Dissertations Initiative for the Advancement of Limnology and Oceanography (DIALOG)

Science.gov (United States)

1994-01-01

The DIALOG Program was founded by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), in order to reduce the historical, institutional and philosophical barriers that limit the exchange of information between limnologists and oceanographers, and to foster interdisciplinary and inter-institutional research. This was achieved by targeting a recent cohort of Ph.D. recipients whose work included a biological component of limnology or oceanography. The program included: (1) publication of the submitted Ph.D. dissertation abstracts; (2) a symposium to facilitate exchange across institutions and disciplines; and (3) establishment of a centralized data base for applicant characterization and tracking.

Ecological, biological balances and conservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perttu, K.L.

1995-01-01

The scientific work within the activity ''ecological/biological balances and conservation'' is summarised in this report. The aims of the activity during its existence between 1992 and 1994 have been to: (i) arrange a workshop and publish the presentations on the environmental aspects of energy forest cultivations, (ii) perform joint scientific work together with the activity group on ''biological disposal of wastewaters and sludges'', that is closely related to environmental problems, and (iii) produce ecological guidelines concerning energy forestry, suitable for advisers and farmers dealing with bioenergy problems. The most important results from the workshop were the environmental benefits from energy forestry when compared with intensive agriculture and forestry. Energy forestry has positive influence on the carbon balances, nutrient recycling, and soil sustainability. The effects are also positive on the natural flora and fauna, which in most cases are enriched when compared with agricultural crops. From the joint efforts of the two activities the main result was a study tour, conference and workshop, concentrating on biological purification systems. The most promising system seems to be the vegetation filters of short rotation coppice. The report on ecological guidelines contains a number of ideas and recommendations for establishment, management, and harvesting of energy forests in an environmentally acceptable way. It also gives advice on how to locate the stands to minimise the risk of nutrient leakage from arable land. (Author)

Marine biology, intertidal ecology, and a new place for biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, Keith R

2015-01-01

At the present time, there is considerable interest for the physical setting of science, that is, its actual 'place' of practice. Among historians of biology, place has been considered to be a crucial component for the study of ecology. Other historians have noted the 'built' environments (laboratories) for the study of biology along the seashore, even referring to these places in terms more applicable to vacation sites. In this paper, I examine the place of intertidal ecology investigations, both in terms of the physical space and the built space. Part of the examination will investigate the aesthetic aspect of the Pacific Coast, part will evaluate the unique character of the intertidal zone, and part will consider the construction of natural laboratories and built laboratories as characteristic places for biology.

From satellite altimetry to Argo and operational oceanography: three revolutions in oceanography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Y. Le Traon

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The launch of the French/US mission Topex/Poseidon (T/P (CNES/NASA in August 1992 was the start of a revolution in oceanography. For the first time, a very precise altimeter system optimized for large-scale sea level and ocean circulation observations was flying. T/P alone could not observe the mesoscale circulation. In the 1990s, the ESA satellites ERS-1/2 were flying simultaneously with T/P. Together with my CLS colleagues, we demonstrated that we could use T/P as a reference mission for ERS-1/2 and bring the ERS-1/2 data to an accuracy level comparable to T/P. Near-real-time high-resolution global sea level anomaly maps were then derived. These maps have been operationally produced as part of the SSALTO/DUACS system for the last 15 yr. They are now widely used by the oceanographic community and have contributed to a much better understanding and recognition of the role and importance of mesoscale dynamics. Altimetry needs to be complemented with global in situ observations. At the end of the 90s, a major international initiative was launched to develop Argo, the global array of profiling floats. This has been an outstanding success. Argo floats now provide the most important in situ observations to monitor and understand the role of the ocean on the earth climate and for operational oceanography. This is a second revolution in oceanography. The unique capability of satellite altimetry to observe the global ocean in near-real-time at high resolution and the development of Argo were essential for the development of global operational oceanography, the third revolution in oceanography. The Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE was instrumental in the development of the required capabilities. This paper provides an historical perspective on the development of these three revolutions in oceanography which are very much interlinked. This is not an exhaustive review and I will mainly focus on the contributions we made together with many

Oceanography of the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Desai, B.N.

This volume is an outcome of the presentation of selected 74 papers at the International Symposium on the Oceanography of the Indian Ocean held at National Institute of Oceanography during January 1991. The unique physical setting of the northern...

Meteorology Products - Naval Oceanography Portal

Science.gov (United States)

section Advanced Search... Sections Home Time Earth Orientation Astronomy Meteorology Oceanography Ice You are here: Home › FNMOC › Meteorology Products FNMOC Logo FNMOC Navigation Meteorology Products Oceanography Products Tropical Applications Climatology and Archived Data Info Meteorology Products Global

Ecology Content in Introductory Biology Courses: A Comparative Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Pool, Richard F.; Turner, Gregory D.; Böttger, S. Anne

2013-01-01

In recent years the need for ecological literacy and problem solving has increased, but there is no evidence that this need is reflected by increased ecology coverage at institutions of higher education (IHE) across the United States. Because introductory biology courses may serve to direct student interest toward particular biological categories…

A Source Book for Teaching Chemical Oceanography.

Science.gov (United States)

Loder, Theodore C.; Glibert, Patricia M.

Chemical oceanography or marine chemistry are taught in many colleges and universities. This publication provides sources for instructors of such courses. The first section of this report is a detailed composite outline of a course in chemical oceanography. It includes fundamental topics taught in many chemical oceanography classes. The outline…

The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) - Naval

Science.gov (United States)

Meteorology Oceanography Ice You are here: Home › FNMOC FNMOC Logo FNMOC Navigation Meteorology Products Oceanography Products Tropical Applications Climatology and Archived Data Info The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC

2011 Archaea: Ecology, Metabolism, & Molecular Biology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keneth Stedman

2011-08-05

Archaea, one of three major evolutionary lineages of life, are a fascinating and diverse group of microbes with deep roots overlapping those of eukaryotes. The focus of the 'Archaea: Ecology Metabolism & Molecular Biology' GRC conference expands on a number of emerging topics highlighting new paradigms in archaeal metabolism, genome function and systems biology; information processing; evolution and the tree of life; the ecology and diversity of archaea and their viruses. The strength of this conference lies in its ability to couple a field with a rich history in high quality research with new scientific findings in an atmosphere of stimulating exchange. This conference remains an excellent opportunity for younger scientists to interact with world experts in this field.

Mass spectrometry in oceanography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aggarwal, Suresh K.

2000-01-01

Mass spectrometry plays an important role in oceanography for various applications. Different types of inorganic as well as organic mass spectrometric techniques are being exploited world-wide to understand the different aspects of marine science, for palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology and palaeoecology, for isotopic composition and concentrations of different elements as well as for speciation studies. The present paper reviews some of the applications of atomic mass spectrometric techniques in the area of oceanography

Anil, Dr Arga Chandrashekar

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Fellowship. Fellow Profile. Elected: 2015 Section: Earth & Planetary Sciences. Anil, Dr Arga Chandrashekar Ph.D. (Karnatak). Date of birth: 23 January 1959. Specialization: Biological Oceanography, Marine Ecology, Marine Biology Address: Chief Scientist, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula 403 004, ...

Physical oceanography

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Murty, C.S.; Murty, V.S.N.

The chapter on physical oceanography of the Indian Ocean is written keeping in mind the graduate students and researchers. It starts with a brief introduction (citing latest expeditions) followed by the coastal and near processes (wave climate...

2009 Archaea: Ecology, Metabolism & Molecular Biology GRC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furlow, Julie Maupin- [Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)

2009-07-26

Archaea, one of three major evolutionary lineages of life, are a fascinating and diverse group of microbes with deep roots overlapping those of eukaryotes. The focus of the 'Archaea: Ecology Metabolism & Molecular Biology' GRC conference expands on a number of emerging topics highlighting new paradigms in archaeal metabolism, genome function and systems biology; information processing; evolution and the tree of life; the ecology and diversity of archaea and their viruses; and industrial applications. The strength of this conference lies in its ability to couple a field with a rich history in high quality research with new scientific findings in an atmosphere of stimulating exchange. This conference remains an excellent opportunity for younger scientists to interact with world experts in this field.

Evolution of egg coats: linking molecular biology and ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, Longfei; Suter, Marc J-F; Räsänen, Katja

2015-08-01

One central goal of evolutionary biology is to explain how biological diversity emerges and is maintained in nature. Given the complexity of the phenotype and the multifaceted nature of inheritance, modern evolutionary ecological studies rely heavily on the use of molecular tools. Here, we show how molecular tools help to gain insight into the role of egg coats (i.e. the extracellular structures surrounding eggs and embryos) in evolutionary diversification. Egg coats are maternally derived structures that have many biological functions from mediating fertilization to protecting the embryo from environmental hazards. They show great molecular, structural and functional diversity across species, but intraspecific variability and the role of ecology in egg coat evolution have largely been overlooked. Given that much of the variation that influences egg coat function is ultimately determined by their molecular phenotype, cutting-edge molecular tools (e.g. proteomics, glycomics and transcriptomics), combined with functional assays, are needed for rigorous inferences on their evolutionary ecology. Here, we identify key research areas and highlight emerging molecular techniques that can increase our understanding of the role of egg coats in the evolution of biological diversity, from adaptation to speciation. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mentoring Women in Physical Oceanography

Science.gov (United States)

Gerber, Lisa M.; Lozier, M. Susan

2010-08-01

MPOWIR Pattullo Conference; Charleston, South Carolina, 23-26 May 2010; Initiated in 2004, Mentoring Physical Oceanography Women to Increase Retention (MPOWIR) is a community-initiated and community-led program aimed at providing mentoring to junior women in physical oceanography to improve their retention in the field. The centerpiece of the MPOWIR program is the Pattullo Conference, a two-and-a-half-day mentoring event held biannually. The second conference was held in South Carolina. The conference is named for June Pattullo, the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in physical oceanography. The goals of the Pattullo Conference are to build community networks among junior and senior scientists, to provide junior scientists with feedback on their current and planned research projects, to provide advice to junior scientists on their career goals, to introduce both senior and junior scientists to aspects of professional development, and to raise awareness of issues confronting junior women among the senior scientist community.

Microbial ecology of denitrification in biological wastewater treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Huijie; Chandran, Kartik; Stensel, David

2014-11-01

Globally, denitrification is commonly employed in biological nitrogen removal processes to enhance water quality. However, substantial knowledge gaps remain concerning the overall community structure, population dynamics and metabolism of different organic carbon sources. This systematic review provides a summary of current findings pertaining to the microbial ecology of denitrification in biological wastewater treatment processes. DNA fingerprinting-based analysis has revealed a high level of microbial diversity in denitrification reactors and highlighted the impacts of carbon sources in determining overall denitrifying community composition. Stable isotope probing, fluorescence in situ hybridization, microarrays and meta-omics further link community structure with function by identifying the functional populations and their gene regulatory patterns at the transcriptional and translational levels. This review stresses the need to integrate microbial ecology information into conventional denitrification design and operation at full-scale. Some emerging questions, from physiological mechanisms to practical solutions, for example, eliminating nitrous oxide emissions and supplementing more sustainable carbon sources than methanol, are also discussed. A combination of high-throughput approaches is next in line for thorough assessment of wastewater denitrifying community structure and function. Though denitrification is used as an example here, this synergy between microbial ecology and process engineering is applicable to other biological wastewater treatment processes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Surface oceanographic fronts influencing deep-sea biological activity: Using fish stable isotopes as ecological tracers

Science.gov (United States)

Louzao, Maite; Navarro, Joan; Delgado-Huertas, Antonio; de Sola, Luis Gil; Forero, Manuela G.

2017-06-01

Ecotones can be described as transition zones between neighbouring ecological systems that can be shaped by environmental gradients over a range of space and time scales. In the marine environment, the detection of ecotones is complex given the highly dynamic nature of marine systems and the paucity of empirical data over ocean-basin scales. One approach to overcome these limitations is to use stable isotopes from animal tissues since they can track spatial oceanographic variability across marine systems and, in turn, can be used as ecological tracers. Here, we analysed stable isotopes of deep-sea fishes to assess the presence of ecological discontinuities across the western Mediterranean. We were specifically interested in exploring the connection between deep-sea biological activity and particular oceanographic features (i.e., surface fronts) occurring in the pelagic domain. We collected samples for three different abundant deep-sea species in May 2004 from an experimental oceanographic trawling cruise (MEDITS): the Mictophydae jewel lanternfish Lampanyctus crocodilus and two species of the Gadidae family, the silvery pout Gadiculus argenteus and the blue whiting Micromesistius poutassou. The experimental survey occurred along the Iberian continental shelf and the upper and middle slopes, from the Strait of Gibraltar in the SW to the Cape Creus in the NE. The three deep-sea species were highly abundant throughout the study area and they showed geographic variation in their isotopic values, with decreasing values from north to south disrupted by an important change point around the Vera Gulf. Isotopic latitudinal gradients were explained by pelagic oceanographic conditions along the study area and confirm the existence of an ecotone at the Vera Gulf. This area could be considered as an oceanographic boundary where waters of Atlantic origin meet Mediterranean surface waters forming important frontal structures such as the Almeria-Oran front. In fact, our results

Cumulative and Synergistic Effects of Physical, Biological, and Acoustic Signals on Marine Mammal Habitat Use Physical Oceanography Component: Soundscapes Under Sea Ice: Can We Listen for Open Water?

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-30

Physical, Biological, and Acoustic Signals on Marine Mammal Habitat Use Physical Oceanography Component: Soundscapes Under Sea Ice: Can we listen for... Soundscapes Under Sea Ice: Can we listen for open water? 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d...the source. These different sounds can be described as “ soundscapes ”, and graphically represented by comparing two or more features of the sound

Estuarine Oceanography. CEGS Programs Publication Number 18.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, F. F.

Estuarine Oceanography is one in a series of single-topic problem modules intended for use in undergraduate and earth science courses. Designed for those interested in coastal oceanography or limnology, the module is structured as a laboratory supplement for undergraduate college classes but should be useful at all levels. The module has two…

Application of proteomics to ecology and population biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Karr, T L

2008-02-01

Proteomics is a relatively new scientific discipline that merges protein biochemistry, genome biology and bioinformatics to determine the spatial and temporal expression of proteins in cells, tissues and whole organisms. There has been very little application of proteomics to the fields of behavioral genetics, evolution, ecology and population dynamics, and has only recently been effectively applied to the closely allied fields of molecular evolution and genetics. However, there exists considerable potential for proteomics to impact in areas related to functional ecology; this review will introduce the general concepts and methodologies that define the field of proteomics and compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages with other methods. Examples of how proteomics can aid, complement and indeed extend the study of functional ecology will be discussed including the main tool of ecological studies, population genetics with an emphasis on metapopulation structure analysis. Because proteomic analyses provide a direct measure of gene expression, it obviates some of the limitations associated with other genomic approaches, such as microarray and EST analyses. Likewise, in conjunction with associated bioinformatics and molecular evolutionary tools, proteomics can provide the foundation of a systems-level integration approach that can enhance ecological studies. It can be envisioned that proteomics will provide important new information on issues specific to metapopulation biology and adaptive processes in nature. A specific example of the application of proteomics to sperm ageing is provided to illustrate the potential utility of the approach.

An ecologically-based method for selecting ecological indicators for assessing risks to biological diversity from genetically-engineered plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andow, D. A.; Lövei, Gabor L; Arpaia, Salvatore

2013-01-01

into ecological functional groups and selecting those that deliver the identified environmental values. (3) All of the species or ecosystem processes related to the selected functional groups are identified and (4) multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is used to rank the indicator endpoint entities, which may...... adverse effects to biological diversity. The approach starts by (1) identifying the local environmental values so the ERA addresses specific concerns associated with local biological diversity. The model simplifies the indicator endpoint selection problem by (2) classifying biological diversity...... be species or ecological processes. MCDA focuses on those species and processes that are critical for the identified ecological functions and are likely to be highly exposed to the GE organism. The highest ranked indicator entities are selected for the next step. (5) Relevant risk hypotheses are identified...

Oceanography Branch Hydrographic Database

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Oceanography group maintains and provides Conductivity/Temperature/Depth (CTD) instruments to all Center cruises for measuring water column profiles of...

Crucial times for Spanish physical oceanography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josep L. Pelegrí

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The field of physical oceanography has undergone exponential growth in Spain during the last few decades. From a handful of self-taught researchers in the late 1960s there are now several hundred physical oceanographers distributed in some 20 Spanish institutions, and many more working overseas. The First Spanish Physical Oceanography Meeting (EOF1, held in Barcelona in October 2010, was a good example of the high quality and large variety of this research. The facilities and human resources are excellent but the alarming decrease in public investment in science due to the economic crisis must lead the Spanish physical oceanography community to define its current priorities. In this introductory paper to EOF1 we revise our history and where we are now, and suggest that progress in the near future will rely on our intelligence to sustain and enhance human capital, partnership and society-oriented research.

Marine Sciences: from natural history to ecology and back, on Darwin's shoulders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ferdinando Boero

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The naturalist Charles Darwin founded modern ecology, considering in a single conceptual framework the manifold aspects regarding the organization of life at various levels of complexity and its relationship with the physical world. The development of powerful analytical tools led to abandon Darwin's natural history and to transform naturalists, as Darwin labelled himself, into the practitioners of more focused disciplines, aimed at tackling specific problems that considered the various aspects of the organization of life in great detail but, also, in isolation from each other. Among the various disciplines that stemmed from the Darwinian method, ecology was further split into many branches, and marine ecology was no exception. The compartmentalization of the marine realm into several sub-domains (e.g., plankton, benthos, nekton led to neglect of the connections linking the various parts that were separated for the ease of analyses that, in this way, prevented synthetic visions. The way marine sciences were studied also led to separate visions depending on the employed tools, so that ship-based biological oceanography developed almost separately from marine station-based marine biology. The necessity of putting together such concepts as biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is rapidly leading to synthetic approaches that re-discover the historical nature of ecology, leading to the dawn of a new natural history.

The social oceanography of top oceanic predators and the decline of sharks: A call for a new field

Science.gov (United States)

Jacques, Peter J.

2010-07-01

pertain to sharks. We find that sharks are not a high priority compared to other fisheries; and, amongst issue areas, ecological concerns are overshadowed by a paradigm of economism (economic values are demonstrated above all others). Further, sharks have no global binding institutions for conservation, and only new and problematic rules at regional levels. Consequently, human pressures on sharks are partially explained through social marginalization that legitimizes permissive international rules that: (1) have limited scope of authority, (2) provide little-to-no active management of sharks, (3) have important enforcement problems, and (4) are generally not reinforced with National Plans of Action demonstrating a lack of commitment at both national and international scales. Thus, active management of shark populations is nearly non-existent meanwhile pressures on sharks, such as through finning, have increased in the last 20 years and there is strong evidence that many shark species are in decline and may not be able to recover. This paper concludes by arguing that biological oceanography of sharks is fundamentally linked to human dimensions, and, therefore, theories and systematic study of human dimensions in oceanography are crucial to provide more comprehensive understanding of complete social-marine systems.

Key Concepts in Microbial Oceanography

Science.gov (United States)

Bruno, B. C.; Achilles, K.; Walker, G.; Weersing, K.; Team, A

2008-12-01

The Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE) is a multi-institution Science and Technology Center, established by the National Science Foundation in 2006. C-MORE's research mission is to facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the diverse assemblages of microorganisms in the sea, ranging from the genetic basis of marine microbial biogeochemistry including the metabolic regulation and environmental controls of gene expression, to the processes that underpin the fluxes of carbon, related bioelements, and energy in the marine environment. The C-MORE education and outreach program is focused on increasing scientific literacy in microbial oceanography among students, educators, and the general public. A first step toward this goal is defining the key concepts that constitute microbial oceanography. After lengthy discussions with scientists and educators, both within and outside C-MORE, we have arrived at six key concepts: 1) Marine microbes are very small and have been around for a long time; 2) Life on Earth could not exist without microbes; 3) Most marine microbes are beneficial; 4) Microbes are everywhere: they are extremely abundant and diverse; 5) Microbes significantly impact our global climate; and 6) There are new discoveries every day in the field of microbial oceanography. A C-MORE-produced brochure on these six key concepts will be distributed at the meeting. Advanced copies may be requested by email or downloaded from the C-MORE web site(http://cmore.soest.hawaii.edu/downloads/MO_key_concepts_hi-res.pdf). This brochure also includes information on career pathways in microbial oceanography, with the aim of broadening participation in the field. C-MORE is eager to work in partnership to incorporate these key concepts into other science literacy publications, particularly those involving ocean and climate literacy. We thank the following contributors and reviewers: P Chisholm, A Dolberry, and A Thompson (MIT); N Lawrence

Using Oceanography to Support Active Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Byfield, V.

2012-04-01

Teachers are always on the lookout for material to give their brightest students, in order to keep them occupied, stimulated and challenged, while the teacher gets on with helping the rest. They are also looking for material that can inspire and enthuse those who think that school is 'just boring!' Oceanography, well presented, has the capacity to do both. As a relatively young science, oceanography is not a core curriculum subject (possibly an advantage), but it draws on the traditional sciences of biology, chemistry, physic and geology, and can provide wonderful examples for teaching concepts in school sciences. It can also give good reasons for learning science, maths and technology. Exciting expeditions (research cruises) to far-flung places; opportunities to explore new worlds, a different angle on topical debates such as climate change, pollution, or conservation can bring a new life to old subjects. Access to 'real' data from satellites or Argo floats can be used to develop analytical and problem solving skills. The challenge is to make all this available in a form that can easily be used by teachers and students to enhance the learning experience. We learn by doing. Active teaching methods require students to develop their own concepts of what they are learning. This stimulates new neural connections in the brain - the physical manifestation of learning. There is a large body of evidence to show that active learning is much better remembered and understood. Active learning develops thinking skills through analysis, problem solving, and evaluation. It helps learners to use their knowledge in realistic and useful ways, and see its importance and relevance. Most importantly, properly used, active learning is fun. This paper presents experiences from a number of education outreach projects that have involved the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, UK. All contain some element of active learning - from quizzes and puzzles to analysis of real data from

Argo workstation: a key component of operational oceanography

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Mingmei; Xu, Shanshan; Miao, Qingsheng; Yue, Xinyang; Lu, Jiawei; Yang, Yang

2018-02-01

Operational oceanography requires the quantity, quality, and availability of data set and the timeliness and effectiveness of data products. Without steady and strong operational system supporting, operational oceanography will never be proceeded far. In this paper we describe an integrated platform named Argo Workstation. It operates as a data processing and management system, capable of data collection, automatic data quality control, visualized data check, statistical data search and data service. After it is set up, Argo workstation provides global high quality Argo data to users every day timely and effectively. It has not only played a key role in operational oceanography but also set up an example for operational system.

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.

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.

Planetary Biology and Microbial Ecology: Molecular Ecology and the Global Nitrogen cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Nealson, Molly Stone (Editor); Nealson, Kenneth H. (Editor)

1993-01-01

This report summarizes the results of the Planetary Biology and Molecular Ecology's summer 1991 program, which was held at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The purpose of the interdisciplinary PBME program is to integrate, via lectures and laboratory work, the contributions of university and NASA scientists and student interns. The goals of the 1991 program were to examine several aspects of the biogeochemistry of the nitrogen cycle and to teach the application of modern methods of molecular genetics to field studies of organisms. Descriptions of the laboratory projects and protocols and abstracts and references of the lectures are presented.

Biological and ecological aspects of hard ticks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Nayibe Polanco Echeverry

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Hard ticks are blood-sucking ectoparasites of Ixodidae family. These mites have been always considered disrupting agents of livestock systems, where they are recognized as the cause of economic and production losses. However, their ecological role is important for the dynamic equilibrium of the production systems bovine meat or milk. Knowing their biolog y and ecolog y can shed light on the sanitary decisions made in relation to these organisms. This review article presents issues related to classification, characteristics, and life cycle of hard ticks and relations vector-parasite-host. In addition, it addresses the control of ectoparasites on conventional livestock systems and the implica-tions that these models of intervention might have on agro-ecosystem.

Biological, ecological and agronomic significance of plant phenolic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Our understanding of some phenolic compounds in the last few decades has greatly improved. However, their biological, ecological and agronomical significance in the rhizosphere of most symbiotic legumes is much less clear. Further understanding of these biomolecules will increase our knowledge of their contribution in ...

Book review: Aquatic insect ecology: 1. Biology and habitat

OpenAIRE

Arnett, Ross H.

2010-01-01

Book Review: A comprehensive treatment of the ecology of aquatic insects in one place is needed for both students and researchers. Professor Ward is doing this in two volumes. The first volume covers the biology and habitats, as indicated in the subtitle, of the 13 insect orders that are either entirely aquatic at some stage, or those with some members aquatic at some stage. The second volume will be devoted entirely to the feeding ecology of these aquatic species.

Connecting Oceanography and Music

Science.gov (United States)

Beauregard, J. L.

2016-02-01

Capturing and retaining the interest of non-science majors in science classes can be difficult, no matter what type of science. At Berklee College of Music, this challenge is especially significant, as all students are music majors. In my Introductory Oceanography course, I use a final project as a way for the students to link class material with their own interests. The students may choose any format to present their projects to the class; however, many students write and perform original music. The performances of ocean-themed music have become a huge draw of the Introductory Oceanography course. In an effort to expand the reach of this music, several colleagues and I organized the first Earth Day event at Berklee, `Earthapalooza 2015.' This event included performances of music originally written for the final projects, as well as other musical performances, poetry readings, guest talks, and information booths. Although the idea of an Earth Day event is not new, this event is unique in that student performances really resonate with the student audience. Additionally, since many of these students will enter professional careers in the performance and recording industries, the potential exists for them to expose large audiences to the issues of oceanography through music. In this presentation, I will play examples of original student compositions and show video of the live student performances. I will also discuss the benefits and challenges of the final projects and the Earth Day event. Finally, I will highlight the future plans to continue ocean-themed music at Berklee.

Review of Pasteuria penetrans: Biology, Ecology, and Biological Control Potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Z X; Dickson, D W

1998-09-01

Pasteuria penetrans is a mycelial, endospore-forming, bacterial parasite that has shown great potential as a biological control agent of root-knot nematodes. Considerable progress has been made during the last 10 years in understanding its biology and importance as an agent capable of effectively suppressing root-knot nematodes in field soil. The objective of this review is to summarize the current knowledge of the biology, ecology, and biological control potential of P. penetrans and other Pasteuria members. Pasteuria spp. are distributed worldwide and have been reported from 323 nematode species belonging to 116 genera of free-living, predatory, plant-parasitic, and entomopathogenic nematodes. Artificial cultivation of P. penetrans has met with limited success; large-scale production of endospores depends on in vivo cultivation. Temperature affects endospore attachment, germination, pathogenesis, and completion of the life cycle in the nematode pseudocoelom. The biological control potential of Pasteuria spp. have been demonstrated on 20 crops; host nematodes include Belonolaimus longicaudatus, Heterodera spp., Meloidogyne spp., and Xiphinema diversicaudatum. Pasteuria penetrans plays an important role in some suppressive soils. The efficacy of the bacterium as a biological control agent has been examined. Approximately 100,000 endospores/g of soil provided immediate control of the peanut root-knot nematode, whereas 1,000 and 5,000 endospores/g of soil each amplified in the host nematode and became suppressive after 3 years.

An oceanography summer school in Ghana, West Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Arbic, B. K.; Ansong, J. K.; Johnson, W.; Nyadjro, E. S.; Nyarko, E.

2016-02-01

Because oceanography is a global science, it clearly benefits from the existence of a world-wide network of oceanographers. As with most STEM disciplines, sub-Saharan Africa is not as well represented in the field of oceanography as it should be, given its large population. The need for oceanographers in sub-Saharan Africa is great, due to a long list of ocean-related issues affecting African development, including but not limited to fishing, oil drilling, sea level rise, coastal erosion, shipping, and piracy. We view this as an opportunity as well as a challenge. Many of the world's fastest growing economies are in sub-Saharan Africa, and STEM capacity building could further fuel this growth. With support from the US National Science Foundation, we ran an oceanography summer school from August 24-27, 2015, at the Regional Maritime University (RMU) in Ghana, West Africa. This first summer school was lecture-based, with a focus on basic chemical oceanography, basic physical oceanography, ocean modeling, and satellite oceanography. About 35 participants came to almost every lecture, and about 20 other participants came to some of the lectures as their time permitted. The participants included RMU faculty, 12 students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, one Associate Oceanographer from the University of Ghana, and some participants from private sector companies and Ghanaian governmental agencies. There were long and lively discussions at the end of each lecture, and there was a lengthy discussion at the conclusion of the school on how to improve future summer schools. In 2016 and 2017, we plan to divide into smaller groups so that participants can pursue their particular interests in greater depth, and to allow time for student presentations. We also plan to begin exploring the potential for research partnerships, and to utilize distance learning to involve more faculty and students from locations throughout Ghana and perhaps from even other

CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Tapaswi, M.P.

CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography being one of its kind in the country The article describes the on-going researches and projects in contributing to the science in the field of Marine science....

Ecological Roles and Biological Activities of Specialized Metabolites from the Genus Nicotiana.

Science.gov (United States)

Jassbi, Amir Reza; Zare, Somayeh; Asadollahi, Mojtaba; Schuman, Meredith C

2017-10-11

Species of Nicotiana grow naturally in different parts of the world and have long been used both medicinally and recreationally by human societies. More recently in our history, Nicotiana tabacum has attracted interest as one of the most economically important industrial crops. Nicotiana species are frequently investigated for their bioactive natural products, and the ecological role of their specialized metabolites in responses to abiotic stress or biotic stress factors like pathogens and herbivores. The interest of tobacco companies in genetic information as well as the success of a few wild tobacco species as experimental model organisms have resulted in growing knowledge about the molecular biology and ecology of these plants and functional studies of the plant's natural products. Although a large number of reviews and books on biologically active natural products already exists, mostly from N. tabacum, we focus our attention on the ecological roles and biological activity of natural products, versus products from cured and processed material, in this Review. The studied compounds include alkaloids, aromatic compounds, flavonoids, volatiles, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenes alcohols, and sugar esters from trichomes of the plants, and recently characterized acyclic hydroxygeranyllinalool diterpene glycosides (HGL-DTGs). In this Review (1800s-2017), we describe the above-mentioned classes of natural products, emphasizing their biological activities and functions as they have been determined either in bioassay-guided purification approaches or in bioassays with plants in which the expression of specific biosynthetic genes has been genetically manipulated. Additionally, a review on the history, taxonomy, ecology, and medicinal application of different Nicotiana species growing around the globe presented in this Review may be of interest for pharmacognosists, natural products, and ecological chemists.

Biological oceanography of the red oceanic system

Science.gov (United States)

Theil, Hjalmar; Weikert, Horst

1. In 1977, 1979 and 1980-81, investigations were carried out which aimed at evaluating the potential risks from mining metalliferous muds precipating in the Atlantis II Deep of the central Red Sea. This environmental research was initiated by the Saudi Sudanese Red Sea Joint Commission in order to avoid any danger for the Red Sea ecosystem. The broad environmental research programme coherent studies in physical, chemical, biological, and geological oceanography as well as toxicological investigations in the oceanic and in reef zones. We summarise the results from our biological fiels studies in the open sea. 2. The biological investigations were concentrated on the area of the Atlantis II Deep. Benthos was sampled between 700-2000m. For comparison a few samples were also taken further north in the central Red Sea, and to east and west along the flanking deep terraces (500-1000m). Plankton studies covered the total water column above the Deep, and were extended along the axial through to north and south. 3. Benthos sampling was carried out using a heavy closing trawl, a large box grab (box size 50 × 50 cm), Van Veen grabs and traps; photographic surveys were made a phototrap and a photosled. Community respiration was measured with a ship-board method using grab subsamples. Nutrient concentrations, seston and phytoplankton standing stocks as well as in situ primary production were determined from hydrocast samples. Data on zooplankton and micronekton composition and standing stock were obtained from samples collected using different multiple opening-and-closing nets equipped with 100 μm, 300 μm, and 1000 μm mesh sizes. Daily and ontogenetical vertical migration patterns were studied by comparisons of data from midday and midnight tows. 4. Throughout the whole area the sediment is a pteropod ooze containing low contentrations of organic matter; measured organic carbon and nitrogen contents were 0.5 and 0.05% respectively, and chloroplastic pigment equivalents

JARE-43 Tangaroa marine science cruise report (Physical oceanography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shigeru Aoki

2004-11-01

Full Text Available To understand the seasonal variation of biological and biogeochemical cycles in the seasonal ice zone in the Southern Ocean, the cruise of JARE-STAGE (Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition-Studies on Antarctic Ocean and Global Environment was conducted in February 2002 with R/V Tangaroa. Physical oceanography implementations of the cruise are described. The results of the manufacturers' CTD conductivity calibrations were consistent between before and after the cruise, and the difference in salinity estimate was expected to be within 0.0014. Two casts were made to validate the XCTD accuracy and comparisons with the CTD are discussed. Generally, it is concluded that reasonably accurate observations were completed in this cruise.

Geochemical Tracers of Processes Affecting the Formation of Seafloor Hydrothermal Fluids and Deposits in the Manus Back-Arc Basin

Science.gov (United States)

2009-02-01

pp. 184-197. Grassle J. F. (1986) The ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities. Advances in Marine Biology 23, 301-362. Halbach P...Gesellschaft 82, 183-210. Tunnicliffe V. (1991) The biology of hydrothermal vents: Ecology and evolution. Oceanography and Marine Biology Annual Reviews 29...Evidence for Magmatic Contributions to Submarine and Subaerial Gold Mineralization: Conical Seamount and the Ladolam Gold Deposit, Papua New Guinea

Application of photonuclear methods of analysis in biology, medicine, ecological studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burmistenko, Yu.N.

1986-01-01

Examples of application of photonuclear methods of analysis (PhMA) of the substance composition in biology, medicine, ecology are considered. The methods for determining the element composition of soft and bone tissues, blood, urine are developed. The results of studying the limits of determination of different elements are presented. In ecological investigations PhMA is applied for studying the composition of atmospheric aerosols, industrial sewage, canalization wastes, pollution of soil, plants, animals with toxic elements

Basic concepts in oceanography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Small, L.F.

1997-01-01

Basic concepts in oceanography include major wind patterns that drive ocean currents, and the effects that the earth's rotation, positions of land masses, and temperature and salinity have on oceanic circulation and hence global distribution of radioactivity. Special attention is given to coastal and near-coastal processes such as upwelling, tidal effects, and small-scale processes, as radionuclide distributions are currently most associated with coastal regions. (author)

Fisheries Oceanography in the Virgin Islands: Preliminary Results from a Collaborative Research Endeavor

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Smith, R. H.; Gerard, T. L.; Johns, E. M.; Lamkin, J. T.

2008-05-01

A multi-species spawning aggregation located on the banks south of St. Thomas includes several economically important fish species, including dog snapper, yellowfin grouper, Nassau grouper, and tiger grouper. Increased fishing pressure on these banks has prompted the Caribbean Fisheries Council to take actions such as seasonally closing fishing grounds and establishing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Due to a lack of biological and oceanographic data for the region, these management decisions have been based on professional judgment rather than scientific data. In response to this situation, NOAA scientists from SEFSC and AOML began an interdisciplinary field study in the region in 2007. Research cruises utilize biological sampling techniques such as MOCNESS, neuston, and bongo trawl tows simultaneously with standard physical sampling methods such as CTD/LADCP casts, hull- mounted water velocity measurements, and Lagrangian drifter deployments. The three year project aims to determine how the unprotected banks of the Virgin Islands and surrounding region, the seasonally closed banks and MPAs, and near-shore areas are ecologically linked in terms of larval dispersal, transport, and life history patterns. This collaboration should produce an assessment, based on scientific data, of the effectiveness of Caribbean Research Council management decisions and suggest modifications and improvements to current policy. Additionally, this project will also provide fisheries independent data, and develop ecological indices which can be integrated into stock assessment models. Analysis of data gathered during the project's first research cruise is yielding preliminary results. A total of 26,809 fish larvae were collected from the Grammanik and Red Hind Banks and surrounding regions. Of this total, 585 Serranidae (grouper) and 93 Lutjanidae (snapper) larval specimens were collected. Typical sampling transects included near-shore, shelf-break, and offshore regimes. The most

Oceanography related to deep sea waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-09-01

In connection with studies on the feasibility of the safe disposal of radioactive waste, from a large scale nuclear power programme, either on the bed of the deep ocean or within the deep ocean bed, preparation of the present document was commissioned by the (United Kingdom) Department of the Environment. It attempts (a) to summarize the present state of knowledge of the deep ocean environment relevant to the disposal options and assess the processes which could aid or hinder dispersal of material released from its container; (b) to identify areas of research in which more work is needed before the safety of disposal on, or beneath, the ocean bed can be assessed; and (c) to indicate which areas of research can or should be undertaken by British scientists. The programmes of international cooperation in this field are discussed. The report is divided into four chapters dealing respectively with geology and geophysics, geochemistry, physical oceanography and marine biology. (U.K.)

Biological collections and ecological/environmental research: a review, some observations and a look to the future.

Science.gov (United States)

Pyke, Graham H; Ehrlich, Paul R

2010-05-01

Housed worldwide, mostly in museums and herbaria, is a vast collection of biological specimens developed over centuries. These biological collections, and associated taxonomic and systematic research, have received considerable long-term public support. The work remaining in systematics has been expanding as the estimated total number of species of organisms on Earth has risen over recent decades, as have estimated numbers of undescribed species. Despite this increasing task, support for taxonomic and systematic research, and biological collections upon which such research is based, has declined over the last 30-40 years, while other areas of biological research have grown considerably, especially those that focus on environmental issues. Reflecting increases in research that deals with ecological questions (e.g. what determines species distribution and abundance) or environmental issues (e.g. toxic pollution), the level of research attempting to use biological collections in museums or herbaria in an ecological/environmental context has risen dramatically during about the last 20 years. The perceived relevance of biological collections, and hence the support they receive, should be enhanced if this trend continues and they are used prominently regarding such environmental issues as anthropogenic loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem function, global climate change, and decay of the epidemiological environment. It is unclear, however, how best to use biological collections in the context of such ecological/environmental issues or how best to manage collections to facilitate such use. We demonstrate considerable and increasingly realized potential for research based on biological collections to contribute to ecological/environmental understanding. However, because biological collections were not originally intended for use regarding such issues and have inherent biases and limitations, they are proving more useful in some contexts than in others. Biological

An Open-Ended Investigative Microbial Ecology Laboratory for Introductory Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Jones-Held, Susan; Paoletti, Robert; Glick, David; Held, Michael E.

2010-01-01

In this article we describe a multi-week investigative laboratory in microbial ecology/diversity and nitrogen cycling that we have used in our introductory biology course. This module encourages active student involvement in experimental design, using the scientific literature and quantitative analysis of large data sets. Students analyze soil…

Thermodynamics, ecology and evolutionary biology: A bridge over troubled water or common ground?

Science.gov (United States)

Skene, Keith R.

2017-11-01

This paper addresses a key issue confronting ecological and evolutionary biology, namely the challenge of a cohesive approach to these fields given significant differences in the concepts and foundations of their study. Yet these two areas of scientific research are paramount in terms addressing the spatial and temporal dynamics and distribution of diversity, an understanding of which is needed if we are to resolve the current crisis facing the biosphere. The importance of understanding how nature responds to change is now of essential rather than of metaphysical interest as our planet struggles with increasing anthropogenic damage. Ecology and evolutionary biology can no longer remain disjointed. While some progress has been made in terms of synthetic thinking across these areas, this has often been in terms of bridge building, where thinking in one aspect is extended over to the other side. We review these bridges and the success or otherwise of such efforts. This paper then suggests that in order to move from a descriptive to a mechanistic understanding of the biosphere, we may need to re-evaluate our approach to the studies of ecology and evolutionary biology, finding a common denominator that will enable us to address the critical issues facing us, particularly in terms of understanding what drives change, what determines tempo and how communities function. Common ground, we argue, is essential if we are to comprehend how resilience operates in the natural world and how diversification can counter increasing extinction rates. This paper suggests that thermodynamics may provide a bridge between ecology and evolutionary biology, and that this will enable us to move forward with otherwise intractable problems.

