Spatial Ecology Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

In this chapter, I draw on Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy to explore environmental embodiment—the various lived ways, sensorily and motility-wise, that the body in its pre-reflective perceptual presence engages and synchronizes with the world... more

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- Human Geography, Perception, Architecture, Space Syntax
- by Ran Nathan
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- Spatial Ecology, Seed Dispersal, Ecology, Biological Sciences
- by Amanda Arnold
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- Spatial Ecology, Population Dynamics, Rivers, Animal Ecology

Pensare ad un rammendo delle periferie come operazione di mera pianificazione urbanistica, di integrazione con il centro è un'operazione priva di valore. Una più complessiva e plastica ricucitura del tessuto periferico urbano deve considerare le esigenze ed i ruoli delle comunità sociali nel contesto urbano e prevedere un adeguato coinvolgimento. Articolo breve pubblicato su Corriere Sociale del 28 novembre 2015.

- by Dr. Ingrid Waldron
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- Spatial Ecology, Race and Racism, Critical Race Theory, Environmental Racism
- by Andrew Edelman
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- Spatial Ecology, Ecosystem Engineering, Species interactions
- by Robert Rempel
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- Landscape Ecology, Earth Sciences, Spatial Analysis, Spatial Ecology

Radio-telemetry was used to study the late autumn and winter movements of twenty adult signal crayfish Pacifasta-cus leniusculus (32.9–63.8 mm carapace length) an introduced exotic crayfish species, in the upland River Wharfe, northern England. The distances moved during the study varied greatly between individuals (0–328 m). Movements were generally sporadic; crayfish would remain in one position for several weeks and make occasional movements to new locations. Total distances travelled, linear range and ranging area did not differ significantly between males and females. The distance travelled in upstream and downstream directions did not differ significantly and there was no correlation between distance travelled and crayfish size. Several high flow events occurred during the study, but these did not cause any mortality or apparent displacement of crayfish downstream, suggesting that this is not a significant factor in downstream dispersal or mortality of adults of this invasive crayfish species in winter. A marked reduction in large-scale movements occurred in mid-December which coincided with a decline in water temperature. There was a less distinct pattern in local activity which was strongly correlated with water temperature and varied before and after mid-December.

- by Martyn Lucas
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- Limnology, Conservation Biology, Spatial Ecology, Invasive species ecology
- by Tatiana Geler
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- Wetlands, Coastal Processes, Spatial Ecology, Drylands
- by Benjamin Best and +1
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- Spatial Ecology, Marine Ecology, Statistical Analysis, Software Architecture
- by Nicolas Pade and +2
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- Spatial Ecology, Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, North Atlantic
- by Martyn Lucas
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- Conservation Biology, Spatial Ecology, River Engineering, Fish Biology
- by Almo Farina
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- Landscape Ecology, Earth Sciences, Information Theory, Environmental Psychology
- by Neil Hammerschlag
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- Spatial Ecology, Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Habitat Use
- by Martyn Lucas
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- Stable Isotope Analysis, Conservation Biology, Spatial Ecology, Fisheries Management
- by Stephen Hartley
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- Spatial Ecology, Ecology, Scale, Species Distribution

Radio telemetry is an increasingly important and useful tool for conservation biologists and is a widely used field research tool, its value proven on a large variety of species ranging from dolphins to large land mammals such as the African elephant and much smaller animals, such as rodents. In an effort to better understand the seasonal movement of gharial (Gavialis gangeticus, Gmelin, 1789) and in light of the unprecedented die-off in the National Chambal Santuary in the winter of 2007/08, a radio-telemetry research project was initiated in March 2009. This Madras Crocodile Bank Trust/ Gharial Conservation Authority project was based in Garhaita Village, Etawah District, UP, and conducted in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. In this report we present a brief synopsis of other crocodilian studies involving radio telemetry, a summary of the results and findings the present study has revealed over the past one year, and a synopsis of our findings in regards to gharial spatial ecology, a subject highly relevant to the die-off and one that will require much more study to comprehensively understand.

