Aggregation Sites Research Articles

Migration, aggregation, and philopatry of two nearshore elasmobranch species in the Southern California Bight

Over one-third of elasmobranch fishes (sharks, rays, and skates) are threatened with extinction, mostly due to overfishing, habitat loss, and habitat degradation. Understanding the daily and seasonal movement patterns of these species can inform when and where populations are most susceptible to these threats, but these data are often lacking for nearshore species that are not actively managed. Two such species are the shovelnose guitarfish Pseudobatos productus and California bat ray Myliobatis californica; this study quantified the broad- and fine-scale movement patterns of these species using passive acoustic telemetry. Twelve guitarfish (10 female, 2 male) were surgically implanted with coded acoustic transmitters at an aggregation site off La Jolla (San Diego County), California, USA, and tracked for 849.5 ± 548.9 d (mean ± SD). Six bat rays (all female) were also implanted with transmitters and tracked for 1143.8 ± 830.9 d. These animals were detected at 187 acoustic receiver stations between Point Conception, California, and San Quintín, Baja California, Mexico. Both species exhibited annual philopatry to La Jolla, especially in July, after traveling as far north as Santa Barbara (221 km away; guitarfish) and San Miguel Island (259 km away; bat rays), California. Based on their movement patterns and known reproductive phenology, we hypothesize that both species utilize the La Jolla aggregation site as a gestating ground and possibly also a mating, pupping, and nursery ground. This site is within a no-take reserve, and we recommend that similar sites also be protected, given the increased susceptibility to anthropogenic stressors when aggregating.

On the nature of noble gas - metal bond in silver aggregates.

The aim of this paper is to extend the study of the nature of the bond between noble gas to nano- and sub nanoscale silver aggregates. In the framework of DFT-PAW calculations implemented in the abinit package, we carried out a thorough investigation on the nature of the bond between the six noble gases NG (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe and Rn) and numerous neutral silver aggregates Agn from the single atom Ag1 to the nanoparticle Ag147 using atoms-in-molecules (AIM) dual functional analysis,. We evaluated the impact of the silver aggregate size, the adsorption site and of the noble gas on the Ag-NG bond. Our study concluded on the favored adsorption of heavier noble gases (Kr, Xe and Rn) over that of lighter noble gases (He, Ne and Ar) on any aggregate size due to an enhanced chemical contribution in the bond. For these heavier noble gases, in accordance with studies carried out on surfaces, we noted their preferential adsorption on on-top sites rather than on hollow sites, which further evidences the chemical contribution to the bond. Moreover, the slight positive Bader charge on these heavier noble gases implies an electron transfer from the noble gas to the silver atom. Noble gas adsorption is favored on smaller, few-atom, two-dimensional clusters rather than on larger three-dimensional nanoparticles. Finally, we identified a universal power law with a unique exponent linking bond length and electronic density at the bond critical point for all aggregate sizes, noble gases and adsorption sites.

DIAGNOSTIC OF THE FACTORS REDUCING THE STORAGE CAPACITY OF THE TOUKOMTORE DAM IN BURKINA FASO

The Toukomtore dam in Burkina Faso was built as a road embankment to meet the water needs of the populations of the commune of Koubri. The dam's watershed is not immune to the various climatic and anthropogenic pressures that have caused it to fill up. The objective of this study is to identify the sources of sediment supply to the dam. To do this, the study relies on documentary research, individual interviews with agents of the deconcentrated technical services of the State and users as well as field observations. The results of the study reveal that the sediments in the dam basin come from intense gullying areas, bare areas, bank erosion, market gardening plots and local drains, but also from aggregate extraction sites and brick factories. The results also show that the basin of the dam has lost its initial capacity of reception due to the phenomenon of filling. These results provide indicative elements on the potential origin of the sediments of the dam and are useful for the implementation of the recommendations that have been formulated.

Distribution of the reef manta ray Mobula alfredi and the oceanic manta ray Mobula birostris in the Philippines: a collaborative effort for conservation.

Little is known about manta ray population size, structure and connectivity in the Philippines. In collaboration with dive operators, non-governmental organizations and authorities, sightings of manta rays were collated into a single national database. Using in-water photographs and videos gathered through citizen science and dedicated research efforts, this study compiled sightings between 2004 and 2020, showing 22 separate sites throughout the archipelago with manta rays present. A total of 392 individual reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) and 107 oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris) were identified from the collected footage. Four specific sites in the provinces of Masbate and Palawan together hosted 89% of all identified individuals and accounted for 95% of sightings, highlighting these areas are key aggregation sites. This study also reports the movements of M. birostris within the Philippines, based on photo-identification of three individuals moving 150 km between Cebu and Masbate. Despite the growing number of recreational divers in Daanbantayan and San Jacinto, an 80% decline in M. birostris sightings was observed at these sites. To ensure effective future conservation, it is recommended that efforts focus on the identification and protection of manta ray hotspots and migratory corridors, the creation of a sustainable tourism framework and, most important, the implementation of mitigation strategies to reduce fisheries interactions.

Intelligent Control System for IT Specialists Training Based on Denotative Analytics

The study identifies the growing problem of mismatch between the competencies of IT graduates of educational institutions and the requirements of employers. The goal is to develop a set of models and algorithms, as well as software that implements them to improve the efficiency of IT training. The analysis of existing approaches to its solution is made. Prospective directions of specialist modeling are revealed. The methods of labor market analysis in the field of IT-sphere based on vacancies from aggregator sites, approaches to individualization of educational programs and involvement of employers in the training process, as well as means of automation of specialist modeling were considered. Ontological approaches to specialist modeling based on expert knowledge are also studied. The concept of organizing IT training based on open weakly structured data has been developed. An approach based on natural language processing and denotative analytics is described. The proposed concept includes monitoring and collecting data on vacancies from aggregator sites with a given frequency; their subsequent processing to build a dynamic model of an IT specialist, describing the key concepts necessary for professional activity and satisfying employers' requirements; enriching the resulting model with open data on the subject area and information contained in regulatory documents; building a graduate specialist model, taking into account the links between the key concepts by constructing a denotative graph to reconstruct the hierarchy of the enriched set of concepts; forming on its basis a set of recommendations for drawing up and adjusting educational programs. The model of specialist from employer's point of view based on fuzzy sets, model of specialist-graduate including data enrichment algorithm, as well as the algorithm of recommendations formation for making and correction of educational programs were developed. The software for decision support system that implements the mentioned models and algorithms has been developed. Experimental testing with the involvement of experts from the IT industry was conducted. Positive results were obtained as a result of the experiment. The developed system can be used for drawing up and adjusting work programs of disciplines, professional retraining programs, programs of additional education in the field of directions related to information technology.

Combination of Acoustic Telemetry and Side‐Scan Sonar Advances Suppression Efforts for Invasive Lake Trout in a Submontane Lake

AbstractExpansion of an invasive Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush population in Swan Lake, Montana, threatens a core area population of Bull Trout S. confluentus. Given the recent development of novel suppression methods, such as use of carcass analog pellets to cause high mortality of embryos, there was a need to quantify spawning season aggregation sites, site use, and spawning habitat for Lake Trout in Swan Lake. Acoustic tags were implanted in 85 Lake Trout during the summer in 2018 and 2019. Nightly tracking efforts during autumn in both years resulted in 1,744 relocations for 49 individual Lake Trout. Kernel density analysis was used to evaluate Lake Trout aggregation sites, identifying 10 distinct sites. All spawning sites were located in the littoral zone along areas of steep bathymetric relief, and these sites composed 48% of total relocations during both spawning seasons. In 2019, side‐scan sonar imaging was used to classify and quantify the total area of spawning substrate, which constituted 12.8% of the total surface area estimated for spawning sites 1, 6, and 9 and 11.4% of the total surface area for aggregation sites 2–5, 7, 8, and 10. Simultaneous treatment of all spawning sites would require 205,709 ± 86 kg of carcass analog pellet material, resulting in 370.4 ± 0.2 kg of phosphorus inputs and 7,487.9 ± 3.1 kg of nitrogen inputs to Swan Lake. Thus, pellet treatment would increase the Carlson's trophic state index (TSI) values from 20.8 to 27.7 for total phosphorus and from 22.1 to 26.2 for total nitrogen. Based on a TSI threshold of less than 40 for an oligotrophic lake, the use of carcass analog pellets could be feasible for supplementing the gill‐netting suppression of Lake Trout in Swan Lake.

Tau immunotherapy in Alzheimer's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy.

