Natural resources management is one of the world‟s greatest concerns. It is a difficult task due to its complex nature. Natural resources are limited and scarce. Unfortunately and worst of all, they are under pressure, and stress due to unprecedented increase in their demand and inefficient use. But it is still possible to tackle this complex problem. This study focuses on understanding the value of the ecosystem services that human well-being depend on, as for more sustainable environment strategy on aquatic ecosystems management, such as lakes and rivers. Changing behavior and attitude can be a crucial complement and likely can stimulate our conscious effort towards saving our ecosystems beyond money contribution. This way of thinking seems to be overlooked and most people think that the development of technology and advancement in knowledge alone can provide solution. One way to overcome the problem of pressure and stressing of the environment is to develop adequate strategy and environmental policy. This policy should include economics measures where, when necessary and feasible. Since there are "no one solution and no one answer" to achieve the desired outcome of a sustainable future, it becomes necessary to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to environmental management and the understanding of the value and dynamism change of the ecosystem services. Adoption of efficient management is not enough; we have to adjust our attitude as well. To discuss this issue, the aquatic ecosystem, which the lake Vänern in Kristinehamn Municipality served as a case study.

<p>Human and natural disturbance affect the Amazon basin at several spatial and temporal scales. In this thesis, I used satellite-detected hot pixels to examine patterns of human-caused disturbance and protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon from 1996-2006. Deforestation fires, as measured by hot pixels, declined exponentially with increasing distance from roads. Fewer deforestation fires occurred within protected areas than outside and this difference was greatest near roads. However, even within reserves, more deforestation fires occurred in regions with high human impact than in those with lower impact. El Niño-related droughts affected deforestation fires most outside of reserves and near roads. There was no significant difference in fire occurrence among inhabited and uninhabited reserve types. </p><p>Within this context of disturbance in the Brazilian Amazon basin, I examined relatively undisturbed savanna-like `campina' ecosystems. I reviewed the literature on campinas and discussed their variation and their significance for beta diversity. As one of two case studies, I assessed spatio-temporal patterns of disturbance (fire and blowdowns), and vegetation change from 1987 to 2007 in campinas in the central Brazilian Amazon using Landsat imagery. In 2001 images, an increase in open areas corresponded with significantly more visible signs of disturbance, likely precipitated by the 1997-98 El Niño. Bird community data indicated a trend of more generalist/savanna species in more frequently disturbed campinas. </p><p>As the second case study, I used daily 500 m resolution MODIS reflectance data to assess seasonal and inter-annual flooding in ~33,000 km2 of campinas in the Negro river basin. Flooding cycles of these wetland campinas critically influence regional ecosystem processes. Flooded areas ranged from 15,000 km2 at the end of the rainy season (August-Oct) to little, if any, open water in the driest times (Jan-Mar). Predictable seasonal flood pulses occurred, but also displayed high inter-annual variability. This variability was weakly correlated with the Multivariate El Niño Southern Oscillation Index (MEI). </p><p>Campina ecosystems are an important, but largely overlooked, component of the biodiversity of the Amazon basin. My research shows that climate, particularly ENSO-associated droughts, strongly affects campinas even in remote areas, just as it increases fire frequencies in more populated regions of the Amazon.</p> / Dissertation

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2009. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Cooperation is pervasive in nature but paradoxically also provides opportunity to cheaters. My dissertation involves the study of both cooperation and conflict in two species of Megalopta bees. Megalopta is a Neotropical genus of halictid bees whose biology is characterized by complex life cycles that can range from solitary to eusocial. These bees nest in dead wood and forage under dim light conditions. Megalopta’s nests are inhabited by an extensive array of organisms and each nest therefore constitutes a miniature ecosystem providing opportunities for cooperation and conflict, both within and between species. I first delineate the social structure of M. genalis and M. ecuadoria nests in several Panamanian populations and integrate the factors that play a role in the behavioral decisions of females when joining a social group or not. Within a kin-selection framework, I discuss how genetic relatedness plays a role in the formation of social nests. Second, I investigate the conflict between host bees and a congener social parasite, and I elucidate reproductive structures that are relevant for understanding the evolution of parasitism. Finally, I describe a cleaning mutualism between Megalopta bees and their mite associates. Bee-mite associations encompass a broad spectrum of interspecific interactions. Some bee-mites are thought to perform cleaning services for their hosts in exchange for suitable environments for reproduction and dispersal. Field observations and experimental manipulation reveal a significant correlation between the presence of mites and the absence of fungi inside the brood cells, as well as between the absence of mites and increased bee mortality. This study therefore provides evidence of the sanitary effect of mites in nests of Megalopta bees. This bee-mite association constitutes one of the few examples of terrestrial cleaning mutualisms. / text

