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Topic Review
Effects of Petroleum on Soil
Petroleum is the most common global fossil fuel. It is a complex multi-component system mainly composed of various hydrocarbons such as alkanes, cycloalkanes, mono-, bi- and polyaromatic compounds, resins and asphaltenes. In spite of humanity’s need for petroleum, it negatively affects the environment due to its toxicity. The ecological problem is especially serious at petroleum mining sites or during petroleum transportation. Since it is not possible to replace petroleum with less toxic fuel, ways to reduce the toxic impact of petroleum hydrocarbons on the environment need to be developed.
  • 11.9K
  • 08 Jul 2022
Topic Review Video
Ecological Stoichiometry
Ecological stoichiometry considers how nutritional needs of organisms for basic body-building molecules shape their ecology. It asks how nutritional demands of organisms and supply of nutrients in their environments affects organisms growth, their interactions with the biotic and abiotic worlds and nutrient cycling in whole ecosystem.
  • 9.8K
  • 04 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Quantum Biology and Non-Targeted Effects
Non-targeted effects (NTE) are an intriguing phenomenon where the biological responses observed in cells or tissues are not directly exposed to a stressor (e.g., ionizing radiation or chemical agents). onventional radiation biology approaches have predominantly focused on the macroscopic effects of ionizing radiation, overlooking the quantum-scale interactions that may play a crucial role in NTE. Quantum biology (QB) offers a unique perspective to explore and understand the intricate and subtle processes underlying NTE.
  • 6.4K
  • 04 Dec 2023
Topic Review
16S rRNA Next-Generation Sequencing
The 16S rRNA gene is highly conserved in all bacteria (and also archaea). Nonetheless, it contains nine hypervariable regions (V1 - V9), where sequences of these regions can be used to identify and discriminate bacterial genus, sometimes until the species level. This makes the gene a useful tool for phylogenetic studies. With the introduction of next-generation sequencing technologies, 16S rRNA next-generation sequencing (16SNGS) has allowed profiling of bacterial communities found in organisms and the environment, and lead to the discovery of many previously unculturable members of the bacteria kingdom.
  • 6.4K
  • 18 May 2021
Topic Review
Urban Green Spaces
n the context of urban land-use growth and the consequent impacts on the environment, green spaces provide ecosystem services for human health. The ecosystem services concept synthesises human–environmental interactions through a series of combined components of biodiversity and abiotic elements, linking ecological processes and functions. The concept of green infrastructure (GI) in the urban context emphasises the quality and quantity of urban and peri-urban green spaces and natural areas.
  • 5.3K
  • 05 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Carbon Cycling in Mangrove Ecosystems
The carbon cycle in mangrove ecosystems is an important biogeochemical pathway in understanding the links between this forest ecosystem and both the atmosphere and the adjacent coastal ocean. Mangroves are a major habitat in the coastal zone for storing carbon in the soils of their deep forest floor, and for exporting to adjacent coastal seas significant quantities of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The large export of DIC is sufficient to result in adjacent coastal waters becoming a source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in tropical and subtropical latitudes.
  • 4.7K
  • 21 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Root Exudates and Soil Organic Carbon
Root exudates, as an important form of material input from plants to the soil, regulate the carbon input and efflux of plant rhizosphere soil and play an important role in maintaining the carbon and nutrient balance of the whole ecosystem. Root exudates are notoriously difficult to collect due to their underlying characteristics (e.g., low concentration and fast turnover rate) and the associated methodological challenges of accurately measuring root exudates in native soils. As a result, up until now, it has been difficult to accurately quantify the soil organic carbon input from root exudates to the soil in most studies. The contribution and ecological effects of root exudates to soil organic carbon input and efflux have been paid more and more attention. 
  • 4.2K
  • 17 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Fungal decomposition of dead wood
Fungi create a nutritional niche for deadwood-eaters ------------------------------ Direct comparison of the amounts of essential nutrients and ergosterol in wood provides evidence that the changes in the stoichiometry of decaying dead wood are driven by the action of fungi. They infest dead wood to take advantage of the ample supply of an energy-rich substrate. However, to exploit this resource, these fungi must import an array of essential nutrients from outside of the dead wood. This nutritional enrichment of dead wood creates a nutritional niche for xylophages that allows them to grow, develop, and reach maturity. Therefore, xylophagous beetles (considered as “wood-eaters”) are unable to gather the necessary amounts of nutrients from pure dead wood to grow and mature, but instead must utilize fungal tissues. ------------------------------
  • 3.6K
  • 03 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Duckweeds for Remediating Water Contaminated with Heavy Metals
Tiny aquatic plants from the Lemnaceae family, commonly known as duckweeds, are often regarded as detrimental to the environment because of their ability to quickly populate and cover the surfaces of bodies of water. The global distribution of duckweeds and their tolerance of ammonia, heavy metals, other pollutants, and stresses are the major factors highlighting their potential for use in purifying agricultural, municipal, and some industrial wastewater. In summary, duckweeds are a powerful tool for bioremediation that can reduce anthropogenic pollution in aquatic ecosystems and prevent water eutrophication in a simple, inexpensive ecologically friendly way.
  • 3.6K
  • 09 May 2023
Topic Review
Human–Environment Relationships: Culture and Pedagogy
Human culture can be regarded as the general context where the human–environment relationships take place and develop. Interestingly, studies on human culture and cultural evolution have been enriched with some novel perspectives that appear to dovetail with recent developments in evolutionary biology. All this allows a fresh and promising understanding of the fundamentals of human-environment interaction, according to which the environment can be shown to exert a pedagogical role for humanity, and humanity can be understood as a species modifying the environment to the aim of modifying itself.
