Ecology (General)

This book discusses state-of-the-art techniques for ecosystem service valuation of forests, rivers, wetlands, lakes and coastal ecosystems, for their sustainable development and management. An ecosystem service valuation can be used to address environmental degradation of natural resources. Numerous natural and man-made factors like climate change, pollution, encroachment, and over-exploitation, have put ecosystems under threat worldwide. These ecosystems provide a lot of services to human beings but many of these services are not taken into account in the market prices for products and services, and their ecological functions are not economically valued. The valuation of these ecosystems' services will help to shed light on their sustainable management. This book offers a fresh and innovative resource that captures the latest advancements, addresses emerging challenges, and propels the field forward, making it a must-have for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. This book is also useful for stakeholders to achieve United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals 6 (Sustainability of water resources) and 13 (Climate action).The most relevant target audiences are hydrologists, hydrogeologists, environmental scientists, ecologists, biologists, and academicians. This book can be useful to post-graduate students, researchers, academicians, policy makers, NGOs in these fields. It also appeals to professionals in the fields of urban planning, agriculture, forestry, water resources management and environmental policy.

This highly-readable Open Access textbook provides basic background information about marine mammals and anthropogenic impacts on them. The book includes inspiring exercises for education school programs in natural sciences. The book also provides advice on career paths using case studies of marine scientists and veterinarians describing their journeys from student to profession. By sharing real-life career paths, readers find answers to questions such as "What needs to be considered when choosing a career in science?" and "What kind of tasks do scientists undertake on a daily basis?"Marine mammals are amongst some of the most celebrated creatures on Earth, with their high intelligence, social and communicating skills, and capacity for deep diving. Alongside general information about marine mammals, the book aims at generating awareness of the impact of litter and noise pollution on the marine environment using marine mammals as an example. Huge numbers of marine animals, including marine mammals, die every year from entanglement in fishing gear, by ingestion of litter or because of chemical pollution. In the last decade many technological and scientific tools have been developed to aid research, for instance miniaturised sound recorders which can be attached to cetaceans and seals and record noise levels around them, their vocal production as well as their diving behaviour. This Open Access textbook can be used by undergraduate students interested in the fundamentals of marine mammal biology and medicine, and in pursuing the profession of a marine scientist.

This book is a collection of comprehensive and latest information on all aspects of vaccination in fish and shellfish. It provides the basic understanding about the immune system of both fish and crustaceans, besides giving the latest information on adjuvants, vaccine delivery methods, adverse effects of vaccines and methods to assess the efficacy of vaccines. Separate chapters on the role of pattern recognition receptors and interferons in fish vaccination, biofilm vaccines and biosafety and regulatory requirements for fish vaccines are also included. Aquaculture, being the fastest growing food producing industry in the world, is looked upon for alleviating the malnutrition especially among the under privileged population. However, intensive aquaculture practices have led to increased incidences of diseases and significant production losses. Among various health management measures employed in aquaculture, vaccination has been proven to be the best approach to protect fish against pathogens. It is considered to be safe and is a key factor for sustainable aquaculture. In this background, apart from the basic understanding of fish and shellfish immune system, updated knowledge on various types of vaccines and the vaccination strategies currently employed in aquaculture are also covered. The book is designed to provide the latest and comprehensive knowledge on all these aspects as a compiled resource material which is useful to students, researchers and other professionals in the field of aquaculture.

Warm-temperate deciduous forests are "southern", mainly oak-dominated deciduous forests, as found over the warmer southern parts of the temperate deciduous forest regions of East Asia, Europe and eastern North America. Climatic analysis has shown that these forests extend from typical temperate climates to well into the warm-temperate zone, in areas where winters are a bit too cold for the 'zonal' evergreen broad-leaved forests normally expected in that climatic zone. This book is the first to recognize and describe these southern deciduous forests as an alternative to the evergreen forests of the warm-temperate zone. This warm-temperate zone will become more important under global warming, since it represents the contested transition between deciduous and evergreen forests and between tropical and temperate floristic elements. This book is dedicated to the memory of Tatsü Kira, the imaginative Japanese ecologist who first noticed and described this general zonation exception and who proposed the name warm-temperate deciduous forest.

