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Bell miner (Manorina melanophrys) colonies are closely associated with decreased avian abundance and diversity and an apparently associated increase in psyllid abundance. However, a causative link between the presence of bell miners and increased psyllid abundance has yet to be established. We took advantage of the movement of bell miners into two new areas to investigate the ecological consequences of bell miner occupation on both avian and psyllid abundance. We monitored the number of bell miners and other avian species, using area searches, and psyllid abundance by monthly counts of lerp on leaves. Bell miner presence alone had limited effect on either bird diversity or abundance. However, when miners were also giving their distinctive 'tink' vocalisation, a significant decrease in avian abundance and diversity was observed. This evidence supports the hypothesis that 'tink' vocalisations are used by interspecific competitors to detect bell miner colonies. At the time of initial occupation, new sites did not have significantly elevated levels of psyllids compared with surrounding areas unoccupied by bell miners. Six months later one of the two newly occupied sites had significantly more Cardiaspina spp. than either the long-established colony or an unoccupied control site. In contrast, infestations of Glycaspis spp. remained significantly lower at both new sites when compared with the long-established colony, but equivalent to unoccupied areas. Given this, we conclude that bell miner occupation does not necessarily lead to an increase in psyllid abundance, characteristic of tree dieback in some colonies, and that a causative link between bell miner presence and declining tree health remains to be demonstrated.

Die ökonomisch-ökologische Doppelkrise hat China längst erreicht. Für die Stabilisierung der wachsenden Wirtschaft sind Zugänge zu neuen Absatzmärkten und Ressourcen unabdinglich. Gleichzeitig nehmen die damit einhergehenden Umweltschäden stetig zu und verursachen öffentlichen Druck auf die Regierung in Peking. Dieser Beitrag argumentiert, dass im Sinne von David Harvey (1982) Krisen nicht gelöst, sondern räumlich bearbeitet werden. Ghana als Absatzmarkt und die überwiegend unerschlossenen Bauxit-Reserven haben das Interesse Chinas geweckt. 2017 unterzeichneten die beiden Länder ein 'Memorandum of Understanding' zur Entwicklung einer integrierten Bauxit-Aluminium-Industrie in Ghana. Was für China als Krisenbearbeitung interpretiert werden kann, führt zu einer zunehmenden Inwertsetzung natürlicher Ressourcen in Ghana und dem Problem, diesen Entwicklungspfad zu verlassen.
Basierend auf Feldforschungen im März 2018 und intensiver Literaturarbeit werden diese Dynamiken und mögliche Konsequenzen aufbauend auf dem Konzept des spatial fix und der ökonomisch-ökologischen Doppelkrise diskutiert.

Abstract: Background: Digital Behavior Change Interventions (DBCIs) offer substantial potential to widely disseminate prevention and health promotion content. One key issue remains the absence of high-quality evidence of the effects of DBCIs for long-term health outcomes and unintended consequences. Here, we argue that in addition to better-quality evidence for effects on health, a more consideration of unintended consequences of DBCIs on multiple levels is warranted. Objectives: We suggest a multilevel perspective on unintended consequences of DBCIs building on a socio-ecological understanding of health promotion and prevention. Methods: Narrative literature review. Results: Unintended consequences of DBCIs can be located on the level of the individual engaging with DBCIs, on a level of social interactions, and on the level of health services, in multiple domains from health-related, behavior modification, affective aspects to data privacy and financial implications. Implications: Our proposed social–ecological perspective improves the classification of unintended consequences of DBCIs. This could facilitate building a cumulative evidence base to support the development of more effective and inclusive DBCIs.

In the context of the current 21st century globalization processes, the author raises the significance of reflection articulated on the part of the post-communistand post-totalitarian communities, the integrating European Union and its member states. This importance stems from the necessity to consider contemporary integration processes from all angles, and not to concentrate only on the intellectual vision of both the European and American West, so apparently permeated with one-sidedness of interpretation. As it seems, the intellectuals of the West fail to notice the gravity of the fact that secular equivalents of religiousness, which are totalitarianism and western consumer capitalism, have become a mere caricature of human aspirations and ideals, thus distorting intellectual bases of consecutive stages of globalization. The reflection of the article has been contained in three parts. In its first part the author characterises the rising topicality of globalization. Next, he raises the necessity to differentiate between various human communities in the analyses on the current stage of globalization processes. Thus, he recognizes the importance to identify different stages of human communities' historical development, which due to an enormous progress in technology had to face the reality of globalization. Last but not least, the author attempts to outline the possibilities to overcome ideological helplessness concerning the issue of socio-ecological problems resulting from the globalization processes in the continental diversity of cultural religious local communities. ; W kontekście aktualnych procesów globalizacyjnych współczesności początków XXI stulecia autor podnosi doniosłość wyartykułowywanej refleksji także ze strony społeczności postkomunistycznych i posttotalitarnych, integrującej się Unii Europejskiej i jej państw członkowskich. Doniosłość wynika z konieczności podjęcia refleksji, która nie byłaby naznaczona jednostronnością postrzegania oraz interpretowania współczesnych procesów integracyjnych, jaką zdaje się być przeniknięta myśl intelektualna Zachodu europejskiego i zaatlantyckiego. Bowiem refleksja czyniona przez intelektualistów Zachodu zdaje się nie wychwytywać ważności faktu, że świeckie zamienniki religijności, czyli totalitaryzm i zachodni konsumpcjonistyczny kapitalizm, stały się zaledwie karykaturąludzkich aspiracji oraz ideałów, powodując z kolei wypaczanie się intelektualnych koncepcji, stanowiących podstawę kształtowania kolejnych etapów mondializacji.Refleksja artykułu została rozwinięta w trzech etapach. W pierwszym autor podjął próbę scharakteryzowania potęgującej się aktualności zagadnienia globalizacyjnego.W drugim etapie refleksji skoncentrował się na podniesieniu konieczności rozróżnień w analizach stanu ludzkich społeczności na obecnym etapie procesu globalizacyjnego. Podniósł ważność rozpoznania zróżnicowania etapów rozwoju historycznego ludzkich społeczności, które zostały zastane przez globalizacyjną równoczesność, wynikłą z możliwości techniczno-technologicznych. Natomiast w etapie trzecim i ostatnim podjął próbę zarysowania możliwości przezwyciężenia bezradności ideologicznych wizji w sprawie rozwiązania kwestii społecznych w konsekwencjach społeczno-ekologicznych procesów mondializacyjnych w zróżnicowaniu kontynentalnych lokalności kulturowo-religijnych.