Tubulin-associated unit (tau) has been associated with more than 25 neurological disorders-the so-called tauopathies. Hence, finding a novel therapeutic agent targeting tau to halt the progression of diseases has been of interest. Alzheimer's disease (AD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) are the most studied tauopathies. AD is characterized by two cardinal pathological mechanisms: amyloid β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), leading to atrophy of the brain. Over the last few years, attention has been on NFTs composed of the hyperphosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau. Tau contributes to the synaptic plasticity of axons; hyperphosphorylated and aggregated tau have been shown to increase the likelihood of cognitive impairments. PSP is also associated with tau accumulation in NFTs and neuropil threads, making this condition a candidate for tau-targeted therapies. Many tau-targeting therapies have been developed, and clinical trials are being conducted. Tau-targeting drugs are classified into four subgroups based on the pathological target: tau phosphorylation inhibitors, stabilizers of microtubules, enhancing tau clearance, and tau aggregation inhibitors. On the other hand, the desired specificity and sensitivity of tau immunotherapy agents without interrupting normal proteome are the fundamental point of tremendous attention. Starting with animal studies of these therapies to clinical trials, both are divided into passive and active immunotherapies, while passive immunotherapies are the method of desire. Targeting aggregation and phosphorylation sites of tau is the chief target of therapies. This article reviews the latest animal and clinical studies of tau-based immunotherapies and tau-targeted drugs for AD and PSP.

The Politics of Colonization in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther

In 2018 preceding the release of Black Panther, amid a sea of positively effusive reviews for Ryan Coogler’s film, a sudden onslaught of extremely negative reviews began to appear on the internet. Negative reviews for a film are not uncommon, yet these were so far out of the norm that they began to draw the concern of film aggregation sites such as Rotten Tomatoes. So perturbed was the site by what it was witnessing in the reviews of Black Panther that Rotten Tomatoes dispatched their security team to “closely monitor” the platform and began to block and delete reviews “as quickly as possible.” In 2018 Black Panther became the target of racists, determined to ruin the ratings of the first Marvel Comic Universe (MCU) film to feature a Black central character and mostly Black cast. This essay will investigate two critical aspects surrounding the release of Coogler’s Black Panther. The first is the nature of the negative reviews surrounding the release of the film in 2018. The second is an exploration of Coogler’s critique of colonization in Black Panther. Lastly, Coogler’s portrayal of the fictitious kingdom of Wakanda is analyzed in concert with Albert Memmi’s The Colonizer and the Colonized (1957, 1991), in order to shine a light on the anticolonial structure present in Black Panther.

Quantifying thermal cues that initiate mass emigrations in juvenile white sharks

While the function of migration varies among species, environmental temperature is known to be one of the most important abiotic variables that drive animal migration; however, quantifying the thresholds and timing of the cues that influence a mass emigration is difficult, often due to lack of monitoring resolution, particularly for large, highly mobile species. We used acoustic telemetry tracking and high-resolution water temperature data over a relatively large spatial scale (5.5 km2) to identify and quantify a thermal threshold for mass emigration of juvenile white sharks. Sixteen tagged sharks were observed to initiate a search for warmer water within 10–12 hours of an upwelling event where water temperatures dropped below 14 °C. Eleven sharks traveled ~ 35 km away where they experienced similar cold temperatures before returning to the aggregation site within 24 hours. Five days following the upwelling event, most sharks emigrated from the site for the season. Quantifying movement patterns across different spatial and temporal scales is necessary to understand cues and thresholds influencing animal migration, which may be greatly affected by climate anomalies and climate change, resulting in potential impacts on the dynamics of local prey species, management, and conservation policy and practice.

Identity effects in social media.

Identity cues appear ubiquitously alongside content in social media today. Some also suggest universal identification, with names and other cues, as a useful deterrent to harmful behaviours online. Unfortunately, we know little about the effects of identity cues on opinions and online behaviours. Here we used a large-scale longitudinal field experiment to estimate the extent to which identity cues affect how people form opinions about and interact with content online. We randomly assigned content produced on a social news aggregation website to 'identified' and 'anonymous' conditions to estimate the causal effect of identity cues on how viewers vote and reply to content. The effects of identity cues were significant and heterogeneous, accounting for between 28% and 61% of the variation in voting associated with commenters' production, reputation and reciprocity. Our results also showed that identity cues cause people to vote on content faster (consistent with heuristic processing) and to vote according to content producers' reputations, production history and reciprocal votes with content viewers. These results provide evidence that rich-get-richer dynamics and inequality in social content evaluation are mediated by identity cues. They also provide insights into the evolution of status in online communities. From a practical perspective, we show via simulation that social platforms may improve content quality by including votes on anonymized content as a ranking signal.

