In environments with strong seasonality, many herbivorous zooplankton remain active only during the productive season and undergo a period of inactivity and suppressed development termed ‘diapause’ during the unproductive season. The ability to time the diapause entry and exit in response to the seasonality of the environment is thus essential for their survival. However, timing of diapause may become

Motivation Certain early-succession habitats may emerge only at restricted locations following disturbance. Therefore, whether disturbances tend to occur at certain sites or not can significantly affect habitat availability and metapopulation persistence of early-successional habitat specialists. Available models that combine metapopulation and landscape processes do not address how to model mobile

Despite the strenuous efforts devoted to its elimination, Chagas disease is still prevalent in large regions of Latin America. Its main vector, Triatoma infestans (kissing bug), feeds on people and domestic animals and finds refuge in the peripheral structures of rural and semi-rural houses. Here we propose a mathematical model based on discrete-time equations that describe the evolution of the populations

Given gut microbiota's important role in human health, a clear understanding of the microbial ecosystem dynamics is vital. Mathematical models for analyzing time-series data of gut microbiotas would, therefore, be highly beneficial. Although a generalized Lotka–Volterra (gLV) model for identifying the interactions between gut microbiota members and quantifying the effects of external factors already

Tropical forests are the most diverse terrestrial ecosystems and home to numerous tree species competing for resources in space and time. Functional traits influence the ecophysiological performance of tree species, yet the relationship between traits and emergent long-term growth patterns is poorly understood. Here, we present a novel 3D forest stand model in which growth patterns of individual trees

Organism growth underlies numerous ecological processes. However, existing growth models from the von Bertalanffy family do not consider variable growth states (e.g., changes in resource uptake) and/or non-instantaneous changes in the growth rate of an organism along its size gradient. To address the above two points, we derived an iterative growth model (IGM) based on the necessary respiration allocation

A surface-based kinetic model for the anaerobic digestion of potato waste was proposed. The model was calibrated and validated, and a local sensitivity analysis was performed to investigate the most sensitive parameters. The model consisted of a modified Anaerobic Digestion Model n.1 where the disintegration process was defined through a surface-based approach able to account for the influence of the

Biogeochemical models of vegetation dynamics could potentially be used to complement empirical studies on the effect of plant species richness. A key precondition is the simulation of species coexistence. While community scale models regularly incorporate respective processes, models at the field or landscape scale used for larger scale assessments, require additional model development. However, it

The construction of a network capturing the topological structure linked to the interactions among species and the analysis of its properties constitutes a clarifying way to understand the functioning of an ecosystem at different scales of analysis. Here, we present a novel systematic procedure to profit from the enhanced information derived from considering its multiple levels and apply it to analyse

Models capable of simulating both local population dynamics and long-range dispersal of wind-borne pests show promise as components of adaptive areawide pest management programs. Local life cycles and long-range wind-borne transport patterns, especially for small weak fliers, are relatively well-understood. However, modelling proximate causes of emigration from crop fields (and, hence, subsequent infestation

Ecosystem-based approaches that take species interactions into account have shifted to the forefront of fisheries modelling and management in recent years. As a result, multispecies size spectrum models have been increasingly used to explore impacts of fishing on marine community dynamics. The use of these models, which has been facilitated by the development of the R package mizer, requires the estimation

One possible explanation for the prevalence of sexual reproduction in animal species is that in the context of predator-prey dynamics, sexually reproducing prey are better able to evade predators than their asexual counterparts. This is known as the Red Tooth hypothesis, a term coined by French (2010). It is a special case of the more generic Red Queen hypothesis, which explains the prevalence of sex

Close to 40% of Earth's land area is used for agriculture to provide humankind with plant- and animal-based food, fibers or bioenergy. Future trends in agricultural land use, livestock husbandry and associated environmental pressures are determined by developments in the food sector, agricultural productivity, technology, and many other influencing factors. Scenario analysis helps to understand their

How species organize spatially is one of ecology’s most motivating questions. Multiple theories have been advanced and various models developed to account for the environment, interactions among species, and spatial drivers. However, relative importance comparisons of explanatory phenomena generally are neglected in these analyses. We developed a spatially explicit community occupancy model based on

The ecological importance of mixoplankton within marine protist communities is slowly being recognized. However, most aquatic ecosystem models do not include formulations to model a complete protist community consisting of phytoplankton, protozooplankton and mixoplankton. We introduce PROTIST, a new module for the aquatic ecosystem modelling software Delft3D-WAQ that can model a protist community consisting

Cover crops are usually planted between cash crops to protect the soil, take up residual soil nitrate, and release nitrogen (N) to subsequent crops. Following cover crop termination, residues may remain on the soil surface, where their decomposition is largely dependent on residue temperature and water potential (ψresidue). While it is possible to continuously measure residue temperature, continuous

