Thomas S. Bianchi and Elizabeth A. Canuel
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134147
- eISBN:
- 9781400839100
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134147.003.0014
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This chapter examines the application of anthropogenic compounds as biomarkers. Since World War II, human activities have introduced a wide array of compounds into the environment, including ...
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This chapter examines the application of anthropogenic compounds as biomarkers. Since World War II, human activities have introduced a wide array of compounds into the environment, including insecticides such as dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane and pesticides, halocarbons (chlorofluorocarbons), sewage products (coprostanol), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The chapter introduces structural features of these compounds, their distribution and transformation in the environment, and their potential use(s) as tracers. It presents examples of how relationships between anthropogenic markers and biomarkers can be used to provide information about the sources, delivery, and fate of natural organic matter in aquatic ecosystems. It introduces various emerging contaminants (personal care pharmaceutical products, caffeine, and flame retardants) and their potential use as tracers for anthropogenic organic matter in aquatic ecosystems. It describes how δ13C, stable isotopes of Cl and Br, and radiocarbon can be used to apportion sources of organic contaminants (e.g., PAHs and PCBs).Less
This chapter examines the application of anthropogenic compounds as biomarkers. Since World War II, human activities have introduced a wide array of compounds into the environment, including insecticides such as dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane and pesticides, halocarbons (chlorofluorocarbons), sewage products (coprostanol), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The chapter introduces structural features of these compounds, their distribution and transformation in the environment, and their potential use(s) as tracers. It presents examples of how relationships between anthropogenic markers and biomarkers can be used to provide information about the sources, delivery, and fate of natural organic matter in aquatic ecosystems. It introduces various emerging contaminants (personal care pharmaceutical products, caffeine, and flame retardants) and their potential use as tracers for anthropogenic organic matter in aquatic ecosystems. It describes how δ13C, stable isotopes of Cl and Br, and radiocarbon can be used to apportion sources of organic contaminants (e.g., PAHs and PCBs).
D.N. Thomas, G.E. Fogg, P. Convey, C.H. Fritsen, J.-M. Gili, R. Gradinger, J. Laybourn-Parry, K. Reid, and D.W.H. Walton
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199298112
- eISBN:
- 9780191711640
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199298112.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
There is now an increased awareness of the importance of polar regions in the Earth system, as well as their vulnerability to anthropogenic derived change, including of course global climate change. ...
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There is now an increased awareness of the importance of polar regions in the Earth system, as well as their vulnerability to anthropogenic derived change, including of course global climate change. This text is the latest edition of this book and offers an introduction to polar ecology. It has been revised and updated, providing expanded coverage of marine ecosystems and the impact of humans. It incorporates a comparison of the Arctic and Antarctic systems, with a particular emphasis on the effects of climate change, and describes marine, freshwater, glacial, and terrestrial habitats. Much emphasis is placed on the organisms that dominate these extreme environments although pollution, conservation, and experimental aspects are also considered.Less
There is now an increased awareness of the importance of polar regions in the Earth system, as well as their vulnerability to anthropogenic derived change, including of course global climate change. This text is the latest edition of this book and offers an introduction to polar ecology. It has been revised and updated, providing expanded coverage of marine ecosystems and the impact of humans. It incorporates a comparison of the Arctic and Antarctic systems, with a particular emphasis on the effects of climate change, and describes marine, freshwater, glacial, and terrestrial habitats. Much emphasis is placed on the organisms that dominate these extreme environments although pollution, conservation, and experimental aspects are also considered.
Martin J. Riddle and Derek C.G. Muir
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199213887
- eISBN:
- 9780191707506
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199213887.003.0016
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Aquatic Biology
This chapter reviews and compares possible causes of environmental impacts on lake and river systems in the Arctic and Antarctica, with emphasis on the direct effects of local human activities. ...
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This chapter reviews and compares possible causes of environmental impacts on lake and river systems in the Arctic and Antarctica, with emphasis on the direct effects of local human activities. Potential impacts fall into three broad categories: physical processes, chemical contamination, and the introduction of exotic species, including microbial contaminants. This review focuses on physical and chemical impacts. Using a range of examples, the chapter illustrates similarities and differences between the Arctic and Antarctic and identifies characteristics of high latitude lake and river systems that may influence their susceptibility to anthropogenic disturbance, including potential cumulative or synergistic effects of local disturbance during a time of rapid global change.Less
This chapter reviews and compares possible causes of environmental impacts on lake and river systems in the Arctic and Antarctica, with emphasis on the direct effects of local human activities. Potential impacts fall into three broad categories: physical processes, chemical contamination, and the introduction of exotic species, including microbial contaminants. This review focuses on physical and chemical impacts. Using a range of examples, the chapter illustrates similarities and differences between the Arctic and Antarctic and identifies characteristics of high latitude lake and river systems that may influence their susceptibility to anthropogenic disturbance, including potential cumulative or synergistic effects of local disturbance during a time of rapid global change.
