Innovation Ecosystem Research: Emerging Trends and Future Research

The innovation ecosystem term has increasingly been attracting the interest of scholars and practitioners for fifteen years. Contrary to the flourishing landscape, knowledge in this field is criticized as being fragmented. While past reviews revealed the conceptual and theoretical connections between innovation ecosystem and other related concepts, there is still a lack of comprehensive appreciation of the intellectual structure of state-of-the-art innovation ecosystem studies, hindering future research in this domain. To fill this void, this study utilized a systematic literature review approach combining bibliographic coupling and content analysis methods. Drawing on 136 studies reflecting the core and latest knowledge of innovation ecosystem literature, this study identifies five streams of the current innovation ecosystem research (i.e., technology innovation, platform innovation ecosystem, regional development, innovation ecosystem conceptualization and theorization, and entrepreneurship and innovation). Suggestions for future research are distilled via systematic analysis and discussion of these streams. Contributions of this study lie in decoding the intellectual structure of current innovation ecosystem research and offering targeted recommendations for future research.

Effect of Endectocides and Antibiotic Dung Poisoning on Mortality of Dung Beetle Species

We explored the effect of endectocides (deltamethrin and trichlorophenol) and antibiotics (enrofloxacin and oxytetracycline) on dung beetle species, 0nthophagus gazella and 0nitis excavatus under laboratory conditions. 0. gazella and 0. excavatus were collected from pastures and crop lands of Jhelum, Punjab, Pakistan. The selected endectocides and antibiotics were applied on dung pats placed over soil @ 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1 ppm and kept in glass containers of 2' x 2' x 1.5' size. The laboratory bioassay was carried out at 28 ± 2 °C temperature and 65 ± 5 % RH with 12:12 of light to darkness ratio. Our results demonstrated that deltamethrin, trichlorophenol and oxytetracycline were toxic to both species, 0. gazella and 0. excavatus after two weeks of the exposure. Comparatively higher dung beetle mortality was recorded in both deltamethrin and trichlorophenol when applied @ 1 ppm as compared to 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 ppm concentrations in 0. gazella and 0. excavatus showed significantly higher mortality against oxytetracycline (53.3 % and 93.3 %, respectively), trichlorophenol (80 % and 94 %, respectively) and deltamethrin (88% and 76 %, respectively) at 1 ppm concentrations, whereas no mortality was recorded in all concentrations of enrofloxacin. 0. gazella and 0. excavatus responded negatively to the presence of different concentrations of veterinary parasiticides. In addition to the hazardous effect of 0. gazella and 0. excavatus, the study reports that these dung beetle species can be exploited as bio-indicators for environmental assessment in ecosystem studies.

Investigation of Dissimilatory Nitrate Reduction to Ammonium (DNRA) Microbial Communities in Sediments of Urban River Network Along the Huangpu River, china

Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) is an essential intermediate step in the nitrogen cycle, linking the oxidation and reduction processes of nitrogen compounds. But the detailed research on the environmental nitrogen cycling in urban river networks based on DNRA communities and the functional gene nrfA is lacking. In this study, the flow line of the Huangpu River in Shanghai was analyzed using isotope tracer, quantitative real-time PCR, and high-throughput sequencing techniques to evaluate the role of DNRA on the stability of the river network and marine. The significant positive correlation between the rate of DNRA and sediment organic carbon was identified. At the genus level, Anaeromyxobacter is the most dominant. Notably, both heterotrophic and autotrophic DNRA species were discovered. This study added diversity to the scope of urban freshwater river network ecosystem studies by investigating the distribution of DNRA bacteria along the Huangpu River.

A narrative review on environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation

Interest in growing cannabis for medical and recreational purposes is increasing worldwide. This study reviews the environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation. Results show that both indoor and outdoor cannabis growing is water-intensive. The high water demand leads to water pollution and diversion, which could negatively affect the ecosystem. Studies found out that cannabis plants emit a significant amount of biogenic volatile organic compounds, which could cause indoor air quality issues. Indoor cannabis cultivation is energy-consuming, mainly due to heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and lighting. Energy consumption leads to greenhouse gas emissions. Cannabis cultivation could directly contribute to soil erosion. Meanwhile, cannabis plants have the ability to absorb and store heavy metals. It is envisioned that technologies such as precision irrigation could reduce water use, and application of tools such as life cycle analysis would advance understanding of the environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation.

Do Loop Current eddies stimulate productivity in the Gulf of Mexico?