<p>The timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean has important consequences for the marine carbon cycle and ecosystems. There are currently several proposed mechanisms to explain the timing of this bloom. The conventional theory holds that the bloom begins when the ocean warms and the seasonal mixed layer shoals in the spring, decreasing the depth to which phytoplankton are mixed and increasing the light available to the population. Recent work has attributed the beginning of the bloom to decreases in turbulence within the upper ocean, driven by the onset of positive heat fluxes or decreases in the strength of local winds. Other studies have focused on the increase in the seasonal mixed layer in the winter as a driver of changes in ecosystem interactions and a control on the spring bloom. Finally, submesoscale eddies, occurring as a result of lateral density gradients, have been proposed as a stratification mechanism that can create phytoplankton blooms prior to the onset of ocean surface warming.</p><p>This dissertation critically examines and compares the proposed theories for the initiation of the spring bloom and draws on these theories to propose a new framework: that blooms begin when the active mixing depth shoals, a process generally driven by a weakening of surface heat fluxes and consequent shift from convective mixing to wind-driven mixing. Using surface forcing data, we develop a parameterization for the active mixing depth from estimates of the largest energy-containing eddies in the upper ocean. </p><p>Using in situ records of turbulent mixing and biomass, we find that the spring phytoplankton bloom occurs after mixing shifts from being driven by convection to being driven by wind, and that biomass increases as the active mixing depth shoals. Using remote sensing data, we examine patterns of bloom initiation in the North Atlantic at the basin scale, compare current theories of bloom initiation, and find that the shoaling of the active mixing depth better predicts the onset of the bloom across the North Atlantic subpolar basin and over multiple years than do other current theories. Additionally, using a process study model, we evaluate the importance of submesoscale eddy-driven stratification as a control on the initiation of the spring bloom, determining that this mechanism has a relatively minor effect on alleviation of phytoplankton light limitation. Finally, we describe potential techniques and tools to examine whether interannual variability in the active mixing depth acts as a control on variability in the timing of the spring bloom.</p> / Dissertation

Eighty percent of the Canadian population lives in urban centres, where typical land use patterns negatively impact urban ecosystems and decrease quality of life. Current municipal Community Improvement Plans target urban vacancies for intensification efforts, which can increase fragmentation and degradation of the urban ecosystem. This project examines the urban environment: its vacancies, ecological patterns and human impacts. A strategy was derived from ecological principles aiming to design more sustainable urban landscape patterns. Applied to the Two Rivers neighbourhood in Guelph, Ontario, the strategy identified 19.5 hectares of land capable of contributing to more sustainable ecological patterns of which 12.41 hectares were brownfields. Results revealed 4.3% more high-quality land cover, in 53% more patches, 45 m closer together, but with increasing edge contrast. An area-wide strategic integration of vacant lands may provide previously unconsidered opportunities to improve urban ecological patterns and create a more sustainable urban environment.

In the summer of 2010, fieldwork was conducted in the Robertson Valley, Canadian Rocky Mountains, Alberta to assess the magnitude and controls of microbial nitrification in proglacial till and in supraglacial, subglacial, and proglacial streams. Seasonal precipitation and glacial and proglacial runoff was sampled for hydrochemical and stable isotope analyses (δ18O and δ15N of nitrate [NO3-]). Lower Ca:Mg ratios, higher mean Σmajor ions, and an increased importance of reactions with slower dissolution kinetics in subglacial streams and proglacial seeps indicated waters here experienced longer rock-water contact time than in dilute supraglacial streams. Additionally, waters emanating from longer residence time flowpaths acquired substantial NO3- from nitrification reactions. Using δ18O-NO3- in a simple end-member mixing model, the fraction of NO3- derived from microbial nitrification was estimated to be 44 to 56% in the two subglacial streams, and greater than 80% in proglacial seeps. These results show that atmospherically-derived nitrogen (N) in this glacial valley undergoes substantial biological cycling prior to export in surface runoff. Water flowing from the east subglacial stream (RE) received a larger portion of its melt from a sediment-rich, slow drainage system and had a higher proportion of nitrified NO3- compared to the west subglacial stream (RW), where runoff was similar in composition to supraglacial runoff, indicating that the nature of subglacial flowpaths is an important factor in determining the amount of microbially-cycled nutrients that are exported from a glacier. Sixteen 34-day in situ soil incubations revealed that net mineralization and net nitrification occurred at all four sampling sites in the glacier forefield along a 1.6 km chronosequence; however, there was no significant difference among these rates with time since deglaciation or temperature. Instead, net mineralization and net nitrification rates were significantly correlated (p < 0.05, n = 16) with measured physical and chemical soil variables, including total organic carbon, total N, bulk density, pH, and clay content, suggesting that substrate availability is a larger control on N-cycling processes than time since deglaciation. High variability in inorganic soil N pools and N-cycling rates indicates that there are likely hot spots of biogeochemical activity within glacial till. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2012-04-26 14:47:17.29

