scholarly journals Anthropogenic Changes in a Mediterranean Coastal Wetland during the Last Century—The Case of Gialova Lagoon, Messinia, Greece

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgos Maneas ◽  
Eirini Makopoulou ◽  
Dimitris Bousbouras ◽  
Håkan Berg ◽  
Stefano Manzoni
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Wetland ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Human Interventions ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
Over Time

Human interventions during the last 70 years have altered the characteristics of the Gialova Lagoon, a coastal wetland that is part of a wider Natura 2000 site. In this study, we explore how human interventions and climate altered the wetland’s hydrological conditions and habitats, leading to changing wetland functions over time. Our interpretations are based on a mixed methodological approach combining conceptual hydrologic models, analysis of aerial photographs, local knowledge, field observations, and GIS (Geographic Information System) analyses. The results show that the combined effects of human interventions and climate have led to increased salinity in the wetland over time. As a result, the fresh and brackish water marshes have gradually been turned into open water or replaced by halophytic vegetation with profound ecological implications. Furthermore, current human activities inside the Natura 2000 area and in the surrounding areas could further impact on the water quantity and quality in the wetland, and on its sensitive ecosystems. We suggest that a more holistic understanding of the broader socio-ecological system is needed to understand the dynamics of the wetland and to achieve sustainable long-term management and conservation strategies.

In the eye of the recipient

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Riese ◽  
Mareike Bayer ◽  
Gerhard Lauer ◽  
Annekathrin Schacht
Keyword(s):  
Pupil Diameter ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Narrative Fiction ◽  
Data Analyses ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Literary Classics ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Physiological Indicator ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Cognitive Dimensions

Plot suspense is one of the most important components of narrative fiction that motivate recipients to follow fictional characters through their worlds. The present study investigates the dynamic development of narrative suspense in excerpts of literary classics from the 19th century in a multi-methodological approach. For two texts, differing in suspense as judged by a large independent sample, we collected (a) data from questionnaires, indicating different affective and cognitive dimensions of receptive engagement, (b) continuous ratings of suspense during text reception from both experts and lay recipients, and (c) registration of pupil diameter as a physiological indicator of changes in emotional arousal and attention during reception. Data analyses confirmed differences between the two texts at different dimensions of receptive engagement and, importantly, revealed significant correlations of pupil diameter and the course of suspense over time. Our findings demonstrate that changes of the pupil diameter provide a reliable ‘online’ indicator of suspense.

Visibility and security in the smart home

2021 ◽  
pp. 135485652110300
Author(s):  
Justine Humphry ◽  
Chris Chesher
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Smart Home ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Security Systems ◽  
The Uncanny ◽  
A Site ◽  
Over Time

Smart home, media and security systems intervene in the territory and boundaries of the home in a variety of ways. Among these are the capacity to watch the home from afar, and to record these observations over time, as well as using the home as a site of performance for those on the outside. In this paper, we map the meanings of the smart home and explore the tensions between security and visibility, adopting a cultural history and cultural analysis methodological approach. We make a contribution to the literature on the smart home, highlighting its connection to longer trajectories of media and cultural change, and to understanding the contemporary formations of technologised surveillance, with attention to practices that emerged in response to COVID-19. We focus on two aspects of our model of domestic smartification: Ludics (devices and systems for play or entertainment) and exteriorities (security and communication interfaces that remotely monitor and expose the home). We focus on these aspects relating them to ideas of haunting and the uncanny to explore the implications of making what was previously hidden visible and manipulable to others.

scholarly journals Antarctic Fish as a Global Pollution Sensor: Metals Biomonitoring in a Twelve-Year Period

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Marrone ◽  
Daniele La Russa ◽  
Elvira Brunelli ◽  
Gianfranco Santovito ◽  
Mauro Francesco La Russa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ross Sea ◽  
Antarctic Fish ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Early Step ◽  
Low Latitudes ◽  
Contamination Levels ◽  
Global Threat ◽  
Land Water ◽  
Natural Laboratory ◽  
Over Time

