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Ecosystem change is an everyday reality, and assessment of its ability to provide men with products and services of the ecosystem (fresh water, climate, soil fertility, etc.), which are necessary for human welfare, is an urgent applied issue. The question as to "whether changes in the loss of biological diversity will affect the functioning of local ecosystems" is attracting increasing attention. In this first paper, we consider modern approaches to ecosystem monitoring. The concept of historical and novel ecosystems, ecosystem resilience, threshold effects, theory-driven restoration, and social–ecological considerations are reviewed. The principles of indication, requirements for indicators, possibilities, and prospects for the use of small mammals as indicators of the dynamics of local ecosystems are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibility of analyzing the general and functional diversity of the ecosystem is considered, as is unambiguous interpretation of the results obtained based on our work experience and previously obtained data. The prospects for studying small mammals without removal from the wild are discussed. We discuss distinguishing in a sample the resident component, which makes it possible to characterize local resource flows, and the nonresident component, dependent on the state of the territory as a whole. A description of the capture–mark–recapture protocol, methods for assessing spatial activity, calculating the density of the resident population per unit area, and the completeness of species richness estimate is provided. The estimates of animal numbers per unit of trapping effort in pooled sample, the population density of residents, and the index of the nonresident flow are compared. The possibility of analyzing the resource flows in "historical," "novel," and "hybrid" ecosystems, as well as using data to analyze the resilience of the ecosystem and detect the threshold point, is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological relationships among antimicrobial producing, resistant, and sensitive strains have been proposed to follow rock-paper-scissors dynamics, but evidence is mainly based on Gram-negative bacteriocins in vitro. The ecological relevance of antimicrobials in vivo or in situ has not been systematically studied. This study therefore aimed to analyze binary and ternary competitions among reutericyclin-producing strain Limosilactobacillus reuteri TMW1.656, its reutericyclin-resistant, nonproducing isogenic derivative L. reuteri TMW1.656 ∆rtcN , and the reutericyclin-sensitive, nonproducing L. reuteri TMW1.656 ∆rtcN∆rtcT in vitro (liquid culture and static plate), in situ (sourdough fermentation), and in vivo (gut of germ-free mice). In liquid culture, L. reuteri TMW1.656 had a higher fitness than TMW1.656 ∆rtcN and TMW1.656 ∆rtcN∆rtcT. Limosilactobacillus reuteri TMW1.656 ∆rtcN∆rtcT had a higher fitness than TMW1.656 ∆rtcN. On agar plates, L. reuteri TMW1.656 had a higher fitness than TMW1.656 ∆rtcN∆rtcT. In situ , reutericyclin production and resistance had no influence on the fitness of the strains. In vivo , TMW1.656 had an advantage over TMW1.656 ∆rtcN and TMW1.656 ∆rtcN∆rtcT. Ternary competitions showed reutericyclin production was ecologically beneficial in all ecosystems. The findings support the ecological importance of reutericyclin in a variety of environments/niches, providing an explanation for the acquisition of the reutericyclin gene cluster in L. reuteri and its contribution to the ecological fitness of Streptococcus mutans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass production of paper is one of the significant factors that are contributing to increase in carbon outrush in the global ecological system. The paper trade releases large volumes of air, water, and soil pollutants, which pony up to green house gasses. The rotted paper releases methane gas, which is many times more hazardous than carbon dioxide. Paperless business is a vital environmental business practice that is better for the upliftment of the current degrading environment. Global corporations are promoting paperless workplaces to move a step forward towards a sustainable ecological system and achieve the sustainable development goals of the United Nations. The research study after observation opined that although various challenges are being portrayed by employing digitalization of workplaces still working paperless is quite fruitful for the global ecological system. The digital innovations are the only alternatives available in the current times for the paper based job places. In this research study fairly was also studied the critical aspect of paperless workplace. On analyzing the dark data of the global corporeal world it was depicted that digitalization is also enhancing the carbon footprint. It is thus concluded in this research study that sensible and secure use of digital technology could only make paperless working successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have outlined a useful model for mainstreaming ecosystem services based on socially relevant, user-inspired research, stakeholder empowerment and adaptive management. While the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) process forms part of the overall assessment process, it should take into consideration the tools required by policy- makers for successful planning and management. Importantly, mainstreaming is more likely to succeed if users of ecosystem services are engaged early in the policy development process.