This book conducts research on the evaluation and reduction mechanism of the negative effects of urban Transportation Energy Supply Network (TESN). By analyzing the current supply and demand situation of urban transportation energy supply network, the concept of negative effects of urban transportation energy supply network is defined, and specific definitions and measurement methods of negative effects are proposed. A TESN negative effect reduction mechanism was constructed from three aspects: site layout optimization, site cooperation game, and replenishment vehicle scheduling. The simulation validation of the urban transportation energy supply network was conducted using AnyLogic simulation software.

According to UN estimates, approximately nearly half of the world's population now lives in cities and that figure is expected to rise to almost 70% by 2050. Cities now account for around 70% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, and this percentage is predicted to rise in the near future as a result of projected increases in global urbanization patterns. It is widely acknowledged that irrational urban planning and design can increase emissions while also exacerbating threats and risks, resulting in a slew of environmental issues such as urban heat islands, air pollution, flooding, amongst other issues, as well as environmental, social, and economic losses. Therefore, these concerns must be addressed promptly in order to cope up with these rising difficulties and make urban environments safer for residents. With the advancement of remote sensing technology and the use of current remote observation systems, urban data science, remote sensing, and artificialintelligence (AI), modeling and quantifying emergent difficulties in urban regions and urban systems have become easy. They aid in the quantitative analysis of urban shape, functions, and human behavior in cities. Harvesting data, developing models, and suggesting new methodologies will be aided by combining urban ecology with new breakthroughs in data science. This book is of great value to a diverse group of academicians, scientists, students, environmentalists, meteorologists, urban planners, remote sensing and GIS experts with a common interest in geospatial sciences within the earth environmental sciences, as well as human and social sciences.

Discover the groundbreaking field of eco science with this comprehensive guide. From the principles of ecology and biodiversity conservation to advancements in eco technology and the role of policy and governance, this book offers a panoramic view of sustainable development and future directions. Packed with valuable insights and practical strategies, it is a must-read for anyone passionate about creating a greener future.

Natural Capital.- Water Resources.- Biodiversity.- Ecosystem services.- Integrating Natural Capital in the Economy.

This contributed volume covers all aspects of small indigenous fish for nutritional and livelihood security. The availability, descriptions and identification of common small indigenous fish provides potential and prospects of fish production from inland open water system. In addition, individual chapters are added on growth, feeding, diseases and health management of these small fishes. Essential information is provided on packaging and transport of these fishes. Specific chapters provide information on nutritional value of fishes, value addition and product development by using small indigenous fish species in different regions of the country. Further topics include small fishes of ornamental value, indigenous technical knowledge, climate change impact, conservation and management of small indigenous fish diversity. This book supports the academicians, farmers, entrepreneurs and fisheries professionals involved in gaining the knowledge and skills needed to contribute in nutritional and livelihood security of the nation.

This book shows that evolutionary game theory can unravel how mutual cooperation, trust, and credit in a group emerge in organizations and institutions. Some organizations and institutions, such as insurance unions, credit unions, and banks, originated from very simple mutual-aid groups. Members in these early-stage mutual-aid groups help each other, making rules to promote cooperation, and suppressing free riders. Then, they come to "trust" not only each other but also the group they belong to, itself. The division of labor occurs when the society comes to have diversity and complexity in a larger group, and the division of labor also requires mutual cooperation and trust among different social roles. In a larger group, people cannot directly interact with each other, and the reputation of unknown people helps other decide who is a trustworthy person. However, if gossip spreads untruths about a reputation, trust and cooperation are destroyed.Therefore, how to suppress untrue gossip is also important for trust and cooperation in a larger group. If trustworthiness and credibility can be established, these groups are successfully sustainable. Some develop and evolve and then mature into larger organizations and institutions. Finally, these organizations and institutions become what they are now. Therefore, not only cooperation but also trust and credit are keys to understanding these organizations and institutions.The evolution of cooperation, a topic of research in evolutionary ecology and evolutionary game theory, can be applied to understanding how to make institutions and organizations sustainable, trustworthy, and credible. It provides us with the idea that evolutionary game theory is a good mathematical tool to analyze trust and credit. This kind of research can be applied to current hot topics such as microfinance and the sustainable use of ecosystems.

