As a result of a rapidly changing climate the resilience of forests is an increasingly important property for ecosystem management.
Consequently, the first point made by Shamoun-Baranes & Camphuysen [ 1] has to be viewed as an idiosyncratic characteristic when considering spatial heterogeneity as a fundamental ecological property in ecosystem functioning [ 3], for which our analysis of gull populations in the broader North Sea region, allowed.
Multi-level selection is considered to be a defining property of ecosystems [ 9, 10] and the success of evolution strongly depends on how the ecosystem is able to structure itself [ 16, 17].
There are very few studies on the effects of temporal changes in soil properties on ecosystem engineers in UK soils.
Landscape conversion to agricultural use historically began with tillage, a practice now known to dramatically and often negatively affect soil properties and ecosystem processes in grassland dominated ecosystems.
All the model tenets are based on the assumption that riverine ecosystems around the world are pristine or at least have not been modified sufficiently to alter their basic community properties and ecosystem functioning.
Regime shifts are abrupt changes encompassing a multitude of physical properties and ecosystem variables, which lead to new regime conditions.
They hold particular relevance in the marine realm, because they encompass a multitude of physical properties and ecosystem variables, and can involve all trophic levels of marine food webs and the associated biogeochemical cycles.
These properties provide ecosystem services by maintaining nutrient balance, increasing aesthetic value and creating recreation opportunities for urbanites, and by providing a food base and habitats for urban wildlife.
Survival differences between species in the same river system could be the result of many possible factors, including smolt physiology (e.g. overall health, sensitivity to environmental properties) and ecosystem niche (e.g. migration timing, use of habitat, interactions with competitors and predators).
