Ecological Monitoring

Morphological variations of the Caloneis schumanniana (Grunow) Cleve species complex were studied using multivariate analysis. Populations of three species, synonymized in the literature, i.e., C. schumanniana, Caloneis limosa (Kützing) Patrick and Caloneis lewisii Patrick, were analyzed. Their morphological and ecological characteristics were evaluated and outlined for the sampled streams by US EPA’s Western Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program. Geographic separation among the three taxa was not resolved. This study showed that C. schumanniana has wider ecological tolerance than C. limosa and C. lewisii. Despite the ecological overlap, specific ecological preferences of C. limosa and C. lewisii were described.

3D printers allow researchers to produce parts and concept models rapidly at low-cost and allow rapid prototyping of many designs from the comfort of their desk. 3D printing technologies have been explored for a wide range of applications including robotics, automobile components, firearms, medicine, space, etc. Owing to lower costs and increased capabilities of 3D printing technologies, unprecedented opportunities in the world of oceanography research are being created. Some examples include 3D printed components being employed in autonomous underwater (or surface) vehicles; 3D printed replicas of marine organisms being used to study biomechanics, hydrodynamics, and locomotion; and 3D printed coral reef replicas being used to restore damaged coral reefs. To the author’s knowledge, currently there is no review covering the different 3D printing technologies applied in oceanography studies. Therefore, this review presents a summary of the different 3D printing technologies that have been used in fundamental studies or real-life applications related to oceanography. The diverse range of 3D printing applications in oceanography covered in this review has been categorized under the following sub-topics: Ecological Monitoring & Sample Collection, Hydrodynamics, Biomechanics & Locomotion, Tracking & Surface Studies, and Tangible Coral Props & Coral Reef Restoration. A detailed overview of the 3D printing technologies referred to within this review has been presented, and categorized under the following four general topics: Material Extrusion, Photopolymerization, Powder Bed Fusion, and Construction Printing. The broad impact of plastics on oceans and the specific impact of 3D printing materials on ocean life are also discussed. It is anticipated that this review will further promote the 3D printing technologies to oceanographers for a better understanding and restoration of fragile marine ecosystems.

3D printers allow researchers to produce parts and concept models rapidly at low-cost and allow rapid prototyping of many designs from the comfort of their desk. 3D printing technologies have been explored for a wide range of applications including robotics, automobile components, firearms, medicine, space, etc. Owing to lower costs and increased capabilities of 3D printing technologies, unprecedented opportunities in the world of oceanography research are being created. Some examples include 3D printed components being employed in autonomous underwater (or surface) vehicles; 3D printed replicas of marine organisms being used to study biomechanics, hydrodynamics, and locomotion; and 3D printed coral reef replicas being used to restore damaged coral reefs. To the author’s knowledge, currently there is no review covering the different 3D printing technologies applied in oceanography studies. Therefore, this review presents a summary of the different 3D printing technologies that have been used in fundamental studies or real-life applications related to oceanography. The diverse range of 3D printing applications in oceanography covered in this review has been categorized under the following sub-topics: Ecological Monitoring & Sample Collection, Hydrodynamics, Biomechanics & Locomotion, Tracking & Surface Studies, and Tangible Coral Props & Coral Reef Restoration. A detailed overview of the 3D printing technologies referred to within this review has been presented, and categorized under the following four general topics: Material Extrusion, Photopolymerization, Powder Bed Fusion, and Construction Printing. The broad impact of plastics on oceans and the specific impact of 3D printing materials on ocean life are also discussed. It is anticipated that this review will further promote the 3D printing technologies to oceanographers for a better understanding and restoration of fragile marine ecosystems.

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Deserts and xeric shrublands, Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub, montane grasslands and shrublands, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands, tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas and shrublands, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, version 7.0 (Department of

El estudio y la comprensión del mundo como un Todo es imprescindible en una época en la
que se sienten con gran impacto las consecuencias de un “desarrollo” sin control. La base para
analizar y actuar adecuadamente sobre esta problemática es la información que se puede obtener
y el valor que se le adicione para ejecutar acciones efectivas que lleven a la sustentabilidad. El
monitoreo ecológico (ME) se perfila como una de las tareas relevantes, ya que involucra el estudio
de los sistemas vivos y no vivos con una mirada sistémica, haciendo que el enfoque analítico sea
más cercano a la realidad entre las relaciones de los componentes del planeta.
En base a una búsqueda de proyectos de ME en publicaciones físicas y virtuales (en su mayoría
de los últimos 10 años), se agrupan las tecnologías usadas en dos categorías principales: tecnologías
in-situ y de percepción remota, presentando su aplicación en las diferentes actividades del ME: monitoreo
de factores ambientales; rastreo, censo, distribución y características de seres vivos; mapeo
de ecosistemas; medidas integrales de ecosistema; y, manejo y toma de decisiones. Se contextualiza
el ME en Colombia mediante la descripción del Sistema Nacional Ambiental (SINA) y el estudio
de dos proyectos de alcance nacional, con los que a su vez se verifica la utilidad de la agrupación
propuesta para la síntesis tecnológica y de información.

