for instance, deficits in learning and memory that may impact decision-making skills. However, it has been shown that simple strategies can work well in many natural environments, which suggests that age-related deficits in strategy use may not necessarily translate into reduced decision quality. Consequently, we argue that predictions about the impact of aging on decision performance depend not only on how aging affects decision-relevant capacities but also on the decision environment in which decisions are made. In sum, we propose that the concept of the ecological rationality is crucial to understanding and aiding the aging decision maker.

Ecological security pattern construction based on ecological protection redlines in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Changxin

2017-04-01

China is facing huge environmental problems with its current rapid rate of urbanization and industrialization, thus causing biodiversity loss, ecosystem service degradation on a major scale. Against this background, three previous examples (the nature reserve policy, the afforestation policy, and the zoning policy) are implemented in China. These all play important roles in protecting natural ecosystems, although they can sometimes cause new problems and lack rigorous targets for environmental outcomes. To overcome current management conflicts, China has proposed a new "ecological protection redlines" policy (EPR). EPR can be defined as the ecological baseline area needed to provide ecosystem services to guarantee and maintain ecological safety. This study analyzed the scope, objectives and technical methods of delineating EPR in China, and put forward the proposed scheme for the ecological security pattern based on EPR. We constructed three kinds of redlines in China, including key ecological function area redlines, ecological sensitive or fragile areas redlines, and forbidden development areas redlines. For the key ecological function area redlines, a total of 38 water conservation functional zones have been designated, covering a total area of 3.23 million km2; 14 soil conservation zones have been designated, covering a total area of 881700 km2; wind-prevention and sand-fixation zones across the country cover a total area of about 1.73 million km2, accounting for 57.13% of the total land area of the whole country. With respect to the ecologically vulnerable redlines, 18 ecologically vulnerable zones has been designated across the country, covering 2.19 million km2, accounting for 22.86% of the total land area of the whole country. Forbidden development areas redlines covered a total area of 3.29 million km2, accounting for 34.3% of the total land area of the whole country. We also suggest to form a complete ecological security pattern including patterns of

Ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalusche, D.

1978-01-01

The book turns to the freshment, the teacher, for preparation of ecological topics for lessons, but also to pupils of the secondary stage II, and the main course ecology. The book was knowingly held simple with the restriction to: the ecosystem and its abiotic basic functions, simple articles on population biology, bioceonotic balance ith the questions of niche formation and the life form types coherent with it, of the substance and energy household, the production biology and space-wise and time-wise differentations within an ecological system form the main points. A central role in the volume is given to the illustrations. Their variety is to show and deepen the coherences shown. (orig./HP) [de

Ecological risk assessment of hydropower dam construction based on ecological network analysis

OpenAIRE

Chen, Shaoqing; Fath, Brian D.; Chen, Bin

2010-01-01

Dam construction is regarded as one of the major factors contributing to significant modifications of the river ecosystems, and the ecological risk (ER) assessment of dam construction has received growing attention in recent years. In the present study, we explored the potential ecological risk caused by dam project based on the general principles of the ecological risk assessment. Ecological network analysis was proposed as the usable analytic method for the implement of ecological risk asse...

Climate change on Twitter: Content, media ecology and information sharing behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Veltri, Giuseppe A; Atanasova, Dimitrinka

2017-08-01

This article presents a study of the content, use of sources and information sharing about climate change analysing over 60,000 tweets collected using a random week sample. We discuss the potential for studying Twitter as a communicative space that is rich in different types of information and presents both new challenges and opportunities. Our analysis combines automatic thematic analysis, semantic network analysis and text classification according to psychological process categories. We also consider the media ecology of tweets and the external web links that users shared. In terms of content, the network of topics uncovered presents a multidimensional discourse that accounts for complex causal links between climate change and its consequences. The media ecology analysis revealed a narrow set of sources with a major role played by traditional media and that emotionally arousing text was more likely to be shared.

Phenological and ecological consequences of changes in winter snowpack in the Colorado Rocky Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Inouye, D. W.; McKinney, A. M.

2012-12-01

The date the snowpack disappears in spring is an important seasonal event at high altitudes because it determines the beginning of the growing season, which in turn influences the phenology of plant growth and flowering, and thus the availability of these resources for animal consumers. At our study site at 2,900m in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, snowmelt now averages two weeks earlier than in 1975. Earlier snowmelt results from a combination of lower snowfall (38 cm less since 1975), dust storms (increasing in frequency, which reduces the snowpack albedo), and warmer spring temperatures (April minimum temperature has increased 3.1°C since 1973; 2012 April mean temperature was 3.4°C above the 38-year mean). There is also a trend of increasing annual precipitation falling as rain instead of snow. We have monitored flowering phenology and abundance for about 100 species of plants in permanent plots since 1973, and use this record to look at how the change in timing of snowmelt has affected flowering. There is significant variation among years in flowering phenology (e.g., about six weeks difference between 2011 and 2012), with a mid-season decline in flowering abundance becoming apparent as the growing season starts earlier. The date of the last hard frost has not been changing in concert with the earlier growing season, with the consequence that many species now have flower buds developed that are then damaged or killed by frost. In 2012, snowmelt date was 23 April, and frost events on 27 May (-11.7°C) and 11 June (-5.6°C) did significant damage to vegetation of some species and to flower buds of many species. For example, flower abundance of the aspen sunflower Helianthella quinquenervis was 0.002% of 2011's flowering. In the absence of seed production, the demography of some plant species is likely being affected. Some animal species are also being affected by the changes in length and temperature of winter. New

An examination of the consequences in high consequence operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spray, S.D.; Cooper, J.A.

1996-06-01

Traditional definitions of risk partition concern into the probability of occurrence and the consequence of the event. Most safety analyses focus on probabilistic assessment of an occurrence and the amount of some measurable result of the event, but the real meaning of the ``consequence`` partition is usually afforded less attention. In particular, acceptable social consequence (consequence accepted by the public) frequently differs significantly from the metrics commonly proposed by risk analysts. This paper addresses some of the important system development issues associated with consequences, focusing on ``high consequence operations safety.``

An approach for a complex assessment of the geo-ecological risk from natural disasters in a geographic region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zlateva, Plamena; Stoyanov, Krasimir

2009-01-01

The paper proposes an approach for a complex assessment of the geo-ecological risk of a certain geographic region on the basis of quantitative and qualitative datum about the potential natural disasters. A fuzzy logic model is designed. The type of the threats, consequences and interdependencies between infrastructure objects are taken into account. The geographic region is considered as a complex system of interconnected and mutually influencing elements. The expected damages are directly and/or indirectly connected with life quality deterioration. Keywords: Risk, Geo-ecological risk, Damages, Threats, Vulnerabilities, Natural disasters

[Applied ecology: retrospect and prospect].

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xingyuan; Zeng, Dehui

2004-10-01

Applied ecology is evolved into a principal part of modern ecology that rapidly develops. The major stimulus for the development of applied ecology roots in seeking the solutions for the problems of human populations, resources and environments. Through four decades, the science of applied ecology has been becoming a huge group of disciplines. The future for the applied ecology should concern more with human-influenced and managed ecosystems, and acknowledge humans as the components of ecosystems. Nowadays and in future, the top-priorities in applied ecology should include following fields: sustainable ecosystems and biosphere, ecosystem services and ecological design, ecological assessment of genetically modified organisms, ecology of biological invasions, epidemical ecology, ecological forecasting, ecological process and its control. The authors believe that the comprehensive and active research hotspots coupled some new traits would occur around these fields in foreseeable future.

Annual report of ecological research at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-09-01

This report summarizes research conducted at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) during the annual period ending August 1, 1984. SREL is a regional research facility at the Savannah River Plant operated by the University of Georgia through a contract with the Department of Energy. It is part of the University of Georgia's Institute of Ecology. The overall goal of the research is to develop an understanding of the impact of various energy technologies and management practices on the ecosystems of the southeastern United States. SREL research is conducted by interdisciplinary research teams organized under three major divisions: (1) Biogeochemical Ecology, (2) Wetlands Ecology, and (3) Stress and Wildlife Ecology

Radioecological and dosimetric consequences of the Chernobyl accident in France; Consequences radioecologiques et dosimetriques de l'accident de Tchernobyl en France

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Renaud, Ph; Beaugelin, K; Maubert, H; Ledenvic, Ph [Inst. de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire, CEA Centre d' Etudes de Fontenay-aux-Roses, 92 (France)

1997-11-01

This study has as objective a survey of the radioecological and dosimetric consequences of the Chernobyl accident in France, as well as a prognosis for the years to come. It was requested by the Direction of Nuclear Installation Safety (DSIN) in relation to different organisms which effected measurements after this accident. It is based on the use of combined results of measurements and modelling by means of the code ASTRAL developed at IPSN. Various measurements obtained from five authorities and institutions, were made available, such as: activity of air and water, soil, processed food, agricultural and natural products. However, to achieve the survey still a modelling is needed. ASTRAL is a code for evaluating the ecological consequences of an accident. It allows establishing the correspondence between the soil Remnant Surface Activities (RSA, in Bq.m{sup -2}), the activity concentration of the agricultural production and the individual and collective doses resulting from external and internal exposures (due to inhalation and ingestion of contaminated nurture). The results of principal synthesis documents on the Chernobyl accident and its consequences were also used. The report is structured in nine sections, as follows: 1.Introduction; 2.Objective and methodology; 3.Characterization of radioactive depositions; 4;Remnant surface activities; 5.Contamination of agricultural products and foods; 6.Contamination of natural, semi-natural products and of drinking water; 7.Dosimetric evaluations; 8.Proposals for the environmental surveillance; 9.Conclusion. Finally, after ten years, one concludes that at presentthe dosimetric consequences of the Chernobyl accident in France were rather limited. For the period 1986-2046 the average individual effective dose estimated for the most struck zone is lower than 1500 {mu}Sv, which represents almost 1% of the average natural exposure for the same period. At present, the cesium 137 levels are at often inferior to those recorded

Social-ecological dynamics of change and restoration attempts in the Chihuahuan Desert grasslands of Janos Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Shrub encroachment and grassland loss are widespread throughout the US-Mexico borderlands with negative consequences for production of livestock and ecosystem services. In this paper we detail the complex social and ecological phenomena associated with this pattern of degradation in a large area in ...

Remote Sensing Marine Ecology: Wind-driven algal blooms in the open oceans and their ecological impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, DanLing

2016-07-01

Algal bloom not only can increase the primary production but also could result in negative ecological consequence, e.g., Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). According to the classic theory for the formation of algal blooms "critical depth" and "eutrophication", oligotrophic sea area is usually difficult to form a large area of algal blooms, and actually the traditional observation is only sporadic capture to the existence of algal blooms. Taking full advantage of multiple data of satellite remote sensing, this study: 1), introduces "Wind-driven algal blooms in open oceans: observation and mechanisms" It explained except classic coastal Ekman transport, the wind through a variety of mechanisms affecting the formation of algal blooms. Proposed a conceptual model of "Strong wind -upwelling-nutrient-phytoplankton blooms" in Western South China Sea (SCS) to assess role of wind-induced advection transport in phytoplankton bloom formation. It illustrates the nutrient resources that support long-term offshore phytoplankton blooms in the western SCS; 2), Proposal of the theory that "typhoons cause vertical mixing, induce phytoplankton blooms", and quantify their important contribution to marine primary production; Proposal a new ecological index for typhoon. Proposed remote sensing inversion models. 3), Finding of the spatial and temporaldistributions pattern of harmful algal bloom (HAB)and species variations of HAB in the South Yellow Sea and East China Sea, and in the Pearl River estuary, and their oceanic dynamic mechanisms related with monsoon; The project developed new techniques and generated new knowledge, which significantly improved understanding of the formation mechanisms of algal blooms. 1), It proposed "wind-pump" mechanism integrates theoretical system combing "ocean dynamics, development of algal blooms, and impact on primary production", which will benefit fisheries management. 2), A new interdisciplinary subject "Remote Sensing Marine Ecology"(RSME) has been

Education in ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marek, R.

1993-01-01

It is not enough to convey knowledge, insights and attitudes if education in ecology is to have fruitful effects. Space and opportunity for action and creativity must be provided in addition. This includes personal consumer habits (eating, transport, hygiene, leisure activities etc.); an individual workplace - in this case school - that can be shaped according to ecological needs. Beyond this, ecological maturation should not be confined to, but should transcend school, for instance in youth groups, citizens' committees, political parties. If school does not inspire action - including action outside school -then education in ecology could be smothered by the Midas effect, where all life is reduced to material, to the curriculum in this case. This book presents ecological projects that have been tried at schools. They aim at an education in ecology that is oriented to the pupil and open to experience. They could be an incentive for colleagues to conduct similar projects at their schools. The projects work from the pupils' own experience and aim at concrete action and activities in his or her own environment. They should encourage teachers to venture outside the classroom with the pupils and teach ecology where it takes place. (orig.) [de

The ecological law and ecological human rights: to the question on necessity of formation

OpenAIRE

Khvorostov A. J.

2012-01-01

Necessity of the ecological law is determined by presence of ecological crisis and formed at formation of ecological function of the state. Ecological human rights and the citizen are natural human rights, however should be legally fixed and guaranteed by the state. The further functioning of a society is impossible without observance of norms of the ecological law and ecological human rights.

[Ecological memory and its potential applications in ecology: a review].

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Zhong-yu; Ren, Hai

2011-03-01

Ecological memory (EM) is defined as the capability of the past states or experiences of a community to influence the present or future ecological responses of the community. As a relatively new concept, EM has received considerable attention in the study of ecosystem structure and function, such as community succession, ecological restoration, biological invasion, and natural resource management. This review summarized the definition, components, and categories of EM, and discussed the possible mechanisms and affecting factors of EM. Also, the potential applications of EM were proposed, in order to further understand the mechanisms of community succession and to guide ecological restoration.

Ecology, equity and economics: reframing dryland policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hesse, Ced

2011-11-15

Drylands are among the world's most variable and unpredictable environments. But people here have long learnt how to live with and harness this variability to support sustainable and productive economies, societies and ecosystems. Policymakers have for too long ignored this wealth of experience and expertise with dire consequences. Attempts to replace traditional land use practices with modern techniques have simply exacerbated poverty, degradation and conflict. In the face of climate change and increasing uncertainty in the drylands, the need to reframe policy and practice has never been greater. The future must be built on sound scientific information, local knowledge, informed participation and the wisdom of customary institutions that emphasise social equity, ecological integrity and economic development.

Climate change forces new ecological states in tropical Andean lakes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neal Michelutti

Full Text Available Air temperatures in the tropical Andes have risen at an accelerated rate relative to the global average over recent decades. However, the effects of climate change on Andean lakes, which are vital to sustaining regional biodiversity and serve as an important water resource to local populations, remain largely unknown. Here, we show that recent climate changes have forced alpine lakes of the equatorial Andes towards new ecological and physical states, in close synchrony to the rapid shrinkage of glaciers regionally. Using dated sediment cores from three lakes in the southern Sierra of Ecuador, we record abrupt increases in the planktonic thalassiosiroid diatom Discostella stelligera from trace abundances to dominance within the phytoplankton. This unprecedented shift occurs against the backdrop of rising temperatures, changing atmospheric pressure fields, and declining wind speeds. Ecological restructuring in these lakes is linked to warming and/or enhanced water column stratification. In contrast to seasonally ice-covered Arctic and temperate alpine counterparts, aquatic production has not increased universally with warming, and has even declined in some lakes, possibly because enhanced thermal stability impedes the re-circulation of hypolimnetic nutrients to surface waters. Our results demonstrate that these lakes have already passed important ecological thresholds, with potentially far-reaching consequences for Andean water resources.

ECOLOGICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AS ONE OF THE MAIN PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGICAL POLICY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana O. Dushkova

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The article presents the concept of ecological consciousness and analyzes main features of its development and implementation in the environmental policy in European practice on the example of Germany. The study of German experience is conditioned by the fact that among the other developed countries of the world Germany is the leading country in its active work carried out at all levels of the environmental policy. It is shown that actions aimed at the development of ecological culture and environmental education of the civil society in Germany are of the same priority as the use of renewable energy, development of green technologies, etc. The article provides an overview of the most important publications devoted to the phenomenon of ecological consciousness and highlights different approaches to this definition. Based on the German experience, it defines the prerequisites, main roots and sources of ecological consciousness creation and the ways in which it can be involved in the regional programs on sustainable development and ecological policy. It analyzes the main practical approaches to the implementation of the principles of ecological consciousness in Germany as well as the role of environmental organizations in the realization of environmentally oriented activities. Therefore, it presents the main results of socio-ecological surveys conducted in Germany and Russia and gives their comparative analysis. It indicates possible ways to transfer the German experience in the Russian context to improve the ecological awareness of the Russian society and to arise its ecological activity in addressing environmental issues.

An introduction to complex systems society, ecology, and nonlinear dynamics

CERN Document Server

Fieguth, Paul

2017-01-01

This undergraduate text explores a variety of large-scale phenomena - global warming, ice ages, water, poverty - and uses these case studies as a motivation to explore nonlinear dynamics, power-law statistics, and complex systems. Although the detailed mathematical descriptions of these topics can be challenging, the consequences of a system being nonlinear, power-law, or complex are in fact quite accessible. This book blends a tutorial approach to the mathematical aspects of complex systems together with a complementary narrative on the global/ecological/societal implications of such systems. Nearly all engineering undergraduate courses focus on mathematics and systems which are small scale, linear, and Gaussian. Unfortunately there is not a single large-scale ecological or social phenomenon that is scalar, linear, and Gaussian. This book offers students insights to better understand the large-scale problems facing the world and to realize that these cannot be solved by a single, narrow academic field or per...

Early Warning Signals of Ecological Transitions: Methods for Spatial Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Brock, William A.; Carpenter, Stephen R.; Ellison, Aaron M.; Livina, Valerie N.; Seekell, David A.; Scheffer, Marten; van Nes, Egbert H.; Dakos, Vasilis

2014-01-01

A number of ecosystems can exhibit abrupt shifts between alternative stable states. Because of their important ecological and economic consequences, recent research has focused on devising early warning signals for anticipating such abrupt ecological transitions. In particular, theoretical studies show that changes in spatial characteristics of the system could provide early warnings of approaching transitions. However, the empirical validation of these indicators lag behind their theoretical developments. Here, we summarize a range of currently available spatial early warning signals, suggest potential null models to interpret their trends, and apply them to three simulated spatial data sets of systems undergoing an abrupt transition. In addition to providing a step-by-step methodology for applying these signals to spatial data sets, we propose a statistical toolbox that may be used to help detect approaching transitions in a wide range of spatial data. We hope that our methodology together with the computer codes will stimulate the application and testing of spatial early warning signals on real spatial data. PMID:24658137

Environmental Consequences of the Failure of the New Orleans Levee System During Hurricane Katrina; Microbiological Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

2007-06-01

composi- tion in the sediment of three Brazilian coastal lagoons – District of Macaé, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Annals of the Brazilian Academy of... Coastal Ecology Branch, Ecosystem Evaluation and Engi- neering Division, EL, was the ERDC point of contact for the environmental consequences work of...1986 recommendations. The amendment to the Clean Water Act known as the Beaches Environ- ment Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act required

Ecological interactions on macroevolutionary time scales: clams and brachiopods are more than ships that pass in the night.