This open access book applies a social ecological systems (SES) lens to conservation-based development in Patagonia, bringing together authors with historical, contemporary, and future-oriented perspectives in order to increase understanding of the social and environmental implications of nature-based tourism and other forms of conservation-based territorial development. By focusing on Patagonia (as a region) and its various forms of conservation-based development, this book contributes one of the first collections of South American based lessons and will be valuable to researchers and practitioners, both locally and around the world, seeking to better understand complex interconnections between social and ecological environments, and pursue a similar path to resilience and sustainability.

This book presents 12 effective methods to manage wetlands for conservation. It offers a tool box of causal factors that can be used to protect and restore wetlands to enhance biological diversity and other functions. Each causal factor is introduced, briefly explained, and then illuminated with selected examples from around the world.The book provides a prioritized shopping list of methods for protecting and restoring wetlands. The three first and most important causal factors are flooding, fertility, and natural disturbance. Then nine other causal factors are introduced, including herbivory, sedimentation, roads, invasive species, and coarse woody debris. Each causal factor is carefully linked to the scientific literature and explained using the author's own experience. The same list of 12 causal factors applies around the world-whether you are managing a temperate zone floodplain, a tropical peatland, a freshwater marsh, or a coastal mangrove swamp. Instead of hiring an expensive team of consultants, or pouring through hundreds of scientific papers, here is one concise guide to methods that can be immediately applied to benefit any wetland.Professor Paul Keddy has spent more than 50 years studying wetlands, and writing and lecturing about the environmental factors that control them. He has published more than 150 scholarly papers, and won multiple scientific prizes. His book Wetland Ecology is widely used to teach the principles of wetland science. Causal Factors for Wetland Management: A Concise Guide has a much simpler message: how to protect and enhance wetlands. In this concise guide, he has condensed a lifetime of experience into just 12 principles. The book is aimed at all people who protect or restore wetlands: park managers, wildlife biologists, landscape architects, engineers, environmental consultants, environmental agencies, conservation authorities, and NGOs-as well as landowners and concerned citizens. Causal Factors for Wetland Management: A Concise Guide is essential reading for anyone who cares for wetlands and wild places.

This contributed volume provides a comprehensive, in-depth and subject-based reviews on the current status of active ingredients, sustainable use, biodiversity and conservation of certain endangered medicinal plants. The book also explores conventional and non-conventional biotechnological interventions for their biodiversity conservation. Medicinal plants have been used in worldwide as a major source of raw material for the traditional herbal healthcare practices as well as for drug discovery and development in pharmaceutical industry. The cumulative consequences of various human activities and environmental factors cause decline in the biodiversity of medicinal plants at an unprecedented rate worldwide. Thus, the overall understanding of ecology, species and genetic diversity along with assessment of the status of different threats and their impact on medicinal plants is crucial to sustain existing biodiversity, its utilization and conservation. All the latest advancements in the biotechnological approaches for the conservation research of endangered medicinal plants and the future perspectives have been described. This book provides comprehensive reviews spreading over about 25 chapters divided in three sections. The chapters of this book are written by recognized scientists in their respective fields which are useful to students, academicians, researchers, botanists, biotechnologists, policy makers, conservationists and industries interested in biodiversity conservation and medicinal plant research for the production of secondary metabolites.

