Possible Missing Sources of Atmospheric Glyoxal Part I: Phospholipid Oxidation from Marine Algae.

Background: Glyoxal has been implicated as a significant contributor to the formation of secondary organic aerosols, which play a key role in our ability to estimate the impact of aerosols on climate. Elevated concentrations of glyoxal over remote ocean waters suggests that there is an additional source, distinct from urban and forest environments, which has yet to be identified. Herein, we demonstrate that the ocean can serve as an appreciable source of glyoxal in the atmosphere due to microbiological activity.

Possible Missing Sources of Atmospheric Glyoxal Part II: Oxidation of Toluene Derived from the Primary Production of Marine Microorganisms.

Background: Glyoxal has been implicated as a significant contributor to the formation of secondary organic aerosols, which play a key role in our ability to estimate the impact of aerosols on climate. Elevated concentrations of glyoxal over open ocean waters suggest that there exists an additional source, different from urban and forest environments, which has yet to be identified.

Methods: Based on mass spectrometric analyses of nascent sea spray aerosols (SSAs) and gas-phase molecules generated during the course of a controlled algal bloom, the work herein suggests that marine microorganisms are capable of excreting toluene in response to environmental stimuli.

Rapid biodegradation of microplastics generated from bio-based thermoplastic polyurethane.

The accumulation of microplastics in various ecosystems has now been well documented and recent evidence suggests detrimental effects on various biological processes due to this pollution. Accumulation of microplastics in the natural environment is ultimately due to the chemical nature of widely used petroleum-based plastic polymers, which typically are inaccessible to biological processing. One way to mitigate this crisis is adoption of plastics that biodegrade if released into natural environments.

Fluctuating pH for efficient photomixotrophic succinate production.

Cyanobacteria are attracting increasing attention as a photosynthetic chassis organism for diverse biochemical production, however, photoautotrophic production remains inefficient. Photomixotrophy, a method where sugar is used to supplement baseline autotrophic metabolism in photosynthetic hosts, is becoming increasingly popular for enhancing sustainable bioproduction with multiple input energy streams. In this study, the commercially relevant diacid, succinate, was produced photomixotrophically.

Biodegradation of renewable polyurethane foams in marine environments occurs through depolymerization by marine microorganisms.

Accumulation of plastics in the Earth's oceans is causing widespread disruption to marine ecosystems. To help mitigate the environmental burden caused by non-degradable plastics, we have previously developed a commercially relevant polyurethane (PU) foam derived from renewable biological materials that can be depolymerized into its constituent monomers and consumed by microorganisms in soil or compost. Here we demonstrate that these same PU foams can be biodegraded by marine microorganisms in the ocean and by isolated marine microorganisms in an ex situ seawater environment.

Continuous measurements of volatile gases as detection of algae crop health.

Algae cultivation in open raceway ponds is considered the most economical method for photosynthetically producing biomass for biofuels, chemical feedstocks, and other high-value products. One of the primary challenges for open ponds is diminished biomass yields due to attack by grazers, competitors, and infectious organisms. Higher-frequency observations are needed for detection of grazer infections, which can rapidly reduce biomass levels.

A novel framework for analyzing conservation impacts: evaluation, theory, and marine protected areas.

Environmental conservation initiatives, including marine protected areas (MPAs), have proliferated in recent decades. Designed to conserve marine biodiversity, many MPAs also seek to foster sustainable development. As is the case for many other environmental policies and programs, the impacts of MPAs are poorly understood.

High-resolution melt analysis of the minisatellite D1S80: a potential forensic screening tool.

High-resolution melt (HRM) analysis of the VNTR region of the human D1S80 locus, a 16-bp repeat minisatellite from approximately 400 to over 700 bp in length, was investigated. A Qiagen Rotor-Gene Q using the Type-it PCR HRM kit was used to acquire HRM curves for 14 single, and 16 biallelic, dsDNA samples. The HRM analysis was applicable over a range of DNA concentrations; however the characteristics of the melt curve did depend on the forward and reverse primer ratio.

Transforming management of tropical coastal seas to cope with challenges of the 21st century.

Over 1.3 billion people live on tropical coasts, primarily in developing countries. Many depend on adjacent coastal seas for food, and livelihoods.

Transition metal associations with primary biological particles in sea spray aerosol generated in a wave channel.

In the ocean, breaking waves generate air bubbles which burst at the surface and eject sea spray aerosol (SSA), consisting of sea salt, biogenic organic species, and primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP). Our overall understanding of atmospheric biological particles of marine origin remains poor. Here, we perform a control experiment, using an aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer to measure the mass spectral signatures of individual particles generated by bubbling a salt solution before and after addition of heterotrophic marine bacteria.

Navigating change: second-generation challenges of small-scale fisheries co-management in the Philippines and Vietnam.

Early efforts to apply the concept of fisheries co-management in Southeast Asia focused primarily on building the effectiveness of local management institutions and advocating the merits of the approach so that it would be applied in new sites, while gradually learning and adapting to a range of obstacles in practice. Today, with co-management widely embraced by the research community and adopted as policy by an increasing number of governments, a second-generation perspective has emerged. This perspective is distinguished by efforts to navigate and influence change in the broader institutional and governance context: (a) a more sophisticated appreciation of politics, power relations, and the role of the state, (b) efforts to manage resource competition beyond the fisheries sector, (c) building institutions for adaptation and learning, and (d) recognizing divergent values and goals influencing fisheries management.