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PubMed2001

Ecological compensation in Dutch highway planning.

The ecological compensation principle was introduced by the Dutch government in 1993. This principle is designed to enhance the input of nature conservation interests in decision-making on large-scale development projects and to counterbalance the ecological impacts of such developments when implemented. This article evaluates the application of the Dutch compensation principle in highway planning. Six current highway projects reveal consistent implementation of this principle, although provincial policies on compensation and a national method for identifying compensation measures are still under development. As the planning process has not yet been completed for all the projects, no general conclusions can be drawn on the impact of the compensation principle on highway decision-making. Nevertheless, several examples show that the principle stimulates project initiators to develop alternative routes or route sections in order to avoid or reduce ecological impacts and the need for coherent compensation measures. If the compensation principle is to be properly implemented in the context of highway planning, particular attention should be paid to the following aspects: (1) sequential assessment of overall project legitimacy and the necessity of intersecting protected areas and compensation measures. (2) the initiator's attempts to avoid and mitigate ecological impacts in developing alternative routes prior to compensation for impacts, and (3) the role of uncertain ecological impacts in identifying compensation measures, especially those concerning habitat isolation.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗
PubMed2005

Can ecology help genomics: the genome as ecosystem?

Ecologists study the rules that govern processes influencing the distribution and abundance of organisms, particularly with respect to the interactions of organisms with their biotic and abiotic environments. Over the past decades, using a combination of sophisticated mathematical models and rigorous experiments, ecologists have made considerable progress in understanding the complex web of interactions that constitute an ecosystem. The field of genomics runs on a path parallel to ecology. Like ecology, genomicists seek to understand how each gene in the genome interacts with every other gene and how each gene interacts with multiple, environmental factors. Gene networks connect genes as complex as the 'webs' that connect the species in an ecosystem. In fact, genes exist in an ecosystem we call the genome. The genome as ecosystem is more than a metaphor--it serves as the conceptual foundation for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of complex systems characteristic of both genomics and ecology. Through the infusion of genomics into ecology and ecology into genomics both fields will gain fresh insight into the outstanding major questions of their disciplines.

Ecology↗
PubMed2004

Ecological performance of electrical consumer products: the influence of automation and information-based measures.

Being concerned with the environmental impact of electrical consumer products, this article examines possibilities of influencing ecological user performance through design features. Furthermore, it looks at the relationship of user characteristics and ecological performance. The impact of level of automation and type of control labelling on ecological user performance was examined in a lab-based experimental scenario with 36 users. In addition to performance indicators, a range of user variables (e.g., self-reported domestic behaviour, environmental knowledge and attitude) was measured to assess their influence on user behaviour. The results showed that low-level automation improved ecological performance whereas no such positive effect was observed for enhanced display-control labelling. Furthermore, the results suggested that the user's mental model of ecological performance was rather limited. No relationship was found between environmental knowledge, attitude and performance. The findings pointed at the strong prevalence of habits in the domestic domain. The implications of the results for designers of consumer products are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

An ecologically relevant exposure assessment for a polluted river using an integrated multivariate PLS approach.

A case study is presented where an integrated, ecologically relevant exposure assessment is presented for a polluted lowland river. Using partial least squares regression of latent structures (PLS), an analysis of the impact of two effluents on physico-chemical water quality measures, macroinvertebrate and diatom communities, and in situ bioassay responses with four different test species are combined into an integrative exposure assessment. Bioassays focussed on growth and condition related endpoints, because they are key functional processes of organisms and populations. Integrating these multiple lines of evidence, we were able to discriminate among the impact of both effluents, link changes in physico-chemical water quality with bioassay endpoints and ecological quality of the ecosystem, and address the importance of integrating all information into one exposure assessment framework. The bioassays under field conditions indicated that most endpoints measured are a reflection of ecological effects rather than pollution related effects, or at least a combination of both ecological and toxicological effects. Factors such as food availability clearly influenced the outcome of in situ bioassays and ecological information was essential to explain observed discrepancies when trying to extrapolate bioassay results from the laboratory to the field.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Parasites, ecosystems and sustainability: an ecological and complex systems perspective.