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

Integration of ecological-biological thresholds in conservation decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Mavrommati, Georgia; Bithas, Kostas; Borsuk, Mark E; Howarth, Richard B

2016-12-01

In the Anthropocene, coupled human and natural systems dominate and only a few natural systems remain relatively unaffected by human influence. On the one hand, conservation criteria based on areas of minimal human impact are not relevant to much of the biosphere. On the other hand, conservation criteria based on economic factors are problematic with respect to their ability to arrive at operational indicators of well-being that can be applied in practice over multiple generations. Coupled human and natural systems are subject to economic development which, under current management structures, tends to affect natural systems and cross planetary boundaries. Hence, designing and applying conservation criteria applicable in real-world systems where human and natural systems need to interact and sustainably coexist is essential. By recognizing the criticality of satisfying basic needs as well as the great uncertainty over the needs and preferences of future generations, we sought to incorporate conservation criteria based on minimal human impact into economic evaluation. These criteria require the conservation of environmental conditions such that the opportunity for intergenerational welfare optimization is maintained. Toward this end, we propose the integration of ecological-biological thresholds into decision making and use as an example the planetary-boundaries approach. Both conservation scientists and economists must be involved in defining operational ecological-biological thresholds that can be incorporated into economic thinking and reflect the objectives of conservation, sustainability, and intergenerational welfare optimization. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Applications of 14C-AMS on archaeology, climate, environment, geology, oceanography and biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomes, P.R.S.; Anjos, R.M.; Macario, K.D.; Santos, G.M.

2005-01-01

The first experiment discusses the chronology of prehistoric settlements of the central-south Brazilian coast. In the southern Brazilian coast there is a high density of these shellmounds, dated in general between 6,000 and 2,000 BP. A charcoal sample from a coastal shellmound of Rio de Janeiro State was dated by 14 C-AMS to 7,860±80 years BP. This is an unexpected result that pulls back by some two thousand years the antiquity consensually accepted for the settlement of that region. We performed an experiment concerning the isotopic signature of the local waters of an important Brazilian coastal upwelling, located in Arraial do Cabo, R.J., with applications in the fields of Oceanography and Marine Ecology. We assess the contribution of the wind-driven coastal upwelling of Arraial do Cabo to the local biological production. The variation of the carbon isotopic compositions was investigated in a population of a seaweed. Upwelling events were simulated in the laboratory, in order to study three regimes: total upwelling (SACW), partial upwelling (mixed water) and no-upwelling (TW). Water samples were collected at 70 m depth (SACW) and at 10 m (TW). The seaweed was cultivated during seven days, in controlled conditions, into the three mentioned types of water. The results of 14 C-AMS measurements in the seaweed tissue show a clear indication of difference in the isotopic signature of the water sources, allowing to infer the differences of the water sources. We believe that the present results contribute to opening new perspectives for the use of 14 C as a tracer of the biological production in upwelling areas all over the world. The next reported experiment is on climate at the Amazon region. An increase in the Hg flux is a strong indicator of disturbance in a forest ecosystem related to abrupt changes in the water balance, and its changes reflect changes in the ocean and average regional temperatures. In regions where the geological background of mercury is

Historical freshwater fish ecology: a long-term view of distribution changes and biological invasions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Clavero

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Past processes and events may have an important influence on contemporaneous ecological patterns, including current human impacts on landscapes and organisms. In spite of that, most of the ecological knowledge has been built upon short-term studies, which very rarely exceed one decade. Ecology and Conservation Biology have an important lack of historical approaches, a deficiency that may become a hindrance for the management of natural systems. In this talk I will present examples of how historical information on the distribution of freshwater fish and other aquatic organisms can be used to address ecological questions. Most analyses are based on two important Spanish historical written sources: the Relaciones de Felipe II (16th century and the Madoz Dictionary (19th century. The examples considered include the European eel (Anguilla anguilla, the brown trout (Salmo trutta, the common carp (Cyprinus carpio and the white clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius italicus, among other species, as well as questions related to biological invasions, habitat loss and the impacts of global warming. The outputs of ecological research based on historical data often become useful tools for present-day biodiversity conservation planning and actions.

History of oceanography of the Indian Ocean

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sengupta, R.

This paper highlights history of the oceanography of the Indian Ocean. Oceanographic activities during Ancient period, Medieval period, British period, Post-Independence period are briefly discussed. The role of the IIOE, IOC, UNESCO are also...

A Retrospective Self-Assessment of the SURFO Summer Internship Program in Oceanography

Science.gov (United States)

Pockalny, R. A.; Donohue, K. A.; Fliegler, J.

2009-12-01

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships in Oceanography (SURFO) program at the Graduate School of Oceanography/University of Rhode Island is an NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates site program with a programmatic research niche focused on quantitative aspects of Oceanography. Each summer-cohort includes 9-12 participants (rising seniors) who are paired with a primary research advisor and often with a graduate student mentor. The primary components of the 10-week program include a 4-week introductory phase and a 6-week core research phase. A retrospective self-assessment instrument gauged the confidence, attitude and comfort level of participants with; 1) core math and science subjects, 2) oceanography-related subjects, 3) research skills, and 4) SURFO and GSO staff. SURFO participants evaluated themselves at the start of the program, after the introductory phase, and at the end of the program. Participants were also asked to reassess their initial evaluations and provide an updated score. The pre-assessment results indicate that the program recruits students from the target group (e.g., strong physics and math backgrounds, but with limited exposure to oceanography). The results also indicate that the students are initially comfortable with their advising team, but not so comfortable with their research topic and research skills. The post-introductory phase results indicate large increases in comfort level with the advising team and the local research community yet little or no change is indicated for research skills. The final assessments show large changes in oceanography-content knowledge, research topic, and research skills. The retrospective reassessment indicates an initial overconfidence in most categories. Overall, the largest changes occurred during the core research portion of the program. These results reinforce the importance/effectiveness of authentic, hands-on, inquiry-based research for higher learning and training the next

Utilizing social media for informal ocean conservation and education: The BioOceanography Project

Science.gov (United States)

Payette, J.

2016-02-01

Science communication through the use of social media is a rapidly evolving and growing pursuit in academic and scientific circles. Online tools and social media are being used in not only scientific communication but also scientific publication, education, and outreach. Standards and usage of social media as well as other online tools for communication, networking, outreach, and publication are always in development. Caution and a conservative attitude towards these novel "Science 2.0" tools is understandable because of their rapidly changing nature and the lack of professional standards for using them. However there are some key benefits and unique ways social media, online systems, and other Open or Open Source technologies, software, and "Science 2.0" tools can be utilized for academic purposes such as education and outreach. Diverse efforts for ocean conservation and education will continue to utilize social media for a variety of purposes. The BioOceanography project is an informal communication, education, outreach, and conservation initiative created for enhancing knowledge related to Oceanography and Marine Science with an unbiased yet conservation-minded approach and in an Open Source format. The BioOceanography project is ongoing and still evolving, but has already contributed to ocean education and conservation communication in key ways through a concerted web presence since 2013, including a curated Twitter account @_Oceanography and BioOceanography blog style website. Social media tools like those used in this project, if used properly can be highly effective and valuable for encouraging students, networking with researchers, and educating the general public in Oceanography.

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.

SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF PERSPECTIVE TRENDS IN ECOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL STUDIES OF THE CASPIAN SEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. M. Abdurakhmanov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available RETRACTED ARTICLEAim. The main purpose of the ecological and biological research (EBR of the Caspian Sea is the information and technical support of decision-making to ensure the environmental management in the region taking into account the increase of anthropogenic impact and change in climatic conditions.Methods. As a basis, we have adopted the method of theoretical and mathematical generalization of a number of scientific papers and systematic analysis of the proposed solutions.Results. Analysis and mathematical processing of published literature sources has convincingly demonstrated the need for international cooperation to optimize the ecological and biological research. It has also confirmed the usefulness of the ecological and biological studies of the Caspian Sea in different directions, and the distribution of effort (cost between them requires coordinated management.Conclusion. It is shown that the data obtained by EBI have both rapid and long-term value. In the future, it is rational to develop suitable approaches to unified structuring of the EBR data, including their spatial and timing. An important task is to create a single interstate information space on the results of EBR using information and communication technologies.

West Hackberry Strategic Petroleum Reserve site brine-disposal monitoring, Year I report. Volume IV. Bibliography and supporting data for physical oceanography. Final report. [421 references

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeRouen, L.R.; Hann, R.W.; Casserly, D.M.; Giammona, C.; Lascara, V.J. (eds.)

1983-02-01

This project centers around the Strategic Petroleum Site (SPR) known as the West Hackberry salt dome which is located in southwestern Louisiana and which is designed to store 241 million barrels of crude oil. Oil storage caverns are formed by injecting water into salt deposits, and pumping out the resulting brine. Studies described in this report were designed as follow-on studies to three months of pre-discharge characterization work, and include data collected during the first year of brine leaching operations. The objectives were to: (1) characterize the environment in terms of physical, chemical and biological attributes; (2) determine if significant adverse changes in ecosystem productivity and stability of the biological community are occurring as a result of brine discharge; and (3) determine the magnitude of any change observed. Volume IV contains the following: bibliography; appendices for supporting data for physical oceanography, and summary of the physical oceanography along the western Louisiana coast.

The biology of human sexuality: evolution, ecology and physiology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PW Bateman

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Many evolutionary biologists argue that human sexual behaviour can be studied in exactly the same way as that of other species. Many sociologists argue that social influences effectively obscure, and are more important than, a reductionist biological approach to human sexual behaviour. Here,we authors attempt to provide a broad introduction to human sexual behaviour from a biological standpoint and to indicate where the ambiguous areas are. We outline the evolutionary selective pressures that are likely to have influenced human behaviour and mate choice in the past and in the present; ecological features that influence such things as degree of parental care and polygamy; and the associated physiology of human sexuality. Then they end with a discussion of �abnormal� sexuality.

Biology, ecology and evolution of the family Gigasporaceae, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomeromycota)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Souza, Francisco Adriano de

2005-01-01

Research described in this thesis focused on biological, ecological and evolutionary aspects of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF), and in particular of the family Gigasporaceae (Gigaspora and Scutellospora, genera). This study had two major objectives. The first objective was to obtain better

Diploma of Higher Studies in Oceanography. Red Sea & Gulf of Aden Programme (PERSGA).

Science.gov (United States)

Arab Organization for Education and Science, Cairo (Egypt).

This document presents four courses for the diploma of higher studies in oceanography conducted by the Department of Oceanography, Faculty of Science, University of Alexandria, Egypt. These courses are organized by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO). Each course is designed to be taught in one academic year…

Local and global control of ecological and biological networks

OpenAIRE

Alessandro Ferrarini

2014-01-01

Recently, I introduced a methodological framework so that ecological and biological networks can be controlled both from inside and outside by coupling network dynamics and evolutionary modelling. The endogenous control requires the network to be optimized at the beginning of its dynamics (by acting upon nodes, edges or both) so that it will then go inertially to the desired state. Instead, the exogenous control requires that exogenous controllers act upon the network at each time step. By th...

EVALUATING THE ECOLOGICAL RESILIENT DRIVEN PERFORMANCE OF A TROPICAL WASTE STABILIZATION POND SYSTEM USING ECOLOGICAL SIGNATURE OF BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susmita Lahiri Ganguly

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Using ecological signature of biological integrity as a measure of performance, the reclamation efficiency of waste stabilization ponds was evaluated over a period of four years in a tropical sewage treatment plant – cum fish culture consisting of two anaerobic, two facultative and four maturation ponds located serially across the sewage effluent gradient. The four maturation ponds were used for batch culture of fish. Samples of surface and bottom water as well as surface sediment were collected twice a month from different ponds of the system and examined for some nutrient cycling bacteria, primary production, chlorophyll content of micro-algae, phytoplankton, zooplankton abundance, fish growth and water quality parameters. Computation of ecological signature using aerobic mineralization index for heterotrophic and ammonifying bacteria revealed steady increase across the sewage effluent gradient. The heterotrophic and ammonifying bacterial populations appeared to have a direct function with the concentrations of chemical oxygen demand of water. The sum of total scores for different optimal conditions for fish growth increased as a function of the distance from the source of effluent implying that ecological resilience of the waste stabilization ponds has been accomplished by the sedimentation, chelation, and biological functional attributes mediated through redundancy of different subsystems, self- purification capacity of the system as a whole.

Secretary of the Navy Professor of Oceanography

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-18

of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA; 5-10 June 2011 Attended: Algae + Fish = Ocean Mixing? Conference, La Jolla, CA; 5-6 July 2011 Attended: JASON Summer...the scientific work of Klaus Hasselmann at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology; Hamburg , Germany; 09 November 2011 Keynote Address: Nansen

Biology and Ecology of Alchisme grossa in a Cloud Forest of the Bolivian Yungas

OpenAIRE

Torrico-Bazoberry, Daniel; Caceres-Sanchez, Liliana; Saavedra-Ulloa, Daniela; Flores-Prado, Luis; Niemeyer, Hermann M.; Pinto, Carlos F.

2014-01-01

Treehoppers (Membracidae) exhibit different levels of sociality, from solitary to presocial. Although they are one of the best biological systems to study the evolution of maternal care in insects, information on the biology of species in this group is scarce. This work describes the biology and ecology of Alchisme grossa (Fairmaire) (Hemiptera: Membracidae) in a rain cloud forest of Bolivia. This subsocial membracid utilizes two host-plant species, Brugmansia suaveolens (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Wi...

Local Ecological Knowledge and Biological Conservation: Post-normal Science as an Intercultural Field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorje Ignacio Zalles

2017-09-01

Full Text Available From a natural sciences perspective, efforts directed at the conservation of biodiversity are based upon what is known as conservation biology. Given its epistemological assumptions, conservation biology faces obstacles in the incorporation of wisdom originating in local ecological knowledge, that which a local population has gained about the local environment which it is surrounded by and due to its direct contact with this local environment, instead of the result of a product of a positivist scientific inquiry. Post-normal science has emerged in recent decades as an alternative for public management that aims to complement the search for knowledge by means of empirical approaches through the inclusion of understandings based on the everyday experiences and the subjective interpretation of natural phenomena, transcending the compartmentalization associated with scientific traditions born out of modernity. This article discusses the integration of local ecological knowledge and conservation biology from the perspective of post normal science, illustrating different forms of intercultural communication that would make the requisite dialogue of knowledges possible.

Oceanography Information System of Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO)

Science.gov (United States)

Tello, Olvido; Gómez, María; González, Sonsoles

2016-04-01

Since 1914, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) performs multidisciplinary studies of the marine environment. In same case are systematic studies and in others are specific studies for special requirements (El Hierro submarine volcanic episode, spill Prestige, others.). Different methodologies and data acquisition techniques are used depending on studies aims. The acquired data are stored and presented in different formats. The information is organized into different databases according to the subject and the variables represented (geology, fisheries, aquaculture, pollution, habitats, etc.). Related to physical and chemical oceanography data, in 1964 was created the DATA CENTER of IEO (CEDO), in order to organize the data about physical and chemical variables, to standardize this information and to serve the international data network SeaDataNet. www.seadatanet.org. This database integrates data about temperature, salinity, nutrients, and tidal data. CEDO allows consult and download the data. http://indamar.ieo.es On the other hand, related to data about marine species in 1999 was developed SIRENO DATABASE. All data about species collected in oceanographic surveys carried out by researches of IEO, and data from observers on fishing vessels are incorporated in SIRENO database. In this database is stored catch data, biomass, abundance, etc. This system is based on architecture ORACLE. Due to the large amount of information collected over the 100 years of IEO history, there is a clear need to organize, standardize, integrate and relate the different databases and information, and to provide interoperability and access to the information. Consequently, in 2000 it emerged the first initiative to organize the IEO spatial information in an Oceanography Information System, based on a Geographical Information System (GIS). The GIS was consolidated as IEO institutional GIS and was created the Spatial Data Infrastructure of IEO (IDEO) following trend of INSPIRE. All

Ecological Footprint of Biological Resource Consumption in a Typical Area of the Green for Grain Project in Northwestern China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Hu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Following the implementation of the Green for Grain Project in 2000 in Guyuan, China, the decrease in cultivated land and subsequent increase in forest and grassland pose substantial challenges for the supply of biological products. Whether the current biologically productive land-use patterns in Guyuan satisfy the biological product requirements for local people is an urgent problem. In this study, the ecological footprints of biological resource consumption in Guyuan were calculated and analyzed based on the ‘City Hectare’ Ecological Footprint (EF Method. The EFs of different types of biological resource products consumed from different types of biologically productive land were then analyzed. In addition, the EFs of various biological resource products before and after the implementation of the Green for Grain Project (1998 and 2012 were assessed. The actual EF and bio-capacity (BC were compared, and differences in the EF and BC for different types of biologically productive lands before and after the project were analyzed. The results showed that the EF of Guyuan’s biological resource products was 0.65866 ha/cap, with an EF outflow and EF inflow of 0.2280 ha/cap and 0.0951 ha/cap, respectively. The per capita EF of Guyuan significantly decreased after the project, as did the ecological deficit. Whereas the cultivated land showed a deficit, grasslands were characterized by ecological surplus. The total EF of living resource consumption in Guyuan was 810,941 ha, and the total BC was 768,065 ha. In additional to current biological production areas, approximately 42,876 ha will be needed to satisfy the demands of Guyuan’s people. Cultivated land is the main type of biologically productive land that is needed.

Emerald ash borer invasion of North America: history, biology, ecology, impacts, and management.

Science.gov (United States)

Herms, Daniel A; McCullough, Deborah G

2014-01-01

Since its accidental introduction from Asia, emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), has killed millions of ash trees in North America. As it continues to spread, it could functionally extirpate ash with devastating economic and ecological impacts. Little was known about EAB when it was first discovered in North America in 2002, but substantial advances in understanding of EAB biology, ecology, and management have occurred since. Ash species indigenous to China are generally resistant to EAB and may eventually provide resistance genes for introgression into North American species. EAB is characterized by stratified dispersal resulting from natural and human-assisted spread, and substantial effort has been devoted to the development of survey methods. Early eradication efforts were abandoned largely because of the difficulty of detecting and delineating infestations. Current management is focused on biological control, insecticide protection of high-value trees, and integrated efforts to slow ash mortality.

Marine Biology and Oceanography, Grades Nine to Twelve. Part II.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolb, James A.

This unit, one of a series designed to develop and foster an understanding of the marine environment, presents marine science activities for students in grades 9-12. The unit, focusing on sea plants/animals and their interactions with each other and the non-living environment, has sections dealing with: marine ecology; marine bacteriology;…

NODC Standard Product: Climatic atlas of the Arctic Seas 2004 - Database of the Barents, Kara, Laptev, and White Seas - Oceanography and marine biology (NODC Accession 0098061)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This Atlas presents primary data on meteorology, oceanography, and hydrobiology from the Barents, Kara, Laptev, and White Seas, which were collected during the...

Biological processes in the water column of the South Atlantic bight

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paffenhoefer, G.A.; Yoder, J.A.

1980-01-31

Progress is reported on research conducted during 1979 on the biological oceanography of the South Atlantic Bight. The presentation consists of a number of published articles and abstracts of oral presentations. (ACR)

Integrated structural biology and molecular ecology of N-cycling enzymes from ammonia-oxidizing archaea.

Science.gov (United States)

Tolar, Bradley B; Herrmann, Jonathan; Bargar, John R; van den Bedem, Henry; Wakatsuki, Soichi; Francis, Christopher A

2017-10-01

Knowledge of the molecular ecology and environmental determinants of ammonia-oxidizing organisms is critical to understanding and predicting the global nitrogen (N) and carbon cycles, but an incomplete biochemical picture hinders in vitro studies of N-cycling enzymes. Although an integrative structural and dynamic characterization at the atomic scale would advance our understanding of function tremendously, structural knowledge of key N-cycling enzymes from ecologically relevant ammonia oxidizers is unfortunately extremely limited. Here, we discuss the challenges and opportunities for examining the ecology of ammonia-oxidizing organisms, particularly uncultivated Thaumarchaeota, through (meta)genome-driven structural biology of the enzymes ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) and nitrite reductase (NirK). © 2017 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Influence of biological and ecological factors on the radio-sensitivity of laboratory animals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guenet, J.L.; Legeay, G.

1968-01-01

The biological and ecological factors liable to induce a change in the radio-sensitivity of a species are undoubtedly responsible for the large fluctuations observed during radio-biological experiments. It is easy to limit or to suppress the effects of some of them (genetic or nutritional factors). Since the research worker cannot control the others it is necessary to take them into account. In this report the authors analyse the action of two factors chosen as examples: - the first concerns biological rhythms; - the second attempts to define the role of health conditions. Other factors will be dealt with in a later report. (authors) [fr

Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command exhibit

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

Designed to entertain while educating, StenniSphere at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Miss., includes informative displays and exhibits from NASA and other agencies located at Stennis, such as this one from the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. Visitors can 'travel' three-dimensionally under the sea and check on the weather back home in the Weather Center. StenniSphere is open free of charge from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Ferromanganese Nodule Analysis File - IDOE Portion

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) compiled data on the geochemistry of marine ferromanganese nodules, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation...

Biological diversity, ecology and global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jutro, P.R.

1991-01-01

Worldwide climate change and loss of biodiversity are issues of global scope and importance that have recently become subjects of considerable public concern. Their perceived threat lies in their potential to disrupt ecological functioning and stability rather than from any direct threat they may pose to human health. Over the last 5 years, the international scientific community and the general public have become aware of the implications that atmospheric warming might have for world climate patterns and the resulting changes in the persistence, location, and composition of ecosystems worldwide. Human activities are currently responsible for a species loss rate that is the most extreme in millions of years, and an alarmingly increasing rate of transformation and fragmentation of natural landscapes. In the case of both global warming and reduction of biological diversity, man is affecting nature in an unprecedented fashion, on a global scale, and with unpredictable and frequently irreversible results

Stochastic dynamics for two biological species and ecological niches

Science.gov (United States)

Ruziska, Flávia M.; Arashiro, Everaldo; Tomé, Tânia

2018-01-01

We consider an ecological system in which two species interact with two niches. To this end we introduce a stochastic model with four states. Our analysis is founded in three approaches: Monte Carlo simulations of the model on a square lattice, mean-field approximation, and birth and death master equation. From this last approach we obtain a description in terms of Langevin equations which show in an explicit way the role of noise in population biology. We focus mainly on the description of time oscillations of the species population and the alternating dominance between them. The model treated here may provide insights on these properties.

SWOT Oceanography and Hydrology Data Product Simulators

Science.gov (United States)

Peral, Eva; Rodriguez, Ernesto; Fernandez, Daniel Esteban; Johnson, Michael P.; Blumstein, Denis

2013-01-01

The proposed Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission would demonstrate a new measurement technique using radar interferometry to obtain wide-swath measurements of water elevation at high resolution over ocean and land, addressing the needs of both the hydrology and oceanography science communities. To accurately evaluate the performance of the proposed SWOT mission, we have developed several data product simulators at different levels of fidelity and complexity.

Data analysis methods in physical oceanography. By Emery, W.J. and Thomson, R.E.

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nayak, M.R.

. 729-730 September 1999 Book Reviews DATA ANALYSIS METHODS IN PHYSICAL O~EAN~GRAFWY. By Wil- liam J. Emery and Richard E. Thomson. PERGAMON Else&r Sci- ence. 1998. 400 p. U.S. $112 / NLG 177.00. The book Data Analysis Methods in Physical... Oceanography pro- vides a comprehensive and practical compilation of the essential information and analysis techniques required for the advanced processing and interpretation of digital spat&temporal data in physical oceanography, as well as in other...

Shedding Light on the Sea: André Morel's Legacy to Optical Oceanography

Science.gov (United States)

Antoine, David; Babin, Marcel; Berthon, Jean-François; Bricaud, Annick; Gentili, Bernard; Loisel, Hubert; Maritorena, Stéphane; Stramski, Dariusz

2014-01-01

André Morel (1933-2012) was a prominent pioneer of modern optical oceanography, enabling significant advances in this field. Through his forward thinking and research over more than 40 years, he made key contributions that this field needed to grow and to reach its current status. This article first summarizes his career and then successively covers different aspects of optical oceanography where he made significant contributions, from fundamental work on optical properties of water and particles to global oceanographic applications using satellite ocean color observations. At the end, we share our views on André's legacy to our research field and scientific community.

[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.

Physical oceanography of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Varkey, M.J.; Murty, V.S.N.; Suryanarayana, A.

Physical oceanography of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea is reviewed for the first time. All available information for over 50 years is consolidated in this review. To begin with, information on peripheral or related aspects of climate...

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

Marine Education Knowledge Inventory.

Science.gov (United States)

Hounshell, Paul B.; Hampton, Carolyn

This 35-item, multiple-choice Marine Education Knowledge Inventory was developed for use in upper elementary/middle schools to measure a student's knowledge of marine science. Content of test items is drawn from oceanography, ecology, earth science, navigation, and the biological sciences (focusing on marine animals). Steps in the construction of…

EVALUATING THE ECOLOGICAL RESILIENT DRIVEN PERFORMANCE OF A TROPICAL WASTE STABILIZATION POND SYSTEM USING ECOLOGICAL SIGNATURE OF BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY

OpenAIRE

Susmita Lahiri Ganguly; Dipanwita Sarkar Paria; B. B. Jana

2015-01-01

Using ecological signature of biological integrity as a measure of performance, the reclamation efficiency of waste stabilization ponds was evaluated over a period of four years in a tropical sewage treatment plant – cum fish culture consisting of two anaerobic, two facultative and four maturation ponds located serially across the sewage effluent gradient. The four maturation ponds were used for batch culture of fish. Samples of surface and bottom water as well as surface sediment were collec...

Data analysis methods in physical oceanography. By Emery, W.J. and Thomson, R.E.

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nayak, M.R.

in Physical Oceanography. Page 1 of 1 file://C:\\My Documents\\articles30.htm 2/11/05 William J. Emery and Richard E. Thomson. Pergamon Elsevier Science. 1998. hardbound. 400 pp. ISBN: 0-08-031434-1. Price: US$ 112/NLG 177.00 This book provides a comprehensive... and practical compilation of the essential information and analysis techniques required for the advanced processing and interpretation of digital spatio-temporal data in physical oceanography, as well as in other branches of the geophysical sciences. The book...

Introduction to Northeast Pacific Shark Biology, Ecology, and Conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowry, Dayv; Larson, Shawn E

Sharks are iconic, sometimes apex, predators found in every ocean and, as a result, they have featured prominently in the mythology, history, and fisheries of diverse human cultures around the world. Because of their regional significance to fisheries and ecological role as predators, and as a result of concern over long-term stability of their populations, there has been an increasing amount of work focused on shark conservation in recent decades. This volume highlights the biodiversity and biological attributes of, and conservation efforts targeted at, populations of sharks that reside in the Northeast Pacific Ocean bordering the west coast of the United States and Canada, one of the most economically and ecologically important oceanic regions in the world. A companion volume addresses details of fisheries and ecotourism in the same region, as well as delving into the relationship between captive husbandry of sharks and education/outreach efforts aimed at fostering a conservation mindset in the public at large. Together, these volumes provide readers a detailed backdrop against which to consider their own actions, and those of resource managers, academics, and educators, as they relate to the long-term conservation of sharks and their relatives. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command exhibit entrance

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

StenniSphere at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Miss., invites visitors to discover why America comes to Stennis Space Center before going into space. Designed to entertain while educating, StenniSphere includes informative displays and exhibits from NASA and other agencies located at Stennis, such as this one from the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. Visitors can 'travel' three-dimensionally under the sea and check on the weather back home in the Weather Center.

Operationele Oceanografie en Rapid Environmental Assessment (Operational Oceanography and Rapid Environmental Assessment)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

te Raa, L. A; Lam, F. P; Schouten, M. W

2008-01-01

.... Possible applications of operational oceanography in REA include improved sonar performance predictions with three-dimensional sound speed forecasts, support of AUV mission planning with the help...

Effects of Conceptual Change Text Based Instruction on Ecology, Attitudes toward Biology and Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Çetin, Gülcan; Ertepinar, Hamide; Geban, Ömer

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the conceptual change text based instruction on ninth grade students' understanding of ecological concepts, and attitudes toward biology and environment. Participants were 82 ninth grade students in a public high school in the Northwestern Turkey. A treatment was employed over a five-week…

Applications of 14C - AMS on Archaeology, Climate, Environment, Geology, Oceanography and Biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomes, P. R. S.; Macario, K. D.; Anjos, R. M.

2007-01-01

In this contribution we describe several experiments on 14 C-AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) related to historical, ecological and environmental questions. We discuss the chronology of prehistoric settlements of the central-south Brazilian coast. The unexpected result pulls back by some two thousand years the antiquity consensually accepted for the settlement of that region. We performed an experiment concerning the isotopic signature of the local waters of an important Brazilian coastal upwelling. The results of 14 C-AMS measurements in seaweed tissue show differences in the isotopic signature of the water sources. The present results contribute to opening new perspectives for the use of 14 C as a tracer of the biological production in upwelling areas all over the world. We performed experiments on climate at the Amazon region. At remote lakes of the Amazon region, the Hg accumulation rate archived in sediment cores is a powerful tool for the interpretation of the paleoclimatology and paleoecology of the region. Different sedimentation regimes are observed from ∼41500 yr. BP to the present. The understanding of sea-level fluctuations are fundamental for human occupation of littoral areas and hydrocarbon industry on offshore exploration. We performed radiocarbon dating of foraminifera shell samples, collected in upper slope of Campos Basin, in Southern Brazil. The mean accumulation ratio for the whole column is 6.17 cm/1000 years. Fluctuations in this mean values indicate that the ocean bottom dynamics has some variation during the period. (Author)

Biology, ecology and management of the invasive parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Adkins, Steve; Shabbir, Asad

2014-07-01

Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) is one of the most aggressive invasive weeds, threatening natural ecosystems and agroecosystems in over 30 countries worldwide. Parthenium weed causes losses of crops and pastures, degrading the biodiversity of natural plant communities, causing human and animal health hazards and resulting in serious economic losses to people and their interests in many countries around the globe. Several of its biological and ecological attributes contribute towards its invasiveness. Various management approaches (namely cultural, mechanical, chemical and biological control) have been used to minimise losses caused by this weed, but most of these approaches are ineffective and uneconomical and/or have limitations. Although chemical control using herbicides and biological control utilising exotic insects and pathogens have been found to contribute to the management of the weed, the weed nevertheless remains a significant problem. An integrated management approach is proposed here for the effective management of parthenium weed on a sustainable basis. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

[Radar as imaging tool in ecology and conservation biology].

Science.gov (United States)

Matyjasiak, Piotr

2017-01-01

Migrations and dispersal are among the most important ecological processes that shape ecosystems and influence our economy, health and safety. Movements of birds, bats and insects occur in a large spatial scale - regional, continental, or intercontinental. However, studies of these phenomena using classic methods are usually local. Breakthrough came with the development of radar technology, which enabled researchers to study animal movements in the atmosphere in a large spatial and temporal scale. The aim of this article was to present the radar imaging methods used in the research of aerial movements of birds, bats and insects. The types of radars used in research are described, and examples of the use of radar in basic research and in conservation biology are discussed. Radar visualizations are used in studies on the effect of meteorological conditions on bird migration, on spatial and temporal dynamics of movements of birds, bats and insects, and on the mechanism of orientation of migrating birds and insects. In conservation biology research radars are used in the monitoring of endangered species of birds and bats, to monitor bird activity at airports, as well as in assessing the impact of high constructions on flying birds and bats.

Some aspects of biological production and fishery resources of the EEZ of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Bhargava, R.M.S.

Region and season-wise biological production in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India has been computed from the data of more than twenty years available at the Indian National Oceanographic Data Centre of the National Institute of Oceanography...

Oceanography: 1998 Paris Meeting Abstracts: Coastal and Marginal Seas. Volume 11, Number 2

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Rhodes, Judith

1998-01-01

This grant supported a successful international multidisciplinary scientific meeting addressing the topic "Coastal and Marginal Seas," hosted by The Oceanography Society and UNESCO's Intergovernmental...

Ecological and nonhuman biological effects of solar UV-B radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worrest, R.C.

1984-01-01

Recent studies regarding the impact of UV-B radiation upon ecological and nonhuman biological systems is the subject of the report. For years scientists and laymen alike have causally noted the impact of solar ultraviolet radiation upon the nonhuman component of the biosphere. Stratospheric ozone functions effectively as an ultraviolet screen by filtering out solar radiation in the 220-320 nm waveband as it penetrates through the atmosphere, thus allowing only small amounts of the longer wavelengths of radiation in the waveband to leak through to the surface of the earth. Although this radiation (UV-B radiation, 290-320 nm) comprises only a small fraction (lesser tha 1%) of the total solar spectrum, it can have a major impact on biological systems due to its actinic nature. Many organic molecules, most notably DNA, absorb UV-B radiation which can initiate photochemical reactions. It is life's ability, or lack thereof, to cope with enhanced levels of solar UV-B radiation that has generated concern over the potential depletion of stratospheric ozone

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) as a model system in community, landscape and ecosystem ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Bowker, Matthew A.; Maestre, Fernando T.; Eldridge, David; Belnap, Jayne; Castillo-Monroy, Andrea; Escolar, Cristina; Soliveres, Santiago

2014-01-01

Model systems have had a profound influence on the development of ecological theory and general principles. Compared to alternatives, the most effective models share some combination of the following characteristics: simpler, smaller, faster, general, idiosyncratic or manipulable. We argue that biological soil crusts (biocrusts) have unique combinations of these features that should be more widely exploited in community, landscape and ecosystem ecology. In community ecology, biocrusts are elucidating the importance of biodiversity and spatial pattern for maintaining ecosystem multifunctionality due to their manipulability in experiments. Due to idiosyncrasies in their modes of facilitation and competition, biocrusts have led to new models on the interplay between environmental stress and biotic interactions and on the maintenance of biodiversity by competitive processes. Biocrusts are perhaps one of the best examples of micro-landscapes—real landscapes that are small in size. Although they exhibit varying patch heterogeneity, aggregation, connectivity and fragmentation, like macro-landscapes, they are also compatible with well-replicated experiments (unlike macro-landscapes). In ecosystem ecology, a number of studies are imposing small-scale, low cost manipulations of global change or state factors in biocrust micro-landscapes. The versatility of biocrusts to inform such disparate lines of inquiry suggests that they are an especially useful model system that can enable researchers to see ecological principles more clearly and quickly.

Conservation Biology and Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Integrating Academic Disciplines for Better Conservation Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joshua A. Drew

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Conservation biology and environmental anthropology are disciplines that are both concerned with the identification and preservation of diversity, in one case biological and in the other cultural. Both conservation biology and the study of traditional ecoloigcal knowledge function at the nexus of the social and natural worlds, yet historically there have been major impediments to integrating the two. Here we identify linguistic, cultural, and epistemological barriers between the two disciplines. We argue that the two disciplines are uniquely positioned to inform each other and to provide critical insights and new perspectives on the way these sciences are practiced. We conclude by synthesizing common themes found in conservation success stories, and by making several suggestions on integration. These include cross-disciplinary publication, expanding memberships in professional societies and conducting multidisciplinary research based on similar interests in ecological process, taxonomy, or geography. Finally, we argue that extinction threats, be they biological or cultural/linguistic are imminent, and that by bringing these disciplines together we may be able to forge synergistic conservation programs capable of protecting the vivid splendor of life on Earth.

Assessing Cross-disciplinary Efficiency of Soil Amendments for Agro-biologically, Economically, and Ecologically Integrated Soil Health Management

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Preventive and/or manipulative practices will be needed to maintain soil's biological, physiochemical, nutritional, and structural health in natural, managed, and disturbed ecosystems as a foundation for food security and global ecosystem sustainability. While there is a substantial body of interdisciplinary science on understanding function and structure of soil ecosystems, key gaps must be bridged in assessing integrated agro-biological, ecological, economical, and environmental efficiency of soil manipulation practices in time and space across ecosystems. This presentation discusses the application of a fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) model for assessing agronomic, economic, ecological, environmental, and nematode (pest) management efficiency of soil amendments. FUE is defined as increase in host productivity and/or decrease in plant-parasitic nematode population density in response to a given fertilizer treatment. Using the effects of nutrient amendment on Heterodera glycines population density and normalized difference vegetative index (indicator of physiological activities) of a soybean cultivar ‘CX 252’, how the FUE model recognizes variable responses and separates nutrient deficiency and toxicity from nematode parasitism as well as suitability of treatments designed to achieve desired biological and physiochemical soil health conditions is demonstrated. As part of bridging gaps between agricultural and ecological approaches to integrated understanding and management of soil health, modifications of the FUE model for analyzing the relationships amongst nematode community structure, soil parameters (eg. pH, nutrients, %OM), and plant response to soil amendment is discussed. PMID:22736840

Ecological and biological systems under extreme conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zlobin, V S; Nenishkiene, V B

1989-01-01

The behaviour of biological and ecological systems under extreme conditions (high and low temperatures, electromagnetic fields of different frequencies, ultraviolet. X-ray and gamma radiation) is analyzed. The ecosystems of macro- and microalgae living in salt, brackinsh and fresh waters are considered in the evolutional aspect basing on their chemical and biochemical composition taking into account the mechanism of radionuclide uptake by water plant cells, osmotic regulation, water and ice structures, combined water in a living organism. The problems of life-support in cosmic flights and of mastering the planets of the Solar system, for instance Mars and Venus, utilizing some microalgae and bacteria with high adaptive properties are discussed. Abnormal water points and their role in the metabolism of a water plant cell are estimated. The 'life niches' are determined at the temperatures exceeding 100 deg C and the possibility of existence for living organisms in high pressure and temperature is grounded. Attempts are made to change the metabolism of the plant and animal cell by subjecting it to the action of electromagnetic and thermal fields, heavy water, chemical and pharmocological substances changing the structure of bound water. 333 refs.; 79 tabs.

Biology and ecology of Irukandji jellyfish (Cnidaria: Cubozoa).

Science.gov (United States)

Gershwin, Lisa-ann; Richardson, Anthony J; Winkel, Kenneth D; Fenner, Peter J; Lippmann, John; Hore, Russell; Avila-Soria, Griselda; Brewer, David; Kloser, Rudy J; Steven, Andy; Condie, Scott

2013-01-01

Irukandji stings are a leading occupational health and safety issue for marine industries in tropical Australia and an emerging problem elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean. Their mild initial sting frequently results in debilitating illness, involving signs of sympathetic excess including excruciating pain, sweating, nausea and vomiting, hypertension and a feeling of impending doom; some cases also experience acute heart failure and pulmonary oedema. These jellyfish are typically small and nearly invisible, and their infestations are generally mysterious, making them scary to the general public, irresistible to the media, and disastrous for tourism. Research into these fascinating species has been largely driven by the medical profession and focused on treatment. Biological and ecological information is surprisingly sparse, and is scattered through grey literature or buried in dispersed publications, hampering understanding. Given that long-term climate forecasts tend toward conditions favourable to jellyfish ecology, that long-term legal forecasts tend toward increasing duty-of-care obligations, and that bioprospecting opportunities exist in the powerful Irukandji toxins, there is a clear need for information to help inform global research and robust management solutions. We synthesise and contextualise available information on Irukandji taxonomy, phylogeny, reproduction, vision, behaviour, feeding, distribution, seasonality, toxins, and safety. Despite Australia dominating the research in this area, there are probably well over 25 species worldwide that cause the syndrome and it is an understudied problem in the developing world. Major gaps in knowledge are identified for future research: our lack of clarity on the socio-economic impacts, and our need for time series and spatial surveys of the species, make this field particularly enticing. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecology and functional roles of biological soil crusts in semi-arid ecosystems of Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Maestre, Fernando T.; Bowker, Matthew A.; Cantón, Yolanda; Castillo-Monroy, Andrea P.; Cortina, Jordi; Escolar, Cristina; Escudero, Adrián; Lázaro, Roberto; Martínez, Isabel

2015-01-01

Biological soil crusts (BSCs), composed of lichens, cyanobacteria, mosses, liverworts and microorganisms, are key biotic components of arid and semi-arid ecosystems worldwide. Despite they are widespread in Spain, these organisms have been historically understudied in this country. This trend is beginning to change as a recent wave of research has been identifying BSCs as a model ecological system. Many studies and research projects carried out in Spain have explored the role of BSCs on water, carbon and nitrogen fluxes, the interactions between BSCs and vascular plants, their dynamics after disturbances, and their response to global change, among other topics. In this article we review the growing body of research on BSCs available from semi-arid areas of Spain, highlighting its importance for increasing our knowledge on this group of organisms. We also discuss how it is breaking new ground in emerging research areas on the ecology of BSCs, and how it can be use to guide management and restoration efforts. Finally, we provide directions for future research on the ecology of BSCs in Spain and abroad. PMID:25908884

Three genetic stocks of frigate tuna Auxis thazard thazard (Lacepede, 1800) along the Indian coast revealed from sequence analyses of mitochondrial DNA D-loop region

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

GirishKumar; Kunal, S.P.; Menezes, M.R.; Meena, R.M.

revealed from sequence analyses of mitochondrial DNA D-loop region Name of authors: 1. Girish Kumar* Biological Oceanography Division (BOD) National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) Dona Paula, Goa 403004, India. Email: girishkumar....nio@gmail.com Tel: +919766548060 2. Swaraj Priyaranjan Kunal Biological Oceanography Division (BOD) National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) Dona Paula, Goa 403004, India. Email: swar.mbt@gmail.com 3. Maria Rosalia Menezes Biological Oceanography...

