Potential for bioremediation of hydrocarbon polluted soils in the Maritime Antarctic

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.P. Luz ◽  
E.M.P. Ciapina ◽  
R.C. Gamba ◽  
M.S. Lauretto ◽  
E.W.C. Farias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Petroleum Hydrocarbons ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Polluted Soils ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Soil Microcosms ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic

Human activity in the Antarctic requires the use of petroleum hydrocarbons as the main energy source for a variety of operations. In the current study, in situ soil microcosms were constructed in the proximity of the Brazilian Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz, King George Island, South Shetland Islands, to analyse the effect of oil amendment on the indigenous bacterial community in contaminated and uncontaminated sites to assess the potential for bioremediation. Microcosms were sampled for heterotrophic and hydrocarbon-degrader bacterial counts, pH, temperature, moisture, nutrient levels and petroleum hydrocarbons. Total organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus contents were generally low in the Antarctic cryosols. According to statistical analysis based on Colony Forming Unit numbers, significant bacterial populations were present in all microcosms, with larger numbers observed in oil amended than in non-amended soils. Aliphatic and aromatic fractions of diesel fuel were detected in the soil microcosms, and significant quantities were removed during the experiment. These results strongly suggest that the cold-adapted bacterial community present in soils around the Brazilian Antarctic station has the potential to adapt and utilize the oil as a carbon source. This knowledge can contribute both to bioremediation technology and the goals of the the Antarctic Treaty which prohibits the introduction of foreign organisms into the region.

scholarly journals Metagenomic and Metaproteomic Insights into Photoautotrophic and Heterotrophic Interactions in a Synechococcus Culture

mBio ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Zheng ◽  
Yu Wang ◽  
Jiayao Lu ◽  
Wenxin Lin ◽  
Feng Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Heterotrophic Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Community Composition ◽  
Complex Compounds ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Coculture System

ABSTRACT Microbial photoautotroph-heterotroph interactions underlie marine food webs and shape ecosystem diversity and structure in upper ocean environments. Here, bacterial community composition, lifestyle preference, and genomic- and proteomic-level metabolic characteristics were investigated for an open ocean Synechococcus ecotype and its associated heterotrophs over 91 days of cocultivation. The associated heterotrophic bacterial assembly mostly constituted five classes, including Flavobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Phycisphaerae, Gammaproteobacteria, and Alphaproteobacteria. The seven most abundant taxa/genera comprised >90% of the total heterotrophic bacterial community, and five of these displayed distinct lifestyle preferences (free-living or attached) and responses to Synechococcus growth phases. Six high-quality genomes, including Synechococcus and the five dominant heterotrophic bacteria, were reconstructed. The only primary producer of the coculture system, Synechococcus, displayed metabolic processes primarily involved in inorganic nutrient uptake, photosynthesis, and organic matter biosynthesis and release. Two of the flavobacterial populations, Muricauda and Winogradskyella, and an SM1A02 population, displayed preferences for initial degradation of complex compounds and biopolymers, as evinced by high abundances of TonB-dependent transporters (TBDTs), glycoside hydrolase, and peptidase proteins. Polysaccharide utilization loci present in the flavobacterial genomes influence their lifestyle preferences and close associations with phytoplankton. In contrast, the alphaproteobacterium Oricola sp. population mainly utilized low-molecular-weight dissolved organic carbon (DOC) through ATP-binding cassette (ABC), tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic (TRAP), and tripartite tricarboxylate transporter (TTT) transport systems. The heterotrophic bacterial populations exhibited complementary mechanisms for degrading Synechococcus-derived organic matter and driving nutrient cycling. In addition to nutrient exchange, removal of reactive oxygen species and vitamin trafficking might also contribute to the maintenance of the Synechococcus-heterotroph coculture system and the interactions shaping the system. IMPORTANCE The high complexity of in situ ecosystems renders it difficult to study marine microbial photoautotroph-heterotroph interactions. Two-member coculture systems of picocyanobacteria and single heterotrophic bacterial strains have been thoroughly investigated. However, in situ interactions comprise far more diverse heterotrophic bacterial associations with single photoautotrophic organisms. In the present study, combined metagenomic and metaproteomic data supplied the metabolic potentials and activities of uncultured dominant bacterial populations in the coculture system. The results of this study shed light on the nature of interactions between photoautotrophs and heterotrophs, improving our understanding of the complexity of in situ environments.

