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Carver, S. M., Hulatt, C. J., Thomas, D. N., & Tuovinen, O. H. (2011). Thermophilic, anaerobic co-digestion of microalgal biomass and cellulose for H2 production. Biodegradation, 22(4), 805–814.
Abstract: Microalgal biomass has been a focus in the sustainable energy field, especially biodiesel production. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of treating microalgal biomass and cellulose by anaerobic digestion for H2 production. A microbial consortium, TC60, known to degrade cellulose and other plant polymers, was enriched on a mixture of cellulose and green microalgal biomass of Dunaliella tertiolecta, a marine species, or Chlorella vulgaris, a freshwater species. After five enrichment steps at 60 degrees C, hydrogen yields increased at least 10% under all conditions. Anaerobic digestion of D. tertiolecta and cellulose by TC60 produced 7.7 mmol H2/g volatile solids (VS) which were higher than the levels (2.9-4.2 mmol/g VS) obtained with cellulose and C. vulgaris biomass. Both microalgal slurries contained satellite prokaryotes. The C. vulgaris slurry, without TC60 inoculation, generated H2 levels on par with that of TC60 on cellulose alone. The biomass-fed anaerobic digestion resulted in large shifts in short chain fatty acid concentrations and increased ammonium levels. Growth and H2 production increased when TC60 was grown on a combination of D. tertiolecta and cellulose due to nutrients released from algal cells via lysis. The results indicated that satellite heterotrophs from C. vulgaris produced H2 but the Chlorella biomass was not substantially degraded by TC60. To date, this is the first study to examine H2 production by anaerobic digestion of microalgal biomass. The results indicate that H2 production is feasible but higher yields could be achieved by optimization of the bioprocess conditions including biomass pretreatment.
Keywords: Anaerobiosis; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biofuels; Biomass; Bioreactors; Cellulose/*metabolism; Chlorella vulgaris/*metabolism/microbiology; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Fatty Acids, Volatile/biosynthesis; *Fermentation; *Hydrogen/metabolism; Microalgae/*metabolism/microbiology; Microbial Consortia
Notes: PMID:20878208
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Schnack-Schiel, S. B., Dieckmann, G. S., Gradinger, R., Melnikov, I. A., Spindler, M., & Thomas, D. N. (2001). Meiofauna in sea ice of the Weddell Sea (Antarctica). Polar Biol, 24(10), 724–728.
Abstract: Sea-ice meiofauna was studied during various cruises to the Weddell Sea. Foraminifers dominate (75%) the sea-ice community in terms of numerical abundance while turbellarians dominate (45%) in terms of biomass. Distribution of organisms is patchy and varies considerably between cruises but also between sampling sites within one cruise. The bulk of the meiofauna is concentrated in the lowest parts of the sea ice, especially during winter and autumn. However, in porous summer sea ice, sympagic organisms also occur in high densities in upper and intermediate layers of sea ice. Proto- and metazoans associated with Antarctic sea ice include organisms actually living in sea ice, as well as those on the underside of floes and in the underlying water. The sea-ice habitat serves as a feeding ground, as well as an important nursery for juveniles, providing energy-rich food resources. The ice also constitutes a shelter from predators.
Keywords: Sea ice biota; Foraminifera; Antarctic sea ice; Sea ice; Meiofauna; Community composition; Meiobenthos; Antarctic zone; Juveniles; Psw; Weddell Sea; Antarctica
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Krell, A., Ummenhofer, C., Kattner, G., Naumov, A., Evans, D., Dieckmann, G. S., et al. (2003). The biology and chemistry of land fast ice in the White Sea, Russia – A comparison of winter and spring conditions. Polar Biol, 26(11), 707–719.