J. Emmett Duffy and Martin Thiel (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195179927
- eISBN:
- 9780199790111
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179927.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
Understanding of animal social and sexual evolution has seen a renaissance in recent years with discoveries of frequent infidelity in apparently monogamous species, the importance of sperm ...
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Understanding of animal social and sexual evolution has seen a renaissance in recent years with discoveries of frequent infidelity in apparently monogamous species, the importance of sperm competition, active female mate choice, and eusocial behavior in animals outside the traditional social insect groups. Each of these findings has raised new questions, and suggested new answers about the evolution of behavioral interactions among animals. This volume synthesizes recent research on the sexual and social biology of the Crustacea, one of the dominant invertebrate groups on earth. Its staggering diversity includes ecologically important inhabitants of nearly every environment from deep-sea trenches, through headwater streams, to desert soils. The wide range of crustacean phenotypes and environments is accompanied by a comparable diversity of behavioral and social systems, including the elaborate courtship and wildly exaggerated morphologies of fiddler crabs, the mysterious queuing behavior of migrating spiny lobsters, and even eusociality in coral-reef shrimps. This diversity makes crustaceans particularly valuable for exploring the comparative evolution of sexual and social systems. Despite exciting recent advances, however, general recognition of the value of Crustacea as models has lagged behind that of the better studied insects and vertebrates. This book synthesizes the state of the field in crustacean behavior and sociobiology, and places it in a conceptually based, comparative framework that will be valuable to active researchers and students in animal behavior, ecology, and evolutionary biology. It brings together a group of experts in fields related to crustacean behavioral ecology, ranging from physiology and functional morphology, through mating and social behavior, to ecology and phylogeny. Each chapter makes connections to other non-crustacean taxa, and the volume closes with a summary section that synthesizes the contributions, discusses anthropogenic impacts, highlights unanswered questions, and provides a vision for profitable future research.Less
Understanding of animal social and sexual evolution has seen a renaissance in recent years with discoveries of frequent infidelity in apparently monogamous species, the importance of sperm competition, active female mate choice, and eusocial behavior in animals outside the traditional social insect groups. Each of these findings has raised new questions, and suggested new answers about the evolution of behavioral interactions among animals. This volume synthesizes recent research on the sexual and social biology of the Crustacea, one of the dominant invertebrate groups on earth. Its staggering diversity includes ecologically important inhabitants of nearly every environment from deep-sea trenches, through headwater streams, to desert soils. The wide range of crustacean phenotypes and environments is accompanied by a comparable diversity of behavioral and social systems, including the elaborate courtship and wildly exaggerated morphologies of fiddler crabs, the mysterious queuing behavior of migrating spiny lobsters, and even eusociality in coral-reef shrimps. This diversity makes crustaceans particularly valuable for exploring the comparative evolution of sexual and social systems. Despite exciting recent advances, however, general recognition of the value of Crustacea as models has lagged behind that of the better studied insects and vertebrates. This book synthesizes the state of the field in crustacean behavior and sociobiology, and places it in a conceptually based, comparative framework that will be valuable to active researchers and students in animal behavior, ecology, and evolutionary biology. It brings together a group of experts in fields related to crustacean behavioral ecology, ranging from physiology and functional morphology, through mating and social behavior, to ecology and phylogeny. Each chapter makes connections to other non-crustacean taxa, and the volume closes with a summary section that synthesizes the contributions, discusses anthropogenic impacts, highlights unanswered questions, and provides a vision for profitable future research.
Sharon K. Collinge and Chris Ray
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198567080
- eISBN:
- 9780191717871
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198567080.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Disease Ecology / Epidemiology
The purpose of this book is to highlight exciting recent advances in theoretical and empirical research which has been conducted towards a greater understanding of the importance of community ...
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The purpose of this book is to highlight exciting recent advances in theoretical and empirical research which has been conducted towards a greater understanding of the importance of community structure in the emergence of infectious diseases. A brief glossary of commonly used terms in ecology and epidemiology is provided including enzootic, epizootic, infectious disease, pathogen, parasite, reservoir host, and SEIR models. Most chapters in this book relate shifts in disease dynamics to alterations of community structure driven by anthropogenic activities, and most involve ecological field studies of diseases just emerging in the United States, although the focus on emergent diseases and their community ecology is clearly applicable to disease dynamics worldwide.Less
The purpose of this book is to highlight exciting recent advances in theoretical and empirical research which has been conducted towards a greater understanding of the importance of community structure in the emergence of infectious diseases. A brief glossary of commonly used terms in ecology and epidemiology is provided including enzootic, epizootic, infectious disease, pathogen, parasite, reservoir host, and SEIR models. Most chapters in this book relate shifts in disease dynamics to alterations of community structure driven by anthropogenic activities, and most involve ecological field studies of diseases just emerging in the United States, although the focus on emergent diseases and their community ecology is clearly applicable to disease dynamics worldwide.