- by Samir Whitaker
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- Spatial Ecology, Wildlife Conservation, Crocodilians

Nowadays revitalization is often defined as a comprehensive effort including revalorization, restoration, reconstruction, modernization and actions aimed at the revival of a building, a district or a town devastated in different aspects, also the economic and social ones. The social aspect is among the most significant ones. In other words, there is no complete revitalization without solving social problems. The presented study discusses problems related to the broadly approached revitalization projects and their main directions of development, based on the example of Polish revitalization programmes of territorial self-governmental units. The first part of the paper presents the definitional aspects of revitalization taking into account social, economic, environmental, spatial, functional, cultural and technical dimensions. Moreover, the definition, structure and purpose of a revitalization programme was characterized. Next the primary objectives and current developmental directions of revitalization in Poland were discussed based on the selected applicable revitalization programmes. Today the main directions of revitalization processes in Poland cover: the reduction of poverty and social exclusion, supporting local business, cleaner environment activities, sustainable spatial and functional development, supporting technical infrastructures, promoting culture-based socioeconomic development.

- by Andrzej Raszkowski
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- Management, Marketing, Economic History, Urban Geography
- by Aya Musmar
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- Architecture, Spatial Ecology, Critical Posthumanism, Feminism

Cite this article: Raszkowski, A., Bartniczak, B. Towards Sustainable Regional Development: Economy, Society, Environment, Good Governance Based on the Example of Polish Regions. Transformations in Business & Economics, 2018, Vol. 17, No 2 (44), pp.225-245.The presented study discusses problems referring to the concept of sustainable development at regional level, based on the example of Polish regions in the period 2005-2011. The first part presents theoretical aspects of sustainable regional development, raises the problems of primary phenomena hindering such development, sustainable development definitions, the role of creativity, the importance of NGOs, good governance of regional space. The next part of the article provides the characteristics of sustainable development indicators selected for the analysis in accordance with the approach adopted by the Central Statistical Office in Poland towards measuring the level of sustainable regional development. The synthetic measure of development (SMD) represents the applied research method, which offered the basis for constructing the ranking and identifying the position of particular Polish regions. The research results remain the core of the study since they illustrate the indicator values in the years under analysis. Within the framework of the final remarks and conclusions it was emphasized that in none of the studied regions, in terms of implementing sustainable development standards, the situation can be assessed as favourable or very favourable and the reasons for such state of the matter were provided. In spite of the relatively unfavourable results, a gradual improvement of the situation was observed over the years. It was pointed out that one of the fundamental barriers to the implementation of sustainable development standards is the absence of awareness and understanding of the discussed development concept.

- by Andrzej Raszkowski
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- Business, Management, Marketing, Business Administration

Incidental fisheries bycatch is recognised as a major threat to albatross populations worldwide. However, fishery discards and offal produced in large quantities might benefit some scavenging seabirds. Here, we demonstrate an integrated approach to better understand the ecological ramifications of fine-scale overlap between seabirds and fisheries. As a case study, we examined whether foraging in association with a fishing vessel is advantageous for chick provisioning in terms of quantity of food delivered to chicks, in northern royal albatross (Diomedea sanfordi) at Taiaroa Head, New Zealand. Fine-scale overlap between albatrosses and vessels was quantified by integrating GPS tracking and Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS). Meal size delivered to chicks was measured using custom-designed nest balances, and monitoring of attendance of adults fitted with radio transmitters was used in conjunction with time-lapse photography at the nest allowed us to allocate each feeding event to a specific parent. The combination of these techniques enabled comparison of meal sizes delivered to chicks with parental foraging trip durations with or without fishing vessels association. A total of 45 foraging trips and associated chick feeding events were monitored during the chick-rearing period in 2012. Differences in the meal size and foraging trip duration relative to foraging overlap with fisheries were examined using a linear mixed-effect model, adjusted for chick age. Our results, based on three birds, suggest that foraging in association with vessels does not confer an advantage for chick feeding for this population that demonstrated low rates of overlap while foraging. The integrated research design presented can be applied to other seabird species that are susceptible to bycatch, and offers a valuable approach to evaluate habitat quality by linking habitat use and foraging success in terms of total amount of food delivered to offspring.

