Assessing the ecological loss of mining areas in Taiwan.

Mines are mostly located in the mountains and national forestlands in Taiwan. The development and use of mines have severely damaged the environment. Despite the long history of mining, the value of forest ecological services lost during mining operations have not yet been incorporated into the expenses borne by miners, and miners are not liable for compensation for ecological damage. This study evaluated the forest ecosystem service benefits lost since mining began, with the aim of providing future reference for calculating ecological damage related to mining. We investigated Mount Taibai mines in Yilan (northeast Taiwan) and Mount Yongshi mines in Hualian (east Taiwan), which are richly forested areas. According to Article 13 of the Mining Act in Taiwan, mining rights have a limitation of 20 years, and the two mines in this study have been in operation for 20 years. By using four ecological services-forest production, carbon sequestration, water resource replenishment, and forest recreation-we estimated the loss of ecological values in both mining regions. The result indicated that the loss of total forest production benefits over 20 years was 7,498.6 k New Taiwanese dollars (NTD) in Mount Taibai mines and 6,543.1 k NTD for Mount Yongshi mines, while the loss for the total carbon sequestration benefits over 20 years was 19,950 k NTD in Mount Taibai mines and 17,400 k NTD in Mount Yongshi mines. The loss of value for the total water conservation benefits over 20 years was 11,160 k NTD in Mount Taibai mines and 5,070 k NTD in Mount Yongshi mines. The loss value of forest recreation over 20 years was 1,443,855 k NTD for the two mines.

Exploring urban green packages as part of Nature-based Solutions for climate change adaptation measures in rapidly growing cities of the Global South.

Given a lot of elusive information on the use and implementation of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in the Global South, this review provides a synthesis of the evidence on the: - (1) distribution of urban green technologies in form of arboriculture and urban agriculture as a part of NbS packages for the sustainability of cities against population growth and impact of climate change; and (2) options of integrating and mainstreaming various NbS packages into city development policies, planning processes, and decision-making agendas. The sustainability of urban green as part of NbS packages and the usefulness for improvement of livelihoods is determined by the spatial (geographical location) and temporal (time of action) scales, and socio-ecological and institutional factors. Various NbS packages have shown the ability for use as climate change adaptation measures throughout the world. These functions include protection from soil erosion, protection from inland flooding, buffering natural resources against drier and more variable climates, protection from coastal hazards and sea-level rise, moderation of urban heatwaves and effects of heat island, and managing storm-water and flooding in urban areas. Furthermore, the benefits of urban agriculture and arboriculture include use as sources of food and generation of income; improve recreation and social interactions, and the sustainability of biodiversity. They also mitigate the impact of environmental pollution and climate change through reduction of gas emissions and act as carbon sinks. While the starting capital and lack of policy on urban agriculture and arboriculture in many countries, the importance of the industry is inevitably a useful agenda especially in the Global South due to vulnerability to the impact of climate change. This review also suggests the inclusion of all institutions, governments, and relevant stakeholders to emphasize gender sensitization at all levels of planning and decision-making in food production and adaptation measures to climate change.

Growth performance and ecological services evaluation of razor clams based on dynamic energy budget model.

Bivalve shellfish aquaculture has been proposed to abate eutrophication and increase carbon sink in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture ecosystems. An individual growth model for razor clams Sinonovacula constricta in an integrated aquaculture pond of Portunus trituberculatus- Penaeus japonicus- S. constricta was constructed based on dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory after parameter measurement and model validation. Goodness-of-fit indices (R-squared, mean difference, and absolute and relative root mean square error) showed that the DEB model accurately reproduced razor clam growth. The growth performance evaluation of razor clams under different environmental conditions showed that warming climate and food shortages inhibited the razor clam growth. The quantification results of ecological service showed that individual razor clam have the potential for nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) removal and CO2 fixation, but exhibit a source of CO2 in individual month. The possible applications and contribution of this aquaculture model in China are also discussed, and the assessment results can provide important support for the low carbon bivalve integrated aquaculture.

