Using cold air to cool down infrastructures in permafrost regions is a common technique, but the horizontal ventiduct method has defects. This paper presents the elbow-shaped ventiduct and focuses on its designing parameters, considering the regional climate along the Qinghai-Tibet Engineering Corridor. Based on the natural convection principle, a program for calculating the parameters of the elbow

The sedimentary deposits of the Lower Paleolithic to Neolithic sites situated in the Belan valley, north-central India offer a unique opportunity to understand the linkage between the prehistoric human environment and fire events. This is the first study to analyse macroscopic charcoal particles from 64 paleosols collected from six archaeological sites in the Belan valley to reconstruct fire activity

Plant performance is commonly temperature-dependent so that this performance could vary with climate warming. Seeds are among the most important propagules of plants, and seed traits strongly influence plant invasion success. Therefore, understanding seed traits under climate warming is useful for predicting invasion risks. To this end, we conducted a warming experiment with an infrared radiator and

Understanding the mechanisms maintaining the biodiversity of plankton communities in marine ecosystems subject to a strongly variable ocean has become a critical issue for modern oceanography. Here, we used data on distribution of calanoid copepods in the upper layer of the ocean (0–500 m), a widely distributed taxonomic group in the pelagic realm, to assess the effects of changing oceanographic conditions

Birds, especially raptors, play important roles in ecosystems. We examine the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List to determine which orders of birds have proportionally more or fewer species listed as threatened or declining compared to the Class-wide average. We further examine whether raptors are more threatened or declining than non-raptors and whether the order

Why bilaterally symmetrical organisms express handedness remains an important question in evolutionary biology. In some species, anatomical asymmetries have evolved that accompany behavioral handedness, yet we know remarkably little about causal links between asymmetric morphological traits and behavior. Here, we explore if a dextral or sinistral orientation of the male intromittent organ predicts

Urban environments pose different selective pressures than natural ones, leading to changes in animal behavior, physiology, and morphology. Understanding how animals respond to urbanization could inform the management of urban habitats. Non-avian reptiles have important roles in ecosystems worldwide, yet their responses to urbanization have not been as comprehensively studied as those of mammals and

Several factors influence the partitioning of trophic resources in ecological communities, such as morphology, evolutionary history, and resource availability. Although the effects of morphology, phylogeny, and resource availability on trophic ecology have long been explored by theoretical studies, little has been done to empirically test these relationships. Here, we tested whether phylogenetic and

Spatial capture‐recapture (SCR) has emerged as the industry standard for estimating population density by leveraging information from spatial locations of repeat encounters of individuals. The precision of density estimates depends fundamentally on the number and spatial configuration of traps. Despite this knowledge, existing sampling design recommendations are heuristic and their performance remains

Protecting headwater streams is essential to minimise downstream sediment loads to rivers, estuaries, and oceans. This study analyses the gully and sheet erosion risk from a 33,000 ha agricultural development proposal in the Normanby catchment draining to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Lagoon, Australia. The slope‐area threshold for channel initiation was assessed for existing gully channel head locations

Studies of land use/cover change (LUCC) and its impact on sediment retention services (SRS) can provide references for governments to aid them in identifying priorities for conservation or development. We analysed the LUCC characteristics of the Three Gorges Reservoir area (TGRA) and their impact on SRS for the period from the end of the 1970s to 2015 using the Sediment Delivery Ratio model of the

Shrimp inhabiting coasts that are frequented by humans are exposed to various pollutants. Additionally, viral infections that cause serious damage to shrimp populations have been observed in these environments. The present study sought to evaluate the immunotoxic effects of phenanthrene (Phe), a pollutant detected in coastal environments, on kuruma shrimp (Penaeus japonicus). We further examined the

Metal tolerance in marine diatoms vary between morphotypes, strains, and species due to their long-term adaptations to stochastic environments. The mechanisms underlying this highly variable trait remain a matter of interest in ecotoxicology. In this study, we used several cutting-edge techniques, including a non-invasive micro-test technique, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Various methods have been developed to monitor environmental quality, including biomonitoring using lichen. In this paper, a total of 143 previous studies from the last decade were analyzed to gain insight into current practices, progress, and challenges. Content analysis was employed to systematically characterize and classify the existing biomonitoring using lichen studies into several groups based