Purpose: This paper studies the Digital Service Innovation (DSI) concept by systematically reviewing earlier studies from various scholarly communities. This study aims to recognize how recent advances in DSI literature from different research streams complement and can be incorporated into the growing digital servitization literature to define better and understand DSI. Design/methodology/approach: After systematically identifying 123 relevant articles, this study employed complementary methods, such as author bibliographic coupling, linguistic text mining/textual analysis and qualitative content analyses. Findings: This paper first maps the intellectual structure and boundaries of the DSI-related communities and qualitatively assesses their characteristics. These communities are (1) Innovation for digital servitization, (2) Service innovation in the digital age and (3) Adoption of novel e-services enabled by information system development. Next, the composition of the DSI concept is examined and depicted to comprehend the notion's critical dimensions. The findings discuss the range of theories and methods in the existing research, including antecedents, processes and outcomes of DSI. Originality/value: This study reviews, extends the understanding of origins and critically evaluates DSI-related research. Moreover, the paper redefines and clarifies the structure and boundaries of the DSI-concept. In doing so, it elaborates on the substance of DSI and identifies the essential themes for its understanding and conceptualization. Thus, the study helps the future development of the concept and allows knowledge accumulation by bridging adjacent research communities. It helps researchers and managers navigate the foggy emerging research landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecologists have worked to ascribe function to the variation found in plant populations, communities and ecosystems across environments for at least the past century. The vast body of research in functional ecology has drastically improved understanding of how individuals respond to their environment, communities are assembled and ecosystems function. However, with limited exceptions, few studies have quantified differences in plant function during the earliest stages of the plant life cycle, and fewer have tested how this early variability shapes populations, communities and ecosystems.Drawing from the literature and our collective experience, we describe the current state of knowledge in seedling functional ecology and provide examples of how this subdiscipline can enrich our fundamental understanding of plant function across levels of organisation. To inspire progressive work in this area, we also outline key considerations involved in seedling functional research (who, what, when, where and how to measure seedling traits) and identify remaining challenges and gaps in understanding around methodological approaches.Within this conceptual synthesis, we highlight three critical areas in seedling ecology for future research to target. First, given wide variation in the definition of a 'seedling', we provide a standard definition based on seed reserve dependence while emphasising the need to measure ontogenetic variation more clearly both within and following the seedling stage. Second, studies demonstrate that seedlings can be studied in multiple media (e.g. soil, agar, filter paper) and conditions (e.g. field, greenhouse, laboratory). We recommend that researchers select methods based on explicit goals, yet follow standard guidelines to reduce methodological noise across studies. Third, research is critically needed to assess the implications of different methodologies on trait measurement and compatibility across studies.By highlighting the importance of seedling functional ecology and suggesting pathways to address key challenges, we aim to inspire future research that generates useful and comparable data on seedling functional ecology. This work is critical to explain variation within and among populations, communities and ecosystems and integrate this most vulnerable stage of plant life into ecological frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results are presented for a study of summer phytoplankton (July 2018–2020) in the middle reaches of the Vychegda River at the sites where treated wastewater is discharged from the Mondi Syktyvkar JSC pulp and paper mill. In the phytoplankton of the studied section of the river, 263 species with algal varieties from seven divisions were identified: Cyanoptokaryota, 8; Ochrophyta, 4; Rhodophyta 1; Euglenophyta, 1; Bacillariophyta, 232; Chlorophyta, 15; Charophyta, 2. Widespread, eurytopic species predominate in terms of diversity. In 3 years of research, phytoplankton species communities have demonstrated stability of the complex of dominant and structural diversity. The basis of the dominant complexes is formed by species from the genera Aulacoseira, Dolichospermum, Pandorina, Eudorina, Closterium, etc. The composition of dominants is similar for conditionally background points and the zone of wastewater discharge. A massive development of the thermophilic species of diatom Diadesmisconfervacea, an indicator of thermal pollution, was noted below the wastewater-discharge site. The total recorded number of phytoplankton in the Vychegda river at the studied stations was 1 150 000–18 000 000 cells/dm3, and the biomass was 0.01–0.29 mg/dm3. The ratio of the total abundance and biomass of phytoplankton algae and the indicator species forming the complex of dominants reflect an increase in the trophic status of the waters of the surveyed areas and a high degree of anthropogenic load on the ecosystem of the Vychegda River. Based on algo-indication, the waters of the conditional background and the receiving wastewaters at observation points were assigned to quality class III (with the quality category 3b, slightly polluted). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparency in reporting is essential to scientific progress. No report should be considered complete without a full account of uncertainties, including those due to natural variation and measurement and model error and those incurred by handling problematic data, such as outliers. We randomly selected 132 papers published in 2019 from a list of 100 scientific journals to characterize the current state of uncertainty reporting in ecosystem studies. Each paper was evaluated for the extent to which it reported measures of uncertainty in any of four topic areas common to ecosystem studies: vegetation, soils, precipitation, and surface water. We found that most papers reported a minority of the uncertainty sources we deemed relevant. Papers on surface water reported the highest fraction of uncertainty sources (averaging 47% ± 5%), followed by soils (45% ± 4%), vegetation (32% ± 4%), and precipitation (21% ± 8%). A greater fraction of relevant uncertainty sources were reported when the topics were the primary focus of the paper (44% ± 3%) than when they were not (32% ± 4%). Sampling error—the uncertainty in replicate measurements—was the source most commonly reported in studies of vegetation (84%), soil mass (56%), and surface water (76% of papers). The source of measurement error most often reported was chemical analysis, with 