Environmental risk assessment in agro-ecosystems: Revisiting the concept of receiving environment after the EFSA guidance document.

The environmental risk assessment (ERA) for genetically modified plants (GMPs) is a prerequisite for commercial approval of these new varieties according to regulatory systems worldwide. The first country to regulate GM crops was the USA and the issue of possible environmental impacts was based on the principles used in risk assessment of pesticides. Two main pillars of this approach are the use of surrogate species for testing effects on non-target organisms using a tiered assessment with clear thresholds to indicate the need to move between tiers. The latest EFSA guidance document on ERA of Genetically Modified Organisms considers specifically the receiving environment in preparation of ERA for commercial cultivation of GMPs. According to existing guidelines in the EU, the receiving environment is defined by three mutually interacting components: the characteristics of the environmental stressor (i.e. the GM plant), the bio-geographical regions where the commercial release of the crop is expected and the agricultural systems therein. Difference in agronomic and ecological conditions (e.g. use of different varieties, vegetation of adjacent areas, non-target species assemblages, sensitivity of local species to the stressors) suggests that explicit considerations of the receiving environments are necessary. Results from field experiments indicate that differences in cultivation practices, e.g. the herbicide regime used on herbicide-tolerant GM crops, may induce direct and indirect effects on wild plant distribution and abundance, with consequent repercussions on food webs based on these plants. Moreover, ecological literature indicates that the concept of surrogate species has clear limitations if applied broadly to any ERA. Starting from case studies regarding GMPs, this paper discusses some ecological and agronomic characteristics of agro-ecosystems, which have implications in the elaboration of both hazard and exposure analyses during ERA. The species selection approach indicated in the EFSA Guidance Document and the consideration of the area(s) of the expected release of the new variety may provide the basis to an ecologically sound ERA for a range of environmental stressors. The quality of the data that become available for risk managers with this approach may support a more transparent and dependable ERA and risk management for GMPs as well as for other potential environmental stressors in agro-ecosystems.

Adding landscape genetics and individual traits to the ecosystem function paradigm reveals the importance of species functional breadth.

Animal pollination mediates both reproduction and gene flow for the majority of plant species across the globe. However, past functional studies have focused largely on seed production; although useful, this focus on seed set does not provide information regarding species-specific contributions to pollen-mediated gene flow. Here we quantify pollen dispersal for individual pollinator species across more than 690 ha of tropical forest. Specifically, we examine visitation, seed production, and pollen-dispersal ability for the entire pollinator community of a common tropical tree using a series of individual-based pollinator-exclusion experiments followed by molecular-based fractional paternity analyses. We investigate the effects of pollinator body size, plant size (as a proxy of floral display), local plant density, and local plant kinship on seed production and pollen-dispersal distance. Our results show that while large-bodied pollinators set more seeds per visit, small-bodied bees visited flowers more frequently and were responsible for more than 49% of all long-distance (beyond 1 km) pollen-dispersal events. Thus, despite their size, small-bodied bees play a critical role in facilitating long-distance pollen-mediated gene flow. We also found that both plant size and local plant kinship negatively impact pollen dispersal and seed production. By incorporating genetic and trait-based data into the quantification of pollination services, we highlight the diversity in ecological function mediated by pollinators, the influential role that plant and population attributes play in driving service provision, and the unexpected importance of small-bodied pollinators in the recruitment of plant genetic diversity.

Post-fire attitudes and perceptions of people towards the landscape character and development in the rural Peloponnese, a case study of the traditional village of Leontari, Arcadia, Greece.

