Ecological "surprises" are defined as unexpected findings about the natural environment. They are critically important in ecology because they are catalysts for questioning and reformulating views of the natural world, help shape assessments of the veracity of a priori predictions about ecological trends and phenomena, and underpin questioning of effectiveness of resource management. Despite th...

Monitoring forest disturbances using remote sensing data with high spatial and temporal resolution can reveal relationships between forest disturbances and forest ecological patterns and processes. In this study, we fused Landsat data at high spatial resolution (30 m) with 8-day MODIS data to produce high spatial and temporal resolution image time-series. The Spatial Temporal Adaptive Algorithm...

– Disturbances can affect the structure of ecological communities, and their impacts may have consequences for individual species’ population dynamics and long-term persistence. Even without catastrophic mortality, survivorship could be reduced following a disturbance, thus leading to population decline. We used a 16-year mark–recapture dataset to determine the effects of catastrophic storms an...

Canopies are common among autotrophs, increasing their access to light and thereby increasing competitive abilities. If viewed from above canopies may conceal objects beneath them creating a 'canopy effect'. Due to complexities in collecting 3-dimensional data, most ecosystem monitoring programmes reduce dimensionality when sampling, resorting to planar views. The resultant 'canopy effects' may...

Ecological indicators can be used to assess the condition of the environment, to provide an early warning signal of changes in the environment, or to diagnose the cause of an environmental problem. Ideally the suite of indicators should represent key information about structure, function, and composition of the ecological system. Three concerns hamper the use of ecological indicators as a resou...

multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of central nervous system.women are more susceptible to this disease. one of the obvious clinical complaints in women with multiple sclerosis specially treated with beta interferones is menstrual cycle irregularity. the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of menstrual irregularities and probable changes in blood levels of relate...

Barrier islands are heavily influenced by external drivers such as sea-level rise, storm-related disturbances, and other complex factors that affect net sediment exchange. Numerous ecological processes (e.g., dispersal, competition, and facilitation) interact with these drivers and ultimately influence barrier-island state change and therefore stability. Our synthesis of physical and ecological...

As the international community continues to engage in protracted negotiations over how to implement reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the likelihood that society will face disturbances from extreme events and prolonged warming has increased. There is therefore a need to better understand the process by which adaptation occurs and in particular how the social, ecological and institutional ...

Lessons learned from the study of ecological succession have much to offer contemporary environmental problem solving but these lessons are being underutilized. As anthropogenic disturbances increase, succession is more relevant than ever. In this review, we suggest that succession is particularly suitable to address concerns about biodiversity loss, climate change, invasive species, and ecolog...

Conservation management agencies are faced with acute trade-offs when dealing with disturbance from human activities. We show how agencies can respond to permanent ecosystem disruption by managing for Pimm resilience within a conservation budget using a model calibrated to a metapopulation of a coral reef fish species at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. The application is of general interest b...