Nutrient pollution is considered as a primary factor of water quality deterioration in urban-dominated watersheds in which an informed decision on the management strategies are required to improve the water quality condition. The Hydrological Simulation Program Fortran (HSPF) model is used to evaluate the impacts of pollution by these nutrients using the Skudai River watershed in Malaysia as a case

Sensitivity and identifiability analyses are a standard practice in modeling applications to investigate the relative importance of model components that control the system's behavior. In this study, both analyses were implemented to identify the most influential parameters in a coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model applied for three subtropical reservoirs. The one-dimensional General Lake Model

The linearity of the BZI (biomass, photic depth and irradiance) regression model for the estimate of depth-integrated primary productivity in the water column is evaluated. It is shown that the linear model can be derived from traditional production-irradiance (P-I) curves by assuming a linear production-irradiance relationship. A correction tem is obtained for water depth shallower than the photic

The Morrison Formation of the Late Jurassic Period is characterized by its diverse assemblage of sauropods, several species of which reached the size of modern cetaceans. While much scientific attention has concerned their biology in life, researchers have yet to examine how their massive carcasses may have influenced the evolution of other dinosaurs in their communities, such as theropods. Theropod

Modelling species across vast distributions in remote, high mountain regions like the Himalayas remains a challenging task. Challenges include, first and foremost, large-scale sampling of species occurrences and acquisition of sufficient high quality, fine-scale environmental parameters. We compiled a review of 157 Himalayan studies published between 2010 and 2021, aiming at identifying their main

Statistical species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used to quantify how taxa respond to environmental conditions and to predict their distribution. However, the application of SDMs to freshwater fish taxa is complicated by the active dispersal of fish taxa through river networks, and the species- and habitat-dependent observation process (i.e., the sampling method and effort) required to accurately

Visual encounter distance models are important tools for predicting how light and water clarity mediate visual predator-prey interactions that affect the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems at multiple spatial, temporal, and organizational scales. The two main varieties of visual encounter distance models, mechanistic and empirical, are used for similar purposes but take fundamentally different

Climate change impacts agricultural pests in complicated ways, and accounting for these responses should form an integral part of pest management programmes. Process-based models are often used in agriculture to forecast population dynamics of pests within a growing season, however these are often constrained to assessing the impacts of temperature in isolation of other factors. These models are therefore

Covid-19 pandemic lock-down has resulted significant differences in air quality levels all over the world. In contrary to decrease seen in primary pollutant species, many of the countries have experienced elevated ground-level ozone levels in this period. Air pollution forecast gains more importance to achieve air quality management and take measures against the risks under such extra-ordinary conditions

Despite the apparent simplicity of species distribution modelling approaches, the reliability of their predictions depends on the application of a number of good practices regarding the input data and the parametrisation of algorithms. In the context of invasion biology, inadequate modelling procedures may lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the potential spread of introduced species. However,

Humanity is facing many grand challenges at unprecedented rates, nearly everywhere, and at all levels. Yet virtually all these challenges can be traced back to the decision and behavior of autonomous agents that constitute the complex systems under such challenges. Agent-based modeling has been developed and employed to address such challenges for a few decades with great achievements and caveats.

Ecosystem fragmentation is one of the main threats to species persistence via habitat reduction and isolation which often lead to species extinctions. A question that has long been of interest is the minimum habitat size that can sustain viable populations in fragmented landscape. Despite numerous empirical and theoretical efforts on this topic, most studies fail to address this central question, and

A three-dimensional coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model was applied to simulate and investigate causes of eutrophication in two stormwater ponds in the City of Edmonton (Alberta, Canada). The ponds differ in shape, surface area, depth and trophic state. Strong spatial gradients, in water column thermal structure and water quality state variables were observed (e.g., ∼10 °C; 0.1 mg L−1 PO4, 0

Soil nitrogen (N) loss is a part of N biogeochemical processes, which plays an important role in the agricultural, ecological and environmental management. Because it is difficult to assess the temporal and spatial changes of different N forms in leachates by field measurement methods, conceptual and physical models are usually used to describe soil N loss. However, soil N models are often associated

The use of correlative ecological niche models has highly increased in the last decade. Despite all literature and textbooks in this field, few practical guidelines exist on the correct application of these techniques. We present here a step-by-step guideline explaining best practices for calculating correlative ecological niche models considering their conceptual and statistical assumptions and limitations

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest, most productive, and most biologically diverse estuary in the continental United States providing crucial habitat and natural resources for culturally and economically important species. Pressures from human population growth and associated development and agricultural intensification have led to excessive nutrient and sediment inputs entering the Bay, negatively