Host-parasite relationships can be conceptualised either narrowly, where the parasite is metabolically dependent on the host, or more broadly, as suggested by an ecological-evolutionary and complex systems perspective. In this view Host-parasite relationships are part of a larger set of ecological and co-evolutionary interdependencies and a complex adaptive system. These interdependencies affect not just the hosts, vectors, parasites, the immediate agents, but also those indirectly or consequentially affected by the relationship. Host-parasite relationships also can be viewed as systems embedded within larger systems represented by ecological communities and ecosystems. So defined, it can be argued that Host-parasite relationships may often benefit their hosts and contribute significantly to the structuring of ecological communities. The broader, complex adaptive system view also contributes to understanding the phenomenon of disease emergence, the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms involved, and the role of parasitology in research and management of ecosystems in light of the apparently growing problem of emerging infectious diseases in wildlife and humans. An expanded set of principles for integrated parasite management is suggested by this perspective.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Trichoderma specialized metabolites in biocontrol: gene-metabolite links, ecological functions, and translational bottlenecks.

Trichoderma spp. produce a diverse repertoire of metabolites with specific activities that contribute to biocontrol through direct antagonism, ecological signalling, and modulation of plant responses. However, current knowledge remains uneven: many metabolites are chemically described, whereas fewer are supported by robust gene-metabolite associations, experimentally validated ecological functions, and realistic translational evidence. Progress in this field will depend less on expanding compound catalogues than on integrating mechanistic, ecological, and translational evidence. This review examines the specialized metabolism of Trichoderma with emphasis on biosynthetic gene clusters, regulatory networks, ecological roles, and biosafety constraints relevant to biocontrol. Major metabolite classes, including polyketides, terpenoids, peptaibols, siderophores, diketopiperazines, and volatile organic compounds, are discussed together with representative case studies for which genetic and functional evidence is available. We further propose a translational framework to distinguish metabolites with mainly descriptive support from those approaching application readiness, based on four criteria: gene-level validation, demonstrated ecological role, manageable biosafety profile, and feasible delivery/stability. This perspective helps explain why metabolite inventories continue to expand faster than field translation. Recent advances in genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, genome editing, and formulation science are reshaping how Trichoderma metabolites are prioritized for future development.

Biosafety↗
PubMed2026

The chemical landscape of plant surface metabolites: Acylsugars as models of ecological function and structural diversity.

Plants produce a multifunctional assortment of specialized metabolites that play important roles in defense, environmental adaptation, and ecological interactions. Among these compounds, acylsugars, nonvolatile metabolites produced primarily in glandular trichomes of Solanaceae species, have emerged as informative model systems for understanding plant surface chemistry. Differences in acyl chain length, branching pattern, saturation, and attachment position generate extensive chemical diversity that influences herbivore deterrence, pathogen resistance, and the physicochemical properties of leaf surfaces. Recent advances in analytical chemistry, particularly liquid chromatography-ion mobility-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-IM-MS/MS), have greatly improved the ability to separate structurally related acylsugar isomers and characterize metabolite complexity at high resolution. When integrated with genomics, transcriptomics, and emerging spatial metabolomics approaches, these analytical tools provide new insights into acylsugar biosynthesis, pathway regulation, evolutionary diversification, and ecological function across plant species. This review positions acylsugars, particularly those of Solanum species, as model systems for understanding how structural diversity, spatial localization, and specialized metabolism shape ecological and physiological function at plant surfaces. We examine acylsugar structural diversity, biosynthetic pathways, ecological and physiological functions, and interactions with environmental and atmospheric processes. Major challenges, including extensive isomeric complexity, incomplete pathway characterization, and difficulties linking chemical structure to biological function, are discussed alongside emerging opportunities in integrative omics, crop improvement, sustainable pest management, and environmental monitoring. Overall, acylsugars provide a powerful model for linking molecular structure, spatial localization, and ecological function, offering broader insight into how specialized metabolism shapes plant adaptation, defense, and environmental interactions.

Acylsugars↗
PubMed2006

Increasing awareness of avian ecological function.