Abstract: Various abiotic and biotic parameters, including phytoplankton distribution, were studied to investigate seasonal changes within the fast-ice cover in Chupa Inlet, a freshwater-influenced Arctic-like fjord in Kandalaksha Bay (White Sea). Sea ice and under-ice water were collected along transects in the inlet in February and April 2002. Ice-texture analysis, salinity and δ18O values indicated that the complete ice sheet had transformed within 2 months. This resulted from an upward growth of snow ice and subsequent melting at the underside of the ice, which makes a comparison between the two sampling periods difficult in terms of defining temporal developments within the ice. Nutrients, DOC and DON concentrations in the under-ice water were typical for Russian Arctic rivers. Concentrations of nitrate, silicate and DOC in the ice were lower, which is attributed to a loss as the ice forms. The concentrations were also modified by biological activity. In February, there was a strong correspondence between the distribution of biological parameters, including particulate and dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen (POC and PON, DOC and DON) and inorganic nutrients (nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and silicate), which was not the case in April. The correlation between both DOC and DON with ammonium indicates heterotrophic activity within the winter ice collected in February. Sea-ice organisms were distributed throughout the ice, and several assemblages were found in surface layers of the ice. In April, a more typical distribution of biomass in the ice was measured, with low values in the upper part and high algal concentrations in the lower sections of the ice, characteristic of a spring ice-algal bloom. In contrast to the February sampling, there was evidence that the ice-algal assemblage in April was nitrogen-limited, with total inorganic nitrogen concentrations being <1 µ mand a mean inorganic nitrogen to phosphorus ratio of 2.8. The ice assemblages were dominated by diatoms (in particular, Nitzschia spp.). There were temporal shifts in the assemblage composition: in February, diatoms accounted for 40% and in April for >98% of all organisms counted.
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Krell, A., Schnack-Schiel, S. B., Thomas, D. N., Kattner, G., Zipan, W., & Dieckmann, G. S. (2005). Phytoplankton dynamics in relation to hydrography, nutrients and zooplankton at the onset of sea ice formation in the eastern Weddell Sea (Antarctica). Polar Biol, 28(9), 700–713.
Abstract: The quantitative and qualitative distribution of phytoplankton was investigated along five North–South transects in the eastern Weddell Sea during the transition from late autumn to winter. Relationships with the regional hydrography, progressing sea ice coverage, nutrient distribution and zooplankton are discussed and compared with data from other seasons. To the north of the Antarctic Slope Front (ASF) a remnant temperature minimum layer was found above the primary pycnocline throughout summer. Surface waters had not entirely acquired typical winter characteristics. While temperature was already in the winter range, this was not the case for salinity. Highest biomass of phytoplankton, with the exception of the first transect, was found in the region adjoining the ASF to the north. Absolute chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentrations dropped from 0.35 to 0.19 µg/1. Nutrient pools exhibited a replenishing tendency. Ammonium concentrations were high (0.75–2 µmol/1), indicating extensive heterotrophic activity. The phytoplankton in the ASF region was dominated by nanoflagellates, particularly Phaeocystis spp.. North of the ASF the abundance of diatoms increased, with Fragilariopsis spp., F. cylindrus and Thalassiosira spp. dominating. Community structure varied both due to hydrographical conditions and the advancing ice edge. The phytoplankton assemblage formed during late autumn were very similar to the ones found in early spring. A POC/PON ratio close to Redfield, decreasing POC concentration and a high phaeophytin/ Chl a ratio, as well as a high abundance of mesozooplankton indicated that a strong grazing pressure was exerted on the phytoplankton community. A comparison between primary production (PP) in the water column and the sea ice showed a shift of the major portion of PP into the ice during the period of investigation.
Keywords: Weddell Sea; Asf; Hydrography; Phytoplankton; Seasonal change; Community composition; Primary production; Zooplankton
Notes: Isi:000231421200006
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Thomas, D. N., & Dieckmann, G. S. (2002). Antarctic sea ice – a habitat for extremophiles. Science, 295(5555), 641–644.
Abstract: The pack ice of Earth's polar oceans appears to be frozen white desert, devoid of life. However, beneath the snow lies a unique habitat for a group of bacteria and microscopic plants and animals that are encased in an ice matrix at low temperatures and light levels, with the only liquid being pockets of concentrated brines. Survival in these conditions requires a complex suite of physiological and metabolic adaptations, but sea-ice organisms thrive in the ice, and their prolific growth ensures they play a fundamental role in polar ecosystems. Apart from their ecological importance, the bacterial and algae species found in sea ice have become the focus for novel biotechnology, as well as being considered proxies for possible life forms on ice- covered extraterrestrial bodies.
Keywords: Microorganisms; Sea ice; Ecosystems; Polar zones; Antarctic zone; Epontic organisms; Sea ice ecology; Antarctic sea ice; Marine microorganisms; Marine ecosystems; Bacteria; Algae; Psychrophilic bacteria; extremophiles; Ps; Antarctica
Notes: Review
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