- by Junichi Sugishita
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- Behavioural Science, Ornithology, Conservation Biology, Spatial Ecology

This review examines the various strategies and methods used to produce benthic habitat maps using acoustic remote sensing techniques, coupled with in situ sampling. The applications of three acoustic survey techniques are examined in detail: single-beam acoustic ground discrimination systems, sidescan sonar systems, and multi-beam echo sounders. Over the past decade we have witnessed the nascence of the field of

- by Peter Lawton
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- Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing, Spatial Ecology, Ecology

It has been well established that biodiversity plays an irreplaceable role in ensuring the quality of human life through supporting ecosystem functions and services. As more and more people prefer to live in cities worldwide, biodiversity loss in urban environments is being increasingly reported more than ever before. This, in turn, may have a negative influence on the quality of human life in an urbanising world. Global research shows that the abundance and richness of fauna in urban environments depends, to a large extent, on the spatial patterning of different patches of urban vegetation such as urban forests, woodlands, parks, and gardens. The principal aim of the research is to provide a coherent picture of the importance of spatial patterning and spatial ecology of wildlife species in urban environments. Based upon empirical data from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, the research involves a systematic review of international peer-reviewed publications relating to the connection between biodiversity and the composition and configuration of urban wildlife habitats. This review reveals the most important components of landscape pattern that contribute to the abundance and richness of urban wildlife species. Ultimately, the results provide a deeper understanding of the strategic importance of spatial dimensions of landscape planning and management, in support of biodiversity conservation in landscapes that have already been widely affected by anthropogenic development. Importantly, the findings provide a set of spatially-explicit recommendations that can be strategically applied in urban landscape architecture and land use planning disciplines to help ensure that urban biodiversity is maintained in an era of climate change and rapid urbanisation.

I am still on the first stretch of this nomadic exploration, but I think I can begin to answer the question that is guiding this exploration—'how can the Natural-Indigenous Worldview support our understandings of the potential for an anarchist society (i.e. for social order without hierarchical domination)?' The key of Natural-Indigenous Worldview that opens the lock of an anarchist society, of a society without hierarchical domination, comes in the Natural-Indigenous Worldview's spiritual ecology. When we develop the four R's (responsibility, reciprocity, respect, relationships [Young 2015]) through relating to the world in a manner that is facilitated by the spiritual ecology that rises from the Natural-Indigenous Worldview and thus ascribes spirit to all things without regard for the Colonial Modernist Worldview's distinction between 'animate' and 'inanimate', we come to see the world as a single, living, conscious being. The illusion of a discrete distinction between self and other breaks down and we come to see the self (and other selves) as strands in the unified, conscious web of creation. We come to care for all of creation as we would care for our children, for our partners, for our parents and for our self. Transcending the illusion of discrete individuality we develop a lovingly reciprocal, responsible, respectful and relational orientation to the world that begets virtuous thought, feeling, behavior and being without recourse to hierarchical authority (to punishment and fear of punishment). Engaging with the world through the spiritual ecology that rises from the Natural-Indigenous Worldview allows the sprouts of human nature to grow to fruition without recourse to hierarchical domination (i.e. without recourse to attempts to 'help sprouts grow' by pulling on them and the death of the sprouts of human nature portended by such hierarchical folly [Meng Zi 2016, 2A2]).

