Spatial Structure of National and International Scientific Collaboration in the Brazilian Cerrado Research

The number of authors in papers has increased over the years, indicating collaborative trends in Science and Technology. Besides, scientific collaboration is structured at different spatial scales, for example, within or between institutions in the same country or among countries. Here, we evaluate the scientific collaboration patterns at national and international levels in the Cerrado research. We searched all papers about the Cerrado published between 1945 and 2017 in the Web of Science database. We performed network analyses using pairwise distance matrices to create national and international collaboration networks. We also used spatial correlograms to test the effect of geographic distance on scientific collaboration. The number of papers increased over the years (rs = 0.96), where papers with 3-5 authors had the highest growth rate (rs = 0.96). Moreover, authors from geographically closer institutions tend to collaborate more at the national level, while we found no geographic effect on international collaboration. These results show that Brazilian scientists studying the Cerrado have collaborated more over the years regardless of distance, although locally, scientists are still more likely to work with scientists of close institutions within the biome. This collaboration tendency may be associated with the need in science to deal with more complex and multidisciplinary issues, where collaborative studies promote a greater scientific and social impact.O número de autores em artigos tem aumentado ao longo dos anos, indicando tendências colaborativas em Ciência e Tecnologia. Além disso, a colaboração científica é estruturada em diferentes escalas espaciais, por exemplo, dentre ou entre instituições no mesmo país ou entre países. Aqui nós avaliamos os padrões da colaboração científica em nível nacional e internacional na pesquisa no Cerrado. Nós buscamos todos os artigos sobre o Cerrado publicados entre 1945 e 2017 no banco de dados Web of Science. As análises de rede foram realizadas usando matrizes de distância par-a-par para criar a rede de colaboração nacional e internacional. Correlogramas espaciais também foram utilizados para testar o efeito da distância geográfica sobre as redes de colaboração. O número de artigos aumentou ao longo dos anos (rs = 0.96), onde artigos com 3-5 autores tiveram a maior taxa de crescimento (rs = 0.96). Além disso, autores de instituições geograficamente mais próximas tendem a colaborar mais em nível nacional, enquanto nenhum efeito geográfico sobre a colaboração internacional. Esses resultados mostram que cientistas brasileiros estudando o Cerrado tem colaborado mais ao longo do tempo independente da distância, embora localmente, cientistas ainda tendem a trabalhar junto de cientistas de instituições mais próximas dentro do bioma. Essa tendência colaborativa pode estar associada com a necessidade da ciência em lidar com problemas mais complexo e multidisciplinares, ao qual estudos em colaboração promovem um maior impacto cientifico e social

Social network analysis of scientific articles published by food policy

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Biodiversity and Ecosystem Informatics - BDEI - Planning Workshop on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Informatics for the Indian River Lagoon, Florida

This proposal solicits funding to organize and conduct a planning workshop that will establish and facilitate research on the informatics needed to address complex issues of biodiversity and ecosystem processes within the Indian River Lagoon. This workshop will provide the opportunity and resources for collaboration and discussion among scientists from diverse fields of biodiversity, ecological sciences, remote sensing, geographic information systems, computer science and intelligent systems. The topics to be discussed will include investigation of novel computational intelligence techniques for modeling, prediction, analysis and database management of the disparate and complex data for the Indian River Lagoon. The explicit products of the proposed workshop will be a white paper and technical report, a formal research agenda that incorporates informatics into existing and planned research, and preparation of a competitive proposal based on the recommendations and preliminary work defined by the workshop

Urban biodiversity : State of the science and future directions

Since the 1990s, recognition of urban biodiversity research has increased steadily. Knowledge of how ecological communities respond to urban pressures can assist in addressing global questions related to biodiversity. To assess the state of this research field in meeting this aim, we conducted a systematic review of the urban biodiversity literature published since 1990. We obtained data from 1209 studies that sampled ecological communities representing 12 taxonomic groups. While advances have been made in the field over the last 30 years, we found that urban biodiversity research has primarily been conducted in single cities within the Palearctic and Nearctic realms, within forest remnants and residential locations, and predominantly surveys plants and birds, with significant gaps in research within the Global South and little integration of multi-species and multi-trophic interactions. Sample sizes remain limited in spatial and temporal scope, but citizen science and remote sensing resources have broadened these efforts. Analytical approaches still rely on taxonomic diversity to describe urban plant and animal communities, with increasing numbers of integrated phylogenetic and trait-based analyses. Despite the implementation of nature-based solutions across the world's cities, only 5% of studies link biodiversity to ecosystem function and services, pointing to substantial gaps in our understanding of such solutions. We advocate for future research that encompasses a greater diversity of taxonomic groups and urban systems, focusing on biodiversity hotspots. Implementing such research would enable researchers to move forward in an equitable and multidisciplinary way to tackle the complex issues facing global urban biodiversity.Peer reviewe

Public perception and social network analysis for coastal risk management in Maresme Sud (Barcelona, Catalonia)

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11852-014-0341-0Understanding the governance system, stakeholder relationships and perceptions of coastal landscape risk is essential to improving the sustainability of coastal environments. Our main objective was to analyse social networks for the Maresme Sud coastal area in Catalonia and examine public perceptions of risk in order to shed light on how the current governance system could be improved to promote more adaptive coastal landscape risk management. Our methodology was based on semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders and a social network analysis, which provided context-based information on stakeholder interactions and power relationships and the transfer and diffusion of different types of knowledge. In Maresme Sud, the strong presence of public bodies makes the integration of more adaptive and innovative discourses in coastal management practices more difficult. The role of supra-local stakeholders, currently poorly represented in the network, should be enhanced. Coastal partnerships could also act as bridging organizations to facilitate learning, cooperation and knowledge exchange among stakeholders.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Stakeholder Perceptions of a Small-scale Wastewater Treatment Facility in DeKalb County, GA

