DOCSLIB.ORG

The Soda Lakes of Nhecolândia: a Conservation Opportunity for The

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Soda Lakes of Nhecolândia: a Conservation Opportunity for The Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation 17 (2019) 9–18 ´ Supported by Boticario Group Foundation for Nature Protection www.perspectecolconserv.com Essays and Perspectives The soda lakes of Nhecolândia: A conservation opportunity for the Pantanal wetlands a b c,∗ d Renato L. Guerreiro , Ivan Bergier , Michael M. McGlue , Lucas V. Warren , b e d Urbano Gomes Pinto de Abreu , Jônatas Abrahão , Mario L. Assine a Instituto Federal de Educac¸ ão, Ciência e Tecnologia do Paraná, Av. Cívica, 475, 85935-000 Assis Chateaubriand, PR, Brazil b Embrapa Pantanal, Rua 21 de Setembro, 1880, 79302-090 Corumbá, MS, Brazil c Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky, 121 Washington Ave, Lexington, KY 40506, USA d Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas, Unesp – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Avenida 24-A, Bela Vista, Rio Claro, SP CEP 13506-900, Brazil e Laboratório de Vírus, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil a a b s t r a c t r t i c l e i n f o Article history: The Pantanal is the most conserved biome in Brazil and among the last wild refuges in South Amer- Received 2 July 2018 ica, but intensification of agriculture and other land use changes present challenges for protecting this Accepted 26 November 2018 exceptionally biodiverse wetland ecosystem. Recent studies have shed new light on the origins and bio- Available online 11 December 2018 geochemistry of a suite of >600 small saline-alkaline lakes in Nhecolândia, a floodplain setting located south of the Taquari River in south-central Pantanal. These soda lakes form a unique aquatic environment Keywords: in Pantanal and nascent research on their geomicrobiology suggests that their biota may be analogous Alkaline to early life, and extreme life in Earth’s deep biosphere. We argue that the conservation of the soda lakes Ecosystem services in the lower Nhecolândia region should be an important strategic component of any conservation plan Extremophile Saline that aims to mitigate the advance of unsustainable land-use change in the Pantanal. Soda lake conserva- Sapropel tion has important implications for the carbon cycle, as these landforms sequester carbon dioxide and Wetland transmit considerably lower concentrations of methane in comparison to macrophyte-rich freshwater lakes in the region. Further, minerals precipitated in the saline-alkaline lakes are leveraged for cattle con- sumption, and therefore the continued presence of the lakes is critical for allowing pantaneiro ranchers to pursue certified organic, sustainable beef production systems. Beyond protecting soda lakes and their surrounding forests (mata de cordilheiras) for food systems security, the conservation strategy would also allow further research of little studied extremophile biodiversity and biogeochemistry, with potential for biotechnological innovations attendant to UN Sustainable Development Goals. © 2018 Associac¸ ao˜ Brasileira de Cienciaˆ Ecologica´ e Conservac¸ ao.˜ Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by- nc-nd/4.0/). Introduction However, field research that included direct sampling of water and sediment from lakes in Nhecolândia has steadily increased over The unique and remarkably biodiverse Pantanal wetlands form the past two decades, such that new insights are now available on an important conservation target in western Brazil (Box 1). The Pan- the origins and evolution of these lentic ecosystems from geologi- tanal lowlands are a lake-rich landscape (Box 2), and one of the most cal and hydrochemical perspectives. Perhaps the most compelling famous lake districts within the wetlands is lower Nhecolândia research results have come from Nhecolândia’s soda lakes (Fig. 2). (Fig. 1). Until recently, most geological and geomorphological stud- In general, soda lakes are alkaline-saline aquatic ecosystems dom- ies of lower Nhecolândia relied heavily on remote sensing datasets. inated by well-adapted extremophile life such as cyanobacteria (Dundas, 1998; Knauth, 1998), giant mimiviruses (Abrahão et al., 2018) and aerobic and anaerobic archaea, prokaryotes and eukary- otes (Visscher et al., 2010). Cyanobacteria and haloarchaea in soda Abbreviations: SRP, sulfate-reducing prokaryotes; EPS, exopolymeric sub- lakes (McGenity et al., 2000; Malone et al., 2012) usually rely on stances; AOM, anaerobic oxidation of methane; SAMS, South American Monsoon + + Na /H antiporter systems that maintain neutral pH in the cell solu- System. ∗ tion under extreme alkalinity (Elanskaya et al., 2002; Summerfield Corresponding author. and Sherman, 2008). The antiporter consists of a protein catalyst E-mail address: [email protected] (M.M. McGlue). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecon.2018.11.002 2530-0644/© 2018 Associac¸ ao˜ Brasileira de Cienciaˆ Ecologica´ e Conservac¸ ao.˜ Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). 10 R.L. Guerreiro et al. / Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation 17 (2019) 9–18 Box 1: The Pantanal wetlands Box 2: Lakescapes in the Pantanal ◦ ◦ The Pantanal (16–20 S, 55–58 W, <200 m asl mean eleva- Though the Pantanal is defined by the presence and flood- tion) forms one of the largest neotropical lowland interior ing cycle of the Upper Paraguay River, the wetlands are home wetlands in the world (Assine et al., 2015). Spanning the bor- to many thousands of lakes with different origins, morpholo- ders of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay, the Pantanal forms the gies, and aquatic characteristics (Por, 1995). From a geological headwaters of one of South America’s largest watersheds, perspective, the headwaters of the Paraguay-Paraná basin the Paraguay-Paraná basin (Fig. 1). A floodplain-savanna type owes its existence to the formation of the Andes cordillera wetland, the Pantanal’s hydrology is controlled by the Upper and the development of the central Andean foreland basin. Paraguay River, which flows along the western margin of The Pantanal sits >500 km from the Andean foothills in a shal- the basin (McGlue et al., 2011). Seasonal flooding of the low, kidney-shaped sedimentary basin known as a back-bulge Upper Paraguay controls a host of ecological interactions and depozone (Horton and DeCelles, 1997). Back-bulges are char- biochemical processes in the wetlands, including floodplain acterized by their low gradients and alluvial, fluvial, lacustrine primary production, carbon cycling, fish spawning patterns, and palustrine sedimentary environments (Cohen et al., 2015). bird migrations and rookery development, and predator-prey Low gradients in the Pantanal make the basin particularly sus- interactions (Hamilton, 2002). The Pantanal is home to a ceptible to floodwater inundation, hydrologic connectivity, and remarkably diverse set of flora and fauna, and it is famous for energy flow among lotic and lentic ecosystems. The largest its rich and abundant birdlife, as well as its predators, which and deepest (up to 9 m) lakes in the Pantanal are located on includes the jaguar (Panthera onca) and giant otter (Pteronura the basin’s western margin; typically these lakes are hydro- brasiliensis) (Carter and Rosas, 1997; Junk et al., 2006; De Pinho logically open, fresh, and seasonally connected to the Upper and Marini, 2012; Soisalo and Cavalcanti, 2006). Recognition by Paraguay River (McGlue et al., 2011; Lo et al., 2017). By con- Ramsar and UNESCO-World Heritage Center has placed a spot- trast, the saline/alkaline (“soda”) lakes of Nhecolândia are light on the Pantanal ecosystem in the past several decades, completely isolated from the Upper Paraguay River and its and conservation efforts have been made to protect threatened flood pulse. The soda lakes of Nhecolândia are situated on a animal and plant life. Today, deforestation and other land cover fossil megafan lobe south of the present-day Taquari River. changes on highlands adjacent to the Pantanal are prompt- These small saline/alkaline lakes are very shallow, hydrologi- ing changes in riverine sediment loads, discharge, nutrient cally closed, and surrounded by sandy ridges covered by trees. content and contaminants, which threaten the natural ecosys- Interestingly, both freshwater and oligohaline ponds exist in tem (Bergier, 2013). In addition, deforestation in the Amazon close proximity to the soda lakes, and strong evidence exists threatens to modify precipitation in the Pantanal, as do cli- to show that groundwater flow paths and the presence of matic changes that alter the South American Monsoon (Bergier cemented soils in the subsurface helps to control hydrochem- et al., 2018). Geological archives of environmental change, istry in these