Science.gov (United States)

Liow, Lee Hsiang; Reitan, Trond; Harnik, Paul G

2015-10-01

Competition among organisms has ecological and evolutionary consequences. However, whether the consequences of competition are manifested and measureable on macroevolutionary time scales is equivocal. Marine bivalves and brachiopods have overlapping niches such that competition for food and space may occur. Moreover, there is a long-standing debate over whether bivalves outcompeted brachiopods evolutionarily, because brachiopod diversity declined through time while bivalve diversity increased. To answer this question, we estimate the origination and extinction dynamics of fossil marine bivalve and brachiopod genera from the Ordovician through to the Recent while simultaneously accounting for incomplete sampling. Then, using stochastic differential equations, we assess statistical relationships among diversification and sampling dynamics of brachiopods and bivalves and five paleoenvironmental proxies. None of these potential environmental drivers had any detectable influence on brachiopod or bivalve diversification. In contrast, elevated bivalve extinction rates causally increased brachiopod origination rates, suggesting that bivalves have suppressed brachiopod evolution. © 2015 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by CNRS and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ecological palaeoecology: a missing link between ecology and evolution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rull, V.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Palaeoecology is more than a palaeoenvironmental discipline; it is a science that is well-suited for supplying the empirical evidence necessary to test ecological hypotheses and contributes to our understanding of the interface of ecology and evolution. A critical time frame in palaeoecology is the often-overlooked Q-time dimension (centuries to millennia, which tends to be the most appropriate time dimension to examine ecology–evolution interactions. This paper discusses these topics from a conceptual perspective and provides examples of the contributions of palaeoecology to the study of ecology–evolution interactions. It also admonishes researchers about the threats of overlooking palaeoecology. Specifically, this paper argues that the neglect of palaeoecology may result in the loss of empirical support for ecology and its interactions with evolution as DNA-based phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies become more and more prevalent. The main concepts discussed are the time continuum, the notion of ecological palaeoecology and the empirical nature of palaeoecology in the face of more hypothetical approaches. More practically speaking, several examples are provided that highlight the utility of ecological palaeoecology for understanding a variety of processes, including ecological succession, community– environment equilibria, community assembly, biotic responses to environmental change, speciation and extinction, and biodiversity conservation. The ecology–evolution interface is analysed using two processes in which these disciplines interact intensively: ecological succession and long-range migration. This work concludes that both ecological palaeoecology (including ancient DNA records and DNA-based phylogenetics and phylogeography are needed to better understand the biosphere ecologically and the processes occurring at the ecology–evolution interface.La paleoecología es más que una disciplina ambiental, ya que proporciona las

A hyper-temporal remote sensing protocol for high-resolution mapping of ecological sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Maynard, Jonathan J; Karl, Jason W

2017-01-01

Ecological site classification has emerged as a highly effective land management framework, but its utility at a regional scale has been limited due to the spatial ambiguity of ecological site locations in the U.S. or the absence of ecological site maps in other regions of the world. In response to these shortcomings, this study evaluated the use of hyper-temporal remote sensing (i.e., hundreds of images) for high spatial resolution mapping of ecological sites. We posit that hyper-temporal remote sensing can provide novel insights into the spatial variability of ecological sites by quantifying the temporal response of land surface spectral properties. This temporal response provides a spectral 'fingerprint' of the soil-vegetation-climate relationship which is central to the concept of ecological sites. Consequently, the main objective of this study was to predict the spatial distribution of ecological sites in a semi-arid rangeland using a 28-year time series of normalized difference vegetation index from Landsat TM 5 data and modeled using support vector machine classification. Results from this study show that support vector machine classification using hyper-temporal remote sensing imagery was effective in modeling ecological site classes, with a 62% correct classification. These results were compared to Gridded Soil Survey Geographic database and expert delineated maps of ecological sites which had a 51 and 89% correct classification, respectively. An analysis of the effects of ecological state on ecological site misclassifications revealed that sites in degraded states (e.g., shrub-dominated/shrubland and bare/annuals) had a higher rate of misclassification due to their close spectral similarity with other ecological sites. This study identified three important factors that need to be addressed to improve future model predictions: 1) sampling designs need to fully represent the range of both within class (i.e., states) and between class (i.e., ecological sites

INTEGRATING SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL ANALYSIS TO IMPROVE WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT IN THE U.S.: TESTING A NEW ORGANIZING APPROACH FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Science.gov (United States)

Conducting an integrated analysis to evaluate the societal and ecological consequences of environmental management actions requires decisions about data collection, theory development, modeling and valuation. Approaching these decisions in coordinated fashion necessitates a syste...

Landscape Ecological Analysis and Assessment in an Urbanising Environment - forest birds as biodiversity indicators

OpenAIRE

Mörtberg, Ulla

2004-01-01

To achieve a sustainable development, impacts onbiodiversity of urbanisation, infrastructure, land use changesand other developments must be considered on a landscape andregional scale. Landscape ecology can provide a conceptualframework for the assessment of consequences of long-termdevelopment processes like urbanisation on biodiversity on alandscape scale, and for evaluating the impacts of alternativeplanning scenarios. The aim of this study was to explore theeffects of habitat quality, qu...

Avoidance bio-assays may help to test the ecological significance of soil pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez Aldaya, Maite; Lors, Christine; Salmon, Sandrine; Ponge, Jean-Francois

2006-01-01

We measured the short-term (100 min) avoidance of a soil heavily polluted by hydrocarbons by the soil springtail Folsomia candida, at six rates of dilution in a control, unpolluted soil. We compared the results with those of long-term (40-day) population tests. Five strains were compared, of varying geographical and ecological origin. When pure, the polluted soil was lethal in the long-term and avoided in the short-term by all strains. Avoidance tests, but not population tests, were able to discriminate between strains. Avoidance thresholds differed among strains. Two ecological consequences of the results were discussed: (i) toxic compounds may kill soil animals or deprive them from food, resulting in death of populations, (ii) pollution spots can be locally deprived of fauna because of escape movements of soil animals. Advantages and limitations of the method have been listed, together with proposals for their wider use in soil ecology and ecotoxicology. - Polluted soils are avoided by soil animals, a phenomenon which can be used as a cheap, sensitive tool for the early detection of environmental risk

Modeling abundance using N-mixture models: the importance of considering ecological mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Liana N; Elkin, Ché; Martin, Tara G; Possinghami, Hugh P

2009-04-01

Predicting abundance across a species' distribution is useful for studies of ecology and biodiversity management. Modeling of survey data in relation to environmental variables can be a powerful method for extrapolating abundances across a species' distribution and, consequently, calculating total abundances and ultimately trends. Research in this area has demonstrated that models of abundance are often unstable and produce spurious estimates, and until recently our ability to remove detection error limited the development of accurate models. The N-mixture model accounts for detection and abundance simultaneously and has been a significant advance in abundance modeling. Case studies that have tested these new models have demonstrated success for some species, but doubt remains over the appropriateness of standard N-mixture models for many species. Here we develop the N-mixture model to accommodate zero-inflated data, a common occurrence in ecology, by employing zero-inflated count models. To our knowledge, this is the first application of this method to modeling count data. We use four variants of the N-mixture model (Poisson, zero-inflated Poisson, negative binomial, and zero-inflated negative binomial) to model abundance, occupancy (zero-inflated models only) and detection probability of six birds in South Australia. We assess models by their statistical fit and the ecological realism of the parameter estimates. Specifically, we assess the statistical fit with AIC and assess the ecological realism by comparing the parameter estimates with expected values derived from literature, ecological theory, and expert opinion. We demonstrate that, despite being frequently ranked the "best model" according to AIC, the negative binomial variants of the N-mixture often produce ecologically unrealistic parameter estimates. The zero-inflated Poisson variant is preferable to the negative binomial variants of the N-mixture, as it models an ecological mechanism rather than a

Defining acceptable levels for ecological indicators: an approach for considering social values.

Science.gov (United States)

Smyth, Robyn L; Watzin, Mary C; Manning, Robert E

2007-03-01

Ecological indicators can facilitate an adaptive management approach, but only if acceptable levels for those indicators have been defined so that the data collected can be interpreted. Because acceptable levels are an expression of the desired state of the ecosystem, the process of establishing acceptable levels should incorporate not just ecological understanding but also societal values. The goal of this research was to explore an approach for defining acceptable levels of ecological indicators that explicitly considers social perspectives and values. We used a set of eight indicators that were related to issues of concern in the Lake Champlain Basin. Our approach was based on normative theory. Using a stakeholder survey, we measured respondent normative evaluations of varying levels of our indicators. Aggregated social norm curves were used to determine the level at which indicator values shifted from acceptable to unacceptable conditions. For seven of the eight indicators, clear preferences were interpretable from these norm curves. For example, closures of public beaches because of bacterial contamination and days of intense algae bloom went from acceptable to unacceptable at 7-10 days in a summer season. Survey respondents also indicated that the number of fish caught from Lake Champlain that could be safely consumed each month was unacceptably low and the number of streams draining into the lake that were impaired by storm water was unacceptably high. If indicators that translate ecological conditions into social consequences are carefully selected, we believe the normative approach has considerable merit for defining acceptable levels of valued ecological system components.

ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURAL LAND IN THE REPUBLIC OF KALMYKIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. M. Borlikov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Aim The aim is to analyze the ecological, economic and social issues of land use and to define organizational and economic measures to improve its effectiveness. Methods. We used scientific methods: comparison, generalization, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, system methods etc., as well as specific scientific methods: economic and mathematical, statistical, expert assessments, and others. On the basis of these methods we have carried out ecological and geographical, ecological and economic analysis in historical perspective, evaluating the degree of the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors on the degradation of agricultural land and efficiency of land use in general. Thus it revealed that the main problems of land-use issues in Kalmykia and possible ways to resolve the problem. Results. Regional studies of ecological and economic problems of land use, the study of the historical experience of grazing industry, the assessment of the current state of arid areas have allowed developing mechanisms for land management and environmental protection, preventing negative social and economic consequences. Conclusions. The present state of agricultural land in the Republic of Kalmykia has led to a significant change in the direction of deterioration of fragile arid ecosystems, which explains the decrease in the total ecological and socio-economic effects, manifested in the reduction of all benefits received by the population. Solving the problems identified above requires an effective economic mechanism of rational land use and environmental protection in the arid zone, which includes science-based land-use regulations, an effective system of land management, a set of measures to prevent further degradation of natural ecosystems. 

Radioecological and dosimetric consequences of the Chernobyl accident in France; Consequences radioecologiques et dosimetriques de l'accident de Tchernobyl en France

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Renaud, Ph.; Beaugelin, K.; Maubert, H.; Ledenvic, Ph. [Inst. de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire, CEA Centre d' Etudes de Fontenay-aux-Roses, 92 (France)

1997-11-01

This study has as objective a survey of the radioecological and dosimetric consequences of the Chernobyl accident in France, as well as a prognosis for the years to come. It was requested by the Direction of Nuclear Installation Safety (DSIN) in relation to different organisms which effected measurements after this accident. It is based on the use of combined results of measurements and modelling by means of the code ASTRAL developed at IPSN. Various measurements obtained from five authorities and institutions, were made available, such as: activity of air and water, soil, processed food, agricultural and natural products. However, to achieve the survey still a modelling is needed. ASTRAL is a code for evaluating the ecological consequences of an accident. It allows establishing the correspondence between the soil Remnant Surface Activities (RSA, in Bq.m{sup -2}), the activity concentration of the agricultural production and the individual and collective doses resulting from external and internal exposures (due to inhalation and ingestion of contaminated nurture). The results of principal synthesis documents on the Chernobyl accident and its consequences were also used. The report is structured in nine sections, as follows: 1.Introduction; 2.Objective and methodology; 3.Characterization of radioactive depositions; 4;Remnant surface activities; 5.Contamination of agricultural products and foods; 6.Contamination of natural, semi-natural products and of drinking water; 7.Dosimetric evaluations; 8.Proposals for the environmental surveillance; 9.Conclusion. Finally, after ten years, one concludes that at presentthe dosimetric consequences of the Chernobyl accident in France were rather limited. For the period 1986-2046 the average individual effective dose estimated for the most struck zone is lower than 1500 {mu}Sv, which represents almost 1% of the average natural exposure for the same period. At present, the cesium 137 levels are at often inferior to those recorded

Ecological investigation of Alaskan resource development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanson, W.C.; Eberhardt, L.E.

1980-01-01

The objective is to provide an integrated program for the definition of ecological consequences of resource developments in northern Alaska. The qualitative and quantitative results obtained describe the environmental costs incurred by petroleum resource extraction and transportation, including interaction of wildlife populations with industrial activities. This section of the Annual Report presents information on impacted populations of arctic foxes, small mammals, and tundra-nesting birds in the Prudhoe Bay oil field and along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and haul road; findings from similar studies from the Colville River Delta and other unimpacted habitats; field experiments to determine the sensitivity of lichen communities of the Brooks Range to sulfur dioxide concentrations likely to be encountered near pipeline pumping stations; and amounts of worldwide-fallout radionuclides in the lichen-caribou-Eskimo food chain

Level and dynamics of internal dose from 137Cs and 90Sr formation in connection with ecological diversity of polluted agrogenoses of Ukraine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kravets, A.P.; Grodzinsky, D.M.; Pavlenko, Yu.A.

2004-01-01

The purpose of our calculations was estimation of quantitative influence of ecological diversity on levels and dynamics of internal doses formation from long-lived radionuclide such as 137 Cs and 90 Sr. Our estimations have radioecological nature that is they are based on registration of natural mechanisms of agricultural products pollution. It has been realized on the basis of three-module ecological model of assessment of radiological consequences (EMARC) of use of polluted agrocenoses

Ecological effects of alternative fuel-reduction treatments: highlights of the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS)

Science.gov (United States)

James D. McIver; Scott L. Stephens; James K. Agee; Jamie Barbour; Ralph E. J. Boerner; Carl B. Edminster; Karen L. Erickson; Kerry L. Farris; Christopher J. Fettig; Carl E. Fiedler; Sally Haase; Stephen C. Hart; Jon E. Keeley; Eric E. Knapp; John F. Lehmkuhl; Jason J. Moghaddas; William Otrosina; Kenneth W. Outcalt; Dylan W. Schwilk; Carl N. Skinner; Thomas A. Waldrop; C. Phillip Weatherspoon; Daniel A. Yaussy; Andrew Youngblood; Steve Zack

2012-01-01

The 12-site National Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS) was a multivariate experiment that evaluated ecological consequences of alternative fuel-reduction treatments in seasonally dry forests of the US. Each site was a replicated experiment with a common design that compared an un-manipulated control, prescribed fire, mechanical and mechanical + fire treatments....

Of mongooses and mitigation: ecological analogues to geoengineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matthews, H Damon; Turner, Sarah E

2009-01-01

Anthropogenic global warming is a growing environmental problem resulting from unintentional human intervention in the global climate system. If employed as a response strategy, geoengineering would represent an additional intentional human intervention in the climate system, with the intent of decreasing net climate impacts. There is a rich and fascinating history of human intervention in environmental systems, with many specific examples from ecology of deliberate human intervention aimed at correcting or decreasing the impact of previous unintentionally created problems. Additional interventions do not always bring the intended results, and in many cases there is evidence that net impacts have increased with the degree of human intervention. In this letter, we report some of the examples in the scientific literature that have documented such human interventions in environmental systems, which may serve as analogues to geoengineering. We argue that a high degree of system understanding is required for increased intervention to lead to decreased impacts. Given our current level of understanding of the climate system, it is likely that the result of at least some geoengineering efforts would follow previous ecological examples where increased human intervention has led to an overall increase in negative environmental consequences.

Of mongooses and mitigation: ecological analogues to geoengineering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matthews, H Damon [Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve W, Montreal, QC, H3G 1M8 (Canada); Turner, Sarah E, E-mail: dmatthew@alcor.concordia.c [Department of Anthropology, University of Calgary, Calgary (Canada)

2009-10-15

Anthropogenic global warming is a growing environmental problem resulting from unintentional human intervention in the global climate system. If employed as a response strategy, geoengineering would represent an additional intentional human intervention in the climate system, with the intent of decreasing net climate impacts. There is a rich and fascinating history of human intervention in environmental systems, with many specific examples from ecology of deliberate human intervention aimed at correcting or decreasing the impact of previous unintentionally created problems. Additional interventions do not always bring the intended results, and in many cases there is evidence that net impacts have increased with the degree of human intervention. In this letter, we report some of the examples in the scientific literature that have documented such human interventions in environmental systems, which may serve as analogues to geoengineering. We argue that a high degree of system understanding is required for increased intervention to lead to decreased impacts. Given our current level of understanding of the climate system, it is likely that the result of at least some geoengineering efforts would follow previous ecological examples where increased human intervention has led to an overall increase in negative environmental consequences.

ECOGEN - Soil ecological and economic evaluation of genetically modified crops (preface)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogh, P. H.; Griffiths, B. S.

2007-01-01

to integrate the combined soil ecological and economic effects of introducing systems including genetically modified (GM) crops by performing data mining and building decision support systems. The project involved eight academic partners from five EU countries and an input from Monsanto. Maize expressing......The biodiversity of, and processes performed by soil organisms make up a crucial part of the natural basis for agricultural production and, therefore, have subsequent economic consequences. ECOGEN was a research initiative funded under the European Commission Framework 5 programme, designed...

Evolutionary consequences of antibiotic use for the resistome, mobilome and microbial pangenome.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillings, Michael R

2013-01-01

The widespread use and abuse of antibiotic therapy has evolutionary and ecological consequences, some of which are only just beginning to be examined. One well known consequence is the fixation of mutations and lateral gene transfer (LGT) events that confer antibiotic resistance. Sequential selection events, driven by different classes of antibiotics, have resulted in the assembly of diverse resistance determinants and mobile DNAs into novel genetic elements of ever-growing complexity and flexibility. These novel plasmids, integrons, and genomic islands have now become fixed at high frequency in diverse cell lineages by human antibiotic use. Consequently they can be regarded as xenogenetic pollutants, analogous to xenobiotic compounds, but with the critical distinction that they replicate rather than degrade when released to pollute natural environments. Antibiotics themselves must also be regarded as pollutants, since human production overwhelms natural synthesis, and a major proportion of ingested antibiotic is excreted unchanged into waste streams. Such antibiotic pollutants have non-target effects, raising the general rates of mutation, recombination, and LGT in all the microbiome, and simultaneously providing the selective force to fix such changes. This has the consequence of recruiting more genes into the resistome and mobilome, and of increasing the overlap between these two components of microbial genomes. Thus the human use and environmental release of antibiotics is having second order effects on the microbial world, because these small molecules act as drivers of bacterial evolution. Continued pollution with both xenogenetic elements and the selective agents that fix such elements in populations has potentially adverse consequences for human welfare.

Evolutionary consequences of antibiotic use for the resistome, mobilome and microbial pangenome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael R. Gillings

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The widespread use and abuse of antibiotic therapy has evolutionary and ecological consequences, some of which are only just beginning to be examined. One well known consequence is the fixation of mutations and lateral gene transfer events that confer antibiotic resistance. Sequential selection events, driven by different classes of antibiotics, have resulted in the assembly of diverse resistance determinants and mobile DNAs into novel genetic elements of ever-growing complexity and flexibility. These novel plasmids, integrons and genomic islands have now become fixed at high frequency in diverse cell lineages by human antibiotic use. Consequently they can be regarded as xenogenetic pollutants, analogous to xenobiotic compounds, but with the critical distinction that they replicate rather than degrade when released to pollute natural environments. Antibiotics themselves must also be regarded as pollutants, since human production overwhelms natural synthesis, and a major proportion of ingested antibiotic is excreted unchanged into waste streams. Such antibiotic pollutants have non-target effects, raising the general rates of mutation, recombination and lateral gene transfer in all the microbiome, and simultaneously providing the selective force to fix such changes. This has the consequence of recruiting more genes into the resistome and mobilome, and of increasing the overlap between these two components of microbial genomes. Thus the human use and environmental release of antibiotics is having second order effects on the microbial world, because these small molecules act as drivers of bacterial evolution. Continued pollution with both xenogenetic elements and the selective agents that fix such elements in populations has potentially adverse consequences for human welfare.

Ecological consequences of nuclear testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuller, R.G.; Kirkwood, J.B.

1977-01-01

Many of the terrestrial disturbances on Amchitka Island resulting from nuclear testing were superimposed on scars remaining from military occupation. Construction, road improvement, and the Milrow and Cannikin nuclear detonations resulted in the loss or deterioration of about 420 ha (1040 acres) of terrestrial habitat, or less than 1.5% of the total area of Amchitka. A few streams and lakes were polluted by drilling effluents or human wastes; normal flushing action is expected to restore the quality of most of these freshwater habitats. Irreversible effects in freshwaters include the drainage of several ponds, gross channel alteration in a part of one stream, and the creation of a new lake which is deeper and which has a greater volume than any of the more than 2100 natural lakes on the southeast half of Amchitka. About 6 ha (15 acres) of intertidal bench was displaced to a level above the intertidal zone, and an undetermined amount of similar habitat was altered to some degree by lesser vertical displacement. No type of habitat on the island was destroyed, and localized habitat losses in the terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems are believed to have been too slight to have permanent effects on associated biotic populations

A Carbon-Neutral California: Social Ecology and Prospects for 2050 GHG Reduction

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Stephen M. Wheeler

2017-10-01

Full Text Available How might a large jurisdiction approach carbon neutrality by 2050, and what initiatives might increase the chances of success? This article explores these questions using California as a case study. Current trends as well as multiple modeling studies show that existing policy directions for the state will not be sufficient. Additional initiatives appear needed to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles, reduce driving, reach 100 percent renewable electricity, convert existing buildings to zero-net-carbon status, change diet, and reduce consumption. The state’s social ecology does not currently support such changes. Consequently, planners and other professionals need to consider strategic actions to change social ecology as well as climate policy. Potential steps to do this include raising the price of carbon; revising the state’s tax system so as to increase public sector capacity; developing a stronger framework of incentives, mandates, and technical support between levels of government; and expanding educational and social marketing programs aimed at behavior change. A main implication of this analysis is that in many contexts worldwide sustainability planners should consider action on both policy and social ecology levels to maximize chances of success.