Shoreline ecology program for Prince William Sound, Alaska, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Part 3: Biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilfillan, E.S.; Page, D.S.; Harner, E.J.; Boehm, P.D.

1995-01-01

This study describes the biological results of a comprehensive shoreline ecology program designed to assess ecological recovery in Prince William Sound following the Exxon Valdez oil spill on march 24, 1989. The program is an application of the ''Sediment Quality Triad'' approach, combining chemical, toxicological, and biological measurements. The study was designed so that results could be extrapolated to the entire spill zone in Prince William Sound. The spill affected four major shoreline habitat types in Prince William Sound: pebble/gravel, boulder/cobble, sheltered bedrock, and exposed bedrock. The study design had two components: (1) one-time stratified random sampling at 64 sites representing four habitats and four oiling levels (including unoiled reference sites) and (2) periodic sampling at 12 nonrandomly chosen sites that included some of the most heavily oiled locations in the sound. Biological communities on rock surfaces and in intertidal and shallow subtidal sediments were analyzed for differences resulting from to oiling in each of 16 habitat/tide zone combinations. Statistical methods included univariate analyses of individual species abundances and community parameter variables (total abundance, species richness, and Shannon diversity), and multivariate correspondence analysis of community structure. 58 refs., 13 figs., 9 tabs

The Indigo V Indian Ocean Expedition: a prototype for citizen microbial oceanography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauro, Frederico; Senstius, Svend Jacob; Cullen, Jay

2014-01-01

Microbial Oceanography has long been an extremely expensive discipline, requiring ship time for sample collection and thereby economically constraining the number of samples collected. This is especially true for under-sampled water bodies such as the Indian Ocean. Specialised scientific equipmen...

West Hackberry Strategic Petroleum Reserve site brine-disposal monitoring, Year I report. Volume II. Physical and chemical oceanography. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeRouen, L.R.; Hann, R.W.; Casserly, D.M.; Giammona, C.; Lascara, V.J. (eds.)

1983-02-01

This project centers around the Strategic Petroleum Site (SPR) known as the West Hackberry salt dome which is located in southwestern Louisiana, and which is designed to store 241 million barrels of crude oil. Oil storage caverns are formed by injecting water into salt deposits, and pumping out the resulting brine. Studies described in this report were designed as follow-on studies to three months of pre-discharge characterization work, and include data collected during the first year of brine leaching operations. The objectives were to: (1) characterize the environment in terms of physical, chemical and biological attributes; (2) determine if significant adverse changes in ecosystem productivity and stability of the biological community are occurring as a result of brine discharge; and (3) determine the magnitude of any change observed. Contents of Volume II include: introduction; physical oceanography; estuarine hydrology and hydrography; analysis of discharge plume; and water and sediment quality.

Seamount ecology and dynamics: A multidisciplinary data set from repeated surveys at different seamounts in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean (2003 - 2013).

Science.gov (United States)

Mohn, C.; Christiansen, B.; Denda, A.; George, K. H.; Kaufmann, M.; Maranhão, M.; Martin, B.; Metzger, T.; Peine, F.; Schuster, A.; Springer, B.; Stefanowitsch, B.; Turnewitsch, R.; Wehrmann, H.

2016-02-01

Seamounts are amongst the most common physiographic open ocean systems, but remoteness and geographic complexity have limited the number of integrated and multidisciplinary seamount surveys in the past. As a consequence, important aspects of seamount ecology and dynamics remain poorly studied. Here we present a multi-parameter data set from individual and repeated seamount surveys conducted at different sites in the Northeast Atlantic and Eastern Mediterranean between 2003 and 2013. The main objective of these surveys was to establish a collection of ecosystem relevant descriptors and to develop a better understanding of seamount ecosystem composition and variability in different dynamical and bio-geographic environments. Measurements were conducted at four seamounts in the Northeast Atlantic (Ampère, Sedlo, Seine, Senghor) and two seamounts in the Eastern Mediterranean (Anaximenes, Eratosthenes). The data set comprises records from a total number of 11 cruises including physical oceanography (temperature, salinity, pressure, currents), biology (phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish, benthos) and biogeochemistry (sedimentary particle dynamics, carbon flux). The resulting multi-disciplinary data collection provides a unique opportunity for comparative studies of seamount ecosystem structure and dynamics between different physical, biological and biogeochemical regimes

Fundamentals of estuarine physical oceanography

CERN Document Server

Bruner de Miranda, Luiz; Kjerfve, Björn; Castro Filho, Belmiro Mendes de

2017-01-01

This book provides an introduction to the complex system functions, variability and human interference in ecosystem between the continent and the ocean. It focuses on circulation, transport and mixing of estuarine and coastal water masses, which is ultimately related to an understanding of the hydrographic and hydrodynamic characteristics (salinity, temperature, density and circulation), mixing processes (advection and diffusion), transport timescales such as the residence time and the exposure time. In the area of physical oceanography, experiments using these water bodies as a natural laboratory and interpreting their circulation and mixing processes using theoretical and semi-theoretical knowledge are of fundamental importance. Small-scale physical models may also be used together with analytical and numerical models. The book highlights the fact that research and theory are interactive, and the results provide the fundamentals for the development of the estuarine research.

Compatible ecological niche signals between biological and archaeological datasets for late-surviving Neandertals.

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Bible, Rachael C; Peterson, A Townsend

2018-04-17

To assess ecological niche similarity for biological and archaeological samples representing late-surviving Neandertals in Europe to evaluate the validity of combining these two types of data in ecological niche modeling analyses. Tests of niche conservatism were used to assess niche similarity and niche identity of samples of morphologically diagnostic Neandertal remains and Middle Paleolithic (MP) archaeological sites dating to the time period leading up to Neandertal extinction. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions for the Pre-H4 (43.3-40.2 ky cal BP) were used as environmental space analyses. Null hypotheses of niche similarity and identity of the two types of samples could not be rejected. As primary and secondary evidence of Neandertal occurrence during the Pre-H4 show high levels of niche similarity and identity, combining the two types of occurrence data to create larger samples for niche analyses is justified without the concern that different environmental signals could complicate future research. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Molecular ecology of aquatic microbes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-12-31

Abstracts of reports are presented from a meeting on Molecular Ecology of Aquatic Microbes. Topics included: opportunities offered to aquatic ecology by molecular biology; the role of aquatic microbes in biogeochemical cycles; characterization of the microbial community; the effect of the environment on aquatic microbes; and the targeting of specific biological processes.

Effective, Active Learning Strategies for the Oceanography Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Dmochowski, J. E.; Marinov, I.

2014-12-01

A decline in enrollment in STEM fields at the university level has prompted extensive research on alternative ways of teaching and learning science. Inquiry-based learning as well as the related "flipped" or "active" lectures, and similar teaching methods and philosophies have been proposed as more effective ways to disseminate knowledge in science classes than the traditional lecture. We will provide a synopsis of our experiences in implementing some of these practices into our Introductory Oceanography, Global Climate Change, and Ocean Atmosphere Dynamics undergraduate courses at the University of Pennsylvania, with both smaller and larger enrollments. By implementing tools such as at-home modules; computer labs; incorporation of current research; pre- and post-lecture quizzes; reflective, qualitative writing assignments; peer review; and a variety of in-class learning strategies, we aim to increase the science literacy of the student population and help students gain a more comprehensive knowledge of the topic, enhance their critical thinking skills, and correct misconceptions. While implementing these teaching techniques with college students is not without complications, we argue that a blended class that flexibly and creatively accounts for class size and science level improves the learning experience and the acquired knowledge. We will present examples of student assignments and activities as well as describe the lessons we have learned, and propose ideas for moving forward to best utilize innovative teaching tools in order to increase science literacy in oceanography and other climate-related courses.

Ecological-biological Aspects of Stipa krylovii Roshev Adaptation at the Initial Stages of Ontogenesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N.S. Chistyakova

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Xerophytic cereal Stipa krylovii Roshev is interesting as a relic with extensive capabilities to adapt to severe climatic conditions of Eastern Zabaikal’ye, which allows it to occupy a vast areal. The species under study is characterized by distinctive ecological-biological peculiarities, which are underpinned by not only distribution, but historical establishment of the species. The primary goal of the research was to study ecological-biological peculiarities of adaptation of wild cereal Stipa krylovii to the habitat in Eastern Zabaikal’ye. According to the observations, Stipa krylovii is characterized by late development rate coinciding with the period of optimal heat and moisture availability. Seed embryos have a well-developed scutellum, distinct structures and well differentiated embryo axis. The studies identified no lateral or secondary roots in the cereal. In nature, seeds of S. krylovii are characterized by profound organic peace period, which persists in the course of sprouting under optimal conditions. Peace period of S. krylovii caryopses is likely to be due to the presence of sprouting inhibitors and is overcome in moist autumn period. Seed viability was determined under various soil moisture parameters up to its complete water capacity; the impact of moisture content on seed sprouting rate was studied. The results of the tests on caryopses sprouting with various moisture content demonstrated that at minimum moisture content (10% S. krylovii forms epidermal hairs on coleorhiza; 30% of soil water content is enough for growth activation, viability and sprouting rate of this cereal, which is due to its xerophytic nature. This morphological peculiarity is likely to ensure in nature sprouting of these species in early spring, when soil contain minimum water. Intensity of the initial growth was determined by a number of parameters: rate of change in linear growth of trunk and root parts of the embryo, growth of dry substance of

Reverse Ecology: from systems to environments and back.

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Roie; Borenstein, Elhanan

2012-01-01

The structure of complex biological systems reflects not only their function but also the environments in which they evolved and are adapted to. Reverse Ecology-an emerging new frontier in Evolutionary Systems Biology-aims to extract this information and to obtain novel insights into an organism's ecology. The Reverse Ecology framework facilitates the translation of high-throughput genomic data into large-scale ecological data, and has the potential to transform ecology into a high-throughput field. In this chapter, we describe some of the pioneering work in Reverse Ecology, demonstrating how system-level analysis of complex biological networks can be used to predict the natural habitats of poorly characterized microbial species, their interactions with other species, and universal patterns governing the adaptation of organisms to their environments. We further present several studies that applied Reverse Ecology to elucidate various aspects of microbial ecology, and lay out exciting future directions and potential future applications in biotechnology, biomedicine, and ecological engineering.

Volcano ecology: Disturbance characteristics and assembly of biological communities

Science.gov (United States)

Volcanic eruptions are powerful expressions of Earth’s geophysical forces which have shaped and influenced ecological systems since the earliest days of life. The study of the interactions of volcanoes and ecosystems, termed volcano ecology, focuses on the ecological responses of organisms and biolo...

Biology and ecology of sickleweed (Falcaria vulgaris) in the Fort Pierre National Grassland of South Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

Brian L. Korman

2011-01-01

In the last two decades the exotic plant sickleweed (Falcaria vulgaris Bernh., Apiaceae) has invaded, and come to dominate, large areas of the Fort Pierre National Grassland (FPNG) in central South Dakota, USA. Currently sickleweed is estimated to infest over 3200 ha of FPNG. The purpose of this study was to examine several of the biological and ecological traits that...

Dynamic oceanography determines fine scale foraging behavior of Masked Boobies in the Gulf of Mexico.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline L Poli

Full Text Available During breeding, foraging marine birds are under biological, geographic, and temporal constraints. These contraints require foraging birds to efficiently process environmental cues derived from physical habitat features that occur at nested spatial scales. Mesoscale oceanography in particular may change rapidly within and between breeding seasons, and findings from well-studied systems that relate oceanography to seabird foraging may transfer poorly to regions with substantially different oceanographic conditions. Our objective was to examine foraging behavior of a pan-tropical seabird, the Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra, in the understudied Caribbean province, a moderately productive region driven by highly dynamic currents and fronts. We tracked 135 individuals with GPS units during May 2013, November 2013, and December 2014 at a regionally important breeding colony in the southern Gulf of Mexico. We measured foraging behavior using characteristics of foraging trips and used area restricted search as a proxy for foraging events. Among individual attributes, nest stage contributed to differences in foraging behavior whereas sex did not. Birds searched for prey at nested hierarchical scales ranging from 200 m-35 km. Large-scale coastal and shelf-slope fronts shifted position between sampling periods and overlapped geographically with overall foraging locations. At small scales (at the prey patch level, the specific relationship between environmental variables and foraging behavior was highly variable among individuals but general patterns emerged. Sea surface height anomaly and velocity of water were the strongest predictors of area restricted search behavior in random forest models, a finding that is consistent with the characterization of the Gulf of Mexico as an energetic system strongly influenced by currents and eddies. Our data may be combined with tracking efforts in the Caribbean province and across tropical regions to advance

Dynamic oceanography determines fine scale foraging behavior of Masked Boobies in the Gulf of Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Poli, Caroline L.; Harrison, Autumn-Lynn; Vallarino, Adriana; Gerard, Patrick D.; Jodice, Patrick G.R.

2017-01-01

During breeding, foraging marine birds are under biological, geographic, and temporal constraints. These contraints require foraging birds to efficiently process environmental cues derived from physical habitat features that occur at nested spatial scales. Mesoscale oceanography in particular may change rapidly within and between breeding seasons, and findings from well-studied systems that relate oceanography to seabird foraging may transfer poorly to regions with substantially different oceanographic conditions. Our objective was to examine foraging behavior of a pan-tropical seabird, the Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra), in the understudied Caribbean province, a moderately productive region driven by highly dynamic currents and fronts. We tracked 135 individuals with GPS units during May 2013, November 2013, and December 2014 at a regionally important breeding colony in the southern Gulf of Mexico. We measured foraging behavior using characteristics of foraging trips and used area restricted search as a proxy for foraging events. Among individual attributes, nest stage contributed to differences in foraging behavior whereas sex did not. Birds searched for prey at nested hierarchical scales ranging from 200 m—35 km. Large-scale coastal and shelf-slope fronts shifted position between sampling periods and overlapped geographically with overall foraging locations. At small scales (at the prey patch level), the specific relationship between environmental variables and foraging behavior was highly variable among individuals but general patterns emerged. Sea surface height anomaly and velocity of water were the strongest predictors of area restricted search behavior in random forest models, a finding that is consistent with the characterization of the Gulf of Mexico as an energetic system strongly influenced by currents and eddies. Our data may be combined with tracking efforts in the Caribbean province and across tropical regions to advance understanding of seabird

Physical oceanography - Developing end-to-end models of the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The purpose of this project is to develop spatially discrete end-to-end models of the California Current LME, linking oceanography, biogeochemistry, food web...

Measurement of the Ecological Integrity of Cerrado Streams Using Biological Metrics and the Index of Habitat Integrity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deusiano Florêncio dos Reis

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Generally, aquatic communities reflect the effects of anthropogenic changes such as deforestation or organic pollution. The Cerrado stands among the most threatened ecosystems by human activities in Brazil. In order to evaluate the ecological integrity of the streams in a preserved watershed in the Northern Cerrado biome corresponding to a mosaic of ecosystems in transition to the Amazonia biome in Brazil, biological metrics related to diversity, structure, and sensitivity of aquatic macroinvertebrates were calculated. Sampling included collections along stretches of 200 m of nine streams and measurements of abiotic variables (temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, and discharge and the Index of Habitat Integrity (HII. The values of the abiotic variables and the HII indicated that most of the streams have good ecological integrity, due to high oxygen levels and low concentrations of dissolved solids and electric conductivity. Two streams showed altered HII scores mainly related to small dams for recreational and domestic use, use of Cerrado natural pasture for cattle raising, and spot deforestation in bathing areas. However, this finding is not reflected in the biological metrics that were used. Considering all nine streams, only two showed satisfactory ecological quality (measured by Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP, total richness, and EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera richness, only one of which had a low HII score. These results indicate that punctual measures of abiotic parameters do not reveal the long-term impacts of anthropic activities in these streams, including related fire management of pasture that annually alters the vegetation matrix and may act as a disturbance for the macroinvertebrate communities. Due to this, biomonitoring of low order streams in Cerrado ecosystems of the Northern Central Brazil by different biotic metrics and also physical attributes of the

Fish and invertebrate flow-biology relationships to support the determination of ecological flows for North Carolina

Science.gov (United States)

Phelan, Jennifer; Cuffney, Thomas F.; Patterson, Lauren A.; Eddy, Michele; Dykes, Robert; Pearsall, Sam; Goudreau, Chris; Mead, Jim; Tarver, Fred

2017-01-01

A method was developed to characterize fish and invertebrate responses to flow alteration in the state of North Carolina. This method involved using 80th percentile linear quantile regressions to relate six flow metrics to the diversity of riffle-run fish and benthic Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) richness. All twelve flow-biology relationships were found to be significant, with both benthos and fish showing negative responses to ecodeficits and reductions in flow. The responses of benthic richness to reduced flows were consistent and generally greater than that of fish diversity. However, the riffle-run fish guild showed the greatest reductions in diversity in response to summer ecodeficits. The directional consistency and differential seasonal sensitivities of fish and invertebrates to reductions in flow highlight the need to consider seasonality when managing flows. In addition, all relationships were linear, and therefore do not provide clear thresholds to support ecological flow determinations and flow prescriptions to prevent the degradation of fish and invertebrate communities in North Carolina rivers and streams. A method of setting ecological flows based on the magnitude of change in biological condition that is acceptable to society is explored.

Marine microbial ecology in a molecular world: what does the future hold?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David A. Caron

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Advances in genetic and immunological approaches during the last few decades have transformed medicine and biomedical research. The human genome and the genomes of numerous model organisms are now fully sequenced. Initial exploitation of this wealth of genetic information has begun to revolutionize research on these species, and the applications derived from it. Progress in understanding the ecology of microorganisms (including marine taxa has followed closely on the heels of these advances, owing to the tremendous benefit afforded by major technological advances in biomedicine. Through the application of these novel approaches and new technologies, marine microbial ecology has moved from a minor footnote within marine biology and biological oceanography during the 1950s and ‘60s to the focus of much of our present interest in the ocean. During the intervening half-century we have learned a great deal regarding the overall abundances, distributions and activities of microorganisms in the sea. Recognition of the extraordinary diversity of marine microbes, the predominant role that they play in global biogeochemical processes, and the potential for natural or engineered microbial products to benefit humankind, has placed marine microbes in the spotlight of both scientific and popular attention. Our fascination with these minute denizens of the ocean is not likely to wane anytime soon. Recent studies have indicated that we still know relatively little about the breadth of microbial diversity in marine ecosystems. In addition, many (most? of the predominant marine microbial forms in nature have not yet been brought into laboratory culture. Thus, our knowledge is still rudimentary with respect to the spectra of biochemical, physiological and behavioral abilities of these species, and the study of marine microbes will remain a major focus of investigations in marine science well into the foreseeable future. As a large cadre of researchers moves

Ranking serials in oceanography: An analysis based on the Indian contributions and their citations

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Tapaswi, M.P.; Maheswarappa, B.S.

An analysis of serials preferred and cited in various communications by the Indian oceanographers during 1963 to 1992 is presented. A shift in preference of serials from general sciences to oceanography (interdisciplinary) and to core subject...

[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.

Short Training Course in Oceanography. Red Sea & Gulf of Aden Programme (PERSGA).

Science.gov (United States)

Arab Organization for Education and Science, Cairo (Egypt).

This document presents a training course in oceanography intended for Junior Bachelor of Science (B.S.) graduates in physics, mathematics, chemistry, zoology, botany or geology to give them the minimum qualifications required to work in any of the marine science stations. This 14-week course, organized by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and…

Natural Killer T Cells: An Ecological Evolutionary Developmental Biology Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Amrendra; Suryadevara, Naveenchandra; Hill, Timothy M; Bezbradica, Jelena S; Van Kaer, Luc; Joyce, Sebastian

2017-01-01

Type I natural killer T (NKT) cells are innate-like T lymphocytes that recognize glycolipid antigens presented by the MHC class I-like protein CD1d. Agonistic activation of NKT cells leads to rapid pro-inflammatory and immune modulatory cytokine and chemokine responses. This property of NKT cells, in conjunction with their interactions with antigen-presenting cells, controls downstream innate and adaptive immune responses against cancers and infectious diseases, as well as in several inflammatory disorders. NKT cell properties are acquired during development in the thymus and by interactions with the host microbial consortium in the gut, the nature of which can be influenced by NKT cells. This latter property, together with the role of the host microbiota in cancer therapy, necessitates a new perspective. Hence, this review provides an initial approach to understanding NKT cells from an ecological evolutionary developmental biology (eco-evo-devo) perspective.

Natural Killer T Cells: An Ecological Evolutionary Developmental Biology Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Amrendra; Suryadevara, Naveenchandra; Hill, Timothy M.; Bezbradica, Jelena S.; Van Kaer, Luc; Joyce, Sebastian

2017-01-01

Type I natural killer T (NKT) cells are innate-like T lymphocytes that recognize glycolipid antigens presented by the MHC class I-like protein CD1d. Agonistic activation of NKT cells leads to rapid pro-inflammatory and immune modulatory cytokine and chemokine responses. This property of NKT cells, in conjunction with their interactions with antigen-presenting cells, controls downstream innate and adaptive immune responses against cancers and infectious diseases, as well as in several inflammatory disorders. NKT cell properties are acquired during development in the thymus and by interactions with the host microbial consortium in the gut, the nature of which can be influenced by NKT cells. This latter property, together with the role of the host microbiota in cancer therapy, necessitates a new perspective. Hence, this review provides an initial approach to understanding NKT cells from an ecological evolutionary developmental biology (eco-evo-devo) perspective. PMID:29312339

Natural Killer T Cells: An Ecological Evolutionary Developmental Biology Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amrendra Kumar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Type I natural killer T (NKT cells are innate-like T lymphocytes that recognize glycolipid antigens presented by the MHC class I-like protein CD1d. Agonistic activation of NKT cells leads to rapid pro-inflammatory and immune modulatory cytokine and chemokine responses. This property of NKT cells, in conjunction with their interactions with antigen-presenting cells, controls downstream innate and adaptive immune responses against cancers and infectious diseases, as well as in several inflammatory disorders. NKT cell properties are acquired during development in the thymus and by interactions with the host microbial consortium in the gut, the nature of which can be influenced by NKT cells. This latter property, together with the role of the host microbiota in cancer therapy, necessitates a new perspective. Hence, this review provides an initial approach to understanding NKT cells from an ecological evolutionary developmental biology (eco-evo-devo perspective.

Engineering of Soil Biological Quality from Nickel Mining Stockpile Using Two Earthworm Ecological Groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L M H Kilowasid

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Earthworms have the ability in modifying soil biological quality for plant growth. Their ability is mostly depending on its ecological groups. The objectives of the research were to study the influence of two ecological groups of earthworms on soil microbial activity and soil micro-fauna abundance, and to know the potential of soil modified by earthworms as plant growth medium. Eight combination of individual earthworm from epigeic and endogeic groups was applied into pot that was filled by soil from two years of nickel stockpile and each treatment was repeated by five times. The experiment was following complete randomize design procedure. After sixteen days of research, the soil sample from each pot was analyzed for soil FDA activity, number of flagellate and nematodes. Furthermore, one kg of the soil from each pot was taken and every pot was grown by Paraserianthes falcataria seedling with the age of five days and continued its growth for two months. The results indicated that the soil FDA activity, number of flagellate and nematodes among treatments were significantly differences. In addition, it indicated the significant differences in dry weight of shoot, root, total plant, and root to shoot ratio of P. falcataria seedlings. It concluded that the combination of an individual number of epigeic and endogeic earthworms improved soil biological quality of stock pile, amd most suitable for seedlings growth in nickel mining area.

Ecology and evolution of plant–pollinator interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Randall J.; Irwin, Rebecca E.; Flanagan, Rebecca J.; Karron, Jeffrey D.

2009-01-01

Background Some of the most exciting advances in pollination biology have resulted from interdisciplinary research combining ecological and evolutionary perspectives. For example, these two approaches have been essential for understanding the functional ecology of floral traits, the dynamics of pollen transport, competition for pollinator services, and patterns of specialization and generalization in plant–pollinator interactions. However, as research in these and other areas has progressed, many pollination biologists have become more specialized in their research interests, focusing their attention on either evolutionary or ecological questions. We believe that the continuing vigour of a synthetic and interdisciplinary field like pollination biology depends on renewed connections between ecological and evolutionary approaches. Scope In this Viewpoint paper we highlight the application of ecological and evolutionary approaches to two themes in pollination biology: (1) links between pollinator behaviour and plant mating systems, and (2) generalization and specialization in pollination systems. We also describe how mathematical models and synthetic analyses have broadened our understanding of pollination biology, especially in human-modified landscapes. We conclude with several suggestions that we hope will stimulate future research. This Viewpoint also serves as the introduction to this Special Issue on the Ecology and Evolution of Plant–Pollinator Interactions. These papers provide inspiring examples of the synergy between evolutionary and ecological approaches, and offer glimpses of great accomplishments yet to come. PMID:19482881

Ecology and evolution of plant-pollinator interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Randall J; Irwin, Rebecca E; Flanagan, Rebecca J; Karron, Jeffrey D

2009-06-01

Some of the most exciting advances in pollination biology have resulted from interdisciplinary research combining ecological and evolutionary perspectives. For example, these two approaches have been essential for understanding the functional ecology of floral traits, the dynamics of pollen transport, competition for pollinator services, and patterns of specialization and generalization in plant-pollinator interactions. However, as research in these and other areas has progressed, many pollination biologists have become more specialized in their research interests, focusing their attention on either evolutionary or ecological questions. We believe that the continuing vigour of a synthetic and interdisciplinary field like pollination biology depends on renewed connections between ecological and evolutionary approaches. In this Viewpoint paper we highlight the application of ecological and evolutionary approaches to two themes in pollination biology: (1) links between pollinator behaviour and plant mating systems, and (2) generalization and specialization in pollination systems. We also describe how mathematical models and synthetic analyses have broadened our understanding of pollination biology, especially in human-modified landscapes. We conclude with several suggestions that we hope will stimulate future research. This Viewpoint also serves as the introduction to this Special Issue on the Ecology and Evolution of Plant-Pollinator Interactions. These papers provide inspiring examples of the synergy between evolutionary and ecological approaches, and offer glimpses of great accomplishments yet to come.

Putting the Deep Biosphere on the Map for Oceanography Courses: Gas Hydrates As a Case Study for the Deep Biosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Sikorski, J. J.; Briggs, B. R.

2014-12-01

The ocean is essential for life on our planet. It covers 71% of the Earth's surface, is the source of the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the food we eat. Yet, the exponential growth in human population is putting the ocean and thus life on our planet at risk. However, based on student evaluations from our introductory oceanography course it is clear that our students have deficiencies in ocean literacy that impact their ability to recognize that the ocean and humans are inextricably connected. Furthermore, life present in deep subsurface marine environments is also interconnected to the study of the ocean, yet the deep biosphere is not typically covered in undergraduate oceanography courses. In an effort to improve student ocean literacy we developed an instructional module on the deep biosphere focused on gas hydrate deposits. Specifically, our module utilizes Google Earth and cutting edge research about microbial life in the ocean to support three inquiry-based activities that each explore different facets of gas hydrates (i.e. environmental controls, biologic controls, and societal implications). The relevant nature of the proposed module also makes it possible for instructors of introductory geology courses to modify module components to discuss related topics, such as climate, energy, and geologic hazards. This work, which will be available online as a free download, is a solid contribution toward increasing the available teaching resources focused on the deep biosphere for geoscience educators.

In the Footsteps of Roger Revelle: Seagoing Oceanography for Middle School Science

Science.gov (United States)

Brice, D.; Foley, S.; Knox, R. A.; Mauricio, P.

2007-12-01

Now in its fourth year, "In the Footsteps of Roger Revelle" (IFRR) is a middle school science education program that draws student interest, scientific content and coherence with National Science Standards from real-time research at sea in fields of physical science. As a successful collaboration involving Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Naval Research (ONR), National Science Foundation (NSF), San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), and San Marcos Middle School (SMMS), IFRR brings physical oceanography and related sciences to students at the San Marcos Middle School in real-time from research vessels at sea using SIO's HiSeasNet satellite communication system. With their science teacher on the ship as an education outreach specialist or ashore guiding students in their interactions with selected scientists at sea, students observe shipboard research being carried out live via videoconference, daily e-mails, interviews, digital whiteboard sessions, and web interaction. Students then research, design, develop, deploy, and field-test their own data-collecting physical oceanography instruments in their classroom. The online interactive curriculum encourages active inquiry with intellectually stimulating problem-solving, enabling students to gain critical insight and skill while investigating some of the most provocative questions of our time, and seeing scientists as role- models. Recent science test scores with IFRR students have shown significant increases in classes where this curriculum has been implemented as compared to other classes where the traditional curriculum has been used. IFRR has provided students in the San Diego area with a unique opportunity for learning about oceanographic research, which could inspire students to become oceanographers or at least scientifically literate citizens - a benefit for a country that depends

The oral histories of six African American males in their ecology of Advanced Placement Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Halasa, Katrina Bassam

The major purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the past in order to understand the complex phenomenon of students engaging in science (Newman, Ridenour, Newman, & DeMarco, 2003) specifically through the oral histories of six self-identified African American males enrolled in a high school Advanced Placement Biology class and the oral histories about events that followed during their post high school experiences. To elucidate an understanding of this phenomenon, this research explored the ecology of African American males' descriptions of their school science, their peer school science community, their lived experiences during and after graduation, and their meso-community (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Many minority and low-income students are less likely to enroll in rigorous courses during high school (Education Trust, 2006). This study is of utmost importance because capturing the informants' oral histories may improve rigorous science education. Many African American male students are attending urban schools with an ever growing achievement gap among their White counterparts (Norman, Ault, Bentz, & Meskimen, 2001); therefore, they are disengaging in science. As a result, African American males are underrepresented in both science careers and achievements in science (Atwater, 2000; National Science Foundation, 1994). The six oral histories highlighted the ecological factors that affected African American males regarding (1) the impact of their relationship with their mothers, (2) the understanding of personal responsibility, (3) the notion of a scientist, (4) the issue of gender being more of an obstacle than race, (5) the understanding that education is valuable, (6) the interactions and influence of relationships with others on their decisions, (7) the development of integrity through the participation in sports, (8) the ecological neighborhood environment influences an image, (9) the enrollment of Advanced Placement Biology course helped the transition

IEOOS: the Spanish Institute of Oceanography Observing System

Science.gov (United States)

Tel, E.; Balbin, R.; Cabanas, J. M.; Garcia, M. J.; Garcia-Martinez, M. C.; Gonzalez-Pola, C.; Lavin, A.; Lopez-Jurado, J. L.; Rodriguez, C.; Ruiz-Villarreal, M.; Sanchez-Leal, R. F.; Vargas-Yanez, M.; Velez-Belchi, P.

2015-10-01

Since its foundation, 100 years ago, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) has been observing and measuring the ocean characteristics. Here is a summary of the initiatives of the IEO in the field of the operational oceanography (OO). Some systems like the tide gauges network has been working for more than 70 years. The IEO standard sections began at different moments depending on the local projects, and nowadays there are more than 180 coastal stations and deep-sea ones that are systematically sampled, obtaining physical and biochemical measurements. At this moment, the IEO Observing System (IEOOS) includes 6 permanent moorings equipped with currentmeters, an open-sea ocean-meteorological buoy offshore Santander and an SST satellital image reception station. It also supports the Spanish contribution to the ARGO international program with 47 deployed profilers, and continuous monitoring thermosalinometers, meteorological stations and ADCP onboard the IEO research vessels. The system is completed with the IEO contribution to the RAIA and Gibraltar observatories, and the development of regional prediction models. All these systematic measurements allow the IEO to give responses to ocean research activities, official agencies requirements and industrial and main society demands as navigation, resource management, risks management, recreation, etc, as well as for management development pollution-related economic activities or marine ecosystems. All these networks are linked to international initiatives, framed largely in supranational programs Earth observation sponsored by the United Nations or the European Union. The synchronic observation system permits following spatio-temporal description of some events, as new deep water formation in the Mediterranean Sea and the injection of heat to intermediate waters in the Bay of Biscay after some colder northern storms in winter 2005.

The causal pie model: an epidemiological method applied to evolutionary biology and ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Wensink, Maarten; Westendorp, Rudi G J; Baudisch, Annette

2014-05-01

A general concept for thinking about causality facilitates swift comprehension of results, and the vocabulary that belongs to the concept is instrumental in cross-disciplinary communication. The causal pie model has fulfilled this role in epidemiology and could be of similar value in evolutionary biology and ecology. In the causal pie model, outcomes result from sufficient causes. Each sufficient cause is made up of a "causal pie" of "component causes". Several different causal pies may exist for the same outcome. If and only if all component causes of a sufficient cause are present, that is, a causal pie is complete, does the outcome occur. The effect of a component cause hence depends on the presence of the other component causes that constitute some causal pie. Because all component causes are equally and fully causative for the outcome, the sum of causes for some outcome exceeds 100%. The causal pie model provides a way of thinking that maps into a number of recurrent themes in evolutionary biology and ecology: It charts when component causes have an effect and are subject to natural selection, and how component causes affect selection on other component causes; which partitions of outcomes with respect to causes are feasible and useful; and how to view the composition of a(n apparently homogeneous) population. The diversity of specific results that is directly understood from the causal pie model is a test for both the validity and the applicability of the model. The causal pie model provides a common language in which results across disciplines can be communicated and serves as a template along which future causal analyses can be made.

Archive of Geosample Data and Information from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) Geological Collections

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The University of California San Diego (UCSD) Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is a partner in the Index to Marine and Lacustrine Geological Samples (IMLGS)...

Biological and ecological characterization of two mites (Tetranychus Urticae and Phytoseiulus Persimilis) occurring in some agro-ecosystems; Caratterizzazione biologica ed ecologica di due acari (Tetranichus Urticae e Phytoseiulus Persimilis) interagenti in alcuni ecosistemi agrari

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calvitti, M [ENEA, Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Roma (Italy). Dip. Innovazione

1995-12-01

This work is a brief review of the actual knowledge about biological and ecological characteristics of two species of mites: Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acarina Tetranychidae) (two-spotted spider mite) and the predaceous mite Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias Henriot (Acarina Phytoseiidae). Success obtained in biological control of spider mite, by mass release of P. persimilis, has increased the interest in biological and ecological study of these mites. Particularly, the following biological and ecological aspects of both P. persimilis and T. urticae are hereby discussed: reproductive biology; population dynamics (spider mites outbreaks) and natural regulation of the trophic interaction; feeding behaviour; biological control of two-spotted spider mite by P. persimilis. In this report experimental data obtained in laboratory have been integrated with bibliographic information concerning studies produced in natural conditions.

Ecological periodic tables: Killer apps for translational ecology

Science.gov (United States)

The chemical periodic table, the Linnaean system of classification and the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram are information organizing structures that have transformed chemistry, biology and astronomy, respectively. Ecological periodic tables are information organizing structures wit...

Biology, ecology and control of the Penthaleus species complex (Acari: Penthaleidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Umina, Paul A; Hoffmann, Ary A; Weeks, Andrew R

2004-01-01

Blue oat mites, Penthaleus spp. (Acari: Penthaleidae), are major agricultural pests in southern Australia and other parts of the world, attacking various pasture, vegetable and crop plants. Management of these mites has been complicated by the recent discovery of three cryptic pest species of Penthaleus, whereas prior research had assumed a single species. The taxonomy, population genetics, ecology, biology and control of the Penthaleus spp. complex are reviewed. Adult Penthaleus have a dark blue-black body approximately 1 mm in length, and eight red-orange legs. Within Australia, they are winter pests completing two or three generations a season, depending on conditions. The summer is passed as diapausing eggs, when long-distance dispersal is thought to occur. The Penthaleus spp. reproduce by thelytokous parthenogenesis, with populations comprising clones that differ ecologically. The three pest Penthaleus spp. differ markedly in their distributions, plant hosts, timing of diapause egg production and response to pesticides, highlighting the need to develop control strategies that consider each species separately. Chemicals are the main weapons used in current control programs, however research continues into alternative more sustainable management options. Host plant resistance, crop rotations, conservation of natural enemies, and improved timing of pesticide application would improve the management of these pests. The most cost-effective and environmentally acceptable means of control will result from the integration of these practices combined with the development of a simple field-based kit to distinguish the different mite species.

The Pale Blue Dot: Utilizing Real World Globes in High School and Undergraduate Oceanography Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, D. B.

2017-12-01

Geoscience classrooms have benefitted greatly from the use of interactive, dry-erasable globes to supplement instruction on topics that require three-dimensional visualization, such as seismic wave propagation and the large-scale movements of tectonic plates. Indeed, research by Bamford (2013) demonstrates that using three-dimensional visualization to illustrate complex processes enhances student comprehension. While some geoscience courses tend to bake-in lessons on visualization, other disciplines of earth science that require three-dimensional visualization, such as oceanography, tend to rely on students' prior spatial abilities. In addition to spatial intelligence, education on the three-dimensional structure of the ocean requires knowledge of the external processes govern the behavior of the ocean, as well as the vertical and lateral distribution of water properties around the globe. Presented here are two oceanographic activities that utilize RealWorldGlobes' dry-erase globes to supplement traditional oceanography lessons on thermohaline and surface ocean circulation. While simultaneously promoting basic plotting techniques, mathematical calculations, and unit conversions, these activities touch on the processes that govern global ocean circulation, the principles of radiocarbon dating, and the various patterns exhibited by surface ocean currents. These activities challenge students to recognize inherent patterns within their data and synthesize explanations for their occurrence. Spatial visualization and critical thinking are integral to any geoscience education, and the combination of these abilities with engaging hands-on activities has the potential to greatly enhance oceanography education in both secondary and postsecondary settings

The Impact of a Novel Curriculum on Secondary Biology Teachers' Dispositions toward Using Authentic Data and Media in Their Human Impact and Ecology Lessons

Science.gov (United States)

Wyner, Yael

2013-01-01

This study examines how the implementation of a novel curriculum, that emphasizes the use of published scientific data and media to learn about human impact and ecological function, influenced ninth-grade biology teacher (N - 36) dispositions toward using data and media in their ecology and human impact lesson plans. It explores how integration of…

Integrative ecology: from molecules to ecosystems

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Woodward, G

2010-01-01

.... As such, none of these chapters are typical representatives of any single traditional field in ecology, as between them they attempt to forge new links from molecular biology to ecosystems ecology...

[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.

Natural environment and the biogeochemical cycle s. Pt. A

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hutzinger, O [ed.

1980-01-01

At the moment three volumes of the handbook are planned. Volume 1 deals with the natural environment and the biogeochemical cycles therein, including some background information such as energetics and ecology. The individual chapters are dealing with the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, chemical oceanography, chemical aspects of soil, the cycle of oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus, metal cycles and biological methylation, and natural organohalogen compounds. Separate abstracts are prepared for 5 chapters of this book.

Research and Teaching: Implementation of Interactive Engagement Teaching Methods in a Physical Oceanography Course

Science.gov (United States)

Keiner, Louis E.; Gilman, Craig

2015-01-01

This study measures the effects of increased faculty-student engagement on student learning, success rates, and perceptions in a Physical Oceanography course. The study separately implemented two teaching methods that had been shown to be successful in a different discipline, introductory physics. These methods were the use of interactive…

Ecological risks of biological control agents: impacts on IPM

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hokkanen, H.M.T.; Lenteren, van J.C.; Menzler-Hokkanen, I.

2007-01-01

Since the early days of integrated pest management a sound ecological foundation has been considered essential for the development of effective systems. From time to time, there have been attempts to evaluate the ways in which ecological theory is exploited in pest control, and to review the lessons

The ARMADA Project: Bringing Oceanography and the Arctic to the Midwest

Science.gov (United States)

Pazol, J.