small lentic ecosystems (Furian et al., 2013). The though still relative uncommon for the Pantanal, show that biota of the soda lakes is restricted and often contrasts sharply the region has been at times considerably drier than present, both with macrophyte-covered freshwater lakes of Nhecolan- particularly in the early Holocene, when low insolation in the dia, as well as the deep lakes found adjacent to the Paraguay southern hemisphere tropics weakened the monsoon (McGlue River (Guerreiro et al., 2018; Benito et al., 2018). Perhaps most et al., 2012; Novello et al., 2017; Guerreiro et al., 2018). The intriguing, measurements reported in Bergier et al. (2016) show human population in the Pantanal is low but growing,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Altai Region, Russia)
    Limnology and Freshwater Biology 2020 (4): 1019-1020 DOI:10.31951/2658-3518-2020-A-4-1019 SI: “The V-th Baikal Symposium on Microbiology” Short communication Salt-dependent succession of phototrophic communities in the soda lake Tanatar VI (Altai Region, Russia) Samylina O.S.1*, Namsaraev Z.B.2 1 Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Research Center of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 60 let Oktjabrja pr-t, 7-2, Moscow, 117312, Russia 2 NRC “Kurchatov Institute”, Akademika Kurchatova pl., 1, Moscow, 123182, Russia ABSTRACT. The paper describes the changes that occurred in the ecosystem of soda lake Tanatar VI during the 2011-2019 period when salinity decreased from 160-250 to 13-14 g/l Keywords: soda lake, Picocystis, cyanobacteria, biological soil crusts, succession, nitrogen fixation 1. Introduction salinity. Several types of phototrophic communities were detected in the Tanatar VI (Table): 1) Bottom, A great number and variety of saline lakes are floating and epiphytic cyanobacterial biofilms (CB); located in the Kulunda Steppe in the Altai Region. 2) floating and epiphytic Ctenocladus-communities These lakes are exposed to annual and long-standing with filamentous chlorophyte Ctenocladus circinnatus fluctuations of temperature, salinity, flooding and and cyanobacteria (CC); 3) Blooms of unicellular drying periods due to their locality in the zone of algae Picocystis salinarum (P-bloom); 4) Cyanobacterial cold arid climate. There are soda lakes among them, blooms (CB-bloom); 5) Biological soil crusts (BSC) which maintain stable alkaline pH due to a prevalence developed on the moist soil between thickets of of soluble carbonates in the brines. Thereby diversity Salicornia altaica near the lake.
    [Show full text]
  • Metagenomic Insights Into the Uncultured Diversity and Physiology of Microbes in Four Hypersaline Soda Lake Brines
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Recent Work Title Metagenomic Insights into the Uncultured Diversity and Physiology of Microbes in Four Hypersaline Soda Lake Brines. Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9xc5s0v5 Journal Frontiers in microbiology, 7(FEB) ISSN 1664-302X Authors Vavourakis, Charlotte D Ghai, Rohit Rodriguez-Valera, Francisco et al. Publication Date 2016 DOI 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00211 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 25 February 2016 doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00211 Metagenomic Insights into the Uncultured Diversity and Physiology of Microbes in Four Hypersaline Soda Lake Brines Charlotte D. Vavourakis 1, Rohit Ghai 2, 3, Francisco Rodriguez-Valera 2, Dimitry Y. Sorokin 4, 5, Susannah G. Tringe 6, Philip Hugenholtz 7 and Gerard Muyzer 1* 1 Microbial Systems Ecology, Department of Aquatic Microbiology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2 Evolutionary Genomics Group, Departamento de Producción Vegetal y Microbiología, Universidad Miguel Hernández, San Juan de Alicante, Spain, 3 Department of Aquatic Microbial Ecology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Ceskéˇ Budejovice,ˇ Czech Republic, 4 Research Centre of Biotechnology, Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, 5 Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands, 6 The Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA, 7 Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences and Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia Soda lakes are salt lakes with a naturally alkaline pH due to evaporative concentration Edited by: of sodium carbonates in the absence of major divalent cations.
