Local Environmental Context Research Articles

Temporal relationships between the red fox and the European badger in a Mediterranean protected area

AbstractNiche partitioning according to time, space, or resources is the key to interspecific coexistence. Interactions among carnivore species are complex: interference is common, although positive relationships may develop through trophic facilitation. In turn, different behavioral responses to coexistence may be reported, ranging from avoidance to attraction, the outcome of which is highly dependent on the local environmental context. Here, we evaluated the temporal partitioning by analyzing spatiotemporal relationships between the red fox Vulpes vulpes and the European badger Meles meles in a Mediterranean?protected area for three full years, using intensive camera trapping. The two species showed similar temporal activity patterns, with a nocturnal activity and peaks at dawn and dusk. We found a substantial temporal overlap between red fox and badger (Δ > 0.78, on a 0‐1 scale). However, we detected some differences in temporal activity patterns across these species and no evidence of interspecific spatiotemporal avoidance. Previous work provided no evidence supporting spatial avoidance among the study species. Our results suggest a role of temporal partitioning at a finer scale during the night to facilitate interspecific coexistence.

Ecological drivers of CRISPR immune systems.

Microbes must constantly defend themselves against viral pathogens, and a large proportion of prokaryotes do so using the highly effective CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune system. However, many prokaryotes do not. We investigated the ecological factors behind this uneven distribution of CRISPR-Cas immune systems in natural microbial populations. We found strong patterns linking CRISPR-Cas systems to prokaryotic density within ocean environments and to prokaryotic diversity within human oral environments. Our study validates previous within-lab experimental results that suggested these factors might be important and confirms that local environment and ecological context interact to select for CRISPR immunity.

Litter mixture effects on nitrogen dynamics during decomposition predominantly vary among biomes but little with litter identity, diversity and soil fauna

Nitrogen (N) is essential for net primary production, with much of the required N in terrestrial ecosystems derived from recycling via litter decomposition. The diversity and identity of plant species and decomposer organisms affect N cycling during litter decomposition, yet the generality and magnitude of these effects remain uncertain. To fill this gap, a decomposition experiment with four leaf litter species that differed widely in initial litter quality was conducted including single species and all possible multispecies mixtures, with and without microarthropods access across a broad latitudinal gradient covering four major forest biomes of the Northern Hemisphere. The results showed that leaf litter N dynamics (both N loss and N immobilization) in single species treatments depended primarily on litter species identity and the local environmental context. We found strong mixture effects, that overall tended to increase N loss and to reduce 15N transfer. The relative mixture effects on N dynamics differed among forest biomes, but were little affected by the other factors we manipulated. The N loss of individual litter species in mixtures not only depended on litter identity and soil microarthropod access, but also on forest biomes; while 15N transfer depended strongly on litter mixing, independently of litter species richness or composition of the mixtures. Litter N dynamics were mainly driven by a small subset of litter traits, regardless of species richness and microarthropod access. Overall, our results highlight that litter mixture strongly affects N dynamics during decomposition, with the mixture effects predominantly varying among forest biomes but little with litter identity, diversity and microarthropod access. To improve predictions on how changes in tree species composition and diversity may impact nutrient dynamics in forest ecosystems in face of increasing N deposition, interactions between litter and soil but also within litter mixtures need closer attention.

SGAM – Smart Geotechnical Asset Management

SGAM (Smart Geotechnical Asset Management) is a service provided through a web-platform running the cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) or via API to connect external systems with our service. It represents an innovative and semi-automatic decision-making supporting system for asset management and predictive maintenance purposes to improve the financial resilience of assets, taking advantages of innovative data-fusion algorithms and satellite Earth Observation (EO) technologies (e.g., A-DInSAR and PhotomonitoringTM). SGAM focuses on the risks related to structures and infrastructures, analysing their interaction with the local geological and environmental context, by automatically evaluating the direct or potential future interferences with geohazards (e.g., landslides, floods, fires). The service aims to support Decision Makers in defining and prioritizing the maintenance operations based on the asset vulnerability and loss scenarios. This goal is reached through the integration of the big amount of archived and newly acquired EO data, the available worldwide and regional geodatabases, the information collected by field surveys or other ground-based Structural Health Monitoring and Geotechnical/Geomorphological Monitoring systems, and the proven scientific know-how and experience of the proponent team on geohazards effects in the civil engineering field. SGAM is also designed to be able to implement satellite products from new future space missions, ensuring a vision oriented to the maximum exploitation of the most recent technologies. These components are managed and analysed by specific Process Automation solutions, based on Artificial Intelligence, allowing for a redundant first-level risk-based priority action assessment for cost-effective and optimized maintenance investments.

