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Casey Finnerty

For Cleveland, Climate Change Could Mean Tons of Toxic Green Algae - John Metcalfe - Th... - 0 views

www.theatlanticcities.com/...5189

microbiology cyanobacteria environment climate change

shared by Casey Finnerty on 01 May 13 - No Cached
  • The researchers say the potentially looming Algaeworld might be avoided if those in the agricultural industry use "better management practices." Having the U.S. agree to a solid climate treaty probably wouldn't hurt, either.
Casey Finnerty

Disappearing Seagrass Protects Against Pathogens, Even Climate Change, Scientists Find ... - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...-pathogens-global-warming.html

climate change microbiology

shared by Casey Finnerty on 17 Feb 17 - No Cached
  • Seagrass meadows, among the most endangered ecosystems on Earth, play an outsize role in the health of the oceans.
  • The plants also fight disease, it turns out. A team of scientists reported on Thursday that seagrasses can purge pathogens from the ocean that threaten humans and coral reefs alike.
  • But the meadows are vanishing at a rate of a football field every 30 minutes.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • In one survey, they collected seawater and put it in petri dishes to see if colonies of disease-causing bacteria known as Enterococcus grew from the samples.
  • In a second search, the scientists grabbed fragments of DNA floating in seawater.
  • Water from the seagrass meadows had only half the level of this DNA, compared with water collected at other sites.
  • Reefs next to seagrass meadows, they found, were half as diseased as those without meadows.
  • Seagrass meadows can release so much oxygen that the surrounding water fizzes like champagne. That oxygen might be able to kill pathogens, Dr. Lamb realized. The plants also host fungi, which are known to producing bacteria-killing compounds.
  • Their research points to two main culprits. Eroded dirt washes into the Chesapeake, making the water cloudy. Seagrass get so little sunlight that the resulting dimming can be deadly.
  • Seagrass is also being pummeled by climate change. Warmer summer temperatures in Chesapeake Bay cause the plants to lose much of their oxygen through their leaves. With less oxygen to pump into their roots, they are poisoned by toxic sediments.
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