The Acoustics of Aggregation Sites: Listening to the Rock Art Landscape of Cuevas de la Araña (Spain)

ABSTRACT Since the 1980s, research into aggregation sites has focused on the material dimension of the archaeological record and has thus led to an incomplete view of the prehistoric reality. Early communities chose sites for many reasons. In this article, we explore the possibility that something as immaterial in nature as the acoustics of the sites may have influenced the selective choices made by the prehistoric peoples who created and used rock art in these meeting places. Employing the Impulse Response (IR) methodology, we systematically analyze the acoustic properties of Cuevas de la Araña, an aggregation site in eastern Spain with Levantine rock art, and 16 satellite sites in its surroundings. The results indicate that the acoustics of La Araña could have been important for creating affective engagement through musical performances carried out during the production and use of rock art, as well as for the choice of the site as a meeting place for Levantine populations.

Comportamiento de apareamiento del tiburón limón Negaprion brevirostris (Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae), revelado por la ciencia ciudadana en el Océano Atlántico Ecuatorial

Introduction: Knowledge on the copulatory behavior and mating ground requirements of large sharks, including the lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris, is scarce, hampering conservation efforts. Objective: To describe an area in the Equatorial Atlantic used as a mating ground by N. brevirostris, as well as part of the species pre-copulatory behaviors based on citizen reports. Methods: Between 2004 and 2019, recreational divers, dive guides and rangers from the Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Fernando de Noronha Archipelago (FEN) recorded courtship behaviour, females with mating scars, pregnant females, and adult males. Results: N. brevirostris was recorded mating in shallow waters (0.5-2 m deep) during the austral summer (December to March). A specific location in the MPA, Buraco da Raquel lagoon, was the main aggregation and mating site for adult N. brevirostris in FEN. Conclusions: Citizen science records allowed the identification of shallow waters as key sites for the reproduction of this shark in FEN. Results highlight the potential of citizen science contributions to knowledge of sharks in nature and show MPAs as essential for habitat conservation of sharks with decreasing populations along the Brazilian coast, such as N. brevirostris. We present management recommendations to protect N. brevirostris there and elsewhere.

Effect of Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Aldehydes on Efficacy of Fungal Biopesticides.

The use of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Bals. - Criv.) Vuill. (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) has been recently incorporated in the management of bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae). Bed bugs produce a set of aldehydes that are known to affect the growth of some fungi. Considering that bed bugs or their exuviae release these aldehydes, it was suspected that the bed bugs' aggregation sites would contain an increased level of the bed bug aldehydes. The current study examined if elevated levels of the bed bug aldehydes in the microhabitats would impact the efficacy of B. bassiana. Following a brief exposure to the residues of commercial products containing B. bassiana, the treated bed bugs were kept in a vial with or without a natural or artificial blend of bed bug aldehydes (i.e., exuviae or synthetic compounds). For a B. bassiana product that is not currently registered for bed bugs control, the presence of aldehydes significantly reduced 15-d mortality (61-62%) compared to the no aldehydes control (97.7%). However, when tested with a B. bassiana formulation designed for bed bug control, the aldehydes only caused delayed mortality for the treated bed bugs. When tested in culture, the growth rate of B. bassiana on a medium was significantly reduced when the bed bug aldehydes were provided in the headspace. Implications on practical bed bug management using fungal biopesticides are discussed.

How continuing mortality affects recovery potential for prohibited sharks: The case of white sharks in South Africa

It can be difficult to determine whether a prohibition to exploitation ensures effective conservation or recovery for species that remain exposed to fishing effort and other sources of mortality throughout their range. Here we used simulation modeling of four life history scenarios (different productivity and population size) to contextualize potential population response to multiple levels of mortality, using white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in South Africa as a case study. The species has been protected since 1991, yet substantial uncertainty about population dynamics persists and recent declines at two aggregation sites have renewed conservation concern. All scenarios indicated that annual removals in the 10s of individuals would substantially limit the potential for and magnitude of any abundance increase following prohibition. Because average known removals from the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board’s Bather Protection Program have typically remained higher than these thresholds, they likely eliminated much of the conservation benefit derived from prohibition. The only life history scenario to achieve appreciable increase when simulated removals were similar to published averages assumed maturation occurred at a much younger age than currently understood. Our results demonstrate why general application of life history-based simulations can provide a useful mechanism to evaluate the biological plausibility of life history information and abundance trends, and to explore the scope for population response to recovery actions. For South Africa, our results suggest that even known levels of white shark removals, which likely underestimate total removals within their range, may be sufficient to drive abundance decline and new mitigation measures may be required to ensure population recovery.