- by Kristina Lyons
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- Feminist Theory, Spatial Ecology, Feminist Geography
- by A-m Klein
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- Spatial Ecology, Reproduction, Agriculture, Biological Sciences

En un principio, “Ecosistemas Frágiles en Cuba. Una Aproximación Geográfica”, como obra colectiva, se concibió y tuvo su genésis en el Resultado Parcial denominado “Caracterización Geográfica y Distribución Territorial de los Ecosistemas Frágiles en Cuba” (de la Colina, A.J, et al, 2000, inédito) del Proyecto de Investigación: “Percepción de los Procesos de Marginalidad en Ecosistemas Frágiles” (1998- 2000) (REF: 003040) del Programa Ramal Científico Técnico (PRCT): “Protección del Medio Ambiente y el Desarrollo Sostenible Cubano” financiado por la Agencia de Medio Ambiente del Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente de Cuba.La Obra presenta una estructura dividida en cuatro partes que comprende los ecosistemas frágiles: Aridos y Semiáridos (Parte I), Costeros (Parte II), Humedales (Parte III) y Montañosos (Parte IV), el orden de presentación y desarrollo de cada una de las partes sigue en lo fundamental un hilo conductor que aborda cuestiones relacionadas con el marco teórico conceptual, antecedentes de investigación, dimensión espacial y ambiental de los ecosistemas frágiles tanto en el escenario internacional como nacional, presentando en este último una zonificación y caracterización espacial acompañada de mapas, las consideraciones finales y bibliografía, en aras de facilitar la lectura, se decidió ponerlas por separado. Consta de 234 páginas, 49 tablas, 2 gráficos, 8 figuras, 21 mapas y referencias bibliográficas.

- by Armando Jesus de la Colina Rodriguez
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- Wetlands, Coastal Processes, Spatial Ecology, Drylands

Among nations with populations above 100 million, Bangladesh is the most densely populated country. It is located on the most active delta in the world and quite vulnerable to natural calamities. Despite tremendous growth over the last three decades in the service, industrial and remittance sector, agriculture remains the largest single source of the GDP and employment. It also provides the nation with food security, a crucial component of sustainability. Over the past three decades unplanned urbanization and industrialization has adversely affected ecologically critical areas such as wetlands, rivers and forest ecosystems. Natural hydrology has been affected by increased extraction of groundwater and surface water for irrigation, coupled with flood control measures in the upper riparian and lower riparian regions. In this context, spatial planning could be considered as a useful tool to foster sustainable development of the country. Therefore, this paper recommends spatial planning as a tool for the sustainable development of Bangladesh considering the demographic trends, economy, geographic context and existing policy of land use and urban planning.

- by sujaul khan
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- Spatial Ecology, Spatial planning, Spatial demography

Di era yang semakin berkembang, banyak bidang ilmu seperti ekonomi, sosial, lingkungan, kesehatan, meteorologi, klimatologi, geologi dan sebagainya yang menggunakan data yang berkaitan dengan lokasi atau letak gepgrafis suatu tempat. Data yang memuat informasi mengenai lokasi atau letak geografis suatu daerah dan diperoleh dari hasil pengukuran sering disebut data spasial. Buku ini membahas lengkap mengenai metode statistika spasial dan penerapan dalam permasalahan. Bab pertama membahas definisi statistika spasial, Bab dua sampai dengan empat membahas Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR), Geograpichally Weighted Logistic Regression (GWLR), Geograpichally Weighted Logistic Regression Semiparametric (GWLRS), Geographically Weighted Poisson Regression (GWPR) dan bab lima membahas tentang applikasi OpenGeoDa ArcView GIS. Pada buku ini diberikan sejumlah panduan dalam menganalisis dan intepretasi dari metode tersebut khususnya pengoperasian dengan menggunakan software R, ArcView dan OpenGeoDa. R merupakan Bahasa pemrograman untuk komputasi statistik dan grafis.

There are two images of Sir. Patrick Geddes that have been received by subsequent generations, Geddes the Liberal and Geddes the Mystic. This paper examines the ways in which revived sensitivity to the wisdom and limitations of Geddes the Mystic may help facilitate the process of transforming human-nature relations and staving off the cultural and ecological genocide of Modernity.