Peter Taylor, Geoff O'Brien, and Phil O'Keefe
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781529210477
- eISBN:
- 9781529210514
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781529210477.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Current climate change policy is necessary but insufficient. This is because the basic modus operandi – presenting scientific evidence to states for them to take action - misrepresents the complex ...
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Current climate change policy is necessary but insufficient. This is because the basic modus operandi – presenting scientific evidence to states for them to take action - misrepresents the complex process of anthropogenic climate change. The ‘anthropo’ bit is neglected in a misconceived supply-side (carbon) interpretation. The key question is, why is there so much demand for this carbon in the first place? This book introduces a demand-side interpretation bringing cities to the fore as central players in both generating climate changes and for finding solutions. Jane Jacobs’ urban analysis is combined with William F. Ruddiman’s historical tracing of greenhouse gases to provide a new understanding and narrative of anthropogenic climate change. The conclusion is that we are locked into a path to terminal consumption, which is accelerating as a consequence of Chinese urban growth, historically unprecedented in its sheer scale. To counter this we need to harness the power of cities in new ways, to steer urban demand away from its current destructive path. This is nothing less than re-inventing the city: not mitigation (the resilient city, necessary but not sufficient), not adaptation (sustainable city, also necessary but not sufficient) but stewardship, a process of dynamic stability creating the posterity city in sync with nature.Less
Current climate change policy is necessary but insufficient. This is because the basic modus operandi – presenting scientific evidence to states for them to take action - misrepresents the complex process of anthropogenic climate change. The ‘anthropo’ bit is neglected in a misconceived supply-side (carbon) interpretation. The key question is, why is there so much demand for this carbon in the first place? This book introduces a demand-side interpretation bringing cities to the fore as central players in both generating climate changes and for finding solutions. Jane Jacobs’ urban analysis is combined with William F. Ruddiman’s historical tracing of greenhouse gases to provide a new understanding and narrative of anthropogenic climate change. The conclusion is that we are locked into a path to terminal consumption, which is accelerating as a consequence of Chinese urban growth, historically unprecedented in its sheer scale. To counter this we need to harness the power of cities in new ways, to steer urban demand away from its current destructive path. This is nothing less than re-inventing the city: not mitigation (the resilient city, necessary but not sufficient), not adaptation (sustainable city, also necessary but not sufficient) but stewardship, a process of dynamic stability creating the posterity city in sync with nature.
Enric Sala and George Sugihara
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198564836
- eISBN:
- 9780191713828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198564836.003.0014
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
Marine conservation priorities have been established mostly on the basis of species and habitat diversity, but little attention has been paid to food web diversity. Ecologists are aware of the ...
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Marine conservation priorities have been established mostly on the basis of species and habitat diversity, but little attention has been paid to food web diversity. Ecologists are aware of the dynamic nature of marine food webs, and of the simplification of food web structure by anthropogenic activities, mainly fishing. Transient food web structures along gradients of fishing pressure are an analogue to stages along a successional gradient. This chapter describes regularities in food web structure along these gradients, and explores the global initial conditions (e.g., availability of species, sequence of species additions) needed to ensure that marine food webs will continue to function and adapt to environmental change in a world with increasing anthropogenic disturbance.Less
Marine conservation priorities have been established mostly on the basis of species and habitat diversity, but little attention has been paid to food web diversity. Ecologists are aware of the dynamic nature of marine food webs, and of the simplification of food web structure by anthropogenic activities, mainly fishing. Transient food web structures along gradients of fishing pressure are an analogue to stages along a successional gradient. This chapter describes regularities in food web structure along these gradients, and explores the global initial conditions (e.g., availability of species, sequence of species additions) needed to ensure that marine food webs will continue to function and adapt to environmental change in a world with increasing anthropogenic disturbance.
Thijs Christiaan van Son and Martin Thiel
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195179927
- eISBN:
- 9780199790111
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179927.003.0019
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
Four categories of anthropogenic stressors affect the behavior and vital functions of crustaceans in aquatic ecosystems: pollution, introduction of non-indigenous species, stock manipulation, and ...
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Four categories of anthropogenic stressors affect the behavior and vital functions of crustaceans in aquatic ecosystems: pollution, introduction of non-indigenous species, stock manipulation, and habitat destruction. The most affected vital functions are, in descending order of importance, reproduction, nutrition and growth, and habitat selection. Two principal groups of stressors were distinguished: (i) pollution and species introduction, for which most of the effects on crustacean behavior were observed directly; and (ii) fishing and habitat destruction, for which most of the evidence was circumstantial. In many cases, pollution and species introduction affect individuals directly, whereas fishing and habitat destruction affect crustacean behaviors indirectly, primarily by changes in important population (e.g., sex ratio and population density) or ecosystem (e.g., habitat, physico-chemical, species dominance, species composition) parameters. The information yielded by this review and that of future studies may prove useful in designing efficient conservation plans.Less
Four categories of anthropogenic stressors affect the behavior and vital functions of crustaceans in aquatic ecosystems: pollution, introduction of non-indigenous species, stock manipulation, and habitat destruction. The most affected vital functions are, in descending order of importance, reproduction, nutrition and growth, and habitat selection. Two principal groups of stressors were distinguished: (i) pollution and species introduction, for which most of the effects on crustacean behavior were observed directly; and (ii) fishing and habitat destruction, for which most of the evidence was circumstantial. In many cases, pollution and species introduction affect individuals directly, whereas fishing and habitat destruction affect crustacean behaviors indirectly, primarily by changes in important population (e.g., sex ratio and population density) or ecosystem (e.g., habitat, physico-chemical, species dominance, species composition) parameters. The information yielded by this review and that of future studies may prove useful in designing efficient conservation plans.
Robert R. Christian, Daniel Baird, Joseph Luczkovich, Jeffrey C. Johnson, Ursula M. Scharler, and Robert E. Ulanowicz
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198564836
- eISBN:
- 9780191713828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198564836.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
Estuaries are excellent ecosystems for testing the veracity of the inferences of ecological network analysis for three reasons. First, more network analyses have been conducted on estuaries than any ...
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Estuaries are excellent ecosystems for testing the veracity of the inferences of ecological network analysis for three reasons. First, more network analyses have been conducted on estuaries than any other kind of ecosystem. Second, estuarine environments are often stressed by natural and anthropogenic forcings. These conditions allow hypotheses of response to stress to be formulated and tested. Finally, sampling of estuaries has often been extensive, such that reasonable food webs can be constructed under different conditions of stress. This chapter reviews studies that incorporate these three elements, and assesses how efficacious analysis output variables are at describing the effects of stress. Output variables index a range of trophic dynamic properties from populations to entire food webs. The assessment is structured in the context of this range.Less
Estuaries are excellent ecosystems for testing the veracity of the inferences of ecological network analysis for three reasons. First, more network analyses have been conducted on estuaries than any other kind of ecosystem. Second, estuarine environments are often stressed by natural and anthropogenic forcings. These conditions allow hypotheses of response to stress to be formulated and tested. Finally, sampling of estuaries has often been extensive, such that reasonable food webs can be constructed under different conditions of stress. This chapter reviews studies that incorporate these three elements, and assesses how efficacious analysis output variables are at describing the effects of stress. Output variables index a range of trophic dynamic properties from populations to entire food webs. The assessment is structured in the context of this range.
Stacy M. Philpott, Ivette Perfecto, Inge Armbrecht, and Catherine L. Parr
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199544639
- eISBN:
- 9780191720192
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199544639.003.0008
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Animal Biology
Habitat transformation and disturbance are important threats to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function, and can strongly affect ant communities. As with other animal communities, ...
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Habitat transformation and disturbance are important threats to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function, and can strongly affect ant communities. As with other animal communities, disturbance impact will depend on frequency and intensity of disturbance. Anthropogenic habitat transformation where the degree of change in resources and microclimate may be especially severe (e.g. mining or urbanization) or repeated (e.g. agriculture), have strong impacts on ant assemblages. In contrast, some natural disturbances, such as fire, tree‐fall gaps, and short floods, although drastic in their immediate effects, may have minimal impacts on the assemblages if entire colonies are not lost, or if foundresses colonize disturbed sites quickly. Disturbed sites tend to be dominated by opportunistic or generalist species presumably because these species can take advantage of changing resource bases. Ants provide essential ecosystem functions such as biological pest control, seed dispersal, and soil modification, many of which are affected by habitat transformation and disturbance.Less
Habitat transformation and disturbance are important threats to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function, and can strongly affect ant communities. As with other animal communities, disturbance impact will depend on frequency and intensity of disturbance. Anthropogenic habitat transformation where the degree of change in resources and microclimate may be especially severe (e.g. mining or urbanization) or repeated (e.g. agriculture), have strong impacts on ant assemblages. In contrast, some natural disturbances, such as fire, tree‐fall gaps, and short floods, although drastic in their immediate effects, may have minimal impacts on the assemblages if entire colonies are not lost, or if foundresses colonize disturbed sites quickly. Disturbed sites tend to be dominated by opportunistic or generalist species presumably because these species can take advantage of changing resource bases. Ants provide essential ecosystem functions such as biological pest control, seed dispersal, and soil modification, many of which are affected by habitat transformation and disturbance.
