title: From ecology to the assessment of multiple ecosystem services; a case study of estuarine bivalves

authors: Rullens, Vera

abstract: Estuarine and coastal environments provide a wide range of societal goods and services that need to be strategically managed to ensure sustainable use of resources. Ecosystem service (ES) assessments are transitioning from individual ES to multi-service assessments that consider interactions and grouping of ES (i.e. bundles). This thesis investigates the use of ecological mechanism (i.e. the links between ecological processes, functions, and ES) to derive insights into the associations between multiple ES provided by marine bivalves and the implications for management. In data-scarce marine environments, conventional spatial methods for assessing ES interactions and bundles are not always feasible. However, advancements can be made by focussing on ecological mechanisms, as for bivalves their ecological role has been extensively studied. The complex links between processes, functions, and ES were identified for bivalves, which were used to derive four ES bundles based on shared underpinning mechanisms. This study provides detailed descriptions of the specific (set of) ecological mechanisms per bundle, thereby gaining insights in how the ES are formed, the interactions between ES (synergies and trade-offs) and the environmental stressors they are prone to. Quantification of ES remains challenging, and measuring them in functionally similar species in different habitats is rarely considered, although ecological studies indicate differences are likely. I measured in situ bivalve contribution to water quality regulation for two functionally similar bivalve species (infaunal suspension-feeders) that dominate different estuarine habitats (subtidal and intertidal). Benthic chambers were used to measure solute fluxes (oxygen and nitrogen) and bed clearance rates as proxies for ES. Empirical findings indicated higher hourly productivity, nitrogen recycling, and water column filtration in the intertidal. However, when converted to daily ES estimates these patterns did not persist, emphasising the unequal contribution to functions and ES by functionally similar species and the non-linear scaling between them. Many ecological processes and functions are density dependent, hence spatial information on the distribution and density of bivalves is an important prerequisite to estimate ES. Probability of occurrence and density were predicted using Species Distribution Models (SDMs) for two estuarine bivalve species. Fine scale (100 m resolution) predictions showed different spatial patterns depending on habitat association. Species with a narrow distribution displayed good congruence between occurrence and density predictions, whereas species with a wide distribution demonstrated that a high probability of occurrence does not always equate to high density. Simultaneously considering both occurrence and density will improve decision-making and identify areas of greatest ecological value to the species of interest. Ecological mechanisms can be further applied to advance spatial predictions of multiple ES in marine environments, through process-based models that incorporate ecological principles to derive ES potential and assess natural variability in ES. Four ES (food provision, water quality regulation, nitrogen removal, and sediment stabilisation) were spatially predicted for two bivalve species. Spatial patterns in ES related to the species habitat association, with varying quantities and were driven by environmental conditions. Hotspot analyses on combined ES maps per species identified high-density areas for the provision of multiple ES simultaneously. These models provide a versatile tool to inform current management practices and can be further applied to test management scenarios. Collectively the results from this thesis demonstrated the utility and effectiveness of ecological mechanisms to determine ES interactions and bundles, and the spatial heterogeneity observed across estuaries. It also highlighted the interconnectedness of marine ES and the implications for their management.

text: From ecology to the assessment of multiple ecosystem services; a case study of estuarine bivalves Estuarine and coastal environments provide a wide range of societal goods and services that need to be strategically managed to ensure sustainable use of resources. Ecosystem service (ES) assessments are transitioning from individual ES to multi-service assessments that consider interactions and grouping of ES (i.e. bundles). This thesis investigates the use of ecological mechanism (i.e. the links between ecological processes, functions, and ES) to derive insights into the associations between multiple ES provided by marine bivalves and the implications for management. In data-scarce marine environments, conventional spatial methods for assessing ES interactions and bundles are not always feasible. However, advancements can be made by focussing on ecological mechanisms, as for bivalves their ecological role has been extensively studied. The complex links between processes, functions, and ES were identified for bivalves, which were used to derive four ES bundles based on shared underpinning mechanisms. This study provides detailed descriptions of the specific (set of) ecological mechanisms per bundle, thereby gaining insights in how the ES are formed, the interactions between ES (synergies and trade-offs) and the environmental stressors they are prone to. Quantification of ES remains challenging, and measuring them in functionally similar species in different habitats is rarely considered, although ecological studies indicate differences are likely. I measured in situ bivalve contribution to water quality regulation for two functionally similar bivalve species (infaunal suspension-feeders) that dominate different estuarine habitats (subtidal and intertidal). Benthic chambers were used to measure solute fluxes (oxygen and nitrogen) and bed clearance rates as proxies for ES. Empirical findings indicated higher hourly productivity, nitrogen recycling, and water column filtration in the intertidal. However, when converted to daily ES estimates these patterns did not persist, emphasising the unequal contribution to functions and ES by functionally similar species and the non-linear scaling between them. Many ecological processes and functions are density dependent, hence spatial information on the distribution and density of bivalves is an important prerequisite to estimate ES. Probability of occurrence and density were predicted using Species Distribution Models (SDMs) for two estuarine bivalve species. Fine scale (100 m resolution) predictions showed different spatial patterns depending on habitat association. Species with a narrow distribution displayed good congruence between occurrence and density predictions, whereas species with a wide distribution demonstrated that a high probability of occurrence does not always equate to high density. Simultaneously considering both occurrence and density will improve decision-making and identify areas of greatest ecological value to the species of interest. Ecological mechanisms can be further applied to advance spatial predictions of multiple ES in marine environments, through process-based models that incorporate ecological principles to derive ES potential and assess natural variability in ES. Four ES (food provision, water quality regulation, nitrogen removal, and sediment stabilisation) were spatially predicted for two bivalve species. Spatial patterns in ES related to the species habitat association, with varying quantities and were driven by environmental conditions. Hotspot analyses on combined ES maps per species identified high-density areas for the provision of multiple ES simultaneously. These models provide a versatile tool to inform current management practices and can be further applied to test management scenarios. Collectively the results from this thesis demonstrated the utility and effectiveness of ecological mechanisms to determine ES interactions and bundles, and the spatial heterogeneity observed across estuaries. It also highlighted the interconnectedness of marine ES and the implications for their management.

