Many freshwater ecosystems throughout the world support a high number of waterbirds. Nutrient from droppings of these waterbirds may serve as an important source of nutrients to those systems. Previous works suggest that excess nutrients from waterbirds may lead to eutrophication. The excess nutrients also may induce nuisance growth of aquatic weeds in shallow lakes. However, the aquatic weeds serve

Paddy rice is one of the main grain crops in the world. Accurate estimations of the gross primary production (GPP) of paddy rice are essential for assessing rice grain production and monitoring the carbon cycle in paddy fields with the aim of providing ideal conditions for crops throughout the growing season. Several studies have demonstrated the advantages of combining the eddy covariance technique

Wild bees play a major role in the cultivation of crops for human use, in the reproduction of many wild plants and are a key component of biodiversity. Mainly due to human activities, wild bees, like other insects, face a rapid decline in Europe. Understanding species distribution can help to design efficient conservation measures. Species distribution can also be used to estimate pollination ecosystem

Root reinforcement is considered an important factor contributing to vegetated hillslope stability. The study aims to extend the understanding of spatial variance in the distributions of roots and mechanical characteristics of Artemisia sacrorum (Artemisia gmelinii Web.) regarding root reinforcement after returning cropland to forestland and grassland on the Loess Plateau of China. The Wu and Waldron

The logistic equation is the simplest way to limit the growth in population dynamics. When ecological interactions come into play different types of models can be found, e.g. for consumer-resource systems the generalized Lotka–Volterra equation is widely used to model direct competition or predator–prey systems, and for mutualistic systems a functional response that limits the unbounded growth due

The maintenance of natural capital and the stability of regulation services of marine ecosystems has proved to be linked to the conservation of key species supporting the ecosystems function. Chondrichthyes are key top-predators and their removal from marine ecosystems due to fishing exploitation could lead to changes in species interactions and biomass that can negatively influence the provision of

We develop a model that reveals the preservation value of maintaining connectivity within a socio-ecological system (SES). By means of a multiplex network, built from the layers composing the sustainability Venn diagram, we define two measures of preservation value of inter- and intra-layer connections. Most policymakers and researchers have tended to assume that all elements within an SES are unconditionally

Agent-based and GIS-based models of human-elephant interactions were developed and integrated to evaluate and recommend the best management mitigation strategies to either reduce or eradicate the adverse impacts of human-elephant interactions in the Bunda District, Tanzania. The model estimated the appropriate minimum elephant and human populations, and geographical distances from the edges of protected

Phytoplankton are known to exhibit temporal variability in biomass and community composition. While physically driven sources of variability have been studied extensively, ecosystems often exhibit complicated intrinsic dynamics that are not as well understood. As a first step towards assessing the contribution of this intrinsic variability to the total variability in the ocean, we examine the temporal

Metapopulation structure emerges from the dispersal of individuals among spatially distinct patches across a low-quality matrix. While dispersing agents are typically modeled as functionally identical with limited, linear and non-directional dispersal, field studies argue for the incorporation of intraspecific trait variation, such as behavioral, into the modeling of dispersal. Individual personality

Reliable and timely prediction of robusta coffee (Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner) yield is pivotal to the profitability of the coffee industry worldwide. In this study we assess the performance of a simple process-based model for simulating and predicting robusta coffee yield at the regional scale in Vietnam. The model includes the key processes of coffee growth and development and simulates

Demography is at the core of ecology, evolution, and conservation biology. The simple recognition that individuals in a given population contribute to its dynamics in different ways revolutionised the ways in which demographers approach data collection, analyses, and interpretation of their study populations, from bacteria to humans. Matrix population models, discrete-time, discrete-state (i.e. individuals

Meriones shawi (M.shawi) is the main reservoir host for zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in Central Tunisia. The incorporation of environmental and climatic effects on the spread of ZCL in M. shawi remains difficult. This study presents an agent-based model (ABM) to overcome these difficulties and examine the impact of environment (i.e. vegetation cover) and climate (i.e. temperature) on M. shawi

Human activities have significantly changed the global nitrogen cycle and its underlying processes. Many scholars have studied flows of reactive nitrogen at a range of spatial and temporal scales. However, due to the complexity of the research subject, the diversified research content and methods, and the wide range of research scales, there has been no systematic synthesis of the research in this

The development of models to elucidate the transmission pathways and dynamics of wildlife diseases remains challenging. Sylvatic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis (Yp), is an infectious zoonotic disease that primarily affects wild rodents, including prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) in North America. Proposed transmission pathways for Yp include flea bites, direct contacts between hosts, and

Recruitment of temperate eel species Anguilla anguilla, A. rostrata & A. japonica has declined over the last few decades due to human activities, such as overfishing and construction of migratory barriers (e.g. dams, weirs and sluices) and hazardous energy infrastructure (e.g. turbines, intakes and outfalls). Numerical models, substantiated with data from field and laboratory studies, can potentially

Many migratory shorebird species are undergoing severe population declines due to habitat loss. Selecting sites for protection along migratory shorebird flyways requires accounting for connectivity between sites and representing all migratory cycle stages within a protected area network. Site protection decisions often additionally account for the economic value of habitat-related ecosystem services