Surface chlorophyll concentrations inferred from satellite images suggest a strong influence of the mesoscale activity on biogeochemical variability within the oligotrophic regions of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). More specifically, long-living anticyclonic Loop Current eddies (LCEs) are shed episodically from the Loop Current and propagate westward. This study addresses the biogeochemical response of the LCEs to seasonal forcing and show their role in driving phytoplankton biomass distribution in the GoM. Using an eddy resolving (1/12∘) interannual regional simulation, it is shown that the LCEs foster a large biomass increase in winter in the upper ocean. It is based on the coupled physical–biogeochemical model NEMO-PISCES (Nucleus for European Modeling of the Ocean and Pelagic Interaction Scheme for Carbon and Ecosystem Studies) that yields a realistic representation of the surface chlorophyll distribution. The primary production in the LCEs is larger than the average rate in the surrounding open waters of the GoM. This behavior cannot be directly identified from surface chlorophyll distribution alone since LCEs are associated with a negative surface chlorophyll anomaly all year long. This anomalous biomass increase in the LCEs is explained by the mixed-layer response to winter convective mixing that reaches deeper and nutrient-richer waters.

The Epistemic Revolution Induced by Microbiome Studies: An Interdisciplinary View

Many separate fields and practices nowadays consider microbes as part of their legitimate focus. Therefore, microbiome studies may act as unexpected unifying forces across very different disciplines. Here, we summarize how microbiomes appear as novel major biological players, offer new artistic frontiers, new uses from medicine to laws, and inspire novel ontologies. We identify several convergent emerging themes across ecosystem studies, microbial and evolutionary ecology, arts, medicine, forensic analyses, law and philosophy of science, as well as some outstanding issues raised by microbiome studies across these disciplines and practices. An ‘epistemic revolution induced by microbiome studies’ seems to be ongoing, characterized by four features: (i) an ecologization of pre-existing concepts within disciplines, (ii) a growing interest in systemic analyses of the investigated or represented phenomena and a greater focus on interactions as their root causes, (iii) the intent to use openly multi-scalar interaction networks as an explanatory framework to investigate phenomena to acknowledge the causal effects of microbiomes, (iv) a reconceptualization of the usual definitions of which individuals are worth considering as an explanans or as an explanandum by a given field, which result in a fifth strong trend, namely (v) a de-anthropocentrification of our perception of the world.

Experimental Design and Interpretation of Terrestrial Ecosystem Studies Using 15N Tracers: Practical and Statistical Considerations

The stable isotope 15N is an extremely useful tool for studying the nitrogen (N) cycle of terrestrial ecosystems. The affordability of isotope-ratio mass spectrometry has increased in the last decades and routine measurements of δ15N with an accuracy better than 1‰ are now easily achieved. Except perhaps for wood, which has a very high C/N ratio, isotope analysis of samples is, thus, no longer the main challenge in measuring the partitioning of 15N used as tracer in ecosystem studies. The central aim of such experiments is to quantitatively determine the fate of N after it enters an ecosystem, mainly as fertilizer, as atmospheric deposition or as plant litter. By measuring how much of this incoming N goes into different ecosystem pools, inferences can be made about the entire N cycle. Sample collection and preparation can be tedious work. Optimizing sampling schemes is thus an important aspect in the application of 15N in ecosystem research and can be helpful for obtaining a high precision of the results with the available manpower and budget. In this contribution, we combine statistical and practical considerations and give recommendations for the design of labeling experiments and also for assessments of natural 15N abundance. In particular, we discuss soil, vegetation and water sampling. We additionally address the most common questions arising during the calculation of tracer partitioning, and we provide some examples of the interpretation of experimental results.

The Potential Applications of Raman Spectroscopy in Unravelling Complex Palaeowildfire Ecosystems

<p>Raman spectroscopy represents a novel methodology of characterising plant-fire interactions through geological history, with enormous potential. Applications of Raman spectroscopy to charcoal have shown that this is an effective method of understanding intensity changes across palaeofire regimes. Such analyses have relied on the determination of appropriate Raman parameters, given their relationship with temperature of formation and microstructural changes in reference charcoals. Quantitative assessments of charcoal microstructure have also been successfully applied to the assessment of carbonaceous maturation under alternate thermal regimes, such as pyroclastic volcanism. Palaeowildfire systems in association with volcanism may present a complex history of thermal maturation, given interactions between detrital charcoals and volcanogenic deposition. However, whilst palaeofire and volcanic maturation of carbonaceous material are well understood individually, their interaction has yet to be characterised. Here we present the first analysis of palaeofire charcoals derived from volcanic ignition utilising Raman spectroscopy. Our results indicate that complex interactions between volcanism and palaeofire systems may be better understood by the characterisation of charcoal microstructure, alongside palaeobotanical and ecosystem studies. Understanding the unique relationship between wildfires and volcanism, and the impact that this has on the fossil record, may better assist our understanding of wildfire systems in deep history. Further still, this highlights the potential for better understanding the socioecological impacts of modern and future wildfire systems closely associated with volcanic centres. </p>