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Abstract Quantitative ecosystem‐based management typically relies on hypothetical ecosystem models that are difficult to validate for all but the best‐studied systems. Here, we develop a management scheme that is based on predictive models driven by the observed dynamics. We show that near‐optimal management policies can be constructed from time‐series data by merging empirical dynamic modelling and stochastic dynamic programming. The Empirical Dynamic Programming approach performs well in cases we examined and outperformed a commonly used single‐species alternative. We expect model‐free ecosystem‐based management to be of use wherever ecosystem dynamics are uncertain or observations of the system do not cover all relevant species.

Accurate estimation for vegetation net primary production (NPP) at high resolution is essential for ecosystem management and at local to global scales. However, no reliable methods are available to achieve fine-resolution estimation. In this study, a new NPP estimation system was developed by integrating high spatial resolution remote sensing images, tree ring measurements, and process-based model CASA. The system was illustrated by estimating the historical NPP of caragana shrublands from 2011 to 2021 in Dingbian County, China. The results showed that: (1) by employing the biomass model and tree ring measurements, an NPP-crown width model was established to enable a large number of samples for calibrating the CASA model on high spatial resolution images without continuous field measurements. The calibrated parameters, including maximum NDVI, minimum NDVI, and maximum light use efficiency, were determined to be 0.415, 0.022 and 0.025, respectively; (2) according to the estimation by the calibrated CASA model, the NPP in Dingbian County revealed an increasing trend from 2011 to 2021, and the NPP in southern hilly and gully regions was significantly higher than the other regions; (3) among the different indices, max temperature of warmest month had a significant negative effect on the NPP of cagarana shrublands, whereas annual precipitation had a positive effect. In the northern and central regions, air temperature predominantly influenced NPP, while in the southern regions, both temperature and precipitation played a joint role. The implementation in this study illustrated that the NPP estimation system could provide reliable NPP with high resolution and efficient to monitor and detect dominant factors affecting NPP for ecosystem management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how metacommunity organization is structured in space and time is a long-standing challenge in community ecology. We aimed to explore the spatiotemporal beta diversity of macroinvertebrate metacommunities and their underlying drivers in two contrasting freshwater systems: streams and a lake. We observed that spatial beta diversity was higher than temporal beta diversity in both systems. Generalized dissimilarity modeling and dispersal-niche continuum index analyses suggested that this is probably because (i) environmental filtering was stronger in space than in time at least in streams, and (ii) dispersal was stronger in time than in space. The relative importance of spatial and seasonal drivers on metacommunity structures was notably different between stream and lake systems, as they have fundamentally different spatiotemporal structure of abiotic (i.e. environmental and hydrological) and biotic (i.e. aquatic insect diversities and life strategies) conditions. Our results shed light on spatiotemporal patterns in lake and stream metacommunities and may be useful for the management of freshwater ecosystems undergoing environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, China has implemented restoration programs on a large scale, thanks to its capacity to set policy and mobilize funding resources. An understanding of China's restoration achievements and remaining challenges will help to guide future efforts to restore 30% of its diverse ecosystems under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Here we summarize the major transitions in China's approach to ecosystem restoration since the 1970s, with a focus on the underlying motivations for restoration, approaches to ecosystem management, and financing mechanisms. Whereas China's restoration efforts were predominantly guided by the delivery of certain ecosystem functions and services in earlier decades, more recently it has come to emphasize the restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. Accordingly, the focal ecosystems, approaches, and financing mechanisms of restoration have also been considerably diversified. This evolution is largely guided by the accumulation of scientific evidence and past experiences. We highlight the key challenges facing China's restoration efforts and propose future directions to improve restoration effectiveness, with regard to goal setting, monitoring, stakeholder involvement, adaptive management, resilience under climate change, and financing. China has been engaged in ecosystem restoration efforts for decades, but recent changes in what defines 'restoration' call for new approaches. In this essay, Li et al. highlight China's previous ecosystem restoration achievements and the changes needed to restore its diverse ecosystems under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arabian Peninsula accounts for approximately 6% of the world's coral reefs. Some thrive in extreme environments of temperature and salinity. Using 51 Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structure (ARMS), a standardized non-destructive monitoring device, we investigated the spatial patterns of coral reef cryptobenthic diversity in four ecoregions around the Arabian Peninsula and analyzed how geographical and/or environmental drivers shape those patterns. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene was used to identify Amplicon Sequence Variants and assign taxonomy of the cryptobenthic organisms collected from the sessile and mobile fractions of each ARMS. Cryptobenthic communities sampled from the two ecoregions in the Red Sea showed to be more diverse than those inhabiting the Arabian (Persian) Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Geographic distance revealed a stronger relationship with beta diversity in the Mantel partial correlation than environmental distance. However, the two mobile fractions (106–500 µm and 500–2000 µm) also had a significant correlation between environmental distance and beta diversity. In our study, dispersal limitations explained the beta diversity patterns in the selected reefs, supporting the neutral theory of ecology. Still, increasing differences in environmental variables (environmental filtering) also had an effect on the distribution patterns of assemblages inhabiting reefs within short geographic distances. The influence of geographical distance in the cryptofauna assemblages makes these relevant, yet usually ignored, communities in reef functioning vulnerable to large scale coastal development and should be considered in ecosystem management of such projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cyprinidae, the largest fish family, encompasses approximately 367 genera and 3006 species. While they exhibit remarkable adaptability to diverse aquatic environments, it is exceptionally rare to find them in seawater, with the Far Eastern daces being of few exceptions. Therefore, the Far Eastern daces serve as a valuable model for studying the genetic mechanisms underlying seawater adaptation in Cyprinidae. Results: Here, we sequenced the chromosome-level genomes of two Far Eastern daces (Pseudaspius brandtii and P. hakonensis), the two known cyprinid fishes found in seawater, and performed comparative genomic analyses to investigate their genetic mechanism of seawater adaptation. Demographic history reconstruction of the two species reveals that their population dynamics are correlated with the glacial-interglacial cycles and sea level changes. Genomic analyses identified Pseudaspius-specific genetic innovations related to seawater adaptation, including positively selected genes, rapidly evolving genes, and conserved non-coding elements (CNEs). Functional assays of Pseudaspius-specific variants of the prolactin (prl) gene showed enhanced cell adaptation to greater osmolarity. Functional assays of Pseudaspius specific CNEs near atg7 and usp45 genes suggest that they exhibit higher promoter activity and significantly induced at high osmolarity. Conclusions: Our results reveal the genome-wide evidence for the evolutionary adaptation of cyprinid fishes to seawater, offering valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms supporting the survival of migratory fish in marine environments. These findings are significant as they contribute to our understanding of how cyprinid fishes navigate and thrive in diverse aquatic habitats, providing useful implications for the conservation and management of marine ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global population consumes more seafood from aquaculture today than from capture fisheries and although the aquaculture industry continues to grow, both seafood sectors will continue to be important to the global food supply into the future. As farming continues