Appendicularia (Tunicata) in an Antarctic Glacial Fjord–Chaotic Fjordic Structure Community or Good Indicators of Oceanic Water Masses?

Appendicularians are important but remain poorly studied groups of zooplankton in polar regions. The present research is based on samples collected in Admiralty Bay (King George Island) during a year-long period. Six larvacean species were noted, among which Fritillaria borealis and Oikopleura gaussica were found to be the most numerous, while the other species were relatively rare. Fritillaria borealis was a dominant part of the late summer (warm water) community, while O. gaussica had the highest presence in the winter (cold water) community. The abundance of appendicularians recorded in the bay was less numerous than that described by other authors. The most important factors influencing annual changes in the larvaceans in the bay was season, but only in the case of the two species. These facts were probably linked to the very dynamic changes in the abiotic conditions in the fjord, and the influx of specific masses of water.

Microbial diversity in an early earth analogue: From ancient novelty to modern commonality

Life emerged and diversified in the absence of molecular oxygen 1. The prevailing anoxia and unique sulfur chemistry in the Paleo-, Meso- and Neoarchean, and early Proterozoic eons may have supported microbial communities that are drastically different than those currently thriving on the earth’s surface 2–4. Zodletone spring in southwestern Oklahoma represents a unique habitat where spatial sampling could substitute for geological eons: from the anoxic, surficial light-exposed sediments simulating a preoxygenated earth, to overlaid water column where air exposure simulates the relentless oxygen intrusion during the Neo-Proterozoic 5. We discovered a remarkably diverse microbial community in the spring sediments, with two thirds (340/516) of the metagenomic assembled genomes belonging to 200 bacterial and archaeal families that were either previously undescribed or are extremely rare elsewhere on earth. Such diversity is underpinned by the widespread occurrence of sulfite-, thiosulfate-, tetrathionate-, and sulfur-reduction, in contrast with a paucity of sulfate-reduction metabolism in those taxa. This greatly expands the diversity of lineages mediating reductive sulfur cycling processes in the tree of life. In the overlaying water community oxygen intrusion leads to the establishment of a significantly less diverse community dominated by well-characterized lineages and the prevalence of oxidative sulfur cycling processes. Such transition from ancient novelty to modern commonality underscores the profound impact of the great oxygenation event on the earth’s surficial anoxic community.. It also suggests that novel and rare lineages encountered in current anaerobic habitats could represent taxa once thriving on the anoxic earth that have failed to adapt to the progressive oxygenation.

Microbial diversity and sulfur cycling in an early earth analogue: From ancient novelty to modern commonality

Life emerged and diversified in the absence of molecular oxygen. The prevailing anoxia and unique sulfur chemistry in the Paleo-, Meso- and Neoarchean, and early Proterozoic eons may have supported microbial communities that are drastically different than those currently thriving on the earth surface. Zodletone spring in southwestern Oklahoma represents a unique habitat where spatial sampling could substitute for geological eons: from the anoxic, surficial light exposed sediments simulating a preoxygenated earth, to overlaid water column where air exposure simulates the relentless oxygen intrusion during the Neo Proterozoic. We document a remarkably diverse microbial community in the anoxic spring sediments, with 340/516 (65.89%) of genomes recovered in a metagenomic survey belonging to 200 bacterial and archaeal families that were either previously undescribed or that exhibit an extremely rare distribution on the current earth. Such diversity is underpinned by the widespread occurrence of sulfite-, thiosulfate, tetrathionate-, and sulfur-reduction, and paucity of sulfate-reduction machineries in these taxa, hence greatly expanding lineages mediating reductive sulfur cycling processes in the tree of life. Analysis of the overlaying water community demonstrated that oxygen intrusion lead to the development of a significantly less diverse community dominated by well-characterized lineages and a prevalence of oxidative sulfur cycling processes. Such transition from ancient novelty to modern commonality underscores the profound impact of the great oxygenation event on the earth surficial anoxic community. It also suggests that novel and rare lineages encountered in current anaerobic habitats could represent taxa once thriving in an anoxic earth, but have failed to adapt to earth progressive oxygenation.

Culture as a Fluid Interlocutor: Perspectives on Water Diplomacy from South Asia

Summary This article articulates culture in the terrain of water diplomacy. Situating the ‘local’ turn in transboundary water discourse, we argue that dialogue should be made a distinct precursor to formal processes of negotiations in South Asia. Notions of ‘culture’ and ‘community’ are revisited to examine shared ground between social/cultural anthropology and diplomacy studies. The central proposition here is that the idea of transition from political community to water community highlights the potential of culture as a fluid interlocutor. Culture, we argue, can be a non-verbal communicator not only for constituting water communities but also for giving meaning to water flowing in transboundary rivers in holistic terms. Given that these holistic ways of knowing and understanding water are not alien to ‘South Asian perspectives’, culture is offered as a transformative dialogic technique which can help rewrite the notion of community in complex geopolitical settings such as that of South Asia.

The fallacy of the water "sector" in water resources management

Water resources are central to the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals, and should be viewed as a crosscutting connector - not a sector. The water community should do more to get outside its safety zone and work with all water-related sectors. The SDG 6 IWRM Support Programme is assisting countries to use water as a connector between their SDG targets.

Conflict in commons: collective action and institutions

Common pool resources (CPRs) are safe-guards and foundation for rural livelihood especially for the developing nations like India. Cooperation is needed to conserve CPRs due to its very features. Community institutions sometimes face conflicts to conserve commons cost-effectively. But, conflicts may simultaneously help and hamper the local governance of commons. For empirical verification, we have conducted a primary survey on 419 users of canal water, community forest and tank water in 11 CPRs dependent villages from West Bengal, India. We observed positive relations between conflict and collective action in conservation of commons. This finding seems to be conflicting with the notion that, conflict undermines collective action and therewith the potential for sustainability. We examined and found that successful informal communities are more conflictive and at the same time cooperative than formal one. The occurrences of supply, demand and policy side conflicts and conflict resolution methods are also not significantly different between formal and informal institutions. Therefore, conflict and informal institution have some positive impact for the successful conservation. We suggest that authorities have to study the nature and types of conflicts before implementing rules and institutional arrangements thereafter. Keywords – collective action, institutions, commons, conflicts, conservation

Conflict in commons: collective action and institutions

Common pool resources (CPRs) are safe-guards and foundation for rural livelihood especially for the developing nations like India. Cooperation is needed to conserve CPRs due to its very features. Community institutions sometimes face conflicts to conserve commons cost-effectively. But, conflicts may simultaneously help and hamper the local governance of commons. For empirical verification, we have conducted a primary survey on 419 users of canal water, community forest and tank water in 11 CPRs dependent villages from West Bengal, India. We observed positive relations between conflict and collective action in conservation of commons. This finding seems to be conflicting with the notion that, conflict undermines collective action and therewith the potential for sustainability. We examined and found that successful informal communities are more conflictive and at the same time cooperative than formal one. The occurrences of supply, demand and policy side conflicts and conflict resolution methods are also not significantly different between formal and informal institutions. Therefore, conflict and informal institution have some positive impact for the successful conservation. We suggest that authorities have to study the nature and types of conflicts before implementing rules and institutional arrangements thereafter. Keywords – collective action, institutions, commons, conflicts, conservation