scholarly journals Evidence for Borrelia bavariensis Infections of Ixodes uriae within Seabird Colonies of the North Atlantic Ocean

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah J. Munro ◽  
Nicholas H. Ogden ◽  
L. Robbin Lindsay ◽  
Gregory J. Robertson ◽  
Hugh Whitney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Ixodes Persulcatus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ixodes Uriae ◽  
The North ◽  
Borrelia Lusitaniae ◽  
Seabird Colonies

ABSTRACT The first report of members of the spirochete genus Borrelia in the seabird tick, Ixodes uriae, and seabird colonies occurred during the early 1990s. Since then, Borrelia spp. have been detected in these ticks and seabird colonies around the world. To date, the primary species detected has been Borrelia garinii, with rare occurrences of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and Borrelia lusitaniae. During our research on Borrelia and I. uriae in seabird colonies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, we have identified Borrelia bavariensis in I. uriae. To our knowledge, B. bavariensis has previously been found only in the Eurasian tick species Ixodes persulcatus and Ixodes ricinus, and it was believed to be a rodent-specific Borrelia ecotype. We found B. bavariensis within I. uriae from three seabird colonies over three calendar years. We also reanalyzed B. garinii sequences collected from I. uriae from Eurasian seabird colonies and determined that sequences from two Russian seabird colonies likely also represent B. bavariensis. The Canadian B. bavariensis sequences from I. uriae analyzed in this study cluster with previously described sequences from Asia. Overall, this is an important discovery that illustrates and expands the range of hosts and vectors for B. bavariensis, and it raises questions regarding the possible mechanisms of pathogen dispersal from Asia to North America. IMPORTANCE To our knowledge, this is the first documentation of B. bavariensis outside Eurasia. Additionally, the bacterium was found in a marine ecosystem involving the seabird tick I. uriae and its associated seabird hosts. This indicates that the epizootiology of B. bavariensis transmission is much different from what had been described, with this species previously believed to be a rodent-specific ecotype, and it indicates that this pathogen is established, or establishing, much more widely.

scholarly journals Methylphosphonate Oxidation inProchlorococcusStrain MIT9301 Supports Phosphate Acquisition, Formate Excretion, and Carbon Assimilation into Purines

2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar A. Sosa ◽  
John R. Casey ◽  
David M. Karl
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Carbon Assimilation ◽  
Unicellular Cyanobacterium ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The North ◽  
Oxidative Pathway

ABSTRACTThe marine unicellular cyanobacteriumProchlorococcusis an abundant primary producer and widespread inhabitant of the photic layer in tropical and subtropical marine ecosystems, where the inorganic nutrients required for growth are limiting. In this study, we demonstrate thatProchlorococcushigh-light strain MIT9301, an isolate from the phosphate-depleted subtropical North Atlantic Ocean, can oxidize methylphosphonate (MPn) and hydroxymethylphosphonate (HMPn), two phosphonate compounds present in marine dissolved organic matter, to obtain phosphorus. The oxidation of these phosphonates releases the methyl group as formate, which is both excreted and assimilated into purines in RNA and DNA. Genes encoding the predicted phosphonate oxidative pathway of MIT9301 were predominantly present inProchlorococcusgenomes from parts of the North Atlantic Ocean where phosphate availability is typically low, suggesting that phosphonate oxidation is an ecosystem-specific adaptation of someProchlorococcuspopulations to cope with phosphate scarcity.IMPORTANCEUntil recently, MPn was only known to be degraded in the environment by the bacterial carbon-phosphorus (CP) lyase pathway, a reaction that releases the greenhouse gas methane. The identification of a formate-yielding MPn oxidative pathway in the marine planctomyceteGimesia maris(S. R. Gama, M. Vogt, T. Kalina, K. Hupp, et al., ACS Chem Biol 14:735–741, 2019,https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.9b00024) and the presence of this pathway inProchlorococcusindicate that this compound can follow an alternative fate in the environment while providing a valuable source of P to organisms. In the ocean, where MPn is a major component of dissolved organic matter, the oxidation of MPn to formate byProchlorococcusmay direct the flow of this one-carbon compound to carbon dioxide or assimilation into biomass, thus limiting the production of methane.

scholarly journals Population structure ofBorrelia gariniifromIxodes uriaecollected in seabird colonies of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah J. Munro ◽  
Nicholas H. Ogden ◽  
Samir Mechai ◽  
L. Robbin Lindsay ◽  
Gregory J. Robertson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Avian Host ◽  
Ixodes Uriae ◽  
Genetic Complexity ◽  
Colonial Seabirds ◽  
Transmission Cycles ◽  
Seabird Colonies

AbstractThe occurrence ofBorrelia gariniiin seabird ticks,Ixodes uriae, associated with different species of colonial seabirds has been studied since the early 1990s. Research on the population structure of this bacterium in ticks from seabird colonies in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean has revealed admixture between marine and terrestrial tick populations. We studiedB. gariniipopulation structure inI. uriaecollected from seabird colonies in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. We applied a multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) scheme toB. gariniifound in ticks from four species of seabirds. TheB. gariniistrains found in this seabird colony ecosystem were diverse. Some were very similar to strains from Asia and Europe, including some obtained from human clinical samples, while others formed a divergent group specific to this region of the Atlantic Ocean.ImportanceThis study provides the firstB. gariniisequences from North American seabird ticks that were characterized using an MLST approach. This revealed new MLST sequence types and alleles, enhancing our knowledge ofB. gariniidiversity. Our findings highlight the genetic complexity ofB. gariniicirculating among seabird ticks and their avian hosts but also demonstrate surprisingly close connections betweenB. gariniiin this ecosystem and terrestrial sources in Eurasia. Genetic similarities amongB. gariniifrom seabird ticks and humans indicate the possibility thatB. gariniicirculating within seabird tick-avian host transmission cycles could directly, or indirectly via connectivity with terrestrial transmission cycles, have consequences for human health.