    [Show full text]
  • Hidden Diversity of Plankton in the Soda Lake Nakuru, Kenya, During A
    Hydrobiologia (2013) 702:95–103 DOI 10.1007/s10750-012-1310-y PRIMARY RESEARCH PAPER Hidden diversity of eukaryotic plankton in the soda lake Nakuru, Kenya, during a phase of low salinity revealed by a SSU rRNA gene clone library Wei Luo • Kiplagat Kotut • Lothar Krienitz Received: 12 July 2012 / Revised: 28 August 2012 / Accepted: 31 August 2012 / Published online: 16 September 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012 Abstract A SSU rRNA gene clone library was Our findings reveal a hidden diversity, which would constructed to establish the diversity of eukaryotic not have been detected by traditional observations. plankton in the African soda lake Nakuru during a phase of low salinity (9.7 ppt = hyposaline). Nor- Keywords Chlorophyta Á Clone library Á Lake mally, the lake is mesosaline (up to 50 ppt) and its Nakuru Á Lesser Flamingo Á Phytoflagellates Á phytoplankton is dominated by few species of cyano- Soda lakes Á SSU rRNA bacteria, in particular Arthrospira fusiformis, which is the main food resource of Lesser Flamingos. Our study recovered a unique phytoplankton species composi- Introduction tion characterized by a high diversity of monadoid and coccoid green algae. Out of 77 clones detected, 52 The phytoplankton of saline-alkaline lakes in the Great belonged to Chlorophyta. Many of the chlorophytes African Rift Valley usually is dominated by cyano- were transported from the catchment area into the lake bacteria, mainly Arthrospira fusiformis (Voronichin) through small seasonal rivers and an outflow of the Koma´rek et Lund (often erroneously identified as Nakuru town sewage treatment plant. Other phyloge- ‘‘Spirulina platensis’’), which forms the food base for netic groups detected were Fungi, Cryptophyta, hundreds of thousands of Lesser Flamingos (Phoenic- Jakobida, Alveolata, Stramenopiles, and Metazoa.
    [Show full text]
  • 24-13 Robert
    www.roavs.com EISSN: 2223-0343 Research Opinions in Animal & Veterinary Sciences Cyanobacterial toxins and bacterial infections are the possible causes of mass mortality of lesser flamingos in Soda lakes in northern Tanzania Robert D. Fyumagwa 1* , Zablon Bugwesa 1, Machoke Mwita 1, Emilian S. Kihwele 2, Athanas Nyaki 3, Robinson H. Mdegela 4 and Donald G. Mpanduji 4 1Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), P.O.Box 661, Arusha, Tanzania; 2Serengeti Nattional Park P. O. Box 3134, Arusha, Tanzania; 3Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) P. O. Box 1, Ngorongoro, Aursha, Tanzania; 4Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), P. O. Box 3022, Morogoro, Tanzania Abstract During the mass die-off of lesser flamingos in Soda lakes of Tanzania in 2000, 2002 and 2004, clinicopathological and toxicological investigations were made in order to elucidate the likely cause of mortality. Water and tissue samples were collected from the lakes and from dead flamingos respectively. While water samples were analyzed for pesticide residues, tissues were analyzed for pesticide residues and cyanotoxins. The significant pathological lesions observed in fresh carcasses included oedema in lungs, enlarged liver, haemorrhages in liver with multiple necrotic foci, haemorrhages in kidneys and haemorrhages in intestines with erosion of mucosa. Analysis of cyanotoxins revealed presence of neurotoxin (anatoxin-a) and hepatotoxins (microcystins LR, RR). Concentrations of microcystins LR were significantly higher (P = 0.0003) in liver than in other tissues. Based on clinicopathological findings and concentrations of the detected cyanotoxins, it is suspected that cyanobacterial toxins concurrent with secondary bacterial infection were the likely cause of the observed mortalities in flamingos.