2010-12-01

In the fall of 2009, I spent 6 weeks aboard the Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy on a mapping expedition in the Arctic Ocean, through participation in the University of Rhode Island's ARMADA Project. Because I grew up in the Midwest, went to college here, and teach in the Chicago suburbs, I had limited first-hand experience in oceanography, as did most of my students. During my time aboard the ship, I primarily served as a member of the mapping team, collecting bathymetric and seismic data. My other science activities included aiding geologists and acoustic engineers in dredging projects and deployment of under-ice recording devices. I collected water data, sent off weather balloons, and assisted marine mammal observers. For the ARMADA Project I kept an on-line journal, which had a far-reaching impact. Students in many schools kept track of my activities and communicated with me via e-mail. Colleagues and friends shared the journal through other media, such as Facebook. Several of my entries were published in blogs belonging to NOAA and the USGS. I received a grant for renting a satellite phone, and through it was able to make "Live from the Arctic" phone calls. After introductory PowerPoints I communicated with more than 420 students in 5 schools in 3 states. When I returned, I made a series of presentations about the Arctic and my adventures to hundreds of people and was featured in an educational magazine with a circulation of more than 90,000. I also participated in an in-depth mentoring program with a new teacher to help her succeed during the first years of her career. The results: My students and I now have a direct connection to the Arctic and to the fields of oceanography, acoustic engineering, and geology. On their own initiative, students have developed individual projects exploring aspects of my research. They have attended presentations from the Extreme Ice Center and have become involved in drilling issues in the Chukchi Sea. A group of students is

Biology and ecology of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dantas-Torres Filipe

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract The brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus is the most widespread tick in the world and a well-recognized vector of many pathogens affecting dogs and occasionally humans. This tick can be found on dogs living in both urban and rural areas, being highly adapted to live within human dwellings and being active throughout the year not only in tropical and subtropical regions, but also in some temperate areas. Depending on factors such as climate and host availability, Rh. sanguineus can complete up to four generations per year. Recent studies have demonstrated that ticks exposed to high temperatures attach and feed on humans and rabbits more rapidly. This observation suggests that the risk of human parasitism by Rh. sanguineus could increase in areas experiencing warmer and/or longer summers, consequently increasing the risk of transmission of zoonotic agents (e.g., Rickettsia conorii and Rickettsia rickettsii. In the present article, some aspects of the biology and ecology of Rh. sanguineus ticks are discussed including the possible impact of current climate changes on populations of this tick around the world.

Asian Eden : large herbivore ecology in India

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ahrestani, F.S.

2009-01-01

The study of large mammalian herbivore ecology has a strong allometric tradition. The
majority of studies that have helped better understand how body mass affects large herbivore
ecology in the tropics, from a biological, functional, and ecological perspective, are from
Africa.

Environmental biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tschumi, P.A.

1981-01-01

Environmental biology illustrates the functioning of ecosystems and the dynamics of populations with many examples from limnology and terrestrial ecology. On this basis, present environmental problems are analyzed. The present environmental crisis is seen as a result of the failure to observe ecological laws. (orig.) [de

1960-69 Cumulative Index of Articles Related to Oceanography and Limnology Education in The Science Teacher.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Maxwell

Indexed are articles relating to oceanography and limnology published in "The Science Teacher" between 1960 and 1969. Articles are indexed under title, author, and topic. Topics include background information, course descriptions, and laboratory equipment and techniques. (EB)

Sailing for Science: on board experiences for transferring knowledge on Historical Oceanography for Future Innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Garvani, Sara; Carmisciano, Cosmo; Locritani, Marina; Grossi, Luigi; Mori, Anna; Stroobant, Mascha; Schierano, Erika; De Strobel, Federico; Manzella, Giuseppe; Muzi, Enrico; Leccese, Dario; Sinapi, Luigi; Morellato, Claudio; La Tassa, Hebert; Talamoni, Roberta; Coelho, Emanuel; Nacini, Francesca

2017-04-01

Smart, sustainable and inclusive Blue Growth means also knowing past technology and the paths followed by ancients in order to understand and monitor marine environments. In general, history of Science is a matter that is not enough explored and explained or promoted in high schools or university official programmes, and, usually, scientist do not consider it as an important part of their curricula. However, bad or good ideas, abandoned or forgotten beliefs, concepts, opinions, do still have a great potential for inspiring present and future scientists, no matter in which historical period they may have been formulated: they should be always be taken into consideration, critically examined and observed by a very close point of view, not just as part of the intellectual framework of some obsolete 'Cabinet of Curiosities' with limited access except for the chosen few. Moreover, history of Science should be transmitted in a more practical way, with hands-on labs showing the limits and challenges that prior generations of ocean explorers, investigators and seafarers had to face in order to answer to crucial questions as self-orientation in open sea, understanding main currents and waves, predicting meteorological conditions for a safe navigation. Oceanography is a relatively young branch of science, and still needs further approvals and knowledge (National Science Foundation, 2000). The Scientific Dissemination Group (SDG) "La Spezia Gulf of Science" - made up by Research Centres, Schools and Cultural associations located in La Spezia (Liguria, Italy) - has a decadal experience in initiatives aimed at people and groups of people of all ages, who are keen on science or who can be guided in any case to take an interest in scientific matters (Locritani et al., 2015). Amongst the SDG activities, the tight relationship with the Historical Oceanography Society, the Italian Navy and the Naval Technical Museum (that collects a rich heritage of civilization, technology and

Frontiers in mathematical biology

CERN Document Server

1994-01-01

Volume 100, which is the final volume of the LNBM series serves to commemorate the acievements in two decades of this influential collection of books in mathematical biology. The contributions, by the leading mathematical biologists, survey the state of the art in the subject, and offer speculative, philosophical and critical analyses of the key issues confronting the field. The papers address fundamental issues in cell and molecular biology, organismal biology, evolutionary biology, population ecology, community and ecosystem ecology, and applied biology, plus the explicit and implicit mathematical challenges. Cross-cuttting issues involve the problem of variation among units in nonlinear systems, and the related problems of the interactions among phenomena across scales of space, time and organizational complexity.

On the methodology of feeding ecology in fish

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saikia Surjya Kumar

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Feeding ecology explains predator’s preference to some preys over others in their habitat and their competitions thereof. The subject, as a functional and applied biology, is highly neglected, and in case of fish, a uniform and consistent methodology is absent. The currently practiced methods are largely centred on mathematical indices and highly erroneous because of non-uniform outcomes. Therefore, it requires a relook into the subject to elucidate functional contributions and to make it more comparable and comprehensive science. In this article, approachable methodological strategies have been forwarded in three hierarchical steps, namely, food occurrence, feeding biology and interpretative ecology. All these steps involve wide ranges of techniques, within the scope of ecology but not limited to, and traverse from narrative to functional evolutionary ecology. The first step is an assumption-observation practice to assess food of fish, followed by feeding biology that links morphological, histological, cytological, bacteriological or enzymological correlations to preferred food in the environment. Interpretative ecology is the higher level of analysis in which the outcomes are tested and discussed against evolutionary theories. A description of possible pedagogics on the methods of feeding ecological studies has also been forwarded.

Biological responses of two marine organisms of ecological relevance to on-going ocean acidification and global warming.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomiero, A; Bellerby, R G J; Manca Zeichen, M; Babbini, L; Viarengo, A

2018-05-01

Recently, there has been a growing concern that climate change may rapidly and extensively alter global ecosystems with unknown consequences for terrestrial and aquatic life. While considerable emphasis has been placed on terrestrial ecology consequences, aquatic environments have received relatively little attention. Limited knowledge is available on the biological effects of increments of seawater temperature and pH decrements on key ecological species, i.e., primary producers and/or organisms representative of the basis of the trophic web. In the present study, we addressed the biological effects of global warming and ocean acidification on two model organisms, the microbenthic marine ciliate Euplotes crassus and the green alga Dunaliella tertiocleta using a suite of high level ecological endpoint tests and sub-lethal stress measures. Organisms were exposed to combinations of pH and temperature (TR1: 7.9 [pH], 25.5 °C and TR2: 7.8 [pH], 27,0 °C) simulating two possible environmental scenarios predicted to occur in the habitats of the selected species before the end of this century. The outcomes of the present study showed that the tested scenarios did not induce a significant increment of mortality on protozoa. Under the most severe exposure conditions, sub-lethal stress indices show that pH homeostatic mechanisms have energetic costs that divert energy from essential cellular processes and functions. The marine protozoan exhibited significant impairment of the lysosomal compartment and early signs of oxidative stress under these conditions. Similarly, significant impairment of photosynthetic efficiency and an increment in lipid peroxidation were observed in the autotroph model organism held under the most extreme exposure condition tested. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Linking biological soil crust diversity to ecological functions

Science.gov (United States)

Glaser, Karin; Borchhardt, Nadine; Schulz, Karoline; Mikhailyuk, Tatiana; Baumann, Karen; Leinweber, Peter; Ulf, Karsten

2016-04-01

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are an association of different microorganisms and soil particles in the top millimeters of the soil. They are formed by algae, cyanobacteria, microfungi, bacteria, bryophytes and lichens in various compositions. Our aim was to determine and compare the biodiversity of all occurring organisms in biogeographically different habitats, ranging from polar (both Arctic and Antarctic), subpolar (Scandinavia), temperate (Germany) to dry regions (Chile). The combination of microscopy and molecular techniques (next-generation sequencing) revealed highly diverse crust communities, whose composition clustered by region and correlates with habitat characteristics such as water content. The BSC biodiversity was then linked to the ecological function of the crusts. The functional role of the BSCs in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous is evaluated using an array of state of the art soil chemistry methods including Py-FIMS (pyrolysis field ionization mass spectrometry) and XANES (x-ray absorbance near edge structure). Total P as well as P fractions were quantified in all BSCs, adjacent soil underneath and comparable nearby soil of BSC-free areas revealing a remarkable accumulation of total phosphorous and a distinct pattern of P fractions in the crust. Further, we observed an indication of a different P-speciation composition in the crust compared with BSC-free soil. The data allow answering the question whether BSCs act as sink or source for these compounds, and how biodiversity controls the biogeochemical function of BSCs.

Simulation of annual cycles of phytoplankton, zooplankton and nutrients using a mixed layer model coupled with a biological model

OpenAIRE

Troupin, Charles

2006-01-01

In oceanography, the mixed layer refers to the near surface part of the water column where physical and biological variables are distributed quasi homogeneously. Its depth depends on conditions at the air-sea interface (heat and freshwater fluxes, wind stress) and on the characteristics of the flow (stratification, shear), and has a strong influence on biological dynamics. The aim of this work is to model the behaviour of the mixed layer in waters situated to the south of Gr...

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

Values: the dynamic nexus between biology, ecology and culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Ronald; Boer, Diana

2016-04-01

Values are motivational goals that influence attitudes, behaviors and evaluations. Cross-cultural evidence suggests that values show a systematic structure. Personal and cultural variations in the value structure, value priorities and value links to attitudes, behavior and well-being reflect contextual constraints and affordances in the environment, suggesting that values function as broadly adaptive psychological structures. The internal structure of values (the descriptive value system) becomes more clearly differentiated in more economically developed contexts. Value priorities shift toward more autonomous, self-expressive and individualistic orientations with greater economic resources and less ecological stress. In addition to systematic changes in internal structure, value links to attitudes, behaviors and well-being are influenced by economic, ecological and institutional contexts. Values are more likely to be expressed in attitudes and behavior if individuals have greater access to economic resources, experience less institutional and ecological stress or when the values reinforce culturally normative behavior. Frontiers for further value research include a greater examination of the neural underpinnings of values in specific ecological contexts and across the lifespan; and an examination of how values are behaviorally instantiated in different environments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coral Reef Health Indices versus the Biological, Ecological and Functional Diversity of Fish and Coral Assemblages in the Caribbean Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz-Pérez, Leopoldo; Rodríguez-Zaragoza, Fabián Alejandro; Ortiz, Marco; Cupul-Magaña, Amílcar Leví; Carriquiry, Jose D; Ríos-Jara, Eduardo; Rodríguez-Troncoso, Alma Paola; García-Rivas, María Del Carmen

2016-01-01

This study evaluated the relationship between the indices known as the Reef Health Index (RHI) and two-dimensional Coral Health Index (2D-CHI) and different representative metrics of biological, ecological and functional diversity of fish and corals in 101 reef sites located across seven zones in the western Caribbean Sea. Species richness and average taxonomic distinctness were used to asses biological estimation; while ecological diversity was evaluated with the indices of Shannon diversity and Pielou´s evenness, as well as by taxonomic diversity and distinctness. Functional diversity considered the number of functional groups, the Shannon diversity and the functional Pielou´s evenness. According to the RHI, 57.15% of the zones were classified as presenting a "poor" health grade, while 42.85% were in "critical" grade. Based on the 2D-CHI, 28.5% of the zones were in "degraded" condition and 71.5% were "very degraded". Differences in fish and coral diversity among sites and zones were demonstrated using permutational ANOVAs. Differences between the two health indices (RHI and 2D-CHI) and some indices of biological, ecological and functional diversity of fish and corals were observed; however, only the RHI showed a correlation between the health grades and the species and functional group richness of fish at the scale of sites, and with the species and functional group richness and Shannon diversity of the fish assemblages at the scale of zones. None of the health indices were related to the metrics analyzed for the coral diversity. In general, our study suggests that the estimation of health indices should be complemented with classic community indices, or should at least include diversity indices of fish and corals, in order to improve the accuracy of the estimated health status of coral reefs in the western Caribbean Sea.

Climate change: biological and human aspects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jonathan Cowie

2007-07-15

The textbook provides a broad review of past, present and likely future climate change from the viewpoints of biology, ecology and human ecology. Contents are: 1. An introduction to climate change; 2. Principal indicators of past climates; 3. Past climate change; 4. The Oligocene to the Quaternary: climate and biology; 5. Present climate and biological change; 6. Current warming and likely future impacts; 7. Human ecology of climate change; 8. Sustainability and policy; Appendix 1. Glossary and acronyms; Appendix 2. Bio-geological timescale; Appendix 3. Calculations of energy demand/supply, and orders of magnitude; Index. 69 figs.

Evolution in the deep sea: biological traits, ecology and phylogenetics of pelagic copepods.

Science.gov (United States)

Laakmann, Silke; Auel, Holger; Kochzius, Marc

2012-11-01

Deep-sea biodiversity has received increasing interest in the last decade, mainly focusing on benthic communities. In contrast, studies of zooplankton in the meso- to bathypelagic zones are relatively scarce. In order to explore evolutionary processes in the pelagic deep sea, the present study focuses on copepods of two clausocalanoid families, Euchaetidae and Aetideidae, which are abundant and species-rich in the deep-sea pelagic realm. Molecular phylogenies based on concatenated-portioned data on 18S, 28S and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2), as well as mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), were examined on 13 species, mainly from Arctic and Antarctic regions, together with species-specific biological traits (i.e. vertical occurrence, feeding behaviour, dietary preferences, energy storage, and reproductive strategy). Relationships were resolved on genus, species and even sub-species levels, the latter two established by COI with maximum average genetic distances ranging from ≤5.3% at the intra-specific, and 20.6% at the inter-specific level. There is no resolution at a family level, emphasising the state of Euchaetidae and Aetideidae as sister families and suggesting a fast radiation of these lineages, a hypothesis which is further supported by biological parameters. Euchaetidae were similar in lipid-specific energy storage, reproductive strategy, as well as feeding behaviour and dietary preference. In contrast, Aetideidae were more diverse, comprising a variety of characteristics ranging from similar adaptations within Paraeuchaeta, to genera consisting of species with completely different reproductive and feeding ecologies. Reproductive strategies were generally similar within each aetideid genus, but differed between genera. Closely related species (congeners), which were similar in the aforementioned biological and ecological traits, generally occurred in different depth layers, suggesting that vertical partitioning of the water column

Ecological units of the Northern Region: Subsections

Science.gov (United States)

John A. Nesser; Gary L. Ford; C. Lee Maynard; Debbie Dumroese

1997-01-01

Ecological units are described at the subsection level of the Forest Service National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units. A total of 91 subsections are delineated on the 1996 map "Ecological Units of the Northern Region: Subsections," based on physical and biological criteria. This document consists of descriptions of the climate, geomorphology,...

A Framework to Quantify the Strength of the Ecological Links ...

Science.gov (United States)

Anthropogenic stressors such as climate change, fire, and pollution are driving shifts in ecosystem function and resilience. Scientists generally rely on biological indicators of these stressors to signal that ecosystem conditions have been altered beyond an acceptable amount. However, these biological indicators are not always capable of being directly related to ecosystem services that allow scientists to communicate the importance of the change to land managers and policy makers. Therefore, we developed the STEPS (STressor – Ecological Production function – final ecosystem goods and Services) Framework to link changes in a biological indicator of a stressor to Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS). The STEPS framework produces “chains” of ecological components that connect the change in a biological indicator to the Final Ecosystem Goods and Services Classification System (FEGS-CS). The series of ecological components is an ecological production functions (EPF) which links a biological indicator of a stressor to an ecological endpoint (i.e., FEGS) that is directly used, appreciated, or valued by humans. The framework uses a qualitative score (High, Medium, Low) for the Strength of Science (SOS) for the relationship between each of the components in the EPF to identify research gaps and prioritize decision making based on what research has been completed. The ecological endpoint of the EPF is a FEGS to which discrete Beneficiaries, or direct users

Calculating background levels for ecological risk parameters in toxic harbor sediment

Science.gov (United States)

Leadon, C.J.; McDonnell, T.R.; Lear, J.; Barclift, D.

2007-01-01

Establishing background levels for biological parameters is necessary in assessing the ecological risks from harbor sediment contaminated with toxic chemicals. For chemicals in sediment, the term contaminated is defined as having concentrations above background and significant human health or ecological risk levels. For biological parameters, a site could be considered contaminated if levels of the parameter are either more or less than the background level, depending on the specific parameter. Biological parameters can include tissue chemical concentrations in ecological receptors, bioassay responses, bioaccumulation levels, and benthic community metrics. Chemical parameters can include sediment concentrations of a variety of potentially toxic chemicals. Indirectly, contaminated harbor sediment can impact shellfish, fish, birds, and marine mammals, and human populations. This paper summarizes the methods used to define background levels for chemical and biological parameters from a survey of ecological risk investigations of marine harbor sediment at California Navy bases. Background levels for regional biological indices used to quantify ecological risks for benthic communities are also described. Generally, background stations are positioned in relatively clean areas exhibiting the same physical and general chemical characteristics as nearby areas with contaminated harbor sediment. The number of background stations and the number of sample replicates per background station depend on the statistical design of the sediment ecological risk investigation, developed through the data quality objective (DQO) process. Biological data from the background stations can be compared to data from a contaminated site by using minimum or maximum background levels or comparative statistics. In Navy ecological risk assessments (ERA's), calculated background levels and appropriate ecological risk screening criteria are used to identify sampling stations and sites with contaminated

Functional profiles reveal unique ecological roles of various biological soil crust organisms

Science.gov (United States)

Bowker, M.A.; Mau, R.L.; Maestre, F.T.; Escolar, C.; Castillo-Monroy, A. P.

2011-01-01

1. At the heart of the body of research on biodiversity effects on ecosystem function is the debate over whether different species tend to be functionally singular or redundant. When we consider ecosystem multi-function, the provision of multiple ecosystem functions simultaneously, we may find that seemingly redundant species may in fact play unique roles in ecosystems. 2. Over the last few decades, the significance of biological soil crusts (BSCs) as ecological boundaries and ecosystem engineers, and their multi-functional nature, has become increasingly well documented. We compiled 'functional profiles' of the organisms in this understudied community, to determine whether functional singularity emerges when multiple ecosystem functions are considered. 3. In two data sets, one representing multiple sites around the semi-arid regions of Spain (regional scale), and another from a single site in central Spain (local scale), we examined correlations between the abundance or frequency of BSC species in a community, and multiple surrogates of ecosystem functioning. There was a wide array of apparent effects of species on specific functions. 4. Notably, in gypsiferous soils and at regional scale, we found that indicators of carbon (C) and phosphorus cycling were apparently suppressed and promoted by the lichens Diploschistes diacapsis and Squamarina lentigera, respectively. The moss Pleurochaete squarrosa appears to promote C cycling in calcareous soils at this spatial scale. At the local scale in gypsiferous soils, D. diacapsis positively correlated with carbon cycling, but negatively with nitrogen cycling, whereas numerous lichens exhibited the opposite profile. 5. We found a high degree of functional singularity, i.e. that species were highly individualistic in their effects on multiple functions. Many functional attributes were not easily predictable from existing functional grouping systems based primarily on morphology. 6. Our results suggest that maintaining

A "weight of evidence" approach for the integration of environmental "triad" data to assess ecological risk and biological vulnerability.

Science.gov (United States)

Dagnino, Alessandro; Sforzini, Susanna; Dondero, Francesco; Fenoglio, Stefano; Bona, Elisa; Jensen, John; Viarengo, Aldo

2008-07-01

A new Expert Decision Support System (EDSS) that can integrate Triad data for assessing environmental risk and biological vulnerability at contaminated sites has been developed. Starting with ecosystem relevance, the EDSS assigns different weights to the results obtained from Triad disciplines. The following parameters have been employed: 1) chemical soil analyses (revealing the presence of potentially dangerous substances), 2) ecotoxicological bioassays (utilizing classical endpoints such as survival and reproduction rates), 3) biomarkers (showing sublethal pollutant effects), and 4) ecological parameters (assessing changes in community structure and functions). For each Triad discipline, the EDSS compares the data obtained at the studied field sites with reference values and calculates different 0-1 indexes (e.g., Chemical Risk Index, Ecotoxicological Risk Index, and Ecological Risk Index). The EDSS output consists of 3 indexes: 1) Environmental Risk index (EnvRI), quantifying the levels of biological damage at population-community level, 2) Biological Vulnerability Index (BVI), assessing the potential threats to biological equilibriums, and 3) Genotoxicity Index (GTI), screening genotoxicity effects. The EDSS has been applied in the integration of a battery of Triad data obtained during the European Union-funded Life Intervention in the Fraschetta Area (LINFA) project, which has been carried out in order to estimate the potential risk from soils of a highly anthropized area (Alessandria, Italy) mainly impacted by deposition of atmospheric pollutants. Results obtained during 4 seasonal sampling campaigns (2004-2005) show maximum values of EnvRI in sites A and B (characterized by industrial releases) and lower levels in site D (affected by vehicular traffic emissions). All 3 potentially polluted sites have shown high levels of BVI and GTI, suggesting a general change from reference conditions (site C).

Processing of biological waste. Ecological efficiency and potential; Behandlung von Bioabfaellen. Oekoeffizienz und Potenziale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pitschke, Thorsten; Peche, Rene; Tronecker, Dieter; Kreibe, Siegfried [bifa Umweltinstitut GmbH, Augsburg (Germany)

2013-07-01

The sustainable usage of biological wastes has to be focused on the targets protection of resources and minimization of environmental impact. The only focus on the energy inventory is not sufficient. The following recommendations are summarized: separated bio-waste collection is usually more eco-efficient; the optimized bio-waste processing should be available according to the biodegradability; anaerobic degradation for biogas production and subsequent aerobic degradation of the fermentation product for compost can be combined; low-emission operational standards should be mandatory, innovation and investment should be promoted b reliable boundary conditions; ecological aspects should be equivalent to low-cost considerations; regulatory measures should be implemented for separated bio-waste collection and processing.

Biological invasions, ecological resilience and adaptive governance

Science.gov (United States)

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...

The International System of Units (SI) in Oceanography. Report of IAPSO Working Group on Symbols, Units and Nomenclature in Physical Oceanography (SUN). Unesco Technical Papers in Marine Science 45. IAPSO Publication Scientifique No. 32.

Science.gov (United States)

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France). Div. of Marine Sciences.

This report introduces oceanographers to the International System of Units (SI) in physical oceanography. The SI constitutes a universal language, designed to be understood by all scientists. It facilitates their mutual comprehension and exchange of views and results of their work. The first part of the report is devoted to physical quantities,…

Other relevant papers in physical oceanography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nyffeler, F.

1989-01-01

During the past few years, significant progress has occurred in the field of physical oceanography partly as a consequence of developing cooperation and international participation in well-coordinated ocean research programmes. Although these programs were not designed specifically to address CRESP problems, many have proved to be directly relevant to CRESP objectives. For example, MODE, POLYMODE, and Tourbillon were intensive site-specific experiments that included studies of dispersion processes throughout the water column. NOAMP and GME were also site specific, involved the entire water column, and even stressed near-bottom and suspended-sediment processes. Others, (e.g., WOCE) are larger in scope and include extensive observations of the general circulation of entire ocean basins. As a whole, they contribute immensely to improving the data base for exchange and transport processes and thereby for the verification and validation of both regional-scale and general-circulation ocean models. That, in turn, is directly relevant to radiological assessments. Selected papers deriving from experiments such as these are discussed and referenced below

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...

How biological (fish) noise affects the performance of shallow water passive array system

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Fernandes, W.A.; Chakraborty, B.; Haris, K.; Vijayakumar, K.; Sundar, D.; Luis, R.A.A.; Mahanty, M.M.; Latha, G.

=UTF-8 How biological (fish) noise affects the performance of shallow water passive array system William Fernandes, Bishwajit Chakraborty, K. Haris, K. Vijaykumar, D. Sundar, R.A.A. Luis CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula... source distribution as well as the environmental parameters (i.e., water depth, sound speed profile, and seafloor properties). In a waveguide bounded by sea surface and seabed, multipath propagation prevails and the spatial structure of the noise...

The oceanography programme of the Federal German Government

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

The oceanography programme of the Federal German Government has the following general aims: 1. To lay the foundation for better understanding of the role of the ocean as a climate factor and repercussions on the ocean from climate change as a basis for future preventive and protective action. 2. Identification of natural and anthropogenous factors of stress to the coastal seas, the coastal regions and the open ocean, research into their dynamics and impact, and development of bases, methods and concepts for describing and evaluating the condition of the coastal seas, coastal regions and open ocean and for projecting and/or remedying relative changes. 3. Development of methods and techniques for climate and environment-related research into and monitoring of the oceans and for careful exploitation of living and non-living resources. (orig.) [de

Improving the reviewing process in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

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Grossman, G. D.

2014-06-01

Full Text Available I discuss current issues in reviewing and editorial practices in ecology and evolutionary biology and suggest possible solutions for current problems. The reviewing crisis is unlikely to change unless steps are taken by journals to provide greater inclusiveness and incentives to reviewers. In addition, both journals and institutions should reduce their emphasis on publication numbers (least publishable units and impact factors and focus instead on article synthesis and quality which will require longer publications. Academic and research institutions should consider reviewing manuscripts and editorial positions an important part of a researcher’s professional activities and reward them accordingly. Rewarding reviewers either monetarily or via other incentives such as free journal subscriptions may encourage participation in the reviewing process for both profit and non–profit journals. Reviewer performance will likely be improved by measures that increase inclusiveness, such as sending reviews and decision letters to reviewers. Journals may be able to evaluate the efficacy of their reviewing process by comparing citations of rejected but subsequently published papers with those published within the journal at similar times. Finally, constructive reviews: 1 identify important shortcomings and suggest solutions when possible, 2 distinguish trivial from non–trivial problems, and 3 include editor’s evaluations of the reviews including identification of trivial versus substantive comments (i.e., those that must be addressed.

Crossing Boundaries in Undergraduate Biology Education

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderklein, Dirk; Munakata, Mika; McManus, Jason

2016-01-01

In an effort to make mathematics relevant to biology students, the authors developed two modules that sought to integrate mathematics and ecology instruction to differing degrees. The modules were developed by a team of biology and mathematics educators and were implemented in an ecology course using three different instructional methods for three…

Advances in limnological and oceanographic research in Italy: the history of the Italian Association of Limnology and Oceanography (AIOL

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Antonio Pusceddu

2010-06-01

Full Text Available On the occasion of the 35th year from the publication of the first issue of the Proceedings of the Italian Association of Limnology and Oceanography (AIOL we present here the results of a meta-analysis of all of the material included in the AIOL Proceedings, with the aim of analysing the last 30 years history of aquatic science in Italy as mirrored by the science presented by the AIOL members. The results of this meta-analysis were presented in September 2006 in Paris, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the ‘Institut oce´anographique, fondation Albert Ier, prince de Monaco’. We have screened the 17 volumes of the Proceedings and classified the articles into papers dealing with: (i Biology and Ecology; (ii Chemistry; (iii Physics, and (iv Geology, which represent the most relevant ‘disciplines’ of the AIOL. The articles were also classified as ‘oceanographic’ or ‘limnological’ papers, including all marine and freshwater aspects, respectively. Articles were finally classified on the basis of the environment where the studies were carried out: the water column or the benthic environment. The results of this analysis highlight the presence of wide fluctuations in the number of publications produced by the AIOL scientific community during more then three decades of the activity of the association in Italy. We also show that these fluctuations were associated with variable fluctuations in the availability of funding for aquatic research. The overall picture of the scientific outputs of the AIOL members as revealed by the analysis of the papers published on the AIOL Proceedings indicates that the Association had a fruitful activity during the last part of the past century, but experienced a major flaw during the first years of this century. Only in the last few years such activity restarted, thus giving rise to a possible new deal in the development of aquatic science in Italy.

Results of efforts by the Convention on Biological Diversity to describe ecologically or biologically significant marine areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Bax, Nicholas J; Cleary, Jesse; Donnelly, Ben; Dunn, Daniel C; Dunstan, Piers K; Fuller, Mike; Halpin, Patrick N

2016-06-01

In 2004, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) addressed a United Nations (UN) call for area-based planning, including for marine-protected areas that resulted in a global effort to describe ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs). We summarized the results, assessed their consistency, and evaluated the process developed by the Secretariat of the CBD to engage countries and experts in 9 regional workshops held from 2011 to 2014. Experts from 92 countries and 79 regional or international bodies participated. They considered 250 million km(2) of the world's ocean area (two-thirds of the total). The 204 areas they examined in detail differed widely in area (from 5.5 km(2) to 11.1 million km(2) ). Despite the initial focus of the CBD process on areas outside national jurisdiction, only 31 of the areas examined were solely outside national jurisdiction. Thirty-five extended into national jurisdictions, 137 were solely within national jurisdictions, and 28 included the jurisdictions of more than 1 country (1 area lacked precise boundaries). Data were sufficient to rank 88-99% of the areas relative to each of the 7 criteria for EBSAs agreed to previously by Parties to the CBD. The naturalness criterion ranked high for a smaller percentage of the EBSAs (31%) than other criteria (51-70%), indicating the difficulty in finding relatively undisturbed areas in the ocean. The highly participatory nature of the workshops, including easy and consistent access to the relevant information facilitated by 2 technical teams, contributed to the workshop participants success in identifying areas that could be ranked relative to most criteria and areas that extend across jurisdictional boundaries. The formal recognition of workshop results by the Conference of Parties to the CBD resulted in these 204 areas being identified as EBSAs by the 196 Parties. They represent the only suite of marine areas recognized by the international community for their

Perspectives on chemical oceanography in the 21st century: Participants of the COME ABOARD Meeting examine aspects of the field in the context of 40 years of DISCO

Science.gov (United States)

Fassbender, Andrea J.; Palevsky, Hilary I.; Martz, Todd R.; Ingalls, Anitra E.; Gledhill, Martha; Fawcett, Sarah E.; Brandes, Jay; Aluwihare, Lihini; Anderson, Robert M.; Bender, Sara; Boyle, Ed; Bronk, Debbie; Buesseler, Ken; Burdige, David J.; Casciotti, Karen; Close, Hilary; Conte, Maureen; Cutter, Greg; Estapa, Meg; Fennel, Katja; Ferron, Sara; Glazer, Brian; Goni, Miguel; Grand, Max; Guay, Chris; Hatta, Mariko; Hayes, Chris; Horner, Tristan; Ingall, Ellery; Johnson, Kenneth G.; Juranek, Laurie; Knapp, Angela; Lam, Phoebe; Luther, George; Matrai, Paty; Nicholson, David; Paytan, Adina; Pellenbarg, Robert; Popendorf, Kim; Reddy, Christopher M.; Ruttenberg, Kathleen; Sabine, Chris; Sansone, Frank; Shaltout, Nayrah; Sikes, Liz; Sundquist, Eric T.; Valentine, David; Wang, Zhao (Aleck); Wilson, Sam; Barrett, Pamela; Behrens, Melanie; Belcher, Anna; Biermann, Lauren; Boiteau, Rene; Clarke, Jennifer; Collins, Jamie; Coppola, Alysha; Ebling, Alina M.; Garcia-Tigreros, Fenix; Goldman, Johanna; Guallart, Elisa F.; Haskell, William; Hurley, Sarah; Janssen, David; Johnson, Winn; Lennhartz, Sinikka; Liu, Shuting; Rahman, Shaily; Ray, Daisy; Sarkar, Amit; Steiner, Zvika; Widner, Brittany; Yang, Bo

2017-01-01

The questions that chemical oceanographers prioritize over the coming decades, and the methods we use to address these questions, will define our field's contribution to 21st century science. In recognition of this, the U.S. National Science Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration galvanized a community effort (the Chemical Oceanography MEeting: A BOttom-up Approach to Research Directions, or COME ABOARD) to synthesize bottom-up perspectives on selected areas of research in Chemical Oceanography. Representing only a small subset of the community, COME ABOARD participants did not attempt to identify targeted research directions for the field. Instead, we focused on how best to foster diverse research in Chemical Oceanography, placing emphasis on the following themes: strengthening our core chemical skillset; expanding our tools through collaboration with chemists, engineers, and computer scientists; considering new roles for large programs; enhancing interface research through interdisciplinary collaboration; and expanding ocean literacy by engaging with the public. For each theme, COME ABOARD participants reflected on the present state of Chemical Oceanography, where the community hopes to go and why, and actionable pathways to get there. A unifying concept among the discussions was that dissimilar funding structures and metrics of success may be required to accommodate the various levels of readiness and stages of knowledge development found throughout our community. In addition to the science, participants of the concurrent Dissertations Symposium in Chemical Oceanography (DISCO) XXV, a meeting of recent and forthcoming Ph.D. graduates in Chemical Oceanography, provided perspectives on how our field could show leadership in addressing long-standing diversity and early-career challenges that are pervasive throughout science. Here we summarize the COME ABOARD Meeting discussions, providing a synthesis of reflections and perspectives on the

Dictionary of applied ecology. English-German, German-English

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The book comprises about 14.000 terms of the following subject fields: Fundamentals (ecological factors, ecosystems and mark hazard factors, dynamics of ecosystems), environmental toxicology, environmental analysis (chemical methods of analysis, biological indicators), models and forecasts for ecosystems, environmental technology (waste water treatment, air pollution abatement, soil regeneration, landfill reclamation, recycling technologies, low-waste technologies), special ecological problems (forest ecology, landscape ecology), and environmental law. (orig.) [de

Taking the conservation biology perspective to secondary school classrooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Wyner, Yael; Desalle, Rob

2010-06-01

The influence of conservation biology can be enhanced greatly if it reaches beyond undergraduate biology to students at the middle and high school levels. If a conservation perspective were taught in secondary schools, students who are not interested in biology could be influenced to pursue careers or live lifestyles that would reduce the negative impact of humans on the world. We use what we call the ecology-disrupted approach to transform the topics of conservation biology research into environmental-issue and ecology topics, the major themes of secondary school courses in environmental science. In this model, students learn about the importance and complexity of normal ecological processes by studying what goes wrong when people disrupt them (environmental issues). Many studies published in Conservation Biology are related in some way to the ecological principles being taught in secondary schools. Describing research in conservation biology in the language of ecology curricula in secondary schools can help bring these science stories to the classroom and give them a context in which they can be understood by students. Without this context in the curriculum, a science story can devolve into just another environmental issue that has no immediate effect on the daily lives of students. Nevertheless, if the research is placed in the context of larger ecological processes that are being taught, students can gain a better understanding of ecology and a better understanding of their effect on the world.

Ecological Monitoring and Compliance Program 2007 Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hansen, Dennis; Anderson, David; Derek, Hall; Greger, Paul; Ostler, W. Kent

2008-03-01

In accordance with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 450.1, 'Environmental Protection Program', the Office of the Assistant Manager for Environmental Management of the DOE, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO) requires ecological monitoring and biological compliance support for activities and programs conducted at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec), Ecological Services has implemented the Ecological Monitoring and Compliance (EMAC) Program to provide this support. EMAC is designed to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, delineate and define NTS ecosystems, and provide ecological information that can be used to predict and evaluate the potential impacts of proposed projects and programs on those ecosystems. This report summarizes the EMAC activities conducted by NSTec during calendar year 2007. Monitoring tasks during 2007 included eight program areas: (a) biological surveys, (b) desert tortoise compliance, (c) ecosystem mapping and data management, (d) sensitive plant monitoring, (e) sensitive and protected/regulated animal monitoring, (f) habitat monitoring, (g) habitat restoration monitoring, and (h) biological monitoring at the Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex (NPTEC). The following sections of this report describe work performed under these eight areas.

The biology and ecology of Valencia letourneuxi Sauvage 1880 (Valenciidae - Prospects for conservation

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R. BARBIERI

2000-12-01

Full Text Available Data are provided on the distribution, abundance, early development and biology of the endangered Greek endemic species Valencia letourneuxi Sauvage 1880, along with a record of its occurrence at new localities. V. letourneuxi is a small-bodied and short-lived insectivorous species, exhibiting cryptic colouration and sexual dimorphism. It matures in the first year of life, reproduces serially in late spring and summer, and deposits spherical eggs, around 2 mm, on aquatic plants. Most morphometric characters show size-specific trends, which complicate comparisons among populations or with other species. Of specific systematic importance is the relative position of the anal and dorsal fins, which remains almost unaltered throughout development, and allows safe distinction from A. fasciatus. The species was found mostly in deep areas with clean and slow running water, usually associated with freshwater springs. Rich submerged vegetation is the prominent ecological feature of all sites in which the species was found. Using as criteria of rarity the limited geographic distribution, the confinement of the species in few localities of each aquatic system and the low local densities, V. letourneuxi can be characterised as a "restricted and locally rare species". The restricted distribution, coupled with the narrow ecological requirements, makes the species vulnerable to extinction. Its disappearance from at least four aquatic systems and the serious population decline in a number of other systems seems to be connected with habitat loss or degradation caused by human activities. The prospects of conservation are discussed.

Terrestrial ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1977-01-01

The main effort of the Terrestrial Ecology Division has been redirected to a comprehensive study of the Espiritu Santo Drainage Basin located in northeastern Puerto Rico. The general objective are to provide baseline ecological data for future environmental assessment studies at the local and regional levels, and to provide through an ecosystem approach data for the development of management alternatives for the wise utilization of energy, water, and land resources. The interrelationships among climate, vegetation, soils, and man, and their combined influence upon the hydrologic cycle will be described and evaluated. Environmental management involves planning and decision making, and both require an adequate data base. At present, little is known about the interworkings of a complete, integrated system such as a drainage basin. A literature survey of the main research areas confirmed that, although many individual ecologically oriented studies have been carried out in a tropical environment, few if any provide the data base required for environmental management. In view of rapidly changing socio-economic conditions and natural resources limitations, management urgently requires data from these systems: physical (climatological), biological, and cultural. This integrated drainage basin study has been designed to provide such data. The scope of this program covers the hydrologic cycle as it is affected by the interactions of the physical, biological, and cultural systems

LANDSCAPE ECOLOGICAL METHOD TO STUDY AGRICULTURAL VEGETATION: SOME EXAMPLES FROM THE PO VALLEY

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E. GIGLIO

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Vegetation is the most important landscape component, as regards to its ability to catch solar energy and to transform it, but also to shape the landscape, to structure the space, to create the fit environment for different animal species, to contribute to the maintenance of a correct metastability level for the landscape, etc. It is a biological system which acts under the constraints of the principles of the System Theory and owns the same properties of any other living system: so, it is a complex adaptive, hierarchical, dynamic, dissipative, self-organizing, self-transcendent, autocatalytic, self-maintaining system and follows the non-equilibrium thermodynamic. Its ecological state can be investigated through the comparison between “gathered data” (pathology and “normal data” (physiology for analogous types of vegetation. The Biological Integrated School of Landscape Ecology provides an integrated methodology to define ecological threshold limits of the different Agricultural Landscape types and applies to agricultural vegetation the specific part of the new methodology already tested to studying forests (the Landscape Biological Survey of Vegetation. Ecological quality, better and worst parameters, biological territorial capacity of vegetated corridors, agricultural field, poplar groves, orchards and woody remnant patches are investigated. Some examples from diverse agricultural landscapes of the Po Valley will be discussed. KEY WORDS: agricultural landscape, vegetation, landscape ecology, landscape health, Biological Integrated Landscape Ecology, Landscape Biological Survey of vegetation.

LANDSCAPE ECOLOGICAL METHOD TO STUDY AGRICULTURAL VEGETATION: SOME EXAMPLES FROM THE PO VALLEY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. GIGLIO

2006-05-01

Full Text Available Vegetation is the most important landscape component, as regards to its ability to catch solar energy and to transform it, but also to shape the landscape, to structure the space, to create the fit environment for different animal species, to contribute to the maintenance of a correct metastability level for the landscape, etc. It is a biological system which acts under the constraints of the principles of the System Theory and owns the same properties of any other living system: so, it is a complex adaptive, hierarchical, dynamic, dissipative, self-organizing, self-transcendent, autocatalytic, self-maintaining system and follows the non-equilibrium thermodynamic. Its ecological state can be investigated through the comparison between “gathered data” (pathology and “normal data” (physiology for analogous types of vegetation. The Biological Integrated School of Landscape Ecology provides an integrated methodology to define ecological threshold limits of the different Agricultural Landscape types and applies to agricultural vegetation the specific part of the new methodology already tested to studying forests (the Landscape Biological Survey of Vegetation. Ecological quality, better and worst parameters, biological territorial capacity of vegetated corridors, agricultural field, poplar groves, orchards and woody remnant patches are investigated. Some examples from diverse agricultural landscapes of the Po Valley will be discussed. KEY WORDS: agricultural landscape, vegetation, landscape ecology, landscape health, Biological Integrated Landscape Ecology, Landscape Biological Survey of vegetation.