- by Luke Barnesmoore
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- Critical Theory, Environmental Engineering, Buddhism, Landscape Ecology
- by Charles Simenstad
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- Landscape Ecology, Zoology, Spatial Ecology, Marine Ecology
- by Rob S E A N Wilson
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- Cultural Studies, Oceanography, Spatial Ecology, Poetry

This paper argues that, in order to take place, space and scale more seriously in the study of our discipline, we have to complement the pervasive understanding of geography as a tradition of thought or an extended conversation with an understanding of our discipline as a tradition of practice, in which the main focus is on the becoming of geographers. It is argued that the theme of 'what it takes to be a good geographer' is a fertile way to study this process of becoming. The four main advantages of this approach are illustrated empirically in the body of the argument by the author's reflections on his socializing within two very different geographical traditions.

- by Dragos Simandan
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- Critical Theory, Environmental Engineering, Sociology, Social Theory

A common challenge in species conservation and management is how to incorporate species movements into management objectives. There often is a lack of knowledge of where, when, and why species move. The field of movement ecology has grown rapidly in the last decade and is now providing the knowledge needed to incorporate movements of species into management planning. This knowledge can also be used to develop management strategies that are flexible in time and space and may improve the effectiveness of management actions. Therefore, wildlife management and conservation may benefit by strengthening the link with movement ecology. We present a framework that illustrates how animal movement can be used to enhance conservation planning and identify management actions that are complementary to existing strategies. The framework contains five steps that identify (1) the movement attributes of a species, (2) their impacts on ecosystems, (3) how this knowledge can be used to guide the scale and type of management, (4) the implementation, and (5) the evaluation of management actions. We discuss these five steps in detail, highlighting why the step is important and how the information can be obtained. We illustrate the framework through a case study of managing a highly mobile species, the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), a harvested species of conservation concern. We believe that the movement-management framework provides an important, and timely, link between movement ecology and wildlife management and conservation, and highlights the potential for complementary, dynamic solutions for managing wildlife.

- by Andrew Allen and +1
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- Landscape Ecology, Movement Ecology, Spatial Ecology, GPS Applications

Many marine species have a multi-phase ontogeny, with each phase usually associated with a spatially and temporally discrete set of movements. For many fish and decapod crustaceans that live inshore, a tri-phasic life cycle is widespread, involving: (1) the movement of planktonic eggs and larvae to nursery areas; (2) a range of routine shelter and foraging movements that maintain a home range; and (3) spawning migrations away from the home range to close the life cycle. Additional complexity is found in migrations that are not for the purpose of spawning and movements that result in a relocation of the home range of an individual that cannot be defined as an ontogenetic shift. Tracking and tagging studies confirm that life cycle movements occur across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. This dynamic multi-scale complexity presents a significant problem in selecting appropriate scales for studying highly mobile marine animals. We address this problem by first comprehensively reviewing the movement patterns of fish and decapod crustaceans that use inshore areas and present a synthesis of life cycle strategies, together with five categories of movement. We then examine the scale-related limitations of traditional approaches to studies of animal–environment relationships. We demonstrate that studies of marine animals have rarely been undertaken at scales appropriate to the way animals use their environment and argue that future studies must incorporate animal movement into the design of sampling strategies. A major limitation of many studies is that they have focused on: (1) a single scale for animals that respond to their environment at multiple scales or (2) a single habitat type for animals that use multiple habitat types. We develop a hierarchical conceptual framework that deals with the problem of scale and environmental heterogeneity and we offer a new definition of ‘habitat’ from an organism-based perspective. To demonstrate that the conceptual framework can be applied, we explore the range of tools that are currently available for both measuring animal movement patterns and for mapping and quantifying marine environments at multiple scales. The application of a hierarchical approach, together with the coordinated integration of spatial technologies offers an unprecedented opportunity for researchers to tackle a range of animal-environment questions for highly mobile marine animals. Without scale-explicit information on animal movements many marine conservation and resource management strategies are less likely to achieve their primary objectives.