Fires played an integral role in shaping the rural Mediterranean landscape. However, the decoupling of social-ecological systems of landscapes led to rural degradation and rendered traditional settlements vulnerable to fire. A questionnaire survey conducted at the traditional village of Leontari, in the Peloponnese, Greece, investigates respondents' perceptions towards particular interventions that would affect the landscape character and development of the village after the 2007 forest fires. Results suggest that the values of a location can play a major role in determining the perceptions of respondents. Overall respondents were "place attached" with an increased awareness of the local landscape character that guided their preferences for rural development, however, some sociodemographic group differences were found. Women compared to men were more sensitive to the impact of the forest fire and people over 65 years of age were more positive in restoring the original vegetation compared to younger in age people.

Quantification of heat shock protein 70 and acetylcholinesterase over a time course suggests environmental adaptation in a foundational molluscan species.

Waterways in urban areas often act as repositories for sewage, industrial waste, and environmental contaminants. In response, inhabitants of these watersheds undergo physiological adaptations specific to their respective environments. Effects of these stressors can be assayed by quantification of various well-documented biomarkers in sentinel species such as the Atlantic Ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa, a native to the Bronx River Estuary, Bronx, NY, USA. Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) is a universally expressed biomarker for an array of environmental stressors including toxins and low dissolved oxygen. To better understand the mechanisms by which organisms tolerate their contaminated environments, we monitored the constitutive and heat shock-induced levels of two proteins: Hsp70 and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in natural populations of G. demissa from differentially impacted sites: the Bronx River and Greenwich Cove estuaries. We show that G. demissa from the Bronx River exhibits a higher level of constitutive Hsp70, and launches a more rapid and robust heat shock response than does its Greenwich Cove counterpart. In addition, AChE levels are recovered more quickly in Bronx River mussels. Based on response pattern investigations from heat stress as well as constitutive expression, we suggest that the Hsp70/AChE chaperone/client relationship exemplifies the unique adaptive mechanisms utilized by organisms in order to tolerate environmentally impacted habitats. Results from this study offer important insights from an ecological perspective into the molecular and cellular basis of stress response and provide valuable information regarding adaptation to the increased demands of challenging environments.

A Bayesian Approach to Integrated Ecological and Human Health Risk Assessment for the South River, Virginia Mercury-Contaminated Site.

We conducted a regional-scale integrated ecological and human health risk assessment by applying the relative risk model with Bayesian networks (BN-RRM) to a case study of the South River, Virginia mercury-contaminated site. Risk to four ecological services of the South River (human health, water quality, recreation, and the recreational fishery) was evaluated using a multiple stressor-multiple endpoint approach. These four ecological services were selected as endpoints based on stakeholder feedback and prioritized management goals for the river. The BN-RRM approach allowed for the calculation of relative risk to 14 biotic, human health, recreation, and water quality endpoints from chemical and ecological stressors in five risk regions of the South River. Results indicated that water quality and the recreational fishery were the ecological services at highest risk in the South River. Human health risk for users of the South River was low relative to the risk to other endpoints. Risk to recreation in the South River was moderate with little spatial variability among the five risk regions. Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis identified stressors and other parameters that influence risk for each endpoint in each risk region. This research demonstrates a probabilistic approach to integrated ecological and human health risk assessment that considers the effects of chemical and ecological stressors across the landscape.

Managing for No Net Loss of Ecological Services: An Approach for Quantifying Loss of Coastal Wetlands due to Sea Level Rise.

Sea level rise has the potential to substantially alter the extent and nature of coastal wetlands and the critical ecological services they provide. In making choices about how to respond to rising sea level, planners are challenged with weighing easily quantified risks (e.g., loss of property value due to inundation) against those that are more difficult to quantify (e.g., loss of primary production or carbon sequestration services provided by wetlands due to inundation). Our goal was to develop a cost-effective, appropriately-scaled, model-based approach that allows planners to predict, under various sea level rise and response scenarios, the economic cost of wetland loss-with the estimates proxied by the costs of future restoration required to maintain the existing level of wetland habitat services. Our approach applies the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model to predict changes in wetland habitats over the next century, and then applies Habitat Equivalency Analysis to predict the cost of restoration projects required to maintain ecological services at their present, pre-sea level rise level. We demonstrate the application of this approach in the Delaware Bay estuary and in the Indian River Lagoon (Florida), and discuss how this approach can support future coastal decision-making.

