scholarly journals Large and interacting effects of temperature and nutrient addition on stratified microbial ecosystems — results from an aquatic model micro-ecosystem

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Suleiman ◽  
Yves Choffat ◽  
Uriah Daugaard ◽  
Owen L Petchey
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Nutrient Addition ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Abiotic Conditions

AbstractAquatic ecosystems are often stratified, with cyanobacteria in oxic layers and phototrophic sulfur bacteria in anoxic ones. Changes in stratification caused by global environmental change are an ongoing concern. Understanding how such aerobic and anaerobic microbial communities, and associated abiotic conditions, respond to multifarious environmental changes is an important endeavor in microbial ecology. Insights come from observations of naturally occurring stratified aquatic ecosystems, and from theoretical models of ecological processes. Here we complement such studies with an experimental approach in the laboratory, using a novel aquatic micro-ecosystem, with distinct oxic/anoxic strata. Our two main objectives are to 1) describe the features of this promising micro-ecosystem and 2) report how the microbial community composition (full-length 16S rRNA-sequencing) and the abiotic conditions responded to two globally relevant environmental changes (temperature and nutrient addition). The composition of the strongly stratified microbial communities was highly affected by temperature and by the interaction of temperature and nutrient addition. Dissolved oxygen and pH responded to the treatments, with differences in effect between the oxic and anoxic zone. Further research with this experimental system could focus on effects of environmental change on spatial distribution and on stability of the communities to press and pulse perturbations.

Ecological Leverage Points: Species Interactions Amplify the Physiological Effects of Global Environmental Change in the Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristy J. Kroeker ◽  
Eric Sanford
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Leverage Points ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Key Species

Marine ecosystems are increasingly impacted by global environmental changes, including warming temperatures, deoxygenation, and ocean acidification. Marine scientists recognize intuitively that these environmental changes are translated into community changes via organismal physiology. However, physiology remains a black box in many ecological studies, and coexisting species in a community are often assumed to respond similarly to environmental stressors. Here, we emphasize how greater attention to physiology can improve our ability to predict the emergent effects of ocean change. In particular, understanding shifts in the intensity and outcome of species interactions such as competition and predation requires a sharpened focus on physiological variation among community members and the energetic demands and trophic mismatches generated by environmental changes. Our review also highlights how key species interactions that are sensitive to environmental change can operate as ecological leverage points through which small changes in abiotic conditions are amplified into large changes in marine ecosystems. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Marine Science, Volume 14 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Microbial community composition interacts with local abiotic conditions to drive colonization resistance in human gut microbiome samples

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Baumgartner ◽  
Katia R Pfrunder-Cardozo ◽  
Alex R Hall
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Colonization Resistance ◽  
Abiotic Conditions ◽  
E Coli ◽  
And Function

AbstractBiological invasions can alter ecosystem stability and function, and predicting what happens when a new species or strain arrives remains a major challenge in ecology. In the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, susceptibility of the resident microbial community to invasion by pathogens has important implications for host health. However, at the community level, it is unclear whether susceptibility to invasion depends mostly on resident community composition (which microbes are present), or also on local abiotic conditions (such as nutrient status). Here, we used a gut microcosm system to disentangle some of the drivers of susceptibility to invasion in microbial communities sampled from humans. We found resident microbial communities inhibited an invading E. coli strain, compared to community-free control treatments, sometimes excluding the invader completely (colonization resistance). These effects were stronger at later time points, coinciding with shifts in microbial community composition and nutrient availability. By separating these two components (microbial community and abiotic environment), we found taxonomic composition played a crucial role in suppressing invasion, but this depended critically on local abiotic conditions (adapted communities were more suppressive in nutrient-depleted conditions). This helps predict when resident communities will be most susceptible to invasion, with implications for optimizing treatments based around microbiota management.

scholarly journals The Disaster Risk, Global Change, and Sustainability Nexus

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Peduzzi
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Compound Event ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Global Environmental Changes

