Volcanic carbon dioxide vents show ecosystem effects of ocean acidification

The atmospheric partial pressure of carbon dioxide (p(CO(2))) will almost certainly be double that of pre-industrial levels by 2100 and will be considerably higher than at any time during the past few million years. The oceans are a principal sink for anthropogenic CO(2) where it is estimated to have caused a 30% increase in the concentration of H(+) in ocean surface waters since the early 1900s and may lead to a drop in seawater pH of up to 0.5 units by 2100 (refs 2, 3). Our understanding of how increased ocean acidity may affect marine ecosystems is at present very limited as almost all studies have been in vitro, short-term, rapid perturbation experiments on isolated elements of the ecosystem. Here we show the effects of acidification on benthic ecosystems at shallow coastal sites where volcanic CO(2) vents lower the pH of the water column. Along gradients of normal pH (8.1-8.2) to lowered pH (mean 7.8-7.9, minimum 7.4-7.5), typical rocky shore communities with abundant calcareous organisms shifted to communities lacking scleractinian corals with significant reductions in sea urchin and coralline algal abundance. To our knowledge, this is the first ecosystem-scale validation of predictions that these important groups of organisms are susceptible to elevated amounts of p(CO(2)). Sea-grass production was highest in an area at mean pH 7.6 (1,827 (mu)atm p(CO(2))) where coralline algal biomass was significantly reduced and gastropod shells were dissolving due to periods of carbonate sub-saturation. The species populating the vent sites comprise a suite of organisms that are resilient to naturally high concentrations of p(CO(2)) and indicate that ocean acidification may benefit highly invasive non-native algal species. Our results provide the first in situ insights into how shallow water marine communities might change when susceptible organisms are removed owing to ocean acidification.     

Anthropogenically enhanced fluxes of water and carbon from the Mississippi River

The water and dissolved inorganic carbon exported by rivers are important net fluxes that connect terrestrial and oceanic water and carbon reservoirs. For most rivers, the majority of dissolved inorganic carbon is in the form of bicarbonate. The riverine bicarbonate flux originates mainly from the dissolution of rock minerals by soil water carbon dioxide, a process called chemical weathering, which controls the buffering capacity and mineral content of receiving streams and rivers. Here we introduce an unprecedented high-temporal-resolution, 100-year data set from the Mississippi River and couple it with sub-watershed and precipitation data to reveal that the large increase in bicarbonate flux that has occurred over the past 50 years (ref. 3) is clearly anthropogenically driven. We show that the increase in bicarbonate and water fluxes is caused mainly by an increase in discharge from agricultural watersheds that has not been balanced by a rise in precipitation, which is also relevant to nutrient and pesticide fluxes to the Gulf of Mexico. These findings demonstrate that alterations in chemical weathering are relevant to improving contemporary biogeochemical budgets. Furthermore, land use change and management were arguably more important than changes in climate and plant CO2 fertilization to increases in riverine water and carbon export from this large region over the past 50 years.     

A paracrine requirement for hedgehog signalling in cancer

Ligand-dependent activation of the hedgehog (Hh) signalling pathway has been associated with tumorigenesis in a number of human tissues. Here we show that, although previous reports have described a cell-autonomous role for Hh signalling in these tumours, Hh ligands fail to activate signalling in tumour epithelial cells. In contrast, our data support ligand-dependent activation of the Hh pathway in the stromal microenvironment. Specific inhibition of Hh signalling using small molecule inhibitors, a neutralizing anti-Hh antibody or genetic deletion of smoothened (Smo) in the mouse stroma results in growth inhibition in xenograft tumour models. Taken together, these studies demonstrate a paracrine requirement for Hh ligand signalling in the tumorigenesis of Hh-expressing cancers and have important implications for the development of Hh pathway antagonists in cancer.     

Allee effects and pulsed invasion by the gypsy moth

Biological invasions pose considerable threats to the world's ecosystems and cause substantial economic losses. A prime example is the invasion of the gypsy moth in the United States, for which more than $194 million was spent on management and monitoring between 1985 and 2004 alone. The spread of the gypsy moth across eastern North America is, perhaps, the most thoroughly studied biological invasion in the world, providing a unique opportunity to explore spatiotemporal variability in rates of spread. Here we describe evidence for periodic pulsed invasions, defined as regularly punctuated range expansions interspersed among periods of range stasis. We use a theoretical model with parameter values estimated from long-term monitoring data to show how an interaction between strong Allee effects (negative population growth at low densities) and stratified diffusion (most individuals disperse locally, but a few seed new colonies by long-range movement) can explain the invasion pulses. Our results indicate that suppressing population peaks along range borders might greatly slow invasion.     