This book presents a systemic view of the global environmental economy under the conditions of climate change from the positions of Sustainable Development Goals. The purpose of the book is to study the current problems of the global environmental economy under the conditions of climate change and to determine the prospects of its sustainable development (systemic support for the SDGs). This goal predetermines the logic and structure of the book, which is comprised of five parts.Part I presents the authors' novel view of the global environmental economy under the conditions of climate change from the positions of the SDGs. It reflects the contradiction and describes the path of preserving economic growth during the implementation of SDG 13. The COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis are considered as the result of the reduction of biodiversity under the conditions of climate change from the positions of SDG 3. Responsible innovations, eco-friendly products, and green trade are presented as trends of the environmental economy under the conditions of climate change to support SDG 12. Green jobs are analyzed in the environmental economy under the conditions of climate change during the implementation of SDG 8. The significance of social inclusivity and reduction of the inequality of the environmental economy under the conditions of climate change to support SDG 10 is noted.Part II elaborates on the sectoral specifics of the influence of climate change on the environmental economy: energetics, finance, industry, state management, and agriculture. Part III presents and discusses the international experience of development of the environmental economy under the conditions of climate change given the specifics of developed and developing countries and based on the case experience of Central Asia, the EAEU, and Russia.In Part IV, technological transition (Fourth Industrial Revolution) is offered as a perspective response of the global economic policy to climate change. Scenarios of the fight against climate change in the Decade of Action depending on the scale of the technological transition are described: digital economy vs Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0. The perspectives of the technological transition at the level of companies (creation of cyber-physical systems of Industry 4.0; green digital innovations and smart ESG finance) and regions (smart region as a socio-economic environment with large adaptability to climate change) are described.

This open access book explores the energy transition / energy poverty nexus in the European Union, including the implications of the transition and related policies for the household sector. Written by experts on energy economics, energy studies and related fields, it examines the impacts and costs of the energy transition (including those caused by carbon pricing) for the economy and for families in particular. Providing case studies on Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Greece, the contributing authors highlight current overlapping vulnerabilities for households, show the effects of decarbonization policies on relative prices, and discuss strategies for reducing energy poverty while also decarbonizing. Moreover, they address household and consumer vulnerabilities in connection with societal transformations such as demographic changes and the aging populations of Europe and particularly Italy. Given its scope, the book will appeal to scholars and students of energy studies, energy economics and related fields, and to anyone interested in the benefits and costs of the ongoing energy transition.

This contributed volume describes management practices based on interdisciplinary and convergence science approaches from different disciplines of agricultural science to enhance the resilience of dryland agriculture. The main focus of this book is to address the current issues and trends along with future prospects and challenges in adopting salient agricultural management practices in drylands globally under a climate-change scenario. Climate change and global warming have profound repercussions on increasing frequency, severity, and duration of droughts and/or floods, which may have implications for future productivity of dryland agriculture, e.g., more water shortages or abundances and high or low runoff rates, diminished crop yields, and reduced water productivity. In past few years, many technological advancements and management strategies have been evolved to tackle the climate-induced risks of dryland agriculture considering interdisciplinary and convergence approaches that integrate knowledge from multi-disciplines. This book is an attempt to bridge the gap in literature by unraveling controversies and characteristics of dryland ecosystems under the changing climate and dealing with detailed procedures of applying the advanced practices adapted to climate change for management of dryland agriculture. This edited book is of interest to ecologists, economists, environmentalists, geologists, horticulturalists, hydrologists, soil scientists, social scientists, natural resource conservationists and policy makers dealing with dryland agriculture. This book offers a broad understanding of dryland agriculture and assists the reader to identify both the current as well as the probable future state of dryland agriculture in a global context.

This book, besides discussing challenges and opportunities, will reveal the microbe-metal interactions and strategies for e-waste remediation in different ecosystems. It will unveil the recent biotechnological advancement and microbiological approach to sustainable biorecycling of e-waste such as bioleaching for heavy metal extraction, valorization of precious metal, biodegradation of e-plastic, the role of the diverse microbial community in e-waste remediation, genetically engineered microbes for e-waste management, the importance of microbial exopolysaccharides in metal biosorption, next-generation technologies, omics-based technologies etc. It also holds the promise to discuss the conservation, utilization and cataloging indigenous microbes in e-waste-polluted niches and promising hybrid technology for sustainable e-waste management.Revolution in the area of information technology and communication is constantly evolving due to scientific research and development.Concurrently, the production of new electrical and electronic equipment also thus uplifting in this era of revolution. These technological advancements certainly have problematic consequences which is the rise of huge amounts of electronic obsoletes or electronic waste (e-waste). Improper management of both hazardous and nonhazardous substances of e-waste led to a major concern in our digital society and environment. Therefore, a sustainable approach including microbial candidates to tackle e-waste is the need of the hour.Nevertheless, the continuous demand for new-generation gadgets and electronics set this high-tech evolution to a new frontier in the last few years. With this continuing trend of technological development, e-waste is expanding exponentially worldwide. In the year of 2019, the worldwide generation of e-waste was approximately 53.6 Mt, of which only about 17.4% of e-waste was collected and recycled, and the other 82.6% was not even documented. E-waste containsvarious heterogeneous waste complexes such as metals (60%), blends of many polymers (30%) and halogenated compounds, radioactive elements and other pollutants (10%), respectively. The sustainable, efficient, and economic management of e-waste is thus, a challenging task today and in the coming decades. Conventional techniques such as the use of chemicals, incineration and informal ways of e-waste dismantling trigger serious health risks and contamination to the human population and environment, respectively due to the liberation of toxic and hazardous substances from the waste. In this context, bio-candidates especially microorganisms could be sharp-edged biological recycling tools to manage e-waste sustainably. As microbes are omnipresent and diverse in their physiology and functional aspects, they offer a wide range of bioremediation.

