Search results for "Climate Action"
showing 10 items of 2410 documents
Symbiosis between river and dry lands: phycobiont dynamics on river gravel bars
2020
AbstractRiver gravel bars are dynamic and heterogeneous habitats standing on transition between aquatic and terrestrial environment. Periodical flooding, low nutrient content, frost, missing safe sites, drought, and heat on the ground surface significantly influence life in these habitats. Mutualistic symbiosis may be a successful strategy for organisms to survive and to proliferate under harsh conditions. The lichen genus Stereocaulon was selected as a model symbiotic system among the organisms living on river gravel bars. The aim of our work was to determine effect of this dynamic environment on a phycobiont (i.e., green eukaryotic photobiont) community structure. We analysed 147 Stereoca…
Reconstruction of Past Dynamics of Methane-Oxidizing Bacteria in Lake Sediments Using a Quantitative PCR Method: Connecting Past Environmental Change…
2019
AbstractIn this study, a quantitative PCR (qPCR) method was applied to amplify ancient DNA (aDNA) of different methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) types in lake sediments and to reconstruct microbial community dynamics over the last 1200 years. We also used reconstructions of in-lake nutrients concentrations, air temperature fluctuations, and sedimentary organic matter dynamics to study impacts of past environmental and climatic changes on MOB community composition. DNA preservation in lake sediments is sufficient, and qPCR amplification was successfully applied to the analysis of MOB aDNA. Temporal changes in MOB community showed different patterns between lakes, and drivers of past MOB dynam…
Novel Autotrophic Organisms Contribute Significantly to the Internal Carbon Cycling Potential of a Boreal Lake
2018
ABSTRACT Oxygen-stratified lakes are typical for the boreal zone and also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in the region. Due to shallow light penetration, restricting the growth of phototrophic organisms, and large allochthonous organic carbon inputs from the catchment area, the lake metabolism is expected to be dominated by heterotrophic organisms. In this study, we test this assumption and show that the potential for autotrophic carbon fixation and internal carbon cycling is high throughout the water column. Further, we show that during the summer stratification carbon fixation can exceed respiration in a boreal lake even below the euphotic zone. Metagenome-assembled genomes an…
Eawag-Soil in enviPath: a new resource for exploring regulatory pesticide soil biodegradation pathways and half-life data.
2017
Developing models for the prediction of microbial biotransformation pathways and half-lives of trace organic contaminants in different environments requires as training data easily accessible and sufficiently large collections of respective biotransformation data that are annotated with metadata on study conditions. Here, we present the Eawag-Soil package, a public database that has been developed to contain all freely accessible regulatory data on pesticide degradation in laboratory soil simulation studies for pesticides registered in the EU (282 degradation pathways, 1535 reactions, 1619 compounds and 4716 biotransformation half-life values with corresponding metadata on study conditions)…
Environmental radiation alters the gut microbiome of the bank vole Myodes glareolus.
2018
International audience; Gut microbiota composition depends on many factors, although the impact of environmental pollution is largely unknown. We used amplicon sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes to quantify whether anthropogenic radionuclides at Chernobyl (Ukraine) impact the gut microbiome of the bank vole Myodes glareolus. Exposure to elevated levels of environmental radionuclides had no detectable effect on the gut community richness but was associated with an almost twofold increase in the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio. Animals inhabiting uncontaminated areas had remarkably similar gut communities irrespective of their proximity to the nuclear power plant. Hence, samples could be c…
Successful aerobic bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with higher chlorinated phenols by indigenous degrader bacteria
2018
The xenobiotic priority pollutant pentachlorophenol has been used as a timber preservative in a polychlorophenol bulk synthesis product containing also tetrachlorophenol and trichlorophenol. Highly soluble chlorophenol salts have leaked into groundwater, causing severe contamination of large aquifers. Natural attenuation of higher-chlorinated phenols (HCPs: pentachlorophenol + tetrachlorophenol) at historically polluted sites has been inefficient, but a 4-year full scale in situ biostimulation of a chlorophenol-contaminated aquifer by circulation and re-infiltration of aerated groundwater was remarkably successful: pentachlorophenol decreased from 400 μg L−1 to <1 μg L−1 and tetrachlorophen…
Active biopackaging produced from by‐products and waste from food and marine industries
2021
The agro‐food industry cannot today do without packaging to preserve and above all market its products. Plastic materials coming mainly from petrochemicals have taken a predominant place in the food packaging sector. They have become indispensable in many sectors, from fresh to frozen products, from meat and dairy products to fruit and vegetables or almost‐ready meals. Plastics are cheap, their lightness reduces transport costs, and their convenience is fundamental for out‐of‐home catering. However, plastics pose serious end‐of‐life issues. The development of materials that are more respectful of the consumer and the environment has become a major issue. In addition, the agro‐food industrie…
Potential benefits of high-added-value compounds from aquaculture and fish side streams on human gut microbiota
2021
Background: Human gut microbiota dysbiosis has been linked to a higher risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such us inflammatory disorders, allergy and obesity. Specific dietary strategies, including the use of specific food supplements targeted to microbiota modulation, have been suggested to be especially relevant in reducing the risk of NCDs. In this regard, marine environment is considered as a pivotal source of nutrients and bioactive compounds such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, polysaccharides and active peptides. These compounds, including algae- (alginate, fucoidan) and animal-derived polysaccharides (chitin, chitosan), among others, have been widely studied. The use of these …
Abundance and δ13C values of fatty acids in lacustrine surface sediments: Relationships with in-lake methane concentrations
2018
Proxy-indicators in lake sediments provide the only approach by which the dynamics of in-lake methane cycling can be examined on multi-decadal to centennial time scales. This information is necessary to constrain how lacustrine methane production, oxidation and emissions are expected to respond to global change drivers. Several of the available proxies for reconstructing methane cycle changes of lakes rely on interpreting past changes in the abundance or relevance of methane oxidizing bacteria (MOB), either directly (e.g. via analysis of bacterial lipids) or indirectly (e.g. via reconstructions of the past relevance of MOB in invertebrate diet). However, only limited information is availabl…
New insights into aerosol and climate in the Arctic
2018
Abstract. Motivated by the need to predict how the Arctic atmosphere will change in a warming world, this article summarizes recent advances made by the research consortium NETCARE (Network on Climate and Aerosols: Addressing Key Uncertainties in Remote Canadian Environments) that contribute to our fundamental understanding of Arctic aerosol particles as they relate to climate forcing. The overall goal of NETCARE research has been to use an interdisciplinary approach encompassing extensive field observations and a range of chemical transport, earth system, and biogeochemical models. Several major findings and advances have emerged from NETCARE since its formation in 2013 . (1) Unexpectedly …