Light Pollution, Urbanization and Ecology

Light Pollution, Urbanization and Ecology PDF Author: Levente Hufnagel
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 1838809724
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 134

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Book Description
Light Pollution, Urbanization and Ecology presents a comprehensive review of light pollution, including scientific research on the ecological impacts of artificial illumination in urban regions. Chapters cover such topics as general ecological aspects, plants, invertebrate and vertebrate biology, and environmental and landscape architecture aspects of this interesting and important topic.

Light Pollution, Urbanization and Ecology

Light Pollution, Urbanization and Ecology PDF Author: Levente Hufnagel
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 1838809724
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 134

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Book Description
Light Pollution, Urbanization and Ecology presents a comprehensive review of light pollution, including scientific research on the ecological impacts of artificial illumination in urban regions. Chapters cover such topics as general ecological aspects, plants, invertebrate and vertebrate biology, and environmental and landscape architecture aspects of this interesting and important topic.

Ecology and Conservation of Birds in Urban Environments

Ecology and Conservation of Birds in Urban Environments PDF Author: Enrique Murgui
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319433148
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 525

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Book Description
This book provides syntheses of ecological theories and overarching patterns of urban bird ecology that have only recently become available. The numerous habitats represented in this book ranges from rows of trees in wooded alleys, to wastelands and remnants of natural habitats encapsulated in the urban matrix. Authored by leading scientists in this emergent field, the chapters explore how the characteristics of the habitat in urban environments influence bird communities and populations at multiple levels of ecological organization and at different spatial and temporal scales, and how this information should be incorporated in urban planning to achieve an effective conservation of bird fauna in urban environments. Birds are among the most conspicuous and fascinating residents of urban neighborhoods and provide urban citizens with everyday wildlife contact all over the world. However, present urbanization trends are rapidly depleting their habitats, and thus knowledge of urban bird ecology is urgently needed if birds are to thrive in cities. The book is unique in its inclusion of examples from all continents (except Antarctica) in an effort to arrive at a more holistic perspective. Among other issues, the individual chapters address the censusing of birds in urban green spaces; the relationship between bird communities and the structure of urban green spaces; the role of exotic plant species as food sources for urban bird fauna; the influence of artificial light and pollutants on bird fauna; trends in long-term urban bird research, and transdisciplinary studies on bird sounds and their effects on humans. Several chapters investigate how our current knowledge of the ecology of urban bird fauna should be applied in order to achieve better management of urban habitats so as to achieve conservation of species or even increase species diversity. The book also provides a forward-looking summary on potential research directions. As such, it provides a valuable resource for urban ecologists, urban ecology students, landscape architects, city planners, decision makers and anyone with an interest in urban ornithology and bird conservation. Moreover, it provides a comprehensive overview for researchers in the fields of ecology and conservation of urban bird fauna.

Urban Lighting, Light Pollution and Society

Urban Lighting, Light Pollution and Society PDF Author: Josiane Meier
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317602463
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 502

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Book Description
After decades "in the shadows", urban lighting is re-emerging as a matter of public debate. Long-standing truths are increasingly questioned as a confluence of developments affects lighting itself and the way it is viewed. Light has become an integral element of place-making and energy-saving initiatives alike. Rapidly evolving lighting technologies are opening up new possibilities, but also posing new challenges to planners, and awareness is growing that artificial illumination is not purely benign but can actually constitute a form of pollution. As a result, public policy frameworks, incentives and initiatives are undergoing a phase of innovation and change that will affect how cities are lit for years to come. The first comprehensive compilation of current scientific discussions on urban lighting and light pollution from a social science and humanities perspective, Urban Lighting, Light Pollution and Society contributes to an evolving international debate on an increasingly controversial topic. The contributions draw a rich panorama of the manifold discourses connected with artificial illumination in the past and present – from early attempts to promote new lighting technologies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to current debates on restricting its excessive usage in public space and the protection of darkness. By bringing together a cross-section of current findings and debates on urban lighting and light pollution from a wide variety of disciplines, it reflects that artificial lighting is multifaceted in its qualities, utilisation and interpretation. Including case studies from the United States, Europe, and the UK, Urban Lighting, Light Pollution and Society is one of the first to take a serious assessment of light, pollution, and places and is a valuable resource for planners, policy makers and students in related subjects.

Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting

Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting PDF Author: Catherine Rich
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1597265969
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 479

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Book Description
While certain ecological problems associated with artificial night lighting are widely known-for instance, the disorientation of sea turtle hatchlings by beachfront lighting-the vast range of influences on all types of animals and plants is only beginning to be recognized. From nest choice and breeding success of birds to behavioral and physiological changes in salamanders, many organisms are seriously affected by human alterations in natural patterns of light and dark. Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting is the first book to consider the environmental effects of the intentional illumination of the night. It brings together leading scientists from around the world to review the state of knowledge on the subject and to describe specific effects that have been observed across a full range of taxonomic groups, including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, and plants. Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting provides a scientific basis to begin addressing the challenge of conserving the nighttime environment. It cogently demonstrates the vital importance of this until-now neglected topic and is an essential new work for conservation planners, researchers, and anyone concerned with human impacts on the natural world.

Urban Pollution

Urban Pollution PDF Author: Susanne M. Charlesworth
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119260485
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
Multidisciplinary treatment of the urgent issues surrounding urban pollution worldwide Written by some of the top experts on the subject in the world, this book presents the diverse, complex and current themes of the urban pollution debate across the built environment, urban development and management continuum. It uniquely combines the science of urban pollution with associated policy that seeks to control it, and includes a comprehensive collection of international case studies showing the status of the problem worldwide. Urban Pollution: Science and Management is a multifaceted collection of chapters that address the contemporary concomitant issues of increasing urban living and associated issues with contamination by offering solutions specifically for the built environment. It covers: the impacts of urban pollution; historical urban pollution; evolution of air quality policy and management in urban areas; ground gases in urban environments; bioaccessibility of trace elements in urban environments; urban wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal; living green roofs; light pollution; river ecology; greywater recycling and reuse; containment of pollution from urban waste disposal sites; bioremediation in urban pollution mitigation; air quality monitoring; urban pollution in China and India; urban planning in sub–Saharan Africa and more. Deals with both the science and the relevant policy and management issues Examines the main sources of urban pollution Covers both first-world and developing world urban pollution issues Integrates the latest scientific research with practical case studies Deals with both legacy and emerging pollutants and their effects The integration of physical and environmental sciences, combined with social, economic and political sciences and the use of case studies makes Urban Pollution: Science and Management an incredibly useful resource for policy experts, scientists, engineers and those interested in the subject.

The Rhythms Of Life

The Rhythms Of Life PDF Author: Leon Kreitzman
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 1847653723
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Popular science at its most exciting: the breaking new world of chronobiology - understanding the rhythm of life in humans and all plants and animals. The entire natural world is full of rhythms. The early bird catches the worm -and migrates to an internal calendar. Dormice hibernate away the winter. Plants open and close their flowers at the same hour each day. Bees search out nectar-rich flowers day after day. There are cicadas that can breed for only two weeks every 17 years. And in humans: why are people who work anti-social shifts more illness prone and die younger? What is jet-lag and can anything help? Why do teenagers refuse to get up in the morning, and are the rest of us really 'larks' or 'owls'? Why are most people born (and die) between 3am-5am? And should patients be given medicines (and operations) at set times of day, because the body reacts so differently in the morning, evening and at night? The answers lie in our biological clocks the mechanisms which give order to all living things. They impose a structure that enables us to change our behaviour in relation to the time of day, month or year. They are reset at sunrise and sunset each day to link astronomical time with an organism's internal time.

