(Press-News.org) Climate change may be weeding out the bacteria that form the base of the ocean's food chain, selecting certain strains for survival, according to a new study.
In climate change, as in everything, there are winners and losers. As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and temperature rise globally, scientists increasingly want to know which organisms will thrive and which will perish in the environment of tomorrow.
The answer to this question for nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria (bacteria that obtain energy through photosynthesis, or "blue-green algae") turns out to have implications for every living thing in the ocean. Nitrogen-fixing is when certain special organisms like cyanobacteria convert inert – and therefore unusable – nitrogen gas from the air into a reactive form that the majority of other living beings need to survive. Without nitrogen fixers, life in the ocean could not survive for long.
"Our findings show that CO2 has the potential to control the biodiversity of these keystone organisms in ocean biology, and our fossil fuel emissions are probably responsible for changing the types of nitrogen fixers that are growing in the ocean," said David Hutchins, professor of marine environmental biology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and lead author of an article about this research that appeared in Nature Geoscience on June 30.
"This may have all kinds of ramifications for changes in ocean food chains and productivity, even potentially for resources we harvest from the ocean such as fisheries production," Hutchins said.
Hutchins and his team studied two major groups of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria: Trichodesmium, which forms large floating colonies big enough to see with the naked eye and makes vast "blooms" in the open ocean, and Crocosphaera, which is also very abundant but is a single-celled, microscopic organism.
Previous research showed that these two types of cyanobacteria should be some of the biggest "winners" of climate change, thriving in high CO2 levels and warmer oceans. However, those previous studies only examined one or two strains of the organisms.
That's where USC's unique resource comes into play – the university is home to a massive culture library of strains and species of the organisms assembled by USC Associate Professor Eric Webb.
Using the culture library, the team was able to show that some strains grow better at CO2 levels not seen since the start of the Industrial Revolution, while others will thrive in the future "greenhouse" Earth.
"It's not that climate change will wipe out all nitrogen fixers; we've shown that there's redundancy in nature's system. Rather, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide changes specifically which nitrogen fixers are likely to thrive," Hutchins said. "And we're not entirely certain how that will change the ocean of tomorrow."
###
Hutchins worked with USC Associate Professor Eric A.Webb, Research Assistant Professor Fei-Xue Fu and USC graduate student Nathan Walworth; and Alessandro Tagliabue of the University of Liverpool.
This research was funded by the National Science Foundation grants OCE 0825319, 0942379, 117030687 and 1260490.
Greenhouse gas likely altering ocean foodchain
Study shows the atmospheric CO2 has big consequences for the tiny bacteria that are the foundation of most of the life in the sea
2013-07-02
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
23andMe and ALSPAC identify 16 new genetic associations for pollen, dust-mite and cat allergies
2013-07-02
Mountain View, Calif. – The largest genome-wide association study ever conducted on common allergies, including pollen, dust-mite and cat allergies, has identified 16 new genetic associations related to the condition. The study, conducted in collaboration between 23andMe, the leading personal genetics company, and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), examined data for more than 53,000 individuals. The study also identified eight genetic variations for allergies that have previously been associated with asthma. Genes implicated in the study highlight ...
NASA sees Tropical Storm Rumbia hit China with heavy rainfall
2013-07-02
VIDEO:
This NASA TRMM satellite 3-D flyby of tropical storm Rumbia showed that the thunderstorms near the center of circulation were below 13 km (~8.1 miles). Rainfall was occurring at...
Click here for more information.
Typhoon Rumbia had weakened to a tropical storm and moved over southern China when NASA's TRMM satellite flew above on July 2, 2013 at 0316 UTC and measured its rainfall rates.
An analysis of rainfall from TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation (PR) ...
More Americans want government to stay out of international affairs
2013-07-02
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The number of Americans wanting their government to stay out of international affairs is higher than it has been since the Vietnam War, according to a new analysis.
In an article published this week in Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs, Oregon State University historian Christopher McKnight Nichols notes that doubts about American involvement abroad are on the rise, up 10 percent in a decade. He connects current reluctance on the part of many Americans to get involved militarily and politically with foreign nations to a long-standing tradition in U.S. ...
Scientists identify promising antiviral compounds
2013-07-02
UPTON, NY-Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified two promising candidates for the development of drugs against human adenovirus, a cause of ailments ranging from colds to gastrointestinal disorders to pink eye. A paper published in FEBS Letters, a journal of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies, describes how the researchers sifted through thousands of compounds to determine which might block the effects of a key viral enzyme they had previously studied in atomic-level detail.
"This research is a great ...
Controlling blood pressure, cholesterol may significantly cut heart disease risk
2013-07-02
Simultaneously controlling your high blood pressure and high cholesterol may cut your risk for heart disease by half or more, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. Yet fewer than one in three people achieve this goal.