- by Simon J. Pittman
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- Spatial Ecology, Marine Ecology, Ecology, Fish Ecology

Plant species vary greatly in their responsiveness to nutritional soil mutualists, such as my- corrhizal fungi and rhizobia, and this responsiveness is associated with a trade-off in alloca- tion to root structures for resource uptake. As a result, the outcome of plant competition can change with the density of mutualists, with microbe-responsive plant species having high competitive ability when mutualists are abundant and non-responsive plants having high competitive ability with low densities of mutualists. When responsive plant species also allow mutualists to grow to greater densities, changes in mutualist density can generate a positive feedback, reinforcing an initial advantage to either plant type. We study a model of mutualist-mediated competition to understand outcomes of plant-plant interactions within a patchy environment. We find that a microbe-responsive plant can exclude a non-responsive plant from some initial conditions, but it must do so across the landscape including in the mi- crobe-free areas where it is a poorer competitor. Otherwise, the non-responsive plant will persist in both mutualist-free and mutualist-rich regions. We apply our general findings to two different biological scenarios: invasion of a non-responsive plant into an established mi- crobe-responsive native population, and successional replacement of non-responders by microbe-responsive species. We find that resistance to invasion is greatest when seed dis- persal by the native plant is modest and dispersal by the invader is greater. Nonetheless, a native plant that relies on microbial mutualists for competitive dominance may be particular- ly vulnerable to invasion because any disturbance that temporarily reduces its density or that of the mutualist creates a window for a non-responsive invader to establish dominance. We further find that the positive feedbacks from associations with beneficial soil microbes create resistance to successional turnover. Our theoretical results constitute an important first step toward developing a general understanding of the interplay between mutualism and competition in patchy landscapes, and generate qualitative predictions that may be tested in future empirical studies.

- by Stuart Borrett
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- Plant Ecology, Spatial Ecology, Theoretical Ecology, Ecology

Paper published in the Canadian Review of Comparative Literature, vol. 44.2, pp. 336-338 (June 2017)

- by William J. Urban
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- Comparative Literature, Philosophy of Science, Humanities, Spatial Analysis

Calvert K and Simandan D (2010) Energy, space, and society: a reassessment of the changing landscape of energy production, distribution, and use Journal of Economics and Business Research XVI(1), pp. 13-37.
ABSTRACT: While geography has always mattered for the energy sector, the relative effects of location and distance on the economics of energy regimes are increasing as we begin to deploy more renewable energy technologies. This reintroduction of the friction of distance is leading to an energy landscape that is far different from fossil-based regimes. The new energy paradigm, based as it is upon the physics and the economics of renewable energy, is being reflected in the landscape as distributed, decentralized, and diversified patterns of energy generation. Because the increased use of renewable energy technologies is beginning to change the spatial patterns of political and socioeconomic activities, a thorough understanding of these patterns is crucial to increasing the socio-political acceptability of new technologies and to avoiding the socially costly unintended consequences of policy and investment decisions. This paper proposes a theoretical foundation upon which economists and economic geographers could scaffold their analyses of the spatial characteristics of the economics of energy use. To this end, we bring together two complementary conceptualizations of economic geography: firstly, as the study of the effects of location and distance on energy economics, and secondly, as the study of the ways in which political, economic, and technological energy-related practices give rise to particular spatial patterns of socio-economic welfare. We end the paper by developing the concept of energy rationality and showing how it relates to discussions of metarationality, common sense, and wisdom.