100-metre-diameter moonlets in Saturn's A ring from observations of 'propeller' structures

Saturn's main rings are composed predominantly of water-ice particles ranging between about 1 centimetre and 10 metres in radius. Above this size range, the number of particles drops sharply, according to the interpretation of spacecraft and stellar occultations. Other than the gap moons Pan and Daphnis (the provisional name of S/2005 S1), which have sizes of several kilometres, no individual bodies in the rings have been directly observed, and the population of ring particles larger than ten metres has been essentially unknown. Here we report the observation of four longitudinal double-streaks in an otherwise bland part of the mid-A ring. We infer that these 'propeller'-shaped perturbations arise from the effects of embedded moonlets approximately 40 to 120 m in diameter. Direct observation of this phenomenon validates models of proto-planetary disks in which similar processes are posited. A population of moonlets, as implied by the size distribution that we find, could help explain gaps in the more tenuous regions of the Cassini division and the C ring. The existence of such large embedded moonlets is most naturally compatible with a ring originating in the break-up of a larger body, but accretion from a circumplanetary disk is also plausible if subsequent growth onto large particles occurs after the primary accretion phase has concluded.     

A hydrogen-based subsurface microbial community dominated by methanogens.

The search for extraterrestrial life may be facilitated if ecosystems can be found on Earth that exist under conditions analogous to those present on other planets or moons. It has been proposed, on the basis of geochemical and thermodynamic considerations, that geologically derived hydrogen might support subsurface microbial communities on Mars and Europa in which methanogens form the base of the ecosystem. Here we describe a unique subsurface microbial community in which hydrogen-consuming, methane-producing Archaea far outnumber the Bacteria. More than 90% of the 16S ribosomal DNA sequences recovered from hydrothermal waters circulating through deeply buried igneous rocks in Idaho are related to hydrogen-using methanogenic microorganisms. Geochemical characterization indicates that geothermal hydrogen, not organic carbon, is the primary energy source for this methanogen-dominated microbial community. These results demonstrate that hydrogen-based methanogenic communities do occur in Earth's subsurface, providing an analogue for possible subsurface microbial ecosystems on other planets.     

Low European methyl chloroform emissions inferred from long-term atmospheric measurements

Methyl chloroform (CH3CCl3, 1,1,1,-trichloroethane) was used widely as a solvent before it was recognized to be an ozone-depleting substance and its phase-out was introduced under the Montreal Protocol. Subsequently, its atmospheric concentration has declined steadily and recent European methyl chloroform consumption and emissions were estimated to be less than 0.1 gigagrams per year. However, data from a short-term tropospheric measurement campaign (EXPORT) indicated that European methyl chloroform emissions could have been over 20 gigagrams in 2000 (ref. 6), almost doubling previously estimated global emissions. Such enhanced emissions would significantly affect results from the CH3CC13 method of deriving global abundances of hydroxyl radicals (OH) (refs 7-12)-the dominant reactive atmospheric chemical for removing trace gases related to air pollution, ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect. Here we use long-term, high-frequency data from Mace Head, Ireland and Jungfraujoch, Switzerland, to infer European methyl chloroform emissions. We find that European emission estimates declined from about 60 gigagrams per year in the mid-1990s to 0.3-1.4 and 1.9-3.4 gigagrams per year in 2000-03, based on Mace Head and Jungfraujoch data, respectively. Our European methyl chloroform emission estimates are therefore higher than calculated from consumption data, but are considerably lower than those derived from the EXPORT campaign in 2000 (ref. 6).     

Not just angiotensinases: new roles for the angiotensin-converting enzymes

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is a critical regulator of blood pressure and fluid homeostasis. Angiotensin II, the primary bioactive peptide of the RAS, is generated from angiotensin I by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). A homologue of ACE, ACE2, is able to convert angiotensin II to a peptide with opposing effects, angiotensin-(1-7). It is proposed that disturbance of the balance of ACE and ACE2 expression and/or function is important in pathologies in which angiotensin II plays a role. These include cardiovascular and renal disease, lung injury and liver fibrosis. The critical roles of ACE and ACE2 in regulating angiotensin II levels have traditionally focussed attention on their activities as angiotensinases. Recent discoveries, however, have illuminated the roles of these enzymes and of the ACE2 homologue, collectrin, in intracellular trafficking and signalling. This paper reviews the key literature regarding both the catalytic and non-catalytic roles of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene family.     

Fishes of Bly Tunnel, Lassen County, California

Leon Bly Tunnel, which connects Eagle Lake to Willow Creek, was investigated to see if the water issuing from the tunnel was lake water or spring water and to check reports of its being inhabited by fish. We found that the water was similar to that of highly alkaline Eagle Lake, despite a block placed in the tunnel in 1986. Five species of fish were found in the tunnel, the same species inhabiting both Willow Creek and Eagle Lake, although the creek was much warmer and less alkaline than the lake. The fish originated from the creek. Fish in the tunnel were either not feeding or were consuming snails ( Vorticifex sp.), the principal invertebrate present. The largest fish (35 cm SL) captured were rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ).