Search results for "Ecos"
showing 8 items of 1898 documents
Dynamic Modeling for Environmental Processes: A Case Study of Lake Engure
2014
Abstract This focus of the study was on system dynamic models that could be useful for modelling environmental processes in Lake Engure. The paper considers the system dynamic model development principles, the most important elements and structure. The aim of the study was to describe possible methods of ecosystem process modelling that allow to represent the actual state of ecosystems and provide opportunities to predict further processes. The methods of ecosystem modelling considered in the paper reveal interactive factors of anthropogenic and environmental processes that influence changes in ecosystems. System dynamic models indicate not only interactions between various factors in the e…
Diversity in warning coloration: selective paradox or the norm?
2019
Aposematic theory has historically predicted that predators should select for warning signals to converge on a single form, as a result of frequency-dependent learning. However, widespread variation in warning signals is observed across closely related species, populations and, most problematically for evolutionary biologists, among individuals in the same population. Recent research has yielded an increased awareness of this diversity, challenging the paradigm of signal monomorphy in aposematic animals. Here we provide a comprehensive synthesis of these disparate lines of investigation, identifying within them three broad classes of explanation for variation in aposematic warning signals: …
Author Correction: Evaluation of three methods for biomass estimation in small invertebrates, using three large disparate parasite species as model o…
2018
Invertebrate biomass is considered one of the main factors driving processes in ecosystems. It can be measured directly, primarily by weighing individuals, but more often indirect estimators are used. We developed two indirect and non-destructive approaches to estimate biomass of small invertebrates in a simple manner. The first one was based on clay modelling and the second one was based on image analysis implemented with open-source software. Furthermore, we tested the accuracy of the widely used geometric approximation method (third method). We applied these three different methods to three morphologically disparate model species, an acanthocephalan worm, a crustacean and a flatworm. To …
Value Co-creation for Smart Villages: The Institutionalization of Regional Service Ecosystems
2020
Building a versatile portfolio of public and private digital-enabled services is vital in rural and sparsely populated regions, where traditional market mechanisms alone cannot guarantee the availability of essential services. However, contemporary services tend to build on prevalent institutions, often governed by decisions based on market mechanisms, such as economies of scale – service-by-service and village-by-village. A shift is suggested towards networks of smart villages co-creating value as regional service ecosystems. We draw from institutional theory and employ the Service-dominant logic (SDL) framework in investigating value co-creation in rural villages in Sweden. Analyzing 53 l…
The MIMOSE Approach to Support Sustainable Forest Management Planning at Regional Scale in Mediterranean Contexts
2017
In recent decades, Mediterranean landscapes have been affected by human-induced drivers, such as land use and climate change. Forest ecosystems and landscapes have been particularly affected in mountainous regions due to limited management and stewardship, especially in remote areas. Therefore, there is a need to set up new strategies to enhance ecosystem services in forested areas which, in turn, will benefit local communities and economies. In this study, we implemented a new approach—Multiscale Mapping of Ecosystem Services (MIMOSE)—to assess ecosystem services in Mediterranean forests located in a mountainous region of Italy. We spatially assessed timber provision and carbon sequestrati…
Is Broad the New Deep in Environmental Ethics? A Comparison of Broad Ecological Justice and Deep Ecology
2016
I argue in this article that a theory of broad ecological justice or the extended capabilities approach, an interesting approach in contemporary environmental ethics, shares many of its core ideas with deep ecology and Arne Næss’s ecosophy T. The similarities between these approaches include the ambition to address the roots of environmental problems, emphasis on recognition and the criticism of oppressive structures, and a systemic orientation. Acknowledging these similarities illustrates the contemporary value of the deep ecology movement. It also helps to develop the theory of broad ecological justice further, especially in terms of bridging the gap between movements and theoretical disc…
Long-term changes in pigmentation of arctic Daphnia provide potential for reconstructing aquatic UV exposure
2016
Abstract Despite the biologically damaging impacts of solar ultraviolet radiation (UV) in nature, little is known about its natural variability, forcing mechanisms, and long-term effects on ecosystems and organisms. Arctic zooplankton, for example the aquatic keystone genus Daphnia (Crustacea, Cladocera) responds to biologically damaging UV by utilizing photoprotective strategies, including pigmentation. We examined the preservation and content of UV-screening pigments in fossil Daphnia remains (ephippia) in two arctic lake sediment cores from Cornwallis Island (Lake R1), Canada, and Spitsbergen (Lake Fugledammen), Svalbard. The aims were to document changes in the degree of UV-protective p…
The “genetic erosion” of the soil ecosystem
2013
Abstract This paper takes into consideration the influence of human activities on the loss of pedodiversity in a Mediterranean area due to large scale farming. In particular it examines the quantitative and qualitative soil changes in a period of 53 years (from 1955 to 2008) evaluating the loss of soil diversity at soil subgroups level of the USDA Soil Taxonomy system. The following indices were used: richness; Shannon’s diversity index; Simpson diversity index; Shannon’s evenness index; Simpson’s evenness index. In this case study, considering what we observed in time, the human intervention in soil transformation could increase the diversity in the landscape in an initial phase, but forwa…