Search results for "ECOSYSTEMS"
showing 10 items of 283 documents
Effects of anthropogenic stress on hosts and their microbiomes: Treated wastewater alters performance and gut microbiome of a key detritivore ( Asell…
2023
Human activity is a major driver of ecological and evolutionary change in wild populations and can have diverse effects on eukaryotic organisms as well as on environmental and host-associated microbial communities. Although host-microbiome interactions can be a major determinant of host fitness, few studies consider the joint responses of hosts and their microbiomes to anthropogenic changes. In freshwater ecosystems, wastewater is a widespread anthropogenic stressor that represents a multifarious environmental perturbation. Here, we experimentally tested the impact of treated wastewater on a keystone host (the freshwater isopod Asellus aquaticus) and its gut microbiome. We used a semi-natur…
Joint Methodology for the Identification and Assessment of Groundwater Dependent Terrestrial Ecosystems in Estonia and Latvia
2020
Dynamic interactions between ground- and surface water are widely known, but the role of groundwater in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is often poorly understood and documented due to the spatiotemporal complexity. Many countries have not yet completed the assessment of groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs). GDEs are valuable ecosystems that depend on groundwater input and can not be considered and assessed separately. Changes in the quantity and chemical composition of groundwater recharge may result in significant and permanent damage on GDE flora and fauna. Aquifers are dynamic systems which are not subject to administrative boundaries and borders, therefore should be managed in cl…
Byers Peninsula: A reference site for coastal, terrestrial and limnetic ecosystem studies in maritime Antarctica
2009
Abstract This article describes the development of an international and multidisciplinary project funded by the Spanish Polar Programme on Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, South Shetlands). The project adopted Byers Peninsula as an international reference site for coastal and terrestrial (including inland waters) research within the framework of the International Polar Year initiative. Over 30 scientists from 12 countries and 26 institutions participated in the field work, and many others participated in the processing of the samples. The main themes investigated were: Holocene changes in climate, using both lacustrine sediment cores and palaeo-nests of penguins; limnology of the lakes, …
BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM UNDER CONSTRUCTION
2012
In recent years, we have seen the rise in interest on new service concepts that would take the advantage of capabilities of ecosystems instead that of single companies. In this paper we describe the initial steps on a new business initiative and how the ecosystem starts developing around the core. We use action research approach in one case of building joint service, sports receipt, for health exercise and wellbeing markets. The research paper concludes with an ecosystem mode peerReviewed
Ecosystem Under Construction: An Action Research Study on Entrepreneurship in a Business Ecosystem
2012
In recent years, we have seen increasing interest in new service concepts that take advantage of the capabilities of business ecosystems instead of single companies. In this article, we describe how a business ecosystem begins to develop around a service business idea proposed by an entrepreneur. We aim to recognize the different domains of players that are or should be involved in the ecosystem while it is under construction. The article concludes with an ecosystem model consisting of six sub-ecosystems having different change drivers and clockspeeds. All great things are based on a series of small things, and all the small things need hard work.
Water-use efficiency and transpiration across European forests during the Anthropocene
2015
Considering the combined effects of CO2 fertilization and climate change drivers on plant physiology leads to a modest increase in simulated European forest transpiration in spite of the effects of CO2-induced stomatal closure. The Earth’s carbon and hydrologic cycles are intimately coupled by gas exchange through plant stomata1,2,3. However, uncertainties in the magnitude4,5,6 and consequences7,8 of the physiological responses9,10 of plants to elevated CO2 in natural environments hinders modelling of terrestrial water cycling and carbon storage11. Here we use annually resolved long-term δ13C tree-ring measurements across a European forest network to reconstruct the physiologically driven r…
The green granary of the Empire? Insights into olive agroforestry in Sicily (Italy) from the Roman past and the present
2023
Groves with ancient olive trees (Olea europaea L.) could be considered remnants of old agroforestry systems. Anything but static, these agro-ecosystems have undergone drastic transformational processes in Mediterranean countries, where abandonment or intensification have been observed far more than continuity, expansion or renaissance, leading to environmental degradation of rural areas. Starting from this assumption and inspired by historical ecology and historical geography, we consider centuries-old olive trees as living archives of human-nature interactions and are thus proxies of past agroforestry. Our aim is to better understand what has driven dynamics of change and persistence, happ…
A quantitative insight into the impact and performance of seed accelerators and their accelerated start-ups
2020
El tema de investigación de esta tesis es el estudio de las aceleradoras de emprendimiento (AE), consideradas la nueva generación de incubadora de empresas (Bøllingtoft, 2012). Tanto las incubadoras como las aceleradoras permiten a las empresas jóvenes comenzar su actividad a través de un proceso de aprendizaje, consultoría e inversión, con el objetivo de aumentar sus posibilidades de supervivencia y crecimiento en el mercado durante sus primeros meses de vida (Cohen y Hochberg, 2014). El número de AE ha aumentado drásticamente desde la primera Aceleradora conocida en 2005 (Y Combinator), hasta un estimado de más de 3.000 AE en todo el mundo (Hochberg, 2016). Europa en particular, experimen…
The role of agroecosystems for invasion of a generalist herbivore
2014
Assessing Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Management Programmes: Stakeholder Participation Process and Policy Implications for Transport, Energy a…
2022
Climate change is a critical sustainability challenge for islands and their main economic sectors. Rising sea levels, extreme temperatures, and drier conditions are the impacts with the most significant potential to amplify the economic damage on islands. However, their isolation and natural conditions bring about some leeway to respond to climate impacts on their terms. This paper aims to provide a local-level analysis and ranking of alternative adaptation pathways in an island context through the stakeholders’ lens. This study reviews the latest advancements in adaptation science and proposes a catalogue of adaptation and risk management options that feed a participatory assessment …