    [Show full text]
  • Abundance, Distribution, and Diversity of Viruses in Alkaline, Hypersaline Mono Lake, California S
    Abundance, Distribution, and Diversity of Viruses in Alkaline, Hypersaline Mono Lake, California S. Jiang1, G. Steward2, R. Jellison3, W. Chu1 and S. Choi1 (1) Environmental Analysis and Design, University of California, Irvine, CA 92696, USA (2) Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA (3) Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA Received: 25 March 2003 / Accepted: 11 June 2003 / Online publication: 20 October 2003 Abstract Introduction Mono Lake is a large (180 km2), alkaline (pH ~ 10), Viruses are an integral part of aquatic microbial com- ) moderately hypersaline (70–85 g kg 1) lake lying at the munities and can be a significant source of bacterial western edge of the Great Basin. An episode of persistent mortality [27]. They are also capable of mediating chemical stratification (meromixis) was initiated in 1995 processes such as transduction, lysogenic conversion, and and has resulted in depletion of oxygen and accumula- species successions and help to maintain microbial di- tion of ammonia and sulfide beneath the chemocline. versity [6]. Over the past decade, viral ecology has been Although previous studies have documented high bac- studied in a wide range of aquatic habitats including terial abundances and marked seasonal changes in phy- rivers, lakes, oceans and seas, sea ice [16], and solar sal- toplankton abundance and community composition, terns [7]. The results indicate that viruses are truly there have been no previous reports on the occurrence of ubiquitous, though their impact on microbial commu- viruses in this unique lake. Based on the high concen- nities can be variable.
    [Show full text]
  • Microbial Diversity of Soda Lake Habitats
    Microbial Diversity of Soda Lake Habitats Von der Gemeinsamen Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Technischen Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig zur Erlangung des Grades eines Doktors der Naturwissenschaften (Dr. rer. nat.) genehmigte D i s s e r t a t i o n von Susanne Baumgarte aus Fritzlar 1. Referent: Prof. Dr. K. N. Timmis 2. Referent: Prof. Dr. E. Stackebrandt eingereicht am: 26.08.2002 mündliche Prüfung (Disputation) am: 10.01.2003 2003 Vorveröffentlichungen der Dissertation Teilergebnisse aus dieser Arbeit wurden mit Genehmigung der Gemeinsamen Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät, vertreten durch den Mentor der Arbeit, in folgenden Beiträgen vorab veröffentlicht: Publikationen Baumgarte, S., Moore, E. R. & Tindall, B. J. (2001). Re-examining the 16S rDNA sequence of Halomonas salina. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 51: 51-53. Tagungsbeiträge Baumgarte, S., Mau, M., Bennasar, A., Moore, E. R., Tindall, B. J. & Timmis, K. N. (1999). Archaeal diversity in soda lake habitats. (Vortrag). Jahrestagung der VAAM, Göttingen. Baumgarte, S., Tindall, B. J., Mau, M., Bennasar, A., Timmis, K. N. & Moore, E. R. (1998). Bacterial and archaeal diversity in an African soda lake. (Poster). Körber Symposium on Molecular and Microsensor Studies of Microbial Communities, Bremen. II Contents 1. Introduction............................................................................................................... 1 1.1. The soda lake environment .................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded Within This Season
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.02.433535; this version posted March 2, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY 4.0 International license. 1 Spatio-temporal modelling for the evaluation of an altered Indian saline 2 Ramsar site and its drivers for ecosystem management and restoration 3 4 5 Rajashree Naik¶ and L.K. Sharma¶* 6 7 Department of Environmental Science, School of Earth Sciences, Central University of 8 Rajasthan, Bandarsindri, Ajmer (Raj.) India 9 10 *Corresponding author 11 12 E-mail: [email protected], 13 14 Abstract 15 Saline wetlands are keystone ecosystems in arid and semi-arid landscapes that are currently 16 under severe threat. This study conducted spatio-temporal modelling of the largest saline Ramsar 17 site of India, in Sambhar wetland from 1963-2059. One CORONA aerial photograph of 1963 and 18 Landsat images of 1972, 1981, 1992, 2009, and 2019 were acquired and classified under 8 classes 19 as Aravalli, barren land, saline soil, salt crust, saltpans, waterbody, settlement, and vegetation for 20 spatial modelling integrated with bird census, soil-water parameters, GPS locations, and 21 photographs. Past decadal area statistics state reduction of waterbody from 30.7 to 3.4% at constant 22 rate (4.23%) to saline soil. Saline soil increased from 12.4 to 21.7% and saline soil converted to 23 barren land from 45.4 to 49.6%; saltpans from 7.4 to 14% and settlement from increased 0.1 to 24 1.3% till 2019.