Brian Greenberg and Margaret E. Greene
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199270576
- eISBN:
- 9780191600883
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199270570.003.0017
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, History of Economic Thought
The global scale of anthropogenic environmental change now challenges demography to rethink its methodologies and tacit values to assess the ways that human populations determine the population ...
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The global scale of anthropogenic environmental change now challenges demography to rethink its methodologies and tacit values to assess the ways that human populations determine the population profiles and survival prospects for non‐human species and nature as a whole. Critically reviews the disciplinary basis for human‐centredness in the assessment of environmental change, and the ways this Malthusian intellectual legacy now constrains demography's ability to comment on pressing environmental issues. By demonstrating that social relationships do not stop at the boundaries of society but extend to the relationships people establish with non‐human nature, the chapter illustrates how more ecologically inclusive analytic categories can provide significant insight into environmental change in the Western Himalayas. Redefining the familiar demographic categories of ‘household’ and ‘community’ to more closely reflect local cultural understandings, the chapter links household composition to livestock ecology, and agricultural production to the history of environmental transformation in the Himalayan region. In suggesting less anthropocentric and Western culture‐centric demographic analysis, the chapter argues for models of human communities more precisely situated in their environmental contexts, and demonstrates a potentially powerful extension of demographic techniques in the explanation of landscape and environmental change.Less
The global scale of anthropogenic environmental change now challenges demography to rethink its methodologies and tacit values to assess the ways that human populations determine the population profiles and survival prospects for non‐human species and nature as a whole. Critically reviews the disciplinary basis for human‐centredness in the assessment of environmental change, and the ways this Malthusian intellectual legacy now constrains demography's ability to comment on pressing environmental issues. By demonstrating that social relationships do not stop at the boundaries of society but extend to the relationships people establish with non‐human nature, the chapter illustrates how more ecologically inclusive analytic categories can provide significant insight into environmental change in the Western Himalayas. Redefining the familiar demographic categories of ‘household’ and ‘community’ to more closely reflect local cultural understandings, the chapter links household composition to livestock ecology, and agricultural production to the history of environmental transformation in the Himalayan region. In suggesting less anthropocentric and Western culture‐centric demographic analysis, the chapter argues for models of human communities more precisely situated in their environmental contexts, and demonstrates a potentially powerful extension of demographic techniques in the explanation of landscape and environmental change.
John N. Griffin, Eoin J. O’Gorman, Mark C. Emmerson, Stuart R. Jenkins, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Michel Loreau, and Amy Symstad
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199547951
- eISBN:
- 9780191720345
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547951.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
Concern that the rapid anthropogenic erosion of biodiversity may undermine the delivery of ecosystem services has prompted a synthesis of community and ecosystem ecology over the last decade. ...
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Concern that the rapid anthropogenic erosion of biodiversity may undermine the delivery of ecosystem services has prompted a synthesis of community and ecosystem ecology over the last decade. Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) research is central to this emerging synthesis, asking how biodiversity is related to the magnitude and stability of ecosystem processes. Isolating species richness effects from species composition has been a chief goal of BEF research. This BEF perspective recognized that fluctuating abundances of component species may not produce instability at the community or ecosystem level because compensatory reactions among species dampen fluctuations of aggregate abundance. Within the BEF framework, experiments and theory explicitly relating to the effect of species richness on community-level aggregate properties (mainly biomass) have focused on variability through time in relation to background environmental variation (temporal stability) as well as on the impact (resistance) and recovery (resilience) of such properties to discrete, and often extreme, perturbations. This chapter reviews recent empirical studies examining the links between species richness and these three facets of stability.Less
Concern that the rapid anthropogenic erosion of biodiversity may undermine the delivery of ecosystem services has prompted a synthesis of community and ecosystem ecology over the last decade. Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) research is central to this emerging synthesis, asking how biodiversity is related to the magnitude and stability of ecosystem processes. Isolating species richness effects from species composition has been a chief goal of BEF research. This BEF perspective recognized that fluctuating abundances of component species may not produce instability at the community or ecosystem level because compensatory reactions among species dampen fluctuations of aggregate abundance. Within the BEF framework, experiments and theory explicitly relating to the effect of species richness on community-level aggregate properties (mainly biomass) have focused on variability through time in relation to background environmental variation (temporal stability) as well as on the impact (resistance) and recovery (resilience) of such properties to discrete, and often extreme, perturbations. This chapter reviews recent empirical studies examining the links between species richness and these three facets of stability.