This paper introduces a novel general model based on Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) which is able to describe the population dynamics of a large class of insect pests. The proposed model is a physiologically-inspired generalization of a number of ad hoc models presented through the years in the literature. Its main feature is that it allows the systematic generation of a population model for

The primary prey of humpback whales in the southwestern Gulf of Maine is sand lance. Despite this established relationship, we lack models to further understand the influence of sand lance on humpback whales or to predict humpback abundance or distribution in response to climate-related changes in sand lance abundance or distribution. We used a subset of long-term standardized survey data (2013–2019)

Permafrost degradation due to climate warming would potentially increase the release of previously frozen soil carbon and change the carbon budget of the cold region ecosystem. The underlying permafrost degradation would be effectively mediated by soil surface freezing-thawing (FT) processes. Aboveground vegetation can regulate soil FT processes, however its effects on ground thermal transfer have

The Indian oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps) fishery was observed with wide stock fluctuation. Ecological parameters, mainly temperature and prey density, had a profound influence on the growth of S. longiceps and hence the production. In this study, a fish bioenergetics model, coupled with a lower trophic level model, was developed to reproduce the seasonality in the growth of S. longiceps. For this

Preventing declines of native and historically-abundant tree species is an important aspect of sustainable forest management, but predicting future forest composition is challenging when succession does not tend to follow a well-defined path. We evaluated the implications of site-level interactions between timber harvesting and forest succession on the regional landscape dynamics of the complex and

Effects of the reduction of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) on thermal habitats for manatee in the Homosassa River, a spring-fed estuary in Florida, were studied using a laterally averaged hydrodynamic model. The estuary receives its hydrologic loading from numerous spring vents, mainly located at its headwaters and two upstream tributaries. The model was calibrated and verified against real-time

Discrete-time models are the traditional approach for capturing population dynamics of insects living in the temperate regions of the world. We revisit classical discrete-time models of host–parasitoid population dynamics and provide novel results on the stability of the population dynamics. Discrete-time host–parasitoid models are characterized by update functions that connect the population densities

The dynamical behaviors of a Leslie type predator–prey system are explored when the functional response is increasing for both predator and prey. Qualitative and quantitative analysis methods based on stability theory, bifurcation theory and numerical simulation are adopted. It is showed that the system is dissipative and permanent, and its solutions are bounded. Global stability of the unique positive

Individual trait variation has important ecological implications for species populations and communities. In particular, individual variation of metabolic rate links directly with the energy use estimation and scaling patterns in community ecology. Here, we examine the mean-variance relationship of individual metabolic rate by testing Taylor's law (a power-function relationship between mean and variance)

Land-use suitability analysis is of significance for the planning and management of cities. The main objective of this study was to develop a spatial model for land suitability assessment for peri-urban agricultural development with the use of geographic information systems (GIS) integrated with Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques. Physical attributes, land use, natural resources, accessibility

This paper describes integrating remote sensing and meteorological data for dynamic winter wheat yield prediction at fixed date intervals with an integral regression model. In most cases, both rainfall and irrigation supply the water needs of crops. We postulated that meteorological precipitation could not fully represent the actual amount of water available to crops, whereas the temperature vegetation

Iran's Hyrcanian forests cover a relatively narrow strip in the north part of Iran, which are among the most important and valuable ecosystems registered in UNESCO's World Heritage List. Although there are worries about the impact of climate change, the influences of this issue on tree species in the Hyrcanian forest less studied. The effect of climate change on species distribution usually results

Agriculture production in Pakistan is one of the main economic and social sector. It contributes about 20–25% to the country GDP and provides more than 60% employment opportunities for rural peoples, playing a backbone role in the country economy and food security. However, sustainable production of the agricultural system is very important to address a societal concern for environmental impacts and

Globally, increasing drought-induced tree mortality rates under climate change are projected to have far-reaching effects on forest ecosystems. Among these forest systems, the boreal forest is considered a ‘tipping element’ of the Earth's climate system. This forest biome plays a critical role in ecosystem services, structures and functions while being highly sensitive to drought stress. Although process-based

As an important ecological factor shaping terrestrial ecosystem states and destabilizing coastal forest ecosystems, typhoon events have become the focus of attention in recent years. However, there are limited studies on the change of carbon storage dynamics of subtropical forest ecosystems under typhoon disturbance. Here, we developed a theoretical ecosystem carbon cycle model combined with forest

Aims Soil resources distribute heterogeneously in natural ecosystems, which is known as soil heterogeneity. Responses of plant roots to soil heterogeneity are important for their adaptation to the changes of environments. However, few observations of root systems in soil are recorded, and there is a lack of comprehensive theory for roots responses to soil heterogeneity. Methods Soil heterogeneity including