to expand into ocean systems, understanding how wild populations and fisheries will interact with farms will be increasingly important to informing sustainable ocean planning and management. Using a spatially explicit population and fishing model we simulate several impacts from ocean aquaculture (i.e., aggregation, protection from fishing, and impacts on fitness) to evaluate the mechanisms underlying interactions between aquaculture, wild populations and fisheries. We find that aggregation of species to farms can increase the benefits of protection from fishing that a farm provides and can have greater impacts on more mobile species. Splitting total farm area into smaller farms can benefit fishery catches, whereas larger farms can provide greater ecological benefits through conservation of wild populations. Our results provide clear lessons on how to design and co-manage expanding ocean aquaculture along with wild capture ecosystem management to benefit fisheries or conservation objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As infectious diseases have a severe impact on the individual survival and competitive ability of host species in grassland communities, competition between relevant species may have different consequences, potentially influencing the species composition of grassland communities and the functioning of grassland ecosystems. Understanding the impact of infectious diseases on competition is thus crucial for the health management of grassland ecosystems. How do infectious diseases affect the competitive coexistence of grassland plant species? In this study, by drawing on Tilman's multispecies competition model and incorporating the spread characteristics of grassland plant diseases, we built three spatial competition models of two grass species subject to infectious diseases, and we analyzed the invasion conditions of infectious diseases and how they impact the population dynamics and competitive consequences of the species. Our model revealed the following: (1) Diseases with high transmission rates and low virulence are more likely to invade populations, while the presence of non-host species is detrimental to disease invasion. (2) Disease promotes the coexistence of competing species, breaking down the original competition–compromise trade-off mechanism for species coexistence and greatly expanding the range of parameters within which the two species can coexist. (3) Pathogen infections indirectly weaken the suppression of inferior species by dominant species, which is similar to the cascade effect seen in trophic interactions. Our findings highlight the importance of disease in species coexistence and grassland biodiversity maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural, biodegradable, sustainable and more. Cork is a unique material obtained from the bark of Quercus Suber L. and has been used since a long time. Processing of harvesting is respectful for the tree and necessary to maintain its physiological functions completely. Cork is not only destinated for the wine industry but is also important for other areas. In the upcycling movement, and for its multiple benefits in the ecosystem and environmentally friendly, the creation of an exfoliating agent was made. A clinical study of Exfobreeze™ (Quercus Suber Bark), has been done, with the aim of demonstrating the exfoliating capacity of cork particles, and therefore an effective alternative to microplastic scrubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the evolution of vegetation cover and its drivers in the Ferghana Basin helps to understand the current ecological status of the Ferghana Basin and to analyze the vegetation changes and drivers, with a view to providing a scientific basis for regional ecological and environmental management and planning. Based on GIMMS NDVI3g and meteorological data, the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of NDVI were analyzed from multiple perspectives with the help of linear trend and Mann–Kendall (MK) test methods using arcgis and the R language spatial analysis module, combined with partial correlation coefficients and residual analysis methods to analyze the impacts of climate change and human activities on the regional vegetation cover of the Ferghana Basin from 1982 to 2015. NDVI driving forces. The results showed the following: (1) The growing season of vegetation NDVI in the Ferghana Basin showed an increasing trend in the 34-year period, with an increase rate of 0.0044/10a, and the spatial distribution was significantly different, which was high in the central part of the country and low in the northern and southern parts of the country. (2) Temperature and precipitation simultaneously co-influenced the vegetation NDVI growth season, with most of the temperature and precipitation contributing in the spring, most of the temperature in the summer being negatively phased and the precipitation positively correlated, and most of the temperature and precipitation in the fall inhibiting vegetation NDVI growth. (3) The combined effect of climate change and human activities was the main reason for the overall rapid increase and great spatial variations in vegetation NDVI in China, and the spatial distribution of drivers, namely human activities and climate change, contributed 44.6% to vegetation NDVI in the growing season. The contribution of climate change and human activities to vegetation NDVI in the Ferghana Basin was 62.32% and 93.29%, respectively. The study suggests that more attention should be paid to the role of human activities and climate change in vegetation restoration to inform ecosystem management and green development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation efforts have focused largely on species, yet ecosystem management is suggested to be a more efficient strategy for biodiversity management. With increasing numbers of threatened species, ecosystems and ecological communities, and limited resources, an approach that delivers the best conservation outcomes across multiple levels of biodiversity is crucial. In this study, we compared a species approach and a community approach to management by evaluating the number of threatened species benefiting from actions targeted at threatened ecological communities (TECs), and vice versa. We ran three analyses: one theoretical, and two spatially‐explicit analyses accounting for co‐occurrence in distributions and site‐based actions. We found that of 124 actions, 61 were common to species and TECs. Yet, the overlap of actions was lower when considering species and TEC co‐occurrences across the distributions, and was mostly lost at the site‐scale. In all analyses, focusing on species management resulted in a greater percentage of actions considered, thus potentially benefiting more species and TECs. We suggest that when there is limited capacity to perform formal prioritization analyses, our process could identify actions addressing widespread and common threats impacting both species and communities. Further, simultaneously managing both species and TECs would potentially deliver a more effective solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Il est important de lutter contre les maladies d'origine animale, particulièrement à la lumière des perturbations climatiques et environnementales, qui peuvent avoir un impact sur la santé humaine et la survie des espèces. Il existe différents systèmes de surveillance sanitaire dans le domaine humain et animal, à l'échelle mondiale, européenne et française. Au sein de ces systèmes, l'animal sauvage, pourtant un des éléments essentiels de la transmission de maladies, n'occupe qu'une place marginale en France. La surveillance sanitaire dans le milieu de la faune sauvage revient surtout aux chasseurs. Les systèmes de surveillance, de collecte de données et d'alerte manquent d'articulation avec les systèmes de surveillance de la santé humaine. À partir d'exemples étrangers, le présent article propose quelques pistes en faveur d'une meilleure intégration des dispositifs de surveillance de la faune sauvage dans les dispositifs de surveillance sanitaire humaine en vue de la construction de systèmes de surveillance et d'alerte globalisants, capables de réagir plus efficacement aux risques épidémiques liés à la transformation rapide de nos écosystèmes. It is important to combat diseases of animal origin, particularly in the light of climatic and environmental disturbances, which can have an impact on human health and the survival of species. There are various human and animal health surveillance systems at global, European and French. Within these systems, wild animals, although an essential element in the transmission of diseases, occupy only a marginal place in France. Monitoring wildlife health is primarily the responsibility of hunters. Their surveillance, data collection and warning systems lack links with human health surveillance systems. From foreign examples, this article suggests a number of ways in which wildlife surveillance systems can be better integrated into human health surveillance systems, with a view to building comprehensive surveillance and warning systems capable of responding more effectively to epidemic risks linked to the rapid transformation of our ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ectomycorrhizal fungi Tuber melanosporum Vittad. and Tuber aestivum Vittad. produce highly valuable truffles, but little is known about the soil fungal communities associated with these truffle species in places where they co-occur. Here, we compared soil fungal communities present in wild and planted truffle sites, in which T. melanosporum and T. aestivum coexist, in Mediterranean and temperate regions over three sampling seasons spanning from 2018 to 2019. We showed that soil fungal community composition and ectomycorrhizal species composition are driven by habitat type rather than climate regions. Also, we observed the influence of soil pH, organic matter content and C:N ratio structuring total and ectomycorrhizal fungal assemblages. Soil fungal communities in wild sites revealed more compositional variability than those of plantations. Greater soil fungal diversity was found in temperate compared to Mediterranean sites when considering all fungal guilds. Ectomycorrhizal diversity was significantly higher in wild sites compared to plantations. Greater mould abundance at wild sites than those on plantation was observed while tree species and seasonal effects were not significant predictors in fungal community structure. Our results suggested a strong influence of both ecosystem age and management on the fungal taxa composition in truffle habitats. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A combination of ecophysiological features makes some invasive plants difficult to eradicate in Mediterranean-type ecosystems. The human footprint in these ecosystems increases propagule pressure, helps habitat fragmentation, and facilitates adaptation of these invasive plants. Citizen science is as important as fundamental science and environmental management by public authorities to prevent new invasions. An in-depth analysis of the mechanistic processes underlying the evolution and ecophysiology of typical invasive plants such as Carpobrotus spp., Acacia spp., Agave spp., and Opuntia spp. in Mediterranean-type ecosystems shows very sophisticated, complex, and efficient strategies for invasion success, particularly in fragmented habitats. Propagule pressure at both geographical and temporal scales and the establishment of long-term seed banks are determinant for invasion success. A two-sword strategy based on long-term prevention and eradication is proposed for the management of Mediterranean-type ecosystems. Eradication of invasive plants in Mediterranean-type ecosystems appears to be extremely difficult nowadays and, at least for some invaders like Carpobrotus spp., long-term approaches that ultimately culminate in the elimination of seed banks is the only path for success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change triggers ecological transformations, altering ecosystem composition, functioning, and services globally. Many of these transformations may be irreversible on human timescales, posing challenges for ecosystem management and requiring new management paradigms. The RAD framework formalizes the management alternatives of resisting, accepting, or directing these transformations. The decision to resist, accept, or direct change may entail tradeoffs among ecological, sociocultural, and economic objectives (e.g., species conservation, ecosystem services, and ecological resilience). As RAD is implemented more widely, diverse knowledge systems, monitoring data, and manipulative experiments can improve our understanding of the conditions in which different RAD alternatives can successfully achieve multiple objectives. As climate change facilitates significant and persistent ecological transformations, managing ecosystems according to historical baseline conditions may no longer be feasible. The Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework can guide climate-informed management interventions, but in its current implementations RAD has not yet fully accounted for potential tradeoffs between multiple – sometimes incompatible – ecological and societal goals. Key scientific challenges for informing climate-adapted ecosystem management include (i) advancing our predictive understanding of transformations and their socioecological impacts under novel climate conditions, and (ii) incorporating uncertainty around trajectories of ecological change and the potential success of RAD interventions into management decisions. To promote the implementation of RAD, practitioners can account for diverse objectives within just and equitable participatory decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private land protection is an important and growing tool to address biodiversity loss and climate change. Thus, better empirical evidence on the effectiveness of private land protection and organizational practices, such as targeting of lands for protection and choice of protection mechanism (i.e., fee simple land acquisition and conservation easements), is needed. We addressed this gap by estimating the impacts of The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) (a large nongovernmental organization with relatively decentralized management) conservation land acquisitions and easements from 1988 to 2016 in three regions of the United States (Mid‐Atlantic, New England and New York, and California). We estimated impact in terms of avoided conversion by comparing natural land cover on 3179 protected parcels with matched unprotected parcels. Nineteen of 21 ecoregional plans used threats of agriculture and development to identify priorities for protection. When regions and protection mechanisms were pooled, on average there was no evidence of avoided conversion from 1988 to 2016. Accounting for mechanisms, TNC land acquisitions avoided conversion and easements did not. TNC's easements on parcels acquired by conservation partners did avoid conversion. Limitations of these results include focus on a single measure of impact, inability to capture future avoided conversion, and low land cover change accuracy in California. Our results suggest that private land protection managers who seek to avoid land conversion in the near to medium term should increase focus on areas with higher threats. Special attention should be paid to strengthening accountability and the role of partners, improving or clarifying how easements are used, and facilitating the flow of resources to work with the greatest potential impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biotic interactions are widely recognised as the backbone of ecological communities, but how best to study them is a subject of intense debate, especially at macro‐ecological scales. While some researchers claim that biotic interactions need to be observed directly, others use proxies and statistical approaches to infer them. Despite this ambiguity, studying and predicting the influence of biotic interactions on biogeographic patterns is a thriving area of research with crucial implications for conservation. Three distinct approaches are currently being explored. The first approach involves empirical observation and measurement of biotic interactions' effects on species demography in laboratory or field settings. While these findings contribute to theory and to understanding species' demographies, they can be challenging to generalise on a larger scale. The second approach centers on inferring biotic associations from observed co‐occurrences in space and time. The goal is to distinguish the environmental and biotic effects on species distributions. The third approach constructs extensive potential interaction networks, known as metanetworks, by leveraging existing knowledge about species ecology and interactions. This approach analyses local realisations of these networks using occurrence data and allows understanding large distributions of multi‐taxa assemblages. In this piece, we appraise these three approaches, highlighting their respective strengths and limitations. Instead of seeing them as conflicting, we advocate for their integration to enhance our understanding and expand applications in the emerging field of interaction biogeography. This integration shows promise for ecosystem understanding and management in the Anthropocene era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estimation of spatiotemporal variability of vegetation health and associated climatic variables is a prerequisite for efficient management of mountain ecosystems. The present study aimed to quantify the changing effect of different climatic parameters on vegetation health in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, from 2012 to 2021. The association between NDVI and three explanatory variables, i.e., temperature, precipitation, and wind speed, was analyzed using geostatistical model optimization and stationarity index analysis. Results showed that local model GWR presented optimal results owing to its ability to deal with spatial non-stationarity and stochasticity inherent in regression relationships. The most dominant climatic factor influencing vegetation dynamics in KPK was temperature, followed by wind speed and precipitation. However, there was a gradual decline in the influence of temperature in controlling vegetation dynamics after 2018, and precipitation emerged to be the major determinant. Moreover, the stationarity index was calculated at multi-scales to determine the operational scale range for each climatic variable. The scale-dependency