Ecological concerns following Superstorm Sandy: stressor level and recreational activity levels affect perceptions of ecosystem.

Coastal habitats are vulnerable to storms, and with increasing urbanization, sea level rise, and storm frequency, some urban populations are at risk. This study examined perceptions of respondents in coastal and central New Jersey to Superstorm Sandy, including: 1) concerns about ecological resources and effects (open-ended question), 2) information sources for ecology of the coast (open-ended), and 3) ratings of a list of ecological services as a function of demographics, location (coastal, central Jersey), stressor level (power outages, high winds, flooding) and recreational rates. "Wildlife" and "fish" were the ecological concerns mentioned most often, while beaches and dunes were most often mentioned for environmental concerns. Television, radio, and web/internet were sources trusted for ecological information. The data indicate 1) stressor level was a better predictor of ratings of ecological services than geographical location, but days engaged in recreation contributed the most to variations in ratings, 2) ecological services were rated the highest by respondents with the highest stressor levels, and by those from the coast, compared to others, 3) Caucasians rated ecological services higher than all others, and 4) recreational rates were highest for coastal respondents, and ratings for ecological services increased with recreational rates. Only 20 % of respondents listed specific ecological services as one of their three most important environmental concerns. These data will be useful for increasing preparedness, enhancing educational strategies for shore protection, and providing managers and public policy makers with data essential to developing resiliency strategies.

Bridging beauty and biodiversity: Coupling diversity and aesthetics through optimized plant communities in urban riverfront landscapes.

Urban waterfront areas are dynamic interfaces where human and natural systems converge, forming complex ecosystems that encompass social, economic, and environmental elements. These areas offer ecological benefits and aesthetic experiences. However, a disparity between social aesthetic preferences and vegetation diversity along riverbanks impedes the integration of ecological and aesthetic values. To address this, a plant community optimization strategy based on a coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) is proposed. Using the Xietang River in Suzhou, China as a case study, surveys were conducted on 33 woody plant plots and 60 herbaceous plant plots, assessing plant diversity with Shannon-Wiener, richness, and Pielou indices. Landscape beauty was evaluated by 87 respondents using the Scenic Beauty Estimation method. Using six representative plant communities as mediators, CCDM was applied to quantitatively analyze the coordination between plant diversity and aesthetics. Based on this analysis and considering factors influencing plant diversity and scenic beauty, plant community optimization strategies were devised to enhance the coordinated development of ecological diversity and aesthetics, fostering a synergistic improvement in ecological and aesthetic quality. Results revealed a range of coupling coordination across plant communities (0.203 to 0.947), encompassing various types. Linear regression analysis demonstrated a non-linear relationship between plant diversity and landscape beauty, influenced by independent yet partially overlapping factors. Hence, both aspects should be simultaneously considered in the planning and enhancement of riverbank areas. The coupling coordination degree offers a comprehensive understanding of harmonizing plant diversity and aesthetic value, providing a quantitative and objective approach to integrated research. This perspective extends beyond urban waterfront landscapes, holding significance for achieving dual goals of ecology and social services in urban design and landscape management.

Organizing a global list of cyanobacteria and algae from soil biocrusts evidenced great geographic and taxonomic gaps.