Community Ecology

CERN Document Server

1988-01-01

This book presents the proceedings of a workshop on community ecology organized at Davis, in April, 1986, sponsored by the Sloan Foundation. There have been several recent symposia on community ecology (Strong et. al., 1984, Diamond and Case, 1987) which have covered a wide range of topics. The goal of the workshop at Davis was more narrow: to explore the role of scale in developing a theoretical approach to understanding communities. There are a number of aspects of scale that enter into attempts to understand ecological communities. One of the most basic is organizational scale. Should community ecology proceed by building up from population biology? This question and its ramifications are stressed throughout the book and explored in the first chapter by Simon Levin. Notions of scale have long been important in understanding physical systems. Thus, in understanding the interactions of organisms with their physical environment, questions of scale become paramount. These more physical questions illustrate the...

What is dental ecology?

Science.gov (United States)

Cuozzo, Frank P; Sauther, Michelle L

2012-06-01

Teeth have long been used as indicators of primate ecology. Early work focused on the links between dental morphology, diet, and behavior, with more recent years emphasizing dental wear, microstructure, development, and biogeochemistry, to understand primate ecology. Our study of Lemur catta at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar, has revealed an unusual pattern of severe tooth wear and frequent tooth loss, primarily the result of consuming a fallback food for which these primates are not dentally adapted. Interpreting these data was only possible by combining our areas of expertise (dental anatomy [FC] and primate ecology [MS]). By integrating theoretical, methodological, and applied aspects of both areas of research, we adopted the term "dental ecology"-defined as the broad study of how teeth respond to the environment. Specifically, we view dental ecology as an interpretive framework using teeth as a vehicle for understanding an organism's ecology, which builds upon earlier work, but creates a new synthesis of anatomy and ecology that is only possible with detailed knowledge of living primates. This framework includes (1) identifying patterns of dental pathology and tooth use-wear, within the context of feeding ecology, behavior, habitat variation, and anthropogenic change, (2) assessing ways in which dental development and biogeochemical signals can reflect habitat, environmental change and/or stress, and (3) how dental microstructure and macro-morphology are adapted to, and reflect feeding ecology. Here we define dental ecology, provide a short summary of the development of this perspective, and place our new work into this context. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Tragedy and Triumph of Minamata: A Paradigm for Understanding Ecological, Human-Environment and Culture-Technology Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Allchin, Douglas

1999-01-01

Contends that the example of mercury poisoning in Minamata, Japan can be used as a paradigm for teaching ecology and science-and-society issues. Discusses the history and science of the pollution and poisoning, and considers the social and cultural consequences of the incident, some aspects of causation and responsibility, and some aspects of…

A guide to statistical analysis in microbial ecology: a community-focused, living review of multivariate data analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Buttigieg, Pier Luigi; Ramette, Alban

2014-12-01

The application of multivariate statistical analyses has become a consistent feature in microbial ecology. However, many microbial ecologists are still in the process of developing a deep understanding of these methods and appreciating their limitations. As a consequence, staying abreast of progress and debate in this arena poses an additional challenge to many microbial ecologists. To address these issues, we present the GUide to STatistical Analysis in Microbial Ecology (GUSTA ME): a dynamic, web-based resource providing accessible descriptions of numerous multivariate techniques relevant to microbial ecologists. A combination of interactive elements allows users to discover and navigate between methods relevant to their needs and examine how they have been used by others in the field. We have designed GUSTA ME to become a community-led and -curated service, which we hope will provide a common reference and forum to discuss and disseminate analytical techniques relevant to the microbial ecology community. © 2014 The Authors. FEMS Microbiology Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Federation of European Microbiological Societies.

Community variability and ecological functioning: 40 years of change in the North Sea benthos.

Science.gov (United States)

Clare, D S; Robinson, L A; Frid, C L J

2015-06-01

Using established associations between species traits (life history, morphological and behavioural characteristics) and key ecological functions, we applied biological traits analysis (BTA) to investigate the consequences of 40 years of change in two North Sea benthic communities. Ecological functioning (trait composition) was found to be statistically indistinguishable across periods that differed significantly in taxonomic composition. A temporary alteration to functioning was, however, inferred at both sampling stations; coinciding with the North Sea regime shift of the 1980s. Trait composition recovered after 1 year at the station located inside the grounds of a trawl fishery, whereas the station located outside the main area of fishing activity underwent a six-year period of significantly altered, and temporally unstable, trait composition. A further alteration to functioning was inferred at the fished station, when the population of a newly established species rapidly increased in numbers. The results suggest that density compensation by characteristically similar (redundant) taxa acts to buffer changes to ecological functioning over time, but that functional stability is subject to aperiodic disruption due to substitutions of dissimilar taxa or uncompensated population fluctuations. The rate at which ecological functioning stabilises and recovers appears to be dependent on environmental context; e.g. disturbance regime. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The need for future wetland bird studies: scales of habitat use as input for ecological restoration and spatial water management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Platteeuw, M.; Foppen, R.P.B.; Eerden, van M.R.

2010-01-01

All over Europe, wetlands have decreased in size, lost their original dynamics and became fragmented as the consequence of an ever increasing human land use. These processes have resulted in losses of nature values, among which declines in marshland bird populations. Ecological restoration of

Multivariate Analysis of Multiple Datasets: a Practical Guide for Chemical Ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hervé, Maxime R; Nicolè, Florence; Lê Cao, Kim-Anh

2018-03-01

Chemical ecology has strong links with metabolomics, the large-scale study of all metabolites detectable in a biological sample. Consequently, chemical ecologists are often challenged by the statistical analyses of such large datasets. This holds especially true when the purpose is to integrate multiple datasets to obtain a holistic view and a better understanding of a biological system under study. The present article provides a comprehensive resource to analyze such complex datasets using multivariate methods. It starts from the necessary pre-treatment of data including data transformations and distance calculations, to the application of both gold standard and novel multivariate methods for the integration of different omics data. We illustrate the process of analysis along with detailed results interpretations for six issues representative of the different types of biological questions encountered by chemical ecologists. We provide the necessary knowledge and tools with reproducible R codes and chemical-ecological datasets to practice and teach multivariate methods.

Civic Ecology: Linking Social and Ecological Approaches in Extension

Science.gov (United States)

Krasny, Marianne E.; Tidball, Keith G.

2010-01-01

Civic ecology refers to the philosophy and science of community forestry, community gardening, watershed enhancement, and other volunteer-driven restoration practices in cities and elsewhere. Such practices, although often viewed as initiatives to improve a degraded environment, also foster social attributes of resilient social-ecological systems,…

PROMOTION OF ECOLOGIC PRODUCT CERTIFICATION AS INSTRUMENT TO SPEED UP THE ECOLOGIC AGRICULTURE

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George MOISE

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This paper present a vision about the possibility to speed up the conversion process to an ecological agriculture in Romania. The link from ecological products consumer and ecologic agricultural producer is also explained from point of view of certification process. Presenting the consumer mentality and principles and rules of organic farming and certification can open the way to a sustainable and ecological agriculture.

Interim balance: Ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kogon, E.; Jungk, R.

1981-01-01

Subjects: The ecology problem - world wide. Sectoral balances: The examples of energy, transportation, chemistry, agriculture and food industry, water supply. Destruction of nature and human discord. Conservatives in our political parties and their views on environmental protection. Alliance between reds and 'greens', integration between reds and greens. The Rhine initiative. Lead respects no borders, experiences of citizens' action groups in Lothringia and the Saar district. International airport Munich-II/comments by a protestant. 'Give priority to life'/A hearing on environmental protection. 4:96 - 'greens' in the Bremen Senate. Policy in a hard-hearing world/psychology of citizens' action groups. Critical ecological research and scientific establishment. Full productivity and ecology. The deluge to follow/Hints on how to build an ark. Symbiosis is more than coexistence/Ecologists' social theory. Throwing in two hundred elementary particles/on the way to an ecological concept of science. Scientific journals. Alternative literature. Teaching model for a teaching subject 'ecology'. (orig.) [de

Predictive systems ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Matthew R; Bithell, Mike; Cornell, Stephen J; Dall, Sasha R X; Díaz, Sandra; Emmott, Stephen; Ernande, Bruno; Grimm, Volker; Hodgson, David J; Lewis, Simon L; Mace, Georgina M; Morecroft, Michael; Moustakas, Aristides; Murphy, Eugene; Newbold, Tim; Norris, K J; Petchey, Owen; Smith, Matthew; Travis, Justin M J; Benton, Tim G

2013-11-22

Human societies, and their well-being, depend to a significant extent on the state of the ecosystems that surround them. These ecosystems are changing rapidly usually in response to anthropogenic changes in the environment. To determine the likely impact of environmental change on ecosystems and the best ways to manage them, it would be desirable to be able to predict their future states. We present a proposal to develop the paradigm of predictive systems ecology, explicitly to understand and predict the properties and behaviour of ecological systems. We discuss the necessary and desirable features of predictive systems ecology models. There are places where predictive systems ecology is already being practised and we summarize a range of terrestrial and marine examples. Significant challenges remain but we suggest that ecology would benefit both as a scientific discipline and increase its impact in society if it were to embrace the need to become more predictive.

Using Ants as bioindicators: Multiscale Issues in Ant Community Ecology

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Alan Andersen

1997-06-01

Full Text Available Ecological patterns and processes are characteristically scale dependent, and research findings often cannot be translated easily from one scale to another. Conservation biology is challenged by a lack of congruence between the spatial scales of ecological research (typically involving small plots and land management (typically involving whole landscapes. Here, I discuss spatial scaling issues as they relate to an understanding of ant communities and, consequently, their use as bioindicators in land management. Our perceptions of fundamental patterns and processes in ant communities depend on scale: taxa that are behaviorally dominant at one scale are not necessarily so at others, functional groups recognized at one scale are often inappropriate for others, and the role of competition in community structure depends on the scale of analysis. Patterns of species richness and composition, and the ability of total richness to be estimated by surrogates, are all also scale dependent. Ant community ecology has a tradition of detailed studies in small plots, but the use of ants as bioindicators requires a predictive understanding of community structure and dynamics at a range of spatial scales. Such an appreciation of ant communities and their most effective use as bioindicators is best served by studies integrating results from plot-scale research with the broad-scale paradigms of biogeography, systematics, and evolutionary biology.

Water quality of Danube Delta systems: ecological status and prediction using machine-learning algorithms.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoica, C; Camejo, J; Banciu, A; Nita-Lazar, M; Paun, I; Cristofor, S; Pacheco, O R; Guevara, M

2016-01-01

Environmental issues have a worldwide impact on water bodies, including the Danube Delta, the largest European wetland. The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) implementation operates toward solving environmental issues from European and national level. As a consequence, the water quality and the biocenosis structure was altered, especially the composition of the macro invertebrate community which is closely related to habitat and substrate heterogeneity. This study aims to assess the ecological status of Southern Branch of the Danube Delta, Saint Gheorghe, using benthic fauna and a computational method as an alternative for monitoring the water quality in real time. The analysis of spatial and temporal variability of unicriterial and multicriterial indices were used to assess the current status of aquatic systems. In addition, chemical status was characterized. Coliform bacteria and several chemical parameters were used to feed machine-learning (ML) algorithms to simulate a real-time classification method. Overall, the assessment of the water bodies indicated a moderate ecological status based on the biological quality elements or a good ecological status based on chemical and ML algorithms criteria.

Effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 for fishes controlled by their surrounding sea-waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morita, T.; Yoshida, K.

2004-01-01

National Research Institute of Fisheries Science (NRIFS) has carried out the long term monitoring program for radioactive pollution in marine organisms caught around Japan in order to confirm the safety of marine organisms as food source. Main radionuclide in our monitoring program is Cs-137 because it has the relatively high radiotoxicity and the long term physical half-life (about 30.1 y), and tends to accumulate in the muscle. Recently, the effective ecological half-lives have been introduced to estimate the recovery time from radioactive pollution, and been applicable to various ecosystems. In this study, effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 for some fishes were calculated from our long term monitoring data. It is known that fish species have each effective ecological half-lives. However, it has been unclear what change the effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 for fishes. Fishes intake Cs-137 through food chain and directly from their surrounding sea-waters. Accordingly, the effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 for some fishes would be controlled by the effective environment half-lives of Cs-137 for their surrounding sea-waters. There is difference in effective environment half-lives of Cs-137 between the open ocean and the coastal sea-waters because they have the different input sources of Cs-137. Some fishes move between the open ocean and the coastal areas, and therefore their effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 are influenced by the effective environment half-lives of Cs-137 for sea-waters of both areas. Consequently, the differences in effective ecological half-lives of Cs-137 among fish species would depend the rate of coastal area in their lives. (author)

Ecological Understanding 2: Transformation--A Key to Ecological Understanding.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlsson, Britta

2002-01-01

Describes the structure and general features of the phenomenon of ecological understanding. Presents qualitatively different ways of experiencing cycling of matter and the flow of energy in the context of ecosystems. The idea of transformation is key to the development of ecological understanding. (Contains 17 references.) (Author/YDS)

Quantification of ecological debt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez Alier, Joan

2005-01-01

The discussion about ecological debt is important keeping in mind historical foreign trade, where natural resources exploitation and primary production exported didn't assessment the ecological damage or the environmental values of the interchange. This essay shows the debate of ecological debt on greenhouse emission, enterprise environmental debit, unequal international trade, toxic waste export, and b io piracy ; in order to present the necessity of a new ecological and equitable world economy

Quantum mechanical analogy for solving a competitive coexistence model in ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wio, H.S.; Kuperman, M.N.; Haeften, B. von

1994-07-01

We have studied an ecological system of three species: a strong and a weak one, competing for a single food resource, modelled as a reaction-diffusion process. An exact analytical solution has been found through a quantum mechanical analogy. Such solution indicates that in certain situations the classical results on extinction and coexistence of Lotka-Volterra type equations are no longer valid, essentially, as a consequence of the weak species mobility. A stability analysis of this solution against changes in different parameters has been carried out. (author). 19 refs, 5 figs

Ecology-driven stereotypes override race stereotypes

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Keelah E. G.; Sng, Oliver; Neuberg, Steven L.

2016-01-01

Why do race stereotypes take the forms they do? Life history theory posits that features of the ecology shape individuals’ behavior. Harsh and unpredictable (“desperate”) ecologies induce fast strategy behaviors such as impulsivity, whereas resource-sufficient and predictable (“hopeful”) ecologies induce slow strategy behaviors such as future focus. We suggest that individuals possess a lay understanding of ecology’s influence on behavior, resulting in ecology-driven stereotypes. Importantly, because race is confounded with ecology in the United States, we propose that Americans’ stereotypes about racial groups actually reflect stereotypes about these groups’ presumed home ecologies. Study 1 demonstrates that individuals hold ecology stereotypes, stereotyping people from desperate ecologies as possessing faster life history strategies than people from hopeful ecologies. Studies 2–4 rule out alternative explanations for those findings. Study 5, which independently manipulates race and ecology information, demonstrates that when provided with information about a person’s race (but not ecology), individuals’ inferences about blacks track stereotypes of people from desperate ecologies, and individuals’ inferences about whites track stereotypes of people from hopeful ecologies. However, when provided with information about both the race and ecology of others, individuals’ inferences reflect the targets’ ecology rather than their race: black and white targets from desperate ecologies are stereotyped as equally fast life history strategists, whereas black and white targets from hopeful ecologies are stereotyped as equally slow life history strategists. These findings suggest that the content of several predominant race stereotypes may not reflect race, per se, but rather inferences about how one’s ecology influences behavior. PMID:26712013

Dengue epidemics and adverse obstetrical outcomes in French Guiana: a semi-ecological study

Science.gov (United States)

Hanf, Matthieu; Friedman, Eleanor; Basurko, Celia; Roger, Amaury; Bruncher, Pascal; Dussart, Philippe; Flamand, Claude; Carles, Gabriel; Buekens, Pierre; Breart, Gerard; Carme, Bernard; Nacher, Mathieu

2014-01-01

There are few studies on the obstetrical consequences of dengue fever during pregnancy. To determine whether dengue epidemics were associated with an increase in adverse obstetrical outcomes, a semi-ecological study combining individual data on obstetrical events from the perinatal registry and aggregated exposure data from the epidemiologic surveillance of dengue was conducted in Cayenne French Guiana between 2004 and 2007. After adjustment for individual risk factors, this semi-ecological analysis showed that an epidemic level of dengue transmission during the first trimester was associated with an increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage and preterm birth. The associated risks seemed to depend on the epidemic level. Despite its limitations, the present study suggests that dengue in the first trimester may be related to preterm birth and to postpartum bleeding, thus leading to specific hypotheses that should be tested in prospective studies. PMID:24341915

Increasing connectivity between metapopulation ecology and landscape ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Howell, Paige E; Muths, Erin; Hossack, Blake R; Sigafus, Brent H; Chandler, Richard B

2018-05-01

Metapopulation ecology and landscape ecology aim to understand how spatial structure influences ecological processes, yet these disciplines address the problem using fundamentally different modeling approaches. Metapopulation models describe how the spatial distribution of patches affects colonization and extinction, but often do not account for the heterogeneity in the landscape between patches. Models in landscape ecology use detailed descriptions of landscape structure, but often without considering colonization and extinction dynamics. We present a novel spatially explicit modeling framework for narrowing the divide between these disciplines to advance understanding of the effects of landscape structure on metapopulation dynamics. Unlike previous efforts, this framework allows for statistical inference on landscape resistance to colonization using empirical data. We demonstrate the approach using 11 yr of data on a threatened amphibian in a desert ecosystem. Occupancy data for Lithobates chiricahuensis (Chiricahua leopard frog) were collected on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR), Arizona, USA from 2007 to 2017 following a reintroduction in 2003. Results indicated that colonization dynamics were influenced by both patch characteristics and landscape structure. Landscape resistance increased with increasing elevation and distance to the nearest streambed. Colonization rate was also influenced by patch quality, with semi-permanent and permanent ponds contributing substantially more to the colonization of neighboring ponds relative to intermittent ponds. Ponds that only hold water intermittently also had the highest extinction rate. Our modeling framework can be widely applied to understand metapopulation dynamics in complex landscapes, particularly in systems in which the environment between habitat patches influences the colonization process. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

Ecology and ecological quality of fish in lakes and reservoirs

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kubečka, Jan; Boukal S., David; Čech, Martin; Hickley, P.; Kitchell, J. F.; Ricard, Daniel; Rudstam, L.; Soukalová, Kateřina; Welcomme, R.

