This book represents different types of progress in hydrogeology, including conceptualization changes, different approaches to simulating groundwater flow and transport new hydrogeophysical methods. Each chapter extends or summarizes a recent development in hydrogeology, with forward-looking statements regarding the challenges and strengths that are faced. While the title and scope is broad, there are several sub-themes that connect the chapters. Themes include theoretical advances in conceptualization and modeling of hydrogeologic problems. Conceptual advances are further tempered by insights arising from observations from both field and laboratory work.

In recent years there has been significant attention paid on the endophytic research by various groups working within this domain. Mutualistic endophytic microbes with an emphasis on the relatively understudied fungal endophytes are the focus of this special book. Plants are associated with micro-organisms: endophytic bacteria and fungi, which live inter- and intra-cellularly without inducing pathogenic symptoms, but have active biochemical and genetic interactions with their host. Endophytes play vital roles as plant growth promoters, biocontrol agents, biosurfactant producers, enzymes and secondary metabolite producers, as well as providing a new hidden repertoire of bioactive natural products with uses in pharmaceutical, agrochemical and other biotechnological applications. The increasing interest in endophytic research generates significant progress in our understanding of the host-endophyte relationship at molecular and genetic level. The bio-prospection of microbial endophytes has led to exciting possibilities for their biotechnological application as biocontrol agent, bioactive metabolites, and other useful traits. Apart from these virtues, the microbial endophytes may be adapted to the complex metabolism of many desired molecules that can be of significant industrial applications. These microbes can be a useful alternative for sustainable solutions for ecological control of pests and diseases, and can reduce the burden of excess of chemical fertilizers for this purpose. This book is an attempt to review the recent development in the understanding of microbial endophytes and their potential biotechnological applications. This is a collection of literature authored by noted researchers having signatory status in endophytic research and summarizes the development achieved so far, and future prospects for further research in this fascinating area of research."

"Alfred Russel Wallace- His Predecessors and Successors. Naturalists, Explorers and Field Scientists in South-east Asia and Australasia. An International Conference" will be the premier forum for the presentation of new advances and research results in the fields of studies on Alfred Russel Wallace and other natural historians, past and present, as well as contemporary research on South-east Asian and Australasian biological diversity. The conference will bring together leading researchers including biologists, ecologists, zoologists, botanists, geologists, anthropologists, social scientists and others from around the world. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: history of biology, biodiversity, anthropology, geology, conservation, ecosystem management, environmental impact assessments, environmental law, environmental policies, landscape management and habitat restoration and management.

Ecotoxicology Modeling is a comprehensive and well-documented text providing a collection of computational methods to the ecotoxicologists primarily interested in the study of the adverse effects of chemicals, their mechanisms of action and/or their environmental fate and behavior. Avoiding mathematical jargon, the book presents numerous case studies to enable the reader to understand the interest but also the limitations of linear and nonlinear models in ecotoxicology.

Written by an international team of scientists, Ecotoxicology Modeling is of primary interest to those whose research or professional activity is directly concerned with the development and application of models in ecotoxicology. It is also intended to provide the graduate and post-graduate students with a clear and accessible text covering the main types of modeling approaches used in environmental sciences.

This book highlights perspectives, insights, and data in the coupled fields of aquatic microbial ecology and biogeochemistry when viewed through the lens of collaborative duos - dual career couples. Their synergy and collaborative interactions have contributed substantially to our contemporary understanding of pattern, process and dynamics. This is thus a book by dual career couples about dual scientific processes. The papers herein represent wide-ranging topics, from the processes that structure microbial diversity to nitrogen and photosynthesis metabolism, to dynamics of changing ecosystems and processes and dynamics in individual ecosystems. In all, these papers take us from the Arctic to Africa, from the Arabian Sea to Australia, from small lakes in Maine and Yellowstone hot vents to the Sargasso Sea, and in the process provide analyses that make us think about the structure and function of all of these systems in the aquatic realm. This book is useful not only for the depth and breadth of knowledge conveyed in its chapters, but serves to guide dual career couples faced with the great challenges only they face. Great teams do make great science.

This book explores humanity's relationship with the natural world throughout evolutionary history, and the need to reorient this onto a symbiotic basis. It integrates the themes of natural and artificial selection, the characteristics of historic 'revolutions', and directed versus random change. Inspiring community-based projects, mainly from the developing world, show how ecosystem regeneration uplifts human livelihoods in a positively reinforcing cycle, embodying lessons germane to co-creating a Symbiocene era wherein humanity's substantial influence (the Anthropocene) achieves increasing symbiosis with the natural processes shaping the former Holocene epoch. The Ecosystems Revolution provides practical, positive examples, highlighting the attainability of an 'ecosystems revolution'.

