Month: December 2015

Castello & Macedo: Large-scale degradation of Amazonian freshwater ecosystems

Post author By jcoker
Post date December 29, 2015

Castello, L., Macedo, N.M. 2015. Large-scale degradation of Amazonian freshwater ecosystems. Global Change Biology. doi: 10.1111/gcb.13173 pdf

From the Washington Post

When it comes to conservation efforts, few regions of the Earth have garnered as much attention as the Amazon. Considering that it’s home to the world’s largest remaining rain forest and some of the highest levels of biodiversity on the planet, halting deforestation in the Amazon basin has been a major priority of environmentalists around the globe. But while preserving the trees is undoubtedly important, there’s another equally significant, but often less talked-about, aspect of the Amazon that scientists believe is in trouble.

Freshwater ecosystems are critical to the overall health of the Amazon basin — but they’re facing a variety of threats, ranging from dam-building to climate change, according to a major paper just published in the journal Global Change Biology. And the authors argue that finding better ways to protect these water systems is crucial, not just for the plants and animals that rely on them, but also for the humans who call the Amazon home.

“Working with fish conservation in the Amazon, I was always frustrated with the largely disproportionate emphasis that has been on the scientific, the media and even the policy developments surrounding conservation issues in the Amazon on terrestrial issues,” said the new paper’s lead author Leandro Castello, an assistant professor of fisheries at Virginia Tech.

In fact, freshwater ecosystems in the Amazon — a vast, interconnected network of rivers, streams and lakes covering a million square kilometers of space — provide countless important services to the plants, animals and people who live in the basin. These systems transport water throughout the rain forest, cycle nutrients in the soil, help regulate microclimates and play host to variety of organisms, including thousands of fish species alone. They also represent a life source for many indigenous peoples in the Amazon, who rely on these systems for both water and food.

But in spite of their critical importance, these freshwater ecosystems are under siege. The new paper highlights a variety of threats contributing to the degradation of these water systems and interrupting their connectivity by changing or obstructing water as it flows from one system to the next.

Such changes in hydrology — that is, the way water moves around — are “probably one of the worst things that can happen to a freshwater ecosystem,” Castello noted. “If you change the amount of water in either a lake or river or stream, you will change a lot of processes.”

Dams, for instance, interrupt natural water flow and cause water to collect in reservoirs, preventing fish and other animals from moving through and preventing the downstream transport of nutrients. Previous studies have already shown that damming can have serious effects on fisheries, which is not only an economic threat to people who rely on fishing for their income, but also a threat to the food security of populations whose diet consists heavily of fish.

Read the complete story

Pollution Water

Peter Vikesland explores new methods for detecting pollutants in the environment

Post author By jcoker
Post date December 17, 2015

From VT News

Rapid pollutant detection can prevent widespread outbreaks. While there are many existing techniques for detecting such contamination, they generally require highly specific instruments for each contaminant.

Peter J Vikesland, Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering. — Peter J Vikesland

Peter Vikesland, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech and Haoran Wei of Zaozhuang in Shandong, China, a doctoral student in environmental engineering, describe challenges related to deploying surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) used for detection in their paper published by Scientific Reports, “pH-Triggered Molecular Alignment for Reproducible SERS Detection via an AuNP/Nanocellulose Platform.”

SERS has great potential for ultrasensitive chemical analysis and detection of multiple contaminants in a range of environments. Capable of detecting single molecules without excessively expensive equipment or sample pretreatment, SERS has promised rapid field and point-of-use detection that could prevent pollution or biohazard threats and stop outbreaks before they begin.

That promise has gone largely unfilled.

One problem is that many of the substances that SERS could potentially detect are moderately hydrophobic, or water-repellent, thus making it harder to attract them to the hydrophilic, or water-loving, gold or silver nanoparticle surfaces used for SERS.

Efforts to use molecular “traps” to better bind target molecules have been explored, but have added complexity to the material synthesis and tend to produce background signals that complicate data analysis.

In the paper, Vikesland describes a study he and Wei conducted using bacterial cellulose as a SERS platform created by synthesizing nanocomposites made up of bacterial cellulose interlaced with gold nanoparticles.

Bacterial cellulose makes an excellent base for a SERS substrate. It is low-cost, easily fabricated, and its fibers are nanoscale in diameter and retain their 3-D structure in water.

The study used this platform to attempt to detect a number of common pollutants — carbamazepine, atrazine, and melamine, among others. By manipulating the suspension pH, the authors were able to consistently and reproducibly increase the SERS signal due to the increased affinity for the pollutant to the substrate at low pH.

A SERS platform based on bacterial cellulose could finally help fulfill the promise of this exciting technology. The platform can be synthesized in a one-step process and it can be reused many times. The protocol could simplify and reduce the cost of detecting many compounds. The platform is easy and cheap to synthesize and provides short sampling and detection times.

Vikesland also leads an international team of researchers as the principal investigator for a five-year $3.6 million Partnerships in International Research and Education grant from the National Science Foundation. They are seeking to halt wastewater derived antimicrobial resistance dissemination.

