[ad_1]
An increase of the acid free zone in the garden. And a decrease in oxygen in coastal areas. These two phenomena have been observed globally in recent years. Lack of oxygen leads to areas where no fish, shellfish or crustacean can live.
Environmental strategies against oxygen deficiency usually involve reducing nutrient emissions. Kevin Vikström proposes a new perspective on the management of the marine environment where maintenance needs to be considered. To combat the lack of oxygen, we need to better understand the distribution of oxygen consumption at sea between growth and maintenance, says Kevin Vikström, PhD student in the Department of Ecology and Geosciences.
Must breathe to move
Breathing means that carbon compounds and oxygen are converted into energy. All animals living in the ocean need energy for their growth, but also for their functions, which means that energy is used to move, maintain vital functions and repair damage.
Already in the 1970s, it was possible to measure a need for oxygen even without bacterial growth. Researchers have also developed a model describing the so-called bacterial maintenance spirit. The model was developed further in the 1980s, but until now, all research has been based on laboratory cultures.
At the ecosystem level, another way to look at the consumption of oxygen at sea has also been developed. The concept is similar to the spirit of maintenance. Microscopic photosynthetic plants were used as explanatory variables. The concept calls basic breathing and is defined as acid consumption when photosynthesis is negligible.
Kokl of the rivers is used to breathe
Coal from rivers and groundwater, for example, can be used for breathing. Thus, primary production from respiration is disconnected from the ecosystem. The effect of respiration and basic maintenance on ecosystems has not been studied.
Today, Kevin Vikström has studied sustaining respiration and basic breathing in a coastal area of the Baltic Sea. And makes an estimate of the annual contribution of both basic breathing and bacterial maintenance.
His results show that the model describing the spirit of bacterial maintenance works to some extent under high productivity conditions and that it would contribute 58% to annual bacterial respiration.
Basic breathing was also important and contributed to 50% of the annual oxygen consumption in the body of water.
– In a broader perspective, the results show that a decrease in bacterial growth using reduced amounts of nutrients does not necessarily reduce the oxygen consumption of bacteria. Instead, growth-based breathing switches to maintenance breathing with a marginal difference in total oxygen consumption as a result, explains Kevin Vikström.
Just do not focus on growth
Base alcohols were mainly derived from coal supplied to the coast by rivers. As a result, there may be different levels of basic breathing in different environments. In an ecosystem where basic breathing is high, a reduction in nutrients will not necessarily reduce oxygen consumption. On the other hand, it is located in an environment where the production of algae by the sea is the main source of coal.
Breathe to maintain vital functions, but not growth, in the ecosystem can be high in coastal areas. Thus, the current growth-oriented environmental management strategy may be inadequate, says Kevin Vikström.
– It is essential to take into account basic management and maintenance in order to understand and manage the development of acid-poor coastal areas in an efficient and economical way.
The thesis:
Importance of maintaining respiration of bacteria and basic breathing for the development of coastal hypoxia.
Contact:
Kevin Vikström, Department of Ecology and Geosciences, [email protected]
Source link