Fisheries resources are an important component of natural resources. It is an important source of high-quality animal protein and food for humans, which provides employment, economic benefits and social welfare for people engaged in fishing activities. It also has played an important role in food safety, economic development, and foreign trade. Fisheries resources economics is an important branch of both applied economics and resource economics. Its research object is fishery resources and its economic problems. The economics of fishery resources is to focus on the relationship between the demand for human economic activities and the supply of fishery resources, as well as between fishery resources and its development. This book expounds the reasons for the economic problems of fishery resources and the theoretical principles for solving them, so as to reveal the objective rules of the allocation of fishery resources in different regions and at different times, to coordinate the relationship between the utilization of fishery resources and economic development, and to realize the sustainable development of fishery economy. This book will also provide learning materials for undergraduates, graduate students and practitioners engaged in fishery resources development and scientific management.

Soundscape Ecology represents a new branch of ecology and it is the result of the integration of different disciplines like Landscape ecology, Bioacoustics, Acoustic ecology, Biosemiotics, etc. The soundscape that is the object of this discipline, is defined as the acoustic context resulting from natural and human originated sounds and it is considered a relevant environmental proxy for animal and human life. With Soundscape Ecology Almo Farina means to offer a new cultural tool to investigate a partially explored component of the environmental complexity. For this he intends to set the principles of this new discipline, to delineate the epistemic domain in which to develop new ideas and theories and to describe the necessary integration with all the other ecological/environmental disciplines. The book is organized in ten chapters. The first two chapters delineate principles and theory of soundscape ecology. Chapters three and four describe the bioacoustic and communication theories. Chapter five is devoted to the human dimension of soundscape. Chapters six to eight regard the major sonic patterns like noise, choruses and vibrations. Chapter nine is devoted to the methods in soundscape ecology and finally chapter ten describes the application of the soundscape analysis.

This book explains the formation of biofilm on materials surfaces in an industrial setting. The authors describe new developments in understanding of biofilm formation, detection, and control from the viewpoint of materials science and engineering. The book details the range of issues caused by biofilm formation and the variety of affected industries.

This book evolved from the editors strong belief that the information and new developments that were evolving from the rapidly growing field of genomics and that are happening primarily in the developed world have not happened at a parallel rate in the developing world. One would have hoped that by now the technologies and approaches would have been adapted on a far greater scale. In addition to this, the associated information is not always easily accessible, and is not disseminated in a format that can become a useful reference for scientists, students and others who reside in developing countries.

PrefaceThe Human Genome and the Human Microbiome. Chapter 1The Human Genome, Microbiome and Disease. Chapter 2Host Genotype and the effect on Microbial Communities. Chapter 3 The Human Microbiome and Host-Pathogen Interactions. Chapter 4 The Human Virome. Chapter 5 Selection and Sequencing of Strains as References for Human Microbiome studies. Chapter 6 The Human Vaginal Microbiome. Chapter 7 The Human Lung Microbiome. Chapter 8 The Human Skin Microbiome in Health and Skin Diseases. Chapter 9 The Human Oral metagenome. Chapter 10 Infectogenomics: aspect of Host Responses to Microbes in the Digestive Tract. Chapter 11 Autoimmune Disease and the Human Metagenome. Chapter 12 Metagenomic applications and the potential for understanding chronic liver disease. Chapter 13 Symbiotic gut microbiota and the modulation of human metabolic phenotypes Chapter 14 MetaHIT: The European Union Project on Metagenomics of the Human Intestinal Tract. Chapter 15 Implications of Human Microbiome Research for the Developing World.

This study presents authentic data compiled from field experiments and investigations, and provides a point of reference for any future changes associated with anthropogenic activity in semiarid ecosystems. Three years of continuous and rigorous empirical research on biodiversity (from phytoplankton to higher plants and from zooplankton to higher animals - all flora and fauna) in India's semiarid region have culminated in this work. Though there are many studies available on issues related to biodiversity, the majority cover either specific groups of plants or groups of animals; with the exception of this book, studies that include all flora and fauna including the phyto- and zooplanktons in a given ecosystem are not readily available. Further, the book focuses on an extremely important topic, firstly because semiarid landscapes are highly vulnerable to climate change, and secondly because other developmental activities will be undertaken in the region in an effort to meet its energy requirements. As such, the results of the current study will provide a standard protocol for subsequent monitoring and mapping of biodiversity for conservation and management. The book explores, quantifies and surveys plant and animal species from aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, assessing and quantitatively analyzing the diversity indices of different vegetation strata. Further, it investigates the conservation status of each species (flora and fauna) in keeping with IUCN categories. The study also examines landscape dynamics using RS and GIS for vegetation analysis, and discusses traditional ecological knowledge related to the use, conservation and management of biodiversity. As such, it offers a unique and valuable resource not only for researchers from the environmental/ecological sciences but also for conservationists and policymakers.