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.

Oceanography and Geoscience Scholars at Texas A&M University Funded through the NSF S-STEM (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Program

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, M. J.; Gardner, W. D.

2016-02-01

Over the last seven years we have led the creation and implementation of the Oceanography and Geoscience Scholars programs at Texas A&M University. Through these programs we have been able to provide scholarship support for 92 undergraduates in Geosciences and 29 graduate students in Oceanography. Fifty-seven undergraduate scholars have graduated in Geosciences: 30 undergraduate students in Meteorology, 7 in Geology, and 20 in Environmental Geosciences. Two students have graduated in other STEM disciplines. Twenty-four students are in the process of completing their undergraduate degrees in STEM disciplines. Twenty-three students have graduated with MS or PhD degrees in Oceanography and five PhD students are completing their dissertations. As specified in the program solicitation all of the scholars are academically talented students with demonstrated financial need as defined by the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). We have endeavored to recruit students from underrepresented groups. One-third of the undergraduate scholars were from underrepresented groups; 28% of the graduate students. We will present the challenges and successes of these programs.

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...

Ecological opportunity and the adaptive diversification of lineages.

Science.gov (United States)

Wellborn, Gary A; Langerhans, R Brian

2015-01-01

The tenet that ecological opportunity drives adaptive diversification has been central to theories of speciation since Darwin, yet no widely accepted definition or mechanistic framework for the concept currently exists. We propose a definition for ecological opportunity that provides an explicit mechanism for its action. In our formulation, ecological opportunity refers to environmental conditions that both permit the persistence of a lineage within a community, as well as generate divergent natural selection within that lineage. Thus, ecological opportunity arises from two fundamental elements: (1) niche availability, the ability of a population with a phenotype previously absent from a community to persist within that community and (2) niche discordance, the diversifying selection generated by the adaptive mismatch between a population's niche-related traits and the newly encountered ecological conditions. Evolutionary response to ecological opportunity is primarily governed by (1) spatiotemporal structure of ecological opportunity, which influences dynamics of selection and development of reproductive isolation and (2) diversification potential, the biological properties of a lineage that determine its capacity to diversify. Diversification under ecological opportunity proceeds as an increase in niche breadth, development of intraspecific ecotypes, speciation, and additional cycles of diversification that may themselves be triggered by speciation. Extensive ecological opportunity may exist in depauperate communities, but it is unclear whether ecological opportunity abates in species-rich communities. Because ecological opportunity should generally increase during times of rapid and multifarious environmental change, human activities may currently be generating elevated ecological opportunity - but so far little work has directly addressed this topic. Our framework highlights the need for greater synthesis of community ecology and evolutionary biology, unifying

Testing the ecological consequences of evolutionary change using elements.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeyasingh, Punidan D; Cothran, Rickey D; Tobler, Michael

2014-02-01

Understanding the ecological consequences of evolutionary change is a central challenge in contemporary biology. We propose a framework based on the ˜25 elements represented in biology, which can serve as a conduit for a general exploration of poorly understood evolution-to-ecology links. In this framework, known as ecological stoichiometry, the quantity of elements in the inorganic realm is a fundamental environment, while the flow of elements from the abiotic to the biotic realm is due to the action of genomes, with the unused elements excreted back into the inorganic realm affecting ecological processes at higher levels of organization. Ecological stoichiometry purposefully assumes distinct elemental composition of species, enabling powerful predictions about the ecological functions of species. However, this assumption results in a simplified view of the evolutionary mechanisms underlying diversification in the elemental composition of species. Recent research indicates substantial intraspecific variation in elemental composition and associated ecological functions such as nutrient excretion. We posit that attention to intraspecific variation in elemental composition will facilitate a synthesis of stoichiometric information in light of population genetics theory for a rigorous exploration of the ecological consequences of evolutionary change.

The reproductive biology and early life ecology of a common Caribbean brain coral, Diploria labyrinthiformis (Scleractinia: Faviinae)

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Chamberland, Valérie F.; Snowden, Skylar; Marhaver, Kristen L.; Petersen, Dirk; Vermeij, Mark J. A.

2017-03-01

Despite the fact that most of the severe demographic bottlenecks in coral populations occur during their earliest life stages, information on the reproductive biology and early life history traits of many coral species is limited and often inferred from adult traits only. This study reports on several atypical aspects of the reproductive biology and early life ecology of the grooved brain coral, Diploria labyrinthiformis (Linnaeus, 1758), a conspicuous reef-building species on Caribbean reefs. The timing of gamete release of D. labyrinthiformis was monitored in Curaçao over eight consecutive months, and embryogenesis, planulae behavior, and settlement rates were observed and quantified. We further studied growth and symbiont acquisition in juvenile D. labyrinthiformis for 3.5 yr and compared settler survival under ambient and nutrient-enriched conditions in situ. Notably, D. labyrinthiformis reproduced during daylight hours in six consecutive monthly spawning events between May and September 2013, with a peak in June. This is the largest number of reproductive events per year ever observed in a broadcast-spawning Caribbean coral species. In settlement experiments, D. labyrinthiformis planulae swam to the bottom of culture containers 13 h after spawning and rapidly settled when provided with settlement cues (42% within 14 h). After 5 months, the survival and growth rates of settled juveniles were 3.7 and 1.9 times higher, respectively, for settlers that acquired zooxanthellae within 1 month after settlement, compared to those that acquired symbionts later on. Nutrient enrichment increased settler survival fourfold, but only for settlers that had acquired symbionts within 1 month after settlement. With at least six reproductive events per year, a short planktonic larval phase, high settlement rates, and a positive response to nutrient enrichment, the broadcast-spawning species D. labyrinthiformis displays a range of reproductive and early life-history traits that

Ecological status assessment of regulated lakes; Saeaennoesteltyjen jaervien ekologisen tilan arviointi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keto, A.; Sutela, T.; Aroviita, J.; Tarvainen, A.; Haemaelaeinen, H.; Hellsten, S.; Vehanen, T.; Marttunen, M.

2008-10-15

Although regulated lakes have been studied extensively during the last 20 years in Finland, biological data are still scattered. Especially in mildly regulated lakes, data have been insufficient to determine reference conditions and to estimate ecological status as required by the Water Framework Directive. The objective of this study was to increase information about the biological quality elements in order to develop ecological classification system and to define environment objectives for regulated lakes. Both existing and new data were collected from littoral fishes, littoral macroinvertebrates and macrophytes from regulated lakes and unregulated reference lakes. New biological classification metrics were then developed and tested. Moreover, alternative combinations of the biological classification parameters were tested for assessment of ecological status of lakes. Impacts of water-level regulation were found in all three biological quality elements: the littoral fishes, macroinvertebrates and macrophytes. The ecological status of the study lakes was at its worst when winter draw-down of water-level exceeded 2-3 meters. Very sensitive species for water-level regulation were recognized in all three biological quality elements. In macrophytes these species were large isoetids, in macroinvertebrates species with at least two-year life cycle and in fishes' minnow and European bullhead. In a same lake, the status of littoral fishes, macroinvertebrates and macrophytes often differed from each other As a result, when results from different biological quality elements are combined to an overall ecological status, quite large differences can exist depending on the method used to derive the overall status; i.e., whether the most sensitive quality element (i.e. the 'one-out all-out' principle) or a median value over all quality elements is used. (orig.)

Integrated Ecological River Health Assessments, Based on Water Chemistry, Physical Habitat Quality and Biological Integrity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ji Yoon Kim

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This study evaluated integrative river ecosystem health using stressor-based models of physical habitat health, chemical water health, and biological health of fish and identified multiple-stressor indicators influencing the ecosystem health. Integrated health responses (IHRs, based on star-plot approach, were calculated from qualitative habitat evaluation index (QHEI, nutrient pollution index (NPI, and index of biological integrity (IBI in four different longitudinal regions (Groups I–IV. For the calculations of IHRs values, multi-metric QHEI, NPI, and IBI models were developed and their criteria for the diagnosis of the health were determined. The longitudinal patterns of the river were analyzed by a self-organizing map (SOM model and the key major stressors in the river were identified by principal component analysis (PCA. Our model scores of integrated health responses (IHRs suggested that mid-stream and downstream regions were impaired, and the key stressors were closely associated with nutrient enrichment (N and P and organic matter pollutions from domestic wastewater disposal plants and urban sewage. This modeling approach of IHRs may be used as an effective tool for evaluations of integrative ecological river health..

Stochastic many-body problems in ecology, evolution, neuroscience, and systems biology

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Thomas C.

Using the tools of many-body theory, I analyze problems in four different areas of biology dominated by strong fluctuations: The evolutionary history of the genetic code, spatiotemporal pattern formation in ecology, spatiotemporal pattern formation in neuroscience and the robustness of a model circadian rhythm circuit in systems biology. In the first two research chapters, I demonstrate that the genetic code is extremely optimal (in the sense that it manages the effects of point mutations or mistranslations efficiently), more than an order of magnitude beyond what was previously thought. I further show that the structure of the genetic code implies that early proteins were probably only loosely defined. Both the nature of early proteins and the extreme optimality of the genetic code are interpreted in light of recent theory [1] as evidence that the evolution of the genetic code was driven by evolutionary dynamics that were dominated by horizontal gene transfer. I then explore the optimality of a proposed precursor to the genetic code. The results show that the precursor code has only limited optimality, which is interpreted as evidence that the precursor emerged prior to translation, or else never existed. In the next part of the dissertation, I introduce a many-body formalism for reaction-diffusion systems described at the mesoscopic scale with master equations. I first apply this formalism to spatially-extended predator-prey ecosystems, resulting in the prediction that many-body correlations and fluctuations drive population cycles in time, called quasicycles. Most of these results were previously known, but were derived using the system size expansion [2, 3]. I next apply the analytical techniques developed in the study of quasi-cycles to a simple model of Turing patterns in a predator-prey ecosystem. This analysis shows that fluctuations drive the formation of a new kind of spatiotemporal pattern formation that I name "quasi-patterns." These quasi

Proceedings of a workshop on physical oceanography related to the subseabed disposal of high-level nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marietta, M.G.

1981-04-01

At this workshop a group of expert scientists: (1) assessed the current state of knowledge with regard to the physical oceanographic questions that must be answered generally if high level nuclear waste is to be disposed of on or under the seabed; (2) discussed physical oceanographic science necessarily related to the US Subseabed Disposal Program; (3) recommended necessary research; and (4) identified other ongoing programs with which important liaisons should be made and continued. This report is a collection of workshop presentations, and recommendations, and a synthesis of topical group recommendations into a unified statement of research needs. The US Seabed Disposal Program is described. The goal is to assess the technical, environmental and engineering feasibility of seabed disposal. The environmental studies program will assess possible ecosystem and health effects from radionuclides which may be released due to accidental leakage. Discussion on the following topics are also included: bottom boundary layer; mixing across isopycnal surfaces; circulation modeling; mesoscale dispersion; deep circulation of the Pacific Ocean; vertical transport at edges; instrumentation; chemical oceanography; plutonium distribution in the Pacific; biology report; chemical dumping report; and low-level waste report

Ecological periodic tables: in principle and practice - January 2013

Science.gov (United States)

The chemical periodic table, the Linnaean system of classification and the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram are iconic information organizing structures in chemistry, biology and astronomy, respectively. Ecological periodic tables are information organizing structures for ecology. T...

Authorized Course of Instruction for the Quinmester Program. Science: Introduction to Marine Science; Recreation and the Sea; Oceanography; Marine Ecology of South Florida, and Invertebrate Marine Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL.

All five units, developed for the Dade County Florida Quinmester Program, included in this collection concern some aspect of marine studies. Except for "Recreation and the Sea," intended to give students basic seamanship skills and experience of other marine recreation, all units are designed for students with a background in biology or…

The pros and cons of ecological risk assessment based on data from different levels of biological organization

Science.gov (United States)

Rohr, Jason R.; Salice, Christopher J.; Nisbet, Roger M.

2016-01-01

Ecological risk assessment (ERA) is the process used to evaluate the safety of manufactured chemicals to the environment. Here we review the pros and cons of ERA across levels of biological organization, including suborganismal (e.g. biomarkers), individual, population, community, ecosystem, and landscapes levels. Our review revealed that level of biological organization is often related negatively with ease at assessing cause-effect relationships, ease of high-throughput screening of large numbers of chemicals (it is especially easier for suborganismal endpoints), and uncertainty of the ERA because low levels of biological organization tend to have a large distance between their measurement (what is quantified) and assessment endpoints (what is to be protected). In contrast, level of biological organization is often related positively with sensitivity to important negative and positive feedbacks and context dependencies within biological systems, and ease at capturing recovery from adverse contaminant effects. Some endpoints did not show obvious trends across levels of biological organization, such as the use of vertebrate animals in chemical testing and ease at screening large numbers of species, and other factors lacked sufficient data across levels of biological organization, such as repeatability, variability, cost per study, and cost per species of effects assessment, the latter of which might be a more defensible way to compare costs of ERAs than cost per study. To compensate for weaknesses of ERA at any particular level of biological organization, we also review mathematical modeling approaches commonly used to extrapolate effects across levels of organization. Finally, we provide recommendations for next generation ERA, submitting that if there is an ideal level of biological organization to conduct ERA, it will only emerge if ERA is approached simultaneously from the bottom of biological organization up as well as from the top down, all while employing

The pros and cons of ecological risk assessment based on data from different levels of biological organization.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohr, Jason R; Salice, Christopher J; Nisbet, Roger M

2016-10-01

Ecological risk assessment (ERA) is the process used to evaluate the safety of manufactured chemicals to the environment. Here we review the pros and cons of ERA across levels of biological organization, including suborganismal (e.g., biomarkers), individual, population, community, ecosystem and landscapes levels. Our review revealed that level of biological organization is often related negatively with ease at assessing cause-effect relationships, ease of high-throughput screening of large numbers of chemicals (it is especially easier for suborganismal endpoints), and uncertainty of the ERA because low levels of biological organization tend to have a large distance between their measurement (what is quantified) and assessment endpoints (what is to be protected). In contrast, level of biological organization is often related positively with sensitivity to important negative and positive feedbacks and context dependencies within biological systems, and ease at capturing recovery from adverse contaminant effects. Some endpoints did not show obvious trends across levels of biological organization, such as the use of vertebrate animals in chemical testing and ease at screening large numbers of species, and other factors lacked sufficient data across levels of biological organization, such as repeatability, variability, cost per study and cost per species of effects assessment, the latter of which might be a more defensible way to compare costs of ERAs than cost per study. To compensate for weaknesses of ERA at any particular level of biological organization, we also review mathematical modeling approaches commonly used to extrapolate effects across levels of organization. Finally, we provide recommendations for next generation ERA, submitting that if there is an ideal level of biological organization to conduct ERA, it will only emerge if ERA is approached simultaneously from the bottom of biological organization up as well as from the top down, all while employing

High-precision GPS autonomous platforms for sea ice dynamics and physical oceanography

Science.gov (United States)

Elosegui, P.; Wilkinson, J.; Olsson, M.; Rodwell, S.; James, A.; Hagan, B.; Hwang, B.; Forsberg, R.; Gerdes, R.; Johannessen, J.; Wadhams, P.; Nettles, M.; Padman, L.

2012-12-01

Project "Arctic Ocean sea ice and ocean circulation using satellite methods" (SATICE), is the first high-rate, high-precision, continuous GPS positioning experiment on sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. The SATICE systems collect continuous, dual-frequency carrier-phase GPS data while drifting on sea ice. Additional geophysical measurements also collected include ocean water pressure, ocean surface salinity, atmospheric pressure, snow-depth, air-ice-ocean temperature profiles, photographic imagery, and others, enabling sea ice drift, freeboard, weather, ice mass balance, and sea-level height determination. Relatively large volumes of data from each buoy are streamed over a satellite link to a central computer on the Internet in near real time, where they are processed to estimate the time-varying buoy positions. SATICE system obtains continuous GPS data at sub-minute intervals with a positioning precision of a few centimetres in all three dimensions. Although monitoring of sea ice motions goes back to the early days of satellite observations, these autonomous platforms bring out a level of spatio-temporal detail that has never been seen before, especially in the vertical axis. These high-resolution data allows us to address new polar science questions and challenge our present understanding of both sea ice dynamics and Arctic oceanography. We will describe the technology behind this new autonomous platform, which could also be adapted to other applications that require high resolution positioning information with sustained operations and observations in the polar marine environment, and present results pertaining to sea ice dynamics and physical oceanography.

An open future for ecological and evolutionary data?

Science.gov (United States)

Kenall, Amye; Harold, Simon; Foote, Christopher

2014-04-02

As part of BioMed Central's open science mission, we are pleased to announce that two of our journals have integrated with the open data repository Dryad. Authors submitting their research to either BMC Ecology or BMC Evolutionary Biology will now have the opportunity to deposit their data directly into the Dryad archive and will receive a permanent, citable link to their dataset. Although this does not affect any of our current data deposition policies at these journals, we hope to encourage a more widespread adoption of open data sharing in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology by facilitating this process for our authors. We also take this opportunity to discuss some of the wider issues that may concern researchers when making their data openly available. Although we offer a number of positive examples from different fields of biology, we also recognise that reticence to data sharing still exists, and that change must be driven from within research communities in order to create future science that is fit for purpose in the digital age. This editorial was published jointly in both BMC Ecology and BMC Evolutionary Biology.

Quantifying Ecology: Constructing Life History Tables

Science.gov (United States)

Balgopal, Meena M.; Ode, Paul J.

2009-01-01

In the biology community there has been a call for integrating lessons on population growth rate and the human population crisis into biology classrooms. Ecologists fear that students do not understand the relationship between the magnitude of the human population growth and Earth's carrying capacity, as well as some basic ecological concepts. The…

Bigheaded carps : a biological synopsis and environmental risk assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Kolar, Cindy S.; Chapman, Duane C.; Courtenay, Walter R.; Housel, Christine M.; Williams, James D.; Jennings, Dawn P.

2007-01-01

The book is a detailed risk assessment and biological synopsis of the bigheaded carps of the genus Hypophthalmichthys, which includes the bighead, silver, and largescale silver carps. It summarizes the scientific literature describing their biology, ecology, uses, ecological effects, and risks to the environment.

Geography, ecology and emerging infectious diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, J D

2000-04-01

Emerging infectious diseases are the focus of increased attention and even alarm in the scholarly and popular literature. The emergence of new diseases and the resurgence of older and previously recognized infectious diseases both in developing and developed country poses challenges for understanding the ecological web of causation, including social, economic, environmental and biological components. This paper is a synthesis of the major characteristics of emerging diseases, in an interdisciplinary context. Political ecology is one framework for analysis that is promising in developing a modified ecology of disease.

Mid-Pacific Marine Laboratory. Annual report for the period, 1 October 1977--30 September 1978

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reese, E.S.; Johnson, V.R. Jr.

1979-03-01

Studies on behavior included reproduction and sociobiology of reef fishes and aggression, hearing, and ultrasonic telemetry in sharks. Ecological studies included population, growth, and mortality studies on birds, corals, crustacea, echinoderms, fishes, molluscs, and rats. Geochemistry studies included biogeochemistry of reef organisms and hydrogeochemistry of groundwater. Geology studies included bioerosion of sea urchins, biology of endolithic processes, and survey of soils. Oceanography studies were conducted on lagoon circulation. Physiological studies were conducted on symbiosis in corals and utilization of organic material by Foraminifera. Studies on systematics of algae, echinoderms, and fishes were conducted. (HLW)

The quest for a new modelling framework in mathematical biology. Comment on "On the interplay between mathematics and biology: Hallmarks towards a new systems biology" by N. Bellomo et al.

Science.gov (United States)

Eftimie, Raluca

2015-03-01

One of the main unsolved problems of modern physics is finding a "theory of everything" - a theory that can explain, with the help of mathematics, all physical aspects of the universe. While the laws of physics could explain some aspects of the biology of living systems (e.g., the phenomenological interpretation of movement of cells and animals), there are other aspects specific to biology that cannot be captured by physics models. For example, it is generally accepted that the evolution of a cell-based system is influenced by the activation state of cells (e.g., only activated and functional immune cells can fight diseases); on the other hand, the evolution of an animal-based system can be influenced by the psychological state (e.g., distress) of animals. Therefore, the last 10-20 years have seen also a quest for a "theory of everything"-approach extended to biology, with researchers trying to propose mathematical modelling frameworks that can explain various biological phenomena ranging from ecology to developmental biology and medicine [1,2,6]. The basic idea behind this approach can be found in a few reviews on ecology and cell biology [6,7,9-11], where researchers suggested that due to the parallel between the micro-scale dynamics and the emerging macro-scale phenomena in both cell biology and in ecology, many mathematical methods used for ecological processes could be adapted to cancer modelling [7,9] or to modelling in immunology [11]. However, this approach generally involved the use of different models to describe different biological aspects (e.g., models for cell and animal movement, models for competition between cells or animals, etc.).

The biological consequences of climate changes: An ecological and economic assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batie, S.S.; Shugart, H.H.

1991-01-01

The following subject areas are covered: (1) the level of climate change; (2) impacts of climate change on ecological systems (short-term (decadal), medium term (centenary), and long-term (millennial) effects); and (3) ecological consequences of climate change - evaluating the social costs (the problem of valuing consequences, intergenerational problem, and safe minimum standard strategies and policies)

From forest fires to fisheries management: anthropology, conservation biology, and historical ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Braje, Todd J; Rick, Torben C

2013-01-01

Human-environmental relationships have long been of interest to a variety of scientists, including ecologists, biologists, anthropologists, and many others. In anthropology, this interest was especially prevalent among cultural ecologists of the 1970s and earlier, who tended to explain culture as the result of techno-environmental constraints. More recently researchers have used historical ecology, an approach that focuses on the long-term dialectical relationship between humans and their environments, as well as long-term prehuman ecological datasets. An important contribution of anthropology to historical ecology is that anthropological datasets dealing with ethnohistory, traditional ecological knowledge, and human skeletal analysis, as well as archeological datasets on faunal and floral remains, artifacts, geochemistry, and stratigraphic analysis, provide a deep time perspective (across decades, centuries, and millennia) on the evolution of ecosystems and the place of people in those larger systems. Historical ecological data also have an applied component that can provide important information on the relative abundances of flora and fauna, changes in biogeography, alternations in food webs, landscape evolution, and much more. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

HOW ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES ARE STRUCTURED: A REVIEW ON ECOLOGICAL ASSEMBLY RULES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Jaime Colorado Zuluaga

Full Text Available Whether biological communities are deterministic or stochastic assemblages of species has long been a central topic of ecology. The widely demonstrated presence of structural patterns in nature may imply the existence of rules that regulate the organization of ecological communities. In this review, I present a compilation of major assembly rules that fundament, in a great proportion, the community assembly theory. Initially, I present a general overview of key concepts associated to the assembly of communities, in particular the origin of assembly rules, definition, the problem of scale and underlying mechanisms in the structure of ecological communities. Subsequently, two major approaches or paradigms (i.e. species-based and trait-based for the assembly of communities are discussed. Finally, major tested assembly rules are explored and discussed under the light of available published literature.

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.

Communicative interactions involving plants: information, evolution, and ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mescher, Mark C; Pearse, Ian S

2016-08-01

The role of information obtained via sensory cues and signals in mediating the interactions of organisms with their biotic and abiotic environments has been a major focus of work on sensory and behavioral ecology. Information-mediated interactions also have important implications for broader ecological patterns emerging at the community and ecosystem levels that are only now beginning to be explored. Given the extent to which plants dominate the sensory landscapes of terrestrial ecosystems, information-mediated interactions involving plants should be a major focus of efforts to elucidate these broader patterns. Here we explore how such efforts might be enhanced by a clear understanding of information itself-a central and potentially unifying concept in biology that has nevertheless been the subject of considerable confusion-and of its relationship to adaptive evolution and ecology. We suggest that information-mediated interactions should be a key focus of efforts to more fully integrate evolutionary biology and ecology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fundamental ecology is fundamental.

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Courchamp, Franck; Dunne, Jennifer A; Le Maho, Yvon; May, Robert M; Thébaud, Christophe; Hochberg, Michael E

2015-01-01

The primary reasons for conducting fundamental research are satisfying curiosity, acquiring knowledge, and achieving understanding. Here we develop why we believe it is essential to promote basic ecological research, despite increased impetus for ecologists to conduct and present their research in the light of potential applications. This includes the understanding of our environment, for intellectual, economical, social, and political reasons, and as a major source of innovation. We contend that we should focus less on short-term, objective-driven research and more on creativity and exploratory analyses, quantitatively estimate the benefits of fundamental research for society, and better explain the nature and importance of fundamental ecology to students, politicians, decision makers, and the general public. Our perspective and underlying arguments should also apply to evolutionary biology and to many of the other biological and physical sciences. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the U.S. outer continental shelf environmental studies program. 1. Physical oceanography. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

Federal responsibility for oil and gas development on the U.S. outer continental shelf (OCS) resides with the Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). The DOI's Environmental Studies Program (ESP) is the program through which MMS conducts environmental studies on the OCS and collects information to prepare environmental impact statements (EISs). It appeared to MMS in 1986 that the time was ripe to assess the status of the present program and to explore the needs for future studies. MMS requested an evaluation of the adequacy and applicability of ESP studies, a review of the general state of knowledge in the appropriate disciplines, and recommendations for future studies. Three panels were established, one of which, the Physical Oceanography Panel, investigated the physical oceanographic aspects of the ESP, the subject of the report, which is the first of three in a series. In reviewing the ESP's physical oceanography program, the panel evaluated the quality and relevance of studies carried out in waters under federal control, which extend from the limits of state jurisdictions (3-12 miles offshore) and include the central and outer continental shelf waters and the continental slope

A conceptual approach to the biomonitoring of freshwater: the Ecological Ambience System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michel LAFONT

2001-09-01

Full Text Available The concept of ecological ambience (Ecological Ambience System, EASY is based on the idea that biocenoses (BIO are not only related to the input of organic and mineral substances (IN but also to the way they are stored and processed by the ecosystem. Storage, assimilation and self-purification processes ("ecosystem defences": ED are likely to vary among the different functional units (FUs of the ecosystem. The functional units have been defined on the basis of a simple physical description of sites in an ecosystem, because the physical structure of these units is considered as being of prime importance in the ED processes. For example, mineral and organic substances may be preferentially stored in fine-sediment units, whereas the mineralization rate of organic matter is more likely to be highest in coarse permeable sediments. If the stream ecosystem is viewed as a mosaic, its overall ecological defences will depend upon: 1 the self-purification capacity of the different functional units; 2 their relative proportion within the ecosystem. The EASY concept is now used for ecological researches and also has several applications in the biomonitoring of running waters, illustrated by the study of the River Dore. Biological compartments, specific for each functional unit, are related to operational bio-indicators to build up a global harmonisation system for biomonitoring indices. Four main biological compartments were defined with their related bio-indicators: 1 general biological quality (IBGN biotic index, 2 biological sediment quality (IOBS oligochaete index, 3 biological water quality (diatom index IBD and 4 biological fish quality (study of fish communities. The selected bio-indicators were adjusted to an ecological classification model (Typic concept. A weighting system of the general ecological quality at a site based on the percentage cover of fine sediments is proposed. This approach can be developed using several other compartments. Major

Linking effects of anthropogenic debris to ecological impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Browne, Mark Anthony; Underwood, A. J.; Chapman, M. G.; Williams, Rob; Thompson, Richard C.; van Franeker, Jan A.

2015-01-01

Accelerated contamination of habitats with debris has caused increased effort to determine ecological impacts. Strikingly, most work on organisms focuses on sublethal responses to plastic debris. This is controversial because (i) researchers have ignored medical insights about the mechanisms that link effects of debris across lower levels of biological organization to disease and mortality, and (ii) debris is considered non-hazardous by policy-makers, possibly because individuals can be injured or removed from populations and assemblages without ecological impacts. We reviewed the mechanisms that link effects of debris across lower levels of biological organization to assemblages and populations. Using plastic, we show microplastics reduce the ‘health’, feeding, growth and survival of ecosystem engineers. Larger debris alters assemblages because fishing-gear and tyres kill animals and damage habitat-forming plants, and because floating bottles facilitate recruitment and survival of novel taxa. Where ecological linkages are not known, we show how to establish hypothetical links by synthesizing studies to assess the likelihood of impacts. We also consider how population models examine ecological linkages and guide management of ecological impacts. We show that by focusing on linkages to ecological impacts rather than the presence of debris and its sublethal impacts, we could reduce threats posed by debris. PMID:25904661

Review of the systematics, biology and ecology of lice from pinnipeds and river otters (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Anoplura: Echinophthiriidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Soledad Leonardi, Maria; Palma, Ricardo Luis

2013-01-01

We present a literature review of the sucking louse family Echinophthiriidae, its five genera and twelve species parasitic on pinnipeds (fur seals, sea lions, walruses, true seals) and the North American river otter. We give detailed synonymies and published records for all taxonomic hierarchies, as well as hosts, type localities and repositories of type material; we highlight significant references and include comments on the current taxonomic status of the species. We provide a summary of present knowledge of the biology and ecology for eight species. Also, we give a host-louse list, and a bibliography to the family as complete as possible.

Investigating ecological speciation in non-model organisms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foote, Andrew David

2012-01-01

Background: Studies of ecological speciation tend to focus on a few model biological systems. In contrast, few studies on non-model organisms have been able to infer ecological speciation as the underlying mechanism of evolutionary divergence. Questions: What are the pitfalls in studying ecological...... speciation in non-model organisms that lead to this bias? What alternative approaches might redress the balance? Organism: Genetically differentiated types of the killer whale (Orcinus orca) exhibiting differences in prey preference, habitat use, morphology, and behaviour. Methods: Review of the literature...... on killer whale evolutionary ecology in search of any difficulty in demonstrating causal links between variation in phenotype, ecology, and reproductive isolation in this non-model organism. Results: At present, we do not have enough evidence to conclude that adaptive phenotype traits linked to ecological...

Assessment and management of ecological integrity: Chapter 12

Science.gov (United States)

Kwak, Thomas J.; Freeman, Mary C.

2010-01-01

Assessing and understanding the impacts of human activities on aquatic ecosystems has long been a focus of ecologists, water resources managers, and fisheries scientists. While traditional fisheries management focused on single-species approaches to enhance fish stocks, there is a growing emphasis on management approaches at community and ecosystem levels. Of course, as fisheries managers shift their attention from narrow (e.g., populations) to broad organizational scales (e.g., communities or ecosystems), ecological processes and management objectives become more complex. At the community level, fisheries managers may strive for a fish assemblage that is complex, persistent, and resilient to disturbance. Aquatic ecosystem level objectives may focus on management for habitat quality and ecological processes, such as nutrient dynamics, productivity, or trophic interactions, but a long-term goal of ecosystem management may be to maintain ecological integrity. However, human users and social, economic, and political demands of fisheries management often result in a reduction of ecological integrity in managed systems, and this conflict presents a principal challenge for the modern fisheries manager. The concepts of biotic integrity and ecological integrity are being applied in fisheries science, natural resource management, and environmental legislation, but explicit definitions of these terms are elusive. Biotic integrity of an ecosystem may be defined as the capability of supporting and maintaining an integrated, adaptive community of organisms having a species composition, diversity, and functional organization comparable to that of a natural habitat of the region (Karr and Dudley 1981). Following that, ecological integrity is the summation of chemical, physical, and biological integrity. Thus, the concept of ecological integrity extends beyond fish and represents a holistic approach for ecosystem management that is especially applicable to aquatic systems. The

Impact of the Invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in North America and Europe: History, Biology, Ecology, and Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Leskey, Tracy C; Nielsen, Anne L

2018-01-07

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Stål), is an invasive pentatomid introduced from Asia into the United States, Canada, multiple European countries, and Chile. In 2010, BMSB populations in the mid-Atlantic United States reached outbreak levels and subsequent feeding severely damaged tree fruit as well as other crops. Significant nuisance issues from adults overwintering inside homes were common. BMSB is a highly polyphagous species with a strong dispersal capacity and high reproductive output, potentially enabling its spread and success in invaded regions. A greater understanding of BMSB biology and ecology and its natural enemies, the identification of the male-produced aggregation pheromone, and the recognition that BMSB disperses into crops from adjacent wooded habitats have led to the development of behavior-based integrated pest management (IPM) tactics. Much is still unknown about BMSB, and continued long-term collaborative studies are necessary to refine crop-specific IPM programs and enhance biological control across invaded landscapes.

A singular evolutive extended Kalman filter to assimilate real in situ data in a 1-D marine ecosystem model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Hoteit

2003-01-01

Full Text Available A singular evolutive extended Kalman (SEEK filter is used to assimilate real in situ data in a water column marine ecosystem model. The biogeochemistry of the ecosystem is described by the European Regional Sea Ecosystem Model (ERSEM, while the physical forcing is described by the Princeton Ocean Model (POM. In the SEEK filter, the error statistics are parameterized by means of a suitable basis of empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs. The purpose of this contribution is to track the possibility of using data assimilation techniques for state estimation in marine ecosystem models. In the experiments, real oxygen and nitrate data are used and the results evaluated against independent chlorophyll data. These data were collected from an offshore station at three different depths for the needs of the MFSPP project. The assimilation results show a continuous decrease in the estimation error and a clear improvement in the model behavior. Key words. Oceanography: general (ocean prediction; numerical modelling – Oceanography: biological and chemical (ecosystems and ecology

Bio-ecology and language: a necessary unity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cowley, Stephen

2014-01-01

-ecology. While shaped by discourse and beliefs about language-systems (and representations), the language and actions of human organism–environment systems change the world. As Garner (2004) argues, ecolinguistics can do more than invoke ‘interaction’ between language and ecology. While ‘realities’ are partly...... shared, much is biophysical. Living subjects link language and languaging with experience and technologies that have transformed the bio-ecology. Once these dynamics are subject to investigation, macrosocial issues can be reconnected with biological, human and linguistic concerns. Ecolinguistics can thus...

Managing biological diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Samson, Fred B.; Knopf, Fritz L.

1993-01-01

Biological diversity is the variety of life and accompanying ecological processes (Off. Technol. Assess. 1987, Wilcove and Samson 1987, Keystone 1991). Conservation of biological diversity is a major environmental issue (Wilson 1988, Counc. Environ. Quality 1991). The health and future of the earth's ecological systems (Lubchenco et al. 1991), global climate change (Botkin 1990), and an ever-increasing rate in loss of species, communities, and ecological systems (Myers 1990) are among issues drawing biological diversity to the mainstream of conservation worldwide (Int. Union Conserv. Nat. and Nat. Resour. [IUCN] et al. 1991). The legal mandate for conserving biological diversity is now in place (Carlson 1988, Doremus 1991). More than 19 federal laws govern the use of biological resources in the United States (Rein 1991). The proposed National Biological Diversity Conservation and Environmental Research Act (H.R. 585 and S.58) notes the need for a national biological diversity policy, would create a national center for biological diversity research, and recommends a federal interagency strategy for ecosystem conservation. There are, however, hard choices ahead for the conservation of biological diversity, and biologists are grappling with how to set priorities in research and management (Roberts 1988). We sense disillusion among field biologists and managers relative to how to operationally approach the seemingly overwhelming charge of conserving biological diversity. Biologists also need to respond to critics like Hunt (1991) who suggest a tree farm has more biological diversity than an equal area of old-growth forest. At present, science has played only a minor role in the conservation of biological diversity (Weston 1992) with no unified approach available to evaluate strategies and programs that address the quality and quantity of biological diversity (Murphy 1990, Erwin 1992). Although actions to conserve biological diversity need to be clearly defined by

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.

Determining environmental causes of biological effects: the need for a mechanistic physiological dimension in conservation biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Seebacher, Frank; Franklin, Craig E

2012-06-19

The emerging field of Conservation Physiology links environmental change and ecological success by the application of physiological theory, approaches and tools to elucidate and address conservation problems. Human activity has changed the natural environment to a point where the viability of many ecosystems is now under threat. There are already many descriptions of how changes in biological patterns are correlated with environmental changes. The next important step is to determine the causative relationship between environmental variability and biological systems. Physiology provides the mechanistic link between environmental change and ecological patterns. Physiological research, therefore, should be integrated into conservation to predict the biological consequences of human activity, and to identify those species or populations that are most vulnerable.

Science requirements for free-flying imaging radar (FIREX) experiment for sea ice, renewable resources, nonrenewable resources and oceanography

Science.gov (United States)

Carsey, F.

1982-01-01

A future bilateral SAR program was studied. The requirements supporting a SAR mission posed by science and operations in sea-ice-covered waters, oceanography, renewable resources, and nonrenewable resources are addressed. The instrument, mission, and program parameters were discussed. Research investigations supporting a SAR flight and the subsequent overall mission requirements and tradeoffs are summarized.

Meteorology, physical oceanography, transport of water, biogeochemistry, and other parameters collected at fixed locations in the open ocean from the OceanSITES network

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This collection comprises data covering meteorology, physical oceanography, transport of water, biogeochemistry, and parameters relevant to the carbon cycle, ocean...

Ecology and behaviour of Palm-nut Vultures Gypohierax angolensis ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Populations of many vulture species have undergone substantial declines. In Africa, 82% are threatened and although research on vultures has increased, the biology and ecology of several species is still poorly known. The Palm-nut Vulture Gypohierax angolensis has peculiar ecological characteristics, feeding on palm ...

Hyporheic Interfaces Serve as Ecological Control Points for Mountainous Landscape Biological Productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Newcomer, M. E.; Dwivedi, D.; Raberg, J.; Fox, P. M.; Nico, P. S.; Wainwright, H. M.; Conrad, M. E.; Bill, M.; Bouskill, N.; Williams, K. H.; Hubbard, S.; Steefel, C. I.

2017-12-01

lengthened vernal window motivates a better understanding of the role each ecological control point plays in processing landscape biological productivity and for understanding biogeochemical cycling in riverine systems.

Raman spectroscopy as a tool for ecology and evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Germond, Arno; Kumar, Vipin; Ichimura, Taro; Moreau, Jerome; Furusawa, Chikara; Fujita, Hideaki; Watanabe, Tomonobu M

2017-06-01

Scientists are always on the lookout for new modalities of information which could reveal new biological features that are useful for deciphering the complexity of biological systems. Here, we introduce Raman spectroscopy as a prime candidate for ecology and evolution. To encourage the integration of this microscopy technique in the field of ecology and evolution, it is crucial to discuss first how Raman spectroscopy fits within the conceptual, technical and pragmatic considerations of ecology and evolution. In this paper, we show that the spectral information holds reliable indicators of intra- and interspecies variations, which can be related to the environment, selective pressures and fitness. Moreover, we show how the technical and pragmatic aspects of this modality (non-destructive, non-labelling, speed, relative low cost, etc.) enable it to be combined with more conventional methodologies. With this paper, we hope to open new avenues of research and extend the scope of available methodologies used in ecology and evolution. © 2017 The Authors.

Linking effects of anthropogenic debris to ecological impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Browne, Mark Anthony; Underwood, A J; Chapman, M G; Williams, Rob; Thompson, Richard C; van Franeker, Jan A

2015-05-22

Accelerated contamination of habitats with debris has caused increased effort to determine ecological impacts. Strikingly, most work on organisms focuses on sublethal responses to plastic debris. This is controversial because (i) researchers have ignored medical insights about the mechanisms that link effects of debris across lower levels of biological organization to disease and mortality, and (ii) debris is considered non-hazardous by policy-makers, possibly because individuals can be injured or removed from populations and assemblages without ecological impacts. We reviewed the mechanisms that link effects of debris across lower levels of biological organization to assemblages and populations. Using plastic, we show microplastics reduce the 'health', feeding, growth and survival of ecosystem engineers. Larger debris alters assemblages because fishing-gear and tyres kill animals and damage habitat-forming plants, and because floating bottles facilitate recruitment and survival of novel taxa. Where ecological linkages are not known, we show how to establish hypothetical links by synthesizing studies to assess the likelihood of impacts. We also consider how population models examine ecological linkages and guide management of ecological impacts. We show that by focusing on linkages to ecological impacts rather than the presence of debris and its sublethal impacts, we could reduce threats posed by debris. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Opportunities in Biological Sciences; [VGM Career Horizons Series].