Until the 1970s, disaster risk was perceived as a direct consequence of natural hazards. Gradually, disaster risk has come to be understood as a compound event, which lies at the intersection of hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of the exposed elements. After decades of research and lessons learned from mega-disasters, social scientists have introduced the social dimension of disaster risk, and the prevailing understanding is that disasters are also a human construct. Now, due to climate and global environmental changes, even the natural component of hazards is being altered by anthropogenic activities, changing hazard susceptibility, coverage, frequency, and severity. This review retraces the brief history and evolution of the global understanding of disaster risk as a compound event, in parallel with research on global environmental change. It highlights the main milestones in this area, and shows that there are tight connections between trends of disaster risk and global change. This paper aims to demonstrate the need to better consider the role of global environmental change in disaster risk assessment. In 2015, three major new agreements were reached to improve global environmental governance: the new Sendai Framework (2015–2030), the post-2015 development agenda with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Climate COP21 in Paris. These all include a clear focus on disaster risk reduction; however, several aspects of disaster risk linked with global environmental changes are still not clearly addressed by the main stakeholders (governments, insurers, or agencies). As the complexity of risk unfolds, more actors are getting together; the need for a holistic approach for disaster risk reduction has become clear, and is closely connected with achieving sustainable development.

scholarly journals Anthropogenic impacts on aquatic bacteria: a perspective from the tropics

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Ladeira de Melo ◽  
Hugo Sarmento
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Biogeochemical Cycles ◽  
High Turnover ◽  
Catchment Areas ◽  
Aquatic Food ◽  
Global Biogeochemical Cycles ◽  
Tropical Aquatic Ecosystems

Abstract Bacterioplankton comprises a highly diverse group of microorganisms, which are dominant in aquatic ecosystems, and play a central role in ecosystem functioning and biogeochemical cycles. Due to their high turnover and dispersal rates, as well as high adaptability and plasticity, microbes are likely to respond quickly to environmental changes and perturbations on their ecosystems. In this opinion paper, we reviewed some studies that addressed bacterial community’s responses to anthropogenic impacts in their aquatic environments. Inorganic nutrients and organic matter inputs from the catchment areas are likely to increase due to changes in climate and land use. These changes will impact the microbial community composition and metabolism, as well the amount of energy and carbon flowing through aquatic food webs as mostly demonstrated in studies from temperate and boreal systems. However, due to the low number of studies on microbial communities in tropical ecosystems, our understanding of how they will respond to perturbations in this distinct environmental context is still limited. Research in microbial ecology in southern countries is still in its infancy and deserves more attention in the future, since tropical aquatic ecosystems are hotspots of biodiversity, host most of the world freshwater reserves, and play a key role in global biogeochemical cycles.

scholarly journals Microbial community composition interacts with local abiotic conditions to drive colonization resistance in human gut microbiome samples

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1947) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Baumgartner ◽  
Katia R. Pfrunder-Cardozo ◽  
Alex R. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Colonization Resistance ◽  
Abiotic Conditions ◽  
And Function ◽  
A New Species

Biological invasions can alter ecosystem stability and function, and predicting what happens when a new species or strain arrives remains a major challenge in ecology. In the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, susceptibility of the resident microbial community to invasion by pathogens has important implications for host health. However, at the community level, it is unclear whether susceptibility to invasion depends mostly on resident community composition (which microbes are present), or also on local abiotic conditions (such as nutrient status). Here, we used a gut microcosm system to disentangle some of the drivers of susceptibility to invasion in microbial communities sampled from humans. We found resident microbial communities inhibited an invading Escherichia coli strain, compared to community-free control treatments, sometimes excluding the invader completely (colonization resistance). These effects were stronger at later time points, when we also detected altered community composition and nutrient availability. By separating these two components (microbial community and abiotic environment), we found taxonomic composition played a crucial role in suppressing invasion, but this depended critically on local abiotic conditions (adapted communities were more suppressive in nutrient-depleted conditions). This helps predict when resident communities will be most susceptible to invasion, with implications for optimizing treatments based on microbiota management.