Leaving home: Technological and landscape knowledge as resilience at pre-Holocene Kharaneh IV, Azraq Basin, Jordan

Humanity’s relationship with the environment during the Holocene, and into the Anthropocene, is structured around our dependance on agricultural production, which has resulted in risk mitigation strategies that include intensive landscape modifications, among other tactics. However, to understand broader patterns of human resilience and the shifts in human/environment relationships, we need to look further back in time. Through this paper, we explore cultural strategies of risk management and resilience in pre-Holocene communities and how these practices allowed hunter-gatherer communities to adapt to a changing environment. For over 1000 years, the Epipalaeolithic site of Kharaneh IV was a focal point on the landscape for hunter-gatherer groups, acting as an aggregation site for Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic peoples. Located in the eastern desert of Jordan, at the time of occupation the site was a lush wetland surrounded by a rich grassland environment, providing abundant food and other resources for the site’s occupants. However, over time the wetland began to dry up and by 18,600 cal BP Kharaneh IV was abandoned. In this paper, we discuss the final occupation of Kharaneh IV, linking the site’s abandonment to the increasing aridification of eastern Jordan. Environmental change led to the eventual abandonment of Kharaneh IV and other nearby sites, as people relocated within the Azraq Basin in search of new water resources during the Holocene. Flexible technological strategies and knowledge of the landscape created resilient cultural practices that allowed these communities to use population movement as a risk management strategy.

Network analysis reveals aggregation behaviour for an endangered predator at an offshore island.

Site fidelity and aggregation behaviour were assessed for giant sea bass Stereolepis gigas (GSB) at Santa Barbara Island, California, USA, from 2018 to 2020. Results indicate seasonal variation in GSB presence, and network analyses revealed a preferred location in a spatially constrained pattern, indicative of aggregation behaviour. Results show GSB aggregated annually during spawning months in the same location, confirming the first known aggregation of GSB at Santa Barbara Island. Identifying and monitoring aggregation sites is vital to ensuring proper protection and ultimate recovery for this protected species in a changing climate.

The curious case of regulating false news on Google

There are concerns with the spread of false news in recent years on news aggregator websites. In the case of Google's news aggregator service Google News, this problem is exacerbated when platform synergies are applied (for instance, users can be directed to Google News through Google's search engine, Google Search). In this article, I highlight key features of selected legislation implemented to regulate the spread of false news online and discuss their implications. I also look at the Google's efforts to self- and co-regulate, within the context of its main purposes and vulnerabilities, the mechanisms available, the monitoring of health information over the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as its commitment to codes of practices. Thereafter, I consider the limitations on regulation posed by user norms. I evaluate existing forms of regulation to assess if they are content or engagement driven, and conclude by discussing what could be more effective against disinformation for the future.

Self-Assembled Au Nanoparticle Monolayers on Silicon in Two- and Three-Dimensions for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Sensing.

Gold nanoparticle/silicon composites are canonical substrates for sensing applications because of their geometry-dependent physicochemical properties and high sensing activity via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The self-assembly of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) synthesized via wet-chemistry on functionalized flat silicon (Si) and vertically aligned Si nanowire (VA-SiNW) arrays is a simple and cost-effective approach to prepare such substrates. Herein, we report on the critical parameters that influence nanoparticle coverage, aggregation, and assembly sites in two- and three-dimensions to prepare substrates with homogeneous optical properties and SERS activity. We show that the degree of AuNP aggregation on flat Si depends on the silane used for the Si functionalization, while the AuNP coverage can be adjusted by the incubation time in the AuNP solution, both of which directly affect the substrate properties. In particular, we report the reproducible synthesis of nearly touching AuNP chain monolayers where the AuNPs are separated by nanoscale gaps, likely to be formed due to the capillary forces generated during the drying process. Such substrates, when used for SERS sensing, produce a uniform and large enhancement of the Raman signal due to the high density of hot spots that they provide. We also report the controlled self-assembly of AuNPs on VA-SiNW arrays, which can provide even higher Raman signal enhancement. The directed assembly of the AuNPs in specific regions of the SiNWs with a control over NP density and monolayer morphology (i.e., isolated vs nearly touching NPs) is demonstrated, together with its influence on the resulting SERS activity.