scholarly journals The Sub-Polar Gyre Index – a community data set for application in fisheries and environment research

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Berx ◽  
Mark R. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Series Length ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The North ◽  
Community Data ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Index Time Series

Abstract. Scientific interest in the sub-polar gyre of the North Atlantic Ocean has increased in recent years. The sub-polar gyre has contracted and weakened, and changes in circulation pathways have been linked to changes in marine ecosystem productivity. To aid fisheries and environmental scientists, we here present a time series of the Sub-Polar Gyre Index (SPG-I) based on monthly mean maps of sea surface height. The established definition of the SPG-I is applied, and the first EOF and PC are presented. Sensitivity to the spatial domain and time series length are explored, but found not to be important factors. Our time series compares well with indices presented previously. The SPG-I time series is freely available online (doi:10.7489/1806-1) and we invite the community to access, apply and publish studies using this index time series.

Borrelia kurtenbachii sp. nov., a widely distributed member of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species complex in North America

2014 ◽  
Vol 64 (Pt_1) ◽  
pp. 128-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Margos ◽  
Joseph Piesman ◽  
Robert S. Lane ◽  
Nicholas H. Ogden ◽  
Andreas Sing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Borrelia Burgdorferi Sensu Lato ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Link Type ◽  
The North ◽  
Northern Latitudes

Lyme borreliosis group spirochaetes are parasitic bacteria transmitted by vector ticks of the genus Ixodes and distributed mainly between 40° and 60° northern latitudes. Since Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (hereinafter, B. burgdorferi ) was described in the north-eastern USA during the early 1980s, an increasing diversity has been noted within the species complex. Here, we describe a novel genomic species, Borrelia kurtenbachii sp. nov. (type strain 25015T = ATCC BAA-2495T =  DSM 26572T), that is prevalent in transmission cycles among vector ticks and reservoir hosts in North America. Confirmation of the presence of this species in Europe awaits further investigation.

scholarly journals The Sub-Polar Gyre Index – a community data set for application in fisheries and environment research

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Berx ◽  
Mark R. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Series Length ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The North ◽  
Community Data ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Index Time Series

Abstract. Scientific interest in the sub-polar gyre of the North Atlantic Ocean has increased in recent years. The sub-polar gyre has contracted and weakened, and changes in circulation pathways have been linked to changes in marine ecosystem productivity. To aid fisheries and environmental scientists, we present here a time series of the Sub-Polar Gyre Index (SPG-I) based on monthly mean maps of sea surface height. The established definition of the SPG-I is applied, and the first EOF (empirical orthogonal function) and PC (principal component) are presented. Sensitivity to the spatial domain and time series length are explored but found not to be important factors in terms of the SPG-I's interpretation. Our time series compares well with indices presented previously. The SPG-I time series is freely available online (http://dx.doi.org/10.7489/1806-1), and we invite the community to access, apply, and publish studies using this index time series.

The Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) in Arctic Canada: ecology, threats, and what it tells us about marine environmental conditions

2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark L Mallory
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Northern Fulmar ◽  
Fulmarus Glacialis ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

The northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis is a ubiquitous seabird found across the North Atlantic Ocean and into the Canadian Arctic. However, we know little of its ecology in the Arctic, which is unfortunate, because it possesses many traits that make it an excellent biomonitor of the condition of Arctic marine environments. Presently, Arctic fulmars face threats from harvest, bycatch in fisheries, and fouling in oil spills while the birds are in their winter range (the North Atlantic). However, during breeding, migration, and overwintering, they may also experience stress from ecotourism, contaminants, particulate garbage, and climate change. In this paper I review the effects of all of these threats on fulmars and I describe how the ecology of these birds makes them particularly suitable for tracking contaminants, garbage, and the effects of climate change in the Arctic marine ecosystem. I also highlight our key existing knowledge gaps on this species and how additional research will strengthen the utility of fulmars as biomonitors. Key words: northern fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis, Arctic, contaminants, climate change, pollution.

Zooplankton Biogeochemical Cycles

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Steinberg
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Biogeochemical Cycles ◽  
Biological Pump ◽  
The North ◽  
Particle Export ◽  
Chemical Cycling ◽  
Cycling Of Nutrients ◽  
Planktonic Communities

The structure of planktonic communities profoundly affects particle export and sequestration of organic material (the biological pump) and the chemical cycling of nutrients. This chapter describes the integral and multifaceted role zooplankton (both protozoan and metazoan) play in the export and cycling of elements in the ocean, with an emphasis on the North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. Zooplankton consume a significant proportion of primary production across the world's oceans, and their metabolism plays a key role in recycling carbon, nitrogen, and other elements. The chapter also addresses how human or climate-influenced changes in North Atlantic zooplankton populations may in turn drive changes in zooplankton-mediated biogeochemical cycling.

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