scholarly journals Long-Term Environmental Monitoring in an Arctic Lake Polluted by Metals under Climate Change

Environments ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena M. Zubova ◽  
Nikolay A. Kashulin ◽  
Vladimir A. Dauvalter ◽  
Dmitry B. Denisov ◽  
Svetlana A. Valkova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Polluted Water ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Murmansk Region ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

Lake Kuetsjarvi (in the lower reaches of the Pasvik River, Murmansk Region, Russia) in the border area between Russia and Norway, is one of the most polluted water reservoirs in the European Arctic. The operation of the Pechenganikel Smelter located on its shores has led to the extremely high concentrations of heavy metals observed in the waters and sediments of the lake. Long-term comprehensive studies of the ecosystem of Lake Kuetsjarvi have made it possible to identify the response of its components to the global and regional change in the environment and climate as a whole, resulting in increased water toxicity and eutrophication, reduction in the number of stenobiont species of aquatic organisms against the background of an increase in the number of eurybiontic and invasive species. Modern communities of Lake Kuetsjarvi are the result of a combination of long-term changes in the abiotic environment and biotic interactions. Heavy-metal pollution of Lake Kuetsjarvi, observed since the 1930s, has led to the formation of a community that is resistant to this type of impact and supports large populations of adapted species. Adaptations of communities to the dynamics of the environmental conditions that their members are exposed to include changes in the species composition, quantitative indicators, ratios between individual taxonomic groups, and the population structure. The development of sympatric forms that differ in the ecological niches they occupy, morphology, and life cycle strategies, including the transition to a short-cycle survival strategy, allows whitefish to remain the dominant species and maintain high population numbers. Unlike the organismal level, responses to medium-term environmental changes on the population and community level are less specific and characterized by stronger inertia.

scholarly journals ДОЛГОВРЕМЕННАЯ ДИНАМИКА ОСНОВНЫХ КОМПОНЕНТОВ ЭКОСИСТЕМЫ ОЗЕРА КУЭТСЪЯРВИ (СИСТЕМА РЕКИ ПАСВИК, МУРМАНСКАЯ ОБЛАСТЬ)

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Е.М. Зубова ◽  
Н.А. Кашулин ◽  
В.А. Даувальтер ◽  
Д.Б. Денисов ◽  
С.А. Валькова ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Polluted Water ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Murmansk Oblast ◽  
Sympatric Forms ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

The lake Kuotsjarvi (lower course of Pasvik River, Murmansk Oblast) is located in the borderline territory between Russia and Norway. It one of the most polluted water bodies of European Arctic. Because of the the metallurgic plant Pechenganikel located at the coast of the lake is the source, water and bottom sediments of the lake contain extremely high levels of heavy metals. Long-term comprehensive studies of the ecosystem of the lake revealed that the responses of its ecosystem to global and regional environmental and climatic changes include an increasing toxicity and eutrophication of lake water, decreasing number of stenobiont aqueous species and increasing numbers of ubiquistic and invasive species. The present-time communities in the lake developed as results of interactions between long-term changes in abiotic and biotic factors. Pollution with heavy metals, which lasts since 1990-ies, resulted in the development of communities of species that are tolerant to this impact and are able to maintain their abundance. Adaptations of the communities to changes in their environments are manifested as changes in their species compositions, in proportions of different taxonomic groups, and structures of their populations. In particular, whitefish is able to remain the dominant species and sustain its populations due to development of sympatric forms differing in their ecological niches, morphological features, and life cycle strategies, including transition to shorter life cycles. At difference from changes at the levels of organisms, responses of populations and communities to medium-term environmental changes are more inertial and less specific.

scholarly journals Amitosis confers benefits of sex in the absence of sex to Tetrahymena

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Joe A. West ◽  
Rebecca A. Zufall ◽  
Ricardo B. R. Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Copy Number ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Nuclear Division ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Deleterious Mutations ◽  
Mutation Load ◽  
Low Expectations ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms

Sex appears to be the most successful reproductive strategy in eukaryotes despite its many costs1–3. While a complete explanation for sex’s success remains elusive, several evolutionary benefits of sex have been identified4, 5, such as, the purging of deleterious mutations6, 7, the accumulation of beneficial mutations8, 9, and an advantage in biotic interactions3, 10, 11. It is predicted that, by forgoing these benefits, asexual lineages are evolutionary dead-ends2, 12 due to genetic deterioration and/or an inability to adapt to environmental changes. Consistent with this prediction, many asexual lineages show signs of accelerated accumulation of deleterious mutations compared to their sexual relatives13–18. Despite these low expectations, some asexual eukaryotic lineages appear to be successful, including the ciliate Tetrahymena19. Here, we show that the mechanism of somatic nuclear division in Tetrahymena, termed amitosis, provides benefits similar to sex, allowing for the long-term success of asexual lineages. We found that, when compared to mitosis, amitosis with chromosome copy number control reduces mutation load deterministically, slows the accumulation of deleterious mutations under genetic drift, and accelerates adaptation. These benefits arise because, like sex, amitosis can generate substantial genetic variation in fitness among (asexual) progeny. Our results indicate that the ability of Tetrahymena to persist in the absence of sex may depend on non-sexual genetic mechanisms conferring benefits typically provided by sex, as has been found in other asexual lineages20–23.

scholarly journals Deviations from dynamic equilibrium in ecological communities worldwide

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kalyuzhny ◽  
Curtis H. Flather ◽  
Nadav M. Shnerb ◽  
Ronen Kadmon
Keyword(s):  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Dynamic Equilibrium ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Parsimonious Explanation ◽  
Primary Driver ◽  
Extinction Events

AbstractEcological communities are assembled by colonization and extinction events, that may be regulated by ecological niches1–5. The most parsimonious explanation of local community assembly is the Dynamic Equilibrium (DE) model, which assumes that community dynamics is shaped by random colonization and extinctions events, effectively ignoring the effects of niches1, 6. Despite its empirical success in explaining diversity patterns1, 5, 7, it is unknown to what extent the assembly dynamics of communities around the globe are consistent with this model. Using a newly developed methodology, we show that in 4989 communities from 49 different datasets, representing multiple taxa, biomes and locations, changes in richness and composition are larger than expected by DE. All the fundamental assumptions of DE are violated, but the large changes in species richness and composition primarily stem from the synchrony in the dynamics of different species. These results indicate that temporal changes in communities are predominantly driven by shared responses of co-occurring species to environmental changes, rather than by inter-specific competition. This finding is in sharp contrast to the long-term recognition of competition as a primary driver of species assembly8–12. While ecological niches are often thought to stabilize species diversity and composition4, 13, 14, we found that they promote large changes in ecological communities.

Unexpected toxicity to aquatic organisms of some aqueous bisphenol A samples treated by advanced oxidation processes

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatjana Tišler ◽  
Boštjan Erjavec ◽  
Renata Kaplan ◽  
Marin Şenilă ◽  
Albin Pintar
Keyword(s):  
Bisphenol A ◽  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Advanced Oxidation Processes ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Advanced Oxidation ◽  
Aqueous Samples ◽  
Air Oxidation ◽  
Oxidation Processes ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

Abstract In this study, photocatalytic and catalytic wet-air oxidation (CWAO) processes were used to examine removal efficiency of bisphenol A from aqueous samples over several titanate nanotube-based catalysts. Unexpected toxicity of bisphenol A (BPA) samples treated by means of the CWAO process to some tested species was determined. In addition, the CWAO effluent was recycled five- or 10-fold in order to increase the number of interactions between the liquid phase and catalyst. Consequently, the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis indicated higher concentrations of some toxic metals like chromium, nickel, molybdenum, silver, and zinc in the recycled samples in comparison to both the single-pass sample and the photocatalytically treated solution. The highest toxicity of five- and 10-fold recycled solutions in the CWAO process was observed in water fleas, which could be correlated to high concentrations of chromium, nickel, and silver detected in tested samples. The obtained results clearly demonstrated that aqueous samples treated by means of advanced oxidation processes should always be analyzed using (i) chemical analyses to assess removal of BPA and total organic carbon from treated aqueous samples, as well as (ii) a battery of aquatic organisms from different taxonomic groups to determine possible toxicity.

scholarly journals Multidimensional Statistical Analysis of the Structure of Plankton and Bottom Communities of Mineralized Rivers of the Lake Elton Basin

2020 ◽  
pp. 407-418
Author(s):  
T. D. Zinchenko ◽  
V. K. Shitikov ◽  
L. V. Golovatyuk ◽  
E. V. Abrosimova
Keyword(s):  
Latent Variables ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Randomization Test ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Taxonomic Structure ◽  
Bottom Communities ◽  
Latent Structures