Martin Solan, Rebecca J. Aspden, and David M. Paterson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- December 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199642250
- eISBN:
- 9780191774768
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199642250.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
The biological composition and richness of most of the Earth’s major ecosystems are being dramatically and irreversibly transformed by anthropogenic activity. Yet, despite the vast areal extent of ...
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The biological composition and richness of most of the Earth’s major ecosystems are being dramatically and irreversibly transformed by anthropogenic activity. Yet, despite the vast areal extent of our oceans, the mainstay of research to-date in the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning arena has been weighted towards ecological observations and experimentation in terrestrial plant and soil systems. This book provides a framework for extending these concepts to a variety of marine systems. It addresses the latest advances in biodiversity-function science using marine examples. It brings together contributions from scientists in the field to provide an in-depth evaluation of the science, before offering a perspective on future research directions for some of the most pressing environmental issues facing society today and in the future.Less
The biological composition and richness of most of the Earth’s major ecosystems are being dramatically and irreversibly transformed by anthropogenic activity. Yet, despite the vast areal extent of our oceans, the mainstay of research to-date in the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning arena has been weighted towards ecological observations and experimentation in terrestrial plant and soil systems. This book provides a framework for extending these concepts to a variety of marine systems. It addresses the latest advances in biodiversity-function science using marine examples. It brings together contributions from scientists in the field to provide an in-depth evaluation of the science, before offering a perspective on future research directions for some of the most pressing environmental issues facing society today and in the future.
Russell Lande, Steinar Engen, and Bernt-Erik SÆther
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198525257
- eISBN:
- 9780191584930
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198525257.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This chapter begins with a discussion of paleo-extinctions. It then discusses modern anthropogenic extinctions, diffusion approximation of stochastic dynamics, extinction trajectories in small ...
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This chapter begins with a discussion of paleo-extinctions. It then discusses modern anthropogenic extinctions, diffusion approximation of stochastic dynamics, extinction trajectories in small populations, stationary distribution of population size, quasi-stationary distribution and mean time to extinction, expected duration of the final decline, and distribution of time to extinction.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of paleo-extinctions. It then discusses modern anthropogenic extinctions, diffusion approximation of stochastic dynamics, extinction trajectories in small populations, stationary distribution of population size, quasi-stationary distribution and mean time to extinction, expected duration of the final decline, and distribution of time to extinction.
Peter O. Dunn and Anders Pape Møller (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198824268
- eISBN:
- 9780191862809
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198824268.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ornithology, Animal Biology
Climate change issues are attracting rapidly increasing interest from a wide range of biologists due to their unprecedented effects on global biodiversity, although there remains a lack of general ...
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Climate change issues are attracting rapidly increasing interest from a wide range of biologists due to their unprecedented effects on global biodiversity, although there remains a lack of general knowledge as to the environmental consequences of such rapid change. Compared with any other class of animals, birds provide more long-term data and extensive time series, a more geographically and taxonomically diverse source of information, a richer source of data on a greater range of topics dealing with the effects of climate change, and a longer tradition of extensive research. The first edition of the book was widely cited and this new edition continues to provide an exhaustive and up-to-date synthesis of our rapidly expanding level of knowledge as it relates to birds, highlighting new methods and areas for future research. Effects of Climate Change on Birds is aimed at professional avian biologists and ornithologists as well as graduate students of avian ecology, evolution, and conservation. It will also be of relevance and use to a more general audience of climate change biologists, administrators, and conservationists because of the potential relevance of its theoretical and empirical content to other organisms including ourselves.Less
Climate change issues are attracting rapidly increasing interest from a wide range of biologists due to their unprecedented effects on global biodiversity, although there remains a lack of general knowledge as to the environmental consequences of such rapid change. Compared with any other class of animals, birds provide more long-term data and extensive time series, a more geographically and taxonomically diverse source of information, a richer source of data on a greater range of topics dealing with the effects of climate change, and a longer tradition of extensive research. The first edition of the book was widely cited and this new edition continues to provide an exhaustive and up-to-date synthesis of our rapidly expanding level of knowledge as it relates to birds, highlighting new methods and areas for future research. Effects of Climate Change on Birds is aimed at professional avian biologists and ornithologists as well as graduate students of avian ecology, evolution, and conservation. It will also be of relevance and use to a more general audience of climate change biologists, administrators, and conservationists because of the potential relevance of its theoretical and empirical content to other organisms including ourselves.
Jan G. Laitos
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195386066
- eISBN:
- 9780199949656
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195386066.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Environmental and Energy Law
This chapter discusses the fourth era of resource use and nonuse—the Anthrocene Age. Era IV may be called the Anthrocene Age because of the prominent role played by human anthropogenic decisions. Era ...
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This chapter discusses the fourth era of resource use and nonuse—the Anthrocene Age. Era IV may be called the Anthrocene Age because of the prominent role played by human anthropogenic decisions. Era IV, which continues to the present, has three prominent anthropocentric characteristics: continued suboptimal use of some resources; laws requiring individuals and entities to comply with regulations in order to protect indirect resource values that provide human benefit; and new laws that for the first time recognized and upheld human preferences for nonuse values. Throughout Era IV, the resource economy increasingly came under political and governmental control. However, these twentieth century laws were anthropocentric and designed to protect resource indirect use and nonuse values primarily for the benefit of humans.Less
This chapter discusses the fourth era of resource use and nonuse—the Anthrocene Age. Era IV may be called the Anthrocene Age because of the prominent role played by human anthropogenic decisions. Era IV, which continues to the present, has three prominent anthropocentric characteristics: continued suboptimal use of some resources; laws requiring individuals and entities to comply with regulations in order to protect indirect resource values that provide human benefit; and new laws that for the first time recognized and upheld human preferences for nonuse values. Throughout Era IV, the resource economy increasingly came under political and governmental control. However, these twentieth century laws were anthropocentric and designed to protect resource indirect use and nonuse values primarily for the benefit of humans.
Kristin Shrader-Frechette
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199794638
- eISBN:
- 9780199919277
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199794638.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Chapter 1 begins by stressing the severity of climate change (CC) and showing how, contrary to popular belief, atomic energy is not a viable solution to ...
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Chapter 1 begins by stressing the severity of climate change (CC) and showing how, contrary to popular belief, atomic energy is not a viable solution to CC. Many scientists and most market proponents agree that renewable energy and energy efficiencies are better options. The chapter also shows that government subsidies for oil and nuclear power are the result of flawed science, poor ethics, short-term thinking, and special-interest influence. The chapter has 7 sections, the first of which surveys four major components of the energy crisis. These are oil addiction, non-CC-related deaths from fossil-fuel pollution, nuclear-weapons proliferation, and catastrophic CC. The second section summarizes some of the powerful evidence for global CC. The third section uses historical, ahistorical, Rawlsian, and utilitarian ethical principles to show how developed nations, especially the US, are most responsible for human-caused CC. The fourth section shows why climate-change skeptics, such as “deniers” who doubt CC is real, and “delayers” who say that it should not yet be addressed, have no valid objections. Instead, they all err scientifically and ethically. The fifth section illustrates that all modern scientific methods—and scientific consensus since at least 1995—confirm the reality of global CC. Essentially all expert-scientific analyses published in refereed, scientific-professional journals confirm the reality of global CC. The sixth section of the chapter shows how fossil-fuel special interests have contributed to the continued CC debate largely by paying non-experts to deny or challenge CC. The seventh section of the chapter provides an outline of each chapter in the book, noting that this book makes use of both scientific and ethical analyses to show why nuclear proponents’ arguments err, why CC deniers are wrong, and how scientific-methodological understanding can advance sound energy policy—including conservation, renewable energy, and energy efficiencies.Less
Chapter 1 begins by stressing the severity of climate change (CC) and showing how, contrary to popular belief, atomic energy is not a viable solution to CC. Many scientists and most market proponents agree that renewable energy and energy efficiencies are better options. The chapter also shows that government subsidies for oil and nuclear power are the result of flawed science, poor ethics, short-term thinking, and special-interest influence. The chapter has 7 sections, the first of which surveys four major components of the energy crisis. These are oil addiction, non-CC-related deaths from fossil-fuel pollution, nuclear-weapons proliferation, and catastrophic CC. The second section summarizes some of the powerful evidence for global CC. The third section uses historical, ahistorical, Rawlsian, and utilitarian ethical principles to show how developed nations, especially the US, are most responsible for human-caused CC. The fourth section shows why climate-change skeptics, such as “deniers” who doubt CC is real, and “delayers” who say that it should not yet be addressed, have no valid objections. Instead, they all err scientifically and ethically. The fifth section illustrates that all modern scientific methods—and scientific consensus since at least 1995—confirm the reality of global CC. Essentially all expert-scientific analyses published in refereed, scientific-professional journals confirm the reality of global CC. The sixth section of the chapter shows how fossil-fuel special interests have contributed to the continued CC debate largely by paying non-experts to deny or challenge CC. The seventh section of the chapter provides an outline of each chapter in the book, noting that this book makes use of both scientific and ethical analyses to show why nuclear proponents’ arguments err, why CC deniers are wrong, and how scientific-methodological understanding can advance sound energy policy—including conservation, renewable energy, and energy efficiencies.
