The role of interactions between trophic levels in determining the effects of UV-B on terrestrial ecosystems

1997 ◽  
pp. 296-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel D. Paul ◽  
Sharima Rasanayagam ◽  
Sandra A. Moody ◽  
Paul E. Hatcher ◽  
Peter G. Ayres
Keyword(s):  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Trophic Levels

scholarly journals The Role of the Reactive Species Involved in the Photocatalytic Degradation of HDPE Microplastics Using C,N-TiO2 Powders

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aranza Denisse Vital-Grappin ◽  
Maria Camila Ariza-Tarazona ◽  
Valeria Montserrat Luna-Hernández ◽  
Juan Francisco Villarreal-Chiu ◽  
Juan Manuel Hernández-López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Reaction System ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Degradation Process ◽  
Reactive Species ◽  
Hazardous Substances ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Degradation Behaviors ◽  
Environmentally Friendly Process

Microplastics (MPs) are distributed in a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems throughout the planet. They are known to adsorb hazardous substances and can transfer them across the trophic web. To eliminate MPs pollution in an environmentally friendly process, we propose using a photocatalytic process that can easily be implemented in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). As photocatalysis involves the formation of reactive species such as holes (h+), electrons (e−), hydroxyl (OH●), and superoxide ion (O2●−) radicals, it is imperative to determine the role of those species in the degradation process to design an effective photocatalytic system. However, for MPs, this information is limited in the literature. Therefore, we present such reactive species’ role in the degradation of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) MPs using C,N-TiO2. Tert-butanol, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), Tiron, and Cu(NO3)2 were confirmed as adequate OH●, h+, O2●− and e− scavengers. These results revealed for the first time that the formation of free OH● through the pathways involving the photogenerated e− plays an essential role in the MPs’ degradation. Furthermore, the degradation behaviors observed when h+ and O2●− were removed from the reaction system suggest that these species can also perform the initiating step of degradation.

scholarly journals Aridity Decouples C:N:P Stoichiometry Across Multiple Trophic Levels in Terrestrial Ecosystems

Ecosystems ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo ◽  
David J. Eldridge ◽  
Fernando T. Maestre ◽  
Victoria Ochoa ◽  
Beatriz Gozalo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
C:N:P Stoichiometry

The Role of Carbon-Based Plant Secondary Metabolites in Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems

1988 ◽  
Vol 132 (6) ◽  
pp. 869-883 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Horner ◽  
James R. Gosz ◽  
Rex G. Cates
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Plant Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Carbon Based

scholarly journals Identifying appropriate sampling and modelling approaches for analysing distributional patterns of Antarctic terrestrial arthropods along the Victoria Land latitudinal gradient

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 742-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tancredi Caruso ◽  
Ian D. Hogg ◽  
Roberto Bargagli
Keyword(s):  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Terrestrial Arthropods ◽  
Victoria Land ◽  
Dispersal Capability ◽  
Modelling Techniques

AbstractBiotic communities in Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems are relatively simple and often lack higher trophic levels (e.g. predators); thus, it is often assumed that species’ distributions are mainly affected by abiotic factors such as climatic conditions, which change with increasing latitude, altitude and/or distance from the coast. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that factors other than geographical gradients affect the distribution of organisms with low dispersal capability such as the terrestrial arthropods. In Victoria Land (East Antarctica) the distribution of springtail (Collembola) and mite (Acari) species vary at scales that range from a few square centimetres to regional and continental. Different species show different scales of variation that relate to factors such as local geological and glaciological history, and biotic interactions, but only weakly with latitudinal/altitudinal gradients. Here, we review the relevant literature and outline more appropriate sampling designs as well as suitable modelling techniques (e.g. linear mixed models and eigenvector mapping), that will more adequately address and identify the range of factors responsible for the distribution of terrestrial arthropods in Antarctica.

scholarly journals A review on macrobenthic trophic relationships along subtropical sandy shores in southernmost Brazil