Birds are one of the most diverse groups of ecosystem service providers, whose ecological functions range from creating soil to shaping primate behavior, Nevertheless, the impression that birds have little influence on ecological processes has been hard to change. Given the ongoing declines in avian functional groups, there is a pressing need to compare avian ecological functions to those of other taxa, to understand how these functions translate to ecosystem services and to estimate the ecological implications of bird declines. Here, I review the ecological functions of birds, link them to ecosystem services and outline research priorities for understanding avian contributions to ecosystem functioning.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Improving ecological performance of electrical consumer products: the role of design-based measures and user variables.

This research is concerned with the ecological performance of electrical consumer products. It examines the influence of design-based measures on various ecological performance parameters and the relationship of user variables and performance. In the experimental scenario, 40 users were asked to clean a room with a vacuum cleaner under different conditions. In a multi-factorial design, the following independent variables were employed: on-product information, enhanced display-control labelling and proximity of controls. Measures of user variables (environmental concern, knowledge, habits) of ecological behaviour were also taken. The results showed that enhanced display-control labelling improved ecological performance but only when the label was placed close to the user. On-product information only resulted in behavioural change when it was in close spatial proximity to the control device. A positive effect on ecological performance was also observed when controls were in a proximal rather than distal position. Among user variables, habits were found to have an influence on behaviour shown in experimental scenarios. A practical implication of the findings for environmentally friendly design of consumer products is that there should be a stronger focus on system-based measures rather than information-based measures. Finally, the article discusses the theoretical implications of using operational scenarios rather than the information display board paradigm.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Antipredator responses and defensive behavior: ecological and ethological approaches for the neurosciences.

In nature, animals are exposed to a wide range of threats and dangers with predators being amongst the more prominent and intensely studied of these. The responses of prey to predators and various predator avoidance and antipredator behaviors have been extensively evaluated from ecological and ethological perspectives and more recent ethopharmacological and neuroscience approaches. Unfortunately, there has been relatively little interchange between the ecological-ethological and neuroscience areas with the latter often using responses to predators just simply as another 'model' system. There is, however, now a growing realization that integrative approaches incorporating ecological, evolutionary and neurobiological explanations are required for the understanding of behavior and its functions. This necessitates an incorporation of ecological and ethological concepts and validity with neuroscience approaches to the analysis of antipredator responses and defensive behavior. A number of selected ecological approaches that are used for the investigation of predator avoidance mechanisms and antipredator defensive behavior patterns are briefly reviewed here. These include examinations of how predation risk and its variation affect decision making in animals and how learning affects these responses. The trade-offs that are involved, how the risk of predation affects decisions concerning foraging behavior, mating and reproduction, as well as how varying levels of risk affect decisions relative to the type of defensive mechanisms utilized are briefly outlined. The utility of these approaches and their relevance to the design and interpretation of various neuroscience studies is addressed here.

Aggression↗
PubMed2003

Vulnerability to coastal cholera ecology.

The battle to completely control cholera continues. Multiple strains, high levels of morbidity in some regions of the world, and a complex of influences on its distribution in people and the environment are accompanied by only rough resolution prediction of outbreaks. Uncertainty as to the most effective array of interventions for one of the most researched infectious diseases thwarts further progress in providing cost-effective solutions. Progress on the research front consistently points towards the importance of disease ecology, coastal environments, and the sea. However, evaluation of the link between cholera in people and environment can only be effective with analysis of human vulnerability to variable coastal cholera ecologies. As there are some clear links between the organism, cholera incidence and the sea, it is appropriate that cholera research should examine the nature of coastal population vulnerability to the disease. The paper reviews the cholera risks of human-environment interactions in coastal areas as one component of the evaluation of cholera management. This points to effective intervention through integrative knowledge of changing human and environmental ecologies, requiring improved detection, but also an acceptance of complex causality. The challenge is to identify indicators and interventions for case specific ecologies in variable locales of human vulnerability and disease hazard. Further work will therefore aim to explore improved surveillance and intervention across the socio-behavioural and ecological spectrum. Furthermore, the story of cholera continues to inform us about how we should more effectively view emergent and resurgent infectious disease hazards more generally.

