Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Hydrogenation Of Organic Matter As A Terminal Electron Sink Sustains High Co2:Ch4 Production Ratios During Anaerobic Decomposition, Rachel M. Wilson, Malak M. Tfaily, Virginia I. Rich, Jason K. Keller, Scott D. Bridgham, Cassandra Medvedeff Zalman, Laura Meredith, Paul J. Hanson, Mark Hines, Laurel Pfeifer-Meister, Scott R. Saleska, Patrick Crill, William T. Cooper, Jeff P. Chanton, Joel E. Kostka Jul 2017

Hydrogenation Of Organic Matter As A Terminal Electron Sink Sustains High Co2:Ch4 Production Ratios During Anaerobic Decomposition, Rachel M. Wilson, Malak M. Tfaily, Virginia I. Rich, Jason K. Keller, Scott D. Bridgham, Cassandra Medvedeff Zalman, Laura Meredith, Paul J. Hanson, Mark Hines, Laurel Pfeifer-Meister, Scott R. Saleska, Patrick Crill, William T. Cooper, Jeff P. Chanton, Joel E. Kostka

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Once inorganic electron acceptors are depleted, organic matter in anoxic environments decomposes by hydrolysis, fermentation, and methanogenesis, requiring syntrophic interactions between microorganisms to achieve energetic favorability. In this classic anaerobic food chain, methanogenesis represents the terminal electron accepting (TEA) process, ultimately producing equimolar CO2 and CH4 for each molecule of organic matter degraded. However, CO2:CH4 production in Sphagnum-derived, mineral-poor, cellulosic peat often substantially exceeds this 1:1 ratio, even in the absence of measureable inorganic TEAs. Since the oxidation state of C in both cellulose-derived organic matter and acetate is 0, and CO2 has …


Sea Surface Temperature Rises Shift Migration Patterns Due To Ecosystem Changes, Alexia Skrbic, Hesham El-Askary Dec 2016

Sea Surface Temperature Rises Shift Migration Patterns Due To Ecosystem Changes, Alexia Skrbic, Hesham El-Askary

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The continuing climate change is negatively impacting ecosystems, specifically oceans which are declining and food webs are being altered by the increase of greenhouse gases. The increase of the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is increasing sea surface temperature of the world’s oceans. Certain organisms lower on the food chain like phytoplankton and zooplankton are directly affected by the warming which alters how they process nutrients and their productivity. The limited amount of these primary producers in the oceans and specifically the location they inhabit directly affects all the organisms above them on the food chain. Several marine animals …