Although eID technology has undergone several development cycles and eID have been issued to citizens of various European countries, it is still not as broadly used as originally expected. One reason is the absence of compelling use cases besides eGovernment. Current Research focuses mainly on the needs of the user and technical aspects. The economic perspective is often disregarded. This is es...

Most ecological interactions occur in environments that are spatially and temporally heterogeneous-'patchy'-across a wide range of scales. In contrast, most theoretical models of ecological interactions, especially large-scale models applied to societal issues such as climate change, resource management and human health, are based on 'mean field' approaches in which the underlying patchiness of...

Recent studies highlight linkages among the architecture of ecological networks, their persistence facing environmental disturbance, and the related patterns of biodiversity. A hitherto unresolved question is whether the structure of the landscape inhabited by organisms leaves an imprint on their ecological networks. We analyzed, based on pyrosequencing profiling of the biofilm communities in 1...

Temporary streams represent a significant yet understudied and particularly vulnerable portion of river networks. While the vast majority of stream and river research to date has focused on perennial flowing waters, recent work reveals that temporary streams are not only abundant and widely distributed, but also play a significant role in the hydrological and ecological integrity of lotic netwo...

Increasingly research suggests that the level of internal regulation of function in agroecosystems is largely dependent on the level of plant and animal biodiversity present. In agroecosystems, biodiversity performs a variety of ecological services beyond the production of food, including recycling of nutrients, regulation of microclimate and local hydrological processes, suppression of undesir...

Green infrastructure (GI) and ecosystem services (ES) are promoted as concepts that have potential to improve environmental planning in urban areas based on a more holistic understanding of the complex interrelations and dynamics of social-ecological systems. However, the scientific discourses around both concepts still lack application-oriented frameworks that consider such a holistic perspect...

Ecologists and natural resource managers struggle to define and relate biodiversity, biocomplexity, ecological integrity, ecosystem services, and related concepts; to describe effects of disturbance dynamics on biodiversity; and to understand how biodiversity relates to resilience, resistance, and stability of ecosystems and sustainability of resource conditions. Further diversifying this ‘‘lex...

Lurking behavior is common in information-seeking oriented communities. Transferring users with lurking behavior to be contributors can assist virtual communities to obtain competitive advantages. Based on the ecological cognition framework, this study proposes a model to examine the antecedents of lurking behavior in information-seeking oriented virtual communities. This study argues desire fo...

The concept of green hydropower needs an evaluation procedure for the ecological upgrading of hydropower plants based on scientific criteria [1]. For the planning and evaluation of riverrestoration programs, concepts like “ecosystem integrity” or “river health” have been proposed and empirically tested. Computer programs have been developed, which allow the testing of alternative restoration co...

The watershed approach, currently used to assess regional streams in the United States, emphasizes least-disturbed reference conditions. Consideration of extensive wadable drainage systems found in Arkansas and Mississippi deltas challenges concepts of disturbance within a landscape of historic agricultural land use. Seventeen wadable drainage ditch sites in Arkansas and Mississippi deltas were...