Based on two case studies of ecological engineering flood defence projects, we demonstrate that important ambiguities are directly related to unpredictability and incomplete knowledge in cascades of interrelated uncertainties.
Surprisingly little attention has been paid to the ecological consequences of coastal defence.
This requires more plastic spatio-temporal responsiveness and versatility in the acquisition and defence of ecological niches.
However, the ecological consequences of coastal defences have been less extensively investigated.
They also emphasize the importance of investigating the ecological role of induced defences under field conditions.
The essential points to take from the findings of the field of ecological immunology are: (i) immune defences do vary in nature, (ii) immune defences can be costly, (iii) optimality of immunity will rarely be achieved and only transiently, and (iv) observed immune defences will depend on both historical and contemporary factors within an individual's environment.
The effects of fucosylation of epithelial cells have also been investigated, as glycosylation in general is important for host defences and provides an ecological niche for the commensal microbiota.
In response, there is growing scientific interest in novel multi-functional coastal defence structures with built-in secondary ecological and/or socio-economic benefits.
Biosensor holds the potentials to report the presence and bioavailability of natural or synthetic bioactive molecules eliciting responses of fundamental importance for the ecological interactions in agro-ecosystems, such as competition, defence, attraction, signalling, antibiosis.
With respect to plant resistance GS present classical examples of compounds affecting insect-plant interactions [ 17] in which the GS-myrosinase defence system is also evolutionary and ecological modulated [ 19].
This reluctance is presumably a result of conflicting selective pressures for energy savings versus other ecological and evolutionary forces, such as reproduction or territory defence.
