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June 19, 2017
Comments Off on Human impacts on ecological connectivity
Ecological connectivity – the exchange of organisms between habitat patches or subpopulations – has an influence on many key processes, including population dynamics, nutrient flux, disease transmission, species invasions, food-web interactions, genetic isolation and the maintenance of biodiversity. A recent study reviewed ways in which graph theory has been used to investigate how human activities […]
March 27, 2017
Comments Off on Unravelling trends in stream nitrogen
Oxides of nitrogen derived from agriculture, industry and emissions from the burning of fossil fuels fall out from the atmosphere and enter terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Over the last century the deposition of reactive nitrogen has increased three to five times, and this is reflected in a general global increase in stream nitrogen concentrations. However, at […]
December 13, 2016
Comments Off on Factoring history into threat assessments
Genetic variation allows populations to adapt to environmental changes, and it’s often the case that threatened species exhibit low genetic diversity. Human-produced habitat fragmentation is a well-recognised cause of genetic bottlenecks, but the additional effects of larger-scale biogeographic factors are rarely considered. As an example of such biogeographic impacts, populations that have managed to survive […]
December 13, 2016
Comments Off on Emergent wetland plants as conduits for methane
Wetlands release more methane to the atmosphere than other any other type of ecosystem and wetland plants, especially those in the shallow fringing zones, play an important role in methane dynamics. However, aquatic plants can be damaged by the grazing activities of herbivorous animals. To examine the impacts of grazing damage on the release of […]
June 1, 2016
Comments Off on Advantages of rough wetland designs
In natural wetlands, the unevenness of the ground creates variation in environmental factors such as soil moisture and temperature, and this variability is a positive influence on the range of plant species that are able to colonise the area. As they become established, plants such as sedges and rushes slowly create tussocks, which further increase […]
June 19, 2017
Comments Off on Environmentalism with attitude: the importance of psychology