We posit that a better meshing of traditional engineering disciplines and ecological restoration science is central to achieving environmental repair at the scale and pace required to combat globally ever-growing, human caused, land degradation and biodiversity loss. Ecological restoration is an increasingly vibrant endeavour supported by diverse fields of research. But there is a rapidly emerging

Choice experiments (CEs) are commonly used to estimate monetary values for characteristics of public goods, but there are unresolved design issues. The number of alternatives is one of them. Increasing the number of alternatives increases the potential information learned from a sample of a limited size, which may assist subjects in selecting a preferred alternative (referred as matching) or may make

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are membrane-bound proteins involved in exporting various xenobiotic compounds from living cells. Bivalve mollusks can accumulate large amounts of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) from marine dinoflagellates. For aquatic invertebrates, the importance of ABC proteins in multi-xenobiotic resistance has been demonstrated, however, the systematic identification

Article impact statement: Indigenous land users’ experiences of global ecological change can help researchers understand variable climate impacts and adaptations.

Decades of research and policy interventions on biodiversity have insufficiently addressed the dual issues of biodiversity degradation and social justice. New approaches are therefore needed. This essay outlines a research and action agenda that calls for a collective task of ‘revisiting biodiversity’ towards the goal of sustaining diverse and just futures for life on Earth. The agenda was developed

Cover: Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) perching on a sea fan after being chased out of hiding by a fisher in Honduras. Conservation of harvested species depends on maintenance of reproductive success. Despite their substantial contribution to reproduction, old, large marine species are disproportionately targeted in fisheries. Conservation and a sustainable fishery of spiny lobsters can be

Article impact statement: COVID‐19 has demonstrated the need to optimize research activity, convey the gravity of loss, and reevaluate merit in conservation science.

Conservation science and practice commonly draw on the theories and methods of social psychology to explain human cognition, emotion, and behavior germane to biodiversity conservation. We created a systematic map of the cross‐disciplinary conservation science literature, which draws on social psychology concepts and methods in their application broadly described as conservation psychology. Established

Conservation psychology has a history of measuring variables that cannot be seen (e.g., values, attitudes, norms). Such latent variables are critical drivers of human action and are often measured using responses to survey questions. Tools for establishing the psychometric adequacy of unobservable, latent variables has been a century‐long pursuit and challenge for quantitative psychologists and statisticians

We considered a common research tool for understanding the mental models behind conservation decisions: cognitive mapping. Developed by cognitive psychologists, the elicitation of mental models with cognitive mapping has been used to understand soil management in Spain, invasive grass management in Australia, community forest management in the Bolivian Amazon, and small‐scale fisheries access in Belize

The increasing alienation of people from nature is profoundly concerning because people's interactions with nature affect well‐being, affinity for nature, and support of biodiversity conservation. Efforts to restore or enhance people's interactions with nature are, therefore, important to ensure sustainable human and wildlife communities, but little is known about how this can be achieved. A key factor

Conflicts between people and wild animals are increasing globally, often with serious consequences for both. Local regulations or ordinances are frequently used to promote human behaviors that minimize these conflicts (risk‐reducing behaviors), but compliance with ordinances can be highly variable. While efforts to increase compliance could be improved through applications of conservation psychology

Providing insight on decisions to hunt and trade bushmeat can facilitate improved management interventions that typically include enforcement, alternative employment, and donation of livestock. Conservation interventions to regulate bushmeat hunting and trade have hitherto been based on assumptions of utility‐ (i.e., personal benefits) maximizing behavior, which influences the types of incentives designed

Values are the fundamental reasons why people engage in conservation behaviors. Recent research has called for a more refined approach to studying values in a way that accounts for the concept of eudaimonia. However, the empirical properties for a eudaimonic value scale have not been tested given that previous investigations have remained at the theoretical level. Drawing from an on‐site survey of