Biocrusts determine soil stability and resiliency, with a special role played by oxygenic photoautotrophic microorganisms in these communities. We evaluated temporal and geographic trends in studies focused on these microorganisms in biocrusts. Two databases were surveyed to obtain scientific articles published from 1998 to 2020 containing the terms 'biocrusts,' 'algae,' and 'cyanobacteria.' Although interest in biocrusts has increased recently, their ecological importance is still little explored. The scientific articles that mentioned a species list of cyanobacteria and/or algae revealed a very heterogeneous geographic distribution of research. Biocrusts have not been explored in many regions and knowledge in the tropics, where these communities showed high species richness, is limited. Geographic gaps were detected and more detailed studies are needed, mainly where biocrust communities are threatened by anthropogenic impacts. Aiming to address these knowledge gaps, we assembled a taxonomic list of all algae and cyanobacteria found in these articles, including information on their occurrence and ecology. This review is an updated global taxonomic survey of biocrusts, which importantly reveals their high species richness of oxygenic photoautotrophic microorganisms. We believe this database will be useful to future research by providing valuable taxonomic and biogeographic information regarding algae and cyanobacteria in biocrusts.

Ecological ditch technology and development prospect based on nature-based solutions: a review.

The core of the concept of nature-based solutions (NBS) is ecological protection, which is the same direction as China's double-carbon goal and has attracted much attention in China. Ecological ditch sewage treatment technology has been widely used in controlling agricultural non-point source pollution because of its advantages of high pollutant removal efficiency and low energy consumption. Suppose the NBS concept of sustainable management, restoration, and ecological protection is integrated into the research and development and application of ecological ditch technology. In that case, it can not only improve the effective removal of pollutants, achieve the purpose of recycling water resources and nutrient elements, but also realize economic, environmental, and social benefits. This paper describes the ecosystem service functions provided by ecological ditches in detail, evaluates their economic values through literatures review, so as to raise people's awareness of natural resource conservation and realize the sustainable management of ecological ditches.

Complex adaptive systems-based framework for modeling the health impacts of climate change.

Introduction: Climate change is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences, and its impact on human health is a growing concern. The intricate interplay of various factors makes it challenging to accurately predict and understand the implications of climate change on human well-being. Conventional methodologies have limitations in comprehensively addressing the complexity and nonlinearity inherent in the relationships between climate change and health outcomes. Objectives: The primary objective of this paper is to develop a robust theoretical framework that can effectively analyze and interpret the intricate web of variables influencing the human health impacts of climate change. By doing so, we aim to overcome the limitations of conventional approaches and provide a more nuanced understanding of the complex relationships involved. Furthermore, we seek to explore practical applications of this theoretical framework to enhance our ability to predict, mitigate, and adapt to the diverse health challenges posed by a changing climate. Methods: Addressing the challenges outlined in the objectives, this study introduces the Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) framework, acknowledging its significance in capturing the nuanced dynamics of health effects linked to climate change. The research utilizes a blend of field observations, expert interviews, key informant interviews, and an extensive literature review to shape the development of the CAS framework. Results and discussion: The proposed CAS framework categorizes findings into six key sub-systems: ecological services, extreme weather, infectious diseases, food security, disaster risk management, and clinical public health. The study employs agent-based modeling, using causal loop diagrams (CLDs) tailored for each CAS sub-system. A set of identified variables is incorporated into predictive modeling to enhance the understanding of health outcomes within the CAS framework. Through a combination of theoretical development and practical application, this paper aspires to contribute valuable insights to the interdisciplinary field of climate change and health. Integrating agent-based modeling and CLDs enhances the predictive capabilities required for effective health outcome analysis in the context of climate change. Conclusion: This paper serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, and public health professionals by employing a CAS framework to understand and assess the complex network of health impacts associated with climate change. It offers insights into effective strategies for safeguarding human health amidst current and future climate challenges.

Making the most of scarce biological resources in the desert: Loptuq material culture in Eastern Turkestan around 1900.