Preventing disease outbreaks has widespread benefits that are dependent on the actions of many agents but can be undermined by the inaction of others. This paper explores whether a voluntary biosecurity-related assurance scheme can be an effective mechanism for curbing the risks of animal and plant pests and diseases. The decision to engage in such schemes is modelled using a coalition game where agents

Antarctic krill up- and down-regulate their metabolism as a strategy to cope with the strong seasonal environmental fluctuations in the Southern Ocean. In this study, we investigate the impact of this light- and temperature dependent metabolic regulation on growth, reproduction and winter survival of krill. Therefore, we advance a bioenergetic growth model of krill by adding a data-derived scaling

Multi-species conservation is of critical concern in ecosystem management science. In this context, modeling the effect of strategic threats on decision-making is a challenging problem that has not been sufficiently addressed. Using a security game approach, this paper investigates the optimal conservation of a food web against a strategic threat. The model builds upon the non-cooperative Stackelberg

Localized management of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) involves the removal of matriarchal family units with the intent to create areas of reduced deer density. However, application of this approach has not always been successful, possibly because of female dispersal and high deer densities. We developed a spatially explicit, agent-based model to investigate the intensity of deer removal

Tree species mixing of oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl./Quercus robur L.) and pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) has been shown to have positive effects on ecosystem service provision. From a management perspective, however, it is still uncertain which thinning regime provides the highest possible productivity of mixed oak–pine forests in the long term. Because of a lack of empirical studies dealing with

Future projections based on the IPCC high emissions scenario RCP8.5 have previously shown that the Pacific Northwest coastal waters will be subjected to altered ocean states in the upwelled shelf waters, resulting in higher primary productivity and increased regions of hypoxia and acidification in the inner estuarine waters such as the Salish Sea. However, corresponding effects on the lower trophic

Population size of species with birth-pulse life-cycles varies both within and between seasons, but most population dynamics models assume that a population can be characterised adequately by a single number within a season. However, within-season dynamics can sometimes be too substantial to be ignored when modelling dynamics between seasons. Typical examples are insect populations or migratory animals

In host–parasitoid interactions, parasitism risk experienced by each host may decrease as the host density increases (referred to as the dilution effect) when parasitoids can parasitize a limited number of hosts at a given time no matter how abundant hosts are. In the relationship between parasitism risk and host–parasitoid dynamics, the dilution effect is generally considered as a destabilizing factor

Control theory and stochastic dynamic programming have long been used to develop optimal single-species management policies. However, most species interact with others through competition and predation as parts of complex ecosystems. As a consequence, it is unclear how far from optimal the single species policies currently in use actually are. Moreover, there are as yet no scalable algorithms for optimal

Animal movement, spanning all time and space scales in nature, is constrained by the individual's available energy to spend, creating a strong link between physiology and observed movement and distribution patterns. To progress, movement ecology needs an explicit focus on common mechanisms, such as energetics, linking behaviour to fitness consequences across scales, but simplified by process-based

Many species of large herbivore rely on agricultural land for their feeding habitats, but available food resources are highly variable in space and time. The conservation and management of farmland-dependant herbivores would therefore benefit from predictions about how species will respond to changes in their environment. We developed an individual-based model (IBM) to provide such predictions for

We propose and study a three-stage life cycle model of Nemopilema nomurai with a distributed delay to explore the roles of podocyst playing in blooms, and the potential strategies for controlling outbreaks of the giant jellyfish. Our new proposed CPM model is more realistic by considering dormant podocyst, the exclusive form of asexual reproduction of N. nomurai. We investigate the effect of the podocyst

Systems ecology emerged as a discipline in the 1960's as ecologists identified the “systems approach” as a useful method for addressing problems dealing with complex systems. Today systems ecologists are interacting increasingly with physical and social scientists to study coupled human and natural (socio-ecological, socio-environmental) systems (SES). Our premise is that modellers of SES, regardless

Conflicts between opposing objectives of wildlife conservation and agriculture are increasing globally due to rising human food production and competition with wildlife over land use. Conservation conflicts are often complex and driven by variability and uncertainty in wildlife distribution and stakeholder wealth and power. To manage conflicts, empowering local stakeholders by decentralizing decisions

Lake Titicaca is home to a unique high-altitude ecosystem that is suffering from increasing anthropogenic pressures. It experienced its first major algal bloom in March–April 2015 that had devastating consequences in the southern shallow lake basin. Such events are expected to intensify in the future and call for a more active and quantitative management of the lake and its watershed. In this paper

North American forests are threatened by changes in climate and disturbance dynamics. Current efforts to model future vegetation and fire dynamics are challenged by the lack of mechanistic representation of ecological processes, the spatial resolution to capture landscape-level heterogeneity, and the ability to model regional spatial extents. To address these gaps, a dynamic vegetation model was adapted

Nutrient loading, in combination with climate change are important drivers of primary productivity in lakes. Understanding and forecasting future changes in primary production (PP) in response to local and global forcing are major challenges for developing sustainable lake management. The objective of this study is to understand and characterize the mechanisms underlying the large differences in observed