Large marine protected areas (MPAs) of unprecedented size have recently been established across the global oceans, yet their ability to meet conservation objectives is debated. Key areas of debate include uncertainty over nations’ abilities to enforce fishing bans across vast, remote regions and the intensity of human impacts before and after MPA implementation. We used a recently developed vessel

“Synthesis: the mixing of different ideas, influences, or things to make a whole that is different, or new” (dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/synthesis). This is what Michael Samways set out to provide in this 500+ page volume. I guess this much space is required just to begin tackling a problem with millions of actors. Millions of actors that are now in the middle of an apocalyptic movie

Fish Ecology, Evolution, and Exploitation: A New Theoretical Synthesis. Andersen, K.A., 2019. Monographs in Population Biology. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, U.S.A. xii+257 pp. US$120.00 (hardcover). ISBN 978–0691176550. The Future of Bluefin Tunas: Ecology, Fisheries Management and Conservation. Block, B.A., 2019. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A. xiii+346 pp. US$124

There are many books and articles on honeybees and nearly as many on other social bees, such as bumblebees, and these species or groups are familiar to most people. The solitary bees, however, are much less generally known. Most people believe that all bees are social, although over 90 % of the known species are solitary. The Solitary Bees is an excellent book that gives an up‐to‐date overview of this

In orderto reduce the negative consequences of raw‐material extraction, it is necessary to accurately report raw‐material use and to understand its drivers in society. In this study, we conduct a multi‐regional environmentally extended input–output analysis of Germany's past raw‐material use. We then perform a two‐stage structural decomposition analysis (SDA) of the development of material use in order

The environmental impacts of rare earth mining have recently caused public concern, because demand for the rare earth elements neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (pr), dysprosium (Dy), and terbium (Tb) is expected to increase strongly as a result of their use in magnets for electric cars and other emerging applications. Therefore, we analyzed the future environmental impacts of producing these rare earth

Organic amendments can stimulate soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization and soil aggregation simultaneously, which can improve C sequestration and soil fertility. However, the microbial mechanism governing C mineralization at the aggregate level remains uncertain. Here, we investigate how long-term organic amendments change SOC mineralization via affecting the microbial community composition and

Tropical forest soils contain some of the largest carbon (C) stocks on Earth, yet the effects of warming on the fate of fresh C entering tropical soils are still poorly understood. This research sought to understand how the fate of fresh C entering soils is influenced by warming, soil weathering status, and C chemistry. We hypothesized that compounds that are quickly incorporated into microbial biomass

Landscape heterogeneity can shape genetic structure and functional connectivity of populations. When this heterogeneity imposes variable costs of moving across the landscape, populations can be structured according to a pattern of ‘isolation by resistance’ (IBR). At the same time, divergent local environmental filters can limit gene flow, creating an alternative pattern of ‘isolation by environment’

1. Understory plant communities comprise a large portion of biodiversity of forests and woodlands globally, where they contribute to tree species dynamics, biogeochemical cycling, and carbon sequestration.

Manipulative experiments typically show a decrease in dryland biocrust cover and altered species composition under climate change. Biocrust‐forming lichens, such as the globally distributed Diploschistes diacapsis, are particularly affected and show a decrease in cover with simulated climate change. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood, and long‐term interacting effects of different

Ecosystem carbon use efficiency (CUEe) is a core parameter of ecosystem process models, but its relationships with climate are still uncertain, especially for ecosystems with harsh environments. Large inconsistencies in climate impacts on the CUEe have been reported among various spatial scales. The goal of this study was to examine whether warming promotes or restricts the CUEe and whether the CUEe

Identification of pyraloid species is often hampered by highly similar external morphology requiring microscopic dissection of genitalia. This becomes especially obvious when mass samples from ecological studies or insect monitoring have to be analysed. DNA barcode sequences could accelerate identification, but are not available for most pyraloid species from New Zealand. Hence, we are presenting a

Classifying and mapping vegetation are crucial tasks in environmental science and natural resource management. However, these tasks are difficult because conventional methods such as field surveys are highly labor-intensive. Identification of target objects from visual data using computer techniques is one of the most promising techniques to reduce the costs and labor for vegetation mapping. Although

