ecology Archives

A Schematic for viral participations in key MMP steps via encoding seven AMGs that exclusively participate in MMP. Viruses encoded seven AMGs (fwdF, fae, frhB, cofE, cofF, mtrA, and pmoC; as colored in purple text) to impact the key steps in both methane production and oxidation. The methanogenesis pathway from CO2 to methane is indicated by orange arrows. More information for 17 additional AMGs that could potentially participate in both MMP and other types of metabolism pathways is provided in Supplementary Figs. S1, S2, and Data 5. -- Nature Communications

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

Microbial Viruses Act As Secret Drivers Of Planetary Climate Change

by Keith CowingMarch 3, 2024March 3, 2024

In a new study, scientists have discovered that viruses that infect microbes contribute to climate change by playing a key role in cycling methane, a potent greenhouse gas, through the […]

Number of generic extinctions per century among in different classes of vertebrates. The low number of reptiles and amphibia, which underestimate the magnitude of extinction pattern, is probably the result of the lack of information in earlier centuries, where very few species had been described. The dotted line represent the background extinction rate. PNAS

Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Press Release

Human-driven Mass Extinction Is Eliminating Entire Branches Of The Tree Of Life

by Keith CowingDecember 11, 2023

The passenger pigeon. The Tasmanian tiger. The Baiji, or Yangtze river dolphin. These rank among the best-known recent victims of what many scientists have declared the sixth mass extinction, as […]

Illustration of the modeling combination between a Genome-Scale Model (GSM), i.e., Prochlorococcus MED4 GSM, and an Earth Systems Model (ESM), i.e., NEMO-PISCES, and comparison between growth rates estimated from ESM and GSM. a |From a metabolic network, we defined a solution space embedding all possible fluxes that go through each network reaction. These fluxes satisfy the quasi-steady states assumption and other thermodynamic constraints defined in the GSM. This set of constraints (C1) is defined as biotic constraints, and they affect inner reactions, as well as exchange reactions responsible for the uptake or secretion of nutrients, and a biomass reaction simulating the growth of the organism (color scale similar to panel d., see Appendix 1 for details). b |Earth Systems Models predict global ocean biogeochemistry across space and time. Here the ESM provides uptake fluxes of nutrients for each grid point for each modeled organism. In our framework, these uptake values are used as a set of constraints (C2) on the exchange reactions of the GSM. These are defined as the set of abiotic constraints that are applied in the model. c |C1 and C2 are combined to constrain further exchanged metabolite fluxes at each grid point of the global ocean. As a result, we can estimate the organismal growth rate and all feasible inner fluxes corresponding to a given environment as proposed by the ESM. d |Description of growth rates (h−1) at 5 m depth estimated from NEMO-PISCES picophytoplankton (top) and Prochlorococcus MED4 GSM (bottom). The dashed line shows the transect described in the following panel. e |Distribution of respective growth rates across latitudes and depths at longitude -24o. Grey areas indicate latitudes that do not allow Prochlorococcus MED4 growth because of thermal limits; the GSM does not consider them. The relationship between growth rates across space (above 500 m) and time (i.e., without gray areas) shows R2:0.80 and slope: 0.787 (see Extended Fig. 11). -- biorxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Modeling Genome-scale Knowledge In Earth’s Global Ocean

by Keith CowingDecember 4, 2023December 3, 2023

Editor’s note: As we make plans to do orbital and surface sorties on other worlds searching for life it is certainly useful to use Earth and its diverse biota as […]

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Status Report

Planetary Scale Assay Of Earth Life: The Monarch Initiative In 2024: An Analytic Platform Integrating Phenotypes, Genes And Diseases Across Species

by Keith CowingDecember 3, 2023December 2, 2023

Editor’s note: As we make plans to do orbital and surface sorties on other worlds searching for life it is certainly useful to use Earth and its diverse biota as […]

Tropical rainforest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, near the site of the study. Credit: Marcos Guerra, STRI via NSF

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Plant Biology, Press Release

New Research Suggests Plants Might Be Able To Absorb More CO2 From Human Activities Than Previously Expected

by Keith CowingNovember 19, 2023November 19, 2023

New research published today in leading international journal Science Advances paints an uncharacteristically upbeat picture for the planet. This is because more realistic ecological modelling suggests the world’s plants may […]

Information transmission rate associated with communication (in bits/s) as a function of the calendar year. The dashed line is the rate estimated for the biosphere (assuming it is roughly constant on short timescales) and the solid line signifies the rate for the technosphere given by (3).

Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Societal Issues, Status Report

Opinion: Planetary Scale Information Transmission in the Biosphere and Technosphere: Limits and Evolution

by Keith CowingSeptember 30, 2023September 30, 2023

Information transmission via communication between agents is ubiquitous on Earth, and is a vital facet of living systems.

Reef sharks cruise along a forereef slope, Palmyra Atoll. CREDIT Brian Zgliczynski

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Press Release, Societal Issues, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Theories About The Natural World May Need To Change To Reflect Human Impact

by Keith CowingSeptember 25, 2023September 25, 2023

New research, reported in Nature Ecology & Evolution, (25 September 2023) has for the first time validated at scale, one of the theories that has underpinned ecology for over half […]

The chemistry and biology of environmental systems, one of the causes of color differences in waters, vary tremendously over space and time. That variation has significant effects on how ecosystems function, including the production of greenhouse gases. Image courtesy of lavizzara, Shutterstock.co

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Understanding Planetary Life Signs From Orbit Prior To Away Team Visits

by Keith CowingJuly 30, 2023July 30, 2023

Editor’s note: when we begin to conduct Away Team visits to other worlds that host life we will need to do an assay of how everything on these worlds works […]

The extraterrestrial processes responsible for influencing the diversity of life forms are usually invisible to the human eye. The Milky Way is where large stars explode, leading to supernova remnants whose shock fronts accelerate cosmic ray particles to high energies. Cosmic rays find their way to the solar system, where some collide with the atmosphere producing cascades of secondary particles which ionize the atmosphere. Ions influence the formation of clouds which ultimately affect climate. Therefore, changes in supernova activity change climate, which is responsible for mixing and transporting life's essential nutrients to the ecosystems (Illustration: Henrik: Svensmark, DTU Space).

Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Press Release

A Persistent Influence Of Supernovae On Our Planet’s Biodiversity

by Keith CowingMarch 21, 2023March 21, 2023

Extensive studies of the fossil record have shown that the diversity of life forms has varied significantly over geological time, and a fundamental question of evolutionary biology is which processes […]

Astrogeology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Impact events, Plant Biology, Press Release

A Fossil Fruit Shows Ancestors Of Coffee And Potatoes Survived The Cretaceous Extinction

by Keith CowingMarch 3, 2023March 3, 2023

The discovery of an 80-million-year-old fossil plant pushes back the known origins of lamiids to the Cretaceous, extending the record of nearly 40,000 species of flowering plants including modern-day staple […]

ecology

Microbial Viruses Act As Secret Drivers Of Planetary Climate Change

Human-driven Mass Extinction Is Eliminating Entire Branches Of The Tree Of Life

Modeling Genome-scale Knowledge In Earth’s Global Ocean

Planetary Scale Assay Of Earth Life: The Monarch Initiative In 2024: An Analytic Platform Integrating Phenotypes, Genes And Diseases Across Species

New Research Suggests Plants Might Be Able To Absorb More CO2 From Human Activities Than Previously Expected

Opinion: Planetary Scale Information Transmission in the Biosphere and Technosphere: Limits and Evolution

Theories About The Natural World May Need To Change To Reflect Human Impact

Understanding Planetary Life Signs From Orbit Prior To Away Team Visits

A Persistent Influence Of Supernovae On Our Planet’s Biodiversity

A Fossil Fruit Shows Ancestors Of Coffee And Potatoes Survived The Cretaceous Extinction

Relevance of the Avalon Assemblage as an Astrobiological Analog for Icy Ocean Worlds

The Climate and Potential Habitability of a Warm and Oxygenated Mars

Variable X-ray flux May Explain Variable Helium Escape From The Habitable-zone Exoplanet LHS 1140b

Spacetime Contactability in Galactic Civilization Networks: Contact Counts and Percolation

Surprisingly Enriched CO and CH4 in Halley-type Comet 13P/Olbers: Clues to Its Interstellar Heritage