Antarctica represents a unique natural laboratory for ecotoxicological studies as it is characterized by low internal pollutants emissions but high external contamination levels. Indeed, warm temperatures promote pollutant evaporation (low latitudes), while cool temperatures (high latitudes) promote its deposition from the atmosphere on land/water. Metals are the most important pollutants in ecosystems and represent a serious and global threat to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Since 2000, the risks posed by metals have led many States to ratify protocols aimed at reducing their emissions. Endemic Antarctic organisms represent excellent bioindicators in order to evaluate the efficacy of global measures adopted to mitigate pollutants release into the environment. In this study (supported by PNRA18-00133), we estimated the metals contamination levels and the metallothionein-1 expression in liver samples of two Antarctic fish species, the icefish Chionodraco hamatus and the red-blooded Trematomus bernacchii, collected in the same area during 2002 and 2014. The chosen area is located in the Ross Sea, a unique area as it is also isolated from the rest of the Southern Ocean. The analysis of contamination trends throughout this period showed, in both species, a significant increase over time of metals bioaccumulation and metallothionein-1 expression. In addition, our result clearly indicated that the detoxifying ability of the two organisms analyzed greatly differs, probably due to haemoglobin presence/absence. Our work represents an important early step to obtain valuable information in conservation strategies for both Antarctic and non-Antarctic ecosystems.

scholarly journals La investigación en pensamiento histórico. Un estudio a través de las tesis doctorales de Ciencias Sociales (1995-2020)

Panta Rei ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-147
Author(s):  
Álvaro Chaparro Sainz ◽  
María del Mar Felices de la Fuente ◽  
Laura Triviño Cabrera
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Historical Thinking ◽  
Systematic Search ◽  
Search Process ◽  
Analysis Program ◽  
Research Gaps ◽  
Doctoral Thesis ◽  
Statistical Analysis Program ◽  
Over Time

Este artículo analiza la evolución de la investigación sobre pensamiento histórico a partir de las tesis doctorales nacionales e internacionales de los últimos veinticinco años. Para ello, se ha seguido un proceso sistemático de búsqueda en las principales bases de datos a nivel mundial, que ha reportado un total de 163 tesis doctorales. Estos trabajos se han analizado desde un enfoque metodológico cuantitativo descriptivo, con el programa de análisis estadístico SPSS y la herramienta Voyant Tools. Los resultados nos ofrecen información acerca del número de investigaciones realizadas, su evolución en el tiempo, los países, idiomas y universidades de mayor producción, y las principales temáticas trabajadas. Concluimos que, pese al aumento de las tesis doctorales sobre pensamiento histórico en los últimos años, continúan existiendo vacíos en la investigación apenas abordados. In this article the evolution of research on Historical Thinking is analyzed based on national and international dissertations defended in the last twenty-five years. For this, we have followed a systematic search process in the main databases worldwide, which has reported a total of 163 dissertations. These works have been analyzed from a descriptive quantitative methodological approach, with the SPSS statistical analysis program and the Voyant Tools tool. The results offer us information about the number of researches carried out, their evolution over time, the countries, languages and universities with the highest production, and the main topics studied. We conclude that, despite the increase in doctoral thesis on Historical Thinking in recent years, there are still research gaps that have hardly been studied.

scholarly journals Build me up to break me down: frothed spawn in the sandpaper frog, Lechriodus fletcheri, is formed by female parents and later broken down by their offspring

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
John Gould
Keyword(s):  
Surface Area ◽  
Embryo Development ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Air Bubbles ◽  
Temporal Shift ◽  
External Stresses ◽  
Resultant Increase ◽  
To Come ◽  
Over Time

Several genera of anuran amphibians deposit their eggs within mucous secretions that have been aerated by the parents to produce a foam or bubble spawn body. This is a dynamic medium for embryo development given that it gradually breaks down over time, and one that has been hypothesised to serve a variety of purposes including protecting embryos from external stresses, such as suboptimal temperatures, desiccation and predation. In this study, I provide additional details of bubble spawn production in the sandpaper frog, Lechriodus fletcheri. Field and laboratory observations showed that females aerate spawn while in inguinal amplexus, using flanged fingers to transport air bubbles into the mucous. While the frothed spawn is initially resistant to breakdown, it gradually loses bubbles and flattens out into a film. This temporal shift in structure is likely to be adaptive, as the resultant increase in surface area allows embryos to come in direct contact with the open water, which may accommodate their increased oxygen demands or ease extrication from the mass. I provide evidence that this process is controlled by the residing embryos, given that spawn in the absence of embryos does not break down, highlighting the ability of offspring to modify their immediate environment even before hatching occurs to ensure conditions remain suitable for their changing needs.