2016-01-01

Roč. 173, January (2016), s. 1-3 ISSN 0165-7836 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : fish ecological quality * ecological potential * distribution * migration * bioindicators * management monitoring * food webs Subject RIV: GL - Fishing Impact factor: 2.185, year: 2016

Introduction to the Special Issue: Beyond traits: integrating behaviour into plant ecology and biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cahill, James F

2015-10-26

The way that plants are conceptualized in the context of ecological understanding is changing. In one direction, a reductionist school is pulling plants apart into a list of measured 'traits', from which ecological function and outcomes of species interactions may be inferred. This special issue offers an alternative, and more holistic, view: that the ecological functions performed by a plant will be a consequence not only of their complement of traits but also of the ways in which their component parts are used in response to environmental and social conditions. This is the realm of behavioural ecology, a field that has greatly advanced our understanding of animal biology, ecology and evolution. Included in this special issue are 10 articles focussing not on the tried and true metaphor that plant growth is similar to animal movement, but instead on how application of principles from animal behaviour can improve our ability to understand plant biology and ecology. The goals are not to draw false parallels, nor to anthropomorphize plant biology, but instead to demonstrate how existing and robust theory based on fundamental principles can provide novel understanding for plants. Key to this approach is the recognition that behaviour and intelligence are not the same. Many organisms display complex behaviours despite a lack of cognition (as it is traditionally understood) or any hint of a nervous system. The applicability of behavioural concepts to plants is further enhanced with the realization that all organisms face the same harsh forces of natural selection in the context of finding resources, mates and coping with neighbours. As these ecological realities are often highly variable in space and time, it is not surprising that all organisms-even plants-exhibit complex behaviours to handle this variability. The articles included here address diverse topics in behavioural ecology, as applied to plants: general conceptual understanding, plant nutrient foraging, root

Delimiting the Boundary of Delhi for Effective Urban Political Ecology Investigations

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Govind Singh

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Delhi, capital of the world’s largest democracy, is witnessing large-scale increase in population since the beginning of the twentieth century. Two prominent factors that have contributed to this include the shifting of capital of the British Raj from Calcutta (now Kolkata to Delhi in 1911 and the partition of India that accompanied its independence in 1947. Delhi continued to witness high rate of migration in post-independent India due to uneven implementation of development policies. Rising population led to spatial expansion and the largest connotation of Delhi today (National Capital Region is an area 36 times its size in 1947. Rising population has also had an adverse impact on Delhi’s natural resources. Consequently, clean air, water and land availability have become limited and Delhi today is undergoing a severe sustainability crisis. The latter requires urgent intervention for restoring Delhi’s urban ecosystem. Since urban areas are highly contested ecological spaces, urban ecological interventions are incomplete without political overtones. Thus, the success of urban ecological interventions lies in identifying politically correct boundaries which encompasses true ‘urban Delhi’ despite the political boundaries. This research contribution attempts to identify the geographical expanse of ‘urban Delhi’ amidst the various political terminologies that define Delhi. An understanding of various divisions and definitions of Delhi is also presented from the perspective of appreciating the challenges in urban planning. We conclude that urban ecology investigations in Delhi should be embedded within the ‘Delhi conurbation’, which represents a geographical area greater than the Delhi city-state but much smaller than Delhi NCR.

ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE HUMAN -TRANSFORMED SYSTEMS OF THE IRPIN RIVER

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Svitlana Madzhd

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Purpose: to learn the interaction of natural and anthropogenic factors and their consequences in the system “Natural environment (Irpin river – human-transformed environment (Nyvka river”. Methods: To assess the structural and functional changes of hydroecosystems, transformed under technogenic impact, hydrochemical, toxicological and biological techniques, as well as the methods of mathematical statistics for experimental data processing and summarization of obtained results, were applied. Results: it is proposed to determine the dynamics of the biotic self-regulation mechanism change under impact of the modifying (anthropogenic factors, by the example of the two-component system – “Natural environment (Irpin River – environment, transformed under technogenic impact (Nyvka River, the right-hand tributary of the Irpin River”. It is proposed to extend additionally the opportunities of the ecological assessment due to application of the integrating index – the index of ecological conformity. Discussion: obtained results stipulate necessity of the further investigation of structural and functional patterns of the Irpin River ecosystem in space and time. Assessment of anthropogenic factors impact on hydroecosystem condition will make it possible to correct the nature guard activity concerning the improvement of the fishery object ecological condition and recreation essence of the Irpin River. Integration of the Nyvka and Irpin Rivers into a single system “Natural environment – environment, transformed under technogenic impact” will make it possible to obtain the objective assessment of technogenic changes in hydroecosystems. Implementation of the index of ecological conformity will make it possible to estimate completely the inner processes in the rivers.

Establishment of a National ecological network to conserve biodiversity. Pros and cons of ecological corridors Establishment of a National ecological network to conserve biodiversity. Pros and cons of ecological corridors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurent Bergès, Philip Roche and Catherine Avon

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Ecological corridors are a fundamental element in the National ecological network approved by the Grenelle environmental agreement in order to reduce ecosystem damage caused by fragmentation of the natural habitat zones of species. How can their effectiveness be evaluated? This article sums up current knowledge on their pros and cons.Fragmentation of natural habitats is considered one of the main causes of biodiversity loss. One of the proposed solutions to limit the effects of fragmentation is to restore ecological connectivity by creating ecological corridors between zones containing natural habitats. The concept remains controversial among scientists, but now serves as the basis for one of the operational projects of the Grenelle environmental agreements in the form of the National ecological network. After examining the ecological concepts justifying the political goal and presenting the various ecological roles of corridors, we briefly discuss their overall advantages and disadvantages. Then, we look closely at the methodological difficulties in detecting a corridor effect. Finally, we recommend a close partnership between research and policy to design biodiversity monitoring and evaluation systems in the different land-management plans.

The ecological century

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Worthington, E. B.

1981-01-01

This essay attempts to reconstruct the evolution of Ecology as the scientific basis for environmental conservation and human progress, as seen through the eyes of a biologist who has exercised that science during a number of tasks in various parts of the world over most of the twentieth century. From its beginnings in evolutionary thinking during the nineteenth century, ecology emerged from natural history at the beginning of the twentieth. At first the running was made by botanists; but this was soon followed by zoologists, who dealt with more mobile communities. The first quarter-century was mainly exploratory; the second was mainly descriptive (although biological exploration was still dominant in the tropics). The third quarter saw ecology developing into an experimental science, and, as the environmental revolution got into its stride, ecology became organized both nationally and internationally. Although the term is now often misused and sometimes misunderstood by laymen, the last quarter-century is seeing the wide application of ecology in environmental and human affairs, and this gives some assurance that the twenty-first century will not become one of chaos.

Benefits of ecological engineering practices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van den Boomen, R.; Chaudhuri, N.; Heeb, J.; Jenssen, P.; Kalin, M.; Schönborn, A.; Brüll, A.; Van Bohemen, H.; Costanza, R.; Mitsch, W.J.

2011-01-01

With the intention to further promote the field of ecological engineering and the solutions it provides, a workshop on “Benefits of Ecological Engineering Practices” was held 3 Dec 2009. It was conducted by the International Ecological Engineering Society in Paris at the conference “Ecological

(macro- Evolutionary ecology of parasite diversity: From determinants of parasite species richness to host diversification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serge Morand

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The present review summarized the factors or determinants that may explain parasite diversity among host species and the consequences of this parasite diversity on the evolution of host-life history traits. As host–parasite interactions are asymmetrical exploited–exploiter relationships, ecological and epidemiological theories produce hypotheses to find the potential determinants of parasite species richness, while life-history theory helps for testing potential consequences on parasite diversity on the evolution of hosts. This review referred only to studies that have specifically controlled or took into account phylogenetic information illustrated with parasites of mammals. Several points needing more investigation were identified with a special emphasis to develop the metabolic theory of epidemiology.

Ecological aspects of the nuclear age: selected readings in radiation ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schultz, V.; Whicker, F.W.

1971-01-01

A compilation of selected readings is presented in the areas of radiation ecology, radionuclide cycling, ionizing radiation effects, radioisotope tracer techniques in ecology, and military and peaceful uses of nuclear energy

Ecological implications of behavioural syndromes.

Science.gov (United States)

Sih, Andrew; Cote, Julien; Evans, Mara; Fogarty, Sean; Pruitt, Jonathan

2012-03-01

Interspecific trait variation has long served as a conceptual foundation for our understanding of ecological patterns and dynamics. In particular, ecologists recognise the important role that animal behaviour plays in shaping ecological processes. An emerging area of interest in animal behaviour, the study of behavioural syndromes (animal personalities) considers how limited behavioural plasticity, as well as behavioural correlations affects an individual's fitness in diverse ecological contexts. In this article we explore how insights from the concept and study of behavioural syndromes provide fresh understanding of major issues in population ecology. We identify several general mechanisms for how population ecology phenomena can be influenced by a species or population's average behavioural type, by within-species variation in behavioural type, or by behavioural correlations across time or across ecological contexts. We note, in particular, the importance of behavioural type-dependent dispersal in spatial ecology. We then review recent literature and provide new syntheses for how these general mechanisms produce novel insights on five major issues in population ecology: (1) limits to species' distribution and abundance; (2) species interactions; (3) population dynamics; (4) relative responses to human-induced rapid environmental change; and (5) ecological invasions. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Landscape Ecology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Andreas Aagaard; Brandt, Jesper; Svenningsen, Stig Roar

2017-01-01

, and the ecological significance of the patterns which are generated by such processes. In landscape ecology, perspectives drawn from existing academic disciplines are integrated based on a common, spatially explicit mode of analysis developed from classical holistic geography, emphasizing spatial and landscape...... to translate positivist readings of the environment and hermeneutical perspectives on socioecological interaction into a common framework or terminology....

Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Science: a Question of Scale

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Catherine A. Gagnon

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The benefits and challenges of integrating traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge have led to extensive discussions over the past decades, but much work is still needed to facilitate the articulation and co-application of these two types of knowledge. Through two case studies, we examined the integration of traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge by emphasizing their complementarity across spatial and temporal scales. We expected that combining Inuit traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge would expand the spatial and temporal scales of currently documented knowledge on the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus and the greater snow goose (Chen caerulescens atlantica, two important tundra species. Using participatory approaches in Mittimatalik (also known as Pond Inlet, Nunavut, Canada, we documented traditional ecological knowledge about these species and found that, in fact, it did expand the spatial and temporal scales of current scientific knowledge for local arctic fox ecology. However, the benefits were not as apparent for snow goose ecology, probably because of the similar spatial and temporal observational scales of the two types of knowledge for this species. Comparing sources of knowledge at similar scales allowed us to gain confidence in our conclusions and to identify areas of disagreement that should be studied further. Emphasizing complementarities across scales was more powerful for generating new insights and hypotheses. We conclude that determining the scales of the observations that form the basis for traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge represents a critical step when evaluating the benefits of integrating these two types of knowledge. This is also critical when examining the congruence or contrast between the two types of knowledge for a given subject.

Combining statistical inference and decisions in ecology

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Williams, Perry J.; Hooten, Mevin B.

2016-01-01

Statistical decision theory (SDT) is a sub-field of decision theory that formally incorporates statistical investigation into a decision-theoretic framework to account for uncertainties in a decision problem. SDT provides a unifying analysis of three types of information: statistical results from a data set, knowledge of the consequences of potential choices (i.e., loss), and prior beliefs about a system. SDT links the theoretical development of a large body of statistical methods including point estimation, hypothesis testing, and confidence interval estimation. The theory and application of SDT have mainly been developed and published in the fields of mathematics, statistics, operations research, and other decision sciences, but have had limited exposure in ecology. Thus, we provide an introduction to SDT for ecologists and describe its utility for linking the conventionally separate tasks of statistical investigation and decision making in a single framework. We describe the basic framework of both Bayesian and frequentist SDT, its traditional use in statistics, and discuss its application to decision problems that occur in ecology. We demonstrate SDT with two types of decisions: Bayesian point estimation, and an applied management problem of selecting a prescribed fire rotation for managing a grassland bird species. Central to SDT, and decision theory in general, are loss functions. Thus, we also provide basic guidance and references for constructing loss functions for an SDT problem.

Historical ecology: past, present and future.

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Szabó, Péter

2015-11-01

The term 'historical ecology' has been used with various meanings since the first half of the 20th century. Studies labelled as historical ecology have been produced in at least four academic disciplines: history, ecology, geography and anthropology. Although all those involved seem to agree that historical ecology concerns the historical interconnectedness of nature and human culture, this field of study has no unified methodology, specialized institutional background and common publication forums. Knowledge of the development of historical ecology is also limited. As a result, the current multitude of definitions of historical ecology is accompanied by divergent opinions as to where the origins of the field are to be sought. In this review, I follow the development of historical ecology from the 18th century to the present. In the first part, I briefly describe some early examples of historical ecological investigations, followed by a description of the various scientific strands in the 20th century that contributed to the formation of historical ecology. In the second part, I discuss the past five decades of historical ecological investigations in more detail, focusing mostly (but not exclusively) on works that their respective authors identified as historical ecology. I also examine the appearance and interconnectedness of the two main trends (ecological and anthropological) in historical ecological research. In the last part, I attempt to outline the future of historical ecology based on common features in existing research. It appears that at present historical ecology is at a crossroads. With rapidly growing interest in historical ecological research, it may move towards institutionalization or remain an umbrella term. © 2014 The Authors. Biological Reviews © 2014 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Testing the ecological site group concept

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The 2016 “Ecological Sites for Landscape Management” special issue of Rangelands recommended an update to our thinking of Ecological Sites, suggesting that in our desire to make Ecological Sites more quantitative, we abandoned consideration of Ecological Sites’ spatial context. In response, Ecologic...

Radioecological and dosimetric consequences of the Chernobyl accident in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renaud, Ph.; Beaugelin, K.; Maubert, H.; Ledenvic, Ph.

1997-11-01

This study has as objective a survey of the radioecological and dosimetric consequences of the Chernobyl accident in France, as well as a prognosis for the years to come. It was requested by the Direction of Nuclear Installation Safety (DSIN) in relation to different organisms which effected measurements after this accident. It is based on the use of combined results of measurements and modelling by means of the code ASTRAL developed at IPSN. Various measurements obtained from five authorities and institutions, were made available, such as: activity of air and water, soil, processed food, agricultural and natural products. However, to achieve the survey still a modelling is needed. ASTRAL is a code for evaluating the ecological consequences of an accident. It allows establishing the correspondence between the soil Remnant Surface Activities (RSA, in Bq.m -2 ), the activity concentration of the agricultural production and the individual and collective doses resulting from external and internal exposures (due to inhalation and ingestion of contaminated nurture). The results of principal synthesis documents on the Chernobyl accident and its consequences were also used. The report is structured in nine sections, as follows: 1.Introduction; 2.Objective and methodology; 3.Characterization of radioactive depositions; 4;Remnant surface activities; 5.Contamination of agricultural products and foods; 6.Contamination of natural, semi-natural products and of drinking water; 7.Dosimetric evaluations; 8.Proposals for the environmental surveillance; 9.Conclusion. Finally, after ten years, one concludes that at present the dosimetric consequences of the Chernobyl accident in France were rather limited. For the period 1986-2046 the average individual effective dose estimated for the most struck zone is lower than 1500 μSv, which represents almost 1% of the average natural exposure for the same period. At present, the cesium 137 levels are at often inferior to those recorded before

Ecology for a changing earth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, J.H.; Roughgarden, J.

1990-01-01

To forecast the ecological impact of global change, research initiatives are needed on the explicit role of humans in ecological systems, and on how ecological processes functioning at different spatial and temporal scales are coupled. Furthermore, to synthesize the results of ecological research for Congress, policymakers, and the general public, a new agency, called the United States Ecological Survey (USES) is urgently required. Also, a national commitment to environmental health, as exemplified by establishing a National Institutes of the Environment (NIE), should be a goal

Using ecological production functions to link ecological processes to ecosystem services.

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Ecological production functions (EPFs) link ecosystems, stressors, and management actions to ecosystem services (ES) production. Although EPFs are acknowledged as being essential to improve environmental management, their use in ecological risk assessment has received relatively ...

Increased ecological risk due to the hyperaccumulation of As in Pteris cretica during the phytoremediation of an As-contaminated site.

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Jeong, Seulki; Moon, Hee Sun; Nam, Kyoungphile

2015-03-01

Ecological risk due to the hyperaccumulation of As in Pteris cretica during phytoremediation was evaluated at an abandoned As-contaminated site. Five receptor groups representing terrestrial invertebrates, avian insectivores, small mammals, herbivores, and omnivores were selected as potentially affected ecological receptors. Soil and food ingestion were considered as major exposure pathways. Phytoremediation was performed with P.cretica only and with both P.cretica and siderophores to enhance plant uptake of As. Ecological hazard index (EHI) values for the small mammal greatly exceeded 1.0 even after three weeks of growth regardless of siderophore application, probably due to its limited home range. For the mammalian herbivore, which mainly consumes plant foliage, the EHI values were greater than 5.73 after seven weeks without siderophore application, but the value increased sharply to 29.3 at seven weeks when siderophores were applied. This increased risk could be attributed to the facilitated translocation of As from roots to stems and leaves in P.cretica. Our results suggest that, when a phytoremediation strategy is considered for metals remediation, its ecological consequences should be taken into account to prevent the spread of hyperaccumulated heavy metals throughout the food chain of ecological receptors. Uncertainties involved in the ecological risk assessment process were also discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The evolutionary ecology of cytonuclear interactions in angiosperms.

Science.gov (United States)

Caruso, Christina M; Case, Andrea L; Bailey, Maia F

2012-11-01

Interactions between cytoplasmic and nuclear genomes have significant evolutionary consequences. In angiosperms, the most common cytonuclear interaction is between mitochondrial genes that disrupt pollen production (cytoplasmic male sterility, CMS) and nuclear genes that restore it (nuclear male fertility restorers, Rf). The outcome of CMS/Rf interactions can depend on whether Rf alleles have negative pleiotropic effects on fitness. Although these fitness costs are often considered to be independent of the ecological context, we argue that the effects of Rf alleles on fitness should be context dependent. Thus, measuring the cost of restoration across a range of environments could help explain geographic and phylogenetic variation in the distribution of Rf alleles and the outcome of CMS/Rf interactions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Internet use during childhood and the ecological techno-subsystem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Genevieve Marie Johnson

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Research findings suggest both positive and negative developmental consequences of Internet use during childhood (e.g., playing video games have been associated with enhanced visual skills as well as increased aggression. Several studies have concluded that environmental factors mediate the developmental impact of childhood online behaviour. From an ecological perspective, we propose the techno-subsystem, a dimension of the microsystem (i.e., immediate environments. The techno-subsystem includes child interaction with both living (e.g., peers and nonliving (e.g., hardware elements of communication, information, and recreation technologies in direct environments. By emphasizing the role of technology in child development, the ecological techno-subsystem encourages holistic exploration of the developmental consequences of Internet use (and future technological advances during childhood. L’usage d’Internet chez les enfants et le sous-système Techno écologique Résumé : Les résultats de recherche semblent indiquer que l’usage d’Internet chez les enfants aurait des conséquences développementales qui soit à la fois positives et négatives (ex. : l’usage des jeux vidéo auraient été associés à un accroissement des habileté visuelles ainsi qu’à un accroissement de l’agressivité. Plusieurs études ont aussi conclue que l’impact du comportement des enfants quand il sont en ligne sur leur développement serait affecté par des facteurs environnementaux. Dans une perspective écologique, nous proposons le sous-système Techno, une dimension du microsystème (ex :. les environnements immédiats. Le sous-système Techno comprend l’interaction de l’enfant avec des éléments vivants (e. : les paires et non vivants (ex; les ordinateurs de communication, d’information et de technologie de jeux dans des environnements directes.

[Urban ecological risk assessment: a review].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Mei-E; Chen, Wei-Ping; Peng, Chi

2014-03-01

With the development of urbanization and the degradation of urban living environment, urban ecological risks caused by urbanization have attracted more and more attentions. Based on urban ecology principles and ecological risk assessment frameworks, contents of urban ecological risk assessment were reviewed in terms of driven forces, risk resources, risk receptors, endpoints and integrated approaches for risk assessment. It was suggested that types and degrees of urban economical and social activities were the driven forces for urban ecological risks. Ecological functional components at different levels in urban ecosystems as well as the urban system as a whole were the risk receptors. Assessment endpoints involved in changes of urban ecological structures, processes, functional components and the integrity of characteristic and function. Social-ecological models should be the major approaches for urban ecological risk assessment. Trends for urban ecological risk assessment study should focus on setting a definite protection target and criteria corresponding to assessment endpoints, establishing a multiple-parameter assessment system and integrative assessment approaches.

How similar can co-occurring species be in the presence of competition and ecological drift?

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Capitán, José A; Cuenda, Sara; Alonso, David

2015-09-06

If two species live on a single resource, the one with a slight advantage will out-compete the other: complete competitors cannot coexist. This is known as the competitive exclusion principle. If no extinction occurs, it is because evolutionary adaptation to slightly different niches takes place. Therefore, it is widely accepted that ecological communities are assembled by evolutionary differentiation and progressive adaptation of species to different niches. However, some ecologists have recently challenged this classic paradigm highlighting the importance of chance and stochasticity. Using a synthetic framework for community dynamics, here we show that, while deterministic descriptors predict coexistence, species similarity is limited in a more restrictive way in the presence of stochasticity. We analyse the stochastic extinction phenomenon, showing that extinction occurs as competitive overlap increases above a certain threshold well below its deterministic counterpart. We also prove that the extinction threshold cannot be ascribed only to demographic fluctuations around small population sizes. The more restrictive limit to species similarity is, therefore, a consequence of the complex interplay between competitive interactions and ecological drift. As a practical implication, we show that the existence of a stochastic limit to similarity has important consequences in the recovery of fragmented habitats. © 2015 The Author(s).