Peter J. Taylor, Geoff O’Brien, and Phil O’Keefe
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781529210477
- eISBN:
- 9781529210514
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781529210477.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This chapter takes the failure of current climate change policy as a given and seeks explanations and ways forward. Policy-making should be firmly grounded in the essential nature of anthropogenic ...
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This chapter takes the failure of current climate change policy as a given and seeks explanations and ways forward. Policy-making should be firmly grounded in the essential nature of anthropogenic climate change – a complex problem and an existential threat. It is found wanting in three fundamental aspects. International relations with its competitive preposition is found to be not fit for purpose as decision-making arena. The scientific input for decision-making underplays the ‘anthropo’ bit of climate change and therefore is found unfit for purpose. And social science contributions are found not fit for purpose because of their innate state-centric bias. To overcome the resulting impasse requires critical unthinking. The work of Jane Jacobs is chosen as guide to unthinking thereby foregrounding cities. An invitation is issued for others to provide alternate unthinking.Less
This chapter takes the failure of current climate change policy as a given and seeks explanations and ways forward. Policy-making should be firmly grounded in the essential nature of anthropogenic climate change – a complex problem and an existential threat. It is found wanting in three fundamental aspects. International relations with its competitive preposition is found to be not fit for purpose as decision-making arena. The scientific input for decision-making underplays the ‘anthropo’ bit of climate change and therefore is found unfit for purpose. And social science contributions are found not fit for purpose because of their innate state-centric bias. To overcome the resulting impasse requires critical unthinking. The work of Jane Jacobs is chosen as guide to unthinking thereby foregrounding cities. An invitation is issued for others to provide alternate unthinking.
Peter J. Taylor, Geoff O’Brien, and Phil O’Keefe
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781529210477
- eISBN:
- 9781529210514
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781529210477.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This is the first chapter on unthinking, specifically unthinking modernity. It takes the form of 14 statements that are presented as basic modern theses, and which are countered by antitheses, ...
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This is the first chapter on unthinking, specifically unthinking modernity. It takes the form of 14 statements that are presented as basic modern theses, and which are countered by antitheses, alternative positions wherein urban demand is central to the argument. This thesis/antithesis device is used to broach three broad areas. First, the relationship between cities and states are considered with the former identified as constituting social development. Second, the role of cities in that social development is used to undermine modern time and spatial framings of change. Third, these contrarian ideas are brought to bear on the study of anthropogenic climate change, inserting cities as mass demand mechanisms. All this unthinking is intended to foster a fundamental mindscape break pointing towards transmodern sensibilities..Less
This is the first chapter on unthinking, specifically unthinking modernity. It takes the form of 14 statements that are presented as basic modern theses, and which are countered by antitheses, alternative positions wherein urban demand is central to the argument. This thesis/antithesis device is used to broach three broad areas. First, the relationship between cities and states are considered with the former identified as constituting social development. Second, the role of cities in that social development is used to undermine modern time and spatial framings of change. Third, these contrarian ideas are brought to bear on the study of anthropogenic climate change, inserting cities as mass demand mechanisms. All this unthinking is intended to foster a fundamental mindscape break pointing towards transmodern sensibilities..
Peter J. Taylor, Geoff O’Brien, and Phil O’Keefe
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781529210477
- eISBN:
- 9781529210514
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781529210477.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This is the second chapter on unthinking, specifically building a new narrative to show anthropogenic climate change is not a result of modern industrial society rather it has a much deeper pedigree ...
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This is the second chapter on unthinking, specifically building a new narrative to show anthropogenic climate change is not a result of modern industrial society rather it has a much deeper pedigree as essentially urban in nature. The narrative has been constructed by matching Jane Jacobs’ ideas on the power of cities from their initial invention of agriculture to William F. Ruddiman’s revision of the sequence of greenhouse gases generating anthropogenic climate change. There are two initial outcomes: first a critical reassessment of the importance of cities in geographical imaginings of the past, and second a critical intervention into the dating of the Anthropocene pushing it back many thousands of years.Less
This is the second chapter on unthinking, specifically building a new narrative to show anthropogenic climate change is not a result of modern industrial society rather it has a much deeper pedigree as essentially urban in nature. The narrative has been constructed by matching Jane Jacobs’ ideas on the power of cities from their initial invention of agriculture to William F. Ruddiman’s revision of the sequence of greenhouse gases generating anthropogenic climate change. There are two initial outcomes: first a critical reassessment of the importance of cities in geographical imaginings of the past, and second a critical intervention into the dating of the Anthropocene pushing it back many thousands of years.