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael Mathias Pinotti ◽  
Diogo Marroni Minasi ◽  
Leonir André Colling ◽  
Carlos Emílio Bemvenuti
Keyword(s):  
Surf Zone ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Trophic Relationships ◽  
Intermediate Type ◽  
Sandy Shores ◽  
Macrobenthic Assemblages ◽  
High Species Richness ◽  
Asterionellopsis Glacialis

Main trophic relationships that occur along the exposed sandy shores in southernmost Brazil (∼33° S) are established taking into account several biological compartments operating at morphodynamically distinct environments. Beaches are predominantly of the intermediate type but some stretches of coastline are truly dissipative (Cassino Beach) or tending-to-reflective (Concheiros Beach), presenting thus diverse biological compartments and inhabitant macrobenthic assemblages. Dense concentrations of the surf-zone diatom Asterionellopsis glacialis are responsible - at least for the intermediate shorelines - for the most year-round primary production, sustaining several consumers up to tertiary level. Among them, bivalves Amarilladesma mactroides, Donax hanleyanus and the hippid crabEmerita brasiliensis can account for more than 95% of all the surf-zone secondary production, in addition to the elevated biomass of the suspension-feeder polychaete Spio gaucha and the scavenger isopod Excirolana armata. Crabs, whelks, carnivorous polychaetes, seabirds and surf-zone fishes may also be present and occupy superior trophic levels depending on the beach morphodynamics. Based on the high species richness, abundance and the role of macrobenthic fauna in transferring matter and energy to seabirds and the surf-zone fish assemblages, we address this important issue on the Southwestern Atlantic ecology. Conservation efforts should be implemented for the southernmost Brazilian sandy shores, at least for those non urbanized areas.

scholarly journals Bioconcentration of glyphosate in wetland biofilms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Beecraft ◽  
Rebecca Rooney
Keyword(s):  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Breakdown Product ◽  
Exposure Risk ◽  
Surrounding Water ◽  
Wetland Water ◽  
Pesticides Exposure ◽  
Wetland Water Quality ◽  
Herbicide Glyphosate

AbstractWetland biofilms were exposed to the herbicide glyphosate via in situ field exposures and controlled microcosm experiments to measure bioconcentration and metabolism of glyphosate by biofilm organisms. Glyphosate concentrations in biofilms were orders of magnitude higher than the surrounding water, bioconcentration factors averaged 835 and 199 in field- and lab-exposed biofilms, respectively. Glyphosate in water where it had been detected in biofilms at field-exposed sites ranged from below detection (<0.001 ppm) up to 0.13 ppm. Glyphosate bioconcentration in biofilms was inversely proportional to levels in the surrounding water, and the retention kinetics were similar to both adsorption and enzymatic models. Microorganisms present in both the water and biofilms metabolized glyphosate to its primary breakdown product aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA), with increased rates of breakdown in and around the biofilms. Photosynthetic efficiency of the algae within the biofilms was not affected by 24 h glyphosate controlled exposures. Our results demonstrate the role of biofilms in improving wetland water quality by removing contaminants like glyphosate, but also as a potential exposure route to higher trophic levels via consumption. Due to bioconcentration of pesticides, exposure risk to organisms consuming or living in biofilms may be much higher than indicated by concentrations in ambient water samples.

scholarly journals Major features of protistan evolution: controversies, problems and a few answers

2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-80
Author(s):  
Jere H Lipps
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Early Earth ◽  
Huge Number ◽  
Geologic Time ◽  
Earth History ◽  
Important Development ◽  
Fossil Evidence