Quantitative plant ecology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damgaard, Christian

2014-01-01

This e-book is written in the Wolfram' CDF format (download free CDF player from Wolfram.com) The objective of this e-book is to introduce the population ecological concepts for measuring and predicting the ecological success of plant species. This will be done by focusing on the measurement...... and statistical modelling of plant species abundance and the relevant ecological processes that control species abundance. The focus on statistical modelling and likelihood function based methods also means that more algorithm based methods, e.g. ordination techniques and boosted regression tress...

Ecological alarm system for Itaipu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Faehser, L.

1984-05-01

At Itaipu, on the Rio Parana, Brazil and Paraguay are constructing the world's largest hydro-electric power plant with a capacity seven times as high as that of Assuan. An information system is intended to give fair warning in case of threatening ecological conditions. The computer-supported alarm system had four objectives: 1. presentation of the present ecological situation; 2. evaluation of the ecological risks; 3. warning about ecological deficits; 4. suggestions for establishing ecological stability. In a first step the available inventory data concerning soil, topography, vegetation and water were evaluated by expert groups according to their risk grade (0-4) and ecological weight (1-10). The product of these evaluations indicates the ecological deficit (0-40). At a threshold value of 30, the information system automatically signals ecological alarm and locates the centre of danger via computer-plotted maps and tables. The necessary data are supplied periodically by selected measurement stations. Quantification of ecological facts enables the persons who are responsible for decisions at Itaipu to recognize, avoid, or diminish elements of danger even if they have little or no ecological knowledge. The file of data that has been compiled so far should be extended parallel with the development in the Itaipu area. With the help of factor analysis connections of cause and effect can be detected in this extremely complex reservoir system which has hardly been explored yet.

Integrating movement ecology with biodiversity research - exploring new avenues to address spatiotemporal biodiversity dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeltsch, Florian; Bonte, Dries; Pe'er, Guy; Reineking, Björn; Leimgruber, Peter; Balkenhol, Niko; Schröder, Boris; Buchmann, Carsten M; Mueller, Thomas; Blaum, Niels; Zurell, Damaris; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin; Wiegand, Thorsten; Eccard, Jana A; Hofer, Heribert; Reeg, Jette; Eggers, Ute; Bauer, Silke

2013-01-01

Movement of organisms is one of the key mechanisms shaping biodiversity, e.g. the distribution of genes, individuals and species in space and time. Recent technological and conceptual advances have improved our ability to assess the causes and consequences of individual movement, and led to the emergence of the new field of 'movement ecology'. Here, we outline how movement ecology can contribute to the broad field of biodiversity research, i.e. the study of processes and patterns of life among and across different scales, from genes to ecosystems, and we propose a conceptual framework linking these hitherto largely separated fields of research. Our framework builds on the concept of movement ecology for individuals, and demonstrates its importance for linking individual organismal movement with biodiversity. First, organismal movements can provide 'mobile links' between habitats or ecosystems, thereby connecting resources, genes, and processes among otherwise separate locations. Understanding these mobile links and their impact on biodiversity will be facilitated by movement ecology, because mobile links can be created by different modes of movement (i.e., foraging, dispersal, migration) that relate to different spatiotemporal scales and have differential effects on biodiversity. Second, organismal movements can also mediate coexistence in communities, through 'equalizing' and 'stabilizing' mechanisms. This novel integrated framework provides a conceptual starting point for a better understanding of biodiversity dynamics in light of individual movement and space-use behavior across spatiotemporal scales. By illustrating this framework with examples, we argue that the integration of movement ecology and biodiversity research will also enhance our ability to conserve diversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.

Ecological restoration [book review

Science.gov (United States)

Eric J. Gustafson

2010-01-01

Ecological restoration has increased in prominence in recent years as environmental policies have slowed the rate of environmental degradation in many parts of the world and practitioners have looked for active ways to reverse the damage. Because of the vast number of types and contexts of degraded ecological systems, the field of ecological restoration is still very...

Forest Fire Ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Zucca, Carol; And Others

1995-01-01

Presents a model that integrates high school science with the needs of the local scientific community. Describes how a high school ecology class conducted scientific research in fire ecology that benefited the students and a state park forest ecologist. (MKR)

Integrating Social Science into the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network: Social Dimensions of Ecological Change and Ecological Dimensions of Social Change

Science.gov (United States)

Charles L. Redman; J. Morgan Grove; Lauren H. Kuby; Lauren H. Kuby

2004-01-01

The integration of the social sciences into long-term ecological research is an urgent priority. To address this need, a group of social, earth, and life scientists associated with the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network have articulated a conceptual framework for understanding the human dimensions of ecological change...

Chemical ecology of fungi.

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Spiteller, Peter

2015-07-01

Fungi are widespread in nature and have conquered nearly every ecological niche. Fungi occur not only in terrestrial but also in freshwater and marine environments. Moreover, fungi are known as a rich source of secondary metabolites. Despite these facts, the ecological role of many of these metabolites is still unknown and the chemical ecology of fungi has not been investigated systematically so far. This review intends to present examples of the various chemical interactions of fungi with other fungi, plants, bacteria and animals and to give an overview of the current knowledge of fungal chemical ecology.

Ecological theories of systems and contextual change in medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellaway, Rachel H; Bates, Joanna; Teunissen, Pim W

2017-12-01

Contemporary medical practice is subject to many kinds of change, to which both individuals and systems have to respond and adapt. Many medical education programmes have their learners rotating through different training contexts, which means that they too must learn to adapt to contextual change. Contextual change presents many challenges to medical education scholars and practitioners, not least because of a somewhat fractured and contested theoretical basis for responding to these challenges. There is a need for robust concepts to articulate and connect the various debates on contextual change in medical education. Ecological theories of systems encompass a range of concepts of how and why systems change and how and why they respond to change. The use of these concepts has the potential to help medical education scholars explore the nature of change and understand the role it plays in affording as well as limiting teaching and learning. This paper, aimed at health professional education scholars and policy makers, explores a number of key concepts from ecological theories of systems to present a comprehensive model of contextual change in medical education to inform theory and practice in all areas of medical education. The paper considers a range of concepts drawn from ecological theories of systems, including biotic and abiotic factors, panarchy, attractors and repellers, basins of attraction, homeostasis, resilience, adaptability, transformability and hysteresis. Each concept is grounded in practical examples from medical education. Ecological theories of systems consider change and response in terms of adaptive cycles functioning at different scales and speeds. This can afford opportunities for systematic consideration of responses to contextual change in medical education, which in turn can inform the design of education programmes, activities, evaluations, assessments and research that accommodates the dynamics and consequences of contextual change. �

Spatial ecology across scales.

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Hastings, Alan; Petrovskii, Sergei; Morozov, Andrew

2011-04-23

The international conference 'Models in population dynamics and ecology 2010: animal movement, dispersal and spatial ecology' took place at the University of Leicester, UK, on 1-3 September 2010, focusing on mathematical approaches to spatial population dynamics and emphasizing cross-scale issues. Exciting new developments in scaling up from individual level movement to descriptions of this movement at the macroscopic level highlighted the importance of mechanistic approaches, with different descriptions at the microscopic level leading to different ecological outcomes. At higher levels of organization, different macroscopic descriptions of movement also led to different properties at the ecosystem and larger scales. New developments from Levy flight descriptions to the incorporation of new methods from physics and elsewhere are revitalizing research in spatial ecology, which will both increase understanding of fundamental ecological processes and lead to tools for better management.

Consequence Prioritization Process for Potential High Consequence Events (HCE)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freeman, Sarah G. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2016-10-31

This document describes the process for Consequence Prioritization, the first phase of the Consequence-Driven Cyber-Informed Engineering (CCE) framework. The primary goal of Consequence Prioritization is to identify potential disruptive events that would significantly inhibit an organization’s ability to provide the critical services and functions deemed fundamental to their business mission. These disruptive events, defined as High Consequence Events (HCE), include both events that have occurred or could be realized through an attack of critical infrastructure owner assets. While other efforts have been initiated to identify and mitigate disruptive events at the national security level, such as Presidential Policy Directive 41 (PPD-41), this process is intended to be used by individual organizations to evaluate events that fall below the threshold for a national security. Described another way, Consequence Prioritization considers threats greater than those addressable by standard cyber-hygiene and includes the consideration of events that go beyond a traditional continuity of operations (COOP) perspective. Finally, Consequence Prioritization is most successful when organizations adopt a multi-disciplinary approach, engaging both cyber security and engineering expertise, as in-depth engineering perspectives are required to recognize and characterize and mitigate HCEs. Figure 1 provides a high-level overview of the prioritization process.

Ecological shift and resilience in China's lake systems during the last two centuries

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ke; Dong, Xuhui; Yang, Xiangdong; Kattel, Giri; Zhao, Yanjie; Wang, Rong

2018-06-01

The worldwide decline of wetland ecosystems calls for an urgent reassessment of their current status from a resilience perspective. Understanding the trajectories of changes that have produced the current situation is fundamental for assessing system resilience. Here, we examine long-term dynamics of wetland ecosystem change by reviewing paleoecological records from 11 representative lakes in China. We identify unprecedented change in alga communities in the context of last two centuries. Striking ecological shifts have occurred in all lakes, yet with spatial and temporal differences. The long-term trajectories of change in diatom species composition and structure indicate gradually eroded system resilience. These ecological shifts were shaped by socio-economic activities as China transformed from a rural agricultural to an industrialized society within the last several decades, during which multiple drivers have accumulated and acted synergistically. The balance between ecosystem and society, which appeared to exist for thousands of years, was broken by increasing population, new technology, and urbanization since the 1980s. The consequences are the emergence of new positive feedbacks with the potential to drive the coupled systems into undesirable states. By linking long-term social and ecological change at a regional scale, our study provides a novel contribution to the understanding of lake ecosystems resilience in present-day China. We argue that sustaining wetland ecosystems requires integrated approaches that incorporate a deeper understanding of social-ecological dynamics over decadal-centennial timescales to address the complex underlying mechanisms leading to the current degradation.

SOCIAL-ECONOMICAL AND AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ISSUES OF RURAL POVERTY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANDRIY POPOVYCH

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The article presents the results of the study on the causes and consequences of rural poverty in connection with the main influencing factors. The paper suggests a conceptual framework for the investigation of complex relationship among economic growth, environmental degradation, climate change and rural poverty. The study highlights theoretical and empirical approaches to examination of potential relations among the well-being of rural population, the social-economic development of the agrarian sector of the economy and the state of ecology of countryside. The author introduces the practical instruments of filling the gap in current knowledge on links among economy, ecosystems, climate, and poverty, which provides implications for policy application and further research.

Pollination ecology and the possible impacts of environmental change in the Southwest Australian Biodiversity Hotspot

OpenAIRE

Phillips, Ryan D.; Hopper, Stephen D.; Dixon, Kingsley W.

2010-01-01

The Southwest Australian Biodiversity Hotspot contains an exceptionally diverse flora on an ancient, low-relief but edaphically diverse landscape. Since European colonization, the primary threat to the flora has been habitat clearance, though climate change is an impending threat. Here, we review (i) the ecology of nectarivores and biotic pollination systems in the region, (ii) the evidence that trends in pollination strategies are a consequence of characteristics of the landscape, and (iii) ...

Industrial ecology: a new perspective on the future of the industrial system.

Science.gov (United States)

Erkman, S

2001-09-22

Industrial ecology? A surprising, intriguing expression that immediately draws our attention. The spontaneous reaction is that "industrial ecology" is a contradiction in terms, something of an oxymoron, like "obscure clarity" or "burning ice". Why this reflex? Probably because we are accustomed to considering the industrial system as isolated from the Biosphere, with factories and cities on one side and nature on the other, as well as the recurrent problem of trying to minimise th impact of the industrial system on what is "beyond" it: its surroundings, the "environment". As early as the 1950's, this end-of-pipe angle was the one adopted by ecologists, whose first serious studies focused on the consequences of the various forms of pollution on nature. In this perspective on the industrial system, human industrial activity as such remained outside the field of research. Industrial ecology explores the opposite assumption: The industrial system can be seen as a certain kind of ecosystem. After all, the industrial system, just as natural ecosystems, can be described as a particular distribution of materials, energy, and information flows. Furthermore, the entire industrial system relies on resources and services provided by the Biosphere, from which it cannot be dissociated. (It should be specified that "industrial", in the context of industrial ecology, refers to all human activities occurring within modern technological society. Thus, tourism, housing, medical services, transportation, agriculture, etc. are part of the industrial system.) Besides its rigorous scientific conceptual framework (scientific ecology), industrial ecology can also be seen as a practical approach to sustainability. It is an attempt to address the question, "How can the concept of sustainable development be made operational in an economically feasible way?" Industrial ecology represents precisely one of the paths that could provide concrete solutions. Governments have traditionally approached

European ecological networks and greenways

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristiansen, Ib; Jongman, Rob H.G.; Kulvik, Mart

2004-01-01

renewed. Within the framework of nature conservation, the notion of an ecological network has become increasingly important. Throughout Europe, regional and national approaches are in different phases of development, which are all based on recent landscape ecological principles. Ecological networks......In the context of European integration, networks are becoming increasingly important in both social and ecological sense. Since the beginning of the 1990s, societal and scientific exchanges are being restructured as the conceptual approaches towards new nature conservation strategies have been....... This complex interaction between cultural and natural features results in quite different ways for the elaboration of ecological networks and greenways....

Using Flow-Ecology Relationships to Evaluate Ecosystem Service Trade-Offs and Complementarities in the Nation's Largest River Swamp

Science.gov (United States)

Kozak, Justin P.; Bennett, Micah G.; Hayden-Lesmeister, Anne; Fritz, Kelley A.; Nickolotsky, Aaron

2015-06-01

Large river systems are inextricably linked with social systems; consequently, management decisions must be made within a given ecological, social, and political framework that often defies objective, technical resolution. Understanding flow-ecology relationships in rivers is necessary to assess potential impacts of management decisions, but translating complex flow-ecology relationships into stakeholder-relevant information remains a struggle. The concept of ecosystem services provides a bridge between flow-ecology relationships and stakeholder-relevant data. Flow-ecology relationships were used to explore complementary and trade-off relationships among 12 ecosystem services and related variables in the Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana. Results from Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration were reduced to four management-relevant hydrologic variables using principal components analysis. Multiple regression was used to determine flow-ecology relationships and Pearson correlation coefficients, along with regression results, were used to determine complementary and trade-off relationships among ecosystem services and related variables that were induced by flow. Seven ecosystem service variables had significant flow-ecology relationships for at least one hydrologic variable ( R 2 = 0.19-0.64). River transportation and blue crab ( Callinectes sapidus) landings exhibited a complementary relationship mediated by flow; whereas transportation and crawfish landings, crawfish landings and crappie ( Pomoxis spp.) abundance, and blue crab landings and blue catfish ( Ictalurus furcatus) abundance exhibited trade-off relationships. Other trade-off and complementary relationships among ecosystem services and related variables, however, were not related to flow. These results give insight into potential conflicts among stakeholders, can reduce the dimensions of management decisions, and provide initial hypotheses for experimental flow modifications.

Using Flow-Ecology Relationships to Evaluate Ecosystem Service Trade-Offs and Complementarities in the Nation's Largest River Swamp.

Science.gov (United States)

Kozak, Justin P; Bennett, Micah G; Hayden-Lesmeister, Anne; Fritz, Kelley A; Nickolotsky, Aaron

2015-06-01

Large river systems are inextricably linked with social systems; consequently, management decisions must be made within a given ecological, social, and political framework that often defies objective, technical resolution. Understanding flow-ecology relationships in rivers is necessary to assess potential impacts of management decisions, but translating complex flow-ecology relationships into stakeholder-relevant information remains a struggle. The concept of ecosystem services provides a bridge between flow-ecology relationships and stakeholder-relevant data. Flow-ecology relationships were used to explore complementary and trade-off relationships among 12 ecosystem services and related variables in the Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana. Results from Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration were reduced to four management-relevant hydrologic variables using principal components analysis. Multiple regression was used to determine flow-ecology relationships and Pearson correlation coefficients, along with regression results, were used to determine complementary and trade-off relationships among ecosystem services and related variables that were induced by flow. Seven ecosystem service variables had significant flow-ecology relationships for at least one hydrologic variable (R (2) = 0.19-0.64). River transportation and blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) landings exhibited a complementary relationship mediated by flow; whereas transportation and crawfish landings, crawfish landings and crappie (Pomoxis spp.) abundance, and blue crab landings and blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) abundance exhibited trade-off relationships. Other trade-off and complementary relationships among ecosystem services and related variables, however, were not related to flow. These results give insight into potential conflicts among stakeholders, can reduce the dimensions of management decisions, and provide initial hypotheses for experimental flow modifications.

Social carry-over effects on non-social behavioral variation: mechanisms and consequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petri Toivo Niemelä

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The field of animal personality is interested in decomposing behaviors into different levels of variation, with its present focus on the ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences of expressed variation. Recently the role of the social environment, i.e. social partners, has been suggested to affect behavioral variation and induce selection on animal personality. Social partner effects exist because characters of social partners (e.g. size, behavior, affect the behavioral expression of a focal individual. Here, we 1 first review the proximate mechanisms underlying the social partner effects on behavioral expression and the timescales at which such effects might take place. We then 2 discuss how within- and among-individual variation in single behaviors and covariation between multiple behaviors, caused by social partners, can carry-over to non-social behaviors expressed outside the social context. Finally, we 3 highlight evolutionary consequences of social carry-over effects to non-social behaviors and 4 suggest study designs and statistical approaches which can be applied to study the nature and evolutionary consequences of social carry-over effects on non-social behaviors. Understanding the proximate mechanisms underpinning the social partner effects is important since it opens a door for deeper understanding of how social environments can affect behavioral variation and covariation at multiple levels, and the evolution of non-social behaviors (i.e. exploration, activity, boldness that are affected by social interactions.

THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE INCREASE OF THE WORLD OCEAN’S TEMPERATURE

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Diana Perticas

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Environmental pollution represents one of the problems that humanity is facing right now, problems that create a series of economic, ecologic and social consequences. This paper wishes to identify by presenting concrete data, some of the negative effects that occurred as a result of the increase of pollution on global scale, for example like the rise of global temperature. Starting with the industrial revolution but especially with the increase of the population’s needs, desires, interests that occurred during the last decades, environmental pollution intensified to an extent that we could even consider alarming. A main effect which can be easily observed by each and every person without the need to perform measurements, is the climate warming which has a series of consequences, like for example: drought, natural disasters, decrease in agricultural production, fires (especially wildfires which reduce the population of wild animals, etc. So the effects of global warming are not just ecologic but also economic and social. Another aspect analyzed in this paper is the rise of the seas’ and oceans’ temperature which inevitably results in the decrease of the population of fish and aquatic animals. The melting of glaciers is another negative effect of the climate warming which is discussed in this paper, effect which is responsible for numerous floods that result from the rise of the sea levels causing numerous damages, the most affected people being those living in the vicinity of waters. During floods, phenomenon which occurs more and more often, drainage channels are overused many times not being able to handle the huge quantities of water, thus favoring the multiplication and spreading of rodents. There are evidences showing that the number of cases of diseases transmitted by rodents increases during natural disasters, which occur more and more often during the last decades.

Ecological macroeconomics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Røpke, Inge

2013-01-01

by a more theoretical debate and increased interaction between the heterodox schools of ecological economics and post-Keynesian economics. In addition, both the degrowth community and the research community organized around sustainable transitions of socio-technical systems have contributed to discussions...... on how to reconcile environmental and social concerns. Based on this broad variety of pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, a new ecological macroeconomics is emerging, but the contours are still vague. This chapter seeks to outline some of this topography and to add a few pieces of its own by highlighting the need...... to shift resources from consumption to investment and describing the role of consumer-citizens in such a change. The chapter starts by identifying the problems and challenges for an ecological macroeconomics. The next section outlines some of the shortcomings of traditional macroeconomics...

Dynamics in artifact ecologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bødker, Susanne; Klokmose, Clemens Nylandsted

2012-01-01

We increasingly interact with multiple interactive artifacts with overlapping capabilities during our daily activities. It has previously been shown that the use of an interactive artifact cannot be understood in isolation, but artifacts must be understood as part of an artifact ecology, where...... artifacts influence the use of others. Understanding this interplay becomes more and more essential for interaction design as our artifact ecologies grow. This paper continues a recent discourse on artifact ecologies. Through interviews with iPhone users, we demonstrate that relationships between artifacts...... in artifact ecologies cannot be understood as static, instead they evolve dynamically over time. We provide activity theory-based concepts to explain these dynamics....