Cholera↗
PubMed1997

Urban ecological structure and perceived child and adolescent psychological disorder.

This research examined the distribution and ecological correlates of referrals of children and adolescents to the Regional Children's Centre, a psychological assessment and treatment centre located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Referral data were collected by the Regional Children's Centre for the study period April 1992 through March 1994. The ecological structure of the study area was derived using principal components analysis of a set of socio-economic indicator variables from the 1991 Census of Canada and a cluster analysis of component scores. Referral rates were calculated for each ecological area for two referral subgroups; modi/conduct/stress-related concerns and neurophysiologically based concerns. The distribution of referrals was tested using the Poisson probability test. This test revealed that, for both subgroups analysed, the distribution of referrals in the study area was non-random. Stepwise multiple regression revealed a significant ecological relationship between the mood/conduct/stress-related concerns referral rate and the ecological structure of the study area. No such relationship was found, however, when examining referrals for neurophysiologically based concerns.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Life after Newton: an ecological metaphysic.

Ecology may indeed be 'deep', as some have maintained, but perhaps much of the mystery surrounding it owes more simply to the dissonance between ecological notions and the fundamentals of the modern synthesis. Comparison of the axioms supporting the Newtonian world view with those underlying the organicist and stochastic metaphors that motivate much of ecosystems science reveals strong disagreements--especially regarding the nature of the causes of events and the scalar domains over which these causes can operate. The late Karl Popper held that the causal closure forced by our mechanical perspective on nature frustrates our attempts to achieve an 'evolutionary theory of knowledge.' He suggested that the Newtonian concept of 'force' must be generalized to encompass the contingencies that arise in evolutionary processes. His reformulation of force as 'propensity' leads quite naturally to a generalization of Newton's laws for ecology. The revised tenets appear, however, to exhibit more scope and allow for change to arise from within a system. Although Newton's laws survive (albeit in altered form) within a coalescing ecological metaphysic, the axioms that Enlightenment thinkers appended to Newton's work seem ill-suited for ecology and perhaps should yield to a new and coherent set of assumptions on how to view the processes of nature.

Ecology↗
PubMed2004

A regional approach to projecting land-use change and resulting ecological vulnerability.

This study explores ecological vulnerability to land-use change in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region by spatially extrapolating land and economic development, and overlaying these projections with maps of sensitive ecological resources. As individual extrapolations have a high degree of uncertainty, five methods with different theoretical bases are employed. Confidence in projections is increased for counties targeted by two or more projection methods. A county is considered at risk if it currently supports three or more sensitive resources, and is projected to experience significant growth by the year 2010 by two or more methods. Analysis designated 19 counties and two cities as at risk, highlighting within a large region the priority areas where state and regional efforts would contribute the most to integrating environmental considerations into the process of land development. The study also found that potentially severe ecological effects of future land-use change are not limited to the outskirts of major urban areas. Recreational demands on smaller communities with mountain and coastal resources are also significant, as are initiatives to promote economic development in rural areas of high ecological quality. This approach provides a comprehensive overview of potential regional development, leading to an objective prioritization of high-risk areas. The intent is to inform local planning and decision-making so that regional and cumulative ecological degradation are minimized.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Evolution of ecological differences in the Old World leaf warblers.

Sympatric species that belong to the same ecological guild usually differ in their behaviour and morphology, and these differences are often interpreted as adaptations to having to make use of different resources. Evidence supporting this interpretation comes from association between ecology and morphology among species, in which an a priori functional relationship is reasonable. But one problem with such comparisons is that members of a guild may be closely related, so the more closely related species can share a greater similarity in their morphology and ecology simply as a result of the lingering legacy of a common ancestor. In principle, the importance of historical legacy can be evaluated from phylogenetic relationships and times since divergence for all species, but this is rarely possible because these data are not available. Here we use a phylogeny for eight sympatric species of warbler in the genus Phylloscopus, based on their mitochondrial DNA sequences, to remove the effects of historical legacy. Without these effects, we find strong support for adaptive interpretations of among-species variation in habitat selection, prey-size choice and feeding method. Ecological variation along any of these three niche axes is associated with predictable morphological variation. We also find evidence for historical legacy in that more closely related species are often more similar behaviourally and morphologically. This paradoxical result can be reconciled because the most closely related species tend to differ along only one niche axis, habitat choice. In contrast, the evolution of prey-size choice and feeding method occurred rapidly and early in the diversification of this group. Once a new ecological zone was occupied, subsequent morphological change along these niche axes was limited, accounting for the similarity of closely related species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2005

Long-term relationships between ecological stability and biodiversity in Phanerozoic reefs.