In the highly diverse Rio Ubatiba in Brazil, the native and historically abundant armoured catfish Hypostomus punctatus (Loricariidae) has been declining since the 1990s, concomitantly with the introduction of the non‐native loricariid, Parotocinclus maculicauda. Here, we assess over an 18‐year period the potential impact of the establishment of invasive armoured catfish by examining dietary, tissue

Restoration of damaged ecosystems has become an important tool to slow down biodiversity loss and to maintain ecosystem services. Peatland bird populations have shown a substantial decline during the recent decades in Northern Europe as a consequence of peatland drainage. We studied whether restoration of peatlands drained for forestry affects bird communities. We conducted bird surveys at 11 peatlands

Throughout their global range, oak‐dominated ecosystems have undergone state changes in stand structure and composition. Land managers face an especially acute challenge in restoring oak ecosystems and promoting oak regeneration in urban–exurban areas, where high‐intensity silvicultural treatments are often not feasible. To investigate low‐intensity management alternatives which could be widely applied

Abstract Eusocial bees are likely to be ecologically important competitors for floral resources, although competitive effects can be difficult to quantify in wild pollinator communities. To investigate this, we excluded honeybees (HBE treatment), bumblebees (BBE) or both (HB&BBE) from wild-growing patches of bramble, Rubus fruticosus L. agg., flowers in two eight-day field trials at separate locations

One key strategy which can be used to promote a Circular Economy is ‘reuse’. This is particularly relevant for Electrical and Electronic Equipment due to its often rather short use phase as well as its resource-intensive production phase. The present study aimed to investigate the environmental and economic relevance of promoting the reuse of (waste) electrical and electronic equipment in Switzerland

Environmental DNA contains information on the species interaction networks that support ecosystem functions and services. Next‐Generation Biomonitoring proposes the use of this data to reconstruct ecological networks in real‐time and then compute network‐level properties to assess ecosystem change. We investigated the relevance of this proposal by assessing: (1) the replicability of DNA‐based networks

Interindividual variation at genes known to play a role in reproduction may impact reproductive fitness. The Tasmanian devil is an endangered Australian marsupial with low genetic diversity. Recent work has shown concerning declines in productivity in both wild and captive populations over time. Understanding whether functional diversity exists at reproductive genes in the Tasmanian devil is a key

Carbon nanotube (CNT) films are gaining traction in applications such as transparent conductive films, electro-magnetic shields and thin film heaters. However, to date, few cost-effective large-area CNT coating methods have been reported. Here, we present a roll-to-roll (R2R) slot-die coating process for thin film CNT heaters. In this process, a CNT suspension is continuously coated on a PET film substrate

The assessment of cultivated-layer soil quality (CLSQ) is important for improving crop growth capacity and is the premise for taking effective remedial measures. The cultivated-layer soil quality index (CLSQI) is a significant tool for evaluating CLSQ. This study aims to select the most effective indicators to construct a minimum data set (MDS) for soil in erosion-impacted hilly areas with purple soil

Different levels of human pressures have modified the dynamism and the morphological pattern of most riparian environments worldwide. Among the anthropogenic agents, flow regulation by dams, gravel mining; artificial land use and land cover changes together with climate change are the most frequently studied. Medium and short term geomorphological adjustments and riparian vegetation cover changes have

Soil feedback is thought to be an important contributor to the success of invasive plants. Despite evidence that invasive plants change soil microbial diversity, the functional roles of microbes impacted by invasion are still unclear. This knowledge is a critical component of our understanding of ecological mechanisms of plant invasion. Mounting evidence suggests Alliaria petiolata can suppress arbuscular

Luancaia igen. nov. and its two new ichnospecies, L. candasensis and L. elongata, from the Middle Devonian Naranco Formation of Asturias, northern Spain, record infaunal molting. The new ichnogenus has an elongate to oblong outline, and displays a distinctly trilobate appearance that includes an axial longitudinal lobe characterized by a distinctive ridge flanked by lateral lobes at each side. Well-defined