This mixed methods status study examined 32 fourth grade students’ conceptual understandings of energy flow through ecosystems prior to instruction and 40 eighth grade students’ conceptual understandings of the same topic after five years of daily standards-based instruction in science. Specific ecological concepts assessed related to: 1) roles of organisms; 2) the sun as the original energy source for most ecosystems; and 3) interdependency of organisms. Fourth and eighth grade students were assessed using the same three-tiered forced-choice instrument, with accompanying tasks for students to defend their forced-choice selections and rate their level of confidence in making the selections. The instrument was developed for the study by a team of researchers and was based on similar tasks presented in the research literature. Distractor options were embedded in each assessment task using common non-scientific ideas also reported in the research literature. Cronbach’s alpha values at or greater than .992 for each task indicated inter-rater consistency of task answers, and Rasch analysis was employed to establish the reliability of the instrument. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were employed to assess the data. Constant comparative methods were employed to analyze students’ written responses, which were coded and grouped into emerging themes. These themes were further developed to characterize students’ conceptual understandings. Student open responses also were scored and coded by a team of researchers using a rubric to identify level of scientific understanding. Quantitative analyses included Rasch analysis used to normalize survey data. Independent samples t-tests were then employed to compare students’ forced-choice responses to their written responses and to the confidence ratings, as well as to compare fourth and eighth grade students’ responses. Findings indicated that eighth grade students generally outperformed the fourth grade on both the forced-choice and written responses, but both groups demonstrated conceptual difficulties in all three topics assessed. Thus, results from the current study support the assertion that students’ understanding of concepts related to energy flow in ecosystems is not at the expected level according to national science education standards and frameworks. Conceptual difficulties identified in the study are discussed along with implications and curricular recommendations.

Today we can see how companies are making significant investments in various methods and tools to access and utilize the users’ knowledge for the purpose of innovation efforts. What many highly innovative companies try to accomplish with these investments is to develop and establish sustained producer-user ecosystems. The aim of these ecosystems is often to encourage users to collaborate with each other and with the producer in order to generate innovations related to the offering of the producer. However, although these ecosystems are proven to create new innovation opportunities for companies, it has been shown that a close collaboration with many users brings about a number of challenges for companies. For example, it can be costly and time-consuming to establish and utilize large numbers of user relationships and it can be difficult to align the innovation interests of established producers with those of the users. Moreover, the fact that many innovating users have relationships to one another can contribute to conflicts of interests and established producers may have to balance stability and change within the ecosystem. Another challenge in the utilization of user relationships is that it is not only dependent on the direct interaction with users but also the internal dissemination and utilization of information related to the users’ needs. This dissemination can be problematic since it is costly and difficult to forward timely and reliable information about the users’ needs. Consequently, the aim of this thesis is to better understand how companies that are operating within sustained producer-user ecosystems can leverage user relationships for the purpose of innovation. The research forming the foundation for this thesis was carried out within two established medical technology companies that successfully had developed innovations within this type of ecosystems. Quantitative and qualitative data was collectedand a number of different analyses were conducted. The results reveal that these ecosystems can be understood as a system where direct and indirect user experiences are distributed among employees and users. This in turn implies that employees utilization of user relationships can be understood as a function of the extent to which employees knows and values the pertinence of their own as well as others direct and indirect user experiences as well as accessibility and cost of seeking user-information from other people. The results demonstrate that when companies experience high costs related to the acquisition of user experiences they may benefit from employing users to occupy boundary-spanning roles. However, the thesis reveals how the utilization of such boundary-spanning roles brings with it a number of organizational challenges. Moreover, an important aspect of success tends to be the utilization of relationships to so-called transformational users. These users experience problems with established producers' current products before the majority of users, they adopt new technologies earlier than their peers, and they cooperate with established producers for the purpose of transformation of a product field in order to obtain or maintain a central position within the ecosystem. Furthermore, the results reveal how established producers and users are jointly engaged in value creation through various collaborations. However, the results also indicate that the utilization of user relationships for innovation within these types of ecosystems is, to a large extent, a matter of managing tensions emerging within and around these collaborations. On a general level, this thesis points to the potential benefits of considering producer-user ecosystems as a comprehensive perspective, which may explain how companies gain and sustain a competitive edge, rather than one out of many approaches that companies can apply in order to leverage user relationships for innovation. / <p>QC 20140918</p>

The case study examined physical and social privacy for nine residents residing in personal care homes in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The study explored how residents’ well-being and quality of life was affected by the privacy afforded to them in various room accommodations. The case study explored residents’ social location, room preference, safety and security, communication with family, interaction with staff, and interaction with roommates. The study found that residents benefit from having access to locks for doors; specialized units for cognitively impaired residents; private health assessment rooms; phasing out multi-bed room; use of room barriers; privacy for intimacy; access to private lounges for visiting; and private room with a public telephone. The study assists health care providers and students in health fields in becoming aware of privacy issues. The study may be useful in assisting residents to prepare for adjustment to a personal care home.