    [Show full text]
  • Studies on Microbial Diversity of a Soda Lake in India by Winogradsky Column Technique
    Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2016) 5(4): 608-614 International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 5 Number 4 (2016) pp. 608-614 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Original Research Article http://dx.doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2016.504.069 Studies on Microbial Diversity of a Soda Lake in India by Winogradsky Column Technique Harshil H. Bhatt1, Bhimaraj M. Sharma2 and Vivek N. Upasani3* 1Department of Biotechnology, Kadi SarvaVishwavidyalaya, Gandhinagar 382015, India 2Fisheries Officer, Commissioner of Fisheries, Bharuch, India. 3Department of Microbiology, M. G. Science Institute, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad 380009, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT K eywo rd s Halophilic organisms are found in habitats with a high concentration of salt (mainly NaCl) such as the Great Salt Lake, Utah; Owens Lake, California; Microbial the Dead Sea, soda lakes such as Lake Magadii, Kenya and Sambhar Salt diversity, soda lake, Sambhar Lake, India; marine salterns across the globe, etc. Organisms living in such Salt Lake (SSL), habitat require high salt concentration (5-25% NaCl) and/or alkaline pH for Winogradsky growth. Algae, archaea, purple and green sulfur bacteria are the dominant Column, t-RFLP. microflora of these extreme habitat. Samples were collected from Sambhar Lake and microbial diversity was examined by cultivating halophilic Article Info organisms in Winogradsky Column. Successive changes in the column lead Accepted: to changes in diversity also. Here we report on microbial diversity based on 19 March 2016 photomicrography and t-RFLP method. This is the first report on the use of Available Online: Winogradsky column technique for enrichment and study the microbial 10 April 2016 diversity of Sambhar Salt Lake.
    [Show full text]
  • Alkaline Environments and Biodiversity - Grant W.D
    EXTREMOPHILES – Vol. III - Alkaline Environments and Biodiversity - Grant W.D. ALKALINE ENVIRONMENTS AND BIODIVERSITY Grant W.D. University of Leicester, Leicester, UK Keywords: Alkaliphile, haloalkaliphile, soda lake, biodiversity, bacteria, archaea, productivity, phototroph, halomonad, bacillus, haloanaerobe, methanogen, element cycles Contents 1. Introduction 2. Genesis of Soda Lakes 3. Microbial Diversity 3.1. Primary Production in Soda Lakes 3.2. Chemo-Organotrophs in Soda Lakes 3.3. Methanogenesis in Soda Lakes 3.4. Sulfur in Soda Lakes 3.5. Nitrogen in Soda Lakes 4. Conclusion Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch Summary Stable alkaline conditions are caused by an unusual combination of climatic, geological, and topological conditions. Soda lakes represent the most stable high-pH environments on Earth and commonly have pH values above 11.5. These environments are characteristically associated with a low Mg2+, Ca2+ geology together with rates of evaporation that exceed any inflow. Such environments are found in arid and semi-arid areas of tropical or subtropical rain-shadow deserts such as in North America or in the continental interiors of Asia. Other examples are found in areas of tectonic rifting such as the East African Rift Valley. Despite apparently hostile conditions, these caustic lakes are the most productive aquatic environments in the world, with productivity rates an order of magnitude greater than the mean rate for all aquatic environments on Earth. AlkaliphilicUNESCO cyanobacteria drive these systems, – EOLSS providing fixed carbon that is utilized by a vast range of alkaliphilic aerobic and anaerobic chemo-organotrophs, notably halomonads, bacilliSAMPLE and clostridia methanogens CHAPTERS. There is also active cycling of nitrogen and sulfur in the lakes, brought about by novel alkaliphilic groups.
