Association between Combined Sewer Overflow Events and Gastrointestinal Illness in Massachusetts Municipalities with and without River-Sourced Drinking Water, 2014-2019.

Background: Combined sewer overflow (CSO) events release untreated wastewater into surface waterbodies during heavy precipitation and snowmelt. Combined sewer systems serve people in the United States, primarily in urban and suburban municipalities in the Midwest and Northeast. Predicted increases in heavy precipitation events driven by climate change underscore the importance of quantifying potential health risks associated with CSO events.

Oyster aquaculture enhances sediment microbial diversity- Insights from a multi-omics study.

Unlabelled: The global aquaculture industry has grown substantially, with consequences for coastal ecology and biogeochemistry. Oyster aquaculture can alter the availability of resources for microbes that live in sediments as oysters move large quantities of organic material to the sediments via filter feeding, possibly leading to changes in the structure and function of sediment microbial communities. Here, we use a chronosequence approach to investigate the impacts of oyster farming on sediment microbial communities over 7 years of aquaculture activity in a temperate coastal system.

Salt marsh nitrogen cycling: where land meets sea.

Salt marshes sit at the terrestrial-aquatic interface of oceans around the world. Unique features of salt marshes that differentiate them from their upland or offshore counterparts include high rates of primary production from vascular plants and saturated saline soils that lead to sharp redox gradients and a diversity of electron acceptors and donors. Moreover, the dynamic nature of root oxygen loss and tidal forcing leads to unique biogeochemical conditions that promote nitrogen cycling.

Effects of nitrate and ammonium on assimilation of nitric oxide by Heterosigma akashiwo.

The harmful alga Heterosigma akashiwo possesses a hybrid nitrate reductase (NR) enzyme, NR2-2/2HbN, which has the potential to convert NO to nitrate for assimilation into biomass. In previous research, NR transcription in H. akashiwo was induced by nitrate while NR activity was inhibited by ammonium.

Cold Seeps on the Passive Northern U.S. Atlantic Margin Host Globally Representative Members of the Seep Microbiome with Locally Dominant Strains of Archaea.

Marine cold seeps are natural sites of methane emission and harbor distinct microbial communities capable of oxidizing methane. The majority of known cold seeps are on tectonically active continental margins, but recent discoveries have revealed abundant seeps on passive margins as well, including on the U.S.

Nitrogen fixation: a poorly understood process along the freshwater-marine continuum.

Although N fixation is a major component of the global N cycle and has been extensively studied in open-ocean and terrestrial ecosystems, rates and ecological dynamics remain virtually unknown for the inland and coastal aquatic ecosystems (lakes, wetlands, rivers, streams, estuaries) that connect terrestrial and marine biomes. This is due to the diversity of these habitats, as well as the traditional paradigm that N fixation rates were low to nonexistent, and therefore not important, in these ecosystems. We identify three major research themes to advance understanding of aquatic N fixation: 1) the biological diversity of diazotrophs and variability of N fixation rates, 2) the ecological stoichiometry of N fixation, and 3) the upscaling of N fixation rates from genes to ecosystems.

Evidence, causes, and consequences of declining nitrogen availability in terrestrial ecosystems.

The productivity of ecosystems and their capacity to support life depends on access to reactive nitrogen (N). Over the past century, humans have more than doubled the global supply of reactive N through industrial and agricultural activities. However, long-term records demonstrate that N availability is declining in many regions of the world.

Opportunities and Challenges for Including Oyster-Mediated Denitrification in Nitrogen Management Plans.

Nitrogen pollution is one of the primary threats to coastal water quality globally, and governmental regulations and marine policy are increasingly requiring nitrogen remediation in management programs. Traditional mitigation strategies (e.g.

Beyond Bioextraction: The Role of Oyster-Mediated Denitrification in Nutrient Management.

Recently, interest has grown in using oyster-mediated denitrification resulting from aquaculture and restoration as mechanisms for reactive nitrogen (N) removal. To date, short-term N removal through bioextraction has received the most management interest, but there is a growing body of research that has shown oysters can also mediate the long-term removal of N through denitrification (the microbial conversion of reactive N to relatively inert dinitrogen (N) gas). Oyster suspension feeding and ammonium release via waste and deposition of organic matter to the sediments can stimulate nitrification-denitrification near oyster reefs and aquaculture sites.

Negligible Greenhouse Gas Release from Sediments in Oyster Habitats.

After centuries of decline, oyster populations are now on the rise in coastal systems globally following aquaculture development and restoration efforts. Oysters regulate the biogeochemistry of coastal systems in part by promoting sediment nutrient recycling and removing excess nitrogen via denitrification. Less clear is how oysters alter sediment greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes-an important consideration as oyster populations grow.

Promoting inclusive metrics of success and impact to dismantle a discriminatory reward system in science.

Success and impact metrics in science are based on a system that perpetuates sexist and racist "rewards" by prioritizing citations and impact factors. These metrics are flawed and biased against already marginalized groups and fail to accurately capture the breadth of individuals' meaningful scientific impacts. We advocate shifting this outdated value system to advance science through principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Rebuilding marine life.

Sustainable Development Goal 14 of the United Nations aims to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development". Achieving this goal will require rebuilding the marine life-support systems that deliver the many benefits that society receives from a healthy ocean. Here we document the recovery of marine populations, habitats and ecosystems following past conservation interventions.

A synthesis of methane emissions from shallow vegetated coastal ecosystems.

Vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCEs; i.e., mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses) play a critical role in global carbon (C) cycling, storing 10× more C than temperate forests.

16S rRNA Amplicon Sequencing of Sediment Bacterial Communities in an Oyster Farm in Rhode Island.

Little is known about the impact of oyster farming on sediment microbial communities. Here, we use 16S rRNA gene sequencing to identify bacterial communities in 24 sediment samples collected from an oyster farm in Ninigret Pond, RI. A total of 13,147 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were assigned, with being the dominant phyla across all samples.

Publisher Correction: Ecological control of nitrite in the upper ocean.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Soil Warming Accelerates Biogeochemical Silica Cycling in a Temperate Forest.

Biological cycling of silica plays an important role in terrestrial primary production. Soil warming stemming from climate change can alter the cycling of elements, such as carbon and nitrogen, in forested ecosystems. However, the effects of soil warming on the biogeochemical cycle of silica in forested ecosystems remain unexplored.

Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Oyster Aquaculture.

Production of animal protein is associated with high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Globally, oyster aquaculture is increasing as a way to meet growing demands for protein, yet its associated GHG-emissions are largely unknown. We quantified oyster aquaculture GHG-emissions from the three main constituents of GHG-release associated with terrestrial livestock production: fermentation in the animal gut, manure management, and fodder production.

Urban groundwater dissolved silica concentrations are elevated due to vertical composition of historic land-filling.

Human influences on global silicon (Si) cycling include land-use change, deforestation, and wastewater discharge. Here we quantified the effect of urban expansion and historic land fill on dissolved silica (DSi) concentrations in urban groundwater in a northern temperate city. We hypothesized that historical land use, fill material, and urban infrastructure buried below cities create a unique anthropogenic geology which acts as a DSi source.

Ecological control of nitrite in the upper ocean.

Microorganisms oxidize organic nitrogen to nitrate in a series of steps. Nitrite, an intermediate product, accumulates at the base of the sunlit layer in the subtropical ocean, forming a primary nitrite maximum, but can accumulate throughout the sunlit layer at higher latitudes. We model nitrifying chemoautotrophs in a marine ecosystem and demonstrate that microbial community interactions can explain the nitrite distributions.