The major features of protist evolution are fraught with controversies, problems and few answers, especially in early Earth history. In general they are based on molecular data and fossil evidence that respectively provide a scaffold and details of eukaryotic phylogenetic and ecologic histories. 1. Their origin, inferred from molecular sequences, occurred very early (>;3Ga). They are a chimera of different symbiont-derived organelles, including possibly the nucleus. 2. The initial diversification of eukaryotes may have occurred early in geologic time. Six supergroups exist today, each with fossils known from the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic. 3. Sex, considered an important development, may have been inherited from bacteria. 4. Precambrian protists were largely pelagic cyst-bearing taxa, but benthic forms were probably quite diverse and abundant. 5. Protists gave rise to animals long before 600 Ma through the choanoflagellates, for which no fossil record exists. 6. Acritarchs and skeletonized protists radiated in the Cambrian (544-530 my). From then on, they radiated and became extinct at all the major events recorded in the metazoan fossil record. 7. Protists dominated major environments (shelves and reefs) starting with a significant radiation in the Ordovician, followed by extinctions and other radiations until most died out at the end of the Permian. 8. In the Mesozoic, new planktic protozoa and algae appeared and radiated in pelagic environments. 9. Modern protists are important at all trophic levels in the oceans and a huge number terrestrial, parasitic and symbiotic protists must have existed for much of geologic time as well. 10. The future of protists is likely in jeopardy, just like most reefal, benthic, and planktic metazoans. An urgent need to understand the role of protists in modern threatened oceans should be addressed soon.

Sediment pH and Redox Potential Affect the Bioavailability of Al, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn to Rooted Aquatic Macrophytes

1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leland J. Jackson ◽  
Jacob Kalff ◽  
Joseph B. Rasnnussen
Keyword(s):  
Redox Potential ◽  
Metal Content ◽  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
Organic Content ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Sediment Organic Content ◽  
Sediment Ph ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Sediment Metal

We have evaluated the role of sediment pH (4.7–7.1) and redox potential (88–305 mV) in determining the bioavailability of five metals to four species of isoetoid macrophytes. The four species (Eleocharis acicularis, Eriocaulon septangulare With., Isoetes sp., and Sagittaria graminae) did not differ significantly in the relationship between the contents of metals in plants and sediment. When data for all species were pooled, 28–80% of the variation in the log of plant metal content was explained by the log of sediment metal (Al, Fe, and Mn) or by the log of sediment organic content (Cu and Zn). Sediment pH explained 45% (Al), 10% (Cu), 20% (Fe), 5% (Mn), and 12% (Zn) variation over and above that explained by the sediment metal content. These results demonstrate that lower sediment pH, in the presence of mildly oxic redox conditions, increases the bioavailability of these five trace metals to rooted aquatic plants. Rooted macrophytes subject to acidification contain higher metal concentrations which may be transferred by grazing to higher trophic levels.

scholarly journals Effects of fragmentation on plant adaptation to urban environments

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1712) ◽  
pp. 20160038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Dubois ◽  
Pierre-Olivier Cheptou
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Urban Ecosystems ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Plant Size ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Trait Variation ◽  
Fragmented Habitats ◽  
Dispersal Traits ◽  
Neutral Markers

Urban ecosystems are relatively recent and heavily human-altered terrestrial ecosystems with a surprisingly high diversity of animals, plants and other organisms. Urban habitats are also strongly fragmented and subject to higher temperatures, providing a compelling model for studying adaptation to global change. Crepis sancta (Asteraceae), an annual Mediterranean wasteland weed, occupies fragmented urban environments as well as certain unfragmented landscapes in southern France. We tested for shifts in dispersal, reproductive traits and size across a rural–urban gradient to learn whether and how selection may be driving changes in life history in urban and fragmented habitats. We specifically compared the structure of quantitative genetic variation and of neutral markers (microsatellites) between urban and rural and between fragmented and unfragmented habitats. We showed that fragmentation provides a better descriptor of trait variation than urbanization per se for dispersal traits. Fragmentation also affected reproductive traits and plant size though one rural population did conform to this scheme. Our study shows the role of fragmentation for dispersal traits shift in urban environments and a more complex pattern for other traits. We discuss the role of pollinator scarcity and an inhospitable matrix as drivers of adaptation. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Human influences on evolution, and the ecological and societal consequences’.

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