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, Charles A.

This book provides job descriptions and discusses career opportunities in various fields of the biological sciences. These fields include: (1) biotechnology, genetics, biomedical engineering, microbiology, mycology, systematic biology, marine and aquatic biology, botany, plant physiology, plant pathology, ecology, and wildlife biology; (2) the…

Ecological processes for Environmental Impact Assessment in Coastal Waters; Engan no kankyo eikyo hyoka (EIA) eno seitaigakuteki apurochi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ishikawa, Kimitoshi. [Environmental Assessment Dept., Tokyo (Japan)

1999-03-25

This paper focuses on a method for estimating adverse effects on natural environment by economic development in coastal waters in Japan. In particular, the most critical relations concerning the impact on marine organisms is pointed out and discussed according to an environmental impact assessment. Relations between environmental impact assessment and marine organisms needs a quantitative ecological approach in order to succeed in sustainable development of coastal waters management. Recently, the Environment Agency of Japan pointed out the unreliability and the theme on accuracy and the staff for biology and ecology in the environmental impact study. Ecological response to environmental impact occurs in a wide spectrum of physiological and biological and biological functions. Therefore biological monitoring measures must correspond to the given time-space scale of natural mechanisms. For the evaluation of environmental impact, it is desire able to develop of experimental technics and collect biological and ecological basic data for the object. I Reconstructing the following: 1. Reconstructing a clearlistic EIA process by EIA agencies and practitioners, 2. Scorping the biological and ecological issues by EIA professionals, 3. Using the current computer technology, 4. Considering monitoring systems over scales of time and space for the ecological target and 5. Making available to public all monitoring data and reports of EIA. (author)

Marine ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1977-01-01

Studies on marine ecology included marine pollution; distribution patterns of Pu and Am in the marine waters, sediments, and organisms of Bikini Atoll and the influence of physical, chemical, and biological factors on their movements through marine biogeochemical systems; transfer and dispersion of organic pollutants from an oil refinery through coastal waters; transfer of particulate pollutants, including sediments dispersed during construction of offshore power plants; and raft culture of the mangrove oysters

Biology and Economics: Metaphors that Economists usually take from Biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danny García Callejas

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, Stanley Jevons, Karl Marx, Francois Quesnay and Joseph Schumpeter all have at least one thing in common: they used biological metaphors when speaking about economics. Nonetheless, today, this relation subsists and biology and economics are viewed as complementary sciences that have a lot to gain from joint research in fields like: evolutionary economics, economic growth, cognitive economics and environmental and ecological economics, among others. This paper, divided in four sections, will show this conclusion and explain that biology and economics are more sisters than strangers

The mathematics behind biological invasions

CERN Document Server

Lewis, Mark A; Potts, Jonathan R

2016-01-01

This book investigates the mathematical analysis of biological invasions. Unlike purely qualitative treatments of ecology, it draws on mathematical theory and methods, equipping the reader with sharp tools and rigorous methodology. Subjects include invasion dynamics, species interactions, population spread, long-distance dispersal, stochastic effects, risk analysis, and optimal responses to invaders. While based on the theory of dynamical systems, including partial differential equations and integrodifference equations, the book also draws on information theory, machine learning, Monte Carlo methods, optimal control, statistics, and stochastic processes. Applications to real biological invasions are included throughout. Ultimately, the book imparts a powerful principle: that by bringing ecology and mathematics together, researchers can uncover new understanding of, and effective response strategies to, biological invasions. It is suitable for graduate students and established researchers in mathematical ecolo...

Marine biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thurman, H.V.; Webber, H.H.

1984-01-01

This book discusses both taxonomic and ecological topics on marine biology. Full coverage of marine organisms of all five kingdoms is provided, along with interesting and thorough discussion of all major marine habitats. Organization into six major parts allows flexibility. It also provides insight into important topics such as disposal of nuclear waste at sea, the idea that life began on the ocean floor, and how whales, krill, and people interact. A full-color photo chapter reviews questions, and exercises. The contents are: an overview marine biology: fundamental concepts/investigating life in the ocean; the physical ocean, the ocean floor, the nature of water, the nature and motion of ocean water; general ecology, conditions for life in the sea, biological productivity and energy transfer; marine organisms; monera, protista, mycota and metaphyta; the smaller marine animals, the large animals marine habitats, the intertidal zone/benthos of the continental shelf, the photic zone, the deep ocean, the ocean under stress, marine pollution, appendix a: the metric system and conversion factors/ appendix b: prefixes and suffixes/ appendix c: taxonomic classification of common marine organisms, and glossary, and index

Wasteland ecologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoag, Colin Brewster; Bertoni, Filippo; Bubandt, Nils Ole

2018-01-01

landscapes, this article argues, are the result of unheralded multispecies collaboration that can be traced empirically by attending ethnographically to multispecies forms of “gain-making,” the ways in which humans and other species leverage difference to find economic and ecological opportunity....... in the 1970s, when prevailing perceptions were that the entire mining area was a polluted wasteland, the AFLD Fasterholt waste and recycling plant has since changed in response to new EU waste management regulations, as well as the unexpected proliferation of non-human life in the area. Based on field...... research at this site—an Anthropocene landscape in the heartland of an EU-configured welfare state — this article is a contribution to the multispecies ethnography and political ecology of wastelands. We argue that “waste” is a co-species, biopolitical happening — a complex symbolic, political, biological...

Historical ecology: past, present and future.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Proceedings of 7. international scientific conference 'Sakharov readings 2007: Ecological problems of XXI century'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kundas, S.P.; Mel'nov, S.B.; Poznyak, S.S.

2007-05-01

Abstracts of the seventh international scientific conference 'Sakharov readings 2007: Ecological problems of XXI century', which was held in the International A. Sakharov environmental university, contents materials on topics: socio-ecological problems, medical ecology, biomonitoring and bioindication, biological ecology. The proceedings are intended for specialists in field of ecology and related sciences, teachers, students and post-graduate students. (authors)

Ecological drivers of soil microbial diversity and soil biological networks in the Southern Hemisphere.

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel; Reith, Frank; Dennis, Paul G; Hamonts, Kelly; Powell, Jeff R; Young, Andrew; Singh, Brajesh K; Bissett, Andrew

2018-03-01

The ecological drivers of soil biodiversity in the Southern Hemisphere remain underexplored. Here, in a continental survey comprising 647 sites, across 58 degrees of latitude between tropical Australia and Antarctica, we evaluated the major ecological patterns in soil biodiversity and relative abundance of ecological clusters within a co-occurrence network of soil bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. Six major ecological clusters (modules) of co-occurring soil taxa were identified. These clusters exhibited strong shifts in their relative abundances with increasing distance from the equator. Temperature was the major environmental driver of the relative abundance of ecological clusters when Australia and Antarctica are analyzed together. Temperature, aridity, soil properties and vegetation types were the major drivers of the relative abundance of different ecological clusters within Australia. Our data supports significant reductions in the diversity of bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes in Antarctica vs. Australia linked to strong reductions in temperature. However, we only detected small latitudinal variations in soil biodiversity within Australia. Different environmental drivers regulate the diversity of soil archaea (temperature and soil carbon), bacteria (aridity, vegetation attributes and pH) and eukaryotes (vegetation type and soil carbon) across Australia. Together, our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms driving soil biodiversity in the Southern Hemisphere. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

Radioactivity in the Arctic Seas. Report for the International Arctic Seas Assessment Project (IASAP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-04-01

This report provides comprehensive information on environmental conditions in the Arctic Seas as required for the study of possible radiological consequences from dumped high level radioactive wastes in the Kara Sea. The report describes the oceanography of the regions, with emphasis on the Kara and Barents Seas, including the East Novaya Zemlya Fjords. The ecological description concentrates on biological production, marine food-weds and fisheries in the Arctic Seas. The report presents data on radionuclide concentrations in the Kara and Barents Seas and uses these data to estimate the inventories of radionuclides currently in the marine environment of the Kara and Barents Seas

The role of data in scientific progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glaeser, P.S.

1985-01-01

This book contains 109 papers presented at the 9th Int. CODATA Conference and illustrates two main themes (1) new computer-based methods for storing, manipulating and disseminating scientific and technical data, and (2) the use of such computerized data files to give new scientific insights. The broad range of scientific disciplines covered includes geology and geochemistry, oceanography and ecology, molecular biology and biotechnology, chemical engineering, materials properties, energy systems, data base design and management - theory and practice, and finally, a last section on data retrieval and library systems. 12 items are included in Atomindex separately. (Auth.)

Applied Ecology Seminar. Training Manual.

Science.gov (United States)

Office of Water Program Operations (EPA), Cincinnati, OH. National Training and Operational Technology Center.

Presented is material on planning, administering, collecting, evaluating, interpreting, and reporting biological data related to water quality studies in both fresh and marine waters. Topics include aquatic ecology, water pollution, taxonomy, bacteriology, bioassays, water quality enhancement, and administration of water quality standards. Each of…

Chasing Ecological Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Jordano, Pedro

2016-09-01

Basic research on biodiversity has concentrated on individual species-naming new species, studying distribution patterns, and analyzing their evolutionary relationships. Yet biodiversity is more than a collection of individual species; it is the combination of biological entities and processes that support life on Earth. To understand biodiversity we must catalog it, but we must also assess the ways species interact with other species to provide functional support for the Tree of Life. Ecological interactions may be lost well before the species involved in those interactions go extinct; their ecological functions disappear even though they remain. Here, I address the challenges in studying the functional aspects of species interactions and how basic research is helping us address the fast-paced extinction of species due to human activities.

Bioluminescence in the Ocean: Origins of Biological, Chemical, and Ecological Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Widder, E. A.

2010-05-01

From bacteria to fish, a remarkable variety of marine life depends on bioluminescence (the chemical generation of light) for finding food, attracting mates, and evading predators. Disparate biochemical systems and diverse phylogenetic distribution patterns of light-emitting organisms highlight the ecological benefits of bioluminescence, with biochemical and genetic analyses providing new insights into the mechanisms of its evolution. The origins and functions of some bioluminescent systems, however, remain obscure. Here, I review recent advances in understanding bioluminescence in the ocean and highlight future research efforts that will unite molecular details with ecological and evolutionary relationships.

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.

Protected areas as social-ecological systems: perspectives from resilience and social-ecological systems theory

Science.gov (United States)

Cumming, Graeme S.; Allen, Craig R.

2017-01-01

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.

Rethinking biology instruction: The application of DNR-based instruction to the learning and teaching of biology

Science.gov (United States)

Maskiewicz, April Lee

Educational studies report that secondary and college level students have developed only limited understandings of the most basic biological processes and their interrelationships from typical classroom experiences. Furthermore, students have developed undesirable reasoning schemes and beliefs that directly affect how they make sense of and account for biological phenomena. For these reasons, there exists a need to rethink instructional practices in biology. This dissertation discusses how the principles of Harel's (1998, 2001) DNR-based instruction in mathematics could be applied to the teaching and learning of biology. DNR is an acronym for the three foundational principles of the system: Duality, Necessity, and Repeated-reasoning. This study examines the application of these three principles to ecology instruction. Through clinical and teaching interviews, I developed models of students' existing ways of understanding in ecology and inferred their ways of thinking. From these models a hypothetical learning trajectory was developed for 16 college level freshmen enrolled in a 10-week ecology teaching experiment. Through cyclical, interpretive analysis I documented and analyzed the evolution of the participants' progress. The results provide empirical evidence to support the claim that the DNR principles are applicable to ecology instruction. With respect to the Duality Principle, helping students develop specific ways of understanding led to the development of model-based reasoning---a way of thinking and the cognitive objective guiding instruction. Through carefully structured problem solving tasks, the students developed a biological understanding of the relationship between matter cycling, energy flow, and cellular processes such as photosynthesis and respiration, and used this understanding to account for observable phenomena in nature. In the case of intellectual necessity, the results illuminate how problem situations can be developed for biology learners

Archive of Geosample Data and Information from the University of Rhode Island (URI) Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO), Marine Geological Samples Laboratory (MGSL)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Marine Geological Samples Laboratory (MGSL) of the Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO), University of Rhode Island is a partner in the Index to Marine and...

Report on limnological, biological and ecological observations of lakes on the Soya Coast, East Antarctica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sakae Kudoh

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Observations on the limnological properties, samplings of waters and bottom assemblages for biological and ecological studies, and some field experimental studies at several lakes in Soya Coast ice-free areas, were carried out during the austral summer season in the 49th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE, 2007-2008. These studies were planned as one of the research projects named, "Studies on the changes of polar environments and ecosystems (P-3" and the monitoring studies named "Monitoring for ecosystems (M-4" during the 7th term of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition Plans. Field studies were done from 22 December 2007 to 13 February 2008, while our Ice Breaker Shirase stayed at/near off Syowa Station. To clarify the relationships among seasonal changes of environmental factors and biological responses, frequent field observations were performed at Naga Ike, one of the freshwater lakes in the Skarvsnes ice-free area. General limnological and biological samplings at the other lakes in the area (14 lakes near the Kizahasi Beach field base camp were also done during the term. Observations and samplings distant from the base camp, four lakes in eastern Skarvsnes, a lake in Skallen, and three lakes in Langhovde, were also done using a helicopter for transportation. From Namazu Ike (temporary name in eastern Skarvsnes, submersible video cameras were retrieved and so-called `algal crest', benthic moss-algal assemblages, were sampled by scuba diving. Benthic copepods were sampled quantitatively from Nurume Ike in Langhovde. From Hyoga Ike (temporary name, a snow-dammed glacial lake which lost its water by recent breakage (during the JARE-46 wintering period, thin bio-film samples were collected from the present lake shore formerly part of the lake bed.

Evaluation on ecological stability and biodegradation of dyeing wastewater pre-treated by electron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, M.J.; Park, C.K.; Yoo, D.H.; Lee, J.K.; Lee, B.J.; Han, B.S.; Kim, J.K.; Kim, Y.R.

2005-01-01

Biological treatment of dye wastewater pre-treated by electron beam has been performed in order to evaluate the biodegradation and ecological stability of effluent. In the process of electron-beam treatment of wastewater there are utilized chemical transformations of pollutants induced by ionizing radiation. Partial decomposition of pollutant takes place as well as transformations of pollutant molecules that result in improving subsequent purification stages like as biological processing. Dyeing wastewater contains many kind of pollutants which are difficult to be decomposed completely by microorganisms. In this study, biodegradation with dyeing wastewater pre-treated by electron beams was observed. On the other hand, consideration on public acceptance in terms of ecological stability of biological effluent pre-treated by electron beams was given in this study. The results of laboratory investigations on biodegradation and ecological stability of effluent showed that biodegradation of dye wastewater pre-treated by electron beam was enhanced compared to unirradiated one. In the initial stage of biological oxidation regardless of different HRT, dye wastewater pre-treated by electron beam could be oxidized easily compare to without treated one. More number of survived daphnia magna could be observed in the biological effluent pre-treated by electron beam. This means that biological effluent pre-treated by electron beam can be said 'it is safe on the ecological system'

The application of f-elements in ecological research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knaus, R.M.

1991-01-01

The utilization of f-elements has a relatively minor status as a research tool in the biological sciences, especially ecology, because they play neither positive nor deleterious roles in plant and animal nutrition. Additionally, detection and quantification via instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of environmental samples is not yet routine. At Louisiana State University, La, Sm, and Dy have been used successfully as activable stable tracers in a wide range of ecological studies including the quantification using Sm and Dy of short-term sedimentary and erosional processes in wetlands; and behavior studies using Sm on agricultural lands where radioisotopes are precluded; the sorption of Dy and La by roots of stream-side trees; and the quantification of exogenous Dy and Sm from animal decay products in streams. With advances in sample automation and standardization in INAA detection methods, the quantification of f-element tracers in complex biological matrices is within reach of ecological scientists

BMFT. Subproject environmental research, ecological research. Annual report 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

This report summarizes the 1991 ecological research activities (ecosystems research, urban ecology, tropical ecology, forest decline, ecology of soils and waters, ecotoxicology, environmental pollution and health, protection of biotopes and protection of the species) which the project sponsors 'biology, energy, ecology' (Forschungszentrum Juelich) and 'environmental research and climatological research' (GSF-Forschungszentrum fuer Umwelt und Gesundheit) have been supervising on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology to promote the subproject 'environmental research'. A general survey introduces the promoted projects, and standardized data sheets briefly introduce the individual activities. The appendix gives the project indices, the indices of joint projects, and a list of the supported companies and institutions. (BBR) [de

Ecological stability in response to warming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fussmann, Katarina E.; Schwarzmueller, Florian; Brose, Ulrich; Jousset, Alexandre|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/370632656; Rall, Bjoern C.

That species' biological rates including metabolism, growth and feeding scale with temperature is well established from warming experiments(1). The interactive influence of these changes on population dynamics, however, remains uncertain. As a result, uncertainty about ecological stability in

Bacterial Siderophores and their Biotechnological applications

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Mohandass, C.

Siderophores and their Biotechnological applications C. Mohandass Biological Oceanography Division National Institute of Oceanography Dona-paula, Goa.403 004.India. Introduction Siderophore is the Greek phrase for ?iron bearer? and is applied to molecules... the efficiency of the biological carbon pump. Phytoplankton must have developed a sophisticated mechanism to uptake iron. However, little is known about the uptake mechanism. Given the importance of the biological pump in controlling atmospheric CO2, elucidating...

Studies on methanogenic consortia associated with mangrove sediments of Ennore.

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ahila, N.K.; Kannapiran, E.; Ravindran, J.; Ramkumar, V.S.

page : www.jeb.co.in « E-mail : editor@jeb.co.in Journal of Environmental Biology, Vol. 35, 649-654, July 2014© Triveni Enterprises, Lucknow (India) Journal of Environmental Biology ISSN: 0254-8704 CODEN: JEBIDP Introduction Mangroves are complex...-National Institute of Oceanography, Biological Oceanography Division, Dona Paula, Goa – 403 004, India Abstract Key words In this study, methanogenic consortia were isolated and characterized from eight different sediment samples of mangrove ecosystem located...

Soil Microbiology, Ecology, and Biochemistry

Science.gov (United States)

The 4th edition of Soil Microbiology, Ecology, and Biochemistry Edited by Eldor Paul continues in the vein of the 3rd edition by providing an excellent, broad-reaching introduction to soil biology. The new edition improves on the previous by providing extensive supplementary materials, links to outs...

Revisión histórica de los estudios sobre la biología, ecología y toxicología del tiburón azul Prionace glauca en aguas del Pacífico ecuatoriano

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Calle-Morán, Marcos

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Blue shark Prionace glauca is a species that represents a great economic and ecological importance. However, the information related to its biology and others aspects of its population is limited. Nevertheless these kinds of studies are very important for a suitable management of fishery activities. The aim of this research was to develop a historical review for all biological, ecological and toxicological studies made in the coastal and marine ecosystems of the Ecuadorian Pacific. A review of the specializedliteraturewas carried out for many documents such as thesis, technical reports, scientific papers,and others. According to results obtained, in Ecuador there have been four scientific research studies from 2012: These were two of Biology (one of reproductive aspects in Santa Rosa de Salinas and another about age and growth in Manta and the others two of Ecology and Toxicology (one on mercury bioaccumulation and bio-magnification of mercury, and another on the concentration of mercury and cadmium; both conducted in Santa Rosa de Salinas.The works were developed by state and private universities through thesis, while a draft was in preparation for scientific publication as part of a research project in a private institution of higher education

The negative ecological impacts of a globally introduced species decrease with time since introduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Závorka, Libor; Buoro, Mathieu; Cucherousset, Julien

2018-05-25

While there is a long-history of biological invasions and their ecological impacts have been widely demonstrated across taxa and ecosystems, our knowledge on the temporal dynamic of these impacts remains extremely limited. Using a meta-analytic approach, we investigated how the ecological impacts of non-native brown trout (Salmo trutta), a model species with a 170-year long and well-documented history of intentional introductions across the globe, vary with time since introduction. We first observed significant negative ecological impacts immediately after the species introduction. Second, we found that the negative ecological impacts decrease with time since introduction and that the average ecological impacts become non-significant more than one century after introduction. This pattern was consistent across other ecological contexts (i.e. geographical location, levels of biological organisation, and methodological approach). However, overall negative ecological impacts were more pronounced at the individual and population levels and in experimental studies. While the mechanisms leading to this decrease remain to be determined, our results indicate that rapid response of native organisms (e.g. adaptation, but also local extinction) may play an important role in this dynamic. Changes in native species traits and local extinction can have important conservation implications. Therefore, we argue that the decline of the negative ecological impacts over time should not be used as an argument to neglect the negative impacts of biological invasions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2016-01-23

Jan 23, 2016 ... Biological Oceanography Department, Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and .... Four active juvenile of O. niloticus of ..... many cigarette additives are carcinogenic to humans, it may follow that they .... Nutrition, 4: 135-141.

Tick-Pathogen Ensembles: Do Molecular Interactions Lead Ecological Innovation?

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Cabezas Cruz, Alejandro; Estrada-Peňa, A.; Rego, Ryan O. M.; de la Fuente, J.

2017-01-01

Roč. 7, 13 March (2017), č. článku 74. ISSN 2235-2988 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : tick-pathogen interactions * transcriptional reprogramming * epigenetics * ecological adaptation * Anaplasma phagocytophilum Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology OBOR OECD: Biochemistry and molecular biology Impact factor: 4.300, year: 2016

Environmental restoration and biological contamination: ecological and legal aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ademir Reis

2005-05-01

Full Text Available Environmental restoration is a pressing current need. However, protected areas have been exposed to biological contamination risks because the traditional techniques of restoration frequently use exotic species. This causes some concern, since biological contamination is the second major cause of species extinction in the world. It is important to use only native species in restoration projects in order to promote an effective environmental restoration without the risk of contamination. This paper discusses some issues concerning environmental restoration, biological contamination and the need for clearer laws.

Metabolomics in chemical ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhlisch, Constanze; Pohnert, Georg

2015-07-01

Chemical ecology elucidates the nature and role of natural products as mediators of organismal interactions. The emerging techniques that can be summarized under the concept of metabolomics provide new opportunities to study such environmentally relevant signaling molecules. Especially comparative tools in metabolomics enable the identification of compounds that are regulated during interaction situations and that might play a role as e.g. pheromones, allelochemicals or in induced and activated defenses. This approach helps overcoming limitations of traditional bioassay-guided structure elucidation approaches. But the power of metabolomics is not limited to the comparison of metabolic profiles of interacting partners. Especially the link to other -omics techniques helps to unravel not only the compounds in question but the entire biosynthetic and genetic re-wiring, required for an ecological response. This review comprehensively highlights successful applications of metabolomics in chemical ecology and discusses existing limitations of these novel techniques. It focuses on recent developments in comparative metabolomics and discusses the use of metabolomics in the systems biology of organismal interactions. It also outlines the potential of large metabolomics initiatives for model organisms in the field of chemical ecology.

Differential Equations Models in Biology, Epidemiology and Ecology

CERN Document Server

Martelli, Mario

1991-01-01

The past forty years have been the stage for the maturation of mathematical biolo~ as a scientific field. The foundations laid by the pioneers of the field during the first half of this century have been combined with advances in ap­ plied mathematics and the computational sciences to create a vibrant area of scientific research with established research journals, professional societies, deep subspecialty areas, and graduate education programs. Mathematical biology is by its very nature cross-disciplinary, and research papers appear in mathemat­ ics, biology and other scientific journals, as well as in the specialty journals devoted to mathematical and theoretical biology. Multiple author papers are common, and so are collaborations between individuals who have academic bases in different traditional departments. Those who seek to keep abreast of current trends and problems need to interact with research workers from a much broader spectrum of fields than is common in the traditional mono-culture discipline...

Exemplary Programs in Secondary School Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

McComas, William F.; Penick, John E.

1989-01-01

Summarizes 10 exemplary programs which address topics on individualized biology, a modified team approach, limnology, physical anthropology, the relevance of biology to society, ecology, and health. Provides names and addresses of contact persons for further information. Units cover a broad range of abilities and activities. (RT)

Assessing biological invasions in European Seas: Biological traits of the most widespread non-indigenous species

Science.gov (United States)

Cardeccia, Alice; Marchini, Agnese; Occhipinti-Ambrogi, Anna; Galil, Bella; Gollasch, Stephan; Minchin, Dan; Narščius, Aleksas; Olenin, Sergej; Ojaveer, Henn

2018-02-01

The biological traits of the sixty-eight most widespread multicellular non-indigenous species (MWNIS) in European Seas: Baltic Sea, Western European Margin of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea were examined. Data for nine biological traits was analyzed, and a total of 41 separate categories were used to describe the biological and ecological functions of these NIS. Our findings show that high dispersal ability, high reproductive rate and ecological generalization are the biological traits commonly associated with MWNIS. The functional groups that describe most of the 68 MWNIS are: photoautotrophic, zoobenthic (both sessile and motile) and nektonic predatory species. However, these 'most widespread' species comprise a wide range of taxa and biological trait profiles; thereby a clear "identikit of a perfect invader" for marine and brackish environments is difficult to define. Some traits, for example: "life form", "feeding method" and "mobility", feature multiple behaviours and strategies. Even species introduced by a single pathway, e.g. vessels, feature diverse biological trait profiles. MWNIS likely to impact community organization, structure and diversity are often associated with brackish environments. For many traits ("life form", "sociability", "reproductive type", "reproductive frequency", "haploid and diploid dispersal" and "mobility"), the categories mostly expressed by the impact-causing MWNIS do not differ substantially from the whole set of MWNIS.

Ecological Research Division, Marine Research Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-05-01

This report presents program summaries of the various projects sponsored during 1979 by the Marine Research Program of the Ecological Research Division. Program areas include the effects of petroleum hydrocarbons on the marine environment; a study of the baseline ecology of a proposed OTEC site near Puerto Rico; the environmental impact of offshore geothermal energy development; the movement of radionuclides through the marine environment; the environmental aspects of power plant cooling systems; and studies of the physical and biological oceangraphy of the continental shelves bordering the United States.

Ecological Research Division, Marine Research Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-05-01

This report presents program summaries of the various projects sponsored during 1979 by the Marine Research Program of the Ecological Research Division. Program areas include the effects of petroleum hydrocarbons on the marine environment; a study of the baseline ecology of a proposed OTEC site near Puerto Rico; the environmental impact of offshore geothermal energy development; the movement of radionuclides through the marine environment; the environmental aspects of power plant cooling systems; and studies of the physical and biological oceangraphy of the continental shelves bordering the United States

Ecological Literacy, Urban Green Space, and Mobile Technology: Exploring the Impacts of an Arboretum Curriculum Designed for Undergraduate Biology Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Phoebus, Patrick E.

Increasing individual ecological literacy levels may help citizens make informed choices about the environmental challenges facing society. The purpose of this study was to explore the impacts of an arboretum curriculum incorporating mobile technology and an urban greenspace on the ecological knowledge, environmental attitudes and beliefs, and environmental behaviors of undergraduate biology students and pre-service K-8 teachers during a summer course. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, analyzed, and later merged to create an enhanced understanding of the impact of the curriculum on the environmental attitudes and beliefs of the participants. Quantitative results revealed a significant difference between pre- and post-survey scores for ecological knowledge, with no significant differences between pre- and post-scores for the other variables measured. However, no significant difference in scores was found between experimental and comparison groups for any of the three variables. When the two data sets were compared, results from the quantitative and qualitative components were found to converge and diverge. Quantitative data indicated the environmental attitudes and beliefs of participants were unaffected by the arboretum curriculum. Similarly, qualitative data indicated participants' perceived environmental attitudes and beliefs about the importance of nature remained unchanged throughout the course of the study. However, qualitative data supporting the theme connecting with the curriculum suggested experiences with the arboretum curriculum helped participants develop an appreciation for trees and nature and led them to believe they increased their knowledge about trees.

Some directions in ecological theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Kendall, Bruce E

2015-12-01

The role of theory within ecology has changed dramatically in recent decades. Once primarily a source of qualitative conceptual framing, ecological theories and models are now often used to develop quantitative explanations of empirical patterns and to project future dynamics of specific ecological systems. In this essay, I recount my own experience of this transformation, in which accelerating computing power and the widespread incorporation of stochastic processes into ecological theory combined to create some novel integration of mathematical and statistical models. This stronger integration drives theory towards incorporating more biological realism, and I explore ways in which we can grapple with that realism to generate new general theoretical insights. This enhanced realism, in turn, may lead to frameworks for projecting ecological responses to anthropogenic change, which is, arguably, the central challenge for 21st-century ecology. In an era of big data and synthesis, ecologists are increasingly seeking to infer causality from observational data; but conventional biometry provides few tools for this project. This is a realm where theorists can and should play an important role, and I close by pointing towards some analytical and philosophical approaches developed in our sister discipline of economics that address this very problem. While I make no grand prognostications about the likely discoveries of ecological theory over the coming century, you will find in this essay a scattering of more or less far-fetched ideas that I, at least, think are interesting and (possibly) fruitful directions for our field.

The painted turtle, Chrysemys picta: a model system for vertebrate evolution, ecology, and human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Valenzuela, Nicole

2009-07-01

Painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) are representatives of a vertebrate clade whose biology and phylogenetic position hold a key to our understanding of fundamental aspects of vertebrate evolution. These features make them an ideal emerging model system. Extensive ecological and physiological research provide the context in which to place new research advances in evolutionary genetics, genomics, evolutionary developmental biology, and ecological developmental biology which are enabled by current resources, such as a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library of C. picta, and the imminent development of additional ones such as genome sequences and cDNA and expressed sequence tag (EST) libraries. This integrative approach will allow the research community to continue making advances to provide functional and evolutionary explanations for the lability of biological traits found not only among reptiles but vertebrates in general. Moreover, because humans and reptiles share a common ancestor, and given the ease of using nonplacental vertebrates in experimental biology compared with mammalian embryos, painted turtles are also an emerging model system for biomedical research. For example, painted turtles have been studied to understand many biological responses to overwintering and anoxia, as potential sentinels for environmental xenobiotics, and as a model to decipher the ecology and evolution of sexual development and reproduction. Thus, painted turtles are an excellent reptilian model system for studies with human health, environmental, ecological, and evolutionary significance.

Extremophilic microbes: Diversity and perspectives

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Satyanarayana, T.; Raghukumar, C.; Shivaji, S.

variety of high temperature, natural and man - made habitats exist. These include volcanic and geothermal areas with te m peratures o f ten greater than boiling, sun - heated litter and soil or sediments reaching 70 ?C, and biological self - heated... Department of Microbiology, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi 110 021, India 2 Biological Oceanography Division, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India 3 Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road...

The potential of territory in ecological restoration. The use of GIS tools for ecological restoration prioritization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corzo Ramirez, Liliana; Jerena, Erik; Rubio Mendoza, Rodrigo

2012-01-01

This paper develops a proposal for interdisciplinary dialogue through the use of GIS (Geographic Information System) tools for the construction of a methodology to identify the ecological restoration potential ERP in urban edge areas that are part of the Main Ecological Structure of Bogota, according to land management plans. These areas subscribe their own socio-environmental problems particular to their own sign of the interaction between nature and culture. Methodological steps for identification of PER are described: biotic, physical and social characterization, identification and spatialization of variables and weighted overlay for the calculation of the final potential. Then, carry out the discussion on the scope and limitations of using GIS tools and methodological possibility for interaction between disciplines such as biology, physical geography and sociology during the process of ecological restoration.

Assessing Ecological Impacts of Shrimp and Sewage Effluent: Biological Indicators with Standard Water Quality Analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, A. B.; O'Donohue, M. J.; Udy, J.; Dennison, W. C.

2001-01-01

Despite evidence linking shrimp farming to several cases of environmental degradation, there remains a lack of ecologically meaningful information about the impacts of effluent on receiving waters. The aim of this study was to determine the biological impact of shrimp farm effluent, and to compare and distinguish its impacts from treated sewage effluent. Analyses included standard water quality/sediment parameters, as well as biological indicators including tissue nitrogen (N) content, stable isotope ratio of nitrogen (δ 15N), and amino acid composition of inhabitant seagrasses, mangroves and macroalgae. The study area consisted of two tidal creeks, one receiving effluent from a sewage treatment plant and the other from an intensive shrimp farm. The creeks discharged into the western side of Moreton Bay, a sub-tropical coastal embayment on the east coast of Australia. Characterization of water quality revealed significant differences between the creeks, and with unimpacted eastern Moreton Bay. The sewage creek had higher concentrations of dissolved nutrients (predominantly NO-3/NO-2 and PO3-4, compared to NH+4 in the shrimp creek). In contrast, the shrimp creek was more turbid and had higher phytoplankton productivity. Beyond 750 m from the creek mouths, water quality parameters were indistinguishable from eastern Moreton Bay values. Biological indicators detected significant impacts up to 4 km beyond the creek mouths (reference site). Elevated plant δ 15N values ranged from 10·4-19·6‰ at the site of sewage discharge to 2·9-4·5‰ at the reference site. The free amino acid concentration and composition of seagrass and macroalgae was used to distinguish between the uptake of sewage and shrimp derived N. Proline (seagrass) and serine (macroalgae) were high in sewage impacted plants and glutamine (seagrass) and alanine (macroalgae) were high in plants impacted by shrimp effluent. The δ 15N isotopic signatures and free amino acid composition of inhabitant

After the disaster: the hydrogeomorphic, ecological, and biological responses to the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Major, Jon J.; Crisafulli, Charlie; Bishop, John

2009-01-01

The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens caused instantaneous landscape disturbance on a grand scale. On 18 May 1980, an ensemble of volcanic processes, including a debris avalanche, a directed pyroclastic density current, voluminous lahars, and widespread tephra fall, abruptly altered landscape hydrology and geomorphology, and created distinctive disturbance zones having varying impacts on regional biota. Response to the geological and ecological disturbances has been varied and complex. In general, eruption-induced alterations in landscape hydrology and geomorphology led to enhanced stormflow discharge and sediment transport. Although the hydrological response to landscape perturbation has diminished, enhanced sediment transport persists in some basins. In the nearly 30 years since the eruption, 350 million (metric) tons of suspended sediment has been delivered from the Toutle River watershed to the Cowlitz River (roughly 40 times the average annual preeruption suspended-sediment discharge of the Columbia River). Such prodigious sediment loading has wreaked considerable socioeconomic havoc, causing significant channel aggradation and loss of flood conveyance capacity. Significant and ongoing engineering efforts have been required to mitigate these problems. The overall biological evolution of the eruption-impacted landscape can be viewed in terms of a framework of survivor legacies. Despite appearances to the contrary, a surprising number of species survived the eruption, even in the most heavily devastated areas. With time, survivor “hotspots” have coalesced into larger patches, and have served as stepping stones for immigrant colonization. The importance of biological legacies will diminish with time, but the intertwined trajectories of geophysical and biological successions will influence the geological and biological responses to the 1980 eruption for decades to come.

Bayesian change-point analyses in ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Brian Bekcage; Lawrence Joseph; Patrick Belisle; David B. Wolfson; William J. Platt

2007-01-01

Ecological and biological processes can change from one state to another once a threshold has been crossed in space or time. Threshold responses to incremental changes in underlying variables can characterize diverse processes from climate change to the desertification of arid lands from overgrazing.

Recovery of deep-sea meiofauna after artificial disturbance in the Central Indian Basin

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ingole, B.S.; Goltekar, N.R.; Gonsalves, S.; Ansari, Z.A.

-1 1 Recovery of Deep-sea Meiofauna after Artificial Disturbance in the Central Indian Basin INGOLE B.S*., R. GOLTEKAR, S. GONSALVES and Z. A. ANSARI Biological Oceanography Division, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa; 403004...

Results of the studies of radiation ecology and radiation biology at the Institute of Biology of Komi Science Centre, Ural Division of Russian Academy of Sciences. (On the 40th anniversary of the radiation ecology department)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taskaev, A.I.; Kudyasheva, A.G.; Popova, O.N.; Materij, L.D.; Shuktomova, I.I.; Frolova, N.P.; Kozubov, G.M.; Zajnullin, V.G.; Ermakova, O.V.; Rakin, A.O.; Bashlykova, L.A.

2000-01-01

Materials on the history of foundation of the radiation Ecology Department at the Institute of Biology of the Komi Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the occasion of its 40-th anniversary are presented. The results of studies on radiation effects in low doses on the plant and animal populations as well as on radionuclide migration in natural biogeocenoses by increased radiation levels are analyzed. The performed complex studies were used as the basis for developing methodological approaches to the solution of a number of problems on the surface radioecology. Multiyear studies on the biogeocenoses of increased radioactivity of different origin made it possible to obtain multiple materials, indicating high diversity and specificity of reaction of living organisms in response to the background low level chronic irradiation. Attention was paid to studies on the Komi contamination by atmospheric radioactive fall-outs as well as to studies on the consequences of radioactive contamination of the Ukrainian Polesje due to the Chernobyl accident [ru

Positioning genomics in biology education: content mapping of undergraduate biology textbooks.

Science.gov (United States)

Wernick, Naomi L B; Ndung'u, Eric; Haughton, Dominique; Ledley, Fred D

2014-12-01

Biological thought increasingly recognizes the centrality of the genome in constituting and regulating processes ranging from cellular systems to ecology and evolution. In this paper, we ask whether genomics is similarly positioned as a core concept in the instructional sequence for undergraduate biology. Using quantitative methods, we analyzed the order in which core biological concepts were introduced in textbooks for first-year general and human biology. Statistical analysis was performed using self-organizing map algorithms and conventional methods to identify clusters of terms and their relative position in the books. General biology textbooks for both majors and nonmajors introduced genome-related content after text related to cell biology and biological chemistry, but before content describing higher-order biological processes. However, human biology textbooks most often introduced genomic content near the end of the books. These results suggest that genomics is not yet positioned as a core concept in commonly used textbooks for first-year biology and raises questions about whether such textbooks, or courses based on the outline of these textbooks, provide an appropriate foundation for understanding contemporary biological science.

Network biology: Describing biological systems by complex networks. Comment on "Network science of biological systems at different scales: A review" by M. Gosak et al.

Science.gov (United States)

Jalili, Mahdi

2018-03-01

I enjoyed reading Gosak et al. review on analysing biological systems from network science perspective [1]. Network science, first started within Physics community, is now a mature multidisciplinary field of science with many applications ranging from Ecology to biology, medicine, social sciences, engineering and computer science. Gosak et al. discussed how biological systems can be modelled and described by complex network theory which is an important application of network science. Although there has been considerable progress in network biology over the past two decades, this is just the beginning and network science has a great deal to offer to biology and medical sciences.

Towards improving the ethics of ecological research.

Science.gov (United States)

Crozier, G K D; Schulte-Hostedde, Albrecht I

2015-06-01

We argue that the ecological research community should develop a plan for improving the ethical consistency and moral robustness of the field. We propose a particular ethics strategy--specifically, an ongoing process of collective ethical reflection that the community of ecological researchers, with the cooperation of applied ethicists and philosophers of biology, can use to address the needs we identify. We suggest a particular set of conceptual (in the form of six core values--freedom, fairness, well being, replacement, reduction, and refinement) and analytic (in the forms of decision theoretic software, 1000Minds) tools that, we argue, collectively have the resources to provide an empirically grounded and conceptually complete foundation for an ethics strategy for ecological research. We illustrate our argument with information gathered from a survey of ecologists conducted at the 2013 meeting of the Canadian Society of Ecology and Evolution.

Biological and ecological responses to carbon-based nanomaterials

Science.gov (United States)

Ratnikova, Tatsiana A.