of NDVI-T relationship exhibited highest spatial heterogeneity, up to a distance of 600 km. Overall, geostatistical modeling using earth observation datasets enabled insightful understanding of spatiotemporal variations in vegetation response to climate change, necessary for sustainable development and responsive climate action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a major factor in the water cycle that is most directly affected by land use and climate change. The accurate estimation of the daily ET is an important link in the study of its hydrological and ecological interaction, hydrological cycle, and oasis ecosystem management in arid and semi-arid regions. Considering astronomical, atmospheric (i.e., air molecules, water vapor, and cloud), and surface factors (i.e., slope, aspect, terrain shading, and surface coverage), the new daily global solar radiation (GSR)model is proposed, based on Iqbal model C, DEM, TM, and MODIS data. The new model has been coupled with SEBAL to better estimate ET. The daily surface ET of June 21–24, 2009, in Heihe River Basin is simulated. The results are as follows: (1) the improved daily GSR mean absolute bias error (MABE) is 9 W/m2, and the mean absolute relative bias error (MARBE) is 2.5%. The MABE of the daily GSR using the SEBAL model is 122.2 W/m2, and the MARBE is 33.9%. (2) The improved SEBAL MABE of farmland ET decreases from 2.1 mm (original scheme) to 0.6 mm (improved scheme), and the MARBE declines from 44 to 13% accordingly. Moreover, the spatiotemporal resolution of the ET simulation is effectively improved by the TM/MODIS hybrid strategy. (3) All highest ET value appeared in all types of water bodies, followed by farmland, forest, wetland, and residential areas, and the lowest values appeared over bare rock land. The new results provide better theoretical basis and scientific guidance for ecosystem protection and sustainable utilization of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green space is a direct way to improve the carbon sink capacity of urban ecosystems. The carbon storage assessment of megacity green spaces is of great significance to the service function of urban ecosystems and the management of urban carbon zoning in the future. Based on multi-period remote sensing image data, this paper used the CASA model and the InVEST model to analyze the spatio-temporal variation and driving mechanism of carbon storage in Shenzhen green space and discussed the applicability of the two models to the estimation of carbon storage in urban green space. The research results showed that, from 2008 to 2022, in addition to the rapid expansion of construction land, the area of green space and other land types in Shenzhen showed a significant decrease trend. The estimation results of the carbon storage model showed that the carbon storage of green space shows a significant trend of reduction from 2008 to 2022, and the reduction amounts are 0.8 × 106 t (CASA model) and 0.64 × 106 t (InVEST model), respectively. The evaluation results of the model show that, in megacities, the spatial applicability of InVEST model is lower than that of CASA model, and the CASA model is more accurate in estimating the carbon storage of urban green space. The research results can provide a scientific basis for the assessment of the carbon sink capacity of megacity ecosystems with the goal of "dual carbon". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysian forests are home to rich biological diversity, many of which have potential medicinal values. However, like in many other ecosystems worldwide, these forests are in the brink of biodiversity loss caused by natural and anthropogenic pressures. This study presents the preliminary survey of medicinal plants in Soga-Perdana Forest Eco-Park Johor, Peninsular Malaysia. A rapid biodiversity assessment (RBA) method along the 2000 m by 20 m transect was used to collect taxonomic and ecological data. From the survey, 55 species of plants with known traditional medicinal uses were recorded, with Coscinium fenestratum categorised by IUCN as a critically endangered species. Aside from species that are traditionally used by indigenous people, some were commercially important species in medicine and timber production, namely Eurycoma longifolia, Dryobalanops aromatica and Shorea leprosula. This study provides evidence that even a small patch of forest surrounded by urbanised area and other land uses contains high diversity of plants with potential medicinal values. This calls for long-term conservation and effective management of this ecosystem, not only for the perpetuity of these species, but also to harness its potential scientific value in the field of pharmaceuticals and other areas related to biological diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial symbionts are essential components of healthy biological systems. They are increasingly recognized as important factors in the study and management of threatened species and ecosystems. Despite management shifts at the ecosystem level, microbial communities are often neglected in discussions of holobiont conservation in favor of the primary members of a symbiosis. In this study, we addressed the bacterial community knowledge gap for one of two federally endangered lichen species in the United States, Cetradonia linearis (Cladoniaceae). We collected 28 samples of the endangered rock gnome lichen (Cetradonia linearis) from 13 sites and characterized bacterial communities in thalli using 16S rRNA metabarcoding to investigate the factors influencing the microbiome composition and diversity within the thallus. We found that Proteobacteria (37.8% ± 10.3) and Acidobacteria (25.9% ± 6.0) were the most abundant phyla recovered. Cyanobacteria were a major component of the microbiome in some individuals, despite this species associating with a green algal symbiont. Habitat, climate, and geography were all found to have significant influences on bacterial community composition. An analysis of the core microbiome at a 90% threshold revealed shared amplicon sequence variants in the microbiomes of other lichens in the family Cladoniaceae. We concluded that the bacterial microbiome of Cetradonia linearis is influenced by environmental factors and that some bacterial taxa may be core to this group. Further exploration into the microbiomes of rare lichen species is needed to understand the importance of bacterial symbionts to lichen diversity and distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire management techniques play a critical role in mitigating the impact of bushfires on communities and ecosystems. In Australia, government agencies implement hazard reduction burn programs, while Indigenous communities have used fire for ecosystem management for thousands of years. The positive effect of prescribed burning goes beyond bushfire risk mitigation, with impacts also on soil and ecosystem health. This study evaluates the effects of prescribed burning on soil properties, with implications for soil and ecosystem health. Two fire management techniques were evaluated: agency-led prescribed burning and cultural burning. Both fire treatments resulted in an increase in soil moisture, showing that they positively affect the soil water balance (the greater effect seen following the agency-led burn). Both fire treatments also resulted in a decrease in soil bulk density and an increase in organic matter content, with the greater effect seen for soils affected by the Indigenous-led burn. These results show that both fire management techniques positively affect soil health, with important consequences for aboveground ecosystem health. Cultural burning is the most efficient to promote reduced soil bulk density (important for nutrient availability and microbial activity) and increase carbon and nitrogen stores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests face a variety of threats in the modern era. Agroforestry systems, both traditional and introduced, have a tremendous capacity for providing sustainable resources and combating the impact of global climate change. Indigenous agroforestry and forest land-use systems are important reservoirs for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services, providing a potential contribution to livelihood security for rural communities. This study aimed to assess the tree diversity and carbon stock of agroforestry and adjoining forests along altitudinal gradients, ranging between 700 and 2200 masl (i.e., lower, middle, and upper altitudes) by laying sample plots randomly of a size of 20 × 20 m2. In the forest land-use system, the maximum Importance Value Index (IVI) included Dalbergia sissoo (71.10), Pyrus pashia (76.78), and Pinus roxburghii (79.69) at the upper, middle, and lower elevations, respectively, whereas, in the agroforestry land-use system, the IVI reported for Ficus semicordata was 43.05 at the upper, while for Grewia optiva it was at 53.82 at the middle and 59.33 at the lower altitudes. The below-ground biomass density (AGBD) was recorded as 1023.48 t ha−1 (lower), 242.92 t ha−1 (middle), and 1099.35 t ha−1(upper), while in the agroforestry land-use system, the AGBD was 353.48 t ha−1 (lower), 404.32 t ha−1 (middle), and 373.23 t ha−1 (upper). The total carbon density (TCD) values recorded were 630.57, 167.32, and 784.00 t ha−1 in forest land-use