BACKGROUND: Most fisher-gatherer communities we know of utilized a limited number of natural resources for their livelihood. The Turkic-speaking Loptuq (exonym Loplik, Loplyk) in the Lower Tarim River basin, Taklamakan desert, Eastern Turkestan (Xinjiang), were no exception. Their habitat, the Lop Nor marsh and lake area, was surrounded by desert and very poor in plant species; the Loptuq had to make the most of a handful of available biological resources for housing, furniture, clothing and fabric, fishnets and traps, tools and other equipment. The taxa used by the Loptuq were documented by foreign explorers at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, prior to the forced resettlement of the group in the 1950s and subsequent destruction of their language, lifestyle and culture. METHODS AND SOURCES: Ethnobiology explores the relationship between humans and their environment, including the use of biological resources for different purposes. In several aspects, historical ethnobiology is more challenging; it studies this relationship in the past and therefore cannot verify results with informants. As the present study discusses an extinct culture on the basis of literary and material sources, we apply a method called source pluralism. This approach allows the inclusion and combination of a wide range of data and materials, even scraps of information from various sources, with the aim to understand phenomena which are sparsely mentioned in historical records. Travel reports by Swedish, British, German, American and Russian explorers together with linguistic data provide the most important sources for understanding Loptuq interaction with the environment and its biota. Especially the large number of toponyms and phytonyms recorded by the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin and materials from his expeditions, including voucher specimens kept in Stockholm in the herbarium of the Swedish Natural History Museum, and objects of material culture in the collections of the Ethnographical Museum, are crucial for our analysis about local knowledge among the Loptuq. Illustrations and photographs provide us with additional information. RESULTS: The question of how the Loptuq managed to survive at the fringe of a desert, a marsh and a lake which changed its location, intrigued all foreign visitors to the Lop Nor. The Loptuq's main livelihood was fishing, hunting and gathering, and their material culture provided by plants and other organic materials included their usage, consumption and trade. Only a handful of species formed the basis of the Loptuq material culture, but they had learned to use these specific plants for a variety of purposes. The most important of these were Lop hemp, Poacynum pictum (Schrenk) Baill., the riparian tree Euphrates poplar, Populus euphratica Olivier, and the aquatic common reed, Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. Several species of tamarisk were used for fuel and building fences. A few plants were also harvested for making foodstuffs such as snacks and potherbs. In addition, the Loptuq also used fur, bird skins, down, feathers, mammal bones and fish bones for their material needs. The habitat provided cultural ecological services such as motifs for their folklore, linguistic expressions and songs, and the Loptuq engaged in small-scale bartering of plant products and furs with itinerant traders, which ensured them with a supply of metal for making tools. CONCLUSION: This article discusses the now extinct Loptuq material culture as it existed more than a hundred years ago, and how the scarce biological resources of their desert and marsh habitat were utilized. Loptuq adaptation strategies to the environment and local knowledge, transmitted over generations, which contributed to their survival and subsistence, were closely connected with the use of biological resources. For this study, a comprehensive approach has been adopted for the complex relationships between human, biota and landscape. The Loptuq are today largely ignored or deleted from history for political reasons and are seldom, if at all, mentioned in modern sources about the Lop Nor area. Their experience and knowledge, however, could be useful today, in a period of rapid climate change, for others living in or at the fringe of expanding deserts.

The critical role of coastal protected areas in buffering impacts of extreme climatic conditions on bird diversity and their ecosystem services' provisioning in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

In this study, we documented the diversity of bird species in the Eastern Cape coastal nature reserves (i.e., Hluleka, Dwesa, Silaka and Mkhambati nature reserves), and determined the potential role of each bird species in habitat maintenance using two functional traits (i.e., body mass and feeding mode) as the function's proxy. We applied the timed species count approach during bird observations, coupled with drive-by surveys to maximise spatial coverage of each nature reserve over four years. To evaluate functional diversity, bird species were classified based on functional traits such as the adult body, and their potential ecological role derived from their feeding mode and habitat associations. Over 864 h, we accumulated 818 bird records containing 178 different bird species that were classified into 58 families with 32 species occurring in all nature reserves. Shannon-Wiener Diversity Indices showed very high overall species diversity across the nature reserves (H > 3.5) with no differences detected across sites. Although no significant correlations between vegetation changes measured through Normalised Difference vegetation Index (NDVI) in each nature reserve and the number of bird records, forest bird species were dominant (42.1%; N = 178) throughout years of observation and diversity remained high (H > 3.5). Bird species abundance only increased significantly across all nature reserves during 2018-2019. All four nature reserves had a similar distribution of bird functional traits with both high functional richness (FRic = 1), and divergence (FDiv = 0.8) and moderate evenness (FEve = 0.4). Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) demonstrated a positive correlation between bird sizes and functions with large birds mainly associated with predators and carrion. Small birds and medium birds had a similar composition of species in terms of functionality being seed dispersers across the nature reserves. A significant effect that insectivores and carrions displayed in MCA plots, suggest the availability of indirect pollination services. Despite extreme drought conditions across the country in 2019, NDVI levels remained largely consistent over time in these four reserves; and thus, they offer important refuge for birds during extreme climatic conditions such as drought.