The thermophilic bryoflora of Deception Island: unique plant communities as a criterion for designating an Antarctic Specially Protected Area

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.I. LEWIS SMITH
Keyword(s):  
Protected Area ◽  
Active Sites ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Deception Island ◽  
Geothermal Activity ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Ecological Importance ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Stable Surfaces ◽  
Annual Summer

Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands is one of the most volcanically active sites south of 60°S. Between 1967 and 1970 three major eruptions devastated large expanses of the landscape and its vegetation. Since 1970 extensive recolonization has occurred on the more stable surfaces. Unheated ground supports several bryophyte and lichen communities typical of much of the Maritime Antarctic, but geothermal habitats possess remarkable associations of bryophytes, many of which are unknown or very rare elsewhere in the Antarctic. Nine geothermal sites and their vegetation are described. Communities associated with more transient sites have disappeared when the geothermal activity ceased. Mosses and liverworts occur to within a few centimetres of the vents where temperatures reach 90–95°C, while temperatures within adjacent moss turf can reach 35–50°C or more and remain consistently between 25 and 45°C. Most of the bryoflora has a Patagonian–Fuegian provenance. It is presumed that, unlike most species, the thermophiles are not pre-adapted to the Antarctic environment, being able to colonize only where the warm and humid conditions prevail. The floristic and ecological importance of these thermophilic communities, and their sensitivity to perturbation by the rapidly increasing annual summer influx of tourists, as well as scientists, has resulted in these unique sites being proposed as components of a new Antarctic Specially Protected Area under the Antarctic Treaty.

Environmental management on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Polar Record ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 27 (163) ◽  
pp. 313-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin M. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
King George Island ◽  
Multiple Use ◽  
Environmentally Sensitive Areas ◽  
Environmental Information System ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractThis paper proposes management responses to problems perceived in an earlier paper on King George Island (Polar Record 27(162): 193–204, 1991). Available management instruments and barriers to solutions are reviewed, and new management approaches and tools postulated. The category of Antarctic Protected Area (APA) is proposed for areas needing special protection, with sub-designations of Natural, Scientific and Historic Reserves. Multiple-use Planning Areas (MPAs) are endorsed for areas of high use needing local and regional planning, including station environs, but with sub-designations Environmentally Sensitive Areas, Scientific Research Sites and Facilities Areas. Both APAs and MPAs will require management plans: APAs will be accessible only by entry permit. Also recommended are a scientific and logistic register, scheduled meetings among station commanders, development of an internationally coordinated regional scientific strategy, and an environmental information system. To manage tourism a commercial tourism licence system and tourist levy are recommended, with the industry controlled under management plans developed for APAs and MPAs, plus general Treaty provisions. Workload arising from these revisions would necessitate the Committee on Environmental Protection in the forthcoming Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, with a permanent Treaty secretariat. This framework, requiring a multinational approach to management more sophisticated than has so far been achieved under the Antarctic Treaty, would improve and coordinate management throughout Antarctica.

Environmental effects of human activities on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Polar Record ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 27 (162) ◽  
pp. 193-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin M. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
King George Island ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
The Status ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Management Issues

AbstractKing George Island, largest of the South Shetland Islands, is the site of nine scientific stations of different nationalities operating within the Antarctic Treaty System. Following a recent visit by the author to assess environmental and management issues, this article (the first of two) updates the status of developments on the island and outlines problems, real and potential.which have arisen from scientific activities, tourism, vehicles, use of fuels and waste disposal. It is concluded that existing management practices have not been adequate to deal with these problems and new approaches are required.

Monitoring shipborne visitors in Antarctica: a preliminary field study

Polar Record ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 28 (166) ◽  
pp. 213-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Stonehouse
Keyword(s):  
Austral Summer ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Joint Project ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Survey Team ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System

ABSTRACTDuring every austral summer since the International Geophysical Year 1957–58 several thousand scientists and support staff have worked in Antarctica. A more recent development is the annual advent of 4000–5000 tourists, who now probably outnumber expedition members in the area covered by the Antarctic Treaty System. Most tourists come by ship, visiting coastal areas of the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Orkney and South Shetland islands that arc readily accessible beween November and March: smaller numbers visit the Ross Dependency and Adelie Land sectors. This article reviews Antarctic Treaty and International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) attitudes to tourism, and outlines a preliminary study of shipborne tourism between late December 1991 and March 1992 on Half Moon Island, South Shetland Islands. Within one month (January) a survey team from the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, recorded 14 visits by six tour ships, bringing more than 2000 tourists. In addition, attitudes and expectations of visitors were studied on five ships. Arising from this study, a programme of visitor monitoring is planned as a joint project between British, Chilean, and Argentine scientific institutions during the next five years. Objectives are to find ways of minimizing both short-term and long-term impacts of tourists and other visitors on breeding birds and other ecological communities, and to provide a factual basis for regulation under the Antarctic Treaty System.

Structure and function of nitrifying biofilms as determined by molecular techniques and the use of microelectrodes

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 233-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Okabe ◽  
H. Naitoh ◽  
H. Satoh ◽  
Y. Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
In Situ Hybridization ◽  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Domestic Wastewater ◽  
Rotating Disk ◽  
Molecular Techniques ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Steady State Condition ◽  
Synthetic Media

The phylogenetic diversity of a nitrifying bacterial community of two types of nitrifying biofilms, a domestic wastewater biofilm and an autotrophic nitrifying biofilm grown on rotating disk reactors (RDR), was characterized by 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA)-cloning analysis. Thereafter, successional development of nitrifying the bacterial community within both biofilms was visualized in situ by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with a set of fluorescently labeled 16S rRNA-targeted DNA probes. In situ hybridization revealed that Nitrosomonas ureae was the numerically dominant species of the ammonia-oxidizing population in the domestic wastewater biofilm and that a population shift from N. urea to N. europaea and N. eutropha occurred when the culture medium was switched to the synthetic media from the domestic wastewater. After reaching the steady-state condition, microprofiles of NH4+, NO2−, NO3−, and O2 in the biofilms were measured by use of microsensors, and the spatial distributions of in situ nitrifying activities were determined. The relationship between the spatial organization of nitrifying bacterial populations and the in situ activity of these populations within the biofilms was discussed. Microelectrode measurements revealed that the active ammonia-oxidizing zone was vertically separated from the active nitrite-oxidizing zone. This vertical separation became more evident with increase of the substrate C/N ratio, leading to deterioration of nitrification efficiency. The combined use of these techniques made it possible to relate in situ nitrifying activity directly to the occurrence of nitrifying bacterial populations.

Airborne tourism in the Antarctic

Polar Record ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 29 (169) ◽  
pp. 103-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Swithinbank
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
America South ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Mount Erebus ◽  
Passenger Aircraft ◽  
The Antarctic

ABSTRACTThere are two classes of airborne tourism in Antarctica: overflights without landing, and fl ights including landing. The earliest overflight was in 1956, but there were no regular flights until 1977, when Qantas and Air New Zealand began overflights with wide-bodied aircraft. A crash on Mount Erebus in 1979 that killed 257 people drew attention to the absence of effective planning, air traffic control, and rescue services. Landings began in the South Shetland Islands in 1982, when C-130 aircraft of Fuerza Aerea de Chile brought passengers from Punta Arenas. Since 1983, tourists have been accommodated in a Chilean government hostel. Flights to the interior began in 1984 when climbers were taken to the Sentinel Range by ski-equipped aircraft. Unmodified transport aircraft have been used since 1987, making wheel landings on naturally occurring bare ice in the Heritage Range. Tourists were taken from this site to the South Pole in 1988 by smaller, ski-equipped aircraft. Owing to the lack of conventional airfields in Antarctica, the future of intercontinental operations may depend on the development of additional airfields on bare ice. There are many possible sites. Most are near the periphery of the continent but some are in high latitudes, one only 300 km from the South Pole. A few of these will allow direct flights of unmodified passenger aircraft from South America, South Africa, Australia, or New Zealand. The possibility of 300 day-trippers stepping onto the ice from a Boeing 747 raises a variety of safety and environmental concerns. The challenge to the Antarctic Treaty System will be to reconcile the interests of governments, scientists, airlines, tour operators, tourists, and environmentalists.