Transitions in Technology Mediated Cardiac Rehabilitation and Self-management: A Qualitative Study using the Theoretical Domains Framework (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shreya Tadas ◽  
Claudette Pretorius ◽  
Emma J. Foster ◽  
Trish Gorely ◽  
Stephen J. Leslie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Rehabilitation ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Theoretical Domains Framework ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Normal Life ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

BACKGROUND An acute cardiac incident is a life changing event, often necessitating surgery. While surgery has high success rates, rehabilitation, behaviour change, and self-care are critical to long-term health. Recent systematic reviews highlight the potential of technology in this area, but significant shortcomings are also identified, particularly in regard to patient experience. OBJECTIVE To improve future systems this paper explores the experiences of cardiac patients during key phases post-hospitalisation: recuperation, initial rehabilitation and long term self-management. The key objective is to provide a holistic understanding of behavioural factors that impact people across these phases, understand how experiences evolve over time, and provide user-centred recommendations to improve the design of cardiac rehabilitation and self-management technologies. METHODS Semi-structured interviews were conducted with people who attended rehabilitation programs following hospitalisation for an acute cardiac event. Interviews were developed and data is analysed via the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), a pragmatic framework that synthesizes prior theories of behaviour change. RESULTS Three phases that arise post-hospitalisation are examined: recuperation, rehabilitation, and long-term self-management. Through these phases we describe the impact of key factors and important changes that occur in patients’ experiences over time, including: a desire for and redefinition of normal life; the need for different types of formal and informal knowledge; the benefits of safe-zoning and connectedness; and the need to recognise capability. The use of the TDF allows us to show how factors that influence behaviour evolve over time and identify potential sources of tension. CONCLUSIONS The paper provides empirically grounded recommendations for the design of technology-mediated cardiac rehabilitation and self-management systems. Key recommendations include the use of technology to support a normal life; leveraging social influences to extend participants’ sense of normality; the use of technology to provide a safe zone; the need to support both emotional and physical wellbeing; and a focus on recognizing capability and providing recommendations that are positive and reinforce this capability.

Evaluation of the land use evolution near solid waste landfills using a new weighted environmental index based on GIS techniques

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Rodrigo-Ilarri ◽  
Claudia P. Romero-Hernández ◽  
María-Elena Rodrigo-Clavero
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Environmental Index ◽  
Land Occupation ◽  
Gis Techniques ◽  
Anthropogenic Intervention ◽  
Over Time

<p>Land use in the nearby of a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfill can be strongly affected by the waste management tasks (transport, landfilling and closure). Effects extend from the phases prior to the construction of the landfill until years after the completion of the landfilling process in areas located beyond the perimeter of the plot occupied by the landfill. In this work a new methodology for the analysis of land use change over time is presented. The methodology is based on the use of a new environmental index named WEI (Weighted Environmental Index). WEI is based on the use of GIS techniques accounting for different information sources (digital cartography, aerial photographs and satellite images). WEI assigns environmental values to land use based on the degree of anthropogenic intervention and its occupation surface. A georeferenced multitemporal statistical analysis is performed considering the values of WEI previously assigned to every land use. The methodology has been applied to analyze the land use change near the main MSW landfills of Valencia Region (Spain) where landfilling is currently the only waste disposal technique available. Data have been obtained from the Spanish Land Occupation Information System (SIOSE) public database and integrate GIS information about land use/land cover on an extensive, high-detailed scale. Results demonstrate the application of the WEI to real case studies and the importance of integrating statistical analysis of WEI evolution over time to arrive at a better understanding of the socio-economic and environmental processes that induce land-use change.</p>

Anthropogenic and Climatic Factors Differentially Affect Waterbody Area and Connectivity in an Urbanizing Landscape: A Case Study in Zhengzhou, China

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1070
Author(s):  
Chang Liu ◽  
Emily S. Minor ◽  
Megan B. Garfinkel ◽  
Bo Mu ◽  
Guohang Tian
Keyword(s):  
Yellow River ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Landscape Connectivity ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Central China ◽  
Water Pipeline ◽  
Landsat Satellite ◽  
The City ◽  
Over Time