systems, and 227.46, 343.23, and 252.47 in agroforestry land-use systems for lower, middle, and upper altitudes, respectively. The Margalef's Index values for agroforestry and forests ranged from 2.39 to 2.85 and 1.12 to 1.30, respectively. Soil organic carbon (SOC) stock recorded 45.32, 58.92, and 51.13 Mg C ha−1 for agroforestry and 61.73, 42.65, and 71.08 Mg C ha−1 for forest in lower, middle and upper elevations, respectively. The study suggests that selecting land use patterns can be an effective management system for tree species at different elevations for carbon storage, helping to mitigate climate change and aiding in sustainable management of ecosystems in the Garhwal Himalayas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) deposition affects ecosystem functions crucial to human health and well‐being. However, the consequences of this scenario for soil ecosystem multifunctionality (SMF) in forests are poorly understood. Here, we conducted a long‐term field experiment in a temperate forest in China, where N deposition was simulated by adding N above and under the canopies. We discover that canopy N addition promotes SMF expression, whereas understory N addition suppresses it. SMF was regulated by fungal diversity in canopy N addition treatments, which is largely due to the strong resistance to soil acidification and efficient resource utilization characteristics of fungi. While in understory N addition treatments, SMF is regulated by bacterial diversity, which is mainly because of the strong resilience to disturbances and fast turnover of bacteria. Furthermore, rare microbial taxa may play a more important role in the maintenance of the SMF. This study provides the first evidence that N deposition enhanced SMF in temperate forests and enriches the knowledge on enhanced N deposition affecting forest ecosystems. Given the divergent results from two N addition approaches, an innovative perspective of canopy N addition on soil microbial diversity‐multifunctionality relationships is crucial to policy‐making for the conservation of soil microbial diversity and sustainable ecosystem management under enhanced N deposition. In future research, the consideration of canopy N processes is essential for more realistic assessments of the effects of atmospheric N deposition in forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic is a global warming 'hot‐spot' that is experiencing rapid increases in air and ocean temperatures and concomitant decreases in sea ice cover. These environmental changes are having major consequences on Arctic ecosystems. All Arctic endemic marine mammals are highly dependent on ice‐associated ecosystems for at least part of their life cycle and thus are sensitive to the changes occurring in their habitats. Understanding the biological consequences of changes in these environments is essential for ecosystem management and conservation. However, our ability to study climate change impacts on Arctic marine mammals is generally limited by the lack of sufficiently long data time series. In this study, we took advantage of a unique dataset on hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) movements (and serum samples) that spans more than 30 years in the Northwest Atlantic to (i) investigate foraging (distribution and habitat use) and dietary (trophic level of prey and location) habits over the last three decades and (ii) predict future locations of suitable habitat given a projected global warming scenario. We found that, despite a change in isotopic signatures that might suggest prey changes over the 30‐year period, hooded seals from the Northwest Atlantic appeared to target similar oceanographic characteristics throughout the study period. However, over decades, they have moved northward to find food. Somewhat surprisingly, foraging habits differed between seals breeding in the Gulf of St Lawrence vs those breeding at the "Front" (off Newfoundland). Seals from the Gulf favoured colder waters while Front seals favoured warmer waters. We predict that foraging habitats for hooded seals will continue to shift northwards and that Front seals are likely to have the greatest resilience. This study shows how hooded seals are responding to rapid environmental change and provides an indication of future trends for the species—information essential for effective ecosystem management and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's business in Russia is distancing itself from feminism. Paradoxically, the discourse of diversity and equality in the corporate ecosystem supports parallel and opposing lines of reasoning: the solidarity of women in competition with men and a specific female leadership and management style not devoid of traditional stereotypes. This study draws on 20 interviews with women in executive positions posted on the Mediametrix platform to examine how they make sense of this paradox. The corporate ecosystem produces its own special discourse, built on the balance between the ambitions of career-building and the inertial power of traditional stereotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species–environment relationships are often studied at large spatial scales, but effective conservation requires an understanding of local-scale environmental drivers and pressures. Widespread degradation and fragmentation of forests have increased the proportion of tropical mammal habitat that is affected by edge effects. Edge effects include greater exposure to anthropogenic disturbance and abiotic changes that synergistically influence how well populations can cope with climate change. We investigated relationships between distance to the forest edge, forest structure, microclimate and terrestrial mammal detections in a selectively logged forest at the boundary of Gunung Leuser National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia. We collected mammal detection data from motion-activated camera traps, microclimate data from automated climate data loggers and forest structure data from vegetation plots. Daily mean and maximum temperatures significantly decreased with distance from the forest edge, whereas tree height and minimum temperature increased. Mammal diversity was lower at the forest edge compared to the interior. Mammals were detected less frequently at the forest edge, although this relationship varied between mammal orders. Mammal detections were best explained by temperature, tree height and tree diameter at breast height. These results demonstrate that abiotic changes in forests brought on by edge effects have negative impacts on mammals, but these effects vary between mammal taxa because of differing sensitivities to human disturbance. Our findings highlight the importance of considering local-scale environmental drivers in determining species–environment relationships to identify key habitat features such as microclimate refuges that should be prioritized in ecosystem management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic litter (AL), or trash, in urban rivers is abundant, mobile, and shows a wide diversity of types (e.g., plastic, metal, textiles) and input pathways. Previous work suggests AL can be moved along with naturally occurring organic matter (e.g., sediment, leaf litter, and wood) according to particle properties and stream hydrology. Debris dams are key sites of organic matter retention in streams. AL likely accumulates in debris dams; however, measurements of AL dynamics in debris dams and non-debris dam habitats in urban streams are uncommon, as are measurements of AL composition within different zones of debris dam structure. We measured AL density as count (no./m2) and mass (g/m2) in paired debris dam and non-debris dam sites in urban streams in Baltimore, Maryland, USA and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Within debris dams, we recorded AL by 4 zones: 1) overhanging, 2) floating, 3) submerged, and 4) riparian. As expected, there was more AL within debris dams compared with non-debris dam habitats. Across all sites, most AL was composed of plastic materials, but we also noted distinctions in composition. Heavy items, such as ceramic materials, dominated non-debris dam sites, whereas expanded polystyrene and cigarette litter were more common in debris dams. Similarly, there was evidence of AL sorting within debris dams, with distinct composition between the floating (lightweight items) and submerged zones (heavy materials). AL composition in the riparian and overhanging zones showed no differences to one another or to the floating or submerged zones. Overall, AL had patchy distribution in streams and followed well-known processes that drive particle transport. Because debris dams are hot spots of biological activity, accumulation of AL within debris dams may facilitate interaction with stream biota. Improved understanding of the spatial distribution of AL within urban streams is valuable to improve models of AL density and movement at the watershed scale and to inform policies to prevent or remove AL from polluted sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adélie penguins are considered indicators of Antarctic ecosystems. Their populations have declined by more than 50% in the West Antarctic Peninsula, an area strongly affected by global warming, and that concentrates most of Antarctic krill harvesting. The use of