year: 2021

title: Productive sustainability: An emergent methods approach to creating, communicating, and exploring leadership and management practices for contemporary challenges

authors: Murthy, Vikram

subjects: productive

abstract: Chapter one opens with an account of the journey that led to the writing of the thesis. It grounds the research in my own experiences which led to the two central concerns: firstly, businesses face an uncertain and volatile environment that is very different to anything that they have experienced before, and, moreover, that this uncertainty is likely to continue into the foreseeable future; and, secondly, what organisations can do to promote productive sustainability in the midst of these prevailing and impending challenges? The thesis then foregrounds the importance of environmental factors, and 1) explores how they impact on organisations' productivity by questioning the validity of established methods, given their reliance on retrospective data, and 2) looks for better ways forward by maximising the power of the present through emerging methods and practices.

This forward-looking orientation continues with two chapters (two and three) that seek to underscore the efficacy of experiential learning through action research as well as through theoretical explorations of disciplinary interactions and field research into congruent hybrid opportunities for organisations across the for-profit and not-for-profit divide. Chapter four then argues for reconfiguring the sustainability challenge as one of improving innovation performance by creating dynamic balance between exploration and exploitation.
Building on these ideas, the next three chapters examine leadership repertoires for dealing with different challenges. Chapter five posits that a firm's strategy, leadership, and processes are not only correlated to specific environments, but that particular characteristics can be broadly correlated with different eras. Chapter six then identifies the three new challenges - of sustainable development, base of pyramid engagement, and managing risk in a globalised world - that organisations need to address at this particular time. Chapter seven concludes the trilogy by identifying an emerging set of leadership practices for engaging productively with such high velocity change. 
 
The final five chapters focus on a grounded theory study, which is both a piece of original research in its own right, and an avenue that enables an extension and validation of the earlier concerns through the research questions  What existing and likely future challenges face contemporary Australian businesses and what current and emerging practices are leaders using to address productive sustainability? . The study involves senior leaders of successful Australian-based businesses who participate in theorising both existing and future challenges and the parallel emerging practices that leaders are using to address productive sustainability. Chapters eight, nine, and ten frame the grounded theory research, and describe the sampling and analysis of data in the study. Chapters eleven and twelve describe the study's findings, and its conclusions respectively.

The data from the grounded theory research revealed that this environment is described as complex. For the participants, this is evident in the display of one, or more, of the following three key characteristics:  dynamic, layered, interdependent, interconnected, and patterned organisational challenges; marked/radical shifts in markets, competition, technology and customers' definition of value; and uncertain, unpredictable, and uncontrollable global driving forces. 

This research further developed theories that leadership's successful response to this complex environment is the Ensemble Leadership Repertoire. The name has been chosen to provide  vivid imagery  (Locke, 2001, p. 72) to three practices taken together and working in harmony: Firstly, sharing fates and interdependence; secondly, exploring deeper meaning; and finally the emerging practice of  Zeitgeist  (i.e., integrating cognition, conscience and collective spirit). As the name  Ensemble  suggests, these three practices are not manifested individually in exclusion to each other, and/or as a paradigmatic shift from one practice to the other. Rather, successful leadership demonstrates all three practices, as appropriate, as an Ensemble Repertoire in the pursuit of sustainable organisational productivity.

text: Productive sustainability: An emergent methods approach to creating, communicating, and exploring leadership and management practices for contemporary challenges Chapter one opens with an account of the journey that led to the writing of the thesis. It grounds the research in my own experiences which led to the two central concerns: firstly, businesses face an uncertain and volatile environment that is very different to anything that they have experienced before, and, moreover, that this uncertainty is likely to continue into the foreseeable future; and, secondly, what organisations can do to promote productive sustainability in the midst of these prevailing and impending challenges? The thesis then foregrounds the importance of environmental factors, and 1) explores how they impact on organisations' productivity by questioning the validity of established methods, given their reliance on retrospective data, and 2) looks for better ways forward by maximising the power of the present through emerging methods and practices.

