Opening Closed Business Ecosystem Boundaries With Digital Platforms

Applying a business model approach, this chapter identifies various challenges in digital platform and platform-based business model development in the case of a physical port ecosystem. Using an empirical case, the chapter identifies the prerequisites and consequences of opportunities, value, and advantages for an existing ecosystem that aims to create a “digital twin.” It contributes to academic discussions on the intersection of ecosystems, platforms, and business models by exploring the antecedents and controversies of configuring ecosystem boundaries in a digital context. Moreover, the chapter contributes to research by analyzing how a previously closed ecosystem seeks to open its boundaries and interfaces, both internally among the internal ecosystem members and externally to the outside business environment.

Reducing the arbitrary: fuzzy detection of microbial ecotones and ecosystems – focus on the pelagic environment

Background One of the central objectives of microbial ecology is to study the distribution of microbial communities and their association with their environments. Biogeographical studies have partitioned the oceans into provinces and regions, but the identification of their boundaries remains challenging, hindering our ability to study transition zones (i.e. ecotones) and microbial ecosystem heterogeneity. Fuzzy clustering is a promising method to do so, as it creates overlapping sets of clusters. The outputs of these analyses thus appear both structured (into clusters) and gradual (due to the overlaps), which aligns with the inherent continuity of the pelagic environment, and solves the issue of defining ecosystem boundaries. Results We show the suitability of applying fuzzy clustering to address the patchiness of microbial ecosystems, integrating environmental (Sea Surface Temperature, Salinity) and bacterioplankton data (Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) based on 16S rRNA gene) collected during six cruises over 1.5 years from the subtropical frontal zone off New Zealand. The technique was able to precisely identify ecological heterogeneity, distinguishing both the patches and the transitions between them. In particular we show that the subtropical front is a distinct, albeit transient, microbial ecosystem. Each water mass harboured a specific microbial community, and the characteristics of their ecotones matched the characteristics of the environmental transitions, highlighting that environmental mixing lead to community mixing. Further explorations into the OTU community compositions revealed that, although only a small proportion of the OTUs explained community variance, their associations with given water mass were consistent through time. Conclusion We demonstrate recurrent associations between microbial communities and dynamic oceanic features. Fuzzy clusters can be applied to any ecosystem (terrestrial, human, marine, etc) to solve uncertainties regarding the position of microbial ecological boundaries and to refine the relation between the distribution of microorganisms and their environment.

Sustainable Use of Ecological Concepts in Educational Science

In this article, the authors discuss the use of ecological concepts (ecology, boundary, niche) in educational research to understand if and how these concepts from one field of science (ecology) can bring a new understanding to another field of science (education). We have conducted a systematic search in the ERIC database to identify articles where key concepts from ecology, such as ecosystem, boundaries and niche, are used in educational research. An algorithm inspired by Rodger’s (2000) contextual model of concept analysis was used to examine how the concepts contribute to explore, explain or understand an educational system or an educational process. We find that the use of ecology-oriented concepts is related to a circular rather than a linear causality between actors and environment and between thoughts and actions. Thus, an ecological educational approach is characterised by wholeness, and emphasizes context as well as the complex interconnected mechanisms in educational processes.

FINDING THE LAND, PLANTING FIRST SEEDS; LEAD USER RESEARCH IN EARLY STAGE DESIGN FOR INTELLIGENT ECOSYSTEMS

This contribution explores the potential of lead user research for early-stage designing for intelligent ecosystems through a literature review and a single case study concerning a lead user research initiative on blood pressure monitoring. The results suggest advantages of executing lead user research in early-stage designing for intelligent ecosystems from the points of view envisioning broad initial ecosystem boundaries, developing first intelligence components, and overcoming research challenges related to technical issues.

Cross-ecosystem nutrient subsidies in Arctic and alpine lakes: implications of global change for remote lakes

Environmental change is continuing to affect the flow of nutrients, material and organisms across ecosystem boundaries. In this review, we synthesize current knowledge of cross-ecosystem nutrient subsidies between Arctic and alpine lakes and their surrounding terrain, cryosphere, and atmosphere.

Metabolic insight into bacterial community assembly across ecosystem boundaries

ABSTRACTThe movement of organisms across habitat boundaries has important consequences for populations, communities, and ecosystems. However, because most species are not well adapted to all habitat types, dispersal into suboptimal habitats could induce physiological changes associated with persistence strategies that influence community assembly. For example, high rates of cross-boundary dispersal are thought to maintain sink populations of terrestrial bacteria in aquatic habitats, but these bacteria may also persist by lowering their metabolic activity, introducing metabolic heterogeneity that buffers the population against niche selection. To differentiate between these assembly processes, we analyzed bacterial composition along a hydrological flow path from terrestrial soils through an aquatic reservoir by sequencing the active and total (active + inactive) portions of the community. When metabolic heterogeneity was ignored, our data were consistent with views that cross-boundary dispersal is important for structuring aquatic bacterial communities. In contrast, we found evidence for strong niche selection when metabolic heterogeneity was explicitly considered, suggesting that, relative to persistence strategies, dispersal may have a weaker effect on aquatic community assembly than previously thought. By accounting for metabolic heterogeneity in complex communities, our findings clarify the roles of local- and regional-scale assembly processes in terrestrial-aquatic meta-ecosystems.

Cross-species pathogen spillover across ecosystem boundaries: mechanisms and theory

Pathogen spillover between different host species is the trigger for many infectious disease outbreaks and emergence events, and ecosystem boundary areas have been suggested as spatial hotspots of spillover. This hypothesis is largely based on suspected higher rates of zoonotic disease spillover and emergence in fragmented landscapes and other areas where humans live in close vicinity to wildlife. For example, Ebola virus outbreaks have been linked to contacts between humans and infected wildlife at the rural-forest border, and spillover of yellow fever via mosquito vectors happens at the interface between forest and human settlements. Because spillover involves complex interactions between multiple species and is difficult to observe directly, empirical studies are scarce, particularly those that quantify underlying mechanisms. In this review, we identify and explore potential ecological mechanisms affecting spillover of pathogens (and parasites in general) at ecosystem boundaries. We borrow the concept of ‘permeability’ from animal movement ecology as a measure of the likelihood that hosts and parasites are present in an ecosystem boundary region. We then discuss how different mechanisms operating at the levels of organisms and ecosystems might affect permeability and spillover. This review is a step towards developing a general theory of cross-species parasite spillover across ecosystem boundaries with the eventual aim of improving predictions of spillover risk in heterogeneous landscapes. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Dynamic and integrative approaches to understanding pathogen spillover’.