Warming-induced shifts in alpine soil microbiome: An ecosystem-scale study with environmental context-dependent insights

Climate warming is a pressing global issue with substantial impacts on soil health and function. However, the influence of environmental context on the responses of soil microorganisms to warming remains largely elusive, particularly in alpine ecosystems. This study examined the responses of the soil microbiome to in situ experimental warming across three elevations (3850 m, 4100 m, and 4250 m) in the meadow of Gongga Mountain, eastern Tibetan Plateau. Our findings demonstrate that soil microbial diversity is highly resilient to warming, with significant impacts observed only at specific elevations. Furthermore, the influence of warming on the composition of the soil microbial community is also elevation-dependent, underscoring the importance of local environmental context in shaping microbial evolution in alpine soils under climate warming. Notably, we identified soil moisture at 3850 m and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio at 4250 m as indirect predictors regulating the responses of microbial diversity to warming at specific elevations. These findings underscore the paramount importance of considering pre-existing environmental conditions in predicting the response of alpine soil microbiomes to climate warming. Our study provides novel insights into the intricate interactions between climate warming, soil microbiome, and environmental context in alpine ecosystems, illuminating the complex mechanisms governing soil microbial ecology in these fragile and sensitive environments.

Ecological drivers of CRISPR immune systems.

2Microbes must constantly defend themselves against viral pathogens, and a large proportion of prokaryotes do so using the highly effective CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune system. However, many prokaryotes do not. We investigated the ecological factors behind this uneven distribution of CRISPR-Cas immune systems in natural microbial populations. We found strong patterns linking CRISPR-Cas systems to prokaryotic density within ocean environments and to prokaryotic diversity within human oral environments. Our study validates previous within-lab experimental results that suggested these factors might be important and confirms that local environment and ecological context interact to select for CRISPR immunity.

Drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal can differ across two species of fleshy‐fruited savanna plants

AbstractVarious factors may mediate the visitation of frugivores to fruiting plants, which can dictate the quantum of seeds removed (dispersed) away from the parent plant. Past studies have laid emphasis on species‐specific factors and environmental contexts that frugivores may use as cues to make foraging decisions and differentially visit various plant species. However, differences in plant traits (intrinsic factors) and local environmental contexts (extrinsic factors) can influence the diversity and abundance of frugivores that visit individual plants of the same species, resulting in intraspecific variation in seed dispersal. We observed individuals of two co‐fruiting plant species with morphologically similar fruits—Naringi crenulata and Ziziphus oenopolia—for 134 h and examined the influence of fruit crop size, plant height, and fruiting neighborhood on the diversity of visiting avian frugivores and quantum of fruit removal for individual plants. We found that despite their similarity in fruits and sharing of a similar set of frugivore species, the two plant species differed in how they attracted frugivores, with consequences for fruit removal rates. Fruit crop size was an important determinant of fruit removal for N. crenulata¸ while plant height led to greater visitation and fruit removal for Z. oenopolia. We discuss potential reasons for the difference in frugivore visitation and fruit removal for the two plant species. Our results support a growing body of evidence that intraspecific variation in seed dispersal is pervasive and highly context‐dependent, and describe frugivore interactions of two plant species from an understudied tropical savanna.