Remote Sensing of Night-time Light

Remote Sensing of Night-time Light PDF Author: Christopher Elvidge
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000431061
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
Satellite images acquired at night provide a visually arresting perspective of the Earth and the human activities that light up the otherwise mostly dark Earth. These night-time light satellite images can be compiled into a geospatial time series that represent an invaluable source of information for both the natural and social sciences. Night-time light remote sensing has been shown to be particularly useful for a range of natural science and social science applications, including studies relating to urban development, demography, sociology, fishing activity, light pollution and the consequences of civil war. Key sensors for these time-series include the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day/Night Band (Suomi NPP/VIIRS DNB). An increasing number of alternative sources are also available, including high spatial resolution and multispectral sensors. This book captures key methodological issues associated with pre-processing night-time light data, documents state of the art analysis methods, and explores a wide range of applications. Major sections focus on NPP/VIIRS DNB processing; inter-calibration between NPP/VIIRS and DMPS/OLS; applications associated with socio-economic activities, applications in monitoring urbanization; and fishing activity monitoring. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Remote Sensing.

Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World

Bats in the Anthropocene: Conservation of Bats in a Changing World PDF Author: Christian C. Voigt
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319252208
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 606

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Book Description
This book focuses on central themes related to the conservation of bats. It details their response to land-use change and management practices, intensified urbanization and roost disturbance and loss. Increasing interactions between humans and bats as a result of hunting, disease relationships, occupation of human dwellings, and conflict over fruit crops are explored in depth. Finally, contributors highlight the roles that taxonomy, conservation networks and conservation psychology have to play in conserving this imperilled but vital taxon. With over 1300 species, bats are the second largest order of mammals, yet as the Anthropocene dawns, bat populations around the world are in decline. Greater understanding of the anthropogenic drivers of this decline and exploration of possible mitigation measures are urgently needed if we are to retain global bat diversity in the coming decades. This book brings together teams of international experts to provide a global review of current understanding and recommend directions for future research and mitigation.

Bird Species

Bird Species PDF Author: Dieter Thomas Tietze
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319916890
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
The average person can name more bird species than they think, but do we really know what a bird “species” is? This open access book takes up several fascinating aspects of bird life to elucidate this basic concept in biology. From genetic and physiological basics to the phenomena of bird song and bird migration, it analyzes various interactions of birds – with their environment and other birds. Lastly, it shows imminent threats to birds in the Anthropocene, the era of global human impact. Although it seemed to be easy to define bird species, the advent of modern methods has challenged species definition and led to a multidisciplinary approach to classifying birds. One outstanding new toolbox comes with the more and more reasonably priced acquisition of whole-genome sequences that allow causative analyses of how bird species diversify. Speciation has reached a final stage when daughter species are reproductively isolated, but this stage is not easily detectable from the phenotype we observe. Culturally transmitted traits such as bird song seem to speed up speciation processes, while another behavioral trait, migration, helps birds to find food resources, and also coincides with higher chances of reaching new, inhabitable areas. In general, distribution is a major key to understanding speciation in birds. Examples of ecological speciation can be found in birds, and the constant interaction of birds with their biotic environment also contributes to evolutionary changes. In the Anthropocene, birds are confronted with rapid changes that are highly threatening for some species. Climate change forces birds to move their ranges, but may also disrupt well-established interactions between climate, vegetation, and food sources. This book brings together various disciplines involved in observing bird species come into existence, modify, and vanish. It is a rich resource for bird enthusiasts who want to understand various processes at the cutting edge of current research in more detail. At the same time it offers students the opportunity to see primarily unconnected, but booming big-data approaches such as genomics and biogeography meet in a topic of broad interest. Lastly, the book enables conservationists to better understand the uncertainties surrounding “species” as entities of protection.

Tijuana River Valley

Tijuana River Valley PDF Author: Samuel Safran
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780990898597
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
The Tijuana River Valley Historical Ecology Investigation synthesizes hundreds of historical maps, photographs, and texts to reconstruct the ecological, hydrological, and geomorphic conditions of the Tijuana River valley prior to major European-American landscape modification. How did the valley look and function before there was the state of California, the city of Tijuana, or an international border? What habitat types and wildlife were found there? How have these habitat types and the physical processes that shaped them changed over time? And finally, what can the valley's ecological past tell us about its present and future? In answering these fundamental questions, this richly-illustrated study provides scientists, managers, and residents in the valley with information designed to support and inspire ongoing management and restoration activities.