  • 3.1K
  • 23 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Animal Diet Analysis
Diet analysis is a critical content of animal ecology and the diet analysis methods have been constantly improving and updating. Traditional diet analysis methods include direct observation of foraging behavior, the cafeteria diet, microscopic identification of prey remains in fecal and stomach contents. The molecular-based analysis of animal diets has recently become popular, as they confer high resolution and accuracy, which is mainly achieved through the cloning sequencing or the next generation sequencing (NGS) on the amplification of prey DNA in dietary samples.
  • 3.0K
  • 01 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Shorebird in West and East Coast of India
Shorebirds constitute a highly diverse group of migrant species that require a high amount of energy in association with their long-distance migration. They are documented in nearly all shorelines of the world except Antarctica. The seasonal migration of shorebirds is an important biological event, characterized by long-distance travel among breeding, stopover and wintering sites driven by seasonal influences on resources. 
  • 2.6K
  • 01 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Owner and Cat Relationship
This entry provides a short overview of the different ways cat owners describe the relationship with their cat, how this might relate to an antropomorphic view of (role of) the cat, which owner-and cat-related charateristics are related to such views and how different views are associated with different living environments of cats.  
  • 2.6K
  • 24 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Feeding Strategy of Dead-Wood Eaters
Decomposition of wood is a very difficult process. Wood is highly resistant to decay, and it’s not very nutritious to boot. It doesn’t provide good sustenance for the decomposers that feed on it – in fact, it may even lack key elements needed for their growth, development and maturation. The only two things it’s abundant in are carbohydrates cellulose and hemicellulose, but they’re simply not enough. Nevertheless, there are daredevils who aren't afraid of starvation and even thrive in the long, dark, winding tunnels dug in dead trees. How is it possible? It’s commonly thought that it’s the symbionts that process the dead wood in order to provide sustenance for saproxylic organisms. However, according to the law of the conservation of mass, this is insufficient because the constituent atoms of nutrients cannot be created by organisms from the available biomass. Therefore, the elemental composition of wood limits the available nutrients, although symbionts are able to increase the digestibility of woody matter and synthesize important organic compounds from nutrients furnished by dead wood. The nutrients required for insects to properly develop are transported to dead wood by fungi, resulting in a rearrangement of the nutritional composition of the wood during the first few years of decay. By consuming decomposed wood that is rich in fungal tissues, the dead wood eater is able to grow, develop and reach maturity.
  • 2.4K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Dolomite Phenomenon
The so-called dolomite phenomenon, also known as dolomite edaphism or dolomitophily, occurs globally and is evidenced through the appearance of an endemic flora on nutrient-poor soils with high levels of magnesium. It occurs when dolomitic rocks emerge, especially with high Mg content, and when tectonic or weathering processes generate skeletal soils, predominantly sandy or gravelly in texture. These types of habitats are associated with a specific flora, also accompanied by other tolerant species.
  • 2.4K
  • 02 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Agroecology-The Case of Cereals
Transformative agroecology has been recognized as a stepping stone to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), due to its great potential to build climate change-resilient farming systems while enhancing ecosystem services and reducing biodiversity loss. Understanding the agroecological elements that underlie the sustainability of an agroecosystem is an urgent matter, serving as the foundation for designing a truly transformative agroecosystem. 
  • 2.3K
  • 12 May 2021
Topic Review
Vermicomposting on Greenhouse Gas Emission
The implementation of cutting-edge agricultural practices provides tools and techniques to drive climate-smart agriculture, reduce carbon emissions, and lower the carbon footprint. The alteration of climate conditions due to human activities poses a serious threat to the global agricultural systems. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from organic waste management need urgent attention to optimize conventional composting strategies for organic wastes.
  • 2.3K
  • 21 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Ecological Succession Theory
In addition to states of space that are supposedly to be aspired to or maintained, which are often the subject of heated, acrimonious debates, there are temporary states of equilibrium in time that mirror the overarching cycle of life, have been the subject of research for a very long time, and are well documented and conceptually understood: namely, ecological succession. The knowledge and understanding of succession is irreplaceable to have a chance today to ground and resolve such mentioned debates about multiple claims and uses of spaces nowadays. For example, a main challenge of the current time is that large areas of land are needed for renewable energy production, and production sites should be designed to include biodiversity preservation. Decision-makers need guidance for reasonable coexistence. Succession theory can indeed provide substantial background and guidance.
  • 2.3K
  • 27 Jun 2022
Topic Review
The Role of Commensal and other Non-Pathogenic Bacteria
Not only pathogenic bacteria are reservoirs of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. Opportunistic pathogenic bacteria, commensal bacteria, and mutualistic bacteria (here named non-pathogenic for simplification) may also carry resistance and virulence genes. However, contrary to pathogenic strains, which are the target of the immune system, non-pathogenic bacteria can colonize hosts for prolonged periods because hosts do not need to be rid of them. Thus, the basic reproductive number of a non-pathogenic bacterial strain, a measure of the strain’s fitness and denoted as R0, is likely to be much higher than one. That is, the expected number of colonized hosts by a single colonized host in a population not yet colonized by that strain is higher than one, which implies that this strain can spread exponentially among hosts. This spread has peculiar consequences for the spread of virulence and resistance genes. For example, computer models that simulate the spread of these genes have shown that their diversities should correlate positively throughout microbiomes. Bioinformatics analysis with real data corroborates this expectation.
  • 2.1K
  • 07 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Corvids in Urban Environments
With regard to their high adaptability to human settlements and global distribution, corvid birds (crows, ravens, jays, etc.) are good models to understand the impacts of urbanization on wildlife. At least 30 corvid species have become successfully accustomed or adapted to urbanized environments. The availability of easily accessible food and artificial nesting sites, coupled with low levels of predation, were found as the most important factors benefitting corvids in cities around the world. 
  • 2.1K
  • 13 Dec 2021
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