Differentiated impacts of environmental contexts on residents' environmental attitudes towards ecological restoration programs of China's drylands

Residents' environmental attitudes (EAs) towards ecological restoration programs are vital for evaluating program effectiveness and promoting environmental management. However, most local studies have neglected the indirect environmental contextual influences on residents' EAs, and have omitted the regional variations in the environmental contextual influences. To investigate the multilevel factors affecting residents' EAs, we conducted a transect survey that included the eastern, middle, and western regions in northern China's drylands, where have experienced ecological restoration. Multilevel linear models (MLMs) were applied to analyse the direct and indirect impacts of environmental contexts and individual characteristics on rural residents' EAs. The results showed the environmental context can indirectly impact EAs by amplifying the influence of individual characteristics such as family structure and income on EAs. The EAs are influenced by different local environmental contexts among the east, middle and west of China's drylands. The humidity attitude was influenced by precipitation only in the highly arid western and middle regions, while precipitation attitude is strongly influenced by land surface temperature and humidity in eastern China's drylands. These findings hold important implications for understanding the cross-scale impact of environmental contexts on EAs in drylands.

Local habitat composition and complexity outweigh seascape effects on fish distributions across a tropical seascape

ContextThe distribution of animals is influenced by a complex interplay of landscape, environmental, habitat, and anthropogenic factors. While the effects of each of these forces on fish assemblages have been studied in isolation, the implications of their combined influence within a seascape remain equivocal.ObjectivesWe assessed the importance of local habitat composition, seascape configuration, and environmental conditions for determining the abundance, diversity, and functional composition of fish assemblages across a tropical seascape.MethodsWe quantified fish abundance in coral, macroalgal, mangrove, and sand habitats throughout the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. A full-subsets modelling approach was used that incorporated data from benthic habitat maps, a hydrodynamic model, in situ measures of habitat composition, and remotely sensed environmental data to evaluate the relative influence of biophysical drivers on fish assemblages.ResultsMeasures of habitat complexity were the strongest predictors of fish abundance, diversity, and assemblage composition in coral and macroalgal habitats, with seascape effects playing a secondary role for some functional groups. Proximity to potential nursery habitats appeared to have minimal influence on coral reef fish assemblages. Consequently, coral, macroalgal, and mangrove habitats contained distinct fish assemblages that contributed to the overall diversity of fish within the seascape.ConclusionsOur findings underscore the importance of structural complexity for supporting diverse and abundant fish populations and suggest that the value of structural connectivity between habitats depends on local environmental context. Our results support management approaches that prioritise the preservation of habitat complexity, and that incorporate the full range of habitats comprising tropical seascapes.

Interplay of socio-economic and environmental factors in shaping urban plant biodiversity: a comprehensive analysis

Urban environments are dynamic landscapes shaped by a multitude of factors, including environmental conditions and socio-economic influences. This study systematically investigates how various factors shape urban plant diversity in Haikou City, Hainan Province, China, focusing on 30 key drivers including socio-economic aspects, biophysical conditions, landscape elements, and management practices. Our research methodology involved a comprehensive analysis of these factors’ impact on six types of urban plant species: spontaneous, native spontaneous, exotic spontaneous, cultivated, native cultivated, and exotic cultivated. Conducted in urban areas with varying population densities and landscape features, our sampling approach aimed to understand the species’ distribution patterns. We discovered significant correlations between plant species diversity and specific environmental and socio-economic variables. Our results indicate that spontaneous species are prevalent in densely populated areas with strong social ties, whereas areas rich in tree and shrub cover see fewer such species. Native cultivated species favor more serene, less urbanized landscapes, while exotic cultivated species are predominantly found in economically affluent areas with diverse vegetation. These findings offer valuable insights for urban planning and biodiversity conservation, emphasizing the need for customized greening strategies that align with local environmental and social contexts. By adopting such tailored approaches, urban planners can more effectively manage landscapes, enrich green spaces, and foster biodiverse, sustainable ecosystems. This research not only enhances our understanding of urban plant biodiversity but also lays the groundwork for future studies and policy-making, promoting harmonious integration of diverse plant life within urban settings.

Environmental context shapes the relationship between grass consumption and body size in African herbivore communities.

