Redundancy is a fundamental property of most complex systems that makes them more resilient and productive. Instead of relying on a single solution to a problem, multiple solutions are feasible, each solution with its specific resource requirements and cost/quality tradeoffs. This paper targets service-based applications that consist of webs of collaborating services, where productivity, resili...

and time. However, it’s not all about machines taking over from field workers. Technology can also help to get more people involved with field work in ecology and conservation. The Earthwatch Institute (www.earthwatch.org), for instance, supports a project called My Tree Tracker, based on a smartphone app encouraging volunteers to keep an eye on the growth and health of the trees in their citie...

Smallholder tree plantations are expanding in the steepland tropics due to demand for timber and interest in ecosystem services, such as carbon storage. Financial mechanisms are developing to compensate vegetation carbon stores. However, measuring biomass—necessary for accessing carbon funds—at small scales is costly and time-intensive. Therefore, we test whether low-cost drones can accurately ...

As yet, certain aspects of the Africanization process are not well understood, for example, the reproductive behavior of African and European honeybees and how the first Africanized swarms were formed and spread. Drone congregation areas (DCAs) are the ideal place to study honeybee reproduction under natural conditions since hundreds of drones from various colonies gather together in the same g...

Four main evolutionary lineages of A. mellifera have been described including eastern Europe (C) and western and northern Europe (M). Many apiculturists prefer bees from the C lineage due to their docility and high productivity. In France, the routine importation of bees from the C lineage has resulted in the widespread admixture of bees from the M lineage. The haplodiploid nature of the honeyb...