- by Dragos Simandan
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- Critical Theory, Environmental Engineering, Economic History, Landscape Ecology

In this article, I deal with airs and sounds and scents, while keeping an eye on the law. My field of enquiry
is the interstitial area between sensory and affective occurrences, namely sensory experiences that are
traditionally thought to be a causal result of external stimuli, and affective experiences that are mostly
associated with emotional changes and generally allude to something internal. I am arguing that there is
no constructive difference between internal and external origin of occurrences. In its stead, I suggest the
concept of atmosphere, namely an attempt at understanding affective occurrences as excessive, collective,
spatial and elemental. However, it quickly becomes apparent that an atmosphere is legally determined.
The law controls affective occurrences by regulating property of sensory stimulation. At the same
time, the law guides bodies into corridors of sensory compulsion e an aspect of which is consumerism in
capitalist societies. The law achieves this by allowing certain sensory options to come forth while suppressing
others, something which is particularly obvious in cases of intellectual property protection that
capture the sensorial. I deal with the law in its material, spatial manifestation and in particular through
what I have called the ‘lawscape’, namely the fusion of space and normativity. I employ a broadly Deleuzian
methodology with insights from radical geography, affective studies, urban and critical legal
theory in order to develop and link the various parts of the text.

- by Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos
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- Critical Theory, Cultural Geography, Law, Jurisprudence

Questo articolo si concentra sull'importanza della nozione di bordo nella semiotica dello spazio, in particolare della fondazione e distruzione di città. Due esempi tradizionali sono analizzati in dettaglio, quello della fondazione di... more

- by Ugo Volli
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- Semiotics, Jewish Studies, Spatial Practices, Spatial Ecology

Echinoderms are a conspicuous assemblage associated
with coral communities, which provides them with food,
shelter, and nursery areas. Temporal and spatial changes in environmental conditions may modify their density and composition, which furthermore may affect the structure of the coral community. In order to identify the response of echinoderm composition to environmental fluctuations, variations in the density were evaluated at spatial and temporal levels from 2011–2014 in Islas Marietas National Park, a National Protected Area located off the Mexican Pacific coast, which harbors the most important coral and echinoderm community in the region. The results showed that the species Diadema mexicanum, Centrostephanus coronatus, and Eucidaris
thouarsii, were dominant. Differences between areas off the islands were observed, as Isla Redonda showed the highest values (1.31 ± 0.15 in. m2, S = 7.74 ± 0.17) associated with high heterogeneity and availability of food resources. Isla Larga had the lowest density (0.89 ± 0.7 in. m2) and richness (S = 6.49 ± 0.24). This was associated with the presence of high coverage of branching corals (16.34%) which can be considered a space competitor for echinoderms. Moreover, during cold seasons, density (17.44%) and richness (12.6%)
increased, with a positive relation with the food supply.
During the 2011/La Niña, a partial coral mortality resulted in the proliferation of turf and contributed to the highest abundance of grazer echinoderms. Abundance decreased during the following years, due to the loss of turf coverage. The assemblage of echinoderms maintained their species composition over the years, showing that the coral community of the Central Mexican Pacific has a singular auto-regulatory capacity
that allows their long-term maintenance in response to
environmental anomalies.

- by Amílcar L. Cupul-Magaña and +1
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- Spatial Ecology, Marine Ecology, Community Ecology, Coral Reef Ecosystems

We review the progress made in the emerging field of coastal seascape ecology, i.e. the application of landscape ecology concepts and techniques to the coastal marine environment. Since the early 1990s, the landscape ecology approach has been applied in several coastal subtidal and intertidal biogenic habitats across a range of spatial scales. Emerging evidence indicates that animals in these seascapes respond to the structure of patches and patch mosaics in different ways and at different spatial scales, yet we still know very little about the ecological significance of these relationships and the consequences of change in seascape patterning for ecosystem functioning and overall biodiversity. Ecological interactions that occur within patches and among different types of patches (or seascapes) are likely to be critically important in maintaining primary and secondary production, trophic transfer, biodiversity, coastal protection, and supporting a wealth of ecosystem goods and services. We review faunal responses to patch and seascape structure, including effects of fragmentation on 5 focal habitats: seagrass meadows, salt marshes, coral reefs, mangrove forests, and oyster reefs. Extrapolating and generalizing spatial relationships between ecological patterns and processes across scales remains a significant challenge, and we show that there are major gaps in our understanding of these relationships. Filling these gaps will be crucial for managing and responding to an inevitably changing coastal environment. We show that critical ecological thresholds exist in the structural patterning of biogenic ecosystems that, when exceeded, cause abrupt shifts in the distribution and abundance of organisms. A better understanding of faunal–seascape relationships, including the identifications of threshold effects, is urgently needed to support the development of more effective and holistic management actions in restoration, site prioritization, and forecasting the impacts of environmental change.