This paper summarizes the critical importance of the Cerrado savannah biome in Brazil and examines key ways in which large-scale agriculture, in particular large-scale soy farming, threatens water security and increases socio-ecological stress. It connects agribusiness expansion to the globalized meat industry by defining how complex economic relationships result in deforestation on a massive scale. It describes how this radical change in land cover has led to changes in rainfall patterns that are associated with extended drought periods and analyzes how these critical water shortages jeopardize socio-economic health beyond the immediate region. Further, it explicates how intensified transgenic soy farming and other pesticide-heavy crop production contributes to rising public health crises associated with carcinogen-contaminated water and food sources. Lastly, it identifies emerging trends that suggest how agribusiness corporations and governments may be legally ascribed moral responsibilities for maintaining socio-ecological health of the biome. The paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the human dimensions of environmental issues and their impacts and reframe conservation social science discourse in regard to protection of land and water resources in the region.

The present economic system is geared towards increasing specialization and infinite growth. This orientation may have led to efficiency and new ways of increasing wealth but it has also led to unsustainable practices and, in some cases, loss of traditional knowledge. Many a systems thinker like the Limits to Growth's Club of Rome have suggested ways to avoid the negative consequences of the current economic system but these entail radical changes that cannot be afforded by deeply-entrenched practices of the worldwide economy. In this paper, another alternative is proposed, which may not only be desirable to an envisioned ecological society but also may also be logical to the unsustainable society of today. Looking at rural indigenous livelihoods may show us how an ecological society should be like. Exemplifying collectivism, indigenous peoples continue to cultivate empathy while at the same time inculcating sense of responsibility. Before "multi-hyphenated" became fashionable, indigenous peoples were already engaged in different occupations that, in turn, result to a diversified livelihood portfolio similar to what banks today advise clients on their investments. However, the difference lies in the indigenous tradition of only having enough for what is needed and rarely hoarding to the point of exhausting resources. This paper proposes that the diverse indigenous livelihood portfolio can be a valuable economic framework for an ecological society. It does not limit growth, but it makes sure growth happens in a sustainable manner.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to narrow the research gap by examining the relationship between new ecological paradigm (NEP), consideration of future consequences (CFC), the intention to buy and the intention to pay a premium in the context of electric car (EC) purchase in India.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a structured questionnaire to measure the variables of the research. The study successfully obtained useable data from a sample of 491 consumers residing in India. The analysis of the variables and their relationships was done using structural equation modelling using SMARTPLS4 software.FindingsThe relationship between the values of NEP and CFC was observed in the context of electric cars that has a significant impact on the intention to buy and pay a premium. It also highlights the role of CFC future and CFC immediate on the intention to buy and between NEP and the intention to pay a premium.Research limitations/implicationsThe study only covers electric cars, and therefore further testing of these relationships is required in the context of other forms of environmentally friendly transportation. The results are generalizable across the potential consumers of EC but are even more pertinent to higher-income millennial consumers.Practical implicationsPotential buyers of electric cars, having a positive orientation towards the environment and also consideration for future consequence, were observed to have a stronger intention to buy EC. The study finds a way in increasing the intention to buy an EC by catalyzing environmental concern of consumers through CFC future.Originality/valueThis is the first study that has examined the NEP-CFC relationship, and provides evidence that the intention to buy an electric car is not only NEP (environmental concern)-dependent but also considers CFC's future orientation. This study adds the CFC aspect as another important variable regarding the purchase of EC, and proves that environmental concern is not the only moderating factor to buy an EC.