Ecosystem organization is a very complex system. Naturalness of ecological systems is in a tremendous threat due to anthropogenic disturbances. It is important to understand the characteristics of anthropogenic disturbances which have been changing spatial processes and thus affecting the ecological integrity. A combination of science and policy, relating science with socio-economic perspectives is very much required to combat such challenges. An index of ecological integrity can be the right approach to monitor, evaluate and classify the state of the ecosystems in the broader scale for conservation planning. Such understanding can build up a bridge between stakeholders of different hierarchies and disciplines to work in the same platform. Therefore, this paper reviews and examines: (i) the characteristics of critical issues that are severe threats to regional landscapes, (ii) the consequences of such pressures on the components of ecosystem, and (iii) a brief outline for a composite index for ecological integrity. The objective is whether a composite index of ecological integrity (IEI) can be develop for the sustainable management planning for the conservation of natural resources in a broader scale.

The use of “belly scoring” can offer a novel, non-invasive objective management tool to gauge food intake between individuals, groups, and populations, and thus, population fitness. As food availability is increasingly affected by predation, ecological competition, climate change, habitat modification, and other human activities, an accurate belly scoring tool can facilitate comparisons among wildlife populations, serving as an early warning indicator of threats to wildlife population health and potential population collapse. In social species, belly scores can also be a tool to understand social behavior and ranking. We developed and applied the first rigorous quantitative photogrammetric methodology to measure belly scores of wild painted dogs (Lycaon pictus). Our methodology involves: (1) Rigorous selection of photographs of the dorso/lateral profile of individuals at a right angle to the camera, (2) photogrammetrically measuring belly chord length and “belly drop” in pixels, (3) adjusting belly chord length as a departure from a standardized leg angle, and (4) converting pixel measurements to ratios to eliminate the need to introduce distance from the camera. To highlight a practical application, this belly score method was applied to 631 suitable photographs of 15 painted dog packs that included 186 individuals, all collected between 2004–2015 from allopatric painted dog populations in and around Hwange (n = 462) and Mana Pools National Parks (n = 169) in Zimbabwe. Variation in mean belly scores exhibited a cyclical pattern throughout the year, corresponding to biologically significant patterns to include denning demand and prey availability. Our results show significant differences between belly scores of the two different populations we assessed, thus highlighting food stress in the Hwange population. In the face of growing direct and indirect anthropogenic disturbances, this standardized methodology can provide a rapid, species-specific non-invasive management tool that can be applied across studies to rapidly detect emergent threats.

El gran incendio de 2012 en La Gomera (Islas Canarias) ha afectado de forma muy
importante a los bosques de laurisilva del Parque Nacional de Garajonay, que
constituyen la mayor reserva de bosques antiguos bien conservados de esta vegetación
relicta en el Archipiélago. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados provisionales de
las observaciones y estudios realizados hasta el momento sobre las consecuencias
ambientales del mismo, así como las actuaciones de restauración realizadas.
Estas observaciones apuntan, entre otros, a que la laurisilva es un ecosistema
sumamente frágil, vulnerable ante el fuego, y que los daños ecológicos producidos
son muy importantes, especialmente en los bosques maduros. Además, la regresión
producida en la vegetación tendrá como consecuencia una mayor combustibilidad
de las formaciones de substitución durante las próximas décadas. Ello aumenta
considerablemente la posibilidad de que sucedan nuevos incendios y puede inducir
la formación de una espiral de degradación que, de producirse, conduciría hacia la
progresiva decadencia de las masas forestales existentes, así como a la desaparición
de los bosques antiguos. Por estas razones, deberían considerarse como ecosistemas
amenazados por el fuego. Asimismo, la restauración de la zona y la prevención
de incendios en el Parque Nacional y su entorno requerirá de una gestión activa
importante y, consecuentemente, de inversiones suficientes que los hagan posibles.