41% of papers on surface water and 75% of papers on precipitation reporting this source, if applicable. In contrast, only 1 of 12 papers reporting chemistry of vegetation provided information on analytical uncertainty. Fewer papers reported what methods were used for handling missing or unusable data and observations below detection limits, but it was difficult to judge whether these sources were relevant if they were not mentioned. Finally, we found that a minority of the papers made all (21%) or some (an additional 21%) of their data available in online repositories, after correcting for a failure rate of 13% of the links. Clearly, there is room for improving the completeness and transparency of scientific reporting in ecosystem studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the background, concept and definition of the Industry Commons. It initiates a discussion on the positioning of the Industry Commons Ecosystem (ICE) with respect to current research directions in advanced manufacturing and production systems that shape advances in engineering and technology, novel business models and innovation breakthroughs. The potential value of data sharing across industrial domains is estimated at over $100 billion, particularly in view of optimising manufacturing processes. Data sharing across domains however faces a series of well-documented challenges associated with the lack of semantic interoperability and related standards, management of trust and sustainability. Solving bottlenecks in data sharing requires a systemic approach to data management, which can account for all aspects of data use, levels of application, attribution and dynamic exchanges. In this paper we propose a high-level ecosystem approach that integrates societal values with digital affordances of industry's cognitive-assisted processes, remote interfacing, hybrid applications and large-scale value networks. Early development of an Ontology Commons EcoSystem (OCES) is presented as the key enabling framework for Industry Commons interoperability and a series of enabling frameworks form the basis of future research directions in Trusted Data Sharing and Closed-Loop Lifecycle Management for greater sustainability. Abbreviations: AI – Artificial Intelligence; AIOTI – Alliance of Internet-of-Things Innovation; ALM – Asset Lifecycle Management; ALO – Application-Level Ontology; AP – Application Protocol; API – Application Programming Interface; B2B – Business-to-Business; B2C – Business-to-Customer; CDE – Cross-Domain Ecosystem; CDEI – Cross-Domain Ecosystem Interoperability; CL2M – Closed-Loop Lifecycle Management; CNO – Collaborative Networked Organisations; CPS – Cyber-Physical Systems; CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility; DLO – Domain-Level Ontology; DLT – Distributed Ledger Technology; EM – Enterprise Modelling; FAIR – Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable; GUI – Graphical User Interface; ICE, Industry Commons Ecosystem; IOF – Industrial Ontology Foundry; IP – Intellectual Property; IPR – Intellectual Property Rights; ISN – Intertwined Supply Network; MIR – Music Information Retrieval; MLO – Middle-Level Ontology; MO – Meta-Ontology; OCES – Ontology Commons EcoSystem; PI – Physical Internet; PLM – Product Lifecycle Management; ROI – Return-on-Investment; SC – Supply Chain; SCM – Supply Chain Management; SOS – System-of-Systems; TDS – Trusted Data Sharing; TLO – Top-Level Ontology; TRO – Top Reference Ontology; TUI – Tangible User Interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the era of globalization, biological invasions are one of the most serious social issues. Thus, managing its impact is an urgent task. It is essential to control nonnative species before they become established. However, it is insufficient to address establishment debt, which occurs when a nonnative species has been introduced into an area but has not yet been established in the wild. In particular, unintentionally introduced or contaminated organisms of the aquatic ornamental pet trade are referred to as "hitchhikers" and have not received much attention in the context of establishment debt. To understand the nature of establishment debt, including that of aquatic hitchhikers, I propose the monitoring of nonnative species inhabiting artificial isolated waters, such as indoor aquariums, and the construction of a database using environmental DNA metabarcoding. This idea would be an effective nonregulatory management approach when implemented broadly, at the country level. Furthermore, implementation of this strategy in combination with border biosecurity and field monitoring may promote accurate prioritization, rapid species identification, and effective invasion pathway assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disturbance is common in natural ecosystems, but increasingly defines them. While there are many descriptions for the dynamics of an ecosystem's response to disturbance, there are few descriptions for the dynamics of the disturbance itself. I describe a novel application of a model based on the production of amplitude envelopes in acoustics and electronic music synthesis, with varying parameters Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release (ADSR). I show that varying the parameters of the ADSR model is sufficient to produce and vary the qualitative disturbance regimes described by previous authors, and is capable of producing dynamics not previously considered. I tested the utility of the ADSR model by applying it to a logistic growth model. I found that manipulating the attack and release parameters of the ADSR model changes the population dynamics estimated by these models. This implies that responses to disturbance are determined not only by the resilience and resistance of the ecological system, but also the dynamics of the disturbance itself. My hope is that the ADSR model will prove useful to researchers in either describing disturbances in long‐term ecological data, or in producing disturbances for simulations or experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This article takes the opportunity of the recent establishment of two large and remote marine protected areas (MPAs) in Brazilian jurisdictional waters to discuss the role played by large-scale MPAs and their impacts to achieve international goals. After the launching of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2010, especially Target 11, which concerns marine areas, some coastal states have created large-scale MPAs as a way of attaining a numerical target, though not necessarily fulfilling other ecosystem commitments. Brazil is the most recent example of this strategy through the establishment of MPAs that seem primarily concerned with international goals rather than effective biodiversity protection. Since the management of these protected areas will be shared between a technical body (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation) and the Navy, and only a small portion of which will have similar status to "no-take" zone, the new MPAs can hardly be identified as being strongly committed to the marine environment protection. The article ends with some suggestions for improving biodiversity conservation in the Brazilian large-scale MPAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]