Density-dependent ecosystem service delivery under shifting temperatures by dung beetles.

Increases in the frequency and magnitude of suboptimal temperatures as a result of climate change are subjecting insects to unprecedented stresses. This may negatively affect their fitness and the efficiency of their ecosystem service provision. Dung beetles are ecosystem service providers: through feeding on and burying dung, they facilitate nutrient recycling, secondary seed dispersal, parasite control, soil bioturbation and dung decomposition. As such, prediction of how dung beetles respond to multiple anthropogenic environmental changes is critical for the conservation of ecosystem services. Here, we quantified ecosystem services via dung utilisation and dung ball production in three telecoprid species: Allogymnopleurus indigaceous, Scarabaeus zambezianus and Khepher prodigiosus. We examined ecosystem service efficiency factorially under different beetle densities towards different dung masses and under three temperature treatments (21 °C, 28 °C and 35 °C). Khepher prodigiosus, exhibited greatest dung utilisation efficiency overall across dung masses, compared to both S. zambezianus and A. indigaceous. Dung removal was exhibited under all the tested temperatures by all tested species, and therefore the sub-optimal temperatures employed here did not fully inhibit ecosystem service delivery. However, emergent effects among temperatures, beetle species and beetle density further affected removal efficiency: S. zambezianus and A. indigaceous utilisation increased with both warming and beetle density, whereas K. prodigiosus performance was less temperature- and density-dependent. Beetles also tended to exhibit positive density-dependence as dung supply increased. The numbers of dung balls produced differed across species, and increased with temperature and densities, with S. zambezianus producing significantly most balls overall. Our study provides novel evidence for differential density-dependent ecosystem service delivery among species across stressful temperature regimes and emergent effects for dung mass utilisation. This information is essential for biodiversity-ecosystem-function and is critical for the conservation of functionally efficacious species, with implications for natural capital conservation policy in rapidly changing environments.

Termite diversity and damage assessment in urban trees from different parks of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.

Termite infestation is one of the fundamental problems associated with the loss of urban trees and ecological services. However, no such study has been performed in Pakistan to investigate the termite occurrence and assess such damages to urban trees caused by termites. For Lahore, research and comparable data on urban tree damages are rare or missing. This study surveyed six different microhabitats, including Bagh-e-Jinnah, canal vegetation, Model Town Park, Jallo Forestry, Race-Course Park, and FC College Vegetation employing the three belt transects (100 × 5 m) method. We geo-referenced termite-infested trees to investigate the termite occurrence on living and dead standing trees, termite diversity, and the assessment of tree damage by termites' attack. We recorded four termite species (Odontotermes obesus Rambur, Coptotermes heimi Wasmann, Heterotermes indicola Wasmann, and Microtermes obesi Holmgren) representing two families (Rhinotermitidae and Termitidae). However, the diversity indices revealed that O. obesus (higher termite) and C. heimi (lower termite) were dominant with 46.60 and 36% of occurrence among observed trees, respectively. Kernel density function indicated that the Lahore Canal and Bagh-e-Jinnah plantation shared all four termites' infestation evenly compared to other study sites. We observed the maximum number of damaged trees by termites in canal vegetation with the most damaged exotic tree species Populus euramericana along the canal green belt. Additionally, we observed significant (P < 0.05) termite-tree interactions with exotic, living, and dead standing tree species and found termite colony size positively (R = 0.985) correlated with the tree trunk diameter up to breast height (DBH). The average population of termites per unit volume of deadwood log was (0.39/cm3) within all plantation sites. In conclusion, this study provides simple, reckless, and inexpensive knowledge about the assessment of termite damage to trees, which may give a better idea in making decisions on tree selection and management in urban ecosystems.