Researchers also found:
Prescribing medications to better manage blood pressure and cholesterol would greatly benefit people who are older, diabetic, have cardiovascular disease or are Hispanic or African-American.
Going to the doctor at least twice a year could help.
Undertreated high blood pressure and cholesterol ...
Nuke test radiation can fight poachers
2013-07-02
SALT LAKE CITY, July 1, 2013 – University of Utah researchers developed a new weapon to fight poachers who kill elephants, hippos, rhinos and other wildlife. By measuring radioactive carbon-14 deposited in tusks and teeth by open-air nuclear bomb tests, the method reveals the year an animal died, and thus whether the ivory was taken illegally.
"This could be used in specific cases of ivory seizures to determine when the ivory was obtained and thus whether it is legal," says geochemist Thure Cerling, senior author of a study about the new method. It was published online ...
New forensic technique may help track illegal ivory
2013-07-02
Nearly 25 years after an international ban was placed on ivory, African elephants are being slaughtered at a rate that could bring about their extinction this century. By allowing the trade of ivory acquired before 1989 to continue, the ban put the burden on law enforcement to distinguish between legal ivory and poached. Now, a new method for dating elephant tusks, described in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could make it easier to enforce the ivory ban and save the African elephant from extermination say researchers. The ...
Yale team finds protein essential for cognition -- and mental health
2013-07-02
The ability to maintain mental representations of ourselves and the world — the fundamental building block of human cognition — arises from the firing of highly evolved neuronal circuits, a process that is weakened in schizophrenia. In a new study, researchers at Yale University School of Medicine pinpoint key molecular actions of proteins that allow the creation of mental representations necessary for higher cognition that are genetically altered in schizophrenia. The study was released July 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Working memory, the ...
Inactivation of taste genes causes male sterility
2013-07-02
PHILADELPHIA (July 01, 2013) – Scientists from the Monell Center report the surprising finding that two proteins involved in oral taste detection also play a crucial role in sperm development.
"This paper highlights a connection between the taste system and male reproduction," said lead author Bedrich Mosinger, MD, PhD, a molecular biologist at Monell. "It is one more demonstration that components of the taste system also play important roles in other organ systems."
While breeding mice for taste-related studies, the researchers discovered that they were unable to ...
WSU researchers create superconductor from solvent
2013-07-02
PULLMAN, Wash.—A study led by Washington State University researchers has turned a fairly common non-metallic solvent into a superconductor capable of transmitting electrical current with none of the resistance seen in conventional conductors.
"It is an important discovery that will attract a lot of attention from many scientific communities—physics, chemistry, and materials science," said Choong-Shik Yoo, a professor of chemistry and Institute for Shock Physics. The National Science Foundation-funded discovery, which grows out of research by Yoo doctoral student Ranga ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
CCNY team discovers potential chemo-induced cognitive changes in cancer survivors
New mRNA-based therapy that shows promise in heart regeneration after heart attack
Extremists use gaming platforms to recruit - study
Nearly 70% of U.S. children in car crashes with a fatality were not using proper child passenger restraints, study finds
Understanding what makes some bladder cancers resistant to chemotherapy
Protecting your beating heart
The key to lowering your water bill may already be at your door
Saliva testing may reveal early signs of diabetes and obesity
4D images show heat shield damage goes below the surface
Hibernator “superpowers” may lie hidden in human DNA
Changes in diet drove physical evolution in early humans
Experts call for science- and evidence-based AI policy
Challenges in governing rapidly emerging marine-climate interventions
Slowdown in protein translation drives aging in the killifish brain
Behavior drives morphological change during primate evolution
Climate interventions to save our oceans need stronger governance, experts warn
Do you want to freeze a cloud? Desert dust might help
Nanodevice uses sound to sculpt light, paving the way for better displays and imaging
Twinkle, twinkle leopard seal: songs below the ice flow like nursery rhymes
Potato evolved from tomato 9 million years ago
MIT researchers show how the brain distinguishes 'things' from 'stuff'
Impact of the MISSION act on quality and outcomes of major cardiovascular procedures among veterans
Not all low-grade prostate cancers are low risk
GLP-1 RAs and risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in older patients with diabetes
The clinical practice guideline update on adult sinusitis emphasizes patient education, shared decision-making, and evidence-based treatment options
Big data begins to crack the cold case of endometriosis
This artificial sweetener could make cancer treatment less effective
Light-based listening: Researchers develop a low-cost visual microphone
Immunoglobulin replacement therapy shows no reduction in serious infections for patients with CLL
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus awarded one of the largest clinical trial grants in campus history to lead trauma study
[Press-News.org] Greenhouse gas likely altering ocean foodchainStudy shows the atmospheric CO2 has big consequences for the tiny bacteria that are the foundation of most of the life in the sea