Drawing from a decade-long collaboration between Japan and Russia, this important volume presents the first major synthesis of current knowledge on the ecophysiology of the coniferous forests growing on permafrost at high latitudes. It presents ecological data for a region long inaccessible to most scientists, and raises important questions about the global carbon balance as these systems are affected by the changing climate.

Making up around 20% of the entire boreal forests of the northern hemisphere, these permafrost forest ecosystems are subject to particular constraints in terms of temperature, nutrient availability, and root space, creating exceptional ecosystem characteristics not known elsewhere. This authoritative text explores their diversity, structure, dynamics and physiology. It provides a comparison of these forests in relation to boreal forests elsewhere, and concludes with an assessment of the potential responses of this unique biome to climate change.

The book will be invaluable to advanced students and researchers interested in boreal vegetation, forest ecology, silviculture and forest soils, as well as to researchers into climate change and the global carbon balance. "

This book includes contributions from scientists and representatives from government and non-governmental organisations working in the field of land management and use and on management of fires. The book is truly interdisciplinary and has both a research and application-oriented dimension. The list of topics includes sustainability and water management; sustainability and biodiversity conservation; the future sustainability of nature-based industries such as agriculture, mining, tourism, fisheries and forestry; sustainability, people and livelihoods; sustainability and landscapes planning; sustainability and land use planning; handling and managing forest fires. The papers are innovative and cross-cutting, and many have practice-based experiences. Also, this book, prepared by the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) and the World Sustainable Development Research and Transfer Centre (WSD-RTC), reiterates the need to promote a sustainable use of land resources today.

This book focuses on the microbial degradation of endosulfan, lindane, chlorophenols, organochlorine, aldrin, dieldrin, isoproturon and atrazine, etc. which are commonly used in crop fields to kill the pests. Further, it illustrates the role of degradative enzymes, metabolic pathways of degradation, toxicity of metabolites, and the factors regulating the pesticide degradation. In view of persistence of synthetic pesticides, scientists have discovered suitable microbes, such as bacteria, fungi and algae (naturally occurring or genetically engineered) over the years. After successful trials under laboratory and field conditions, these microbes are being used to degrade chemical pesticides in agriculture. As of now 2.56 billion kg of chemical pesticides is used every year to protect agricultural fields against pest attack. These technologies have been found to be highly effective, eco-friendly and cost-effective without disturbing the agro-ecosystems. As this book contains review articles contributed by various researchers from different countries whose work demonstrates recent advances in microbial degradation of pesticides, it will serve as a ready reckoner and also a valuable quick reference guide for scientists, academicians, cultivators and industrialists alike.

This book focuses on the use of molecular tools to study small populations of rare and endangered mammals, and presents case studies that apply an evolutionary framework to address innovative questions in the emerging field of mammalian conservation genomics using a highly diverse set of novel molecular tools. Novel and more precise molecular technologies now allow experts in the field of mammology to interpret data in a more contextual and empirical fashion and to better describe the evolutionary and ecological processes that are responsible for the patterns they observe. The book also demonstrates how recent advances in genetic/genomic technologies have been applied to assess the impact of environmental/anthropogenic changes on the health of small populations of mammals. It examines a range of issues in the field of mammalian conservation genomics, such as the role that the genetic diversity of the immune system plays in disease protection and local adaptation; the use of noninvasive techniques and genomic banks as a resource for monitoring and restoring populations; the structuring of population by physical barriers; and genetic diversity. Further, by integrating research from a variety of areas - including population genetics, molecular ecology, systematics, and evolutionary and conservation biology - it enables readers to gain a deeper understanding of the conservation biology of mammals that are at increasing risk of extinction at local, regional and global scales. As such, it offers a unique resource for a broad readership interested in the conservation biology of mammals and conservation management strategies to better preserve biodiversity.