[Political ecology, ecological economics, and public health: interfaces for the sustainability of development and health promotion].

Science.gov (United States)

Porto, Marcelo Firpo; Martinez-Alier, Joan

2007-01-01

This article proposes to focus contributions from political ecology and ecological economics to the field of collective health with a view towards integrating the discussions around health promotion, socio-environmental sustainability, and development. Ecological economics is a recent interdisciplinary field that combines economists and other professionals from the social, human, and life sciences. The field has developed new concepts and methodologies that seek to grasp the relationship between the economy and ecological and social processes such as social metabolism and metabolic profile, thereby interrelating economic, material, and energy flows and producing indicators and indexes for (un)sustainability. Meanwhile, political ecology approaches ecological issues and socio-environmental conflicts based on the economic and power dynamics characterizing modern societies. Collective health and the discussions on health promotion can expand our understanding of territory, communities, and the role of science and institutions based on the contributions of political ecology and ecological economics in analyzing development models and the distributive and socio-environmental conflicts generated by them.

Techniques and management strategies for environmental restoration and their ecological consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gutierrez, J.; Vazquez, C.; Meckbach, R.; Wilkins, B.; Rafferty, B.; Holm, E.; Badie, M.; Burton, O.

2000-01-01

The intervention is one of the targeted situations of concern for radiological protection. One of the aspects of the intervention deals with the environmental restoration. In fact, the emergency measures taken immediately or shortly after an accident, in order to avoid unnecessary increases of radiological risks, shoul not be prolonged for long periods because of their elevated cost for society. Hence restoration of the contaminated areas could be needed and therefore researches are required for theevelopmet of obust d optimised restoration strategies. The experimental work carried out after the Chernobyl accident provided large amount of information about the environmental behaviour of radionuclides and their exposure pathways to man. Additionally, some advance on the setting up of intervention methodologies was produced, concluding that the postaccident environmental restoration is possible and desirable. However, for restoration purpose, some limitations remained concerning the capacity to predict the transfer and fluxes of radionuclides (strongly dependent on the local specificity and no directly exchangeable from one place to another) and the correct assessment of the performance of the applicable countermeasures. In the first case, a possible approach to solve the problem would be the identification and further use of some local characteristics (of the scenario of contamination), to predict, using adequate radioecological models, the behaviour of the radionuclides (and their radiological consequences) for places and times different than those experimental sites where information exists. Concerning the second problem, one must identify the features of the scenario having influence on the performance of the countermeasures and to consider those factors (not only radiological) related to their applicability, cost and secondary effects, including the management and disporadiological impact and the countermeasures performance , are unavoidable to face the

Automated experimentation in ecological networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Lurgi, Miguel; Robertson, David

2011-05-09

In ecological networks, natural communities are studied from a complex systems perspective by representing interactions among species within them in the form of a graph, which is in turn analysed using mathematical tools. Topological features encountered in complex networks have been proved to provide the systems they represent with interesting attributes such as robustness and stability, which in ecological systems translates into the ability of communities to resist perturbations of different kinds. A focus of research in community ecology is on understanding the mechanisms by which these complex networks of interactions among species in a community arise. We employ an agent-based approach to model ecological processes operating at the species' interaction level for the study of the emergence of organisation in ecological networks. We have designed protocols of interaction among agents in a multi-agent system based on ecological processes occurring at the interaction level between species in plant-animal mutualistic communities. Interaction models for agents coordination thus engineered facilitate the emergence of network features such as those found in ecological networks of interacting species, in our artificial societies of agents. Agent based models developed in this way facilitate the automation of the design an execution of simulation experiments that allow for the exploration of diverse behavioural mechanisms believed to be responsible for community organisation in ecological communities. This automated way of conducting experiments empowers the study of ecological networks by exploiting the expressive power of interaction models specification in agent systems.

Ecological sustainability and personal behavior: relations demonstrated by the decision-making process of selecting a certain transportation mean

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Priewasser, Reinhold [Linz Univ., Inst. for Environmental Management in Enterprises and Regions, Linz (Austria)

1999-07-01

Facing the aim of ecological sustainability only little emphasis has been placed on the fact that the extent of environmental stresses is not only a consequence of certain factual or structural conditions but also essentially determined by varying human behaviour patterns. Technologies and structures are not ecologically effective by themselves, their environmental relevance strongly depends on the persons' way of acting within the prevailing system. Recognising the importance of that perspective psychological and social theories about the generation of personal behaviour as well as the theoretical models of learning can offer useful indications concerning the interpersonal and extrapersonal preconditions of environmentally oriented acting. With reference to the decision-making process of selecting a certain transportation mean, the influences of rational and emotional factors and obstacles to an ecologically sustainable personal act should be exemplary demonstrated. At the same time very effective points of departure for behavioural change can be identified. (Author)

The genotypic structure of a multi-host bumblebee parasite suggests a role for ecological niche overlap.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahel M Salathé

Full Text Available The genotypic structure of parasite populations is an important determinant of ecological and evolutionary dynamics of host-parasite interactions with consequences for pest management and disease control. Genotypic structure is especially interesting where multiple hosts co-exist and share parasites. We here analyze the natural genotypic distribution of Crithidia bombi, a trypanosomatid parasite of bumblebees (Bombus spp., in two ecologically different habitats over a time period of three years. Using an algorithm to reconstruct genotypes in cases of multiple infections, and combining these with directly identified genotypes from single infections, we find a striking diversity of infection for both data sets, with almost all multi-locus genotypes being unique, and are inferring that around half of the total infections are resulting from multiple strains. Our analyses further suggest a mixture of clonality and sexuality in natural populations of this parasite species. Finally, we ask whether parasite genotypes are associated with host species (the phylogenetic hypothesis or whether ecological factors (niche overlap in flower choice shape the distribution of parasite genotypes (the ecological hypothesis. Redundancy analysis demonstrates that in the region with relatively high parasite prevalence, both host species identity and niche overlap are equally important factors shaping the distribution of parasite strains, whereas in the region with lower parasite prevalence, niche overlap more strongly contributes to the distribution observed. Overall, our study underlines the importance of ecological factors in shaping the natural dynamics of host-parasite systems.

Some problems of human ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davitashvili, M.

2009-01-01

The problems of the ecology of human are considered. The notion of ''the ecology of human'' is discussed from the viewpoint of human rights and responsibilities in reference to the environment. The ecological factors affecting the men and the ecosystems as a whole are considered. It is emphasized that the ecological problems should be solved not only globally, but also for concrete ecosystems with consideration for their specific features. (author)

Terrestrial Ecology Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, James W., Ed.; Hall, James A., Ed.

This collection of study units focuses on the study of the ecology of land habitats. Considered are such topics as map reading, field techniques, forest ecosystem, birds, insects, small mammals, soils, plant ecology, preparation of terrariums, air pollution, photography, and essentials of an environmental studies program. Each unit contains…

Climate change and an invasive, tropical milkweed: an ecological trap for monarch butterflies.

Science.gov (United States)

Faldyn, Matthew J; Hunter, Mark D; Elderd, Bret D

2018-05-01

While it is well established that climate change affects species distributions and abundances, the impacts of climate change on species interactions has not been extensively studied. This is particularly important for specialists whose interactions are tightly linked, such as between the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and the plant genus Asclepias, on which it depends. We used open-top chambers (OTCs) to increase temperatures in experimental plots and placed either nonnative Asclepias curassavica or native A. incarnata in each plot along with monarch larvae. We found, under current climatic conditions, adult monarchs had higher survival and mass when feeding on A. curassavica. However, under future conditions, monarchs fared much worse on A. curassavica. The decrease in adult survival and mass was associated with increasing cardenolide concentrations under warmer temperatures. Increased temperatures alone reduced monarch forewing length. Cardenolide concentrations in A. curassavica may have transitioned from beneficial to detrimental as temperature increased. Thus, the increasing cardenolide concentrations may have pushed the larvae over a tipping point into an ecological trap; whereby past environmental cues associated with increased fitness give misleading information. Given the ubiquity of specialist plant-herbivore interactions, the potential for such ecological traps to emerge as temperatures increase may have far-reaching consequences. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

Ecological palaeoecology: a missing link between ecology and evolution

OpenAIRE

Rull, V.

2014-01-01

Palaeoecology is more than a palaeoenvironmental discipline; it is a science that is well-suited for supplying the empirical evidence necessary to test ecological hypotheses and contributes to our understanding of the interface of ecology and evolution. A critical time frame in palaeoecology is the often-overlooked Q-time dimension (centuries to millennia), which tends to be the most appropriate time dimension to examine ecology–evolution interactions. This paper discusses these topics from a...

Assessing ecological effects of radionuclides: data gaps and extrapolation issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garnier-Laplace, Jacqueline; Gilek, Michael; Sundell-Bergman, Synnoeve; Larsson, Carl-Magnus

2004-01-01

By inspection of the FASSET database on radiation effects on non-human biota, one of the major difficulties in the implementation of ecological risk assessments for radioactive pollutants is found to be the lack of data for chronic low-level exposure. A critical review is provided of a number of extrapolation issues that arise in undertaking an ecological risk assessment: acute versus chronic exposure regime; radiation quality including relative biological effectiveness and radiation weighting factors; biological effects from an individual to a population level, including radiosensitivity and lifestyle variations throughout the life cycle; single radionuclide versus multi-contaminants. The specificities of the environmental situations of interest (mainly chronic low-level exposure regimes) emphasise the importance of reproductive parameters governing the demography of the population within a given ecosystem and, as a consequence, the structure and functioning of that ecosystem. As an operational conclusion to keep in mind for any site-specific risk assessment, the present state-of-the-art on extrapolation issues allows us to grade the magnitude of the uncertainties as follows: one species to another > acute to chronic = external to internal = mixture of stressors> individual to population> ecosystem structure to function

36 CFR 219.20 - Ecological sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Ecological sustainability... Sustainability § 219.20 Ecological sustainability. To achieve ecological sustainability, the responsible official... diversity and species diversity are components of ecological sustainability. The planning process must...

Ecological and political issues surrounding decommissioning of offshore oil facilities in the Southern California Bight

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, Donna M.; Love, Milton S.

2004-01-01

To aid legislators, resource managers, and the general public, this paper summarizes and clarifies some of the issues and options that the federal government and the state of California face in decommissioning offshore oil and gas production platforms, particularly as these relate to platform ecology. Both local marine ecology and political climate play a role in decommissioning offshore oil production platforms. Compared to the relatively supportive political climate in the Gulf of Mexico for “rigs-to-reefs” programs, conflicting social values among stakeholders in Southern California increases the need for understanding ecological impacts of various decommissioning alternatives (which range from total removal to allowing some or all of platform structure to remain in the ocean). Additional scientific needs in the decommissioning process include further assessment of platform habitat quality, estimation of regional impacts of decommissioning alternatives to marine populations, and determination of biological effects of any residual contaminants. The principal management need is a ranking of environmental priorities (e.g. species-of-interest and marine habitats). Because considerable numbers of economically important species reside near oil platforms, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries should consider the consequences of decommissioning alternatives in their overall management plans. Management strategies could include designating reefed platforms as marine protected areas. The overarching conclusion from both ecological and political perspectives is that decommissioning decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis.

Ecology-driven stereotypes override race stereotypes

OpenAIRE

Williams, Keelah E. G.; Sng, Oliver; Neuberg, Steven L.

2015-01-01

Ecological features shape people’s goals, strategies, and behaviors. Our research suggests that social perceivers possess a lay understanding of ecology’s influence on behavior, resulting in ecology-driven stereotypes. Moreover, because race is confounded with ecology in the United States, Americans’ stereotypes about racial groups may actually reflect their stereotypes about these groups’ presumed home ecologies. In a series of studies, we demonstrate that (i) individuals possess ecology-dri...

Evolutionary impact assessment: accounting for evolutionary consequences of fishing in an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.

Science.gov (United States)

Laugen, Ane T; Engelhard, Georg H; Whitlock, Rebecca; Arlinghaus, Robert; Dankel, Dorothy J; Dunlop, Erin S; Eikeset, Anne M; Enberg, Katja; Jørgensen, Christian; Matsumura, Shuichi; Nusslé, Sébastien; Urbach, Davnah; Baulier, Loїc; Boukal, David S; Ernande, Bruno; Johnston, Fiona D; Mollet, Fabian; Pardoe, Heidi; Therkildsen, Nina O; Uusi-Heikkilä, Silva; Vainikka, Anssi; Heino, Mikko; Rijnsdorp, Adriaan D; Dieckmann, Ulf

2014-03-01

Managing fisheries resources to maintain healthy ecosystems is one of the main goals of the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF). While a number of international treaties call for the implementation of EAF, there are still gaps in the underlying methodology. One aspect that has received substantial scientific attention recently is fisheries-induced evolution (FIE). Increasing evidence indicates that intensive fishing has the potential to exert strong directional selection on life-history traits, behaviour, physiology, and morphology of exploited fish. Of particular concern is that reversing evolutionary responses to fishing can be much more difficult than reversing demographic or phenotypically plastic responses. Furthermore, like climate change, multiple agents cause FIE, with effects accumulating over time. Consequently, FIE may alter the utility derived from fish stocks, which in turn can modify the monetary value living aquatic resources provide to society. Quantifying and predicting the evolutionary effects of fishing is therefore important for both ecological and economic reasons. An important reason this is not happening is the lack of an appropriate assessment framework. We therefore describe the evolutionary impact assessment (EvoIA) as a structured approach for assessing the evolutionary consequences of fishing and evaluating the predicted evolutionary outcomes of alternative management options. EvoIA can contribute to EAF by clarifying how evolution may alter stock properties and ecological relations, support the precautionary approach to fisheries management by addressing a previously overlooked source of uncertainty and risk, and thus contribute to sustainable fisheries.

Children's Ecology Books.

Science.gov (United States)

Lussenhop, Martha

Selected for this listing of children's books are fiction and non-fiction books which add to an understanding of ecology, broadly considered here as the study of the interrelationships of organisms to each other and their environment. General ecology, natural resources, man and his environment, evolution and adaptation, appreciation, survival,…

AN INTERSECTION IN THE ECOLOGICAL PARADIGM: ECOLOGIST CINEMA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Refik YASLIKAYA

2015-07-01

Full Text Available We have witnessed the rise of ecologist movements since the second half of 20. Century when it is understood that t he mankind has exploited and polluted the world he/ she lives on as far as the world will be exterminated by the mankind. This rise has sometimes been concrete with the acts of an organization that is environmental protector; has come into existence with t he basic thesis of green parties that contains ecologist policies or has been one of the basic arguments of international politics. As a consequence of this, environmental awareness and protectionist approach have been mentioned from national policy docume nts and green party programs to international/ supranational agreements and acts of environmentalist activists in the academic studies in a broad framework. Moreover, a lot of ecological based philosophical trend like deep ecology, eco - socialism, eco - femin ism, etc. has emerged in this process. In the period in question, a sector has also adopted the environmental awareness as a subject; but this sector’s activities haven’t been mentioned so much in academic studies. Mentioned sector is cinema; in other wor ds, it is American and European based film industry. American based Holywood is the center that made the first production in this sense. Starting from 1970’s, lots of films have been begun to play under the main topic of disaster movie. European film indus try has started to use this theme as of 2000’s yet. First produced films were fictionalized via disaster scenarios which arise depending on a singular problem. In this frame, lots of factors like an earthquake, flood, a disease that a virus appears suddenl y creates were thought as the initiator of disaster. The solutions found for singular problem are usually the solutions found depending on the work of a person or a small group of professionals. In time, we can see that the themes change into global ecolog ical disasters which affect the world in general

Ecological States and the Resilience of Coral Reefs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim McClanahan

2002-12-01

incidence of diseases in coral reef species. Consequently, many coral reefs, including those that are heavily managed, have experienced net losses in accumulated inorganic carbon in recent decades and appear likely to continue this trend in coming decades. Reefs urgently need to be managed with a view to strengthening their resilience to the increased frequency and intensity of these pressures. Ecological targets must include the restoration or maintenance of species diversity, keystone species, spatial heterogeneity, refugia, and connectivity. Achieving these goals will require unprecedented cooperative synergy between human organizations at all political levels, from intergovernmental to local. * [ERRATUM: A longer version of this paper is published as a book chapter in McClanahan, T.R., N.V.C. Polunin and T.J. Done. 2002. Resilience of coral reefs. in L.H. Gunderson and L. Pritchard Jr. (editors. Resilience and the Behavior of Large-Scale Systems. SCOPE and Island Press, Washington. The original version of this paper stated incorrectly that the book chapter was still in press.

Nuclear energy prevents ecological disaster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelman, S.

1999-01-01

Full text: The booklet containing 6 pages brings forth 10 arguments and facts called upon to convince the reader that the nuclear energy is the main if not the only means to avoid catastrophic ecological consequences caused by the increasing non-usage of the organic fuel. By the middle of the 2lst century the triple growth of the worldwide energy consumption will inevitably cause a significant increase Of CO 2 , NO 2 , SO 2 emission and reduction of oxygen content in the Earth atmosphere if it is satisfied as before due to the combustion of coal, petrol and gas. Significant changes of the environment are turning out to be a serious threat to the existence of mankind. Such dispiriting fact and some other negative factors inherent in the so-called 'fire' energy oppose to the remarkable advantages already demonstrated by the nuclear energy supposed to become the energy of the 21st century. The text will contain the tables and color pictures to further the perception of the material set forth in the booklet. (author)

'Ecological embeddedness' and Its Public Health Implications: Findings From an Exploratory Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Marina; Townsend, Mardie

2015-06-01

Western culture over the last two centuries has become significantly ecologically 'dis-embedded', with nature increasingly reduced to resources for human use. The consequence is global environmental degradation, including accelerating climate change. Much recent research supports associations between nature contact and human health and well-being, and between feelings of nature-connectedness and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. The oft-cited Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (WHO, Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, 1986) emphasises human-environment inextricability; however public health discourse and response has not fully engaged with this recognition. This qualitative study explored the attitudes, motivations, and experiences-including formative influences-of six individuals whose behaviour was congruent with recognition of human-nature interconnectedness; such individuals may be understood as ecologically embedded. Key aspects of participants' experience, identified through grounded theory thematic analysis, were (i) connecting with nature (especially in childhood); (ii) seeing the threat and taking it personally; (iii) the nature of reality; (iv) dedicated beyond the ego-oriented self; and (v) sustaining the eco-centric self. The findings highlight the necessity for cross-sectoral advocacy at all levels of government policy development focused on recognition of human-environment connectedness, especially bridging health, planning and education policies affecting children. Only thus will both population health and ecological health on which population health depends be possible.

Integrated radiation and ecological assessment of both environment and living and working places

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konoplya, E.F.; Lobanok, L.M.

1997-01-01

Are given the results of researches carried out in Belarus in 1996 on the following directions: study of radionuclides behaviour dynamics in an environment (air, water, ground), ecosystems and populated areas; optimization of system of radiation ecological monitoring in the republic as well as scientific methodological and methodical methods of its realization; study of effects of low doze irradiation; research of a role of chemical and other factors in occurrence and current of pathological states on a background of chronic low doze irradiation; radiobiological and radioecological consequences of the Chernobyl accident

Ecology and economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menard, M.; Bischoff, J.

1980-01-01

The green movement challenges workers' unions and socialists. Who are the 'Greens', and what do they want. Where do their theoretical fundamentals come from. Will an ecological economy be able to function. Are the 'Greens' leftists or dreamers fighting against progress. Arguments for trade unionists and socialists in the ecological controversy. (orig.) [de

Statistical Physics Approaches to Microbial Ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Pankaj

The unprecedented ability to quantitatively measure and probe complex microbial communities has renewed interest in identifying the fundamental ecological principles governing community ecology in microbial ecosystems. Here, we present work from our group and others showing how ideas from statistical physics can help us uncover these ecological principles. Two major lessons emerge from this work. First, large, ecosystems with many species often display new, emergent ecological behaviors that are absent in small ecosystems with just a few species. To paraphrase Nobel laureate Phil Anderson, ''More is Different'', especially in community ecology. Second, the lack of trophic layer separation in microbial ecology fundamentally distinguishes microbial ecology from classical paradigms of community ecology and leads to qualitative different rules for community assembly in microbes. I illustrate these ideas using both theoretical modeling and novel new experiments on large microbial ecosystems performed by our collaborators (Joshua Goldford and Alvaro Sanchez). Work supported by Simons Investigator in MMLS and NIH R35 R35 GM119461.