high-resolution data to identify foraging areas regularly used by krill predators could provide valuable information for current discussions on the development of small-scale management and conservation measures for this region. We used information on the foraging trips of 57 individuals breeding in King George Island, tracked over 2019/2020, 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 breeding seasons during the chick-rearing stage, to identify their key foraging areas. Using an accelerometry-based latent behavioral analysis approach, we identified an area within 10 km of the colony consistently used by over 60% of the population throughout and between seasons. We also observed that almost 20% of the population uses the area near a seamount located 35 km from the colony for foraging, mainly during the late guarding phase when chick energy demands are highest or the effects of prey depletion might become more evident. The distances and duration of trips and the area explored increased as the season progressed and varied between seasons, consistent with annual differences in krill availability observed in the region. Foraging dives comprise roughly 40% of the dives performed during foraging trips, irrespective of the stage of the chick-rearing period, or the season analyzed. Our results emphasize the need to understand how variability in environmental conditions, prey availability, and energetic demands affect how predators use space, and the role that bathymetric features might play in providing reliable foraging grounds, for penguins, in a rapidly changing region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of ecological interaction networks has been widely used in fundamental ecology in the last two decades and has progressively infused in a diverse array of applied studies. Classical studies represented species interactions as static interaction webs to identify generalities in the structure of ecological networks and understand the propagation of indirect effects of species on each other and the environment.More recent research demonstrates that ecological networks are emerging features of community and interaction processes. Understanding the determinants of interaction variability in space and time and its consequences for biodiversity dynamics and ecosystem functioning constitute current frontiers in ecological network science. Although these frontiers meet a variety of applied ecological questions, many network models have been developed without clear applied perspectives.We detail how we could build on them to advance three main topics. First, the spatial dimension of ecological networks has direct implications for the design of sustainable landscapes and fisheries, for agroecology and for lake management. Second, the temporal dimension of ecological networks provides important insights for projecting biodiversity changes and adapting human actions. Third, the interactions between the abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems constitute key drivers of biogeochemical cycles, thereby providing important levers for sustainable management.Synthesis and applications. Collaborative work between empirical and theoretical network ecologists could accelerate the delivery of realistic models to inform applied practices across disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystems experiencing pressures are at risk of rapidly transitioning ("tipping") from one state to another. Identifying and managing these so-called tipping points continue to be a challenge in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, particularly when multiple potentially interacting drivers are present. Knowledge of tipping points, the mechanisms that cause them, and their implications for management practices are evolving, but often in isolation within specific ecological realms. Here, we summarize current knowledge of tipping points in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial realms and provide a multi-realm perspective of the challenges and opportunities for applying this knowledge to ecosystem management. We brought together conservation practitioners and global experts in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial tipping points and identified seven challenges that environmental policymakers and managers contend with including (1) predictability, (2) spatiotemporal scales, (3) interactions, (4) reversibility, (5) socio-ecological context, (6) complexity and heterogeneity, and (7) selecting appropriate action. We highlight opportunities for cross-scalar and cross-realm knowledge production and provide recommendations for enabling the management of tipping points. Although knowledge of tipping points is imperfect, we stress the need to continue working toward incorporating tipping points perspectives in environmental management across all realms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peat ecosystems have very important ecosystem services and functions, and roles for human life, the flora and fauna. Management of Lepironia articulata Retz. become an alternative business carried out by forest farmers in peat ecosystems. This study aims to evaluate the management of L.articulata in supporting peat ecosystem conservation. The research conducted in Haur Gading sub-district, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Data collection carried out through the interview on the stages of L.articulata management and socio-economic data on the community. Field survey were done by collecting ecological data from L.articulata habitat. Conservation support for peat ecosystems from L.articulata management analyzed using 7 variables and 17 indicators. Conservation support for the peat ecosystem from the management of L.articulata result is high (90.24%). Conservation support obtained from the indicator values of social benefits, economic benefits, technical aspects of L.articulata management stages, and several ecological benefits. The management of L.articulata by forest farmers able to reduce illegal logging and forest fires. Revegetation activities by forest farmers on enrichment planting is one option to increase the diversity of vegetation in peat ecosystems and also the form of conservation based on the utilization of the biodiversity of peat ecosystems. It contributes for improving the socioeconomic community and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem services make substantial contributions to the economy and human well-being, but there can also be costly disservices. Animal behavior is a key process that may modulate a variety of ecosystem services and disservices. In the Anthropocene, as human–wildlife interactions increase from urbanization and development, many wild animals decrease their fearfulness and become more tolerant to humans. Incorporating an understanding of increased tolerance-modulated ecosystem service/disservices into ecosystem management may help in the development of management strategies that improve services while reducing disservices. Many animals can vary their behaviors to better utilize anthropogenic environments. Wildlife living in highly disturbed environments often show an increased tolerance towards humans. While animal behavior can play a vital role in producing and delivering ecosystem services, we know less about how variation in wildlife tolerance to humans can influence ecosystem services. Increased tolerance to humans changes a variety of animal behaviors, and these behavioral modifications, such as changes to foraging, habitat selection, and movement, can alter the supply and flow of both ecosystem services and disservices. We highlight the need to understand the links between increased tolerance to humans and ecosystem services to develop an effective tool to enhance services while minimizing the risk of creating disservices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The powerful community-structuring roles of foundation species (FS) are well recognized; however, ecological interactions involving their dead structures have yet to be broadly integrated within ecological theory or ecosystem management. As interacting components of ecosystems, dead foundation species (DFS) modify environments and mediate feedbacks underpinning ecosystem resilience. DFS are vulnerable to global change and often respond differently than living FS. Changes in DFS quantity, composition, and frequency of occurrence influence habitat heterogeneity within systems and subsidy dynamics across systems, provoking far-reaching effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Enhanced recognition of DFS traits and ecological roles will improve restoration outcomes, inform ecological forecasts, and guide conservation of ecosystems challenged by global change. Foundation species facilitate communities, modulate energy flow, and define ecosystems, but their ecological roles after death are frequently overlooked. Here, we reveal the widespread importance of their dead structures as unique, interacting components of ecosystems that are vulnerable to global change. Key metabolic activity, mobility, and morphology traits of foundation species either change or persist after death with important consequences for ecosystem functions, biodiversity, and subsidy dynamics. Dead foundation species frequently mediate ecosystem stability, resilience, and transitions, often