Progress in sensor technologies has allowed real-time monitoring of soil water. It is a challenge to model soil water content based on remote sensing data. Here, we retrieved and modeled surface soil moisture (SSM) at the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) stations using Sentinel-1 backscatter data from 2016 to 2018 and ancillary data. Empirical machine learning models were established between soil water content measured at the USCRN stations with Sentinel-1 data from 2016 to 2017, the National Land Cover Dataset, terrain parameters, and Polaris soil data, and were evaluated in 2018 at the same USCRN stations. The Cubist model performed better than the multiple linear regression (MLR) and Random Forest (RF) model (R 2 = 0.68 and RMSE = 0.06 m 3 m-3 for validation). The Cubist model performed best in Shrub/Scrub, followed by Herbaceous and Cultivated Crops but poorly in Hay/Pasture. The success of SSM retrieval was mostly attributed to soil properties, followed by Sentinel-1 backscatter data, terrain parameters, and land cover. The approach shows the potential for retrieving SSM using Sentinel-1 data in a combination of high-resolution ancillary data across the conterminous United States (CONUS). Future work is required to improve the model performance by including more SSM network measurements, assimilating Sentinel-1 data with other microwave, optical and thermal remote sensing products. There is also a need to improve the spatial resolution and accuracy of land surface parameter products (e.g., soil properties and terrain parameters) at the regional and global scales.

Progress in sensor technologies has allowed real-time monitoring of soil water. It is a challenge to model soil water content based on remote sensing data. Here, we retrieved and modeled surface soil moisture (SSM) at the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) stations using Sentinel-1 backscatter data from 2016 to 2018 and ancillary data. Empirical machine learning models were established between soil water content measured at the USCRN stations with Sentinel-1 data from 2016 to 2017, the National Land Cover Dataset, terrain parameters, and Polaris soil data, and were evaluated in 2018 at the same USCRN stations. The Cubist model performed better than the multiple linear regression (MLR) and Random Forest (RF) model (R2 = 0.68 and RMSE = 0.06 m3 m-3 for validation). The Cubist model performed best in Shrub/Scrub, followed by Herbaceous and Cultivated Crops but poorly in Hay/Pasture. The success of SSM retrieval was mostly attributed to soil properties, followed by Sentinel-1 backsc...

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В методических указаниях рассматриваются методологические принципы построения комплексной экологической экспертизы, современные подходы к ее конструированию в качестве обязательного инструмента предварительной оценки различных проектов и прогнозирования их неблагоприятного влияния на состояние окружающей среды и здоровье населения.

Ecological monitoring is a complementary
component of the overall environmental
management and monitoring program of any
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.
The monitoring method should be developed for
each project phase and allow for periodic reporting
and assessment of compliance with the
environmental conditions and requirements of
the EIA. Also, this method should incorporate a
variance request program since site-specific conditions
can affect construction on a daily basis
and require time-critical application of alternative
construction scenarios or environmental management
methods integrated with alternative mitigation
measures. Finally, taking full advantage of
the latest information and communication technologies
can enhance the quality of, and public
involvement in, the environmental management
program. In this paper, a landscape-scale ecological
monitoring method for major construction
projects is described using, as a basis, 20 months
of experience on the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) Crude Oil Pipeline Project, covering Turkish Sections
Lot B and Lot C. This analysis presents
suggestions for improving ecological monitoring
for major construction activities.
Keywords Environmental impact assessment · Major constructions · Landscape · Landscape
restoration · Ecological monitoring

This paper discusses a case study of designing a private Internet of Things (IoT) enabled platform for the research in precision agriculture and ecological monitoring domains. The system architecture is gradually derived using an approach of multiple, concurrent views. Each view represents an architectural perspective describing the solution from the viewpoint of different stakeholders, such as end-users, researchers, developers, and project managers. The end-user requirements have been identified using a set of high-level scenarios, which capture the context and illustrate the motivation for building the platform. The requirements and architecture of the proposed platform have been derived so that the users of the platform , researchers, and developers on the project, can utilize it for prototyping solutions for these high level use cases. The paper further describes the implementation of the platform and its evaluation using various sensor nodes deployed at the research and end-user facilities. The solution is open to further development with respect to supporting additional IoT protocols, data types, and interfacing to various analytics tools. The proposed architecture can also be implemented using different server platforms and cloud technologies.