The science of ecological economics: a content analysis of Ecological Economics, 1989-2004.

Science.gov (United States)

Luzadis, Valerie A; Castello, Leandro; Choi, Jaewon; Greenfield, Eric; Kim, Sung-kyun; Munsell, John; Nordman, Erik; Franco, Carol; Olowabi, Flavien

2010-01-01

The Ecological Economics journal is a primary source for inquiry on ecological economics and sustainability. To explore the scholarly pursuit of ecological economics, we conducted a content analysis of 200 randomly sampled research, survey, and methodological articles published in Ecological Economics during the 15-year period of 1989-2004. Results of the analysis were used to investigate facets of transdisciplinarity within the journal. A robust qualitative approach was used to gather and examine data to identify themes representing substantive content found within the span of sampled journal papers. The extent to which each theme was represented was counted as well as additional data, such as author discipline, year published, etc. Four main categories were revealed: (1) foundations (self-reflexive themes stemming from direct discussions about ecological economics); (2) human systems, represented by the themes of values, social indicators of well-being, intergenerational distribution, and equity; (3) biophysical systems, including themes, such as carrying capacity and scarcity, energy, and resource use, relating directly to the biophysical aspects of systems; and (4) policy and management encompassing themes of development, growth, trade, accounting, and valuation, as well as institutional structures and management. The results provide empirical evidence for discussing the future direction of ecological economic efforts.

EDUCATION IN ECOLOGICAL TOURISM AND THE USE OF ECOLOGICAL EDUCATIONAL PATHS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akulina Stefanova

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Bulgaria is an unexplored and attractive tourist destination offering diverse and matchless opportunities in tourist activities. One opportunity could be the ecologically tourism based on natural sightseeing tours and visiting beautiful sites, experiencing customs and rites. Tourism can preserve the environment as well help rise locals’ standard of living. Introducing ecological educational paths (with correctly defined goals, helps achieve new knowledge, foster already taught ideas in school and acquire new skills. Well educated and theoretically prepared specialists who are united in the idea of “correct tourism” and by sending clear messages can help give a lift to Bulgarian ecological tourism.

[Progress and prospects on evaluation of ecological restoration: a review of the 5th World Conference on Ecological Restoration].

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Jing-Yi; Zhao, Wen-Wu

2014-09-01

The 5th World Conference on Ecological Restoration was held in Madison, Wisconsin, USA on October 6-11, 2013. About 1200 delegates from more than 50 countries attended the conference, and discussed the latest developments in different thematic areas of ecological restoration. Discussions on evaluation of ecological restoration were mainly from three aspects: The construction for evaluation indicator system of ecological restoration; the evaluation methods of ecological restoration; monitoring and dynamic evaluation of ecological restoration. The meeting stressed the importance of evaluation in the process of ecological restoration and concerned the challenges in evaluation of ecological restoration. The conference had the following enlightenments for China' s research on evaluation of ecological restoration: 1) Strengthening the construction of comprehensive evaluation indicators system and focusing on the multi-participation in the evaluation process. 2) Paying more attentions on scale effect and scale transformation in the evaluation process of ecological restoration. 3) Expanding the application of 3S technology in assessing the success of ecological restoration and promoting the dynamic monitoring of ecological restoration. 4) Carrying out international exchanges and cooperation actively, and promoting China's international influence in ecological restoration research.

Hollow Ecology: Ecological Modernization Theory and the Death of Nature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey A. Ewing

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The last few decades have seen the rise of ‘ecological modernization theory’ (EMT as a “green capitalist” tradition extending modernization theory into environmental sociology. This article uses a synthesis of political economy, world-systems theory, and political, economic, and environmental sociology to demonstrate that the EMT presumption of growth and profit as economic priorities (alongside its neglect of core-periphery relations produces many feedback loops which fatally undermine the viability of EMT’s own political, technological, and social prescriptions, alongside creating problems for the fundamental EMT concept of ‘ecological rationality.’ Furthermore, this article attempts to explain why “green capitalist” approaches to environmental analysis have influence within policy and social science circles despite their inadequacies within environmental sociology. Finally, this article argues that in order to address the ecological challenges of our era, environmental sociology needs to reject “green capitalist” traditions like ‘ecological modernization theory’ which presuppose the desirability and maintenance of profit and growth as economic priorities (and predominantly fail to critique power imbalances between core and non-core nations, and instead return to the development of traditions willing to critique the fundamental traits of the capitalist world-system.

Thermal ecology of gregarious and solitary nettle-feeding nymphalid butterfly larvae.

Science.gov (United States)

Bryant, S R; Thomas, C D; Bale, J S

2000-01-01

Group-living in animal populations has many possible ecological and evolutionary explanations, including predator evasion and feeding facilitation. In insects, the thermal balance of solitary and gregarious larvae is likely to differ and may thus have important ecological consequences. The abilities of the larvae of four species of nettle-feeding nymphalid butterflies to thermoregulate were quantified in the field. Larval surface body temperatures of the gregarious Aglais urticae (small tortoiseshell) and Inachis io (peacock) and the solitary Polygonia c-album (comma) and Vanessa atalanta (red admiral) were measured for each instar, in both sunny and overcast conditions, over a seasonal range of temperatures. The results suggested two distinct larval thermal strategies. In the presence of direct sunlight, the exposed gregarious larvae of A. urticae and I. io regulated body temperatures at 32.5 and 31.5°C, respectively, while the temperatures of concealed larvae of P. c-album and V. atalanta were largely dependent on ambient temperatures. In the sun, the range of body temperatures recorded for A. urticae and I. io larvae was fairly narrow relative to ambient temperatures. This suggests a high degree of thermal control in these species. Modal body temperatures coincided with the temperature at which development rate is maximal. Regardless of whether changes in thermoregulation are a cause or consequence of the evolution of gregariousness, the combination of behavioural thermoregulation and gregariousness in larval insects has important implications for voltinism patterns and range extension (via increased development rates). Distributional responses of gregarious and solitary larvae to climatic warming may differ as a result of changes in cloud cover as well as changes in temperature.

Social Ecology and Diabetes Self-Management among Pacific Islanders in Arkansas.

Science.gov (United States)

McElfish, Pearl Anna; Moore, Ramey; Woodring, David; Purvis, Rachel S; Maskarinec, Gregory G; Bing, Williamina Ioanna; Hudson, Jonell; Kohler, Peter O; Goulden, Peter A

2016-01-01

Chronic diseases disproportionately affect ethnic and racial minorities. Pacific Islanders, including the Marshallese, experience some of the highest documented rates of type 2 diabetes. Northwest Arkansas is home to the largest population of Marshallese outside of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and many migrants are employed by the local poultry industry. This migrant population continues to increase because of climate change, limited health care and educational infrastructure in the Marshall Islands, and the ongoing health effects of US nuclear testing. The US nuclear weapons testing program had extensive social, economic, and ecological consequences for the Marshallese and many of the health disparities they face are related to the nuclear fallout. Beginning in 2013, researchers using a community-based participatory (CBPR) approach began working with the local Marshallese community to address diabetes through the development and implementation of culturally appropriate diabetes self-management education in a family setting. Preliminary research captured numerous and significant environmental barriers that constrain self-management behaviors. At the request of our CBPR stakeholders, researchers have documented the ecological barriers faced by the Marshallese living in Arkansas through a series of qualitative research projects. Using the Social Ecological Model as a framework, this research provides an analysis of Marshallese health that expands the traditional diabetes self-management perspective. Participants identified barriers at the organizational, community, and policy levels that constrain their efforts to achieve diabetes self-management. We offer practice and policy recommendations to address barriers at the community, organizational, and policy level.

Between Design and Ecology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Mona Chor

such vegetation, based on concepts and theories in plant community ecology. If these communities are based on local forbs there is a continuum in anthropogenic intervention from designed and intensively maintained to semi-natural herbaceous vegetation. Results from a large field experiment show that, after three...... colonised by grasses and eventually woody species. This thesis adds useful basic knowledge in plant community ecology and species-specific growth, which are relevant to research and planning in landscape architecture and ecology....

Ecological and meteorological drought monitoring in East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, J. B.; Um, M. J.; Kim, Y.; Chae, Y.

2016-12-01

This study aims to how well the ecological drought index can capture the drought status in the East Asia. We estimated the drought severe index (DSI), which uses the evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), suggested by Mu et al. (2013) to define the ecological drought. In addition, the meteorological drought index, which is standardized precipitation and evapotranspiration index (SPEI), are estimated and compared to the DSI. The satellite data by moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and advanced very-high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR) are used to analyze the DSI and the monthly precipitation and temperature data in the climate research unit (CRU) are applied to estimate the SPEI for 2000-2013 in the East Asia. We conducted the statistical analyses to investigate the drought characteristics of the ecological and meteorological drought indices (i.e. the DSI and SPEI, respectively) and then compared those characteristics drought indices depending on the drought status. We found the DSI did not well captured the drought status when the categories originally suggested by Mu et al. (2013) are applied to divide the drought status in the study area. Consequently, the modified categories for the DSI in this study is suggested and then applied to define the drought status. The modified categories in this study show the great improvement to capture the drought status in the East Asia even though the results cannot be acquired around Taklamakan desert due to the lack of the satellite data. These results illustrate the ecological drought index, such as the DSI, can be applied for the monitoring of the drought in the East Asia and then can give the detailed information of drought status because the satellite data have the relatively high spatial resolutions compared to the observations such as the CRU data. Reference Mu Q, Zhao M, Kimball JS, McDowell NG, Running SW (2013) A remotely sensed global

The Autoimmune Ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Anaya, Juan-Manuel; Ramirez-Santana, Carolina; Alzate, Maria A; Molano-Gonzalez, Nicolas; Rojas-Villarraga, Adriana

2016-01-01

Autoimmune diseases (ADs) represent a heterogeneous group of disorders that affect specific target organs or multiple organ systems. These conditions share common immunopathogenic mechanisms (i.e., the autoimmune tautology), which explain the clinical similarities they have among them as well as their familial clustering (i.e., coaggregation). As part of the autoimmune tautology, the influence of environmental exposure on the risk of developing ADs is paramount (i.e., the autoimmune ecology). In fact, environment, more than genetics, shapes immune system. Autoimmune ecology is akin to exposome, that is all the exposures - internal and external - across the lifespan, interacting with hereditary factors (both genetics and epigenetics) to favor or protect against autoimmunity and its outcomes. Herein, we provide an overview of the autoimmune ecology, focusing on the immune response to environmental agents in general, and microbiota, cigarette smoking, alcohol and coffee consumption, socioeconomic status (SES), gender and sex hormones, vitamin D, organic solvents, and vaccines in particular. Inclusion of the autoimmune ecology in disease etiology and health will improve the way personalized medicine is currently conceived and applied.

THE AUTOIMMUNE ECOLOGY.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan-Manuel eAnaya

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Autoimmune diseases (ADs represent a heterogeneous group of disorders that affect specific target organs or multiple organ systems. These conditions share common immunopathogenic mechanisms (i.e., the autoimmune tautology, which explain the clinical similarities they have among them as well as their familial clustering (i.e., coaggregation. As part of the autoimmune tautology, the influence of environmental exposure on the risk of developing ADs is paramount (i.e., the autoimmune ecology. In fact, environment, more than genetics, shapes immune system. Autoimmune ecology is akin to exposome, that is all the exposures - internal and external - across the lifespan, interacting with hereditary factors (both genetics and epigenetics to favor or protect against autoimmunity and its outcomes. Herein we provide an overview of the autoimmune ecology, focusing on the immune response to environmental agents in general, and microbiota, cigarette smoking, alcohol and coffee consumption, socioeconomic status, gender and sex hormones, vitamin D, organic solvents and vaccines in particular. Inclusion of the autoimmune ecology in disease etiology and health will improve the way personalized medicine is currently conceived and applied.

THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS AND ITS IMPACT ON WOMEN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Onidia Aguilar-Benítez

2016-01-01

Full Text Available As consequence of the depth that has reached the crisis of the capitalism under the current conditions they have been increased in a limitless way the contemporary global problems, those that are influencing in the world and that they affect from a sharper way to the underdeveloped countries. This work has as objective to demonstrate how the problems generated at the present time by the ecological crisis as part of the manifestations of the general crisis of the capitalism have affected to the humblest in the planet and especially to the women that are and they will be affected in a differentiated way and much more severe for the climatic change and the natural disasters due to its social paper, the allotment of lists, the discrimination and the poverty in that you/they live. Men and women don’t confront of equal it forms the difficulties that it implies the climatic change. The women constitute the population’s 70 %, for that that, in the face of the climatic change the women are more vulnerable than the men to their effects. In the work they are exposed as the effects of the climatic change in our country they don’t have the same consequences. 

Ecological balance between supply and demand based on cultivated land ecological footprint method in Guizhou Province

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Qinghuan; Zhou, Dequan; Bai, Xiaoyong; Xiao, Jianyong; Chen, Fei; Zeng, Cheng

2018-01-01

In order to construct the indicators of the balance between supply and demand of the cultivated land ecological carrying capacity, basing on the relation of the cultivated land ecological carrying capacity supply and demand, applying the model of Cultivated Land Ecological Footprints and the method of CIS and considering the factors of cultivated land production, taking the statistical data of 2015 as an example, and then made a systematic evaluation of the balance between supply and demand of the cultivated land ecological carrying capacity in Guizhou Province. The results show that (1) the spatial distribution of supply and demand of cultivated land ecological carrying capacity in Guizhou is unbalanced, and the northern and eastern parts are the overloading area, the middle, the south and the west parts are the balance area. (2) From the perspective of cultivated land structure, the crops with ecological carrying capacity surplus were rice, vegetables and peanuts, among which rice was the highest and the ecological balance index was 0.7354. The crops with ecological carrying capacity overload were potato, wheat, maize, rapeseeds, soybeans and cured tobacco, of which the index of potato up to 7.11, other types of indices are less than 1.5. The research can provide the ecological security early warning, the overall plan of land use and sustainable development of the area cultivated land with scientific evidence and decision support.

Intraspecific ecological niche divergence and reproductive shifts foster cytotype displacement and provide ecological opportunity to polyploids.

Science.gov (United States)

Karunarathne, Piyal; Schedler, Mara; Martínez, Eric J; Honfi, Ana I; Novichkova, Anastasiia; Hojsgaard, Diego

2018-05-11

Niche divergence between polyploids and their lower ploidy progenitors is one of the primary mechanisms fostering polyploid establishment and adaptive divergence. However, within-species chromosomal and reproductive variability have usually been neglected in community ecology and biodiversity analyses even though they have been recognized to play a role in the adaptive diversification of lineages. We used Paspalum intermedium, a grass species with diverging genetic systems (diploidy vs. autopolyploidy, allogamy vs. autogamy and sexuality vs. apomixis), to recognize the causality of biogeographic patterns, adaptation and ecological flexibility of cytotypes. Chromosome counts and flow cytometry were used to characterize within-species genetic systems diversity. Environmental niche modelling was used to evaluate intraspecific ecological attributes associated with environmental and climatic factors and to assess correlations among ploidy, reproductive modes and ecological conditions ruling species' population dynamics, range expansion, adaptation and evolutionary history. Two dominant cytotypes non-randomly distributed along local and regional geographical scales displayed niche differentiation, a directional shift in niche optima and signs of disruptive selection on ploidy-related ecological aptitudes for the exploitation of environmental resources. Ecologically specialized allogamous sexual diploids were found in northern areas associated with higher temperature, humidity and productivity, while generalist autogamous apomictic tetraploids occurred in southern areas, occupying colder and less productive environments. Four localities with a documented shift in ploidy and four mixed populations in a zone of ecological transition revealed an uneven replacement between cytotypes. Polyploidy and contrasting reproductive traits between cytotypes have promoted shifts in niche optima, and increased ecological tolerance and niche divergence. Ecologically specialized diploids

Development of Ecological Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrius Keizikas

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The article presents research on ecological buildings and their influence on the constructional sphere. The aim of the paper is to reveal the essence of ecological architecture showing substantial progress and its potential to stimulate architectural and technological growth. The article also describes relations between the ideas of ecological buildings and the ‘passive house’ concepts and aspects of development as well as describes the possibilities of improving building sustainability and energy efficiency. Article in Lithuanian

Ecology and Education in Landscape Architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Miller

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Landscape architects engage in a wide range of projects relating to environmental quality. Indeed, the goals of preserving biodiversity and maintaining the integrity of ecological function is implicit in the charters of several of the discipline's professional organisations. Nonetheless, there is widespread opinion that much of the potential of design to contribute to environmental solutions goes unrealised. There are numerous explanations that purport to account for this situation; in this paper, we focus on one, the assertion that degree programmes in landscape architecture generally do a poor job of preparing students for practice grounded in ecological awareness. We examined the validity of this assertion by quantifying the amount and form of ecology-based coursework required of landscape architecture students. We surveyed the curricula of all 63 accredited, first-professional degree programmes in North America (28 offering a BLA, 17 offering an MLA and 18 offering both. We focused on required courses that could be categorised as emphasising information-based ecology, ecology/design integration, or plant identification and ecology. We recorded the level (introductory or advanced and number of credit hours for each course, and the total number of credits required for graduation in each programme. Thirty-seven undergraduate programmes required an introductory information-based ecology course. Only 13 required an advanced class in ecology and, of these, only three required coursework in landscape ecology. All of the undergraduate programmes except one required a plant class. Ten of the graduate programmes required an information-based class, an advanced, except one. Six required a course in landscape ecology. Eight required at least one ecology-design integration course, yet had no requirements regarding information-based courses. Thirty graduate programmes required at least one plant course. We discuss the implications of these results and

A conception of ecological providing ground

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miroshkina, S.

1995-01-01

Full text: Ecological proving ground is a multifunctional intersectoral and interterritorial complex. The proving ground is created to organize the work of the Regional System of Ecological Safety, its structure and elements, and their unification and conversion into national system. It's also created for the working out of some questions of technical policy and normative-legal regulation in the field of ecology. The main task is the elaboration of mechanisms for the co-operation of the legislative executive bodies and their regional structure in the process of creation adoption and working of the Complex Regional System of Ecological Safety. The directions of polygon's activity: 1. Sanitary-epidemic protection of population. 2. Radiational Safety. 3. Chemical Safety. 4. Monitoring of Ecological situation and normalization of the environment. 4.1. Control of contamination of the waters. 4.2. Control of contamination of the air. 4.3. Ecological monitoring of soil. 4.4. State and protection of flora and fauna. 5. Ecologically pure agricultural production on the territory of the polygon. 5.1. Radiational and chemical control of agricultural areas and production. 5.2. Production of pure products. 6. The creation of normative, legal, informational, methodical and metrological supply of polygon's activity. 7. Optimization of the models of ecological situation. 8. Ecological informational-educational activity. The choice of territory for the polygon is based on the following statements: the intensity of ecological situation; the topography of the environment; the density of population; the availability of scientific base; the intensity of social movements. Some experience, that would allow to improve existing ecological legislation and spread some tried methods of supply of ecological safety on the territory of Russia, will be gained as a result. (author)

Framework for ecological risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodier, D.; Norton, S.

