The Role of Ecological Theory in Microbial Ecology
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Aristotle's Essentialism Revisited
University of Missouri, St. Louis IRL @ UMSL Theses Graduate Works 4-15-2013 Accommodating Species Evolution: Aristotle’s Essentialism Revisited Yin Zhang University of Missouri-St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://irl.umsl.edu/thesis Recommended Citation Zhang, Yin, "Accommodating Species Evolution: Aristotle’s Essentialism Revisited" (2013). Theses. 192. http://irl.umsl.edu/thesis/192 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Accommodating Species Evolution: Aristotle’s Essentialism Revisited by Yin Zhang B.A., Philosophy, Peking University, 2010 A Thesis Submitted to The Graduate School at the University of Missouri – St. Louis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Philosophy May 2013 Advisory Committee Jon D. McGinnis, Ph.D. Chairperson Andrew G. Black, Ph.D. Berit O. Brogaard, Ph.D. Zhang, Yin, UMSL, 2013, p. i PREFACE In the fall of 2008 when I was a junior at Peking University, I attended a lecture series directed by Dr. Melville Y. Stewart on science and religion. Guest lecturers Dr. Alvin Plantinga, Dr. William L. Craig and Dr. Bruce Reichenbach have influenced my thinking on the relation between evolution and faith. In the fall of 2010 when I became a one-year visiting student at Calvin College in Michigan, I took a seminar directed by Dr. Kelly J. Clark on evolution and ethics. Having thought about evolution/faith and evolution/ethics, I signed up for Dr. -
7.014 Handout PRODUCTIVITY: the “METABOLISM” of ECOSYSTEMS
7.014 Handout PRODUCTIVITY: THE “METABOLISM” OF ECOSYSTEMS Ecologists use the term “productivity” to refer to the process through which an assemblage of organisms (e.g. a trophic level or ecosystem assimilates carbon. Primary producers (autotrophs) do this through photosynthesis; Secondary producers (heterotrophs) do it through the assimilation of the organic carbon in their food. Remember that all organic carbon in the food web is ultimately derived from primary production. DEFINITIONS Primary Productivity: Rate of conversion of CO2 to organic carbon (photosynthesis) per unit surface area of the earth, expressed either in terns of weight of carbon, or the equivalent calories e.g., g C m-2 year-1 Kcal m-2 year-1 Primary Production: Same as primary productivity, but usually expressed for a whole ecosystem e.g., tons year-1 for a lake, cornfield, forest, etc. NET vs. GROSS: For plants: Some of the organic carbon generated in plants through photosynthesis (using solar energy) is oxidized back to CO2 (releasing energy) through the respiration of the plants – RA. Gross Primary Production: (GPP) = Total amount of CO2 reduced to organic carbon by the plants per unit time Autotrophic Respiration: (RA) = Total amount of organic carbon that is respired (oxidized to CO2) by plants per unit time Net Primary Production (NPP) = GPP – RA The amount of organic carbon produced by plants that is not consumed by their own respiration. It is the increase in the plant biomass in the absence of herbivores. For an entire ecosystem: Some of the NPP of the plants is consumed (and respired) by herbivores and decomposers and oxidized back to CO2 (RH). -
Relationships Between Net Primary Production, Water Transparency, Chlorophyll A, and Total Phosphorus in Oak Lake, Brookings County, South Dakota
Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science, Vol. 92 (2013) 67 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION, WATER TRANSPARENCY, CHLOROPHYLL A, AND TOTAL PHOSPHORUS IN OAK LAKE, BROOKINGS COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA Lyntausha C. Kuehl and Nels H. Troelstrup, Jr.* Department of Natural Resource Management South Dakota State University Brookings, SD 57007 *Corresponding author email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Lake trophic state is of primary concern for water resource managers and is used as a measure of water quality and classification for beneficial uses. Secchi transparency, total phosphorus and chlorophyll a are surrogate measurements used in the calculation of trophic state indices (TSI) which classify waters as oligotrophic, mesotrophic, eutrophic or hypereutrophic. Yet the relationships between these surrogate measurements and direct measures of lake productivity vary regionally and may be influenced by external factors such as non-algal tur- bidity. Prairie pothole basins, common throughout eastern South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota, are shallow glacial lakes subject to frequent winds and sediment resuspension. Light-dark oxygen bottle methodology was employed to evaluate vertical planktonic production within an eastern South Dakota pothole basin. Secchi transparency, total phosphorus and planktonic chlorophyll a were also measured from each of three basin sites at biweekly intervals throughout the 2012 growing season. Secchi transparencies ranged between 0.13 and 0.25 meters, corresponding to an average TSISD value of 84.4 (hypereutrophy). Total phosphorus concentrations ranged between 178 and 858 ug/L, corresponding to an average TSITP of 86.7 (hypereutrophy). Chlorophyll a values corresponded to an average TSIChla value of 69.4 (transitional between eutrophy and hypereutro- phy) and vertical production profiles yielded areal net primary productivity val- ues averaging 288.3 mg C∙m-2∙d-1 (mesotrophy). -