In any ecosystem, plant and microbe interaction is inevitable. They not only co-exist but also support each other's survival and also provide for sustenance in stressful environment. Agro-ecosystems of many regions around the globe are affected by multi-stress. Major limiting factors affecting the agricultural productivity worldwide are environmental stresses. Apart from decreasing yield they introduce devastating impact on plant growth as well. Plants battle with various kind of stresses with the help of symbiotic association with the microbes in the rhizosphere. Naturally existing plant-microbe interaction facilitates survival of plants under these stressful conditions. Rhizosphere consists of many groups of microbes, plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) is one such group of microbes which assist plants in coping with multiple stresses and in plant growth as well. These microbes help in stress physiology of the plants and can be extremely useful in solving agricultural as well food security problems. The proposed book is split into two parts, with an aim to provide comprehensive description and highlight a holistic approach. It elucidates various mechanisms in rhizosphere of nutrient management, stress tolerance and enhanced crop productivity. The book discusses rhizospheric flora and its importance in enhancement of plant growth, nutrient content, yield of various crops and vegetables as well as soil fertility and health. Both volumes of the book addresses fundamentals, applications as well as research trends and new prospects of agricultural sustainability. Volume 2: Nutrient Management and Crop Improvement, contains chapters which cover a broad overview of plant growth promoting activities of microbes. This proposed book also highlights the contribution of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron and zinc-solubilizing microbes from rhizospheric soil to develop efficient indigenous microbial consortia to enhance the food and nutritional security. With the given content and layout the proposed book will be an all-inclusive collection of information, which will be useful for students, academicians, researchers working in the field of rhizospheric mechanisms, agricultural microbiology, soil microbiology, biotechnology, agronomy and sustainable agriculture and also for policy makers in the area of food security and sustainable agriculture. It will be of special interest to both academics and professionals working in the fields of microbiology, soil microbiology, biotechnology and agronomy, as well as the plant protection sciences. Timely, this edited and research book provides an essential and comprehensive source of material from basic to advance findings on microbes and their role in agricultural and soil sustainability.

The work describes the general ecological aspects of Iran as well as West and Central Asia in the introduction. The book includes three chapters, each describing the climate, geology and soil characteristics, vegetation and forest types, site demands of the main tree species and the ecogram of them, management and socio-economic issues of three different phytogeographical regions, mainly the Hyrcanian, Irano-Turanian, and Saharo-Sindian. Each chapter contains a table for introducing the English and Botanical names of the plant species mentioned in the chapter. The information presented in this book is based on personal experiences and results of research projects of the authors, as well as experiences of other forest scientists in Iran. The references are given at the end of each chapter separately. The book contains 10 tables, 37 black and white and 55 color pictures.

This book reviews the latest research and developments concerning the biodiversity and biocontamination assessment of aquatic ecosystems in Poland. The authors present expert analyses of the current biological status of Polish surface waters, and examine a broad range of elements related to aquatic ecosystems, including macrophytes, phytoplankton, zooplankton and macroinvertebrates, microorganisms, fish, and selected invasive aquatic species. A set of conservation and restoration practices, and a review of protected sites within the Polish basins and catchment areas, are also provided. This book and the companion volume Polish River Basins and Lakes - Part I: Hydrology and Hydrochemistry offer valuable resources for students, environmental chemists, biologists, geologists, hydrologists and surface waters managers interested in the environmental conditions of Poland's surface waters.

Founded on the core notion that we have reached a turning point in the governance, and thus the conservation, of ecosystems and the environment, this edited volume features more than 20 original chapters, each informed by the paradigm shift in the sector over the last decade. Where once the emphasis was on strategies for conservation, enacted through instruments of control such as planning and polluter pays legislation, more recent developments have shown a shift towards incentive-based arrangements aimed at those responsible for providing the environmental services enabled by such ecosystems. Encouraging shared responsibility for watershed management, developed in Costa Rica, is a prime example, and the various interests involved in its instauration in Java are one of the subjects examined here.

Fungal pathogens pose an on-going and serious threat for poikilotherms and homeotherms, and can cause a broad spectrum of diseases ranging from innocuous to life-threatening. In addition, long-term exposure to some mycotoxigenic moulds can lead to mycotoxicoses in human and animals. Given the expanding population of immune compromised hosts, the list of fungal opportunists grows longer every year. Moreover, antifungal resistance, drug-related toxicity and our limited arsenal of antifungals have exacerbated the situation. To address these problems, strategies such as the identification of novel targets, use of the structure-activity relationship in rational drug design, development of new formulations, modification of existing antifungals to combat resistance, and bioavailability enhancement are called for. For the reader's convenience, this book has been divided into three sections. The first six chapters of Section I provide a timely review of mycoses, from endemic to cosmopolitan and from generalized to specific, while both chapters of Section II focus on risks associated with mycotoxins. In closing, the two chapters of Section III describe potential antifungal leads and drug candidates based on phytochemicals and coumarin scaffold.

Sand dune dynamics play a key role in many arid deserts. This volume provides a thorough analysis of a specific sand dune ecosystem, the Nizzana site in the Middle East 's Negev Desert. Describing its climate, as well as its geophysical/geochemical soil properties and ecology, this brilliant work draws out the relationships between the site 's ecological and geomorphological processes, based on long-term monitoring, in situ experiments and satellite imagery.