This dissertation examines the biological and ecological responses to carbon nanoparticles, a major class of nanomaterials which have been mass produced and extensively studied for their rich physical properties and commercial values. Chapter I of this dissertation offers a comprehensive review on the structures, properties, applications, and implications of carbon nanomaterials, especially related to the perspectives of biological and ecosystems. Given that there are many types of carbon nanomaterials available, this chapter is focused on three major types of carbon-based nanomaterials only, namely, fullerenes, single walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. On the whole organism level, specifically, Chapter II presents a first study on the fate of fullerenes and multiwalled carbon nanotubes in rice plants, which was facilitated by the self assembly of these nanomaterials with NOM. The aspects of fullerene uptake, translocation, biodistribution, and generational transfer in the plants were examined and quantified using bright field and electron microscopy, FT-Raman, and FTIR spectroscopy. The uptake and transport of fullerene in the plant vascular system were attributed to water transpiration, convection, capillary force, and the fullerene concentration gradient from the roots to the leaves of the plants. On the cellular level, Chapter III documents the differential uptake of hydrophilic C60(OH)20 vs. amphiphilic C70-NOM complex in Allium cepa plant cells and HT-29 colon carcinoma cells. This study was conducted using a plant cell viability assay, and complemented by bright field, fluorescence and electron microscopy imaging. In particular, C60(OH)20 and C70-NOM showed contrasting uptake in both the plant and mammalian cells, due to their significant differences in physicochemistry and the presence of an extra hydrophobic plant cell wall in the plant cells. Consequently, C60(OH)20 was found to induce toxicity in Allium cepa cells but not in HT-29 cells, while C70

The information science of microbial ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Aria S; Konwar, Kishori M; Louca, Stilianos; Hanson, Niels W; Hallam, Steven J

2016-06-01

A revolution is unfolding in microbial ecology where petabytes of 'multi-omics' data are produced using next generation sequencing and mass spectrometry platforms. This cornucopia of biological information has enormous potential to reveal the hidden metabolic powers of microbial communities in natural and engineered ecosystems. However, to realize this potential, the development of new technologies and interpretative frameworks grounded in ecological design principles are needed to overcome computational and analytical bottlenecks. Here we explore the relationship between microbial ecology and information science in the era of cloud-based computation. We consider microorganisms as individual information processing units implementing a distributed metabolic algorithm and describe developments in ecoinformatics and ubiquitous computing with the potential to eliminate bottlenecks and empower knowledge creation and translation. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Proceedings of 5. international scientific conference 'Sakharov readings 2005: Ecological problems of XXI century'. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kundas, S.P.; Okeanov, A.E.; Shevchuk, V.E.

2005-05-01

The first part of proceedings of the fifth international scientific conference 'Sakharov readings 2005: Ecological problems of XXI century', which was held in the International A. Sakharov Environmental University, contents materials on topics: socio-ecological problems, medical ecology, biological ecology. The proceedings are intended for specialists in field of ecology and related sciences, teachers, students and post-graduate students. (authors)

Proceedings of 6. international scientific conference 'Sakharov readings 2006: Ecological problems of XXI century'. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kundas, S.P.; Okeanov, A.E.; Poznyak, S.S.

2006-05-01

The first part of proceedings of the sixth international scientific conference 'Sakharov readings 2006: Ecological problems of XXI century', which was held in the International A. Sakharov environmental university, contents materials on topics: socio-ecological problems, medical ecology, biomonitoring and bioindication, biological ecology. The proceedings are intended for specialists in field of ecology and related sciences, teachers, students and post-graduate students. (authors)

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

Ecological aspects od electromagnetic irradiation effects of biological objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volobuev, A.P.; Donnik, I.M.; Alekseenko, N.N.

2005-01-01

General description of electromagnetic field effects on biological objects depending on its frequency properties is stated in the paper. Basic principles of low frequency field effect (10 -1 -0 2 Hz) are detailed. General and specific regularities of biological objects response to a low frequency field on subcell, cell, and system levels were considered taking into account their functional state. (author)

Conceptual Barriers to Progress Within Evolutionary Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Laland, Kevin N; Odling-Smee, John; Feldman, Marcus W; Kendal, Jeremy

2009-08-01

In spite of its success, Neo-Darwinism is faced with major conceptual barriers to further progress, deriving directly from its metaphysical foundations. Most importantly, neo-Darwinism fails to recognize a fundamental cause of evolutionary change, "niche construction". This failure restricts the generality of evolutionary theory, and introduces inaccuracies. It also hinders the integration of evolutionary biology with neighbouring disciplines, including ecosystem ecology, developmental biology, and the human sciences. Ecology is forced to become a divided discipline, developmental biology is stubbornly difficult to reconcile with evolutionary theory, and the majority of biologists and social scientists are still unhappy with evolutionary accounts of human behaviour. The incorporation of niche construction as both a cause and a product of evolution removes these disciplinary boundaries while greatly generalizing the explanatory power of evolutionary theory.

The early history of modern ecological economics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Røpke, Inge

2004-01-01

This paper provides a historical perspective for the discussion on ecological economics as a special field of research. By studying the historical background of ecological economics, the present discussions and tensions inside the field might become easier to understand and to relate to. The study...... is inspired by other studies of the emergence of new research areas done by sociologists and historians of science, and includes both cognitive and social aspects, macro trends and the role of individuals. The basis for the paper is a combination of literature studies and interviews with key researchers from...... the field. The story opens with the emergence of the new environmental agenda in the 1960s, which was influenced by the scientific development in biology and ecology. Then it is outlined how the environmental challenge was met by economics in the 1960s. Around 1970 the basic ideas of ecological economics...

Low ecological disparity in Early Cretaceous birds

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Jonathan S.; Makovicky, Peter J.

2014-01-01

Ecological divergence is thought to be coupled with evolutionary radiations, yet the strength of this coupling is unclear. When birds diversified ecologically has received much less attention than their hotly debated crown divergence time. Here, we quantify how accurately skeletal morphology can predict ecology in living and extinct birds, and show that the earliest known assemblage of birds (= pygostylians) from the Jehol Biota (≈ 125 Ma) was substantially impoverished ecologically. The Jehol avifauna has few representatives of highly preservable ecomorphs (e.g. aquatic forms) and a notable lack of ecomorphological overlap with the pterosaur assemblage (e.g. no large or aerially foraging pygostylians). Comparisons of the Jehol functional diversity with modern and subfossil avian assemblages show that taphonomic bias alone cannot explain the ecomorphological impoverishment. However, evolutionary simulations suggest that the constrained ecological diversity of the Early Cretaceous pygostylians is consistent with what is expected from a relatively young radiation. Regardless of the proximate biological explanation, the anomalously low functional diversity of the Jehol birds is evidence both for ecological vacancies in Cretaceous ecosystems, which were subsequently filled by the radiation of crown Aves, and for discordance between taxonomic richness and ecological diversity in the best-known Mesozoic ecosystem. PMID:24870044

Design of a Virtual Ecological Pond for Motion-Sensing Game-Based Learning

OpenAIRE

Wernhuar Tarng; Nien - Yin Lu; Yi - Syuan Shih; Hsin - Hun Liou

2014-01-01

The campus ecological pond is an effective tool to a ssist science teaching since it allows students to obtain knowledge of aquatic biology in freshwater environments by practical observation. In this study, a v irtual campus ecological pond was developed for applications in science education in elementary sc hools. The system integrates real ecological situations of aquatic environments into learning activities to enh ance the learning interest and motivation of stude...

Proceedings of international conference of leading specialists, young scientists and students 'Ecological problems of XXI century'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milyutin, A.A.

2002-05-01

The present publication represents the collection of materials of a scientific conference of the leading specialists, young scientists and students, which was organized by Ministry for Education of the Republic of Belarus on the basis of International A. Sakharov Environmental University (Minsk, Republic of Belarus). The ecological problems were viewed on the following directions: ecology, radioecology, ecological monitoring, ecological information systems, eco priority power engineering, eco biology, medical ecology, molecular medicine, social ecology

Bottom friction. A practical approach to modelling coastal oceanography

Science.gov (United States)

Bolanos, Rodolfo; Jensen, Palle; Kofoed-Hansen, Henrik; Tornsfeldt Sørensen, Jacob

2017-04-01

Coastal processes imply the interaction of the atmosphere, the sea, the coastline and the bottom. The spatial gradients in this area are normally large, induced by orographic and bathymetric features. Although nowadays it is possible to obtain high-resolution bathymetry, the details of the seabed, e.g. sediment type, presence of biological material and living organisms are not available. Additionally, these properties as well as bathymetry can also be highly dynamic. These bottom characteristics are very important to describe the boundary layer of currents and waves and control to a large degree the dissipation of flows. The bottom friction is thus typically a calibration parameter in numerical modelling of coastal processes. In this work, we assess this process and put it into context of other physical processes uncertainties influencing wind-waves and currents in the coastal areas. A case study in the North Sea is used, particularly the west coast of Denmark, where water depth of less than 30 m cover a wide fringe along the coast, where several offshore wind farm developments are being carried out. We use the hydrodynamic model MIKE 21 HD and the spectral wave model MIKE 21 SW to simulate atmosphere and tidal induced flows and the wind wave generation and propagation. Both models represent state of the art and have been developed for flexible meshes, ideal for coastal oceanography as they can better represent coastlines and allow a variable spatial resolution within the domain. Sensitivity tests to bottom friction formulations are carried out into context of other processes (e.g. model forcing uncertainties, wind and wave interactions, wind drag coefficient). Additionally, a map of varying bottom properties is generated based on a literature survey to explore the impact of the spatial variability. Assessment of different approaches is made in order to establish a best practice regarding bottom friction and coastal oceanographic modelling. Its contribution is also

Mess management in microbial ecology: Rhetorical processes of disciplinary integration

Science.gov (United States)

McCracken, Christopher W.

As interdisciplinary work becomes more common in the sciences, research into the rhetorical processes mediating disciplinary integration becomes more vital. This dissertation, which takes as its subject the integration of microbiology and ecology, combines a postplural approach to rhetoric of science research with Victor Turner's "social drama" analysis and a third-generation activity theory methodological framework to identify conceptual and practical conflicts in interdisciplinary work and describe how, through visual and verbal communication, scientists negotiate these conflicts. First, to understand the conflicting disciplinary principles that might impede integration, the author conducts a Turnerian analysis of a disciplinary conflict that took place in the 1960s and 70s, during which American ecologists and biologists debated whether they should participate in the International Biological Program (IBP). Participation in the IBP ultimately contributed to the emergence of ecology as a discipline distinct from biology, and Turnerian social drama analysis of the debate surrounding participation lays bare the conflicting principles separating biology and ecology. Second, to answer the question of how these conflicting principles are negotiated in practice, the author reports on a yearlong qualitative study of scientists working in a microbial ecology laboratory. Focusing specifically on two case studies from this fieldwork that illustrate the key concept of textually mediated disciplinary integration, the author's analysis demonstrates how scientific objects emerge in differently situated practices, and how these objects manage to cohere despite their multiplicity through textually mediated rhetorical processes of calibration and alignment.

Attempts for an integrative (ecological) assessment of groundwater ecosystems status

Science.gov (United States)

Griebler, Christian; Kellermann, Claudia; Jürgen Hahn, Hans; Stein, Heide; Brielmann, Heike; Berkhoff, Sven; Fuchs, Andreas

2014-05-01

Today the assessment of the ecological status of surface waters is routine and made its way into national and international (e.g. European Water Framework Directive) regulations. For groundwater and aquifers a comparable approach, considering ecological aspects, is still missing. In contrast, groundwater monitoring and management schemes follow exclusively physical-chemical and quantitative criteria. However, groundwater systems are, although persistently neglected, ecosystems harboring diverse communities of microorganisms and invertebrates. Directly linked to the biological components, groundwater systems provide various ecosystem services of societal relevance (natural production of clean drinking water). In the recent past, we developed a first concept of an ecologically sound assessment scheme for groundwater systems. Work included (1) the selection of appropriate biological/ecological criteria, (2) set-up of a groundwater ecosystem typology, (3) deduction of natural biological groundwater background values and definition of reference conditions for selected sites, and (4) a first evaluation model. Groundwater has been analyzed repeatedly of more than 100 wells distributed over five investigation areas spread all over Germany. The investigated sites could be assigned to different natural regions, geological regions, hydrogeological units, and aquifer types. The mismatch of groundwater faunal communities with the established classification schemes led to the proposal of 'stygoregions' for Germany. The presentation introduces a number of microbial and faunistic assessment criteria, which have been tested and natural background values which have been deduced. Finally, a tiered framework for assessing groundwater ecosystem status which allows an easy and fast evaluation is introduced.

Biological spectrum with some other ecological attributes of the flora ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Based on the current available information on the flora and vegetation of the Asir mountain of SW Saudi Arabia, spectra on life form and some other ecological attributes were analyzed and reviewed in different sub-ecosystem of the investigated area. The floristic list of Asir Mountain of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia consists ...

Salient Ecological Sensitive Regions of Central Western Ghats, India

Science.gov (United States)

Ramachandra, T. V.; Bharath, Setturu; Subash Chandran, M. D.; Joshi, N. V.

2018-02-01

Ecologically sensitive regions (ESRs) are the `ecological units' with the exceptional biotic and abiotic elements. Identification of ESRs considering spatially both ecological and social dimensions of environmental variables helps in ecological and conservation planning as per Biodiversity Act, 2002, Government of India. The current research attempts to integrate ecological and environmental considerations into administration, and prioritizes regions at Panchayat levels (local administrative unit) in Uttara Kannada district, Central Western Ghats, Karnataka state considering attributes (biological, Geo-climatic, Social, etc.) as ESR (1-4) through weightage score metrics. The region has the distinction of having highest forest area (80.48%) in Karnataka State, India and has been undergoing severe anthropogenic pressures impacting biogeochemistry, hydrology, food security, climate and socio-economic systems. Prioritisation of ESRs helps in the implementation of the sustainable developmental framework with the appropriate conservation strategies through the involvement of local stakeholders.

Salient Ecological Sensitive Regions of Central Western Ghats, India

Science.gov (United States)

Ramachandra, T. V.; Bharath, Setturu; Subash Chandran, M. D.; Joshi, N. V.

2018-05-01

Ecologically sensitive regions (ESRs) are the `ecological units' with the exceptional biotic and abiotic elements. Identification of ESRs considering spatially both ecological and social dimensions of environmental variables helps in ecological and conservation planning as per Biodiversity Act, 2002, Government of India. The current research attempts to integrate ecological and environmental considerations into administration, and prioritizes regions at Panchayat levels (local administrative unit) in Uttara Kannada district, Central Western Ghats, Karnataka state considering attributes (biological, Geo-climatic, Social, etc.) as ESR (1-4) through weightage score metrics. The region has the distinction of having highest forest area (80.48%) in Karnataka State, India and has been undergoing severe anthropogenic pressures impacting biogeochemistry, hydrology, food security, climate and socio-economic systems. Prioritisation of ESRs helps in the implementation of the sustainable developmental framework with the appropriate conservation strategies through the involvement of local stakeholders.

The beauty of sensory ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Otálora-Luna, Fernando; Aldana, Elis

2017-08-10

Sensory ecology is a discipline that focuses on how living creatures use information to survive, but not to live. By trans-defining the orthodox concept of sensory ecology, a serious heterodox question arises: how do organisms use their senses to live, i.e. to enjoy or suffer life? To respond to such a query the objective (time-independent) and emotional (non-rational) meaning of symbols must be revealed. Our program is distinct from both the neo-Darwinian and the classical ecological perspective because it does not focus on survival values of phenotypes and their functions, but asks for the aesthetic effect of biological structures and their symbolism. Our message recognizes that sensing apart from having a survival value also has a beauty value. Thus, we offer a provoking and inspiring new view on the sensory relations of 'living things' and their surroundings, where the innovating power of feelings have more weight than the privative power of reason.

Introductory Biology Labs... They Just Aren't Sexy Enough!

Science.gov (United States)

Cotner, Sehoya; Gallup, Gordon G., Jr.

2011-01-01

The typical introductory biology curriculum includes the nature of science, evolution and genetics. Laboratory activities are designed to engage students in typical subject areas ranging from cell biology and physiology, to ecology and evolution. There are few, if any, laboratory classes exploring the biology and evolution of human sexual…

[Research advances in ecological stoichiometry of marine plankton].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Lei; Li, Chao-Lun

2014-10-01

Ecological stoichiometry can be simply defined as: The biology of elements from molecules to the biosphere, which spans all levels of the environment and of the life. It's a new idea to build a unified theory and becomes an inevitable trend to develop the ecological science. Marine ecosystems, which contribute to 50% of the biosphere biomass, are the important component of the global biogeochemical cycles. Marine zooplankton plays an important role in the material circulation and energy flow of marine ecosystems and serves as a connecting link between the preceding and the following in a more precise understanding of the key elemental cycles. However, research on ecological stoichiometry of marine plankton is fragmentary and rare. This article summarized the ecological phenomena and mechanisms of limiting elements affecting marine plankton, the response of biochemical substances to nutrition limitation, and the food chain transmission and feedback of nutrition limitation. Meanwhile, we also put forward some perspectives for future research of ecological stoichiometry of plankton in China' s seas.

[Landscape ecological security pattern during urban expansion of Nanchong City].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Sui; Shi, Tie-mao; Fu, Shi-lei; Zhou, Le; Liu, Miao; Wang, Wei

2011-03-01

Based on the theory of landscape ecological security pattern and the RS and GIS techniques, this paper analyzed the distribution of ecological security grades in Nanchong City, taking six elements including terrain condition, flood hazard, soil erosion, vegetation cover, geological disaster, and biological protection as the ecological constraints (or determinants) of urban expansion. According to the minimum cumulative resistance model, the ecological corridors and ecological nodes were built to strengthen the space contact of ecological network, and, on the basis of the protection of ecological safety, the reasonable trend of urban expansion and the optimization of space layout were investigated. The results showed that the ecological security of Nanchong City was quite good, with the regions of low ecological security mainly distributed in the west suburban mountains and the downstream region of Jialing River in the south of the City. Ecological elements were the most important constraints for the future expansion of urban space. There were more spaces for the urban expansion in the southern and northern parts of Nanchong City. To develop satellite towns would be the best selection to guarantee the ecological security of the city.

Ecological Forecasting in the Applied Sciences Program and Input to the Decadal Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Skiles, Joseph

2015-01-01

Ecological forecasting uses knowledge of physics, ecology and physiology to predict how ecosystems will change in the future in response to environmental factors. Further, Ecological Forecasting employs observations and models to predict the effects of environmental change on ecosystems. In doing so, it applies information from the physical, biological, and social sciences and promotes a scientific synthesis across the domains of physics, geology, chemistry, biology, and psychology. The goal is reliable forecasts that allow decision makers access to science-based tools in order to project changes in living systems. The next decadal survey will direct the development Earth Observation sensors and satellites for the next ten years. It is important that these new sensors and satellites address the requirements for ecosystem models, imagery, and other data for resource management. This presentation will give examples of these model inputs and some resources needed for NASA to continue effective Ecological Forecasting.

Ecological venomics: How genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics can shed new light on the ecology and evolution of venom.

Science.gov (United States)

Sunagar, Kartik; Morgenstern, David; Reitzel, Adam M; Moran, Yehu

2016-03-01

Animal venom is a complex cocktail of bioactive chemicals that traditionally drew interest mostly from biochemists and pharmacologists. However, in recent years the evolutionary and ecological importance of venom is realized as this trait has direct and strong influence on interactions between species. Moreover, venom content can be modulated by environmental factors. Like many other fields of biology, venom research has been revolutionized in recent years by the introduction of systems biology approaches, i.e., genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics. The employment of these methods in venom research is known as 'venomics'. In this review we describe the history and recent advancements of venomics and discuss how they are employed in studying venom in general and in particular in the context of evolutionary ecology. We also discuss the pitfalls and challenges of venomics and what the future may hold for this emerging scientific field. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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.

LOGISTICS OF ECOLOGICAL SAMPLING ON LARGE RIVERS

Science.gov (United States)

The objectives of this document are to provide an overview of the logistical problems associated with the ecological sampling of boatable rivers and to suggest solutions to those problems. It is intended to be used as a resource for individuals preparing to collect biological dat...

Marine molecular biology: an emerging field of biological sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Thakur, Narsinh L; Jain, Roopesh; Natalio, Filipe; Hamer, Bojan; Thakur, Archana N; Müller, Werner E G

2008-01-01

An appreciation of the potential applications of molecular biology is of growing importance in many areas of life sciences, including marine biology. During the past two decades, the development of sophisticated molecular technologies and instruments for biomedical research has resulted in significant advances in the biological sciences. However, the value of molecular techniques for addressing problems in marine biology has only recently begun to be cherished. It has been proven that the exploitation of molecular biological techniques will allow difficult research questions about marine organisms and ocean processes to be addressed. Marine molecular biology is a discipline, which strives to define and solve the problems regarding the sustainable exploration of marine life for human health and welfare, through the cooperation between scientists working in marine biology, molecular biology, microbiology and chemistry disciplines. Several success stories of the applications of molecular techniques in the field of marine biology are guiding further research in this area. In this review different molecular techniques are discussed, which have application in marine microbiology, marine invertebrate biology, marine ecology, marine natural products, material sciences, fisheries, conservation and bio-invasion etc. In summary, if marine biologists and molecular biologists continue to work towards strong partnership during the next decade and recognize intellectual and technological advantages and benefits of such partnership, an exciting new frontier of marine molecular biology will emerge in the future.

Current and future prospects for the application of systematic theoretical methods to the study of problems in physical oceanography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Constantin, A., E-mail: adrian.constantin@kcl.ac.uk [Department of Mathematics, King' s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS (United Kingdom); Faculty of Mathematics, University of Vienna, Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1, 1090 Vienna (Austria); Johnson, R.S., E-mail: r.s.johnson@ncl.ac.uk [School of Mathematics & Statistics, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU (United Kingdom)

2016-09-07

Highlights: • Systematic theoretical methods in studies of equatorial ocean dynamics. • Linear wave-current interactions in stratified flows. • Exact solutions – Kelvin waves, azimuthal non-uniform currents. • Three-dimensional nonlinear currents. • Hamiltonian formulation for the governing equations and for structure-preserving/enhancing approximations. - Abstract: This essay is a commentary on the pivotal role of systematic theoretical methods in physical oceanography. At some level, there will always be a conflict between theory and experiment/data collection: Which is pre-eminent? Which should come first? This issue appears to be particularly marked in physical oceanography, to the extreme detriment of the development of the subject. It is our contention that the classical theory of fluids, coupled with methods from the theory of differential equations, can play a significant role in carrying the subject, and our understanding, forward. We outline the philosophy behind a systematic theoretical approach, highlighting some aspects of equatorial ocean dynamics where these methods have already been successful, paving the way for much more in the future and leading, we expect, to the better understanding of this and many other types of ocean flow. We believe that the ideas described here promise to reveal a rich and beautiful dynamical structure.

A brief introduction to mixed effects modelling and multi-model inference in ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Xavier A; Donaldson, Lynda; Correa-Cano, Maria Eugenia; Evans, Julian; Fisher, David N; Goodwin, Cecily E D; Robinson, Beth S; Hodgson, David J; Inger, Richard

2018-01-01

The use of linear mixed effects models (LMMs) is increasingly common in the analysis of biological data. Whilst LMMs offer a flexible approach to modelling a broad range of data types, ecological data are often complex and require complex model structures, and the fitting and interpretation of such models is not always straightforward. The ability to achieve robust biological inference requires that practitioners know how and when to apply these tools. Here, we provide a general overview of current methods for the application of LMMs to biological data, and highlight the typical pitfalls that can be encountered in the statistical modelling process. We tackle several issues regarding methods of model selection, with particular reference to the use of information theory and multi-model inference in ecology. We offer practical solutions and direct the reader to key references that provide further technical detail for those seeking a deeper understanding. This overview should serve as a widely accessible code of best practice for applying LMMs to complex biological problems and model structures, and in doing so improve the robustness of conclusions drawn from studies investigating ecological and evolutionary questions.

Occurrence, composition and ecological restoration of organic pollutants in water environment of South Canal, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Y. Z.; Lin, C.; Zhou, X. S.; Zhang, Y.; Han, C. G.

2017-08-01

Ecological restoration of polluted river water was carried out in South Canal by adding microbial water purifying agents and biological compound enzymes. The objective of present study was to investigate the ecological restoration effect of organic pollutants by this efficient immobilized microbial technologies, analysis the occurrence and composition of organic pollutants including fifteen persistent organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), seventeen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and eighteen organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) both in natural water environment and ecological restoration area of South Canal, China. Results showed that the total concentrations of OCPs ranged from 1.11 to 1.78 ng·L-1, PAHs from 52.76 to 60.28 ng·L-1, and OPPs from 6.51 to 17.50 ng·L-1. Microbial water purifying agents and biological compound enzymes essentially had no effects on biological degradation of OCPs and PAHs in the river, but could remove OPPs with degradation rates ranging from 19.6% to 62.8% (35.2% in average). Degradation mechanisms of microbial water purifying agents and biological compound enzymes on OCPs, PAHs and OPPs remained to be further studied. This technology has a certain value in practical ecological restoration of organic pollutants in rivers and lakes.

Fiscal year 1991 100 Areas CERCLA ecological investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sackschewsky, M.R.; Landeen, D.S.

1992-04-01

This report discusses the status of the ecological investigations conducted by Westinghouse Hanford Company during Fiscal Year 1991. These ecological investigations provide a basic description of the flora and fauna that inhabit the operable units, emphasizing species that have been given special status under existing state and/or federal laws. The 1991 Westinghouse Hanford Company field investigations have concentrated on the following: (1) bird surveys, (2) mammal and insect surveys, (3) vegetation surveys, and (4) vegetation sampling. Work being conducted as part of the vegetation surveys includes a biological assessment of threatened and endangered plants, which is being prepared as a separate document. Similar ecological investigations will be conducted at 100- N, K, and F operable units in 1992

Forty years of carabid beetle research in Europe – from taxonomy, biology, ecology and population studies to bioindication, habitat assessment and conservation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Johan Kotze

2011-05-01

Full Text Available ‘Carabidologists do it all’ (Niemelä 1996a is a phrase with which most European carabidologists are familiar. Indeed, during the last half a century, professional and amateur entomologists have contributed enormously to our understanding of the basic biology of carabid beetles. The success of the field is in no small part due to regular European Carabidologists’ Meetings, which started in 1969 in Wijster, the Netherlands, with the 14th meeting again held in the Netherlands in 2009, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first meeting and 50 years of long-term research in the Dwingelderveld. This paper offers a subjective summary of some of the major developments in carabidology since the 1960s. Taxonomy of the family Carabidae is now reasonably established, and the application of modern taxonomic tools has brought up several surprises like elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Progress has been made on the ultimate and proximate factors of seasonality and timing of reproduction, which only exceptionally show non-seasonality. Triggers can be linked to evolutionary events and plausibly explained by the “taxon cycle” theory. Fairly little is still known about certain feeding preferences, including granivory and ants, as well as unique life history strategies, such as ectoparasitism and predation on higher taxa. The study of carabids has been instrumental in developing metapopulation theory (even if it was termed differently. Dispersal is one of the areas intensively studied, and results show an intricate interaction between walking and flying as the major mechanisms. The ecological study of carabids is still hampered by some unresolved questions about sampling and data evaluation. It is recognised that knowledge is uneven, especially concerning larvae and species in tropical areas. By their abundance and wide distribution, carabid beetles can be useful in population studies, bioindication, conservation biology and landscape ecology. Indeed

Levels of organization in biology: on the nature and nomenclature of ecology's fourth level.

Science.gov (United States)

Lidicker, William Z

2008-02-01

Viewing the universe as being composed of hierarchically arranged systems is widely accepted as a useful model of reality. In ecology, three levels of organization are generally recognized: organisms, populations, and communities (biocoenoses). For half a century increasing numbers of ecologists have concluded that recognition of a fourth level would facilitate increased understanding of ecological phenomena. Sometimes the word "ecosystem" is used for this level, but this is arguably inappropriate. Since 1986, I and others have argued that the term "landscape" would be a suitable term for a level of organization defined as an ecological system containing more than one community type. However, "landscape" and "landscape level" continue to be used extensively by ecologists in the popular sense of a large expanse of space. I therefore now propose that the term "ecoscape" be used instead for this fourth level of organization. A clearly defined fourth level for ecology would focus attention on the emergent properties of this level, and maintain the spatial and temporal scale-free nature inherent in this hierarchy of organizational levels for living entities.

Functional genetic divergence in high CO2 adapted Emiliania huxleyi populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lohbeck, Kai T; Riebesell, Ulf; Collins, Sinéad; Reusch, Thorsten B H

2013-07-01

Predicting the impacts of environmental change on marine organisms, food webs, and biogeochemical cycles presently relies almost exclusively on short-term physiological studies, while the possibility of adaptive evolution is often ignored. Here, we assess adaptive evolution in the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi, a well-established model species in biological oceanography, in response to ocean acidification. We previously demonstrated that this globally important marine phytoplankton species adapts within 500 generations to elevated CO2 . After 750 and 1000 generations, no further fitness increase occurred, and we observed phenotypic convergence between replicate populations. We then exposed adapted populations to two novel environments to investigate whether or not the underlying basis for high CO2 -adaptation involves functional genetic divergence, assuming that different novel mutations become apparent via divergent pleiotropic effects. The novel environment "high light" did not reveal such genetic divergence whereas growth in a low-salinity environment revealed strong pleiotropic effects in high CO2 adapted populations, indicating divergent genetic bases for adaptation to high CO2 . This suggests that pleiotropy plays an important role in adaptation of natural E. huxleyi populations to ocean acidification. Our study highlights the potential mutual benefits for oceanography and evolutionary biology of using ecologically important marine phytoplankton for microbial evolution experiments. © 2012 The Author(s). Evolution © 2012 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Teaching Introductory Oceanography through Case Studies: Project based approach for general education students

Science.gov (United States)

Farnsworth, K. L.; House, M.; Hovan, S. A.

2013-12-01

A recent workshop sponsored by SERC-On the Cutting Edge brought together science educators from a range of schools across the country to discuss new approaches in teaching oceanography. In discussing student interest in our classes, we were struck by the fact that students are drawn to emotional or controversial topics such as whale hunting and tsunami hazard and that these kinds of topics are a great vehicle for introducing more complex concepts such as wave propagation, ocean upwelling and marine chemistry. Thus, we have developed an approach to introductory oceanography that presents students with real-world issues in the ocean sciences and requires them to explore the science behind them in order to improve overall ocean science literacy among non-majors and majors at 2 and 4 year colleges. We have designed a project-based curriculum built around topics that include, but are not limited to: tsunami hazard, whale migration, ocean fertilization, ocean territorial claims, rapid climate change, the pacific trash patch, overfishing, and ocean acidification. Each case study or project consists of three weeks of class time and is structured around three elements: 1) a media analysis; 2) the role of ocean science in addressing the issue; 3) human impact/response. Content resources range from textbook readings, popular or current print news, documentary film and television, and data available on the world wide web from a range of sources. We employ a variety of formative assessments for each case study in order to monitor student access and understanding of content and include a significant component of in-class student discussion and brainstorming guided by faculty input to develop the case study. Each study culminates in summative assessments ranging from exams to student posters to presentations, depending on the class size and environment. We envision this approach for a range of classroom environments including large group face-to-face instruction as well as hybrid

West Hackberry Strategic Petroleum Reserve site brine disposal monitoring, Year I report. Volume V. Supporting data for estuarine hydrology, discharge plume analysis, chemical oceanography, biological oceanography, and data management. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeRouen, L.R.; Hann, R.W.; Casserly, D.M.; Giammona, C.; Lascara, V.J. (eds.)

1983-02-01

This project centers around the Strategic Petroleum Site (SPR) known as the West Hackberry salt dome which located in southwestern Louisiana, and which is designed to store 241 million barrels of crude oil. Oil storage caverns are formed by injecting water into salt deposits, and pumping out the resulting brine. Studies described in this report were designed as follow-on studies to three months of pre-discharge characterization work, and include data collected during the first year of brine leaching operations. The objectives were to: (1) characterize the environment in terms of physical, chemical and biological attributes; (2) determine if significant adverse changes in ecosystem productivity and stability of the biological community are occurring as a result of brine discharge; and (3) determine the magnitude of any change observed. Volume V contains appendices for the following: supporting data for estuarine hydrology and hydrography; supporting data analysis of discharge plume; supporting data for water and sediment chemistry; CTD/DO and pH profiles during biological monitoring; supporting data for nekton; and supporting data for data management.

Biological monitoring of lotic ecosystems: the role of diatoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Bere, T; Tundisi, J G

2010-08-01

Increasing anthropogenic influence on lotic environments as a result of civilisation has captured public interest because of the consequent problems associated with deterioration of water quality. Various biological monitoring methods that provide a direct measure of ecological integrity by using the response of biota to environmental changes have been developed to monitor the ecological status of lotic environments. Diatoms have been used extensively in this regard and this review attempts to summarise the basic concepts associated with biological monitoring using benthic diatoms. Where possible, examples from work carried out in Brazil are used.

Taiwan’s Ecological Footprint (1994–2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yung-Jaan Lee

2014-09-01

Full Text Available According to the 2011 edition of the National Footprint Accounts (NFA published by the Global Footprint Network (GFN, humankind consumed the resources and services of 1.5 planets in 2008; the corresponding number in 1961 was 0.7 planets. North Americans have an ecological footprint of 8.7 global hectares per person whereas Africans have a footprint of only 1.4 global hectares per person. The global mean biological capacity is only 1.8 global hectares per person so human beings are overshooting ecological resources. The ecological footprint measures the resources that are consumed by humans from the biosphere, and serves as an index of the sustainability of development. The NFA includes the ecological footprints of over 200 countries and regions, but not Taiwan. Hence, Taiwan must establish and update its own ecological footprint databases. Ecological footprint is one indicator of the sustainability of development, and can be compared across nations. This study extends previous studies by analyzing Taiwan’s ecological footprint from 2008–2011. With reference to the ecological footprint accounts of the Global Footprint Network and the Taiwan’s ecological footprint analysis for 1997–2007, this study presents Taiwan’s ecological footprint from 2008–2011. Most of the data that are used herein are taken from the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Energy Agency, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture and Taiwan’s National Development Council. The results thus obtained reveal that Taiwan’s ecological footprint from 2008–2011 exceeded that from 1997–2007. To respond to this trend toward un-sustainable development and to help Taiwan move toward sustainability, carbon reduction and energy saving policies should be implemented to effectively manage Taiwan’s ecological resources.

Using the biological literature a practical guide

CERN Document Server

Schmidt, Diane

2014-01-01

IntroductionSearching the Biological LiteratureGeneral SourcesAssociationsBibliographiesClassification, Nomenclature, and SystematicsDictionaries and EncyclopediasDirectoriesField GuidesSeriesFull-Text SourcesGeneral WorksGuides for young ScientistsGuides to the LiteratureHandbooksHistoriesMathematics and StatisticsMethods and TechniquesTextbooks and TreatisesWriting GuidesPeriodicalsReviews of the LiteratureAbstracts and IndexesBiochemistry and BiophysicsMolecular and Cellular BiologyGenetics, Biotechnology, and Developmental BiologyMicrobiology and ImmunologyEcology, Evolution, and Animal BehaviorPlant BiologyAnatomy and PhysiologyEntomologyZoologyIndex.

Effective Management of Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecological Data: the BCO-DMO Story

Science.gov (United States)

Chandler, C. L.; Groman, R. C.; Allison, M. D.; Wiebe, P. H.; Glover, D. M.; Gegg, S. R.

2012-04-01

Data availability expectations of the research community, environmental management decision makers, and funding agency representatives are changing. Consequently, data management practices in many science communities are changing as well. In an effort to improve access to data generated by ocean biogeochemistry and ecological researchers funded by the United States (US) National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE), the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) was created in late 2006. Currently, the main BCO-DMO objective is to ensure availability of data resulting from select OCE and Office of Polar Programs (OPP) research awards granted by the US NSF. An important requirement for the BCO-DMO data management system is that it provides open access to data that are supported by sufficient metadata to enable data discovery and accurate reuse. The office manages and serves all types of oceanographic data (in situ, experimental, model results) generated during the research process and contributed by the originating investigators from large national programs and medium-sized collaborative research projects, as well as researchers with single investigator awards. BCO-DMO staff members have made strategic use of standards and use of terms from controlled vocabularies while balancing the need to maintain flexible data ingest systems that accommodate the heterogeneous nature of ocean biogeochemistry and ecological research data. Many of the discrete ocean biogeochemistry data sets managed by BCO-DMO are still acquired manually, often with prototype sensor systems. Data sets such as these that are not "born-digital" present a significant management challenge. Use of multiple levels of term-mappings and development of an ontology has enabled BCO-DMO to incorporate a semantically enabled faceted search into the data access system that will improve data access through enhanced data discovery. BCO-DMO involves an ongoing

How Pollination Ecology research can help answer important questions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carvalheiro, Luisa G.

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Pollination Ecology is a dynamic field of scientific research constantly adopting novel methods and making progress in understanding the interactions between plants and their pollinators. A recent paper listed the main scientific questions in this field focussing on the ecological and biological system itself. Here, we follow up on that paper and present some ideas on how to broaden our perspective and explore the role that pollination research can play in answering both ecological and societal questions relevant to a range of different stakeholders. We hope this paper may be useful to researchers aiming at improving both the scientific and societal impact of their research.

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.)

Artificial persons against nature: environmental governmentality, economic corporations, and ecological ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Northcott, Michael S

2012-02-01

Despite the 194 nation-state signatories to the global Convention on Biological Diversity, the conservation effort is failing to halt an ongoing spiral of decline in most habitats and ecological communities on land and ocean. Environmental ethicists argue that the failure to halt the unsustainable predation on the ecosystems that sustain industrial civilization is indicative of a moral as well as a scientific crisis. Principal ethical interventions in ecology include the ascription of value to species and ecosystems, wilderness ethics, and ecological virtue. Ecological virtue ethics identifies agency, character, institutions, and practices as crucial to moral formation and outcomes. However, the dominant role of the economic corporation in ecological destruction subverts a virtues approach. Corporations as fictive persons will not learn ecological virtue absent of legal and regulatory reform and the ecological education of business leaders and owners. © 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.

PERFORMANCE OF ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE IN ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CIPRIAN APOSTOL

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The term ecological agriculture has been attributed by the European Union of Romania to define this system of agriculture and is similar with terms organic agriculture or biological agriculture, which are used in other member states. One of the main goals of ecological agriculture is the production of agricultural and food products fresh and genuine through processes created to respect nature and its systems. Thus, it prohibits the use of genetically modified organisms, fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, stimulators and growth regulators, hormones, antibiotics for livestock and the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, drastic interventions on the soil, the introduction of genetically modified organisms, in the case of the cultivated soil. The study aims to highlight the main features of ecological agriculture and its impact on the national economy. Through a descriptive and comparative analysis of specific indicators are surprising the main aspects of ecological agriculture performance in Romania and are identified investment opportunities in this sector of the national economy. Following this study, it was found that ecological agriculture in Romania is quite performant and recorded a continuous development, but mainly in the production, not in the processing and trading of natural products, which is why investment in these areas would be welcome.

Icefield-to-ocean linkages across the northern Pacific coastal temperate rainforest ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neel, Shad; Hood, Eran; Bidlack, Allison L.; Fleming, Sean W.; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Arendt, Anthony; Burgess, Evan W.; Sergeant, Christopher J.; Beaudreau, Anne E.; Timm, Kristin; Hayward, Gregory D.; Reynolds, Joel H.; Pyare, Sanjay

2015-01-01

Rates of glacier mass loss in the northern Pacific coastal temperate rainforest (PCTR) are among the highest on Earth, and changes in glacier volume and extent will affect the flow regime and chemistry of coastal rivers, as well as the nearshore marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Alaska. Here we synthesize physical, chemical and biological linkages that characterize the northern PCTR ecosystem, with particular emphasis on the potential impacts of glacier change in the coastal mountain ranges on the surface–water hydrology, biogeochemistry, coastal oceanography and aquatic ecology. We also evaluate the relative importance and interplay between interannual variability and long-term trends in key physical drivers and ecological responses. To advance our knowledge of the northern PCTR, we advocate for cross-disciplinary research bridging the icefield-to-ocean ecosystem that can be paired with long-term scientific records and designed to inform decisionmakers.

Biological and ecological science for Florida—The Sunshine State

Science.gov (United States)

,

2017-08-30

Florida is rich in sunshine and other natural resources essential to the State's economy. More than 100 million tourists visit Florida's beaches, wetlands, forests, oceans, lakes, and streams where they generate billions of dollars and sustain more than a million jobs. Florida also provides habitat for several thousand freshwater and marine fish, mammals, birds, and other wildlife that are viewed, hunted, or fished, or that provide valuable ecological services. Fertile soils and freshwater supplies support agriculture and forest industries and generate more than $8 billion of revenue annually and sustain thousands of jobs.

Novel chaperonins are prevalent in the virioplankton and demonstrate links to viral biology and ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Marine, Rachel L; Nasko, Daniel J; Wray, Jeffrey; Polson, Shawn W; Wommack, K Eric

2017-11-01

Chaperonins are protein-folding machinery found in all cellular life. Chaperonin genes have been documented within a few viruses, yet, surprisingly, analysis of metagenome sequence data indicated that chaperonin-carrying viruses are common and geographically widespread in marine ecosystems. Also unexpected was the discovery of viral chaperonin sequences related to thermosome proteins of archaea, indicating the presence of virioplankton populations infecting marine archaeal hosts. Virioplankton large subunit chaperonin sequences (GroELs) were divergent from bacterial sequences, indicating that viruses have carried this gene over long evolutionary time. Analysis of viral metagenome contigs indicated that: the order of large and small subunit genes was linked to the phylogeny of GroEL; both lytic and temperate phages may carry group I chaperonin genes; and viruses carrying a GroEL gene likely have large double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genomes (>70 kb). Given these connections, it is likely that chaperonins are critical to the biology and ecology of virioplankton populations that carry these genes. Moreover, these discoveries raise the intriguing possibility that viral chaperonins may more broadly alter the structure and function of viral and cellular proteins in infected host cells.