The paper presents the results of our comprehensive studies of the saline rivers of the arid Prieltonie region based on hydrobiological surveys of plankton and bottom communities. We have compared two tables of the specific structure according to the results of observations at 13 river sites in 2013 and 2018, which included the numbers of hydrobionts of 94 different taxonomic groups of macrozoobenthos, meiobenthos and zooplankton. Using the method of joint inertia analysis, we have revealed a high statistical consistency of the data matrices, due to objective laws of the spatial distribution of aquatic organisms. A randomization test of the Procrustean correlation coefficient showed the statistical significance (p = 0.00026) of the conjugacy of both specific structures in the space of latent variables. At the same time, a certain trend was noted in the changes in the taxonomic composition of communities at individual stations over time under the conditions of dynamic abiotic factors. We have analyzed the dependence of the taxonomic structure of hydrobionts on a set of 30 abiotic environmental factors obtained during hydrobiological and hydrochemical monitoring of the studied river sections. Using canonical correlation analysis and the projection method on latent structures, a set of ordination diagrams was plotted to allow revealing peculiar “ecological niches” for each group of species with a certain set of characteristics of their biotopes. The plankton and bottom communities were shown to correlate quite well with each other, which indicates a close relationship between them, due to both biotic interactions and a mutually agreed response to changes in aquatic factors.

scholarly journals Species range expansion constrains the ecological niches of resident butterflies

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Audusseau ◽  
Maryline Le Vaillant ◽  
Niklas Janz ◽  
Sören Nylin ◽  
Bengt Karlsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Range Expansion ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Resident Species ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACTAimChanges in community composition resulting from environmental changes modify biotic interactions and affect the distribution and density of local populations. Such changes are currently occurring in nettle-feeding butterflies in Sweden whereAraschnia levanahas recently expanded its range northward and is now likely to interact with the resident species (Aglais urticaeandAglais io). Butterfly occurrence data collected over years and across regions enabled us to investigate how a recent range expansion ofA. levanamay have affected the environmental niche of resident species.LocationWe focused on two regions of Sweden (Skåne and Norrström) whereA. levanahas and has not established, and two time-periods (2001-2006, 2009-2012) during its establishment in Skåne.MethodsWe performed two distinct analyses in each region using the PCA-env and the framework described in Broennimannet al. (2012). First, we described the main sources of variation in the environment. Second, in each time-period and region, we characterized the realized niches of our focal species across topographic and land use gradients. Third, we quantified overlaps and differences in realized niches between and within species over time.ResultsIn Skåne,A. levanahas stabilized its distribution over time while the distribution of the native species has shifted. These shifts depicted a consistent pattern of avoiding overlap between the native species and the environmental space occupied byA. levana, and it was stronger forA. urticaethan forA. io. In both regions, we also found evidence of niche partitioning between native species.Main conclusionsInterspecific interactions are likely to affect local species distributions. It appears that the ongoing establishment ofA. levanahas modified local biotic interactions, and induced shifts in resident species’ distributions. Among the mechanisms that can explain such patterns of niche partitioning, parasitoid-driven apparent competition may play an important role in this community.

Designing a CRM Framework for online & offline sports footwear retailers

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Cueva ◽  
Guillem Rufian ◽  
Maria Gabriela Valdes
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Running Shoes ◽  
Brick And Mortar ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Impact

The use of Customer Relationship Managers to foster customers loyalty has become one of the most common business strategies in the past years.  However, CRM solutions do not fill the abundance of happily ever-after relationships that business needs, and each client’s perception is different in the buying process.  Therefore, the experience must be precise, in order to extend the loyalty period of a customer as much as possible. One of the economic sectors in which CRM’s have improved this experience is retailing, where the personalized attention to the customer is a key factor.  However, brick and mortar experiences are not enough to be aware in how environmental changes could affect the industry trends in the long term.  A base unified theoretical framework must be taken into consideration, in order to develop an adaptable model for constructing or implementing CRMs into companies. Thanks to this approximation, the information is complemented, and the outcome will increment the quality in any Marketing/Sales initiative. The goal of this article is to explore the different factors grouped by three main domains within the impact of service quality, from a consumer’s perspective, in both on-line and off-line retailing sector.  Secondly, we plan to go a step further and extract base guidelines about previous analysis for designing CRM’s solutions focused on the loyalty of the customers for a specific retailing sector and its product: Sports Running Shoes.

Anticancer Effects & Comparative Study of Thymoquinone, Cordyceps, Spirulina, Ganoderma Lucidium, Poria Cocos, and Lion’s Mane on Human Nasal Cancer Cells (RPMI-2650)

2020 ◽  
pp. 62-78
Author(s):  
سعيد مزعل موازي ◽  
يحيى فائق حسين ◽  
عبد المنعم دولاني ◽  
سيف يوسف عبدالله السويدي
Keyword(s):  
Term Treatment ◽  
Epithelial Cell Line ◽  
Anticancer Effect ◽  
Short Term Treatment ◽  
Poria Cocos ◽  
Nasal Cancer ◽  
Antineoplastic Effect ◽  
Long Term Treatment ◽  
High Concentrations

Recently, many studies have been conducted to discover or improve cancers treatment. The current study aims to investigate the anticancer effect of thymoquinone, cordyceps, spirulina, ganoderma lucidium, poria cocos, and lion’s mane in four different concentrations 4, 8, 16, and 32 ug (equivalent to 1 mg/mL) in two different time treatments (48 and 96 hours) on human nasal epithelial cell line RPMI 2650. By using cell culture cytotoxicity techniques and assay, the highest anticancer effect on RPMI 2650 was obtained by thymoquinone. The lowest anticancer effect was demonstrated by poria cocos and cordyceps. However, these two medications showed higher anticancer effect when given in short-term treatment (48 hours) compared to long-term treatment (96 hours). Ganoderma lucidium and spirulina showed better impact than poria cocos, cordyceps, and lion’s mane in term of cells cytotoxicity. Mild to moderate antineoplastic effect was seen by utilizing lion’s mane treatment compared other drugs. Therefore, adopting a long-term treatment of high concentrations and doses of thymoquinone, cordyceps, spirulina, ganoderma lucidium, poria cocos, and lion’s mane can be more effective in the treatment of nasal cancer. In conclusion, these drugs were found to be a promising cancer remedy; therefore, they can be utilized as alternative treatment for nasal cancer or any other type of cancer therapy.

scholarly journals Toxic or Not Toxic, That Is the Carbon Quantum Dot’s Question: A Comprehensive Evaluation with Zebrafish Embryo, Eleutheroembryo, and Adult Models

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1598
Author(s):  
Chih-Yu Chung ◽  
Yu-Ju Chen ◽  
Chia-Hui Kang ◽  
Hung-Yun Lin ◽  
Chih-Ching Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zebrafish Embryo ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Carbon Quantum Dots ◽  
Adult Zebrafish ◽  
Fish Embryo ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Low Toxicity

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are emerging novel nanomaterials with a wide range of applications and high biocompatibility. However, there is a lack of in-depth research on whether CQDs can cause acute or long-term adverse reactions in aquatic organisms. In this study, two different types of CQDs prepared by ammonia citrate and spermidine, namely CQDAC and CQDSpd, were used to evaluate their biocompatibilities. In the fish embryo acute toxicity test (FET), the LD50 of CQDAC and CQDSpd was about 500 and 100 ppm. During the stage of eleutheroembryo, the LD50 decreased to 340 and 55 ppm, respectively. However, both CQDs were quickly eliminated from embryo and eleutheroembryo, indicating a lack of bioaccumulation. Long-term accumulation of CQDs was also performed in this study, and adult zebrafish showed no adverse effects in 12 weeks. In addition, there was no difference in the hatchability and deformity rates of offspring produced by adult zebrafish, regardless of whether they were fed CQDs or not. The results showed that both CQDAC and CQDSpd have low toxicity and bioaccumulation to zebrafish. Moreover, the toxicity assay developed in this study provides a comprehensive platform to assess the impacts of CQDs on aquatic organisms in the future.

Past testate amoeba communities in landslide mountain fens (Polish Carpathians): The relationship between shell types and sediment

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362199464
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Marcisz ◽  
Krzysztof Buczek ◽  
Mariusz Gałka ◽  
Włodzimierz Margielewski ◽  
Matthieu Mulot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Testate Amoebae ◽  
Mineral Matter ◽  
Testate Amoeba ◽  
Run Off ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Depth To Water Table ◽  
Polish Carpathians ◽  
The Relationship

Landslide mountain fens formed in landslide depressions are dynamic environments as their development is disturbed by a number of factors, for example, landslides, slopewash, and surface run-off. These processes lead to the accumulation of mineral material and wood in peat. Disturbed peatlands are interesting archives of past environmental changes, but they may be challenging for providing biotic proxy-based quantitative reconstructions. Here we investigate long-term changes in testate amoeba communities from two landslide mountain fens – so far an overlooked habitat for testate amoeba investigations. Our results show that abundances of testate amoebae are extremely low in this type of peatlands, therefore not suitable for providing quantitative depth-to-water table reconstructions. However, frequent shifts of dominant testate amoeba species reflect dynamic lithological situation of the studied fens. We observed that high and stable mineral matter input into the peatlands was associated with high abundances of species producing agglutinated (xenosomic) as well as idiosomic shells which prevailed in the testate amoeba communities in both analyzed profiles. This is the first study that explores testate amoebae of landslide mountain fens in such detail, providing novel information about microbial communities of these ecosystems.

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