Diversity and Evolution of Bacterial Bioluminescence Genes in the Global Ocean Thomas Vannier, Pascal Hingamp, Floriane Turrel, Lisa Tanet, Magali Lescot, Y
Diversity and evolution of bacterial bioluminescence genes in the global ocean Thomas Vannier, Pascal Hingamp, Floriane Turrel, Lisa Tanet, Magali Lescot, Y. Timsit To cite this version: Thomas Vannier, Pascal Hingamp, Floriane Turrel, Lisa Tanet, Magali Lescot, et al.. Diversity and evolution of bacterial bioluminescence genes in the global ocean. NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics, Oxford University Press, 2020, 2 (2), 10.1093/nargab/lqaa018. hal-02514159 HAL Id: hal-02514159 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02514159 Submitted on 21 Mar 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Published online 14 March 2020 NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics, 2020, Vol. 2, No. 2 1 doi: 10.1093/nargab/lqaa018 Diversity and evolution of bacterial bioluminescence genes in the global ocean Thomas Vannier 1,2,*, Pascal Hingamp1,2, Floriane Turrel1, Lisa Tanet1, Magali Lescot 1,2,* and Youri Timsit 1,2,* 1Aix Marseille Univ, Universite´ de Toulon, CNRS, IRD, MIO UM110, 13288 Marseille, France and 2Research / Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, FR2022 Tara GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/nargab/article-abstract/2/2/lqaa018/5805306 by guest on 21 March 2020 75016 Paris, France Received October 21, 2019; Revised February 14, 2020; Editorial Decision March 02, 2020; Accepted March 06, 2020 ABSTRACT ganisms and is particularly widespread in marine species (7–9). -
The Effects of Eutrophication on the Structure and Function of Microbial Biofilms
The Effects of Eutrophication on the Structure and Function of Microbial Biofilms David J. Van Horn1*, Cliff N. Dahm1 1UNM Department of Biology, 167 Castetter Hall MSC03 2020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 Abstract: Biofilms are the dominate form of microbial life in aquatic ecosystems and are responsible for performing a wide variety of ecosystem services including nutrient and organic matter processing and retention. Understanding how eutrophication impacts these communities is essential for ecosystem managers as many aquatic ecosystems are being enriched by anthropogenic activities. This study investigated the effects of eutrophication on biofilm productivity, community structure and diversity, and function. Increasing background dissolved organic carbon and nutrient concentrations by a factor of twelve increased biofilm ash free dry mass and the abundance of live cells ~ 22 and 200 fold respectively. Extracellular enzyme activities for five enzymes from the same samples showed a range of increase from ~ 300 times for phosphatase to 8000 times for N-acetylglucosaminidase. Enrichment decreased the bacterial diversity of these biofilms and resulted in a gradual shift in community structure that intensified from low to high enrichment. These data indicate that the productivity, community structure, and function of stream biofilm communities are highly responsive to eutrophication inputs. 1 Introduction: Microbes are the most abundant organisms on Earth and play a central role in all global processes. While often overlooked due to their inconspicuous nature, microbes contain as much carbon and ten times more nitrogen and phosphorus than plants (Whitman et al. 1998), possess unique metabolic pathways essential to biogeochemical cycles (Schlesinger 1997), and represent a potentially massive pool of genetic diversity that is only now being explored (Curtis et al. -
Productivity Is Defined As the Ratio of Output to Input(S)
Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM) Development Economics and Public Policy Working Paper Series WP No. 31/2011 Published by: Development Economics and Public Policy Cluster, Institute of Development Policy and Management, School of Environment and Development, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK; email: [email protected]. PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT IN INDIAN MANUFACTURING: A COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE METHODS Vinish Kathuria SJMSOM, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay [email protected] Rajesh S N Raj * Centre for Multi-Disciplinary Development Research, Dharwad [email protected] Kunal Sen IDPM, University of Manchester [email protected] Abstract Very few other issues in explaining economic growth has generated so much debate than the measurement of total factor productivity (TFP) growth. The concept of TFP and its measurement and interpretation have offered a fertile ground for researchers for more than half a century. This paper attempts to provide a review of different issues in the measurement of TFP including the choice of inputs and outputs. The paper then gives a brief review of different techniques used to compute TFP growth. Using three different techniques – growth accounting (non-parametric), production function accounting for endogeniety (semi-parametric) and stochastic production frontier (parametric) – the paper computes the TFP growth of Indian manufacturing for both formal and informal sectors from 1989-90 to 2005-06. The results indicate that the TFP growth of formal and informal sector has differed greatly during this 16-year period but that the estimates are sensitive to the technique used. This suggests that any inference on productivity growth in India since the economic reforms of 1991 is conditional on the method of measurement used, and that there is no unambiguous picture emerging on the direction of change in TFP growth in post-reform India. -
Structure and Distribution of Cold Seep Communities Along the Peruvian Active Margin: Relationship to Geological and Fluid Patterns
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES Vol. 132: 109-125, 1996 Published February 29 Mar Ecol Prog Ser l Structure and distribution of cold seep communities along the Peruvian active margin: relationship to geological and fluid patterns 'Laboratoire Ecologie Abyssale, DROIEP, IFREMER Centre de Brest, BP 70, F-29280 Plouzane, France '~epartementdes Sciences de la Terre, UBO, 6 ave. Le Gorgeu, F-29287 Brest cedex, France 3~aboratoireEnvironnements Sedimentaires, DROIGM, IFREMER Centre de Brest, BP 70, F-29280 Plouzane, France "niversite P. et M. Curie, Observatoire Oceanologique de Banyuls, F-66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer, France ABSTRACT Exploration of the northern Peruvian subduction zone with the French submersible 'Nau- tile' has revealed benthlc communities dominated by new species of vesicomyid bivalves (Calyptogena spp and Ves~comyasp ) sustained by methane-nch fluid expulsion all along the continental margin, between depths of 5140 and 2630 m Videoscoplc studies of 25 dives ('Nautiperc cruise 1991) allowed us to describe the distribution of these biological conlnlunities at different spahal scales At large scale the communities are associated with fluid expuls~onalong the major tectonic features (scarps, canyons) of the margln At a smaller scale on the scarps, the distribuhon of the communities appears to be con- trolled by fluid expulsion along local fracturatlon features such as joints, faults and small-scale scars Elght dlves were made at one particular geological structure the Middle Slope Scarp (the scar of a large debns avalanche) where numerous -
Soil Microbial Biomass, Activity and Community Composition Along
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2017-184 Manuscript under review for journal Biogeosciences Discussion started: 12 June 2017 c Author(s) 2017. CC BY 3.0 License. 1 Soil microbial biomass, activity and community composition along 2 altitudinal gradients in the High Arctic (Billefjorden, Svalbard) 3 Petr Kotas1,2, Hana Šantrůčková1, Josef Elster3,4, Eva Kaštovská1 4 1Department of Ecosystem Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, 370 05, Czech 5 Republic 6 2Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, 370 05, 7 Czech Republic 8 3Centre for Polar Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, 370 05, Czech Republic 9 4Centre for Phycology, Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Třeboň, 379 82, Czech Republic 10 11 Correspondence to: Petr Kotas ([email protected]) 12 Abstract The unique and fragile High Arctic ecosystems are vulnerable to proceeding global climate warming. Elucidation 13 of factors driving microbial distribution and activity in Arctic soils is essential for comprehensive understanding of the 14 ecosystem functioning and its response to environmental change. The goals of this study were to investigate the microbial 15 biomass, activity, microbial community structure (MCS) and its abiotic controls in soils along three elevational gradients in 16 coastal mountains of Billefjorden, Central Svalbard. Soils from four different altitudes (25, 275, 525, and 765 m above sea 17 level) were analysed for a suite of characteristics including temperature regimes, organic matter content, base cation 18 availability, moisture, pH, basal respiration, and microbial biomass and community structure using phospholipid fatty acids 19 (PLFA). -
Carlson's Trophic State Index
Carlson's Trophic State Index The cloudiness of lake water and how far down you can see is often related to the amount of nutrients in the water. Nutrients promote growth of microscopic plant cells (phytoplankton) that are fed upon by microscopic animals (zooplankton). The more the nutrients, the more the plants and animals and the cloudier the water is. This is a common, but indirect, way to roughly estimate the condition of the lake. This condition, called eutrophication, is a natural aging process of lakes, but which is unnaturally accelerated by too many nutrients. A Secchi disk is commonly used to measure the depth to which you can easily see through the water, also called its transparency. Secchi disk transparency, chlorophyll a (an indirect measure of phytoplankton), and total phosphorus (an important nutrient and potential pollutant) are often used to define the degree of eutrophication, or trophic status of a lake. The concept of trophic status is based on the fact that changes in nutrient levels (measured by total phosphorus) causes changes in algal biomass (measured by chlorophyll a) which in turn causes changes in lake clarity (measured by Secchi disk transparency). A trophic state index is a convenient way to quantify this relationship. One popular index was developed by Dr. Robert Carlson of Kent State University. Trophic State Index Carlson's index uses a log transformation of Secchi disk values as a measure of algal biomass on a scale from 0 - 110. Each increase of ten units on the scale represents a doubling of algal biomass. Because chlorophyll a and total phosphorus are usually closely correlated to Secchi disk measurements, these parameters can also be assigned trophic state index values. -