Spatial performance assessment of reed bed filtration in a constructed wetland.

Constructed wetlands (CW) are implemented to improve water quality through filtration by plants (macrophytes), which sequester nutrients and contaminants. Macrophyte beds in CWs reduce the speed of water flow, aiming to improve the water quality by sedimentation and filtration with increasing distance from the inflow. Few studies have assessed spatial distribution and accumulation concentrations of nutrients and contaminants in CW macrophytes as a performance indicator for wetland functionality and management. Macrophytes and water were analysed for nutrient and contaminant accumulation in-situ at a stormwater-fed CW and water remediation site in South Australia. During the austral summer, macrophytes were sampled at 36 sites and water at 46 sites selected by a systematic GIS produced grid covering the entire wetland, which determined distance from the inflow for each site. A total of 144 Schoenoplectus validus (stems and roots) macrophyte samples (i.e. carbon-C, nitrogen-N, Trace elements) and 183 water samples (i.e. total suspended solids-TSS, total nitrogen-TN, total carbon-TC, nitrate-NO3-/ nitrite-NO2- and ammonia-NH4+) were analysed. Concentrations of water chemistry parameters that significantly increased with distance away from inflow included; TC (P = 0.0008), TN (P = 0.0001), and NH4+ (P = 0.0001), while there was significant decrease in TSS (P = 0.0001). The macrophyte S. validus significantly decreased in height (P = 0.0001) and biomass (P = 0.03) with distance from the inflow. Spatial mapping of nutrients and contaminants with distance from inflow identified increasing TC and C characteristics from inflow to outflow and identified where TSS were removed from the water column. Through this spatial assessment approach of the Oaklands CW, management has identified problem areas with flow regimes that require further investigation to enhance macrophyte water filtration performance which can be used in CWs elsewhere in the world.

Spatial Variation of Cladophora Epiphytes in the Nan River, Thailand.

Cladophora is an algal genus known to be ecologically important. It provides habitats for microorganisms known to provide ecological services such as biosynthesis of cobalamin (vitamin B12) and nutrient cycling. Most knowledge of microbiomes was obtained from studies of lacustrine Cladophora species. However, whether lotic freshwater Cladophora microbiomes are as complex as the lentic ones or provide similar ecological services is not known. To illuminate these issues, we used amplicons of 16S rDNA, 18S rDNA, and ITS to investigate the taxonomy and diversity of the microorganisms associated with replicate Cladophora samples from three sites along the Nan River, Thailand. Results showed that the diversity of prokaryotic and eukaryotic members of Cladophora microbiomes collected from different sampling sites was statistically different. Fifty percent of the identifiable taxa were shared across sampling sites: these included organisms belonging to different trophic levels, decomposers, and heterotrophic bacteria. These heterogeneous assemblages of bacteria, by functional inference, have the potential to perform various ecological functions, i.e., cellulose degradation, cobalamin biosynthesis, fermentative hydrogen production, ammonium oxidation, amino acid fermentation, dissimilatory reduction of nitrate to ammonium, nitrite reduction, nitrate reduction, sulfur reduction, polyphosphate accumulation, denitrifying phosphorus-accumulation, and degradation of aromatic compounds. Results suggested that river populations of Cladophora provide ecologically important habitat for microorganisms that are key to nutrient cycling in lotic ecosystems.