through feedbacks, and harnessing their structural and trophic roles can improve restoration outcomes. Enhanced recognition of dead foundation species and their incorporation into habitat monitoring, ecological theory, and ecosystem forecasting can help solve the escalating conservation challenges of the Anthropocene. Foundation species facilitate communities, modulate energy flow, and define ecosystems, but their ecological roles after death are frequently overlooked. Here, we reveal the widespread importance of their dead structures as unique, interacting components of ecosystems that are vulnerable to global change. Key metabolic activity, mobility, and morphology traits of foundation species can either change or persist after death with important consequences for ecosystem function, biodiversity, and subsidy dynamics. Dead foundation species frequently mediate ecosystem stability, resilience, and transitions, often through feedbacks, and harnessing their structural and trophic roles can improve restoration outcomes. Enhanced recognition of dead foundation species and their incorporation into habitat monitoring, ecological theory, and ecosystem forecasting can help solve the escalating conservation problems of the Anthropocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs the paradigm of an innovation ecosystem to stimulate fashion innovation. This study applies an integrative literature review on fashion innovation, innovation ecosystem and policy-driven innovation, proposes a theoretical framework – fashion innovation ecosystem and streams future research directions. The findings suggest the innovation ecosystem is an inclusive, constructive and systematic lens and contribute to the management of fashion innovation. A mechanism of policy-driven fashion innovation is proposed to stress the role of government as a key actor in the fashion innovation ecosystem. It identifies five research directions from the theoretical framework of the fashion innovation ecosystem, namely fashion innovation measurement, research methodology, policy-driven fashion innovation, fashion sustainability innovation ecosystem and open innovation. The study contributes to the theoretical development of fashion innovation management and innovation ecosystem; has practical implications for innovation strategy in the fashion sector; will benefit policymakers in formulating policy and fostering the institutional environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust understanding of the interactions between global and local anthropogenic stressors is crucial for ecosystem management in the Anthropocene. Manipulative experiments in the laboratory or in the field can be used to build knowledge about the physiological and ecological effects of stressors, but predicting the combined landscape‐scale effects of global stressors such as climate change, and local stressors such as land‐use change requires a different approach.Here we used water quality and hydrology process‐based models of entire river catchments in combination with a large biomonitoring dataset to predict the responses of macroinvertebrate communities under different climate change and land‐use change scenarios. Using the River Thames in the U.K. as a model system, we predicted changes in water quality (temperature, flow, phosphorus [P], nitrogen, dissolved oxygen [DO]) and subsequent changes in macroinvertebrate communities for two climate change scenarios, individually and in combination with intensified agriculture and reduced P pollution (representing improved wastewater treatment).Our models predicted that water‐quality changes associated with climate change may not influence total species richness, but that community composition will shift towards more pollution‐tolerant and common taxa based on responses of community indices and taxon‐specific responses. We also found that the negative impacts of climate change on water quality (e.g., increased P concentration, decreased DO concentration) accumulate through the catchment, but that local land‐use practices influencing P dynamics can modify this trend. Furthermore, although the intensified agriculture scenario was predicted to have minimal impacts on macroinvertebrate communities (a result potentially related to shifting baselines as the Thames is already heavily polluted), we found that reduced P pollution resulting from improved wastewater treatment was able to mostly offset the negative impacts of climate change on macroinvertebrate communities.Our results demonstrate that using process‐based models to study networks of interacting stressors at a landscape scale can provide useful insights into the ecological impacts of anthropogenic global change, and adds support to the idea that management of local stressors has the potential to mitigate some of the impacts of climate change on ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquatic ecosystems are often impacted by several human‐derived pressures simultaneously. A key challenge for ecologists is to develop mechanistic understanding of the cumulative effects of multiple stressors on freshwater biodiversity.We established an outdoor mesocosm experiment to examine the individual and combined effects of two key stressors on lake ecosystems globally—nutrient enrichment and amplified water‐level fluctuations—on benthic algal and macroinvertebrate assemblages along a gradient in littoral water depth.We found that nutrient enrichment and water‐level fluctuations not only altered the structure of littoral communities when acting individually, but also interacted to dynamically alter biomass and community structure in different ways at different depths. As expected, enrichment increased benthic algal biomass significantly in very shallow waters. Yet, when enrichment co‐occurred with water‐level fluctuations, this pattern was reversed, with algal biomass increasing significantly in deeper waters, but not in the shallows that were exposed to fluctuating water levels. This pattern occurred across all algal groups that we examined except for green algae. Green algae biomass increased with nutrient enrichment, was greatest in the shallows, and remained unaffected by fluctuating water levels.Water‐level fluctuations modified the functional feeding group structure of benthic macroinvertebrate communities, reducing relative densities of collector‐gatherers and increasing those of predators. However, these changes occurred only in the shallow‐most regions exposed directly to fluctuating water levels.Our results reveal how two globally important stressors of standing water systems can interact in different ways in different ecological contexts and show how stressors can combine to have unanticipated impacts that vary in space. Our findings underscore the potentially highly multifaceted and complex nature of stressor combinations that present a major and growing challenge to ecosystem management, particularly in light of accelerating global environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eutrophication assessments in water management to quantify nutrient loads and identify mitigating measures seldom include the contribution from horse facilities. This may be due to lack of appropriate methods, limited resources, or the belief that the impact from horses is insignificant. However, the recreational horse sector is growing, predominantly in multi-functional peri-urban landscapes. We applied an ecosystem management approach to quantify nutrient loads from horse facilities in the Stockholm Region, Sweden. We found that horses increased the total loads with 30–40% P and 20–45% N, with average area-specific loads of 1.2 kg P and 7.6 kg N ha−1 year−1. Identified local risk factors included manure management practices, trampling severity, soil condition and closeness to water. Comparisons of assessment methods showed that literature standard values of area-specific loads and water runoff may be sufficient at the catchment level, but in small and more complex catchments, measurements and local knowledge are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The decline of the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis), or Ngarlgumirdi (Yawuru), like other critical-weight range Australian mammals, is believed to be primarily due to the synergetic impacts of predation by feral cats and foxes, habitat disturbance caused by large introduced herbivores, and increases in the frequency and intensity of wildfires. Although it has been demonstrated that low-intensity prescribed burning mosaics in some habitats have the potential to benefit mammals, including Ngarlgumirdi, by creating habitat with sufficient vegetation cover, the contributions of specific fire-mosaic attributes to Ngarlgumirdi persistence remain unclear. Aims: To elucidate the impacts of fire-mosaic attributes on the occupancy of Ngarlgumirdi on the Dampier Peninsula. Methods: We used 2-ha sign-plot data collected by four Indigenous Ranger groups, in combination with 20 years of satellite-derived fire-history information to investigate the multiscale impacts of fire attributes on Ngarlgumirdi and feral cats (Felis catus) on the Dampier Peninsula in the West Kimberley region, a large, unfenced landscape in the most fire-prone section of the Ngarlgumirdi's current range. Key results: We found that Ngarlgumirdi was more common in areas