High biodiversity has been shown to enhance ecological stability on small spatial scales and over intervals of weeks to decades. It remains unclear, however, whether this diversity-stability relationship can be scaled up to regional scales, or to longer timescales. Without empirical validation at larger scales, the implications of the diversity-stability relationship for both ecology and long-term conservation strategies cannot readily be resolved. Here I show that in biogenic reefs, ecological stability is related to taxonomic diversity on million-year timescales. The higher the mean reef diversity in a particular time interval, the smaller the change in skeletal density, style of reef building and biotic reef types in the subsequent time interval. Because the relationships apply to a wide spectrum of disturbance regimes and reef types, these results support the hypothesis that species richness itself promotes ecological stability. Carbonate production by reefs, while closely correlated with reef diversity without temporal lag, is not stabilized by reef diversity over these long timescales. This suggests that ecological stability and productivity may be decoupled in natural ecosystems.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

From sequence space to ecological function: microbiome-derived antimicrobial peptides as community effectors and therapeutic leads.

Antimicrobial peptide research has long centred on host defence molecules, yet microbiomes themselves encode a diverse and increasingly important repertoire of peptide-based antimicrobials. These microbiome-derived antimicrobial peptides include bacteriocins, ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptides, cryptic short open reading frame-encoded peptides, embedded antimicrobial regions within larger proteins, and selected peptide antibiotics recovered from human, animal, plant and environmental microbiomes. Recent advances in genome mining, metagenomics, and machine learning have greatly expanded the scale of discovery, moving the field from a handful of landmark exemplars to large candidate catalogues spanning the global microbiome. In the clearest cases, these molecules are not only anti-infective leads but ecological effectors: they mediate microbial competition, enforce colonisation resistance, and influence community structure within densely occupied niches. The present review synthesises the field across discovery classes, microbiome sources, ecological roles, and translational bottlenecks, emphasizing a central limitation of the field: candidate catalogues are expanding at extraordinary scale, while evidence for native expression, producer assignment, ecological function, and in vivo relevance remains limited for the vast majority of predicted molecules. Progress will depend on workflows that connect sequence level prediction to biological context through expression support, producer assignment, community level validation, and perturbation-based approaches that distinguish ecological association from causal function. Microbiome-derived antimicrobial peptides are best understood not only as promising therapeutic leads, but also as molecular mediators of microbial social life whose ecological origins are central to their interpretation and future application.

Microbiota↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Scrambled eggs: mechanical forces as ecological factors in early development.

Many ecological interactions involve, at some level, mechanical forces and the movements or structural deformations they produce. Although the most familiar examples involve the functional morphology of adult structures, all life history stages (not just the adults) are subject to the laws of physics. Moreover, the success of every lineage depends on the success of every life history stage (again, not just the adults). Therefore, insights gained by using mechanical engineering principles and techniques to study ecological interactions between gametes, embryos, larvae, and their environment are essential to a well-rounded understanding of development, ecology, and evolution. Here I draw on examples from the literature and my own research to illustrate ways in which mechanical forces in the environment shape development. These include mechanical forces acting as selective factors (e.g., when coral gamete size and shape interact with turbulent water flow to determine fertilization success) and as developmental cues (e.g., when plant growth responds to gravity or bone growth responds to mechanical loading). I also examine the opposite cause-and-effect relationship by considering examples in which the development of organisms impacts ecologically relevant mechanical forces. Finally, I discuss the potential for ecological pattern formation as a result of feedback loops created by such bidirectional interactions between developmental processes and mechanical forces in the environment.

Animals↗