Story by Lindsay A. Haugh

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Accolades Drinking water Global Change

Carey receives NSF funding to investigate human-natural feedbacks in water

Post author By jcoker
Post date December 17, 2015

From VT News

BLACKSBURG, Va., Dec. 8, 2015 – Understanding human interactions with the natural environment can enhance the protection of surface water quality in lakes and streams.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers will examine the linkages between humans and freshwater quality using a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems Program.

Dr. Cayelan Carey, Biological Sciences — Dr. Cayelan Carey

Kelly Cobourn, assistant professor of natural resource economics in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment, is principal investigator on the project. Co-principal investigators Cayelan Carey, assistant professor of biological sciences in the College of Science and a Fralin Life Science Institute affiliate, and Kevin Boyle, professor of agricultural and applied economics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, together with Cobourn form the project leadership team.

The goal of the research project is to investigate human-natural feedbacks in freshwater systems by examining the linkages between land-use decision-making, water quality, and collective action taken by the public to protect water quality.

The research team will study the effects that human activities in freshwater systems have on the degradation of lake water quality and how those land-use decisions by humans affect nutrient fluxes through lake ecosystems.

Project researchers will also study how changes in lake water quality in turn affect human behavior. Degradation of lake water quality affects humans by threatening the amenities that they value, such as drinking water, recreation, and fisheries.

“At its most basic level, this project is about interactions between humans and the environment,” Cobourn said. “We know that humans affect the environment, but you can’t really understand any complex system without also studying how the environment affects human behavior. This linkage from the environment back to humans is a key piece of the puzzle that allows us to better understand changes in many diverse types of human-natural systems.”

The scientists are investigating citizen-driven lake associations as a catalyst to effect changes in laws and regulations to protect and improve water quality. Lake water quality is a global issue that touches all socioeconomic levels and will continue to gain traction in citizen-driven lake associations as surrounding watershed areas deteriorate if not monitored closely.

“We hope that at the end of the day our project will provide a better understanding of the interactions between humans and freshwater systems that can be used to protect valuable lakes,” Boyle said. “If our research could better support lake communities and policymakers as they work to protect and improve water quality, I think we would all consider that to be a success.”

Research results will ultimately lead to a coupled modeling framework that captures how land-use decision-making interacts with the crucial services freshwater provides. That framework will act as a guide for citizen-driven lake associations to advocate for laws and regulations that will allow for the environment surrounding lakes to be protected and ultimately the benefits gained by humans to be preserved.

“The team is a multidisciplinary group of research investigators from eight universities across the country,” Carey said. “We are fortunate to work with an incredible group of scientists that includes hydrologists, freshwater ecologists, economists, and social scientists.”

Cobourn is a natural resource economist whose work focuses on water economics and policy with an emphasis on how farmers make water and land-use decisions. Carey, an expert in freshwater ecology, studies how land use and climate change alter water quality in freshwater lakes and reservoirs. Boyle is an environmental economist whose work looks at the impact of lake water quality on economic values.

“We need to draw on expertise from so many different disciplines to really understand, in a holistic way, what drives changes in freshwater systems,” Cobourn said.

Cobourn, Carey, and Boyle spent months discussing how their individual strengths and understanding of humans and freshwater systems could fit together in this project.

“Over time, we developed into a close-knit leadership team. It is exciting that we were able to generate ideas that extend far beyond the realm of our individual areas of expertise,” Cobourn said. “My work on land-use decision-making, Cayelan’s work on freshwater lakes, and Kevin’s work on the value of water quality form the foundation for the study.”

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NYT’S: Landmark Climate Accord in Paris

Post author By jcoker
Post date December 14, 2015

From the New York Times:

December 12, 2015: With the sudden bang of a gavel Saturday night, representatives of 195 nations reached a landmark accord that will, for the first time, commit nearly every country to lowering planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to help stave off the most drastic effects of climate change.

The text of the Paris climate pact establishes a commitment by 195 countries to take concrete measures to reel in planet-warming carbon emissions.

View the full document here. (Agreements begin on p. 22)

Highlights

Temperature Increase

“Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.”

Preservation of Forests

“Parties are encouraged to take action to implement and support, including through results-based payments, the existing framework as set out in related guidance and decisions already agreed under the Convention for: policy approaches and positive incentives for activities relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries; and alternative policy approaches, such as joint mitigation and adaptation approaches for the integral and sustainable management of forests, while reaffirming the importance of incentivizing, as appropriate, non-carbon benefits associated with such approaches.”

Bearing the Cost

“As part of a global effort, developed country Parties should continue to take the lead in mobilizing climate finance from a wide variety of sources, instruments and channels, noting the significant role of public funds, through a variety of actions, including supporting country-driven strategies, and taking into account the needs and priorities of developing country Parties. Such mobilization of climate finance should represent a progression beyond previous efforts.”