that had a higher proportion of habitat that had not burnt for at least 3 years, whereas feral cats were less prevalent in these areas. Similarly, Ngarlgumirdi was less likely to occur in landscapes affected by frequent fires, whereas cats were more common there. Conclusions: Our findings have highlighted the importance of decreasing fire frequency and increasing the extent of long-unburnt habitats (>3 years) for preserving Ngarlgumirdi on the Dampier Peninsula and mitigating ecological damage inflicted by feral cats. Findings were consistent across spatial scales (1-, 3-, 5- and 10-km radius from each monitoring site). Implications: These results have demonstrated the potential of fire management to increase native species resilience in the absence of direct feral cat control methods. Further, they support a recent cross-tenure initiative led by Traditional Owners to implement fire management that aims to reduce large, frequent high-severity wildfires and increase areas of long-unburnt vegetation on the Dampier Peninsula. We studied the impacts of fire-mosaic attributes on the occurence of Ngarlgumirdi on the Dampier Peninsula. Ngarlgumirdi were more prevalent in areas with higher proportions of habitat that had not burnt for at least 3 years, or had burnt less frequently. Feral cats were less common in these habitats. These results emphasise the importance of reducing fire frequency and protecting long-unburnt habitats to maintain Ngarlgumirdi habitat, and supporta cross-tenure initiative to manage fire more effectively in the region. Gamba nalgumirdi, marlu manyja yagarrmurungun miliya, Manyjanyurdany gurdirdi warli yingarrbangngaran gangajunu, warligarra waranygabu buru yingarrarlin gangajunu gamba gurlju yirr jaril yagarraman ngarraya. Marlugarriny yagarralangan narlinyurdany jalaluyi janangarru nyamba miliya. Dampiergun juluburu yagarrabaran yirr yagarrabanggan gamba ngurru nalgumirdigarra burugun gamba jarriny ngurru marlu junggu yinganda gurdidiyi wula, buru junggu manyjan wubardujina yinganda yirr marlu manyjan gurdirdi minyaw nyambagun. Nyamba galwaragaja gamba jurrungu yingan yagarramaguran wubardu buruyi junggu yilurran yirr yagarrajalalan buru Marlu jungu yinganngany nalgumirdi, barndany yinamalyjan nganinya yagarragurndin jurrungu nyambagun buru. The translation of this short summary from English into Yawuru language was provided by the Mabu Yawuru Ngan-ga Language Centre. Yawuru language is a Western Nyulnyulan language spoken by people from the Broome region in Western Australia. Photograph by Harry Moore. This article belongs to the Collection Indigenous and cross-cultural wildlife research in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in active acoustic technology have outpaced the ability to process and analyze the data in a timely manner. Currently, scientists rely on manual scrutiny or limited automation to translate acoustic backscatter to biologically meaningful metrics useful for fisheries and ecosystem management. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Northeast Fisheries Science Center has monitored the Atlantic herring population in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank since 1999 due to the stocks' important economic and ecological role for the commercial lobster industry. Manual scrutinization to identify Atlantic herring schools from the water column sonar data is time‐consuming and impractical for large‐scale studies. To automate this process, a hybrid model with multiview learning was proposed for automatic Atlantic herring school detection, which consists of two steps: (1) region‐of‐interest (ROI) detection and (2) ROI classification. The ROI detection step was designed to detect school‐like objects, and the ROI classification step was designed to distinguish Atlantic herring schools from other objects. The co‐training algorithm was employed for multiview learning as well as semi‐supervised learning. Within this framework, single‐view vs. multiview learning and supervised vs. semi‐supervised learning were evaluated and compared. Our results showed that multiview learning can improve the performance of the hybrid model in Atlantic herring school detection, and the utilization of unlabeled data is also helpful when the training set is small. The best‐performed model achieved an F1‐score of 0.804. This new framework provides an efficient and effective tool for automatic Atlantic herring school detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of wastewater irrigation on soil dielectric parameters, focusing on the often‐overlooked aspect of dielectric properties in contaminated soil. Wastewater, a significant contributor to soil and groundwater degradation, has long‐term effects on soil physical, chemical, and dielectric characteristics. Experimental measurements conducted overtime at 2.45 and 5.8 GHz frequencies reveal a correlation between wastewater irrigation and changes in dielectric properties. Emphasizing time variation as a pivotal independent variable, the study sheds light on its substantial influence on soil dielectric behavior. Notably, the research introduces an alternative methodology for the comprehensive evaluation of wastewater‐induced pollution effects on soil properties. This approach is substantiated by meticulous physicochemical analyses conducted on both pollution sources and the affected soil. The study further presents a robust response surface method‐based model, showcasing impressive accuracy with dielectric properties (ε′ and ε″) and penetration depth with R2 values of 0.9845, 0.9831, and 0.9528, respectively. Beyond unveiling crucial insights into the intricate interplay of wastewater and soil dielectric behavior, this research contributes to the development of effective strategies for pollution monitoring and management in soil ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mangroves, as the key blue carbon ecosystem, are considered 'potential sinks' for microplastics (MPs) in the land-ocean interface zones. However, there is limited understanding of enrichment patterns of MPs in mangrove blue carbon ecosystem, particularly in relation to human activities. This study explored the abundance, composition, and diversity of MPs in mangrove and non-mangrove sediments in Zhanjiang Bay (ZJB) to investigate the effects of human activities on MPs enrichment patterns in the blue carbon system. The results showed that MPs were widely prevalent in all sediment samples, and the abundance of MPs was significantly higher in all mangrove sediments than in non-mangrove sediments (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the average abundance of MPs was found to be 263.67 ± 85.25 items/kg in non-mangrove sediment samples, whereas in mangrove sediment samples, it was 618.17 ± 71.75 items/kg. The average abundance of MPs in mangroves was about 1.6 times higher than that in non-mangroves, indicating that mangroves have an interception effect on MPs, and human activities are the key factor leading to the difference in MPs enrichment patterns between mangroves and non-mangroves. Furthermore, the predominant MPs shapes in both mangroves and non-mangroves are fragments, with multicolor and green being the most common colors and most MPs sizes ranging between 100 and 330 µm. Besides, there was no significant relationship found between MPs abundance and particulate organic carbon (P > 0.05), indicating that MPs pollution didn't significantly alter the natural POC pool in ZJB. Overall, this study provided important baseline information on MPs pollution in the mangrove blue carbon ecosystems in ZJB, which was implications for future mitigation of MPs pollution and the management of mangrove ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eutrophication due to nutrient addition can result in major alterations in aquatic ecosystem productivity. Foundation species, individually and interactively, whether present as invasive species or as instruments of ecosystem management and restoration, can have unwanted effects like stabilizing turbid eutrophic states. In this study, we used whole-pond experimental manipulations to investigate the impacts of disturbance by nutrient additions in the presence and absence of two foundation species: Dreissena polymorpha (a freshwater mussel) and Myriophyllum spicatum (a macrophyte). We tracked how nutrient additions to ponds changed the prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities, using 16S, 18S, and COI amplicon sequencing. The nutrient disturbance and foundation species imposed strong selection on the prokaryotic communities, but not on the microbial eukaryotic communities. The prokaryotic communities changed increasingly over time as the nutrient disturbance intensified. Postdisturbance, the foundation species stabilized the prokaryotic communities as observed by the reduced rate of change in community composition. Our analysis suggests that prokaryotic community change contributed both directly and indirectly to major changes in ecosystem properties, including pH and dissolved oxygen. Our work shows that nutrient disturbance and foundation species strongly affect the prokaryotic community composition and stability, and that the presence of foundation species can, in some cases, promote the emergence and persistence of a turbid eutrophic ecosystem state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]