scholarly journals Interspecific plant competition mediates the metabolic and ecological signature of a plant-herbivore interaction under warming and elevated CO2

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Van De Velde ◽  
Hamada AbdElgawad ◽  
Han Asard ◽  
Gerrit T. S. Beemster ◽  
Samy Selim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Plantago Lanceolata ◽  
Plant Competition ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
List Type ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Increased Temperature ◽  
Model Community

AbstractBiotic interactions shape community evolution, but we lack mechanistic insights on how metabolic and ecological processes under climate change are altered by biotic interactions.We used a two-trophic model community consisting of the aphidDysaphis plantagineafeeding on the forbPlantago lanceolata, and a grass competitorLolium perennethat does not experience herbivory by the aphid. Monocultures and mixtures were exposed to the herbivory treatment and to three relevant simulated environmental changes as prevalent under current climate change (increased temperature, CO2, and increased temperature and CO2)Elevated CO2reduced the nitrogen content ofP. lanceolata, while simultaneous increases of CO2and temperature modified the plant metabolic component and the magnitude of these responses in different directions. Elevated CO2enhanced defence systems inP. lanceolata, but these effects were not altered by warming. Interspecific plant competition did, however, neutralise these responses. There were no indirect effects of climate change on aphid population growth despite changes in plant defense, nutritional quality and biomass induced by our environmental change scenarios.We thus demonstrate interactions between abiotic and biotic processes on plant metabolite profiles, but more importantly, that climate change effect on a selection of the metabolic pathways are altered by herbivory and competition. Our experiment under semi-natural conditions thus demonstrates the non-additive and often neutralizing effects of biotic interactions on plant metabolism and species performance under climate-associated environmental change.

Functional shifts in natural forests under environmental change over the last 65 years are faster in colder regions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masumi Hisano ◽  
Han Chen ◽  
Xinli Chen ◽  
Masahiro Ryo
Keyword(s):  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Functional Composition ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Functional Responses ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Global Environmental Changes

Abstract Global environmental changes have significantly impacted plant diversity and composition over many decades. Maintaining biodiversity and composition is critical for sustainability of ecosystem functioning and related services. While global environmental changes have modified plant species and functional compositions in forest ecosystems, it remains unclear how temporal shifts in functional composition differ across regions and biomes. Utilizing extensive spatial and long-term forest inventory data (17,107 plots monitored 1951–2016) across Canada, we found that functional composition shifted toward fast-growing deciduous broadleaved trees and higher drought tolerance over time; notably, this functional shift was more rapid in colder regions. Further analysis revealed that the functional composition of colder plots shifted toward drought tolerance more rapidly with rising CO2 than warmer plots, which suggests the vulnerability of the functional composition of colder plots against global environmental changes. Future ecosystem management practices should consider spatial differences in functional responses to global environmental change, with particular attention to colder plots that experience higher rates of warming and compositional changes.

Influence of climate and environmental change in Nigeria: a review on vulnerability and adaptation to climate change

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-447
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Alepu Odey ◽  
Bodjui Olivier Abo ◽  
Zifu Li ◽  
Xiaoqin Zhou ◽  
Abdulmoseen Segun Giwa
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Information Structures ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Climate And Environmental Change

Abstract This paper reviews the current issues that involve environmental changes in Nigeria and environmental threats within the country. The fundamental aim of scientific knowledge in environmental studies is to reconcile climate change and environmental sustainability with developmental goals. Therefore, information on impact adaptation to climate change and vulnerability research is required to develop specific, action-oriented, interdisciplinary, successful, sociopolitical and democratic reform for the entire population of a country. This condition requires large inclusion of environmental researchers, institutions, re-inventing of research structures and ideas to dominate the global environmental change research and the critical analysis of present decision making, power, structure and related information structures. This review presents the effect of climate change in Nigeria and encourages adaptation research with challenging innovation, such as the use of energy-efficient renewable energy sources to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This paper also highlighted the need for researchers to become detailed, action oriented and multiscalar and to attend communications structure problems in enhancing the environmental activity.

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