Practical and useful vegetation monitoring methods are needed, and data compatibility and validation of remotely sensed data are desirable. Methods have not been adequately tested for heathy woodlands. We tested the feasibility of detecting species composition shifts in remnant woodland in South Australia, comparing historical (1986) plot data with temporal replicates (2010). We compared the uniformity of species composition among spatially scattered versus spatially clustered plots. At two sites, we compared visual and point-intercept estimation of cover and species diversity. Species composition (presence/absence) shifted between 1986 and 2010. Species that significantly shifted in frequency had low cover. Observations of decreasing species were consistent with predictions from temperature response curves (generalised additive models) for climate change over the period. However, long-term trends could not be distinguished from medium-term dynamics or short-term changes in visibility from this dataset. Difficulties were highlighted in assessing compositional change using historical baselines established for a different purpose in terms of spatial sampling and accuracy of replicate plots, differences in standard plot methods and verification of species identifications. Spatially clustered replicate plots were more similar in species composition than spatially scattered plots, improving change detection potential but decreasing area of inference. Visual surveys detected more species than point-intercepts. Visual cover estimates differed little from point-intercepts although underestimating cover in some instances relative to intercepts. Point-intercepts provide more precise cover estimates of dominant species but took longer and were difficult in steep, heathy terrain. A decision tree based on costs and benefits is presented assessing monitoring options based on data presented. The appropriate method is a function of available resources, the need for precise cover estimates versus adequate species detection, replication and practical considerations such as access and terrain.

Abstract This paper discusses a case study of designing a private Internet of Things (IoT) enabled platform for the research in precision agriculture and ecological monitoring domains. The system architecture is gradually derived using an approach of multiple, concurrent views. Each view represents an architectural perspective describing the solution from the viewpoint of different stakeholders, such as end-users, researchers, developers, and project managers. The end-user requirements have been identified using a set of high-level scenarios, which capture the context and illustrate the motivation for building the platform. The requirements and architecture of the proposed platform have been derived so that the users of the platform, researchers, and developers on the project, can utilize it for prototyping solutions for these high level use cases. The paper further describes the implementation of the platform and its evaluation using various sensor nodes deployed at the research and end-user facilities. The solution is open to further development with respect to supporting additional IoT protocols, data types, and interfacing to various analytics tools. The proposed architecture can also be implemented using different server platforms and cloud technologies.

Ecological monitoring is a complementary component of the overall environmental management and monitoring program of any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report. The monitoring method should be developed for each project phase and allow for periodic reporting and assessment of compliance with the environmental conditions and requirements of the EIA. Also, this method should incorporate a variance request program since site-specific conditions can affect construction on a daily basis and require time-critical application of alternative construction scenarios or environmental management methods integrated with alternative mitigation measures. Finally, taking full advantage of the latest information and communication technologies can enhance the quality of, and public involvement in, the environmental management program. In this paper, a landscape-scale ecological monitoring method for major construction projects is described using, as a basis, 20 months of experience on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Crude Oil Pipeline Project, covering Turkish Sections Lot B and Lot C. This analysis presents suggestions for improving ecological monitoring for major construction activities.

The article presents the issue of improving soil quality continues needs to be urgent. In particular, the task of improving the quality of agricultural land and considering the qualitative characteristics as an object of management remains unresolved, which necessitates further systematic research in this direction. The purpose of the article is to substantiate
the essence of soil quality management, the creation of land masses with appropriate soil characteristics as a means of obtaining safe products of standardized quality, maintaining the quality of the natural environment, preventing its degradation and using innovative industrial technologies in alternative agricultural systems. It is substantiated that
qualitative soil properties and fertility are inextricably linked. The processes of soil formation and soil fertility are determined by a number of natural factors and the nature of economic activity, which affects not only the arable layer but also deeper soil horizons, as well as groundwater and groundwater. The optimal parameters of fertility indices should be established for each type of soil, ie they can vary according to the fertility patterns as a combination of soil properties and modes that ensure the productivity of the land, the high quality and safety of the agricultural products derived from them. It is determined that the management of ecological agriculture will facilitate the creation of land uses with special characteristics, which are achieved through the implementation of the general laws of agriculture and a number of principles, among which the principles of environmental orientation are combined with the principles that facilitate their implementation.

Monitoring of fog capture and bird communities helped to build social capital for conservation at Loma Alta, Ecuador and encouraged the local community to protect 3000 hectares of tropical forest. Data collected during monitoring were used to facilitate action and cooperation at local, regional, national, and international levels for conservation of biodiversity in western Ecuador, including the designation of an Important Bird Area in the region. Through involvement with the monitoring efforts, local people became more aware of the value of ecosystem services, learned about local birds and their conservation status, became familiar with ecotourism, and began to include conservation of biodiversity with sustainable development planning in their community. The context of monitoring, the objectives and participants, field methods, impacts in terms of conservation action, and the costs and benefits of the two monitoring initiatives are described.

