Near-shore or open-water food? Fish like it all!
We can apply results from food web studies to understand how land-use and invasive species may force diet shifts in economically important fishes such as walleye.
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Month: September 2017
To till or not to till? How soil management affects nutrient loss.
To minimize the loss of nitrate from corn, soybean, and wheat croplands, no-tillage management should be combined with other conservation practices.
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Fishy Investigation: Using fish larvae to track nitrogen pollution
While nitrogen is essential to life, too much nitrogen in coastal environments can result in negative consequences such as fish kills. Nitrogen derived from human sources (ex. fertilizer) tends to have a unique chemical fingerprint. Researchers in this study investigated whether larvae of the common goby could be used to track nitrogen pollution by measuring the nitrogen fingerprints in the fish.
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Inundate and Chill: The Fate of Microbes in Submarine Permafrost
Permafrost stores a lot of carbon, which is important in terms of climate change. However, as sea levels rise, permafrost can get covered up with water, which is a big change for the microbes that live in the permafrost. Depending on what the microbes in the permafrost are doing, the permafrost has the potential to start releasing that carbon that was previously stored. Scientists recently set out to find out what happens inside the permafrost when it ends up under the ocean, which can tell us more about the past and future of our planet.
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So wait, climate change could be good for trees?
Many politicians lacking knowledge about the effects of climate change like to point to the fact that increased CO2 concentrations in our atmosphere will be good for plants and, by default, conclude that climate change is good for humans. But will climate change actually be good for plants? Well maybe. Like all predictions in this world there is quite a bit of uncertainty in the answer to that question; however, quite a few recent studies indicate that due to a longer growing season this may be true at least for some tree species. Trees are extremely important to humans’ and other species’ ability to exist on this planet. We need oxygen and they giveth. Trees also store a lot of carbon, but predicting how this will change in the future is important as we try to prepare for a changing climate.
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What can 100 years of mud tell us?
Turns out 100 years of mud can tell us quite a bit about microbial communities. Capo and colleagues found out how microbial communities are impacted by environmental change. Using an emerging proxy, DNA recovered from lake sediments, they were able to show microbial eukaryotic diversity through time, which revealed interesting trends in response to eutrophication and climate warming.
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Don’t Throw That Out! Turning Dairy Waste into Microalgae Products.
Wastewater produced on dairy farms can be a tough challenge for small and medium sized farms. High-tech treatment methods work for large farms, but smaller farms need a more effective way to treat their wastewater. Discharged without treatment, wastewater can highly endanger aquatic systems, deteriorate water quality, and has cost the US billions annually to clean up. This study’s research shows the potential to turn that waste back into commercial products by growing microalgae. Because wastewater is rich in the nutrients microalgae need to grow, it can be harvested and turned into biofuels, biofertilizers, animal feed, and other products. This provides smaller farms with a method to treat their wastewater and turn it into a usable commercial product.
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Ocean Acidification Steps into the Spotlight
The ocean absorbs nearly a quarter of the carbon dioxide humans emit. Since the Industrial Revolution the ocean has become 30% more acidic. This change in ocean carbon chemistry, or ocean acidification, has the potential to impact many socioeconomic resources. An increased scientific understanding of these risks has illustrated the need for collaboration across many disciplines to develop realistic solutions to mitigate the rising threat to vital marine resources. Transdisciplinary science will be critical in informing policy to protect our economic interests.
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Relationship Stuck in the Mud: Species Interactions Lead to Restoration Success in a Salt Marsh
Derksen-Hooijberg M, Angelini C, Lamers LPM, et al. Mutualistic interactions amplify saltmarsh restoration success. J Appl Ecol. 2017;00:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12960
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Where you live can make you sick
Your health depends on the air, water, land, people, and buildings around you. Researchers have looked at how many people get cancer in U.S. counties with clean environments and those with dirty environments to help identify where the greatest risks lie.
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