This forward-looking orientation continues with two chapters (two and three) that seek to underscore the efficacy of experiential learning through action research as well as through theoretical explorations of disciplinary interactions and field research into congruent hybrid opportunities for organisations across the for-profit and not-for-profit divide. Chapter four then argues for reconfiguring the sustainability challenge as one of improving innovation performance by creating dynamic balance between exploration and exploitation.
Building on these ideas, the next three chapters examine leadership repertoires for dealing with different challenges. Chapter five posits that a firm's strategy, leadership, and processes are not only correlated to specific environments, but that particular characteristics can be broadly correlated with different eras. Chapter six then identifies the three new challenges - of sustainable development, base of pyramid engagement, and managing risk in a globalised world - that organisations need to address at this particular time. Chapter seven concludes the trilogy by identifying an emerging set of leadership practices for engaging productively with such high velocity change. 
 
The final five chapters focus on a grounded theory study, which is both a piece of original research in its own right, and an avenue that enables an extension and validation of the earlier concerns through the research questions  What existing and likely future challenges face contemporary Australian businesses and what current and emerging practices are leaders using to address productive sustainability? . The study involves senior leaders of successful Australian-based businesses who participate in theorising both existing and future challenges and the parallel emerging practices that leaders are using to address productive sustainability. Chapters eight, nine, and ten frame the grounded theory research, and describe the sampling and analysis of data in the study. Chapters eleven and twelve describe the study's findings, and its conclusions respectively.

The data from the grounded theory research revealed that this environment is described as complex. For the participants, this is evident in the display of one, or more, of the following three key characteristics:  dynamic, layered, interdependent, interconnected, and patterned organisational challenges; marked/radical shifts in markets, competition, technology and customers' definition of value; and uncertain, unpredictable, and uncontrollable global driving forces. 

This research further developed theories that leadership's successful response to this complex environment is the Ensemble Leadership Repertoire. The name has been chosen to provide  vivid imagery  (Locke, 2001, p. 72) to three practices taken together and working in harmony: Firstly, sharing fates and interdependence; secondly, exploring deeper meaning; and finally the emerging practice of  Zeitgeist  (i.e., integrating cognition, conscience and collective spirit). As the name  Ensemble  suggests, these three practices are not manifested individually in exclusion to each other, and/or as a paradigmatic shift from one practice to the other. Rather, successful leadership demonstrates all three practices, as appropriate, as an Ensemble Repertoire in the pursuit of sustainable organisational productivity.

year: 2008

title: A collaborative approach to improving youth mental health.

authors: Goodwin, Debbie Waireka Tuhi

subjects: Maori

abstract: Nga Taiohi Whai Marama / Youth Connex was developed collaboratively by three organisations: Health Waikato Mental Health, Te Runanga o Kirikiriroa, and Linkage. These organisations had a vision of creating greater integration and improved pathways between youth and mental health services, as well as providing a service explicitly based on youth-friendly principles. The key aims of Whai Marama Youth Connex are to improve youth’s access to services and contribute to the development of a youth service-provider network. To fulfil this we aim to provide a range of services, integrated pathways and capacity building on several levels, the client level, the provider level and the funder level. Debbie Goodwin (Tuhoe) was employed as the Manager of the service and has a key role in developing the organisation, planning and shaping its services, and employing and managing its’ staff. She will give an overview of how the service is developing in partnership and biculturally, how youth-friendly principles are enacted, and what some of the key issues have been in its early stages.

text: A collaborative approach to improving youth mental health. Nga Taiohi Whai Marama / Youth Connex was developed collaboratively by three organisations: Health Waikato Mental Health, Te Runanga o Kirikiriroa, and Linkage. These organisations had a vision of creating greater integration and improved pathways between youth and mental health services, as well as providing a service explicitly based on youth-friendly principles. The key aims of Whai Marama Youth Connex are to improve youth’s access to services and contribute to the development of a youth service-provider network. To fulfil this we aim to provide a range of services, integrated pathways and capacity building on several levels, the client level, the provider level and the funder level. Debbie Goodwin (Tuhoe) was employed as the Manager of the service and has a key role in developing the organisation, planning and shaping its services, and employing and managing its’ staff. She will give an overview of how the service is developing in partnership and biculturally, how youth-friendly principles are enacted, and what some of the key issues have been in its early stages.

year: 2003