- by Simon J. Pittman
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- Landscape Ecology, Spatial Ecology, Marine Ecology, Mangroves

The single most important statement that can be made with regard to the logical status of human and physical geographical reasoning is that it belongs to the class of non-monotonic reasoning. In other words, geographical reasoning is defeasible (i.e. earlier drawn conclusions can be defeated by the addition of new facts, some of which are generated by the very application of our ideas outside academe) and non-demonstrative (i.e. our beliefs about reality cannot be demonstrated once and for ever; we must do with building provisional arguments based on the current weight of the evidence, which itself changes with the times). Indeed, unlike mathematics, which is a closed world of formalisms that relies heavily on deduction, demonstration, and proof, geography studies and attempts to improve the real, messy world out there. Because that wild, unruly world is always in a process of becoming, the conclusions drawn yesterday may have to be abandoned today, and so on, without end in sight. The core virtue of geographical reasoning is not certainty, but adaptability. As the world changes, so do geography’s entertained beliefs about how to improve it. The point we are trying to make is that an alternative window into the nature of geographical reasoning, besides the one provided by the discipline’s key concepts, offers an opening toward the more subtle problematic of the mechanisms by which the updating of geographical beliefs operate.

The projected growth in human population, rapid urbanization, and expansion of structures like highways and canals pose a major threat to the future survival of wildlife, particularly large terrestrial mammals. In many cases, wild animal populations have been restricted to fragmented habitat islands due to anthropogenic developments, endangering them to local extinction. Current and future wildlife conservation and management strategies are leading to the implementation of mitigation measures such as creation of wildlife habitat corridors. In this light, novel and interdisciplinary research methods such as approaches in the field of landscape genetics are proving to be increasingly useful and necessary for assessing the status of wildlife populations and furthering efficacy of conservation programs and management efforts. In this 5-year research study, I review literature in the field of landscape genetics, highlighting studies and their applications toward wildlife conservation over the past decade (2005-2014). I then use a landscape genetic approach to understand the potential impact of natural and human-made barriers in and around the northern Sonoran Desert on one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world, the mountain lion (Puma concolor). I employ recently developed genetic tools to assess the current population genetic status of mountain lions in this region and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools to relate observations to landscape features through interpretive maps. I further investigate the utility of GIS and expert-based models in connectivity conservation and suggest validating them with information on genetic relatedness and functional connectivity among mountain lions. Lastly, in many parts of this document, I emphasize the use of these methods and data sharing in conservation planning as well as wildlife management.

- by Ashwin Naidu
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- Genetics, Conservation Biology, Conservation, Spatial Ecology

The connection between law and the city is an increasingly relevant area of transdisciplinary research currently explored from both applied and theoretical perspectives. Existing approaches, however, have not adequately focussed on the fusion between the law and the space of a city, the geographical physicality of the urban in its material ontology on the one hand, and the operations of the law within such materiality on the other. This chapter builds on my previous work on the concept of the Lawscape, which has shown that law’s reluctance of the law to grapple with urban space may well be on account of the counter-intuitiveness of the connection: positive law greatly relies on its immateriality, its objective, abstract application independently of spatial parameters. I argue here that the lawscape is the surface on which the concept of spatial justice emerges as a true interstice. The problem with spatial justice, however, is that it is woefully undertheorised and usually equated with rather innocuous constructions such as social justice and democracy. Employing a Deleuzian approach, I offer a conceptualisation of spatial justice not as synthesis but as emergence from the folds of the lawscape.

- by Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos
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- Critical Theory, Geography, Human Geography, Spatial Ecology