PISA Style Scientific Literacy Question on the Origin of Species
PISA Style Scientific Literacy Question On the Origin of Species – Text 1 Read the following extract from Charles Darwin’s book ‘On the Origin of Species’ ‘Can it then be thought improbable, seeing that variations useful to man have undoubtedly occurred, that other variations useful in some way to each being in the great and complex battle of life, should sometimes occur in the course of thousands of generations? If such do occur, can we doubt (remembering that many more individuals are born than can possibly survive) that individuals having an advantage, however slight, over others, would have the best chance of surviving and procreating their kind? On the other hand, we may feel that any variation in the least degree injurious would be rigidly destroyed’. Question 1 : ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES In this piece of text, Darwin is explaining his theory of evolution. He called this A Natural Selection B Adaptation C Inheritance D Variation Question 2 : ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES At the time, Darwin’s theory was not widely accepted. Which of the reasons below would explain why people did not support his idea? Reason why people did not support Darwin’s theory Yes or No ? There was little scientific evidence to support his theory Yes / No The theory of creationism as taught by the church was widely Yes / No believed and accepted People did not know about Darwin’s theory because there was no Yes / No radio or television Other scientists had come up with similar theories to Darwin Yes / No Question 3 : ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES Mali says that the theory of natural selection as described by Darwin in the text does not apply so well for humans. -
Patterns of Microbial Diversity and Community Composition in Slot Canyons, Rock Pools, and Other Ephemeral and Perennial Aquatic Habitats
Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 5-2020 Patterns of Microbial Diversity and Community Composition in Slot Canyons, Rock Pools, and Other Ephemeral and Perennial Aquatic Habitats Marley Madsen Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Madsen, Marley, "Patterns of Microbial Diversity and Community Composition in Slot Canyons, Rock Pools, and Other Ephemeral and Perennial Aquatic Habitats" (2020). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 7750. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7750 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PATTERNS OF MICROBIAL DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COMPOSITION IN SLOT CANYONS, ROCK POOLS, AND OTHER EPHEMERAL AND PERENNIAL AQUATIC HABITATS by Marley Madsen A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Ecology Approved: Bonnie Waring, Ph.D. Paul Wolf, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member Will Pearse, Ph.D. Richard S. Inouye, Ph.D. Committee Member Vice Provost for Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2020 ii Copyright c Marley Madsen 2020 All Rights Reserved iii Abstract Patterns of Microbial Diversity and Community Composition in Slot Canyons, Rock Pools, and Other Ephemeral and Perennial Aquatic Habitats by Marley Madsen, Master of Science Utah State University, 2020 Major Professor: Dr. Bonnie Waring Department: Biology In general, species sorting is the dominant community assembly mechanism for mi- crobes, and this pattern holds true over a diverse range of habitats and spatial scales. -
Forest Production Ecology • Objectives – Overview of Forest Production Ecology • C Cycling – Primary Productivity of Trees and Forest Ecosystems
Forest Production Ecology • Objectives – Overview of forest production ecology • C cycling – Primary productivity of trees and forest ecosystems … ecologists and ecosystem managers are unlikely to achieve desired management objectives unless they are familiar with the distribution and movements of energy that are responsible for the character and productivity of ecosystems under their management. (Kimmins 2004) – First: questions, take-home points, things you learned, etc. from reading assignment 1 Forest Production Ecology • Why should you care about C cycling? – C is the energy currency of all ecosystems • Plant (autotrophic) production is the base of almost all food/energy pyramids • Underlies all ecosystem goods & services – Plant C cycling, to a large extent, controls atmospheric CO2 concentrations (i.e., climate) • 3-4x as much C in terrestrial ecosystems as the atmosphere • Forests account for ~80% of global plant biomass and ~50% of global terrestrial productivity – C is fundamental to soil processes (i.e., SOM) • Belowground resources are a primary control over all ecosystem processes 2 Forest Production Ecology •Global Carbon Cycle ≈ “Breathing” of Earth 3 Forest Production Ecology • C enters via photosynthesis The C Bank Account 1. Gross Primary Production (GPP) •Total C input via photosynthesis 2. Accumulates in ecosystems (C pools/storage) as: (a) plant biomass; (b) SOM & microbial biomass; or (c) animal biomass 3. Returned to the atmosphere via: (a) respiration (R; auto- or hetero-trophic); (b) VOC emissions; or (c) disturbance Chapin et al. (2011) 4. Leached from or transferred laterally to another ecosystem Forest Production Ecology • Keys to understanding biological C cycling 1. Pools (storage) vs. fluxes (flows) of C • Live and dead (detrital) biomass • Above- and belowground 2.