The impact of land use/land cover scale on modelling urban ecosystem services

Context Urbanisation places increasing stress on ecosystem services; however existing methods and data for testing relationships between service delivery and urban landscapes remain imprecise and uncertain. Unknown impacts of scale are among several factors that complicate research. This study models ecosystem services in the urban area comprising the towns of Milton Keynes, Bedford and Luton which together represent a wide range of the urban forms present in the UK. Objectives The objectives of this study were to test (1) the sensitivity of ecosystem service model outputs to the spatial resolution of input data, and (2) whether any resultant scale dependency is constant across different ecosystem services and model approaches (e.g. stock- versus flow-based). Methods Carbon storage, sediment erosion, and pollination were modelled with the InVEST framework using input data representative of common coarse (25 m) and fine (5 m) spatial resolutions. Results Fine scale analysis generated higher estimates of total carbon storage (9.32 vs. 7.17 kg m−2) and much lower potential sediment erosion estimates (6.4 vs. 18.1 Mg km−2 year−1) than analyses conducted at coarser resolutions; however coarse-scale analysis estimated more abundant pollination service provision. Conclusions Scale sensitivities depend on the type of service being modelled; stock estimates (e.g. carbon storage) are most sensitive to aggregation across scales, dynamic flow models (e.g. sediment erosion) are most sensitive to spatial resolution, and ecological process models involving both stocks and dynamics (e.g. pollination) are sensitive to both. Care must be taken to select model data appropriate to the scale of inquiry

Big Data Analysis

The value of big data is predicated on the ability to detect trends and patterns and more generally to make sense of the large volumes of data that is often comprised of a heterogeneous mix of format, structure, and semantics. Big data analysis is the component of the big data value chain that focuses on transforming raw acquired data into a coherent usable resource suitable for analysis. Using a range of interviews with key stakeholders in small and large companies and academia, this chapter outlines key insights, state of the art, emerging trends, future requirements, and sectorial case studies for data analysis

Urban and rural habitats differ in number and type of bird feeders and in bird species consuming supplementary food

Bird feeding is one of the most widespread direct interactions between man and nature, and this has important social and environmental consequences. However, this activity can differ between rural and urban habitats, due to inter alia habitat structure, human behaviour and the composition of wintering bird communities. We counted birds in 156 squares (0.25 km(2) each) in December 2012 and again in January 2013 in locations in and around 26 towns and cities across Poland (in each urban area, we surveyed 3 squares and also 3 squares in nearby rural areas). At each count, we noted the number of bird feeders, the number of bird feeders with food, the type of feeders, additional food supplies potentially available for birds (bread offered by people, bins) and finally the birds themselves. In winter, urban and rural areas differ in the availability of food offered intentionally and unintentionally to birds by humans. Both types of food availability are higher in urban areas. Our findings suggest that different types of bird feeder support only those species specialized for that particular food type and this relationship is similar in urban and rural areas. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-015-4723-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Complex variation in Afrotropical mammal communities with human impact

The diversity and composition of mammal communities are strongly influenced by human activities, though these relationships may vary across broad scales. Understanding this variation is key to conservation, as it provides a baseline for planning and evaluating management interventions. We assessed variation in the structure and composition of Afrotropical medium and large mammal communities within and outside protected areas, and under varying human impact. We collected data at 512 locations from 22 study sites in 12 Afrotropical countries over 7 years and 3 months (2011–2018) with 164,474 camera trap days in total. Half of these sites are located inside protected areas and half in unprotected areas. The sites are comparable in that they all harbor at least one great ape species, indicating a minimum level of habitat similarity, though they experience varying degrees of human impact. We applied Bayesian Regression models to relate site protection status and the degree of human impact to mammal communities. Protected area status was positively associated with the proportion of all threatened species, independent of the degree of human impact. Similarly, species richness was associated with area protection but was more sensitive to human impact. For all other attributes of the mammal communities, the pattern was more complex. The influence of human impact partially overrides the positive effects of protected area status, resulting in comparable mammal communities being observed both within protected areas and in similarly remote locations outside these areas. We observed a common pattern for large carnivores, whose probability of occurrence declined significantly with increasing human impact, independent of site protection status. Mammal communities benefit from sustainability measures of socio-economic context that minimize human impact. Our results support the notion that conservation of mammalian species can be achieved by reducing human impact through targeted conservation measures, adopting landscape-level management strategies, fostering community engagement, and safeguarding remote habitats with high mammal diversity

Intrinsic and environmental drivers of pairwise cohesion in wild Canis social groups

