BioClimate: a Science Gateway for Climate Change and Biodiversity research in the EUBrazilCloudConnect project

[EN] Climate and biodiversity systems are closely linked across a wide range of scales. To better understand the mutual interaction between climate change and biodiversity there is a strong need for multidisciplinary skills, scientific tools, and access to a large variety of heterogeneous, often distributed, data sources. Related to that, the EUBrazilCloudConnect project provides a user-oriented research environment built on top of a federated cloud infrastructure across Europe and Brazil, to serve key needs in different scientific domains, which is validated through a set of use cases. Among them, the most data-centric one is focused on climate change and biodiversity research. As part of this use case, the BioClimate Science Gateway has been implemented to provide end-users transparent access to (i) a highly integrated user-friendly environment, (ii) a large variety of data sources, and (iii) different analytics & visualization tools to serve a large spectrum of users needs and requirements. This paper presents a complete overview of BioClimate and the related scientific environment, in particular its Science Gateway, delivered to the end-user community at the end of the project.This work was supported by the EU FP7 EUBrazilCloudConnect Project (Grant Agreement 614048), and CNPq/Brazil (Grant Agreement no 490115/2013-6).Fiore, S.; Elia, D.; Blanquer Espert, I.; Brasileiro, FV.; Nuzzo, A.; Nassisi, P.; Rufino, LAA.... (2019). BioClimate: a Science Gateway for Climate Change and Biodiversity research in the EUBrazilCloudConnect project. Future Generation Computer Systems. 94:895-909. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2017.11.034S8959099

Assessment of Natural Resources Use for Sustainable Development - DPSIR Framework for Case Studies in Portsmouth and Thames Gateway, U.K.

This chapter reports on the uses of the DPSIR framework to assess the sustainability of the intertidal environments within the two UK case study areas, Portsmouth and Thames Gateway. It focuses on statutory conservation areas dominated by intertidal habitats. Two are located in Portsmouth (Portsmouth and Langstone Harbours) and four in the Thames Gateway (Benfleet Marshes, South Thames Estuary, Medway Estuary and the Swale in the Thames Gateway). Based on the reduction of a number of pressures and impacts observed in recent decades and the improvement of overall environmental quality, all six SSSIs are considered to be sustainable in the short and medium term. In the future, it is possible that the impacts of climate change, especially sea-level rise, might result in further reduction in the area and/or quality of intertidal habitats. Further integration between conservation and planning objectives (both for urban development and management of flood risk) at local level is needed to support the long-term sustainability of intertidal habitats

Understanding citizen science and environmental monitoring: final report on behalf of UK Environmental Observation Framework

Citizen science can broadly be defined as the involvement of volunteers in science. Over the past decade there has been a rapid increase in the number of citizen science initiatives. The breadth of environmental-based citizen science is immense. Citizen scientists have surveyed for and monitored a broad range of taxa, and also contributed data on weather and habitats reflecting an increase in engagement with a diverse range of observational science. Citizen science has taken many varied approaches from citizen-led (co-created) projects with local community groups to, more commonly, scientist-led mass participation initiatives that are open to all sectors of society. Citizen science provides an indispensable means of combining environmental research with environmental education and wildlife recording. Here we provide a synthesis of extant citizen science projects using a novel cross-cutting approach to objectively assess understanding of citizen science and environmental monitoring including: 1. Brief overview of knowledge on the motivations of volunteers. 2. Semi-systematic review of environmental citizen science projects in order to understand the variety of extant citizen science projects. 3. Collation of detailed case studies on a selection of projects to complement the semi-systematic review. 4. Structured interviews with users of citizen science and environmental monitoring data focussing on policy, in order to more fully understand how citizen science can fit into policy needs. 5. Review of technology in citizen science and an exploration of future opportunities

Solutions for environmental contrasts in coastal areas: Coastal cities and climate change

Copyright @ 2011 Regional Studies Associatio

Expansion rate & dispersal pattern of the non-native Roesel’s bush-cricket in Sweden

Environmental change and anthropogenic activities influence species distributions. Species introductions have become increasingly common in an era of globalization and increased international trade and travel. The establishment of introduced species outside their native range and subsequent spread are of great conservation concern. Introduced species that become invasive, spread rapidly and reach high abundance, may cause the extinction of native species, disrupt ecosystem functioning and pose a threat to human health and the economy. It is therefore of great interest to understand the processes and mechanisms involved in species range expansion in order to develop effective management strategies. In this thesis I examine the influence of the landscape on species’ distribution and analyse patterns of range expansion of a non-native insect in south-central Sweden. Roesel’s bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii) was chosen as a model organism as its biology is well studied and its range expansion has been documented not only in Sweden but also in several other European countries. The aims of this thesis were (I) to identify landscape variables that predict the species distribution, (II) to estimate the rate of range expansion, (III) to identify the source of range expansion in south-central Sweden and to assess the dispersal pattern using population genetic data, and (IV) to analyse the influence of landscape composition and structure on population connectivity. I analysed species distribution, genetic and landscape data using a range of statistical modelling techniques in combination with geographic information systems (GIS). The results showed that the amounts of arable land, pasture and rural settlements as well as linear habitat elements are important predictors of the species’ distribution. During the last three decades, Metrioptera roeselii has expanded its range from the northern shores of the Lake Mälaren at an estimated rate of 0.3 - 3.16 km/year. The genetic diversity across the range was surprisingly high and degree of population differentiation was low to moderate likely due to frequent gene flow between populations in the centre of the species range and decreased gene flow towards the range margin. It appears the species establishes populations through infrequent long-distance and frequent short-distance dispersal (natural, human-mediated)