Contrasting reductionistic versus holistic views, it is a general question whether adding the parts equals the sum. In the time of multiple drivers of anthropogenic change, it is a crucial issue, and better understanding additivity is critical for strategy and management. More particular research questions ask what are the community effects of the extinction of a single species and whether multiple

Emergent aquatic vegetation (EAV) is an important part of wetland ecosystems that provide multiple ecological services. However, human activities and natural changes often influence wetland hydrological regimes such as water levels, salinity, and other factors, which greatly influence the survival and growth of wetland plants. Based on field measurements and control experiments, we developed an EAV

Grasslands are an important habitat for many plant species whose functional diversity and composition influences ecosystem functioning and services. Despite several field studies, still uncertainties remain about the interplay of species traits and ecosystem processes that lead to the functional diversity observed in grasslands. Here, we used an individual-based process-oriented model to simulate a

Insect physiology is highly dependent on the environmental temperature, and the relationship can be mathematically defined. Thus, many models that aim to predict insect-pest population dynamics, use meteorological data as input to descriptive functions that predict the development rate, survival and reproduction of pest populations. In most cases, however, these functions/models are laboratory-driven

The modeling of continuous transfers of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) previously published in the literature has paid little attention to the functional role of micro-organisms. In general, only monoculture systems have been modeled. Furthermore, there have been few experiments under field conditions at farm scale, where clear evidence for the benefits of intercropping is lacking. This work focus on

Landscape connectivity measures based on metapopulation theory were developed over 20 years ago. Initially, they applied classic metapopulation models to simple patch-based representations of landscapes using vector spatial data structures. Realism was improved by developing dynamic estimates of occupancy and metapopulation capacity, the latter providing a measure of the integrated habitat amount.

The landscape of the Mongolian Plateau (MP) is shaped by both climatic change and human activities. It is noteworthy to monitor regional vegetation dynamics and to discriminate the impacts of climatic and anthropogenic factors on vegetation productivity and diversity. To investigate human- and climate-driven changes in vegetation cover across the MP during 2000−2014, the residual trend analysis (RESTREND)

Sustainable pest control strategies hinge on the knowledge of movement ecology within the agricultural landscape where contrasted habitat qualities intermingle, thereby influencing arthropod dispersal. Hence, habitat manipulation in space and time can be a lever for action to control pests with regard to landscape compositional constraints. In this study, we examined the role of grassland arrangements

In size-based stock assessment models, the stochastic growth of individuals is expressed through a transition matrix representing the growth variability as probability of shift from one length class to another during a time period. This process is important because it describes the changes in population size structure brought about by the increase in length or weight of organisms over time. In this

The interaction of shortwave radiation with vegetation drives basic processes of the biosphere, such as primary productivity, species interactions through light competition, and energy fluxes between the atmosphere, vegetation, and soil. Here, we aim to understand the effects of leaf functional trait diversity on canopy light absorption. We focus on the diversity of three key functional traits that

Understanding why animals move as they do when searching for resources is a central question in ecology, and a prerequisite for the development of predictive process-based models for conservation and management. Many species are central-place foragers (CPF). While several models for CPFs have been proposed, they often assume well-defined return rules to the focal point (like breeding). For some CPFs

In Mongolia, overuse and degradation of groundwater is a serious issue, mainly in the urban and economic hub, Ulaanbaatar, and the Southern Gobi mining hub. In order to explicitly quantify spatio-temporal variations in water availability, a process-based eco-hydrology model, NICE (National Integrated Catchment-based Eco-hydrology), was applied to two contrasting river basins: the Tuul River, which

Nature reserves have been established globally to protect wild species. However, an issue remains: How to determine the importance of core areas of nature reserves in maintaining the regional connectivity of corridors and the effectiveness of the core areas for species protection? This study aims to solve this problem in an alpine shrub-meadow vegetation zone in the north-eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet

Active management of fire-dependent ecosystems for specific species leads to complex tradeoffs, which affect conservation outcomes to other species. Therefore a multi-species evaluation of management actions is required. Habitat Suitability Models (HSMs) can help in predicting the likelihood of species occurrence using corresponding environmental variables and empirical relationships that link occurrence

Mosquitoes are vectors of numerous pathogens that cause infectious diseases, and they pose a significant global health burden as a result. As such, more reliable field-relevant models to study mosquito population dynamics and life history traits such as development time and survival of mosquito larva would be of great value. In Aedes mosquitoes, progression through early life stages is known to be

In aquaculture, dissolved oxygen (DO) is vital to crab growth. Different from DO in flowing water area, the dynamics of DO in a crab pond is deeply affected by complex interactions between organism communities and meteorological factors. Significant fluctuations of DO content occurs within 24 h. It is thus important to explore DO dynamics related to various environmental factors for real time DO content

Understanding biodiversity pressures associated with recreation and tourism is a major challenge for conservation planning and landscape management. While estimates of landscape use are often collected using mechanisms such as park entry fees and traffic density estimates, these data do not provide substantial detail about the spatial location or intensity of recreation and tourism across biodiversity