Environmental and Physiological Control of Phytoplankton Productivity in Large Lakes

Author(s):  
Max M. Tilzer
Author(s):  
Linda Sicko-Goad

Although the use of electron microscopy and its varied methodologies is not usually associated with ecological studies, the types of species specific information that can be generated by these techniques are often quite useful in predicting long-term ecosystem effects. The utility of these techniques is especially apparent when one considers both the size range of particles found in the aquatic environment and the complexity of the phytoplankton assemblages.The size range and character of organisms found in the aquatic environment are dependent upon a variety of physical parameters that include sampling depth, location, and time of year. In the winter months, all the Laurentian Great Lakes are uniformly mixed and homothermous in the range of 1.1 to 1.7°C. During this time phytoplankton productivity is quite low.


1986 ◽  
Vol 56 (02) ◽  
pp. 151-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina A Mitchell ◽  
Lena Hau ◽  
Hatem H Salem

SummaryThrombin has been shown to cleave the vitamin K dependent cofactor protein S with subsequent loss of its cofactor activity. This study examines the control mechanisms for thrombin cleavage of protein S.The anticoagulant activity of activated protein C (APC) is enhanced fourteen fold by the addition of protein S. Thrombin cleaved protein S is seven fold less efficient than the native protein, and this loss of activity is due to reduced affinity of cleaved protein S for APC or the lipid surface compared to the intact protein.In the absence of Ca++, protein S is very sensitive to minimal concentrations of thrombin. As little as 1.5 nM thrombin results in complete cleavage of 20 nM protein S in 10 min and loss of cofactor activity. Ca++, in concentrations greater than 0.5 mM, will inhibit this cleavage and in the presence of physiological Ca++ concentrations, no cleavage of protein S could be demonstrated in spite of high concentrations of thrombin (up to 1 μM) and prolonged incubations (up to two hours). The endothelial surface protein thrombomodulin is very efficient in inhibiting the cleavage of protein S by thrombin suggesting that any thrombin formed on the endothelial cell surface is unlikely to cleave protein S, thus allowing the intact protein to act as a cofactor to APC.We conclude that the inhibitory effects of Ca++ and thrombomodulin on thrombin mediated cleavage of protein S imply that this event, by itself, is unlikely to represent a physiological control of the activity of protein S.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 57-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. S. Gusev ◽  
O. S. Perminova ◽  
N. A. Startseva ◽  
A. G. Okhapkin

The latest special studies of the genus Synura in Russia were conducted in the 1970s. In the last decade, 14 new species of the genus were described based on molecular and morphological data. The total number of valid taxa of the genus has increased to 49. Only 18 taxa of Synura are known in Russia up to date, and the diver sity of the genus on this huge territory is strongly underestimated. Previous studies of the genus were focused mainly on large lakes or reservoirs. To reveal a more complete flora, it is necessary to include other habitats into account. Small urban rivers can be prospective habitats for interesting taxa including synuralean algae. Our study focuses on the taxonomic composition of the genus Synura in four small rivers in Nizhniy Novgorod (European Russia): Chyornaya, Levinka, Borzovka and Rzhavka. All the rivers flow in the city and fall under strong anthropogenic impact. The genus Synura was studied by means of transmission and scanning electron microscopy during 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015. In total, eight species and one form of Synura have been found: S. conopea, S. curtispina, S. echinulata, S. glabra, S. macropora, S. petersenii, S. spinosa f. spinosa, S. spinosa f. longispina, S. uvella. All nine taxa were observed in the river Chyornaya. Five taxa were found in the rivers Levinka, Borzovka and Rzhavka. One species (Synura conopea) is a new record to the flora of Russia. It was found in all studied rivers. Four taxa (S. conopea, S. glabra, S. macropora, S. spinosa f. longispina) are new records to the Middle Volga river basin.


1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 293-308
Author(s):  
J. Koponen ◽  
M. Virtanen ◽  
H. Vepsä ◽  
E. Alasaarela

Abstract Three-dimensional (3-D) mathematical models of water currents, transport, mixing, reaction kinetic, and interactions with bottom and air have been used in Finland regularly since 1982 and applied to about 40 cases in large lakes, inland seas and their coastal waters. In each case, model validity has been carefully tested with available flow velocity measurements, tracer studies and water quality observations. For operational use, i.e., for spill combatting and sea rescue, the models need fast response, proven validity and illustrative visualization. In 1987-90, validated models were implemented for operational use at five sea areas along the Finnish coast. Further validation was obtained in model applications from nine documented or arranged cases and from seven emergency situations. Sensitivity tests supplement short-term validation. In the Bothnian Sea, it was nescessary to start the calculation of water currents three days prior to the start of the experiment to reduce initial inaccuracies and to make the coastal transport estimates meaningful.


BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan C. Baca Cabrera ◽  
Regina T. Hirl ◽  
Rudi Schäufele ◽  
Andy Macdonald ◽  
Hans Schnyder

Abstract Background The anthropogenic increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration (ca) is impacting carbon (C), water, and nitrogen (N) cycles in grassland and other terrestrial biomes. Plant canopy stomatal conductance is a key player in these coupled cycles: it is a physiological control of vegetation water use efficiency (the ratio of C gain by photosynthesis to water loss by transpiration), and it responds to photosynthetic activity, which is influenced by vegetation N status. It is unknown if the ca-increase and climate change over the last century have already affected canopy stomatal conductance and its links with C and N processes in grassland. Results Here, we assessed two independent proxies of (growing season-integrating canopy-scale) stomatal conductance changes over the last century: trends of δ18O in cellulose (δ18Ocellulose) in archived herbage from a wide range of grassland communities on the Park Grass Experiment at Rothamsted (U.K.) and changes of the ratio of yields to the CO2 concentration gradient between the atmosphere and the leaf internal gas space (ca – ci). The two proxies correlated closely (R2 = 0.70), in agreement with the hypothesis. In addition, the sensitivity of δ18Ocellulose changes to estimated stomatal conductance changes agreed broadly with published sensitivities across a range of contemporary field and controlled environment studies, further supporting the utility of δ18Ocellulose changes for historical reconstruction of stomatal conductance changes at Park Grass. Trends of δ18Ocellulose differed strongly between plots and indicated much greater reductions of stomatal conductance in grass-rich than dicot-rich communities. Reductions of stomatal conductance were connected with reductions of yield trends, nitrogen acquisition, and nitrogen nutrition index. Although all plots were nitrogen-limited or phosphorus- and nitrogen-co-limited to different degrees, long-term reductions of stomatal conductance were largely independent of fertilizer regimes and soil pH, except for nitrogen fertilizer supply which promoted the abundance of grasses. Conclusions Our data indicate that some types of temperate grassland may have attained saturation of C sink activity more than one century ago. Increasing N fertilizer supply may not be an effective climate change mitigation strategy in many grasslands, as it promotes the expansion of grasses at the disadvantage of the more CO2 responsive forbs and N-fixing legumes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 781 ◽  
pp. 146688
Author(s):  
Yang Xu ◽  
Lian Feng ◽  
Xuejiao Hou ◽  
Junjian Wang ◽  
Jing Tang
Keyword(s):  

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