    [Show full text]
  • UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ Ecology and Molecular Genetics of Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Arsenite Oxidation by Arxa A
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ Ecology and molecular genetics of anoxygenic photosynthetic arsenite oxidation by arxA A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in MICROBIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY by Jaime Hernandez-Maldonado June 2017 Dissertation of Jaime Hernandez-Maldonado is approved: ____________________________________ Professor Chad W. Saltikov ____________________________________ Professor. Ronald S. Oremland ____________________________________ Professor Jonathan P. Zehr ____________________________________ Professor Karen M. Ottemann ____________________________________ Tyrus Miller Vie Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright @ by Jaime Hernandez-Maldonado 2017 Table of contents List of figures .……………………..….………………….…...……..…………...… iv Abstract .……...…….……...……….….………………….……...……..………...... vi Dedication …...…....………………….….………………………...………...…..… viii Acknowledgements ...……………….….………………………..….…..………...... ix Chapter 1: Thesis overview ………...……….……….…………..……..…………... 1 Chapter 1: References ...…..…...…….….………………………..…….......……….. 7 Chapter 2: Microbial arsenic review ………………………………………………... 9 Chapter 2: References …………………….……………………….……..………... 30 Chapter 3: Microbial mediated light dependent arsenic cycle .…………….…….... 40 Chapter 3: References …………………….……………………….……..………... 77 Chapter 4: The genetic basis of anoxygenic photosynthetic arsenite oxidation …... 82 Chapter 4: References …………………….……………………….……..………... 91 Chapter 5: Comparative genomics
    [Show full text]
  • Deducing the Bio-Perspective Capabilities of Fe(II) Oxidizing
    nalytic A al & B y i tr o s c i h e m m e Biochemistry & i h s c t r Mishra et al., Biochem Anal Biochem 2015, 4:2 o i y B DOI: 10.4172/2161-1009.1000166 ISSN: 2161-1009 Analytical Biochemistry Research Article Open Access Deducing the Bio-Perspective Capabilities of Fe(II) Oxidizing Bacterium Isolated from Extreme Environment Somesh Mishra1, Rajnish P singh2, Smita Raghuvanshi1* and Suresh Gupta1 1Department of Chemical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, Rajasthan, India 2Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, Rajasthan, India *Corresponding author: Smita Raghuvanshi, Department of Chemical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani-333031, Rajasthan, India, Tel: +91 9772974341; E-mail: [email protected] Rec date: Jan 05, 2015; Acc date: Mar 26, 2015; Pub date: Mar 28, 2015 Copyright: © 2015 Mishra S, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Rigorous utilization of chemical fertilizers, monoculture and irrigation with surface saline water is globally deteriorating the quality of surface soil. In present work, the halo and alkalo tolarent bacterium strain isolated from extreme environment, was explored for producing plant growth hormones, that could be used for salt stress up gradation of the crops. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used for analysis of salt tolerant bacterium. The bacterium was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa KP163922.
    [Show full text]
  • Tanzania National Single Species Action Plan 2010-2020 for the Conservation of the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias Minor)
    THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND TOURISM WILDLIFE DIVISION Sustainable Wetlands Management Program Tanzania National Single Species Action Plan 2010-2020 for the Conservation of the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) (Photo courtesy Ma Aeberhard) February 2010 For the establishment of Community Based Natural Resource Management of Wetlands Tanzania Na onal Single Species Ac on Plan 2010-2020 for the Conserva on of the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) 1 THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND TOURISM WILDLIFE DIVISION Sustainable Wetlands Management Program Tanzania National Single Species Action Plan 2010-2020 for the Conservation of the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) February 2010 For the establishment of Community Based Natural Resource Management of Wetlands Tanzania Na onal Single Species Ac on Plan 2010-2020 for the Conserva on of the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) © Wildlife Division, 2011 For further informa on, please contact: Director Wildlife, Wildlife Division, PO Box 1994, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Phone: 255 22 2866408, 2866376, 2866418. Fax: 255 22 2865836, 2863496.Foreword E-mail: [email protected]., ii Tanzania Na onal Single Species Ac on Plan 2010-2020 for the Conserva on of the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) Acknowledgements The Director of Wildlife wishes to acknowledge the following: Prepared with Financial and Technical Assistance from: Danida support to Sustainable Wetlands Management Program (SWMP), helped fund the mee ngs, workshops and prin ng of the fi rst dra and publica on. Flamingo Land, supported the publica on of the fi nal document. The support from BirdLife Interna onal for the par cipa on of regional specialists to a end mee ngs, is highly appreciated.
    [Show full text]