Urbanization alters the distribution and characteristics of waterbodies, potentially affecting both the habitat availability and connectivity for aquatic wildlife. We used Landsat satellite imagery to observe temporal and spatial changes in open-water habitats in Zhengzhou, a rapidly growing city in central China. We classified open water into six categories: perennial rivers, seasonal rivers and streams, canals, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. From 1990 to 2020, in 5-year intervals, we identified, counted, and measured the area of each kind of waterbody, and we used a model selection approach with linear regressions to ask which climate and anthropogenic drivers were associated with these changes. We also used Conefor software to examine how these changes affected the landscape connectivity for waterfowl. Over the study period, lakes and canals were the only waterbody types to show statistically significant changes in surface area, increasing by 712% and 236%, respectively. Changes in lakes and canals were positively correlated with the length of water pipeline in the city. The connectivity of waterbodies fluctuated over the same period, mirroring fluctuations in the perennial Yellow River. Ponds contributed very little to landscape connectivity, and the importance of reservoirs decreased over time. Conversely, canals played an increasingly important role in landscape connectivity over time. Counterintuitively, the connectivity of waterbodies increased in the built-up part of the city. Our results show that urbanization can have unexpected effects—both positive and negative—on the connectivity and area of open-water habitats. These effects are likely to be important for waterfowl and other aquatic organisms.

Network-based analysis reveals differences in plant assembly between the native and the invaded ranges.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura del Rio-Hortega ◽  
Irene Martín-Forés ◽  
Isabel Castro ◽  
José M. de Miguel ◽  
Belén Acosta-Gallo
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Community Assemblage ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Mediterranean Grasslands ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
Detection Strategies

Associated with the introduction of exotic species in a new area, interactions with other native species within the recipient community occur, reshaping the original community and resulting in a unique assemblage. Yet, the differences in community assemblage between native and invaded ranges remain unclear. Mediterranean grasslands provide an excellent scenario to study community assembly following transcontinental naturalisation of plant species. Here we compared the community resemblance of plant communities in Mediterranean grasslands from both the native (Spain) and invaded (Chile) ranges. We used a novel approach based on network analysis applied to co-occurrence analysis in plant communities, allowing us to study the coexistence of native and alien species in central Chile. This useful methodology is presented as a step forward in invasion ecology studies and conservation strategies. We found that community structure differed between the native and the invaded range, with naturalised species displaying more significant interactions and playing a key role within the invaded community. In addition, alien species displayed positive interactions among them within the communities in the invaded range. Alien species acting like keystones within the Chilean grassland communities might exacerbate the threat posed by biological invasions for the native biodiversity assets. We suggest controlling the spread of the alien species identified as keystones and developing early detection strategies in surrounding areas as management guidelines.

Geo-Informatics for Land Use and Biodiversity Studies

2011 ◽  
pp. 52-77
Author(s):  
P. K. Joshi ◽  
Neena Priyanka
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Geospatial Tools ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Impact On Biodiversity

The dynamics of land use/land cover (LU/LC) is a manifestation of the cyclic correlation among the kind and magnitude of causes, impacts, responses and resulting ecological processes of the ecosystem. Thus, the holistic understanding of the complex mechanisms that control LU/LC requires synergetic adoption of measurement approaches, addressing issues, and identifying drivers of change and state of art technologies for mitigation measures. As the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of the LU/LC increases, its impact on biodiversity becomes even more difficult to anticipate. Thus, in order to understand the spatio-temporal dynamics of change in landscape and its relationship to biodiversity, it is necessary to reliably identify and quantify the indicators of change. In addition, it is also important to have better understanding of the technologies and techniques that serve as complimentary tool for land mitigation and conservation planning. Against this background, the chapter aims to synthesize LU/LC studies worldwide and their impacts on biodiversity. This chapter explores identification and analysis of key natural, socio-economic and regulatory drivers for LU/LC. Finally, it attempts to collate some LU/LC studies involving usage of geospatial tools, such as satellite remote sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS), and integrative tools, besides conventional approaches that could assist decision makers, land managers, stakeholders and researchers in better management and formulation of conservation strategies based on scientific grounds.

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