The Experts below are selected from a list of 360 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Joan Iverson Nassauer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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limitations of using landscape pattern indices to evaluate the Ecological Consequences of alternative plans and designs
Landscape and Urban Planning, 2005Co-Authors: Robert C Corry, Joan Iverson NassauerAbstract:Abstract Landscape pattern indices have been discussed as tools for comparing the Ecological Consequences of alternative landscape plans and designs. While several landscape ecology investigations have demonstrated the applicability of pattern indices for characterizing landscapes, there is a lack of evidence that pattern indices imply Ecological processes. We investigated the utility of landscape pattern indices for judging the habitat implications of alternative landscape plans or designs, and we compared our results to our colleagues’ application of a spatially explicit population (small mammal) habitat model for the same landscape plans. Results of our investigation suggest that planners and designers should be exceedingly cautious in making Ecological inferences from landscape pattern index values applied to alternative landscape plans. For our high resolution data representing highly fragmented landscapes, indices were of limited utility in measuring pattern differences, and while reliable, were not valid for measuring differences in an Ecological consequence: small mammal habitat.
Magnus Svedmark - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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basic principles and Ecological Consequences of changing water regimes riparian plant communities
Environmental Management, 2002Co-Authors: Christer Nilsson, Magnus SvedmarkAbstract:Recent research has emphasized the importance of riparian ecosystems as centers of biodiversity and links between terrestrial and aquatic systems. Riparian ecosystems also belong among the environments that are most disturbed by humans and are in need of restoration to maintain biodiversity and Ecological integrity. To facilitate the completion of this task, researchers have an important function to communicate their knowledge to policy-makers and managers. This article presents some fundamental qualities of riparian systems, articulated as three basic principles. The basic principles proposed are: (1) The flow regime determines the successional evolution of riparian plant communities and Ecological processes. (2) The riparian corridor serves as a pathway for redistribution of organic and inorganic material that influences plant communities along rivers. (3) The riparian system is a transition zone between land and water ecosystems and is disproportionately plant species-rich when compared to surrounding ecosystems. Translating these principles into management directives requires more information about how much water a river needs and when and how, i.e., flow variables described by magnitude, frequency, timing, duration, and rate of change. It also requires information about how various groups of organisms are affected by habitat fragmentation, especially in terms of their dispersal. Finally, it requires information about how effects of hydrologic alterations vary between different types of riparian systems and with the location within the watershed.
Boris Worm - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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predicting Ecological Consequences of marine top predator declines
Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 2008Co-Authors: Michael R Heithaus, Alejandro Frid, Aaron J Wirsing, Boris WormAbstract:Recent studies document unprecedented declines in marine top predators that can initiate trophic cascades. Predicting the wider Ecological Consequences of these declines requires understanding how predators influence communities by inflicting mortality on prey and inducing behavioral modifications (risk effects). Both mechanisms are important in marine communities, and a sole focus on the effects of predator-inflicted mortality might severely underestimate the importance of predators. We outline direct and indirect Consequences of marine predator declines and propose an integrated predictive framework that includes risk effects, which appear to be strongest for long-lived prey species and when resources are abundant. We conclude that marine predators should be managed for the maintenance of both density- and risk-driven Ecological processes, and not demographic persistence alone.
Lars Anders Hansson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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low concentrations potential Ecological Consequences synthetic estrogens alter life history and demographic structures of aquatic invertebrates
Environmental Pollution, 2013Co-Authors: Maria Sol Souza, Per Hallgren, Esteban Balseiro, Lars Anders HanssonAbstract:Contraceptive drugs are nowadays found in aquatic environments around the globe. Particularly, 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) may act even at low concentrations, such as those recorded in natural ecosystems. We evaluated the physiological effects of EE2 on cyclopoids and calanoids, common copepods in both marine and freshwater communities. We used three EE2 concentrations and assessed its impact on activity of different physiological endpoints: Acetylcholinesterase (neurotransmission), Glutathione S-transferase (detoxifying system), and Caspase-3 (apoptosis). While EE2 exerts, distinctive effect on detoxifying and apoptotic systems, no effect on AChE was observed at environmental doses. Our results show that EE2 exposure affects differently copepod physiology endpoints, altering moulting process, adult recruitment in calanoids and calanoid to cyclopoid ratio. The Ecological Consequences of this underlying physiological process may affect since life history to population and community structures, and this represent a new aspects of this xenobiotic in natural systems. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (Less)
Jason W Chapman - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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long range seasonal migration in insects mechanisms evolutionary drivers and Ecological Consequences
Ecology Letters, 2015Co-Authors: Jason W Chapman, D R Reynolds, Kenneth WilsonAbstract:Myriad tiny insect species take to the air to engage in windborne migration, but entomology also has its ‘charismatic megafauna’ of butterflies, large moths, dragonflies and locusts. The spectacular migrations of large day-flying insects have long fascinated humankind, and since the advent of radar entomology much has been revealed about high-altitude night-time insect migrations. Over the last decade, there have been significant advances in insect migration research, which we review here. In particular, we highlight: (1) notable improvements in our understanding of lepidopteran navigation strategies, including the hitherto unsuspected capabilities of high-altitude migrants to select favourable winds and orientate adaptively, (2) progress in unravelling the neuronal mechanisms underlying sun compass orientation and in identifying the genetic complex underpinning key traits associated with migration behaviour and performance in the monarch butterfly, and (3) improvements in our knowledge of the multifaceted interactions between disease agents and insect migrants, in terms of direct effects on migration success and pathogen spread, and indirect effects on the evolution of migratory systems. We conclude by highlighting the progress that can be made through inter-phyla comparisons, and identify future research areas that will enhance our understanding of insect migration strategies within an eco-evolutionary perspective.