Though herbivore grass dependence has been shown to increase with body size across herbivore species, it is unclear whether this relationship holds at the community level. Here we evaluate whether grass consumption scales positively with body size within African large mammalian herbivore communities and how this relationship varies with environmental context. We used stable carbon isotope and community occurrence data to investigate how grass dependence scales with body size within 23 savanna herbivore communities throughout eastern and central Africa. We found that dietary grass fraction increased with body size for the majority of herbivore communities considered, especially when complete community data were available. However, the slope of this relationship varied, and rainfall seasonality and elephant presence were key drivers of the variation-grass dependence increased less strongly with body size where rainfall was more seasonal and where elephants were present. We found also that the dependence of the herbivore community as a whole on grass peaked at intermediate woody cover. Intraspecific diet variation contributed to these community-level patterns: common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) and giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) ate less grass where rainfall was more seasonal, whereas Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) grass consumption were parabolically related to woody cover. Our results indicate that general rules appear to govern herbivore community assembly, though some aspects of herbivore foraging behavior depend upon local environmental context.

Memorialization at Conflict Heritage Sites in Aceh based on Major Events

Aceh’s conflict heritage is a category of dark heritage that has been taking shape since the start of the political conflict between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement in 1976 and the post-tsunami peace agreement in 2005. These events have left a contested tangible and intangible legacy. There is the need to learn from past events with the aim of truth-telling, restoration of victims’ rights, maintaining and nurturing peace. This research aims to identify conflict heritage sites in Aceh and see how the process of memorializing sites is starting to take place. The identification process was conducted through literature review, interviews, focused group discussions, and field verification. Preliminary findings show that 20 significant heritage sites have been mapped, concentrated in the main conflict zones. The heritage objects are identified based on main events timeline and collective narratives of conflict. It also examines the typology of the physical memorials built across the main conflict heritage location and analyzes the process and the results of these memorialization efforts. The results show memorialization efforts face challenges in both the process and form of memorialization. Also, in realizing inclusive and empathic memorialization, it does not only rely on the multi-parties involved but more on the local environmental and cultural context.

The effect of cosmic web filaments on galaxy properties in the RESOLVE and ECO surveys

ABSTRACT Galaxy environment plays an important role in driving the transformation of galaxies from blue and star forming to red and quenched. Recent works have focused on the role of cosmic web filaments in galaxy evolution and have suggested that stellar mass segregation, quenching of star formation, and gas-stripping may occur within filaments. We study the relationship between distance to filament and the stellar mass, colour, and H i gas content of galaxies using data from the REsolved Spectroscopy of a Local VolumE survey and Environmental COntext (ECO) catalogue, two overlapping census-style, volume-complete surveys. We use the Discrete Persistence Structures Extractor to identify cosmic web filaments over the full ECO area. We find that galaxies close to filaments have higher stellar masses, in agreement with previous results. Controlling for stellar mass, we find that galaxies also have redder colours and are more gas poor closer to filaments. When accounting for group membership and halo mass, we find that these trends in colour and gas content are dominated by the increasing prevalence of galaxy group environments close to filaments, particularly for high-halo mass and low-stellar mass galaxies. Filaments have an additional small effect on the gas content of galaxies in low-mass haloes, possibly due to cosmic web stripping.

How social movements use religious creativity to address environmental crises in Indonesian local communities

Religions play an important yet poorly understood part in how social movements motivate societies to respond to environmental crises and the rapidly changing climate. Indonesia sits on the global frontline of environmental crises, with a rich history of religious diversity and environmental activism. Using framework synthesis, we analyzed 244 empirical studies (English and Indonesian) on 208 environmental social movements operating in local communities in Indonesia from 1990 through 2022. We developed a conceptual model showing how grassroots movements used lived religion to create new environmental practices and motivate environmental behavioral changes in diverse local communities. Our study inventoried 571 examples of lived religious concepts, practices, rituals and systems that movements used to create environmental concepts and practices. We found three patterns in the creative process: 1) conceptual hybridization, meaning that movements often blended official religions, Indigenous religions, and local knowledges and traditions (often called cultural practices), and they fused these aspects of lived religion with economic, legal and scientific concepts; 2) contextual imagination, meaning that movements adopted multiple religious and other strategies to respond to local economic, environmental, political, and religio-cultural contexts; and, 3) contestation-driven improvisation, meaning that movements faced intense opposition, and this dynamic both motivated improvisation and increased the vulnerability of movements and of local communities adapting to rapid environmental change. We propose that future studies on adaptation and sustainable transitions could include lived eco-religion as a meeting point for critical partnerships between environmental scholars in the sciences and the humanities.