Statement of the Problem
Arid rangelands throughout the Middle East / North Africa (MENA) region are currently managed without clear information of long term trends in vegetation, stocking rates, or ecological health.  It is often stated that rangelands suffer from overgrazing and excess water extraction, but there is a lack of reliable historical data to support these claims.  Data exists in well managed reserves such as the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (DDCR), but it is labor intensive and expensive to maintain a routine system of monitoring.
Recent years have seen the rapid emergence of low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (micro-UAVs) for civilian use.  Dramatic developments in the platforms (drones) have been accompanied by the development of lightweight specialty sensors (e.g.; infra-red and multispectral cameras) and orthomosaic software.  These new platform / sensor combinations present a dramatic new tool for the management of conservation zones as well as agricultural areas.  Micro-UAVs have clear potential use for spatial ecology studies (Anderson and Gaston, 2013) and for biodiversity assessments (Getzin et al., 2012).  They offer the potential of providing far more detailed information than previous technologies (from satellite and manned aircraft platforms) at a much lower cost (Walton et al., 2013), and with greater flexibility to gather information at specific times or frequencies.  Aerial monitoring is now feasible at pixel resolutions that range from meters to millimeters, which brings imagery to a scale that is relevant to many ecological processes (Anderson and Gaston, 2013).
This presentation will review how this emerging technology can be applied to better manage rangelands in the Middle East, and will draw on preliminary results from the author.

Significance and relevance of the work
The long-term aims of this project are to (1) reduce the cost of rangeland monitoring for organizations that are already doing this work manually, and (2) to provide a tool that non-specialists in the region can use, thus encouraging the gathering of much better information for land management decisions.
Applications of the technology for the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (DDCR) have been identified as follows:
• Habitat classification
• Animal population monitoring via aggregated sites (water / feeding sites) dispersed areas (open rangeland) and indirect methods (e.g.; lizard holes, carcasses)
• Animal condition monitoring.  Mammalian hip bone prominence is used to assess health
• Plant monitoring, including estimations of biodiversity and biomass.
• Anthropogenic monitoring; evaluation of whether safari companies are compliant with regulations for operation within the DDCR.
Tools that are developed for the DDCR will be directly applicable to rangelands throughout the MENA region.  The region is highly suited to aerial monitoring, since success of classifying individual plants to species level is inversely proportional to biodiversity within a size class (Féret and Asner, 2012), and is improved when individuals are discretely separated by bare ground.  Larger herbivores are rarely obstructed by trees.  Privacy and safety regulations are of less concern in rangelands due to their remoteness and low human population densities (Laliberte, 2012).

Description of research method
Preliminary research has been conducted using a DJI s1000 octocopter equipped with a 24MP RGB and a 3.2 MP multispectral camera, and a SenseFly eBee fixed-wing drone equipped with 12 MP RGB and near-infrared cameras.  Preliminary trials were conducted to identify the maximum ground sampling distance (related to drone altitude and camera resolution) required to be able to identify individual species with reasonable accuracy.  Images were collected at 10 m intervals from 10 to 300m above animal and plant species.  From this, trials will be conducted at selected altitudes, and species observation from resulting images will be checked for accuracy against ground-based data.

Results
Research is still at an early stage.  The authors have verified reliability for estimating dhub (Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis) populations by detecting burrows.  They have also demonstrated the use of the method for evaluating populations of Oryx leucoryx and Phoenicopterus roseus, and plant biomass and biodiversity within vegetation categories, though further work is required to verify the accuracy of these applications.

Conclusions
Micro-UAVs have an enormous potential for improving rangeland management in the MENA region.  However, much work still needs to be done to streamline processes and evaluate the enormous amount of data produced.

Monitoring of fog capture and bird communities helped to build social capital for conservation at Loma Alta, Ecuador and encouraged the local community to protect 3000 hectares of tropical forest. Data collected during monitoring were used to facilitate action and cooperation at local, regional, national, and international levels for conservation of biodiversity in western Ecuador, including the designation of an Important Bird Area in the region. Through involvement with the monitoring efforts, local people became more aware of the value of ecosystem services, learned about local birds and their conservation status, became familiar with ecotourism, and began to include conservation of biodiversity with sustainable development planning in their community. The context of monitoring, the objectives and participants, field methods, impacts in terms of conservation action, and the costs and benefits of the two monitoring initiatives are described.