This book gives insight into several aspects of the microbiology, biotechnology, and ecosystem sustainability of special and under-explored regions, that captivate human beings by their natural richness, their extensive biodiversity, the extraordinary forms of adaptation of the living beings that they inhabit, and even that keep living secrets as is the very origin of life. The chapters emphasize all aspects of biological diversity-its description, analysis, and conservation, and its controlled rational use by humankind. Also, the book is elaborated from a wide and multidisciplinary point of view. It presents reviews, research papers, comments, and research notes on biodiversity, ethnobiology, geoscience, chemistry, biological conservation, biotechnology, and ecosystem sustainability Two hotspots are the reference for this enriching book that describes details of extraordinary areas of the planet, from Cuatrociénegas, Coahuila (Mexico) to the Southern WesternGhats (India). The book will contribute to dealing with the practicalities of conservation management, economic, social, and political issues. It provides a forum for examining conflicts between sustainable development and human dependence on biodiversity in agriculture, environmental management, and biotechnology, and encourages contributions from developing countries to promote broad global perspectives on matters of biodiversity and conservation.

This is an ecology textbook focused on key principles that underpin research and management at the landscape scale. It covers (1) agents of pattern (the physical template, biotic processes, and disturbance regimes); (2) scale and pattern (why scale matters, how to 'scale' with data, and inferences using landscape pattern metrics); and (3) implications of pattern (for metapopulations, communities and biodiversity, and ecosystem processes). The last two chapters address emerging issues: urban landscapes, and adapting to climate change. This book stems from two graduate-level courses in Landscape Ecology taught at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. The subject has evolved over time, from a concepts-based overview of what landscape ecology is, to a more applied practicum on how one does landscape ecology. As landscape ecology has matured as a discipline, its perspectives on spatial heterogeneity and scale have begun to permeate intoa wide range of other fields including conservation biology, ecosystem management, and ecological restoration. Thus, this textbook will bring students from diverse backgrounds to a common level of understanding and will prepare them with the practical knowledge for a career in conservation and ecosystem management.

This open access book is a compilation of case studies that provide useful knowledge and lessons that derive from on-the-ground activities and contribute to policy recommendations, focusing on the relevance of social-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) to ecosystem restoration. Building on the concept of SEPLS, the Satoyama Initiative promotes landscape approaches as integrative area-based strategies to bring together diverse stakeholders aiming to balance multiple objectives, including conservation and development, for the benefit of biodiversity and human well-being. Many of the SEPLS case studies from the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) offer rich evidence to help guide restoration efforts while advancing relevant knowledge and practices. The book highlights how the efforts in managing SEPLS can contribute to ecosystem restoration and sustainable development, looking at the strategies and approaches by which multiple stakeholders express, negotiate, and embrace their plural value perspectives of nature to restore ecosystems within a landscape or seascape. It begins with an introductory chapter followed by twelve case studies and a synthesis clarifying the relevance of the case study findings to policy and academic discussions. This book will be of interest to scholars, policymakers and professionals in the field related to sustainable development, especially on SDGs 15 and 17.