1992-02-01

Increased interest in ecological issues such as global climate change, habitat loss, acid deposition, reduced biological diversity, and the ecological impacts of pesticides and toxic chemicals prompts this U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, A Framework for Ecological Risk Assessment ('Framework Report'). The report describes basic elements, or a framework, for evaluating scientific information on the adverse effects of physical and chemical stressors on the environment. The framework offers starting principles and a simple structure as guidance for current ecological risk assessments and as a foundation for future EPA proposals for risk assessment guidelines

Taoism and Deep Ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Sylvan, Richard; Bennett, David

1988-01-01

Contrasted are the philosophies of Deep Ecology and ancient Chinese. Discusses the cosmology, morality, lifestyle, views of power, politics, and environmental philosophies of each. Concludes that Deep Ecology could gain much from Taoism. (CW)

THE ROLE OF ENERGY IN ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Popescu Maria-Floriana

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The rapid population growth leads to greater daily demand for energy, causing nations to diversify their portfolios and seek new sources of energy, including renewable to provide more energy. In a universe with seriously exhausted natural resources, severe urbanization, climate change and conflicts that go beyond borders, the issue of overpopulation unquestionably causes worldwide debates and can generate a snowball effect for the global economy or human society. Population’s increase in the nearby future will have a central role in challenges such as: global warming, air and water contamination, increase in the level of poverty, food scarcity, deforestation, desertification, health problems and resource shortages. The transformation into a sustainable environmental model, situated in a post-carbon economy, will imply setting barriers to industrial progress (will have to be sustainable and environmental friendly and also to population growth (will have to follow a normal pace. But, the level on vulnerability and uncertainty in the evolution of energy has been threatened lately by major events that took place all around the world. Security of supply, new geopolitical perspectives and ecological and sustainability issues are yet again on the bleeding line. Therefore, the goal of this theoretical article is to give an overview of the current situation concerning the role of energy in ecological sustainability. It expresses routes in which humans and enterprises can act in order to contribute to ecologically sustainable development. The subject of how we live on a congested planet represents the most critical sustainability of all. We are witnessing our current risks and we can also envision our possible, and particularly desirable, future: a steady human population, living and protecting the nature and planet, having finite needs of goods, services, or energy, and maintaining a healthy Earth for us and the animals that also depend on it. This is

Ecological implications of changes in polychaetes population in a shallow Danish estuary

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Delefosse, Matthieu

Burrowing polychaetes are typically the most numerous and active class among macrobenthic infauna in Danish estuaries. Their ecological role is well-recognized and has been often associated with their bioturbating activities. Construction and maintenance of galleries as well as ingestion and defe......Burrowing polychaetes are typically the most numerous and active class among macrobenthic infauna in Danish estuaries. Their ecological role is well-recognized and has been often associated with their bioturbating activities. Construction and maintenance of galleries as well as ingestion...... and defecation displace sediment particles. Ventilation of their burrow irrigates the sediment. These activities transform the environment for other species: from microbes to plants (MS5). Given the important relations between bioturbating polychaetes and their ecosystem, any significant changes in population...... of a key species may have consequent impact on the ecosystem. The introduction of non-native species is an important vector of change for the often species-poor benthic community of Danish estuaries. Non-native species may bring new functions but also interact with native fauna species. The work presented...

DEVELOPMENT OF ECOLOGICAL CULTURE OF STUDENTS IN THE PROCESS OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. M. Andryukhina

2017-01-01

representation of the research results have been involved. Results and scientific novelty. New principles for the development of ecological culture are singled out. It is stated that intercultural communication is becoming the main mechanism for ecological culture development. Selection of the most productive innovative pedagogical technologies of ecological competence formation of students is carried out. Based on the obtained students’ questioning data, the factors promoting the increase of the individual ecological culture level are defined. It has become clear that pupils attach the greatest importance to the participation in international ecological projects, ecological tourism and acquaintance with traditions of different nationalities; at the same time, the role of foreign languages knowledge, reading foreign non-translated sources on environmental issues, and, in general, the importance of cross-cultural communication are estimated by students at a very low level. The authors conclude that relatively little attention is drawn to the issues of ecological culture in the process of foreign languages learning in higher education institutions; students practically do not get the experience of intercultural interaction. The integrative didactic model of ecological culture formation among students is offered. Consequently, intercultural communication plays an important part in the development of ecological culture formation. The educational programme of the course «Development of Ecological Culture of Students in the course of Intercultural Communication in French» is designed on the basis of the proposed model; the results of its approbation are described. Practical significance. The materials of the article can be useful when updating the content of the discipline «Foreign Language», and improvement of the educational process at higher school aimed at the development of students’ ecological culture as well. 

Challenges of ecological restoration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Halme, Panu; Allen, Katherine A.; Aunins, Ainars

2013-01-01

we introduce northern forests as an ecosystem, discuss the historical and recent human impact and provide a brief status report on the ecological restoration projects and research already conducted there. Based on this discussion, we argue that before any restoration actions commence, the ecology......The alarming rate of ecosystem degradation has raised the need for ecological restoration throughout different biomes and continents. North European forests may appear as one of the least vulnerable ecosystems from a global perspective, since forest cover is not rapidly decreasing and many...... on Biological Diversity. Several northern countries are now taking up this challenge by restoring forest biodiversity with increasing intensity. The ecology and biodiversity of boreal forests are relatively well understood making them a good model for restoration activities in many other forest ecosystems. Here...

Protected areas as social-ecological systems: perspectives from resilience and social-ecological systems theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Cumming, Graeme S; Allen, Craig R

2017-09-01

Conservation biology and applied ecology increasingly recognize that natural resource management is both an outcome and a driver of social, economic, and ecological dynamics. Protected areas offer a fundamental approach to conserving ecosystems, but they are also social-ecological systems whose ecological management and sustainability are heavily influenced by people. This editorial, and the papers in the invited feature that it introduces, discuss three emerging themes in social-ecological systems approaches to understanding protected areas: (1) the resilience and sustainability of protected areas, including analyses of their internal dynamics, their effectiveness, and the resilience of the landscapes within which they occur; (2) the relevance of spatial context and scale for protected areas, including such factors as geographic connectivity, context, exchanges between protected areas and their surrounding landscapes, and scale dependency in the provision of ecosystem services; and (3) efforts to reframe what protected areas are and how they both define and are defined by the relationships of people and nature. These emerging themes have the potential to transform management and policy approaches for protected areas and have important implications for conservation, in both theory and practice. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Sustainability and economics: The Adirondack Park experience, a forest economic-ecological model, and solar energy policy

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, Jon David

The long-term sustainability of human communities will depend on our relationship with regional environments, our maintenance of renewable resources, and our successful disengagement from nonrenewable energy dependence. This dissertation investigates sustainability at these three levels, following a critical analysis of sustainability and economics. At the regional environment level, the Adirondack Park of New York State is analyzed as a potential model of sustainable development. A set of initial and ongoing conditions are presented that both emerge from and support a model of sustainability in the Adirondacks. From these conditions, a clearer picture emerges of the definition of regional sustainability, consequences of its adoption, and lessons from its application. Next, an economic-ecological model of the northern hardwood forest ecosystem is developed. The model integrates economic theory and intertemporal ecological concepts, linking current harvest decisions with future forest growth, financial value, and ecosystem stability. The results indicate very different economic and ecological outcomes by varying opportunity cost and ecosystem recovery assumptions, and suggest a positive benefit to ecological recovery in the forest rotation decision of the profit maximizing manager. The last section investigates the motives, economics, and international development implications of renewable energy (specifically photovoltaic technology) in rural electrification and technology transfer, drawing on research in the Dominican Republic. The implications of subsidizing a photovoltaic market versus investing in basic research are explored.

Information Assurance Cyber Ecology

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Jorgensen, Jane

2003-01-01

.... The goals of the Cyber Ecology project were to: (1) enable and demonstrate the discovery of noel IA technologies for the detection and mitigation of damage due to cyber attack through the application of ecological models, (2...

Divergence is not enough: the use of ecological niche models for the validation of taxon boundaries.

Science.gov (United States)

Dagnino, D; Minuto, L; Casazza, G

2017-11-01

Delimiting taxon boundaries is crucial for any evolutionary research and conservation regulation. In order to avoid mistaken description of species, the approach of integrative taxonomy recommends considering multidisciplinary lines of evidence, including ecology. Unfortunately, ecological data are often difficult to quantify objectively. Here we test and discuss the potential use of ecological niche models for validating taxon boundaries, using three pairs of closely related plant taxa endemic to the south-western Alps as a case study. We also discuss the application of ecological niche models for species delimitation and the implementation of different approaches. Niche overlap, niche equivalency and niche similarity were assessed both in multidimensional environmental space and in geographic space to look for differences in the niche of three pairs of closely related plant taxa. We detected a high degree of niche differentiation between taxa although this result seems not due to differences in habitat selection. The different statistical tests gave contrasting outcomes between environmental and geographic spaces. According to our results, niche divergence does not seem to support taxon boundaries at species level, but may have had important consequences for local adaptation and in generating phenotypic diversity at intraspecific level. Environmental space analysis should be preferred to geographic space as it provides more clear results. Even if the different analyses widely disagree in their conclusions about taxon boundaries, our study suggests that ecological niche models may help taxonomists to reach a decision. © 2017 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

The Gut Microbiota of Rural Papua New Guineans: Composition, Diversity Patterns, and Ecological Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inés Martínez

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Although recent research revealed an impact of westernization on diversity and composition of the human gut microbiota, the exact consequences on metacommunity characteristics are insufficiently understood, and the underlying ecological mechanisms have not been elucidated. Here, we have compared the fecal microbiota of adults from two non-industrialized regions in Papua New Guinea (PNG with that of United States (US residents. Papua New Guineans harbor communities with greater bacterial diversity, lower inter-individual variation, vastly different abundance profiles, and bacterial lineages undetectable in US residents. A quantification of the ecological processes that govern community assembly identified bacterial dispersal as the dominant process that shapes the microbiome in PNG but not in the US. These findings suggest that the microbiome alterations detected in industrialized societies might arise from modern lifestyle factors limiting bacterial dispersal, which has implications for human health and the development of strategies aimed to redress the impact of westernization.

Making ecological models adequate

Science.gov (United States)

Getz, Wayne M.; Marshall, Charles R.; Carlson, Colin J.; Giuggioli, Luca; Ryan, Sadie J.; Romañach, Stephanie; Boettiger, Carl; Chamberlain, Samuel D.; Larsen, Laurel; D'Odorico, Paolo; O'Sullivan, David

2018-01-01

Critical evaluation of the adequacy of ecological models is urgently needed to enhance their utility in developing theory and enabling environmental managers and policymakers to make informed decisions. Poorly supported management can have detrimental, costly or irreversible impacts on the environment and society. Here, we examine common issues in ecological modelling and suggest criteria for improving modelling frameworks. An appropriate level of process description is crucial to constructing the best possible model, given the available data and understanding of ecological structures. Model details unsupported by data typically lead to over parameterisation and poor model performance. Conversely, a lack of mechanistic details may limit a model's ability to predict ecological systems’ responses to management. Ecological studies that employ models should follow a set of model adequacy assessment protocols that include: asking a series of critical questions regarding state and control variable selection, the determinacy of data, and the sensitivity and validity of analyses. We also need to improve model elaboration, refinement and coarse graining procedures to better understand the relevancy and adequacy of our models and the role they play in advancing theory, improving hind and forecasting, and enabling problem solving and management.

Complex adaptive systems ecology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sommerlund, Julie

2003-01-01

In the following, I will analyze two articles called Complex Adaptive Systems EcologyI & II (Molin & Molin, 1997 & 2000). The CASE-articles are some of the more quirkyarticles that have come out of the Molecular Microbial Ecology Group - a groupwhere I am currently making observational studies....... They are the result of acooperation between Søren Molin, professor in the group, and his brother, JanMolin, professor at Department of Organization and Industrial Sociology atCopenhagen Business School. The cooperation arises from the recognition that bothmicrobial ecology and sociology/organization theory works...

Introduction to Ecological Landscaping: A Holistic Description and Framework to Guide the Study and Management of Urban Landscape Parcels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parwinder Grewal

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Urbanized ecosystems and urban human populations are expanding around the world causing many negative environmental effects. A challenge for achieving sustainable urban social-ecological systems is understanding how urbanized landscapes can be designed and managed to minimize negative outcomes. To this end, an interdisciplinary Ecological Landscaping conference was organized to examine the interacting sociocultural and ecological causes and consequences of landscaping practices and products. This special issue of Cities and the Environment contains a diverse set of articles arising from that conference. In this introductory paper, we describe the meaning of ecological landscaping and a new conceptual framework that helps organize the topic’s complex issues. The essence of ecological landscaping is a holistic systems-thinking perspective for understanding the interrelationships among physical-ecological and sociocultural variables that give rise to the patterns and processes of biodiversity, abiotic conditions, and ecosystem processes within and among individually-managed urban landscape parcels. This perspective suggests that 1 variables not considered part of traditional landscaping and 2 the effects of landscaping within an individual parcel on variables outside of it must both be considered when making design and management decisions about a parcel. To illustrate how these points help create a more holistic, ecological approach to landscaping, a traditional ecosystem model is used to create a framework for discussing how sociocultural and physical-ecological inputs to a landscape parcel affect its characteristics and outputs. As exemplified by papers in this issue, an integrated sociocultural-ecological approach to the study of urban landscaping practices and products is needed to 1 understand why and how humans design and mange urban landscape parcels, 2 describe how the combined characteristics and outputs of many parcels give rise to the

Individual-based ecology of coastal birds.

Science.gov (United States)

Stillman, Richard A; Goss-Custard, John D

2010-08-01

Conservation objectives for non-breeding coastal birds (shorebirds and wildfowl) are determined from their population size at coastal sites. To advise coastal managers, models must predict quantitatively the effects of environmental change on population size or the demographic rates (mortality and reproduction) that determine it. As habitat association models and depletion models are not able to do this, we developed an approach that has produced such predictions thereby enabling policy makers to make evidence-based decisions. Our conceptual framework is individual-based ecology, in which populations are viewed as having properties (e.g. size) that arise from the traits (e.g. behaviour, physiology) and interactions of their constituent individuals. The link between individuals and populations is made through individual-based models (IBMs) that follow the fitness-maximising decisions of individuals and predict population-level consequences (e.g. mortality rate) from the fates of these individuals. Our first IBM was for oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus and accurately predicted their density-dependent mortality. Subsequently, IBMs were developed for several shorebird and wildfowl species at several European sites, and were shown to predict accurately overwinter mortality, and the foraging behaviour from which predictions are derived. They have been used to predict the effect on survival in coastal birds of sea level rise, habitat loss, wind farm development, shellfishing and human disturbance. This review emphasises the wider applicability of the approach, and identifies other systems to which it could be applied. We view the IBM approach as a very useful contribution to the general problem of how to advance ecology to the point where we can routinely make meaningful predictions of how populations respond to environmental change.

An ecological tax reform in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakker, L.; Bleijenberg, A.N.

1992-01-01

This study, being a part of the large research program 'External Effects of Energy Procurement' and coordinated by PROGNOS, concerns the distributional and macro-economic effects of the internalization of the external effects of the energy supply by means of an ecological tax reform. The PROGNOS study is focused on the costs and effects of energy production, procurement and consumption (in Germany), that are not taken care of by the market. Here a rough estimate is given of the macro-economic consequence and the distributional effects for the industrial sector and households in (West) Germany of an energy tax of which the revenues are 'reinjected' into the economy, mainly by lowering the financial burden on labour. First a description is given of the starting points of the study and the form of the energy tax. Subsequently attention is paid to the macro-economic effects, the sectoral effects, and the effects on the distribution of incomes for households. The model calculations for Western Germany and the Netherlands confirm the expectation that an ecological tax reform leads to the combined realization of employment and environmental objectives. Shifts in the sectoral structure may occur. Energy intensive branches of industry will have to give up a part of their market share in favour of labour-intensive sectors. The results also illustrate that there are several possibilities to prevent a change in the collective burden of regular expenses as a result of a tax or levy on energy, and that the effects of a fuel tax on the income distribution can be corrected. 5 figs., 19 tabs., 5 apps., 15 refs

Balanced Ecological Use of Biomass Ressources in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meyer, Niels I; Nielsen, Vilhjalmur; Christensen, B. T.

1996-01-01

Renewable energy sources play a central role in the creation of a sustainable energy development. Due to the fluctuating nature of several renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and waves, new methodologies are needed for planning of energy supply systems. When biomass or hydro power sources...... straw and animal manure (for biogas) from agriculture. This paper describes the potential of biomass in the Danish energy supply system three to four decades ahead. The use of biomass for energy purposes may however conflict with the need to maintain soil quality of arable fields. Concerned ecological...... farmers claim that crop residues and animal manure should all be returned to the fields in order to improve soil organic matter levels. Consequently they oppose the export of these biomass resources for energy purposes with subsequent combustion and loss of carbon and nutrients. This conflict involves...

Ecological complexity buffers the impacts of future climate on marine consumers

Science.gov (United States)

Goldenberg, Silvan U.; Nagelkerken, Ivan; Marangon, Emma; Bonnet, Angélique; Ferreira, Camilo M.; Connell, Sean D.

2018-03-01

Ecological complexity represents a network of interacting components that either propagate or counter the effects of environmental change on individuals and communities1-3. Yet, our understanding of the ecological imprint of ocean acidification (elevated CO2) and climate change (elevated temperature) is largely based on reports of negative effects on single species in simplified laboratory systems4,5. By combining a large mesocosm experiment with a global meta-analysis, we reveal the capacity of consumers (fish and crustaceans) to resist the impacts of elevated CO2. While individual behaviours were impaired by elevated CO2, consumers could restore their performances in more complex environments that allowed for compensatory processes. Consequently, consumers maintained key traits such as foraging, habitat selection and predator avoidance despite elevated CO2 and sustained their populations. Our observed increase in risk-taking under elevated temperature, however, predicts greater vulnerability of consumers to predation. Yet, CO2 as a resource boosted the biomass of consumers through species interactions and may stabilize communities by countering the negative effects of elevated temperature. We conclude that compensatory dynamics inherent in the complexity of nature can buffer the impacts of future climate on species and their communities.

Equivalency of Galápagos giant tortoises used as ecological replacement species to restore ecosystem functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Elizabeth A; Gibbs, James P; Cayot, Linda J; Tapia, Washington

2013-08-01

Loss of key plant-animal interactions (e.g., disturbance, seed dispersal, and herbivory) due to extinctions of large herbivores has diminished ecosystem functioning nearly worldwide. Mitigating for the ecological consequences of large herbivore losses through the use of ecological replacements to fill extinct species' niches and thereby replicate missing ecological functions has been proposed. It is unknown how different morphologically and ecologically a replacement can be from the extinct species and still provide similar functions. We studied niche equivalency between 2 phenotypes of Galápagos giant tortoises (domed and saddlebacked) that were translocated to Pinta Island in the Galápagos Archipelago as ecological replacements for the extinct saddlebacked giant tortoise (Chelonoidis abingdonii). Thirty-nine adult, nonreproductive tortoises were introduced to Pinta Island in May 2010, and we observed tortoise resource use in relation to phenotype during the first year following release. Domed tortoises settled in higher, moister elevations than saddlebacked tortoises, which favored lower elevation arid zones. The areas where the tortoises settled are consistent with the ecological conditions each phenotype occupies in its native range. Saddlebacked tortoises selected areas with high densities of the arboreal prickly pear cactus (Opuntia galapageia) and mostly foraged on the cactus, which likely relied on the extinct saddlebacked Pinta tortoise for seed dispersal. In contrast, domed tortoises did not select areas with cactus and therefore would not provide the same seed-dispersal functions for the cactus as the introduced or the original, now extinct, saddlebacked tortoises. Interchangeability of extant megaherbivores as replacements for extinct forms therefore should be scrutinized given the lack of equivalency we observed in closely related forms of giant tortoises. Our results also demonstrate the value of trial introductions of sterilized individuals to test

Overview of Ecological Agriculture with High Efficiency

OpenAIRE

Huang, Guo-qin; Zhao, Qi-guo; Gong, Shao-lin; Shi, Qing-hua

2012-01-01

From the presentation, connotation, characteristics, principles, pattern, and technologies of ecological agriculture with high efficiency, we conduct comprehensive and systematic analysis and discussion of the theoretical and practical progress of ecological agriculture with high efficiency. (i) Ecological agriculture with high efficiency was first advanced in China in 1991. (ii) Ecological agriculture with high efficiency highlights "high efficiency", "ecology", and "combination". (iii) Ecol...

The logic of ecological patchiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Grünbaum, Daniel

2012-04-06

Most ecological interactions occur in environments that are spatially and temporally heterogeneous-'patchy'-across a wide range of scales. In contrast, most theoretical models of ecological interactions, especially large-scale models applied to societal issues such as climate change, resource management and human health, are based on 'mean field' approaches in which the underlying patchiness of interacting consumers and resources is intentionally averaged out. Mean field ecological models typically have the advantages of tractability, few parameters and clear interpretation; more technically complex spatially explicit models, which resolve ecological patchiness at some (or all relevant) scales, generally lack these advantages. This report presents a heuristic analysis that incorporates important elements of consumer-resource patchiness with minimal technical complexity. The analysis uses scaling arguments to establish conditions under which key mechanisms-movement, reproduction and consumption-strongly affect consumer-resource interactions in patchy environments. By very general arguments, the relative magnitudes of these three mechanisms are quantified by three non-dimensional ecological indices: the Frost, Strathmann and Lessard numbers. Qualitative analysis based on these ecological indices provides a basis for conjectures concerning the expected characteristics of organisms, species interactions and ecosystems in patchy environments.

The Effectiveness of a School-Based Intervention for Adolescents in Reducing Disparities in the Negative Consequences of Substance Use Among Ethnic Groups.

Science.gov (United States)