Social comparison feedback in decision-making context: Environmental externality levels and psychological traits matter

Social comparison feedback has been widely applied to encourage energy and water conservation, with the ultimate aim to protect ecosystems and the environment. Yet, the effectiveness of social comparison feedback varies. In this study, with 360 UK participants from Prolific, we conducted an online experiment based on a modified dictator game with multi-round purchasing decisions involving trade-offs between individual monetary payoff and real-world carbon offsets donation. A 2 × 3 between-subjects design was implemented, varying in the externality levels associated with the purchase (high versus low), and the type of feedback (self-feedback, social comparison feedback, and tangible emissions feedback – i.e. social comparison enriched with information relating environmental impacts to daily activity and nature). Furthermore, we measured several psychological traits of participants. Our findings show that social comparison interventions are only effective under certain circumstances. Both interventions with social comparison are more effective in the low-externality context. Furthermore, the effect of tangible emissions feedback is moderated by individuals’ tendency to conform to specific social norms and compete with others. Compared to standard social comparison feedback, social comparison feedback enriched with tangible emissions information is overall more effective. We highlight the importance of tailoring social comparison interventions to local environmental and cultural contexts.

The Empowering Ecopedagogical Communities and Restructuring Environment-Based Early Childhood Education Curriculum in Coal Mining Regions

The Early Childhood Education Curriculum should always be thoughtfully tailored to contextual conditions. For institutions situated in coal mining regions, an environmentally-based curriculum becomes imperative to address the ongoing exploitation of the environment. However, it has come to light that Early Childhood Education institutions in coal mining areas have not aligned their curricula with these contextual considerations. In response to this discrepancy, a Participatory Action Research (PAR) initiative was undertaken by a team of researchers in collaboration with mentor subjects, who are Early Childhood Education teachers in the Hatungun, Binuang, Tapin Selatan, and Salam Babaris Districts. The overarching goal was to rectify this less-than-ideal situation. The series of PAR activities proved to be transformative, leading to the graduation of 38 community members equipped with the ability to design, implement, and evaluate environment-based Early Childhood Education practices. This achievement represents a significant step toward nurturing a generation of educators who can effectively engage with the unique challenges of coal mining regions, fostering sustainable and responsible approaches to education that align with the local environmental context. Ultimately, it paves the way for a more harmonious relationship between early childhood education and the environment, contributing to the broader goal of mitigating environmental exploitation.

Penyesuaian Guna Semula dan Kelestarian Rumah Kedai Warisan di Bandar Bersejarah di Malaysia

The rich history and architecture of Malacca are two of many factors that lead to earning the recognition as UNESCO’s World Heritage Site. The architecture of heritage shop houses is a very important architecture in the city. The architecture of shop houses is also an example of sustainable architecture that is designed according to the local socio-culture and environmental context. Therefore, the heritage shop house in the cities can survive and stay relevent until now even though the requirements of use have changed according to the current socio-cultural and economical needs. Scholars have emphasized on the practice of reusing old buildings as one of the conservation methods. Adaptive reuse is among the conservation methods. This practice conserves the existing buildings, while incorporating contemporary functions that befit with the modern days’ society. The objective of this research is to discuss on the sustainable design approaches of heritage shophouse and to investigate the adaptive reuse approach of shophouses in Jonker Street that have went through adaptive reuse process. The methodology for this research includes literature reviews, observation and personal interviews. The shophouses were selected as case study. The findings highlight on the adaptive reuse method as a model for conservation to improve on sustainability and building function while maintaining cultural and heritage appropriateness. The findings of the study also allow for a deeper understanding of sustainable design elements that exist in heritage shop houses.