Proceedings of international conference of young scientists 'Ecological problems of XXI century'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milyutin, A.A.; Chudakov, V.A.

1999-11-01

Now various ecological problems are rather topical practically for all fields of human activity. The amplification artificial influences on various ecosystems leads to modification and violation of their integrity. Therefore investigations of scientists in different fields are directed to study of both various aspects of ecology and correlation of natural singularities of ecosystems with activity of a man, and also directed to search of paths of environment rehabilitation etc. The present publication represents the collection of materials of a scientific conference of the young scientists, which was organized by Ministry for Education of the Republic of Belarus on the basis of International Sakharov Ecological University (Minsk, Republic of Belarus). The ecological problems were viewed on the following directions: ecology, radioecology, ecological monitoring, ecological information systems, eco priority power engineering, eco biology, medical ecology, molecular medicine, social ecology. The materials of a conference are intended for wide circle of the experts occupied with scientific and practical activity

Proceedings of the international conference of young scientists and students 'Ecological problems of XXI century'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milyutin, A.A.

2001-05-01

The present publication represents the collection of materials of a scientific conference of the young scientists and students, which was devoted to 80-year-old anniversary of Andrej Sakharov. The ecological problems were viewed on the following directions: ecology, radioecology, ecological monitoring, ecological information systems, eco priority power engineering, eco biology, medical ecology, molecular medicine. The materials of a conference are intended for wide circle of the experts occupied with scientific and practical activity. Individual papers (37) have been analysed and submitted to the database

[Applications of stable isotope analysis in the trophic ecology studies of cephalopods].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yun-Kai; Gong, Yi; Chen, Xin-Jun

2014-05-01

Cephalopods play an important role in marine food webs, however, knowledge about their complex life history, especially their feeding ecology, remains limited. With the rapidly increasing use of stable isotope analysis (SIA) in ecology, it becomes a powerful tool and complement of traditional methods for investigating the trophic ecology and migration patterns of invertebrates. Here, after summarizing the current methods for trophic ecology investigation of cephalopods, applications of SIA in studying the trophic ecology of cephalopods were reviewed, including the key issues such as standardization of available tissues for SIA analyzing, diet shift and migration patterns of cephalopods, with the aim of advancing its application in the biology of cephalopods in the future.

Caatinga Revisited: Ecology and Conservation of an Important Seasonal Dry Forest

Science.gov (United States)

de Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino; de Lima Araújo, Elcida; El-Deir, Ana Carla Asfora; de Lima, André Luiz Alves; Souto, Antonio; Bezerra, Bruna Martins; Ferraz, Elba Maria Nogueira; Maria Xavier Freire, Eliza; Sampaio, Everardo Valadares de Sá Barreto; Las-Casas, Flor Maria Guedes; de Moura, Geraldo Jorge Barbosa; Pereira, Glauco Alves; de Melo, Joabe Gomes; Alves Ramos, Marcelo; Rodal, Maria Jesus Nogueira; Schiel, Nicola; de Lyra-Neves, Rachel Maria; Alves, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega; de Azevedo-Júnior, Severino Mendes; Telino Júnior, Wallace Rodrigues; Severi, William

2012-01-01

Besides its extreme climate conditions, the Caatinga (a type of tropical seasonal forest) hosts an impressive faunal and floristic biodiversity. In the last 50 years there has been a considerable increase in the number of studies in the area. Here we aimed to present a review of these studies, focusing on four main fields: vertebrate ecology, plant ecology, human ecology, and ethnobiology. Furthermore, we identify directions for future research. We hope that the present paper will help defining actions and strategies for the conservation of the biological diversity of the Caatinga. PMID:22919296

Caatinga Revisited: Ecology and Conservation of an Important Seasonal Dry Forest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Besides its extreme climate conditions, the Caatinga (a type of tropical seasonal forest hosts an impressive faunal and floristic biodiversity. In the last 50 years there has been a considerable increase in the number of studies in the area. Here we aimed to present a review of these studies, focusing on four main fields: vertebrate ecology, plant ecology, human ecology, and ethnobiology. Furthermore, we identify directions for future research. We hope that the present paper will help defining actions and strategies for the conservation of the biological diversity of the Caatinga.

Integrating Quantitative Skills in Introductory Ecology: Investigations of Wild Bird Feeding Preferences

Science.gov (United States)

Small, Christine J.; Newtoff, Kiersten N.

2013-01-01

Undergraduate biology education is undergoing dramatic changes, emphasizing student training in the "tools and practices" of science, particularly quantitative and problem-solving skills. We redesigned a freshman ecology lab to emphasize the importance of scientific inquiry and quantitative reasoning in biology. This multi-week investigation uses…

Stress and adaptation : Toward ecologically relevant animal models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koolhaas, Jaap M.; Boer, Sietse F. de; Buwalda, Bauke

Animal models have contributed considerably to the current understanding of mechanisms underlying the role of stress in health and disease. Despite the progress made already, much more can be made by more carefully exploiting animals' and humans' shared biology, using ecologically relevant models.

Unifying ecology and macroevolution with individual-based theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

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,

The large universal Pantoea plasmid LPP-1 plays a major role in biological and ecological diversification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

De Maayer Pieter

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Pantoea spp. are frequently isolated from a wide range of ecological niches and have various biological roles, as plant epi- or endophytes, biocontrol agents, plant-growth promoters or as pathogens of both plant and animal hosts. This suggests that members of this genus have undergone extensive genotypic diversification. One means by which this occurs among bacteria is through the acquisition and maintenance of plasmids. Here, we have analyzed and compared the sequences of a large plasmid common to all sequenced Pantoea spp. Results and discussion The Large PantoeaPlasmids (LPP-1 of twenty strains encompassing seven different Pantoea species, including pathogens and endo-/epiphytes of a wide range of plant hosts as well as insect-associated strains, were compared. The LPP-1 plasmid sequences range in size from ~281 to 794 kb and carry between 238 and 750 protein coding sequences (CDS. A core set of 46 proteins, encompassing 2.2% of the total pan-plasmid (2,095 CDS, conserved among all LPP-1 plasmid sequences, includes those required for thiamine and pigment biosynthesis. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that these plasmids have arisen from an ancestral plasmid, which has undergone extensive diversification. Analysis of the proteins encoded on LPP-1 also showed that these plasmids contribute to a wide range of Pantoea phenotypes, including the transport and catabolism of various substrates, inorganic ion assimilation, resistance to antibiotics and heavy metals, colonization and persistence in the host and environment, pathogenesis and antibiosis. Conclusions LPP-1 is universal to all Pantoea spp. whose genomes have been sequenced to date and is derived from an ancestral plasmid. LPP-1 encodes a large array of proteins that have played a major role in the adaptation of the different Pantoea spp. to their various ecological niches and their specialization as pathogens, biocontrol agents or benign saprophytes found in many diverse

Genetic signatures of ecological diversity along an urbanization gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Ryan P; O'Donnell, James L; Lowell, Natalie C; Shelton, Andrew O; Samhouri, Jameal F; Hennessey, Shannon M; Feist, Blake E; Williams, Gregory D

2016-01-01

Despite decades of work in environmental science and ecology, estimating human influences on ecosystems remains challenging. This is partly due to complex chains of causation among ecosystem elements, exacerbated by the difficulty of collecting biological data at sufficient spatial, temporal, and taxonomic scales. Here, we demonstrate the utility of environmental DNA (eDNA) for quantifying associations between human land use and changes in an adjacent ecosystem. We analyze metazoan eDNA sequences from water sampled in nearshore marine eelgrass communities and assess the relationship between these ecological communities and the degree of urbanization in the surrounding watershed. Counter to conventional wisdom, we find strongly increasing richness and decreasing beta diversity with greater urbanization, and similar trends in the diversity of life histories with urbanization. We also find evidence that urbanization influences nearshore communities at local (hundreds of meters) rather than regional (tens of km) scales. Given that different survey methods sample different components of an ecosystem, we then discuss the advantages of eDNA-which we use here to detect hundreds of taxa simultaneously-as a complement to traditional ecological sampling, particularly in the context of broad ecological assessments where exhaustive manual sampling is impractical. Genetic data are a powerful means of uncovering human-ecosystem interactions that might otherwise remain hidden; nevertheless, no sampling method reveals the whole of a biological community.

Separating macroecological pattern and process: comparing ecological, economic, and geological systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin Blonder

Full Text Available Theories of biodiversity rest on several macroecological patterns describing the relationship between species abundance and diversity. A central problem is that all theories make similar predictions for these patterns despite disparate assumptions. A troubling implication is that these patterns may not reflect anything unique about organizational principles of biology or the functioning of ecological systems. To test this, we analyze five datasets from ecological, economic, and geological systems that describe the distribution of objects across categories in the United States. At the level of functional form ('first-order effects', these patterns are not unique to ecological systems, indicating they may reveal little about biological process. However, we show that mechanism can be better revealed in the scale-dependency of first-order patterns ('second-order effects'. These results provide a roadmap for biodiversity theory to move beyond traditional patterns, and also suggest ways in which macroecological theory can constrain the dynamics of economic systems.

Separating macroecological pattern and process: comparing ecological, economic, and geological systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Blonder, Benjamin; Sloat, Lindsey; Enquist, Brian J; McGill, Brian

2014-01-01

Theories of biodiversity rest on several macroecological patterns describing the relationship between species abundance and diversity. A central problem is that all theories make similar predictions for these patterns despite disparate assumptions. A troubling implication is that these patterns may not reflect anything unique about organizational principles of biology or the functioning of ecological systems. To test this, we analyze five datasets from ecological, economic, and geological systems that describe the distribution of objects across categories in the United States. At the level of functional form ('first-order effects'), these patterns are not unique to ecological systems, indicating they may reveal little about biological process. However, we show that mechanism can be better revealed in the scale-dependency of first-order patterns ('second-order effects'). These results provide a roadmap for biodiversity theory to move beyond traditional patterns, and also suggest ways in which macroecological theory can constrain the dynamics of economic systems.

Population genetic structure of skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis from the Indian coast using sequence analysis of the mitochondrial DNA D-loop region

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Menezes, M.R.; Kumar, G.; Kunal, S.P.

Biology (2012) 80, 2198–2212 doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2012.03270.x, available online at wileyonlinelibrary.com Population genetic structure of skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis from the Indian coast using sequence analysis of the mitochondrial DNA D...-loop region M. R. Menezes*, G. Kumar and S. P. Kunal Biological Oceanography Division, National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR), Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India (Received 26 May 2011, Accepted 14 February 2012) Genetic structure of skipjack tuna Katsuwonus...

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

2007 Microbial Population Biology (July 22-26, 2007)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anthony M. Dean

2008-04-01

Microbial Population Biology covers a diverse range of cutting edge issues in the microbial sciences and beyond. Firmly founded in evolutionary biology and with a strongly integrative approach, past meetings have covered topics ranging from the dynamics and genetics of adaptation to the evolution of mutation rate, community ecology, evolutionary genomics, altruism, and epidemiology. This meeting is never dull: some of the most significant and contentious issues in biology have been thrashed out here. We anticipate the 2007 meeting being no exception. The final form of the 2007 meeting is yet to be decided, but the following topics are likely to be included: evolutionary emergence of infectious disease and antibiotic resistance, genetic architecture and implications for the evolution of microbial populations, ageing in bacteria, biogeography, evolution of symbioses, the role of microbes in ecosystem function, and ecological genomics.

Biological monitoring of lotic ecosystems: the role of diatoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Bere

Full Text Available Increasing anthropogenic influence on lotic environments as a result of civilisation has captured public interest because of the consequent problems associated with deterioration of water quality. Various biological monitoring methods that provide a direct measure of ecological integrity by using the response of biota to environmental changes have been developed to monitor the ecological status of lotic environments. Diatoms have been used extensively in this regard and this review attempts to summarise the basic concepts associated with biological monitoring using benthic diatoms. Where possible, examples from work carried out in Brazil are used.

Exploring Tree Age & Diameter to Illustrate Sample Design & Inference in Observational Ecology

Science.gov (United States)

Casady, Grant M.

2015-01-01

Undergraduate biology labs often explore the techniques of data collection but neglect the statistical framework necessary to express findings. Students can be confused about how to use their statistical knowledge to address specific biological questions. Growth in the area of observational ecology requires that students gain experience in…

沼泽湿地生态储水量及生态需水量计算方法%Method for calculating ecological water storage and ecological water requirement of marsh

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

李丽娟; 李九一; 粱丽乔; 柳玉梅

2009-01-01

As one of the most typical wetlands, marsh plays an important role in hydrological and economic aspects, especially in keeping biological diversity. In this study, the definition and connotation of the ecological water storage of marsh is discussed for the first time, and its distinction and relationship with ecological water requirement are also analyzed. Furthermore, the gist and method of calculating ecological water storage and ecological water requirement have been provided, and Momoge wetland has been given as an example of calculation of the two variables. Ecological water use of marsh can be ascertained according to ecological water storage and ecological water requirement. For reasonably spatial and temporal varia-tion of water storage and rational water resources planning, the suitable quantity of water supply to marsh can be calculated according to the hydrological conditions, ecological de-mand and actual water resources.

Recent progress in ecological studies of soil fauna

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hasegawa, Motohiro; Fujii, Saori; Kaneda, Satoshi; Ikeda, Hiroshi; Hishi, Takuo; Hyodo, Fujio; Kobayashi, Makoto

2017-01-01

Progress in ecological studies of soil fauna includes studies of the role and effects of soil fauna on decomposition and soil carbon dynamics in relation to global environmental changes, the introduction of molecular biology approaches to such studies, feeding habit analysis using stable isotopes,

SEAKEYS - Molasses Reef 2000 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058102)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 2004 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058098)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Dry Tortugas 2003 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058097)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 2003 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058097)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 2002 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 2001 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Pulaski Shoal 2009 Meteorological Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 1993 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Dry Tortugas 2000 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 1994 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 2006 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058100)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 2005 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058099)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

Photosynthetically active and ultraviolet radiation at SEAKEYS station Molasses Reef (MLRF) in the Florida Keys, 2011 (NODC Accession 0098080)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 2005 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058099)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Dry Tortugas 1992 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Dry Tortugas 1993 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Dry Tortugas 1998 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 2007 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058101)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 2006 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058100)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 1995 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 1999 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 1997 M+eteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS -Molasses Reef 1998 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058102)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Molasses Reef 1994 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058102)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 1996 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 1992 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS-Dry Tortugas 1999 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Dry Tortugas 1997 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 2002 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 2008 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Dry Tortugas 1995 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS -Molasses Reef 2009 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long 1999 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations Key

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Molasses Reef 2005 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058099)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 1992 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 2001 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS -Molasses Reef 2004 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058098)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Molasses Reef 1999 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058102)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 1996 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 2003 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058097)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS -Molasses Reef 2010 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 1993 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 1998 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Molasses Reef 2002 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 2009 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 2008 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS -Sombrero Key 1998 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 1996 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 1994 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 2004 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058098)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 1995 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 1994 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 1997 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 1994 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 2003 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058097)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 2004 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058098)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 2001 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS -Molasses Reef 2011 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0098080)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Molasses Reef 2007 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058101)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Dry Tortugas 2002 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 2007 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058101)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 2006 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058100)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS DATA - Fowey Rocks 1996 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS DATA-Fowey Rocks 1993 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 2007 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058101)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 2008 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 2006 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058100)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 2007 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058101)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 1998 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Pulaski Shoal 2008 Meteorological Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Molasses Reef 1996 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058102)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Molasses Reef 2008 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 1992 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS -Molasses Reef 2001 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 2005 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058099)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 2000 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Molasses Reef 2006 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058100)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 2005 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058099)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 2000 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 2004 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058098)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 1995 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 2009 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 1997 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sombrero Key 2009 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 2000 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 2000 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 2002 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Molasses Reef 1997 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058102)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 1993 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 1999 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Pulaski Shoal 2007 Meteorological Observations (NODC Accession 0058101)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Fowey Rocks 2009 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Sand Key 1999 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

SEAKEYS - Dry Tortugas 2004 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058098)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO) SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and...

A prototype system for multilingual data discovery of International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) Network data

Science.gov (United States)

Kristin Vanderbilt; John H. Porter; Sheng-Shan Lu; Nic Bertrand; David Blankman; Xuebing Guo; Honglin He; Don Henshaw; Karpjoo Jeong; Eun-Shik Kim; Chau-Chin Lin; Margaret O' Brien; Takeshi Osawa; Éamonn Ó Tuama; Wen Su; Haibo Yang

2017-01-01

Shared ecological data have the potential to revolutionize ecological research just as shared genetic sequence data have done for biological research. However, for ecological data to be useful, it must first be discoverable. A broad-scale research topic may require that a researcher be able to locate suitable data from a variety of global, regional and national data...

Mutualistic interactions drive ecological niche convergence in a diverse butterfly community.

Science.gov (United States)

Elias, Marianne; Gompert, Zachariah; Jiggins, Chris; Willmott, Keith

2008-12-02

Ecological communities are structured in part by evolutionary interactions among their members. A number of recent studies incorporating phylogenetics into community ecology have upheld the paradigm that competition drives ecological divergence among species of the same guild. However, the role of other interspecific interactions, in particular positive interactions such as mutualism, remains poorly explored. We characterized the ecological niche and inferred phylogenetic relationships among members of a diverse community of neotropical Müllerian mimetic butterflies. Müllerian mimicry is one of the best studied examples of mutualism, in which unpalatable species converge in wing pattern locally to advertize their toxicity to predators. We provide evidence that mutualistic interactions can drive convergence along multiple ecological axes, outweighing both phylogeny and competition in shaping community structure. Our findings imply that ecological communities are adaptively assembled to a much greater degree than commonly suspected. In addition, our results show that phenotype and ecology are strongly linked and support the idea that mimicry can cause ecological speciation through multiple cascading effects on species' biology.

Mutualistic interactions drive ecological niche convergence in a diverse butterfly community.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marianne Elias

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Ecological communities are structured in part by evolutionary interactions among their members. A number of recent studies incorporating phylogenetics into community ecology have upheld the paradigm that competition drives ecological divergence among species of the same guild. However, the role of other interspecific interactions, in particular positive interactions such as mutualism, remains poorly explored. We characterized the ecological niche and inferred phylogenetic relationships among members of a diverse community of neotropical Müllerian mimetic butterflies. Müllerian mimicry is one of the best studied examples of mutualism, in which unpalatable species converge in wing pattern locally to advertize their toxicity to predators. We provide evidence that mutualistic interactions can drive convergence along multiple ecological axes, outweighing both phylogeny and competition in shaping community structure. Our findings imply that ecological communities are adaptively assembled to a much greater degree than commonly suspected. In addition, our results show that phenotype and ecology are strongly linked and support the idea that mimicry can cause ecological speciation through multiple cascading effects on species' biology.

Objective classification of ecological status in marine water bodies using ecotoxicological information and multivariate analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Beiras, Ricardo; Durán, Iria

2014-12-01

Some relevant shortcomings have been identified in the current approach for the classification of ecological status in marine water bodies, leading to delays in the fulfillment of the Water Framework Directive objectives. Natural variability makes difficult to settle fixed reference values and boundary values for the Ecological Quality Ratios (EQR) for the biological quality elements. Biological responses to environmental degradation are frequently of nonmonotonic nature, hampering the EQR approach. Community structure traits respond only once ecological damage has already been done and do not provide early warning signals. An alternative methodology for the classification of ecological status integrating chemical measurements, ecotoxicological bioassays and community structure traits (species richness and diversity), and using multivariate analyses (multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis), is proposed. This approach does not depend on the arbitrary definition of fixed reference values and EQR boundary values, and it is suitable to integrate nonlinear, sensitive signals of ecological degradation. As a disadvantage, this approach demands the inclusion of sampling sites representing the full range of ecological status in each monitoring campaign. National or international agencies in charge of coastal pollution monitoring have comprehensive data sets available to overcome this limitation.

Leveraging ecological theory to guide natural product discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Smanski, Michael J; Schlatter, Daniel C; Kinkel, Linda L

2016-03-01

Technological improvements have accelerated natural product (NP) discovery and engineering to the point that systematic genome mining for new molecules is on the horizon. NP biosynthetic potential is not equally distributed across organisms, environments, or microbial life histories, but instead is enriched in a number of prolific clades. Also, NPs are not equally abundant in nature; some are quite common and others markedly rare. Armed with this knowledge, random 'fishing expeditions' for new NPs are increasingly harder to justify. Understanding the ecological and evolutionary pressures that drive the non-uniform distribution of NP biosynthesis provides a rational framework for the targeted isolation of strains enriched in new NP potential. Additionally, ecological theory leads to testable hypotheses regarding the roles of NPs in shaping ecosystems. Here we review several recent strain prioritization practices and discuss the ecological and evolutionary underpinnings for each. Finally, we offer perspectives on leveraging microbial ecology and evolutionary biology for future NP discovery.

Integrating tidal and nontidal ecological assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Mark Southerland; Roberto Llanso

2016-01-01

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has a long history of conducting rigorous assessments of ecological conditions in both tidal and nontidal waters. The Long-Term Benthic (LTB) Monitoring Program and the Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS) both use reference-based indicators of benthic invertebrate communities to provide areawide estimates of ...

Biological flora of Central Europe: Dactylorhiza sambucina (L.) Soó

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Jersáková, J.; Traxmandlová, Iva; Ipser, Z.; Kropf, M.; Pellegrino, G.; Schatz, B.; Djordjevič, V.; Kindlmann, Pavel; Renner, S.S.

2015-01-01

Roč. 17, č. 4 (2015), s. 318-329 ISSN 1433-8319 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1415 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : Colour polymorphism * dormancy * ecological niche * life cycle * reproductive biology * seed germination Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 3.578, year: 2015

Biological and ecological characteristics of soft ticks (Ixodida: Argasidae and their impact for predicting tick and associated disease distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vial L.

2009-09-01

Full Text Available As evidence of global changes is accumulating, scientists are challenged to detect distribution changes of vectors, reservoirs and pathogens caused by anthropogenic and/or environmental changes. Statistical and mathematical distribution models are emerging for ixodid hard ticks whereas no prediction has ever been developed for argasid ones. These last organisms remain unknown and under-reported; they differ from hard ticks by many structural, biological and ecological properties, which complicate direct adaptation of hard tick models. However, investigations on bibliographic resources concerning these ticks suggest that distribution modelling based on natural niche concept and using environmental factors especially climate is also possible, bearing in mind the scale of prediction and their specificities including their nidicolous lifestyle, an indiscriminate host feeding and a short bloodmeal duration, as well as a flexible development cycle through diapause periods.

An electronic atlas on the oceanography of the South China Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Rostov, I. D.; Moroz, V. V.; Rudykh, N. I.; Rostov, V. I.

2009-12-01

The digital atlas on CD ROM includes a set of generalized data on the South China Sea oceanography. The data is presented in the form of spreadsheets, graphics, and text. The atlas contains a brief annotated description of the main physical-geographical characteristics and the particularities of the hydrological regime, water masses, tidal phenomena, and water mass circulation. The atlas is an interactive information-reference system including elements of dynamic data visualization. It contains a body of data on the long-term observations of the temperature and salinity; gridded blocks of the average annual, seasonal, and monthly data at the standard depth horizons; and data on the hydrochemical characteristics and water currents obtained by automatic buoy stations (ABS). A list of existing open access data bases and web sites is given where additional online and archived information on a range of special issues and problems related to regional studies and exploitation is provided. The system allows for fast access to specifically selected online or generalized reference information (via the Internet) and for its imaging.

Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for the Oak Ridge K-25 Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kszos, L.A.; Adams, S.M.; Ashwood, T.L.; Blaylock, B.G.; Greeley, M.S.; Loar, J.M.; Peterson, M.J.; Ryon, M.G.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.; Shoemaker, B.A.; Hinzman, R.L.

1993-02-01

A proposed Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) for the Oak Ridge K-25 Site was prepared in December 1992 as required by the renewed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit that was issued on October 1, 1992. The proposed BMAP consists of four tasks that reflect different but complementary approaches to evaluating the effects of K-25 Site effluents on the ecological integrity of Mitchell Branch, Poplar Creek, and the Poplar Creek embayment of the Clinch River. These tasks include (1) ambient toxicity monitoring, (2) bioaccumulation monitoring, (3) assessment of fish health, and (4) instream monitoring of biological communities. This overall BMAP plan combines established protocols with current biological monitoring techniques to assess environmental compliance and quantify ecological recovery. The BMAP will also determine whether the effluent limits established for the K-25 Site protect the designated use of the receiving streams (Mitchell Branch, Poplar Creek, and Clinch River) for growth and propagation of fish and other aquatic life. Results obtained from this biological monitoring program will also be used to document the ecological effects (and effectiveness) of remedial actions

Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for the Oak Ridge K-25 Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kszos, L. A.; Adams, S. M.; Ashwood, T. L.; Blaylock, B. G.; Greeley, M. S.; Loar, J. M.; Peterson, M. J.; Ryon, M. G.; Smith, J. G.; Southworth, G. R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Environmental Sciences Div.; Shoemaker, B. A. [Oak Ridge K-25 Site, TN (United States); Hinzman, R. L. [Oak Ridge Research Inst., TN (United States)

1993-02-01

A proposed Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) for the Oak Ridge K-25 Site was prepared in December 1992 as required by the renewed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit that was issued on October 1, 1992. The proposed BMAP consists of four tasks that reflect different but complementary approaches to evaluating the effects of K-25 Site effluents on the ecological integrity of Mitchell Branch, Poplar Creek, and the Poplar Creek embayment of the Clinch River. These tasks include (1) ambient toxicity monitoring, (2) bioaccumulation monitoring, (3) assessment of fish health, and (4) instream monitoring of biological communities. This overall BMAP plan combines established protocols with current biological monitoring techniques to assess environmental compliance and quantify ecological recovery. The BMAP will also determine whether the effluent limits established for the K-25 Site protect the designated use of the receiving streams (Mitchell Branch, Poplar Creek, and Clinch River) for growth and propagation of fish and other aquatic life. Results obtained from this biological monitoring program will also be used to document the ecological effects (and effectiveness) of remedial actions.

Camels, Cormorants, and Kangaroo Rats: Integration and Synthesis in Organismal Biology After World War II.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagen, Joel B

2015-01-01

During the decades following World War II diverse groups of American biologists established a variety of distinctive approaches to organismal biology. Rhetorically, organismal biology could be used defensively to distinguish established research traditions from perceived threats from newly emerging fields such as molecular biology. But, organismal biologists were also interested in integrating biological disciplines and using a focus on organisms to synthesize levels of organization from molecules and cells to populations and communities. Part of this broad movement was the development of an area of research variously referred to as physiological ecology, environmental physiology, or ecophysiology. This area of research was distinctive in its self-conscious blend of field and laboratory practices and its explicit integration with other areas of biology such as ecology, animal behavior, and evolution in order to study adaptation. Comparing the intersecting careers of Knut Schmidt-Nielsen and George Bartholomew highlights two strikingly different approaches to physiological ecology. These alternative approaches to studying the interactions of organisms and environments also differed in important ways from the organismal biology championed by leading figures in the modern synthesis.

Chromatographic and biological aspects of organomercurials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fishbein, L

1970-01-01

A thorough review on the biological and chromatographic aspects of methylmercury, phenylmercurials, and miscellaneous organomercurials is presented. Areas covered include ecology, epidemiology, paper chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography, metabolism and toxicity, and environmental degradation. 183 references.

SEAKEYS -Molasses Reef 2003 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058097)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO)SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and has...

SEAKEYS - Long Key 2003 Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations (NODC Accession 0058097)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Florida Institute of Oceanography's (FIO)SEAKEYS (Sustained Ecological Research Related to Management of the Florida Keys Seascape) program began in 1989 and has...

Development of dark-striped field mice, Apodemus agrarius coreae, as a biological dosimeter in a radio-ecological monitoring system: 2. Survival rates and hematology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hee Sun; Kim, Chong Soon; Nishmura, Y.

2005-01-01

Regarding the management of nuclear power plants and the installation of facilities for radiation waste storage: social concerns over radiation safety are increasing. To understand how environmental radiation affects on human beings, the development of an reasonable monitoring system is required. The existing radio-environmental surveillance systems can be classified into physical and biological monitoring systems. The wild small animals and livestocks were reported to be effective biological indicators of environmental radiation This study investigated the possibility of using dark-striped field mice as a biological dosimetric model to assess the effect of radiation on the human environments. For this study, the criteria for the biological dosimeters of environmental radiation were established as the following: first, it should be an animal from a clear background of species; second, it should inhabit a broad range of areas and in considerable numbers; third, it should maintain identical ecological characteristics; fourth, it should be cohabitating with humans; fifth, it should have been consuming food found in their habitat; and finally, it should indicate a clear doseresponse relationship with high sensitivity. Based on such criteria, this study investigated the possibility of using dark-striped field mice as an effective biological dosimeter. Primarily, their species were classified based on their morphological external characteristics and isoenzymic patterns. The taxonomically classified darkstriped field mice, A. agrarius coreae, were then irradiated to investigate their radiation sensitivity based on the survival rate and hematology in this study

Development of dark-striped field mice, Apodemus agrarius coreae, as a biological dosimeter in a radio-ecological monitoring system: 2. Survival rates and hematology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hee Sun; Kim, Chong Soon [Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Nishmura, Y. [National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba (Japan)

2005-07-01

Regarding the management of nuclear power plants and the installation of facilities for radiation waste storage: social concerns over radiation safety are increasing. To understand how environmental radiation affects on human beings, the development of an reasonable monitoring system is required. The existing radio-environmental surveillance systems can be classified into physical and biological monitoring systems. The wild small animals and livestocks were reported to be effective biological indicators of environmental radiation This study investigated the possibility of using dark-striped field mice as a biological dosimetric model to assess the effect of radiation on the human environments. For this study, the criteria for the biological dosimeters of environmental radiation were established as the following: first, it should be an animal from a clear background of species; second, it should inhabit a broad range of areas and in considerable numbers; third, it should maintain identical ecological characteristics; fourth, it should be cohabitating with humans; fifth, it should have been consuming food found in their habitat; and finally, it should indicate a clear doseresponse relationship with high sensitivity. Based on such criteria, this study investigated the possibility of using dark-striped field mice as an effective biological dosimeter. Primarily, their species were classified based on their morphological external characteristics and isoenzymic patterns. The taxonomically classified darkstriped field mice, A. agrarius coreae, were then irradiated to investigate their radiation sensitivity based on the survival rate and hematology in this study.

Biochemical Space: A Framework for Systemic Annotation of Biological Models

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Klement, M.; Děd, T.; Šafránek, D.; Červený, Jan; Müller, Stefan; Steuer, Ralf

2014-01-01

Roč. 306, JUL (2014), s. 31-44 ISSN 1571-0661 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.20.0256 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : biological models * model annotation * systems biology * cyanobacteria Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour

Using functional data analysis to analyze ecological series data

Science.gov (United States)

Background/Question/MethodsA frequent goal in ecology is to understand the relationships among biological organisms and their environment. Most field data are collected as scalar measurements, such that observations are recorded as a collection of datums. The observations are t...

Oceanography of marginal seas

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

DileepKumar, M.

in the first two shallow seas are driven by surface densification following evaporation that in the latter is largely influenced by freshwater discharge from Irrawaddy and inflows across the Andaman Ridge from east Bay of Bengal. Biological productivity...

Ecological assessment of a coastal shallow lagoon in Lagos, Nigeria

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Michael Horsfall

Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, P.M.B. 12729, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria ... diversity observed in station B could be attributed to stress imposed by effluents from ..... of American Science 2010;6(1):42-48.

Conservation landmarks: bureau of biological survey and national biological service

Science.gov (United States)

Friend, M.

1995-01-01

A century separates the recent development of the National Biological Service (NBS) and an early predecessor, the Bureau of Biological Survey (BBS). Both organizations were established at critical crossroads for the conservation of the nation's living biological resources and are conservation landmarks of their times. The BBS of the 192()'s was described as 'a government Bureau of the first rank, handling affairs of great scientific, educational, social, and above all, economic importance throughout the United States and its outlying possessions'' (Cameron 1929:144-145). This stature was achieved at a time of great social, economic, and ecological change. BBS had the vision to pioneer new approaches that led to enhanced understanding of the relation between people, other living things, and the environment. The NBS faces similar challenges to address the issues of the 1990's and beyond.

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS OF CANNED SWEET CORN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phairat Usubharatana

2016-07-01

Full Text Available There has been a notable increase in both consumer knowledge and awareness regarding the ecological benefits of green products and services. Manufacturers now pay more attention to green, environmentally friendly production processes. Two significant tools that can facilitate such a goal are life cycle assessment (LCA and ecological footprint (EF. This study aimed to analyse and determine the damage to the environment, focusing on the canned fruit and vegetable processing. Canned sweet corn (340 g was selected for the case study. All inputs and outputs associated with the product system boundary were collected through field surveys. The acquired inventory was then analysed and evaluated using both LCA and EF methodology. The results were converted into an area of biologically productive land and presented as global hectares (gha. The ecological footprint of one can of sweet corn was calculated as 6.51E-04 gha. The three factors with the highest impact on ecological footprint value were the corn kernels used in the process, the packaging and steam, equivalent to 2.93E-04 gha, 1.19E-04 gha and 1.17E-04 gha respectively. To promote the sustainable development, the company should develop new technology or utilize better management techniques to reduce the ecological footprint of canned food production.

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.

Biological methods used to assess surface water quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Szczerbiñska Natalia

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In accordance with the guidelines of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60 (WFD, both ecological and chemical statuses determine the assessment of surface waters. The profile of ecological status is based on the analysis of various biological components, and physicochemical and hydromorphological indicators complement this assessment. The aim of this article is to present the biological methods used in the assessment of water status with a special focus on bioassay, as well as to provide a review of methods of monitoring water status. Biological test methods include both biomonitoring and bioanalytics. Water biomonitoring is used to assess and forecast the status of water. These studies aim to collect data on water pollution and forecast its impact. Biomonitoring uses organisms which are characterized by particular vulnerability to contaminants. Bioindicator organisms are algae, fungi, bacteria, larval invertebrates, cyanobacteria, macroinvertebrates, and fish. Bioanalytics is based on the receptors of contaminants that can be biologically active substances. In bioanalytics, biosensors such as viruses, bacteria, antibodies, enzymes, and biotests are used to assess degrees of pollution.

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

The ecology of religious beliefs

Science.gov (United States)

Botero, Carlos A.; Gardner, Beth; Kirby, Kathryn R.; Bulbulia, Joseph; Gavin, Michael C.; Gray, Russell D.

2014-01-01

Although ecological forces are known to shape the expression of sociality across a broad range of biological taxa, their role in shaping human behavior is currently disputed. Both comparative and experimental evidence indicate that beliefs in moralizing high gods promote cooperation among humans, a behavioral attribute known to correlate with environmental harshness in nonhuman animals. Here we combine fine-grained bioclimatic data with the latest statistical tools from ecology and the social sciences to evaluate the potential effects of environmental forces, language history, and culture on the global distribution of belief in moralizing high gods (n = 583 societies). After simultaneously accounting for potential nonindependence among societies because of shared ancestry and cultural diffusion, we find that these beliefs are more prevalent among societies that inhabit poorer environments and are more prone to ecological duress. In addition, we find that these beliefs are more likely in politically complex societies that recognize rights to movable property. Overall, our multimodel inference approach predicts the global distribution of beliefs in moralizing high gods with an accuracy of 91%, and estimates the relative importance of different potential mechanisms by which this spatial pattern may have arisen. The emerging picture is neither one of pure cultural transmission nor of simple ecological determinism, but rather a complex mixture of social, cultural, and environmental influences. Our methods and findings provide a blueprint for how the increasing wealth of ecological, linguistic, and historical data can be leveraged to understand the forces that have shaped the behavior of our own species. PMID:25385605

Evaluation of ecological instream flow using multiple ecological indicators with consideration of hydrological alterations

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qiang; Gu, Xihui; Singh, Vijay P.; Chen, Xiaohong

2015-10-01

Dam-induced hydrological alterations and related ecological problems have been arousing considerable concern from hydrologists, ecologists, and policy-makers. The East River basin in China is the major provider of water resources for mega-cities within the Pearl River Delta and meets 80% of annual water demand of Hong Kong. In this study, ecodeficit and ecosurplus were analyzed to determine the ecological impact of water impoundments. Also, Do and DHRAM were employed to evaluate the degree of alteration of hydrological regimes, and ERHIs were analyzed to evaluate the influence of hydrological alterations on ecological diversity. Results indicate that: (1) the magnitude and frequency of high flows decrease and those of low flows increase due to the regulation of reservoirs; (2) variations of annual ecosurplus are mainly the result of precipitation changes and the annual ecodeficit is significantly influenced by reservoirs. However, ecodeficit and ecosurplus in other seasons, particularly autumn and winter, are more influenced by reservoir regulation; (3) impacts of reservoirs on hydrological regimes and eco-flow regimes are different from one station to another due to different degrees of influence of reservoirs on hydrological processes at different stations. The longer the distance between a reservoir and a hydrological station is, the weaker the influence the water reservoir has on the hydrological processes; (4) ecodeficit and ecosurplus can be accepted in the evaluation of alterations of hydrological processes at annual and seasonal time scales. Results of Shannon Index indicate decreasing biological diversity after the construction of water reservoirs, implying negative impacts of water reservoirs on biological diversity of a river basin and this should arouse considerable human concerns. This study provides a theoretical background for water resources management with consideration of eco-flow variations due to reservoir regulation in other highly

Eastward and northward components of ocean current, water temperature, and others collected from moorings in the North East Pacific Coast during the spring/summer through early fall from 2003-2008 (NCEI Accession 0164626)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Bloom-Pacific North West (ECOHAB PNW) was a 5-year multi-disciplinary project that studied the physiology, toxicology,...

A Comprehensive Web-based Platform For Domain-Specific Biological Models

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Klement, M.; Šafránek, D.; Děd, J.; Pejznoch, A.; Nedbal, Ladislav; Steuer, Ralf; Červený, Jan; Müller, Stefan

2013-01-01

Roč. 299, 25 Dec (2013), s. 61-67 ISSN 1571-0661 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.20.0256 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : biological models * model annotation * systems biology * simulation * database Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour

Chironomidae (Diptera, Chironomidae) as biological indicators of water bodies ecological condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakhtin, M.M.; Sejsebaev, A.T.

2002-01-01

The paper presents data confirming that Chironomidae are good to be used as an indicative criterion when classifying lakes. It was found that their quantity and presence of certain species could serve as an index in assessment of water body ecological condition. Results of cytotaxonomic analysis helped to reveal the nature of Chironomini species diversity in STS water bodies. (author)

Meeting summary housing and registration information

Science.gov (United States)

The 1986 Ocean Sciences Meeting of the American Geophysical Union and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) will be held January 13-17, 1986, in New Orleans, La., at the Fairmont Hotel. Co-sponsoring societies are the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the Marine Technology Society (MTS), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Oceanic Engineering Society (OES).Some of the most compelling problems in science and technology span two or more disciplines, and this is especially true of oceanography, which is an amalgamation of several sciences with technology. This meeting will cover topics that include physical and biological oceanography, atmospheric sciences, chemical and geological oceanography, underwater acoustics, and ocean technology.

Environmental biodosimetry: a biologically relevant tool for ecological risk assessment and biomonitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ulsh, B. E-mail: ulshb@mcmaster.ca; Hinton, T.G.; Congdon, J.D.; Dugan, L.C.; Whicker, F.W.; Bedford, J.S

2003-07-01

Biodosimetry, the estimation of received doses by determining the frequency of radiation-induced chromosome aberrations, is widely applied in humans acutely exposed as a result of accidents or for clinical purposes, but biodosimetric techniques have not been utilized in organisms chronically exposed to radionuclides in contaminated environments. The application of biodosimetry to environmental exposure scenarios could greatly improve the accuracy, and reduce the uncertainties, of ecological risk assessments and biomonitoring studies, because no assumptions are required regarding external exposure rates and the movement of organisms into and out of contaminated areas. Furthermore, unlike residue analyses of environmental media environmental biodosimetry provides a genetically relevant biomarker of cumulative lifetime exposure. Symmetrical chromosome translocations can impact reproductive success, and could therefore prove to be ecologically relevant as well. We describe our experience in studying aberrations in the yellow-bellied slider turtle as an example of environmental biodosimetry.

Chemistry and biology by new multiple choice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, Hyeong Seok; Kim, Seong Hwan

2003-02-01