In DeKalb County, metro Atlanta, GA, frequent and high-volume sewer spills, aging wastewater infrastructure, and increasingly high-density development have left the county with limited solutions to waste management challenges. As a result, a federal judge issued a consent decree to DeKalb County to mitigate these sewage spills, which mandated $700 million in sewer improvements to redress 836 raw sewage spills between 2006 and 2010. Although DeKalb County is rehabilitating its wastewater pipelines, innovative and sustainable solutions are needed. This research investigates key ideas in urban political ecology and hydrosocial geography. Through a case study of Emory University’s WaterHub, a small-scale wastewater facility in DeKalb County, this thesis examines socio-natural sewage characteristics and the problems they pose for institutions and cities. Results address connections between primary stakeholders’ motivations, integrative water management, stakeholder perceptions, and significance of this case study to the larger DeKalb County area

Comparison of the Regional and Global Production of Scientific Papers: A Perspective from Freshwater Fish Studies in Goiás State, Central Brazil

Scientific production is often explored at broader scales but understanding whether regional trends follow global ones is an important issue for science and public policies. Using freshwater fish papers’ production in the Goiás State, Central Brazil, we tested two hypotheses: i) regional production of papers follows global tendencies; ii) regional production is driven by the number of authors, institutions, financial support and dissertations/thesis produced. From published papers we extracted the: year of publication, authors’ institution, journal of publication, impact factor and financial support. To test both hypotheses we performed, respectively, a Pearson correlation between papers number and year, and a multiple linear regression considering papers number or impact factor as response variable and authors, institutions, financial support and dissertations/thesis as predictors variables. We observed a positive correlation between papers number and year, whereas financial support, institutions and dissertation/thesis were the main drivers for papers number and impact factor. Regional production of fish papers follows global patterns of production (financial support and institutions number as mains drivers). However, this production remains influenced by particularities such as: an inconstant production through time and the fact that many papers are still published in journals without an impact factor.A produção científica é geralmente explorada em escalas espaciais maiores, mas, compreender se estes padrões regionais seguem as tendências globais é um tópico importante para a ciência e as políticas públicas. Utilizando a produção científica de artigos sobre peixes de água doce no estado de Goiás, Brasil Central, testamos duas hipóteses: i) a produção regional de artigos segue as tendências globais; ii) a produção regional é influenciada pelo número de autores, instituições, suporte financeiro ligados aos estudos, de dissertações/teses produzidas. Dentre os artigos publicados, extraímos: ano de publicação, instituição dos autores, periódico de publicação, fator de impacto do periódico e suporte financeiro. Para testar ambas as hipóteses conduzimos, respectivamente, uma correlação de Pearson entre o número de artigos e ano, e uma regressão linear múltipla considerando o número de artigos e fator de impacto como variáveis respostas e autores, instituições, número de financiamentos e dissertações/teses como preditoras. Observamos uma correlação positiva entre número de artigos e ano, enquanto suporte financeiro, instituições e dissertações/teses foram os principais fatores a influenciar o número de artigos e fator de impacto. A produção regional de artigos sobre peixes segue os padrões globais de produção (suporte financeiro e instituições como determinantes). Entretanto, esta produção permanece influenciada por particularidades: produção inconstante e o fato de muitos trabalhos serem publicados em revistas sem fator de impacto

Developing an Odonate-Based Index for Monitoring Freshwater Ecosystems in Rwanda: Towards Linking Policy to Practice through Integrated and Adaptive Management

Worldwide, the decline of biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems is occurring at an alarming rate, due to anthropogenic threats, which directly impact humans in a variety of ways. Freshwater ecosystems occupy an integral part of political, socio-economic and ecological spheres. Integrated Watershed Management (IWM) and Adaptive Management (AM) conceptual frameworks provide an underpinning holistic platform from which to evaluate the performance of policies and actions on the ground in relation to freshwater ecosystem management. I investigate the extent to which environmental policies and practices embrace IWM and AM frameworks in Rwanda. Furthermore, this dissertation develops an odonate-based ecological monitoring tool, referred to as Dragonfly Biotic Index (DBI). The development of this tool involved surveying adult odonates, water physical-chemical variables, habitat characteristics and weather conditions across the six ecological zones of Rwanda. An average of 16 sites per each ecological zone were surveyed in a short rainy season and revisited in a short dry season. This countrywide survey added 25 new odonate species to the national check list, which increased it to 114 species. The abundance of odonates was significantly different between ecological zones and between seasons. The DBI developed here consists of three sub-indices: distribution-based score, sensitivity-based score and threat-based score as per IUCN Red List categories. To validate DBI, I examined its effectiveness in reflecting habitat integrity. This included using DBI to assess the relationship of land uses (agriculture and mining) and environmental, and physical- chemical variables of freshwater ecosystems. DBI values were significantly lower in agricultural and mining sites than their control sites. Also, significant changes in some environmental variables were associated with the two land uses. These included the degradation of riparian vegetation as associated with both agriculture and mining. While agriculture was significantly associated with higher conductivity, mining exhibited a significant relationship with higher water turbidity and higher sandy substrates than their control sites. In conclusion, not only will DBI enable deeper investigation of the extent to which land uses affect freshwater ecosystems, but also will be instrumental in prioritization for habitats that need crucial conservation. Additionally, this monitoring tool is meant to make data on ecosystem status readily available to facilitate analysis of ecological responses to socio-economic, political and pragmatic interventions. Thus, these data can be used to inform all spheres involved: ecological, political and socio-economic. The use of odonates, which are charismatic insects, will potentially engage and promote citizen-based monitoring. This will ultimately instill pro-environmental attitudes within local communities and set the stage for collaboration between stakeholders