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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
An Industrial Chemical Used In Coal-Washing Influences Plankton Communities In Freshwater Microcosms, Danielle Turner
An Industrial Chemical Used In Coal-Washing Influences Plankton Communities In Freshwater Microcosms, Danielle Turner
Honors College Theses
In 2014, 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM), an industrial chemical used to wash coal, contaminated drinking water in 300,000 homes in West Virginia, USA and raised concerns about toxicity to humans and freshwater ecosystems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that a concentration of 1 ppm was safe for human exposure. Despite the concern for human consumption, it is important to determine if MCHM has negative effects on aquatic organisms in contaminated water, particularly plankton communities that comprise the base of freshwater food webs. I exposed freshwater plankton communities in microcosms to 0, 0.5, 1 or 3 ppm MCHM under …
Water Column Ammonium Concentration And Salinity Influence Nitrogen Uptake And Growth Of Spartina Alterniflora, Rachel Mactavish
Water Column Ammonium Concentration And Salinity Influence Nitrogen Uptake And Growth Of Spartina Alterniflora, Rachel Mactavish
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Salt marsh macrophytes, such as Spartina alterniflora, play a critical role in uptake and transformation of inorganic nitrogen before it reaches coastal waters, thereby reducing the potential for eutrophication. Although nitrogen availability typically limits S. alterniflora growth, it may be possible to exceed the nitrogen uptake capacity of S. alterniflora. Increasing either nitrogen concentrations or salinity are key factors regulating S. alterniflora nitrogen uptake. Investigating the effects of nutrients and salinity on S. alterniflora is important given that increases in inorganic nitrogen supply to surface waters from agriculture and urbanization occur simultaneously with freshwater withdrawals that reduce flow and increase …