Despite widespread occurrence of seasonal sociality among animals, little is still known about the social drivers and populationlevel social implications of seasonal grouping behaviours, especially in birds. Here, we studied the combined effects of ecological and social factors on seasonal grouping patterns in a sedentary population of Egyptian vultures living on the Eastern Canary Islands. We focussed on the social significance of large-scale gatherings taking place outside the breeding season at a highly preferred feeding station and a nearby temporary roost. Group sizes at this feeding patch followed a strong seasonal pattern characterized by distinct monthly changes in group composition, according to sex, age and territorial status. In between reproductive periods, vulture numbers at the feeding station may reach up 50% of the total population on a single day. GPS-tracking showed that this increase in vulture numbers was in part due to a shift in foraging range towards the centre of Fuerteventura by low-ranked territorial birds breeding in remote areas. During this period, vultures may spend on average 30% of their monthly time in a social gatherings context, depending on social status. We show that seasonal grouping patterns are shaped by the complex interplay between ecological factors (reproductive constraints, resource seasonality, food predictability), age-specific traits and social competitive processes, while social attraction may be an important additional component. We propose that for facultative social foragers living in highly despotic territorial systems, collective foraging may be of particular relevance regarding the development of hierarchical social relations and maintenance of population-level social cohesion ; TvO received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. "SocForVul 659008 ; During writing, LG was supported by a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship of the European Commission (grant number: ...

Part I. Energy sphere in Industry 4.0 -- Chapter 1. Growth of energy consumption during automatization of production, distribution, and consumption in Industry 4.0 -- Chapter 2. Energy crisis management in Industry 4.0 -- Chapter 3. Renewable energy and evaluation of its applicability in Industry 4.0 -- Chapter 4. Alternative sources of energy and perspectives of their development in Industry 4.0 -- Chapter 5. Consequences of Industry 4.0 for the energy sphere in modern Russia.-Part II. Pollution of environment in Industry 4.0 -- Chapter 6. Increase of production and consumption waste in the course of economic growth and digital modernization -- Chapter 7. Perspectives of decrease of production waste in the circular model of development of Industry 4.0 -- Chapter 8. "Smart" consumption and its consequences for environment pollution -- Chapter 9. Environment pollution in Industry 4.0 in Russia's regional economy: linear practices vs. circular initiatives -- Chapter 10. Macro-level consequences of digitization of the Russian economy for production waste and climate change -- Part III. Ecological consequences of growth and development of Industry 4.0 -- Chapter 11. Consequences of transition to Industry 4.0 for economy's resource efficiency: the specifics of developed and developing countries -- Chapter 12. Ecological consequences of development of "smart" productions in countries that implement the resource models of economic growth -- Chapter 13. Post-industrial economies on the path to Industry 4.0: consequences for fighting climate change -- Chapter 14. Consumer society in Industry 4.0: mass needs and individual limitations, dictates by the digital society, based on ecological responsibility --

Discarding by fisheries is perceived as contrary to responsible harvesting. Legislation seeking to end the practice is being introduced in many jurisdictions. However, discarded fish are food for a range of scavenging species; so, ending discarding may have ecological consequences. Here we investigate the sensitivity of ecological effects to discarding policies using an ecosystem model of the North Sea—a region where 30–40% of trawled fish catch is currently discarded. We show that landing the entire catch while fishing as usual has conservation penalties for seabirds, marine mammals and seabed fauna, and no benefit to fish stocks. However, combining landing obligations with changes in fishing practices to limit the capture of unwanted fish results in trophic cascades that can benefit birds, mammals and most fish stocks. Our results highlight the importance of considering the broader ecosystem consequences of fishery management policy, since species interactions may dissipate or negate intended benefits.

Describes drying up of the Aral sea in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the resulting shortage of fresh water in the region, and environmental pollution in Central Asia.

Das wichtigste ökologische Problem Zentralasiens ist die sowohl durch das schnelle Bevölkerungswachstum wie auch durch Wasserverschwendung verursachte Wasserknappheit. Hinzu kommt eine natürlich bedingte Tendenz zur Austrocknung Zentralasiens. Eine Lösung des Wasserproblems ist einzig durch die Umleitung von Flüssen aus Sibirien nach Zentralasien möglich. Das Wasserproblem wird in den kommenden Jahrzehnten zu einem zentralen Faktor der Politik in der Region werden. Der Wassermangel verschärft zudem das Problem der Umweltverschmutzung. Zu diesen ökologischen Problemen kommt noch die Gefährdung Zentralasiens durch Erdbeben hinzu. (BIOst-Wpt)

Discarding by fisheries is perceived as contrary to responsible harvesting. Legislation seeking to end the practice is being introduced in many jurisdictions. However, discarded fish are food for a range of scavenging species; so, ending discarding may have ecological consequences. Here we investigate the sensitivity of ecological effects to discarding policies using an ecosystem model of the North Sea—a region where 30–40% of trawled fish catch is currently discarded. We show that landing the entire catch while fishing as usual has conservation penalties for seabirds, marine mammals and seabed fauna, and no benefit to fish stocks. However, combining landing obligations with changes in fishing practices to limit the capture of unwanted fish results in trophic cascades that can benefit birds, mammals and most fish stocks. Our results highlight the importance of considering the broader ecosystem consequences of fishery management policy, since species interactions may dissipate or negate intended benefits.