in this paper, we introduce environmental systems engineering (ese) and describe some of its applications combined with process systems engineering (pse) to problems related to environmental systems. these systems—the water cycle and ecosystem cycles—are complex and highly dynamic, with an uncertainty level comparable to that of chemical systems. to illustrate the challenges of applying pse to...

Although recent studies suggest that climate change may substantially accelerate the rate of species loss in the biosphere, only a few studies have focused on the potential consequences of a spatial reorganization of biodiversity with global warming. Here, we show a pronounced latitudinal increase in phytoplanktonic and zooplanktonic biodiversity in the extratropical North Atlantic Ocean in rec...

1. Ecosystems may affect each other through trophic interactions that cross ecosystem boundaries as well as via the transfer of subsidies, but these effects can vary depending on the identity of species involved in the interaction. 2. In this study, we manipulated two terrestrial bromeliad-living spider species (Aglaoctenus castaneus, Corinna gr. rubripes) that have variable hunting modes, to t...

Humans alter biogeochemical cycles of essential elements such as phosphorus (P). Prediction of ecosystem consequences of altered elemental cycles requires integration of ecology, evolutionary biology and the framework of ecological stoichiometry. We studied micro-evolutionary responses of a herbivorous rotifer to P-limited food and the potential consequences for its population demography and fo...

Urban land-use change, the conversion of agricultural and natural ecosystems to human settlements, has become an important component of global change. Virtually all of the projected increase in the world’s population is expected to occur in cities so that by the year 2007 more than half of the global population is expected to live in urban areas (United Nations 2004). Yet, urban settlements and...