Ecological Health

This article is indispensably written to all Global citizens who are plagued by the COVID-19 Pandemic particularly those who don't care enough, those who lost their loved ones, those who tested positive, and those who patiently undergoing or those who underwent quarantine and other rigid health protocols. The argument of this small piece of research has profoundly dealt with and empathize the root cause of OUR PROBLEM AS HUMANS. May we learn the inconvenient lesson of our flaw as human beings so, we can take right actions to temper if not eradicate the root cause. BTW, this piece in font no. 16 is reader-friendly.

Operating exclusively within the realm of ecologically responsive environmentally responsible planning and design, Terra-Ecology Medicine offers a renewed approach as the art and science of identifying causes, symptoms, treatment and prevention methods for significant ecological diseases on Earth’s pristine nature brought about by the human impacts. It asserts that ecological damages and injuries to the terrestrial environment generated by anthropogenic pathology must be effectively diagnosed, treated, rehabilitated and prevented at every scale. All impacts of human-built elements, systems and environments on terrestrial ecology must be carefully identified, closely monitored and effectively mitigated in order to restore and preserve health and longevity. When necessary, therapeutic as well as surgical procedures toward ecological healing must be implemented through a wide range of disciplines including planning, design, engineering, construction and operational fields. This is a brief introduction to the pathology of terra-ecological disorders and diseases, which advocates further academic study, scientific research and technological advancement in methods and procedures of treatment and prevention. To begin with, terra-ecological pathology starts by identifying the aetiology, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation & prevention of major ecological perturbations and ailments.

Unmanned automatic systems (UAS) are increasingly being applied as an alternative to more costly time-consuming traditional methods for mapping and monitoring marine shallow-water ecosystems. Here, we demonstrate the utility of combining aerial drones with in situ imagery to characterize the habitat conditions of nine shallow-water seagrass-dominated areas on Unguja Island, Zanzibar. We applied object-based image analysis and a maximum likelihood algorithm on the drone images to derive habitat cover maps and important seagrass habitat parameters: the habitat composition; the seagrass species; the horizontal- and depth-percent covers, and the seascape fragmentation. We mapped nine sites covering 724 ha, categorized into seagrasses (55%), bare sediment (31%), corals (9%), and macroalgae (5%). An average of six seagrass species were found, and 20% of the nine sites were categorized as “dense cover” (40–70%). We achieved high map accuracy for the habitat types (87%), seagrass (80%), and...

Unmanned automatic systems (UAS) are increasingly being applied as an alternative to more costly time-consuming traditional methods for mapping and monitoring marine shallow-water ecosystems. Here, we demonstrate the utility of combining aerial drones with in situ imagery to characterize the habitat conditions of nine shallow-water seagrass-dominated areas on Unguja Island, Zanzibar. We applied object-based image analysis and a maximum likelihood algorithm on the drone images to derive habitat cover maps and important seagrass habitat parameters: the habitat composition; the seagrass species; the horizontal-and depth-percent covers, and the seascape fragmentation. We mapped nine sites covering 724 ha, categorized into seagrasses (55%), bare sediment (31%), corals (9%), and macroalgae (5%). An average of six seagrass species were found, and 20% of the nine sites were categorized as "dense cover" (40-70%). We achieved high map accuracy for the habitat types (87%), seagrass (...

Aberrant pelage colour patterns such as albinism have been reported in some mammal groups including rodents. The observation of colour abnormalities in wild animals is an isolated event because these abnormalities are rare. Here report the first albinism record of the dusky-striped squirrel (Funambulus obscurus) in cloud forest habitats in Horton Plains National Park, Sri Lanka.

Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences (ISSN 2220-8860; CODEN PIAEBW)

Volume 10, Number 3, 1 September 2020

Cover Pages
[Front Pages (96K)] [Back Pages (41K)]

Articles
Using meiobenthos for biomonitoring of ecological health in southern Caspian Sea shores, Mazandaran, Iran
Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 2020, 10(3): 56-74
M. Zarghami, F. Nazarhaghighi, B. Moghaddasi
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Zoonotic organisms in selected species of freshwater gastropods in Lanao del Norte, Mindanao, the Philippines
Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 2020, 10(3): 75-85
Ferlyn Villaroya¨CLogronio, Emmanuel A. Estavas, Marivic Ditanongun, et al.
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Effect of primary soil nutrients (NPK) on forests' biomass production and SOC density of Nepalese forests
Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 2020, 10(3): 86-96
Hari Prasad Pandey, Shila Pokhrel, Pooja Pandey, et al.
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Impacts on biochar aging mechanism by eco-environmental factors
Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 2020, 10(3): 97-104
Ghulam Murtaza, Zeeshan Ahmed, Muhammad Usman, et al.
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Lichens as bioindicators of air pollution: Results from North Africa region
Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 2020, 10(3): 105-114
Abdallah Boumakhleb, Mohamed Toumi, Fathi Abdellatif Belhouadjeb, Abdelhamid Hassani, Amar Khadoumi
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Terra-Ecology Medicine, from the perspective of ecologically responsive environmentally responsible planning and design, is the emerging art and science of identifying causes, symptoms and therapeutics of ecological diseases on Earth’s pristine nature brought about by human impacts. Ecological damages and injuries to the terrestrial environment generated by anthropogenic pathology must be effectively diagnosed, treated, rehabilitated and prevented at every scale. Therapeutic as well as surgical procedures toward ecological healing must be implemented through a wide range of disciplines including planning, design, engineering, construction and operational methods. All environmentally-focused practitioners must be sensitive to criticality of generating adverse effects on the health and beauty of the pristine terrestrial ecology. Implemented incrementally by contemporary practices, most human-built environmental re/developments devote little or no consideration for ecological health or longevity of Nature. The human impacts on terrestrial ecology continue to multiply in numbers and to expand in area, size and intensity, culminating to overwhelm the entire natural metabolism i.e. the very systems of natural regeneration and restoration. Ecologically detrimental effects of humanization are often results of short-sighted rules and regulations, archaic market and industry standards, and egotistical motives for quick growth and gains. All of these factors must transcend into a renewed paradigm toward restoration and rehabilitation of terrestrial ecological health. The researchers, scientists, educators, policy-makers, land-, property-, business-owners, as well as planning, design, engineering and construction practitioners must all realize that there is immense power and real potency in numbers. In that, seemingly small but properly purposed contributions from a multitude of small efforts throughout the world will rapidly alter the course of current reality. As responsible practitioners of terra-ecological health, the global communities of environmental planners, designers and engineers must diagnose, treat and prevent pathogenic effects of the human-built systems and environments in a timely manner. When necessary, the terra-ecological health and longevity must be responsibly restored and rehabilitated through therapeutic or surgical procedures involving re-planning, re-design, re-construction and re-developments. Preventing further disease, restoring and maintaining terra-ecological health is not only a practical way to insure long and prosperous existence for humanity but also a moral obligation to respect and preserve sanctity of all forms of life on planet Earth.