Transparency

“In order to build mutual trust and confidence and to promote effective implementation, an enhanced transparency framework for action and support, with built-in flexibility which takes into account Parties’ different capacities and builds upon collective experience is hereby established.”

Absence of “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Neutrality”

“In order to achieve the long-term temperature goal set out in Article 2, Parties aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, recognizing that peaking will take longer for developing country Parties, and to undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with best available science, so as to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century, on the basis of equity, and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty.”

Loss and Damage

“Parties recognize the importance of averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, including extreme weather events and slow onset events, and the role of sustainable development in reducing the risk of loss and damage.”

Read the full NYT’s story with analysis

Invasive Species

Jacob Barney’s Biological Invasions class enjoys an Invasive Species Banquet

Post author By jcoker
Post date December 10, 2015

From VT News:

BLACKSBURG, Va., Dec. 10, 2015 – Rose Peterson of Norfolk, Virginia, was recently whipping up some pesto, which is generally made with basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese.

But the Virginia Tech senior skipped the basil and instead substituted garlic mustard, a common weed that is one of many invasive plants that are not only ubiquitous, but also delicious.

“Garlic mustard grows commonly in lawns,” said Peterson, who harvested some from her aunt’s house in New Jersey over Thanksgiving break. “You could probably forage some on the Drillfield, too.”

Peterson, who is majoring in biology, made the dish for her biological invasions class at Virginia Tech. For their end of the semester project, students had to not only tell the history of invasive species, they had to cook up a delectable dish to share with the class taught by Jacob Barney.

“I wanted students to get a sense of why and how people move species around from this class,” said Barney, assistant professor of plant pathology, physiology, and weed science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “The species we have now were introduced a long time ago, and it’s not always cut-and-dry as to whether or not these species are bad. It really depends on the eye of the beholder.”

Some of the invasive species plats du jour on the menu at the potluck included Kangaroo chili, wild boar Chinese dumplings, fried catfish, autumn olive cheesecake bars, Foxgrape wine and coffee cupcakes, and Red Swamp Crawfish.

Any species — be it flora, fauna, or bacteria — can be invasive by spreading and pushing out native organisms.

“Many of these species can have a detrimental ecological and economic impact,” said Barney. “But at the same time many of them are edible.”

Not only are invasive species edible, the students in Barney’s class proved these space invaders are downright tasty.

Daniel Steger, of Rochester, New York, a senior majoring in crop and soil environmental sciences, made Italian sausage soup with meat he harvested from a feral hog. Feral hogs are widely considered to be a nuisance from Texas to Florida because of their tendency to root for food and destroy agricultural crops.

“I learned that invasive species are not always a bad thing,” said Steger who regularly hunts feral hogs on managed land.

Even the much reviled kudzu plant has antioxidant properties and in Japanese cuisine, kudzu powder is used as a thickening agent.

The span of dishes prepared by the students reflects a trend in the world of haute cuisine that sees invasive species encroaching on another peculiar habitat: fine-dining restaurants.

Some chefs have started introducing menu items that feature invasive species, such as lime-cured Asian carp ceviche or fried coconut-fried Lion Fish. The point of dishes like these is to raise awareness of sustainability issues and make consumers aware that food resources are finite — and that eating invasives can be tasty and nutritious.

According to the Institute of Applied Ecology, invasive species cost the U.S. over $120 billion annually, and more than $1.4 trillion worldwide, with the annual cost of impact and control efforts equaling five percent of the world’s economy. Their website appliedecology.org, touts the motto, “eradication by mastication,” and features a cookbook called, “They’re Cooked: Recipes to Combat Invasive Species.”

Among plant pathologists there is still a debate about how and when to categorize something as invasive because until the longevity of a species can be documented, it’s difficult to tell whether it is coming or going.

Back in the classroom, graduate student Steve Haring’s nondairy poppy seed ice cream with burnt honey was going fast among his classmates.

“My first batch was pretty icy,” said the plant pathology, physiology, and weed science major from Arlington, Virginia, “so I added poppy seeds.”

His ice cream was made from hemp milk, poppy seeds, and Buckthorn honey, which comes from bees feeding off of the weed that is toxic to animals.

But his dish was far from toxic. He took home first place for the most creative dish in the class and earned ten percent extra credit on his final exam. The most delicious dish award went to Logan Holland, of Franktown, Virginia, a senior majoring in crop and soil environmental sciences, who made caribou sausage.

Is it ever possible to erase invasive species through culinary endeavors? Not likely, says Barney. Invasive species are here to stay no matter how much you pile on your plate.

His students, however, have made a delicious dent.

Nationally ranked among the top research institutions of its kind, Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences focuses on the science and business of living systems through learning, discovery, and engagement. The college’s comprehensive curriculum gives more than 3,100 students in a dozen academic departments a balanced education that ranges from food and fiber production to economics to human health. Students learn from the world’s leading agricultural scientists, who bring the latest science and technology into the classroom.

Written by Amy Loeffler

Additional press:

WVTF Public Radio interview: Invasive Species Banquet: If you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em!”