Improving sightings-derived residency estimation for whale shark aggregations: A novel metric applied to a global data set

The world’s largest extant fish, the whale shark Rhincodon typus, is one of the most-studied species of sharks globally. The discovery of predictable aggregation sites where these animals gather seasonally or are sighted year-round – most of which are coastal and juvenile-dominated – has allowed for a rapid expansion of research on this species. The most common method for studying whale sharks at these sites is photographic identification (photo-ID). This technique allows for long-term individual-based data to be collected which can, in turn, be used to evaluate population structure, build population models, identify long-distance movements, and assess philopatry and other population dynamics. Lagged identification rate (LIR) models have fewer underlying assumptions than more traditional capture mark recapture approaches, making them more broadly applicable to marine taxa, especially far-ranging megafauna species like whale sharks. However, the increased flexibility comes at a cost. Parameter estimations based on LIR can be difficult to interpret and may not be comparable between areas with different sampling regimes. Using a unique data-set from the Philippines with ~8 years of nearly continuous survey effort, we were able to derive a metric for converting LIR residency estimates into more intuitive days-per-year units. We applied this metric to 25 different sites allowing for the first quantitatively-meaningful comparison of sightings-derived residence among the world’s whale shark aggregations. We validated these results against the only three published acoustic residence metrics (falling within the ranges established by these earlier works in all cases). The results were then used to understand residency behaviours exhibited by the sharks at each site. The adjusted residency metric is an improvement to LIR-based population modelling, already one of the most widely used tools for describing whale shark aggregations. The standardised methods presented here can serve as a valuable tool for assessing residency patterns of whale sharks, which is crucial for tailored conservation action, and can cautiously be tested in other taxa.

Ecosystem dynamics of air transport business development in the digital age

Aim. The presented study aims to analyze the dynamics of air transport business development in the era of digital transformation from the perspective of the implementation of the ecosystem paradigm as a relevant modern business model organization concept.Tasks. The authors investigate approaches to defining the concept of “ecosystem” in the field of economic relations; reveal the essence of approaches to defining the structure of the economic ecosystem; describe key trends in the development of air transport within the paradigm of the ecosystem concept.Methods. This study uses general scientific methods of cognition in various aspects to analyze scientific approaches to defining the concept of “ecosystem” in the field of economic relations and defining the structure of the economic ecosystem, and to identify trends in the development of air transport within the paradigm of the ecosystem concept.Results. The introduction of the ecosystem concept into business processes leads to changes in the attitude to the concept of “competition”. The theory of rivalry is replaced by the practice of convergence — the alignment and unification of different technologies into new types of technologies. Technological convergence changes the nature of familiar things. The authors identify and analyze three essential characteristics of the concept of “ecosystem”, the joint implementation of which makes it possible to entertain the possibility of implementing the ecosystem concept of business development in practice. The digital basis of ecosystem organization ensures its modular structure, which, in turn, determines the ease and flexibility of both connecting participants to the system and exiting it. By forming new consumer preferences, the ecosystem allows participants to work with consumers successfully. In the context of the assessed advantages of the ecosystem, the authors identify and investigate its 13 disadvantages. Seven key development trends are identified from the perspective of assessing the prospects for the ecosystemization of professional activity in the passenger air transport market.Conclusions. The tourism market is the most popular sector for ecosystem development in the air transport industry at the current stage of market development. Tourism ecosystems are a definite trend of inter-product cooperation, including those using the services of airlines, airports, and aggregator sites. The authors believe that the issues of theoretical understanding and practical analysis of the ecosystem dynamics of air transport business development in the digital age remain not fully investigated and need to be studied in detail. In further studies, the authors will analyze the organizational and legal nature of ecosystems, the essential characteristics of the structural elements of the ecosystem, the types of ecosystems in air transport, and the practice of their implementation.