Search results for "ECOSYSTEM"
showing 10 items of 1752 documents
Editorial: Changing Plankton Communities: Causes, Effects and Consequences
2019
Whole-Lake Sugar Addition Demonstrates Trophic Transfer of Dissolved Organic Carbon to Top Consumers
2017
Terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) provides an external carbon source to lake ecosystems. However, there is ongoing debate about whether external DOC that enters a lake can pass up the food web to support top consumers. We show, from experimental manipulation of a whole lake, that externally loaded DOC can contribute appreciably to fish biomass. Monthly additions of cane sugar with a distinct carbon stable isotope value during 2 years rapidly enriched the 13C content of zooplankton and macroinvertebrates, with a more gradual 13C enrichment of fish. After sugar addition stopped, the 13C content of consumers reverted towards original values. A simple isotope mixing model indicated tha…
On Some Misconceptions Concerning Digital Banking and Alternative Delivery Channels
2016
A great deal of conceptual confusion surrounds the notions of digital banking and innovative alternative delivery channels that support banking and other financial transactions globally. The authors contend that the concepts of digital banking and associated delivery channels are ambiguous and restrictive; their usability has been undermined and their purpose and objective have, to a large extent, been misunderstood. Against this backdrop, the authors offer an inclusive definition of digital banking and delivery channels and provide logical explanations of these terms that can benefit scholars, the telecommunication sector, the banking industry, policy makers, and service providers (in term…
Reviewing the role of ecosystems services in the sustainability of the urban environment: A multi-country analysis
2020
The urban environment is characterised by many pressures caused by population growth, transport (and its related emissions), and the damage to green areas. Yet, there is a variety of ecosystem services available in urban areas, which may be deployed to ameliorate the current problems and foster their sustainability. This paper reviews the role of ecosystem services as tools for sustainability, based on an urban setting. It also describes a series of multi-country case studies, where an assessment of their functions using a set of benefits valuation approaches such as health benefits, economic benefits, social benefits and benefits to climate resilience, are provided, along with an appraisal…
Soil genetic erosion: New conceptual developments in soil security
2019
In the last decades, in some Mediterranean areas, pedodiversity decreased mainly due to pedotechnique application in large-scale farming that transformed original soils into Anthrosols. Supporting the consideration that soils can be considered as living systems, the original concept of 'soil genetic erosion' is re-proposed. Data, extrapolated and modeled from a Soil Information System in a study case representative of a Mediterranean landscape, predicted that most of the soil types would disappear in few years leading to a decrease of the soil diversity and originating soil genetic erosion. This circumstance is intentionally here told in form of a story where the fairy tale characters are s…
BIAM: a new bio-inspired analysis methodology for digital ecosystems based on a scale-free architecture
2017
Today we live in a world of digital objects and digital technology; industry and humanities as well as technologies are truly in the midst of a digital environment driven by ICT and cyber informatics. A digital ecosystem can be defined as a digital environment populated by interacting and competing digital species. Digital species have autonomous, proactive and adaptive behaviors, regulated by peer-to-peer interactions without central control point. An interconnecting architecture with few highly connected nodes (hubs) and many low connected nodes has a scale- free architecture. A new bio-inspired analysis methodology (BIAM) environment, an investigation strategy for information flow, fault…
Weighted fitness theory: an approach to symbiotic communities
2017
Roles for RpoS in survival of Escherichia coli during protozoan predation and in reduced moisture conditions highlight its importance in soil environ…
2017
The soil is a complex ecosystem where interactions between biotic and abiotic factors determine the survival and fate of microbial inhabitants of the system. Having previously shown that Escherichia coli requires the general stress response regulator, RpoS, to survive long term in soil, it was important to determine what specific conditions in this environment necessitate a functional RpoS. This study investigated the susceptibility of soil-persistent E. coli to predation by the single-celled eukaryotes Acanthamoeba polyphaga and Tetrahymena pyriformis, and the role RpoS plays in resisting this predation. Strain-specific differences were observed in the predation of E. coli strains, with so…
Dysbiosis in marine aquaculture revealed through microbiome analysis: reverse ecology for environmental sustainability
2020
AbstractThe increasing demand for products for human consumption is leading to the fast-growing expansion of numerous food sectors such as marine aquaculture (mariculture). However, excessive input of nutrients and pollutants modifies marine ecosystems. Here, we applied a metagenomic approach to investigate these perturbations in samples from marine farms of gilthead seabream cultures. Results revealed dysbiosis and functional imbalance within the net cage with a unique structure, with little interference with samples from the fish microbiota or those collected far away from the coast. Remarkably, below the cage the prokaryotic community was highly similar to the marine microbiome of photic…
Relevance of secretor status genotype and microbiota composition in susceptibility to rotavirus and norovirus infections in humans
2017
Host genetic factors, such as histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs), are associated with susceptibility to norovirus (NoV) and rotavirus (RV) infections. Recent advances point to the gut microbiome as a key player necessary for a viral pathogen to cause infection. In vitro NoV attachment to host cells and resulting infections have been linked to interactions with certain bacterial types in the gut microbiota. We investigated the relationship between host genotype, gut microbiota, and viral infections. Saliva and fecal samples from 35 adult volunteers were analysed for secretor status genotype, the gut microbiota composition by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and salivary IgA titers to NoV and RV. Hi…