Recent calls for the development of ecosystem-based fisheries management compel the development of resource management tools and linkages between existing fisheries management tools and other resource tools to enable assessment and management of multiple impacts on fisheries resources. In this paper, we describe the use of the Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Ecosystem Model (CBFEM), developed using th...

The accelerating rate of change in biodiversity patterns, mediated by ever increasing human pressures and global warming, demands a better understanding of the relationship between the structure of biological communities and ecosystem functioning (BEF). Recent investigations suggest that the functional structure of communities, i.e. the composition and diversity of functional traits, is the mai...

The biodegradability of the principal component of synthetic detergent products known as linear alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS) has been contentious, hence the need to evaluate its primary biodegradation by indigenous microorganisms in wastewater ecosystem. The native microbial consortium of a wastewater ecosystem found to utilize detergent components were characterized using standard and convent...

Stable isotope analysis is a major tool used in ecosystem studies to establish pathways and rates of C exchange between various ecosystem components. Little is known about isotopic effects of many such components, especially microbes. Here we report on the discovery of an unexpected pattern of C isotopic discrimination by basidiomycete fungi with far-reaching consequences for our understanding ...

Large terrestrial carnivores are important ecological components and 11 prominent flagship species, but are often extinction prone due to a combination of 12 biological traits and high levels of human persecution. This study combines 13 phylogenetic and functional diversity evaluations of global and continental large 14 carnivore assemblages to provide a framework for conservation prioritizatio...

This article is a discussion of how the field of ecosystem modelling is being affected by the adoption of ideas arising from complex system studies. The modelling process is presented as being composed of four stages, starting with a modelled system, which is then depicted in turn by conceptual, representational, and computational models. The way that each of these stages is affected by concept...

As “kidneys of the earth”, wetlands play an important role in ameliorating weather conditions, flood storage, and the control and reduction of environmental pollution. With the development of local economies, the wetlands in both the Amazon and Yangtze River Basins have been affected and threatened by human activities, such as urban expansion, reclamation of land from lakes, land degradation, a...

The advent of genomic-, transcriptomic- and proteomic-based approaches has revolutionized our ability to describe marine microbial communities, including biogeography, metabolic potential and diversity, mechanisms of adaptation, and phylogeny and evolutionary history. New interdisciplinary approaches are needed to move from this descriptive level to improved quantitative, process-level understa...

Identified as critical for sustainable development, ecosystem services are increasingly being put on the policy agendas of governments and corporations. China is now facing serious environmental challenges caused by losses of ecosystem services and recently has recognized that the country is reaching its environmental capacity. The circular economy (CE) has been positioned as a key strategy for...