1,720,980 research outputs found
Freshwater Fish
No full textThere are at least 14,350 freshwater fish species in the world living in lakes and rivers with a salinity level of less than 1.05%. In 2021, it was estimated that one-third of the global freshwater fish species are at risk of extinction. Therefore, conservation issues are crucial as is the decision whether to allow alien species to improve the production or instead concentrate on the well-being of the native species. At the same time, it is necessary to remember that as food, fish are an important human resource. In this book, we have chapters presenting the fish species from Africa, Europe, and North and South America. Therefore we have cold water, cool water, and warm water species. Stock assessments are critical in developing management plans for specific lakes and regions. Citizen sciences apps are a necessary tool for helping fisheries management biologists and researchers
Bats
Get PDFBats are widely distributed and vary enormously in their ecology, sociality, and behavior. They offer diverse cultural and economic contributions to human populations, such as ecotourism, guano, medicinal products, religious significance, and vector control, to name a few. Insectivorous bats consume massive quantities of insects and other arthropods, controlling important agricultural pests and potential disease vectors. Bats feeding on nectar help to maintain diversity in forests through the dispersal of seeds and pollen, essential to many plant species with high economic, biological, and cultural value. At the same time, bats are often associated with zoonotic disease risks, a trend that has been magnified by the global COVID-19 pandemic, although no direct infection from bat to human has been demonstrated. Rapid deforestation is also a major contributing factor to new viral emergences. This book suggests that education is a suitable tool to minimize prejudice against bats and a key step to creating a harmonious coexistence between humans and bats. Chapters address such topics as bats in folklore and culture, bat dispersal patterns, bats in ecosystem management, pesticide exposure risks, roost-tier preference, diversity and conservation, and ecology of white-nose syndrome
The potential of insect farming to increase food security
Get PDFInsect protein production through ‘mini-livestock farming’ has enormous
potential to reduce the level of undernutrition in critical areas across the world. Sustainable insect farming could contribute substantially to increased food security, most especially in areas susceptible to environmental stochasticity. Entomophagy
has long been acknowledged as an underutilised strategy to address issues of food security. This chapter reviews and provides a synthesis of the literature surrounding the potential of insect farming to alleviate food security while promoting food sovereignty and integrating social acceptability. These are immediate and current problems of food security and nutrition that must be solved to meet the UNDP Sustainable Development Goals
Owls
Get PDFOwls are soft-plumaged, short-tailed, big-headed birds that have the most frontally situated eyes of all birds and they can blink the upper eyelids. This, together with a broad facial disc, gives owls all the right characteristics to make them attractive in our eyes. At the same time, some people fear their presence and even their calls, and there are more myths and beliefs about owls than there are about any other bird.Bats are often similarly feared as owls, partly because both of them inhabit the night; a place that is unknown and alien to us. Owls and bats symbolise all that is mysterious about the night and their complete mastery of the darkness only highlights our own deficiencies. In this book, we will get to know the relationships between bats and owls. This book describes the biological control of rats by owls in Malaysia, the prey-predator interactions in a tropical forest in Mexico, and provides an overview of the breeding biology of owls. From numerous owl belief and myth studies, described in this book are those of the lesser known Central Asian countries where owls are often worshipped for their supernatural powers
Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Modern World
No full textThis book has nine chapters on Aquaculture Wetland Ecosystem Services Approach and Climate Change Adaptation, which explain how different aquaculture systems could maximize the benefits that society receives from both aquaculture production and the ecosystem services provided by wetland ecosystems. Sustainable development of aquaculture must take into account the societal value of ecosystem services for an efficient and environmentally sound production of food. Although some issues regarding the potential benefits and implementation of sustainable aquaculture remain, the consideration of food security and minimizing ecosystem impacts suggest that the time has come to take action. If we can efficiently farm the land, why can’t we farm more the sea and inland waters
Edible Insects
Get PDFInsect protein production through ‘mini-livestock farming’ has enormous potential to reduce the level of malnutrition in critical areas across the world. It has been estimated that insect eating is practised regularly by over two billion people, mostly in China and in most tropical countries in Africa, South America, and Asia. However, eating insects has been taboo in many western nations. Reasons for this are discussed in this book with examples from Finland and the UK. The enormous boom of insect farming in Finland started in September 2017 when the business type was legalized. However, a large part of the population found the insect food too expensive and exotic. UK research outlines a multitude of promising strategies to overcome ‘western’ resistance to eating insects. This book also includes a chapter on the potential of insect farming to increase global food security. It shows that Africa is a hotspot of edible insect biodiversity and there more than 500 species consumed daily. We have several examples of viable insect farming businesses that can fight poverty and malnutrition in developing countries and provide profit and wealth to rural farmers. The chapters of the book cover countries such as Cameroon, Ecuador, Finland, Ghana, India, Mexico, the UK, and the US
How might we overcome ‘Western’ resistance to eating insects?
Get PDFEntomophagy, the consumption of insects as a food source, occurs at a global scale with over 2 billion people seeing it as traditional. This practice does not extend into mainstream Western culture where its introduction is often met by a range of barriers, leaving entomophagy often seen as a taboo. The ‘disgust response’ of food neophobia and a lack of social and cultural contexts that reduce adoption may be overcome by strategic application of tools arising from innovation diffusion theory: relative advantage; compatibility; low complexity; trialability and observability. This chapter accessibly reviews known barriers to uptake and outlines the potential application of these concepts in promoting the wider acceptance of entomophagy
Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Modern World
Get PDFThis book has nine chapters on Aquaculture Wetland Ecosystem Services Approach and Climate Change Adaptation, which explain how different aquaculture systems could maximize the benefits that society receives from both aquaculture production and the ecosystem services provided by wetland ecosystems. Sustainable development of aquaculture must take into account the societal value of ecosystem services for an efficient and environmentally sound production of food. Although some issues regarding the potential benefits and implementation of sustainable aquaculture remain, the consideration of food security and minimizing ecosystem impacts suggest that the time has come to take action. If we can efficiently farm the land, why can’t we farm more the sea and inland waters
Edible Insects
No full textInsect protein production through ‘mini-livestock farming’ has enormous potential to reduce the level of malnutrition in critical areas across the world. It has been estimated that insect eating is practised regularly by over two billion people, mostly in China and in most tropical countries in Africa, South America, and Asia. However, eating insects has been taboo in many western nations. Reasons for this are discussed in this book with examples from Finland and the UK. The enormous boom of insect farming in Finland started in September 2017 when the business type was legalized. However, a large part of the population found the insect food too expensive and exotic. UK research outlines a multitude of promising strategies to overcome ‘western’ resistance to eating insects. This book also includes a chapter on the potential of insect farming to increase global food security. It shows that Africa is a hotspot of edible insect biodiversity and there more than 500 species consumed daily. We have several examples of viable insect farming businesses that can fight poverty and malnutrition in developing countries and provide profit and wealth to rural farmers. The chapters of the book cover countries such as Cameroon, Ecuador, Finland, Ghana, India, Mexico, the UK, and the US
Owls
No full textOwls are one of the most fascinating bird families. They have inspired much folklore and superstition worldwide. This book discusses this nocturnal species and their unique physiology and anatomy. It includes owl studies from countries including Bulgaria, Ecuador, Iraq, Slovakia, Syria, and Africa
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