Animals within social groups respond to costs and benefits of sociality by adjusting the proportion of time they spend in close proximity to other individuals in the group (cohesion). Variation in cohesion between individuals, in turn, shapes important group-level processes such as subgroup formation and fission–fusion dynamics. Although critical to animal sociality, a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing cohesion remains a gap in our knowledge of cooperative behavior in animals. We tracked 574 individuals from six species within the genus Canis in 15 countries on four continents with GPS telemetry to estimate the time that pairs of individuals within social groups spent in close proximity and test hypotheses regarding drivers of cohesion. Pairs of social canids (Canis spp.) varied widely in the proportion of time they spent together (5%–100%) during seasonal monitoring periods relative to both intrinsic characteristics and environmental conditions. The majority of our data came from three species of wolves (gray wolves, eastern wolves, and red wolves) and coyotes. For these species, cohesion within social groups was greatest between breeding pairs and varied seasonally as the nature of cooperative activities changed relative to annual life history patterns. Across species, wolves were more cohesive than coyotes. For wolves, pairs were less cohesive in larger groups, and when suitable, small prey was present reflecting the constraints of food resources and intragroup competition on social associations. Pair cohesion in wolves declined with increased anthropogenic modification of the landscape and greater climatic variability, underscoring challenges for conserving social top predators in a changing world. We show that pairwise cohesion in social groups varies strongly both within and across Canis species, as individuals respond to changing ecological context defined by resources, competition, and anthropogenic disturbance. Our work highlights that cohesion is a highly plastic component of animal sociality that holds significant promise for elucidating ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying cooperative behavior

Household Factors Influencing Participation in Bird Feeding Activity: A National Scale Analysis

Ameliorating pressures on the ecological condition of the wider landscape outside of protected areas is a key focus of conservation initiatives in the developed world. In highly urbanized nations, domestic gardens can play a significant role in maintaining biodiversity and facilitating human-wildlife interactions, which benefit personal and societal health and well-being. The extent to which sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors are associated with engagement in wildlife gardening activities remain largely unresolved. Using two household-level survey datasets gathered from across Britain, we determine whether and how the socioeconomic background of a household influences participation in food provision for wild birds, the most popular and widespread form of human-wildlife interaction. A majority of households feed birds (64% across rural and urban areas in England, and 53% within five British study cities). House type, household size and the age of the head of the household were all important predictors of bird feeding, whereas gross annual household income, the occupation of the head of the household, and whether the house is owned or rented were not. In both surveys, the prevalence of bird feeding rose as house type became more detached and as the age of the head of the household increased. A clear, consistent pattern between households of varying size was less evident. When regularity of food provision was examined in the study cities, just 29% of households provided food at least once a week. The proportion of households regularly feeding birds was positively related to the age of the head of the household, but declined with gross annual income. As concerns grow about the lack of engagement between people and the natural environment, such findings are important if conservation organizations are successfully to promote public participation in wildlife gardening specifically and environmentally beneficial behaviour in society more generally

Modulating RNA structure and catalysis: lessons from small cleaving ribozymes

RNA is a key molecule in life, and comprehending its structure/function relationships is a crucial step towards a more complete understanding of molecular biology. Even though most of the information required for their correct folding is contained in their primary sequences, we are as yet unable to accurately predict both the folding pathways and active tertiary structures of RNA species. Ribozymes are interesting molecules to study when addressing these questions because any modifications in their structures are often reflected in their catalytic properties. The recent progress in the study of the structures, the folding pathways and the modulation of the small ribozymes derived from natural, self-cleaving, RNA motifs have significantly contributed to today’s knowledge in the field

Tree biomass in the Swiss landscape: nationwide modelling for improved accounting for forest and non-forest trees

Trees outside forest (TOF) can perform a variety of social, economic and ecological functions including carbon sequestration. However, detailed quantification of tree biomass is usually limited to forest areas. Taking advantage of structural information available from stereo aerial imagery and airborne laser scanning (ALS), this research models tree biomass using national forest inventory data and linear least-square regression and applies the model both inside and outside of forest to create a nationwide model for tree biomass (above ground and below ground). Validation of the tree biomass model against TOF data within settlement areas shows relatively low model performance (R (2) of 0.44) but still a considerable improvement on current biomass estimates used for greenhouse gas inventory and carbon accounting. We demonstrate an efficient and easily implementable approach to modelling tree biomass across a large heterogeneous nationwide area. The model offers significant opportunity for improved estimates on land use combination categories (CC) where tree biomass has either not been included or only roughly estimated until now. The ALS biomass model also offers the advantage of providing greater spatial resolution and greater within CC spatial variability compared to the current nationwide estimates. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10661-017-5816-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) for connected vehicles in smart cities

Many Experts believe that the Internet of Things (IoT) is a new revolution in technology that has brought many benefits for our organizations, businesses, and industries. However, information security and privacy protection are important challenges particularly for smart vehicles in smart cities that have attracted the attention of experts in this domain. Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) endeavor to mitigate the risk of privacy invasions, but the literature lacks a thorough review of the approaches and techniques that support individuals' privacy in the connection between smart vehicles and smart cities. This gap has stimulated us to conduct this research with the main goal of reviewing recent privacy-enhancing technologies, approaches, taxonomy, challenges, and solutions on the application of PETs for smart vehicles in smart cities. The significant aspect of this study originates from the inclusion of data-oriented and process-oriented privacy protection. This research also identifies limitations of existing PETs, complementary technologies, and potential research directions