The RESOLVE and ECO Gas in Galaxy Groups Initiative: The Group Finder and the Group H i–Halo Mass Relation

We present a four-step group-finding algorithm for the Gas in Galaxy Groups (G3) initiative, a spin-off of the z ∼ 0 REsolved Spectroscopy Of a Local VolumE (RESOLVE) and Environmental COntext (ECO) surveys. In preparation for future comparisons to intermediate redshift (e.g., the LADUMA survey), we design the group finder to adapt to incomplete, shallow, or nonuniform data. We use mock catalogs to optimize the group finder’s performance. Compared to friends-of-friends (with false-pair splitting), the G3 algorithm offers improved completeness and halo-mass recovery with minimal loss of purity. Combining it with the volume-limited H i census data for RESOLVE and ECO, we examine the H i content of galaxy groups as a function of group halo mass. Group-integrated H i mass M H I,grp rises monotonically over halo masses M halo ∼ 1011–1014.5 M ⊙, pivoting in slope at M halo ∼ 1011.4 M ⊙, the gas-richness threshold scale. We present the first measurement of the scatter in this relation, which has a median of ∼0.3 dex and is asymmetric toward lower M H I,grp. We discuss interesting tensions with theoretical predictions and prior measurements of the M H I,grp–M halo relation. In an appendix, we release RESOLVE DR4 and ECO DR3, including updates to survey redshifts, photometry, and group catalogs, as well as a major expansion of the ECO H i inventory with value-added data products.

Quantifying Household Water Use and Its Determinants in Low-Income, Water-Scarce Households in Karachi

Water system investments in megacities in South Asia are driven by a perceived ‘shortage’ of water supply compared to water demand. However, water demand estimates for such cities often do not reflect local socioeconomic and demographic characteristics nor account for seasonal variability. In this study, using a mixed-methods approach, we quantify household water use and its determinants and assess the seasonality of access to piped water in the low-income, water-scarce township of Lyari in Karachi. Results from over 600 household surveys show that the reported per capita water usage at the household level is lower than the assumed water demand by the city’s water utility. Water use is found to differ by gender, season, and economic status. More affluent households are able to “purchase” water security and sustain higher water use even in situations of extreme water scarcity. The perceived sufficiency of water supply improves markedly in the winter despite no increase in supply, indicating reduced demand. These findings can inform more accurate water demand projections for Karachi and highlight the importance of accounting for local socioeconomic and environmental contexts in water demand projections.

Local environmental context drives heterogeneity of early succession dynamics in alpine glacier forefields

Abstract. Glacier forefields have long provided ecologists with a model to study patterns of plant succession following glacier retreat. While plant-survey-based approaches applied along chronosequences provide invaluable information on plant communities, the “space-for-time” approach assumes environmental uniformity and equal ecological potential across sites and does not account for spatial variability in initial site conditions. Remote sensing provides a promising avenue for assessing plant colonization dynamics using a so-called “real-time” approach. Here, we combined 36 years of Landsat imagery with extensive field sampling along chronosequences of deglaciation for eight glacier forefields in the southwestern European Alps to investigate the heterogeneity of early plant succession dynamics. Based on the two complementary and independent approaches, we found strong variability in the time lag between deglaciation and colonization by plants and in subsequent growth rates and in the composition of early plant succession. All three parameters were highly dependent on the local environmental context, i.e., neighboring vegetation cover and energy availability linked to temperature and snowmelt gradients. Potential geomorphological disturbance did not emerge as a strong predictor of succession parameters, which is perhaps due to insufficient spatial resolution of predictor variables. Notably, the identity of pioneer plant species was highly variable, and initial plant community composition had a much stronger influence on plant assemblages than elapsed time since deglaciation. Overall, both approaches converged towards the conclusion that early plant succession is not stochastic as previous authors have suggested but rather determined by local ecological context. We discuss the importance of scale in deciphering the complexity of plant succession in glacier forefields and provide recommendations for improving botanical field surveys and using Landsat time series in glacier forefield systems. Our work demonstrates complementarity between remote sensing and field-based approaches for both understanding and predicting future patterns of plant succession in glacier forefields.