Tourists’ Non-Compliant Behaviours in Antarctica: An Assessment of Adherence to Pro-Environmental Guidelines

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Read IV ◽  
Susan L. Slocum ◽  
Margaret J. Daniels ◽  
Brenda P. Wiggins
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
International Association ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Knowledge Gap ◽  
Landing Sites ◽  
The Status ◽  
Environmental Guidelines ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic

Research on compliance of tourists to guidelines in Antarctica has been limited. This investigation explores if the current reporting methods sufficiently provide an accurate measure of tourists’ non-compliance. Specifically, the study addresses the compliance knowledge gap regarding Antarctic tourist behaviours by documenting instances of non-compliance with the General Guidelines for Visitors to the Antarctic (GGVA) to determine if the Antarctic Treaty Inspection Program (ATIP) and industry reports accurately reflect the frequency of non-compliance in the Antarctic. Conducted in-situ at four landing sites along the Antarctic Peninsula, documented instances of non-compliance, occur at a frequency of 1.63 instances per minute ashore. Based on available data from the ATIP and the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, this frequency of non-compliance challenges the status-quo and implies that further investigation is necessary.

scholarly journals A review of scientific research trends within ASPA No. 126 Byers Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Benayas ◽  
L. Pertierra ◽  
P. Tejedo ◽  
F. Lara ◽  
O. Bermudez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conservation ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Impact Monitoring ◽  
Livingston Island ◽  
Freshwater Bodies ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Terrestrial Biodiversity ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Management And Conservation

AbstractByers Peninsula, Livingston Island, was one of the first sites in Antarctica designated for environmental conservation and scientific protection. Research on Byers Peninsula has been predominantly international, with 88 indexed publications (93% of them published during last 20 years) from 209 authors affiliated to 110 institutions from 22 nations, all of which are signatories to the Antarctic Treaty. Palaeontological research represented 20% of the published articles. The variety of freshwater bodies within the area has made Byers Peninsula a reference site for limnological studies (24% of papers). The site also contains numerous outcrops and periglacial features relevant to geology, stratigraphy and geomorphology (29%). Terrestrial biodiversity is extraordinarily high for lichens, bryophytes and invertebrates (15% of articles). Only 5% of the publications concern research on human activities, including both archaeology and impact monitoring. Glaciology, meteorology and climatology studies represent only 7% of papers. This work highlights the international and multidisciplinary nature of science conducted on Byers Peninsula in order to promote international cooperation and to provide information relevant for environmental management and conservation.

scholarly journals Scientometric Analysis of Diesel Pollutions in Antarctic Territories: A Review of Causes and Potential Bioremediation Approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7064
Author(s):  
Ahmad Fareez Ahmad Roslee ◽  
Siti Aqlima Ahmad ◽  
Claudio Gomez-Fuentes ◽  
Noor Azmi Shaharuddin ◽  
Khalilah Abdul Khalil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Pathways ◽  
Petroleum Hydrocarbons ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Hydrocarbon Biodegradation ◽  
Scientometric Analysis ◽  
Hydrocarbon Pollution ◽  
The Past ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Resources Exploitation ◽  
The Antarctic

Despite the continuous enforcement of Antarctic Treaty System, ATS (1961), today Antarctica is constantly plagued by hydrocarbon pollution from both legacy and present-day wastes, especially near where anthropogenic activities are the most intense. The advances of science have led to multiple breakthroughs to bolster bioremediation techniques and revamp existing laws that prevent or limit the extent of hydrocarbon pollution in Antarctica. This review serves as the extension of collective efforts by the Antarctic communities through visual representation that summarizes decades of findings (circa 2000–2020) from various fields, pertinent to the application of microbe-mediated hydrocarbons remediation. A scientometric analysis was carried out based on indexed, scientific repositories (ScienceDirect and Scopus), encompassing various parameters, including but not limited to keywords co-occurrences, contributing countries, trends and current breakthroughs in polar researches. The emergence of keywords such as bioremediation, biosurfactants, petroleum hydrocarbons, biodiesel, metagenomics and Antarctic treaty policy portrays the dynamic shifts in Antarctic affairs during the last decades, which initially focused on exploration and resources exploitation before switching to scientific research and the more recent ecotourism. This review also presents the hydrocarbonoclastic microbes studied in the past, known and proposed metabolic pathways and genes related to hydrocarbon biodegradation as well as bacterial adaptations to low-temperature condition.

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