Aquatic biosystems : reactions and actions

Permanent Link:: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00010461/00001

Material Information

Title:: Aquatic biosystems : reactions and actions
Series Title:: Aquatic Biosystems
Physical Description:: Mixed Material
Language:: English
Creator:: Philips, Edward J.
DasSarma, Shiladitya
Publisher:: BioMed Central
Publication Date:: 2012

Notes

Abstract:: Aquatic biological systems are a critical part of the structure and function of earth’s biosphere. While attention of the scientific community is often focused on the reaction of biological systems to changes in the environment, these systems also have profound effects, or actions, on the environment. Throughout the evolutionary history of earth, the rise and/or fall of different aquatic biosystems has impacted the character of the biosphere. At no time have environmental changes been more important to all life on earth than in the modern era, which underscores the need for the new journal, Aquatic Biosystems. We welcome submission of original research manuscripts, reviews, and commentaries to the journal.

Record Information

Source Institution:: University of Florida
Holding Location:: University of Florida
Rights Management:: All rights reserved by the source institution.
Resource Identifier:: doi - 10.1186/2046-9063-8-1
System ID:: AA00010461:00001

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COMMENTARY OpenAccessAquaticbiosystems:reactionsandactionsEdwardJPhlips1*andShiladityaDasSarma2*AbstractAquaticbiologicalsystemsareacriticalpartofthestructureandfunctionofearth sbiosphere.Whileattentionof thescientificcommunityisoftenfocusedonthereactionofbiologicalsystemstochangesintheenvironment, thesesystemsalsohaveprofoundeffects,oractions,ontheenvironment.Throughouttheevolutionaryhistoryof earth,theriseand/orfallofdifferentaquaticbiosystemshasimpactedthecharacterofthebiosphere.Atnotime haveenvironmentalchangesbeenmoreimportanttoalllifeonearththaninthemodernera,whichunderscores theneedforthenewjournal, AquaticBiosystems .Wewelcomesubmissionoforiginalresearchmanuscripts, reviews,andcommentariestothejournal.CommentaryWhilethenatureofthelastcommonancestorofalllife remainsenigmatic,geologicalevidenceindicatesthe evolutionofdiverseprokaryoticmicroorganismsearlyin theearth shistory.Around3billionyearsago,theconcertedmetabolicactivitiesofoxygen-evolvingaquatic photosyntheticbacterialedtoanoxygen-enrichedatmosphere,andthedevelopmentofaUV-protectiveozone blanket,bothofwhichprovidedtheantecedentsforan explosionofbiologicaldiversityandbiomass.Twobillionyearslater,theriseofl argerandstructurallymore complexalgaeandaquaticplantsprovidednewhabitats andenergysourcesfortheexpansionofaquaticanimal populations,whichinturnformedthebasisofnewfood webs. Subsequentshiftsinthedominancestructureofaquaticbiologicalcommunities,driveninpartbycontinental driftandsealevelchanges,influencedthechemicaland geologicalcharacterofthebiosphere.Aprimaryexampleofsuchashiftindominancewastheproliferationof planktoniccoccolithiphoresintheearlycretaceous,leadingtovastcalciumcarbonatedepositsontheocean floorandalterationsinoceanchemistry.Modernstudies oftheoceanfloorareleadingtodiscoveriesofcomplex communities,suchasnearhydrothermalventsand submarinebrines,whichmayrepresentasnapshotof theearlyhistoryofplanetearth. Mostrecently,duringthepastfewticksoftheevolutionaryclock,therapidsurgeinhumanpopulationand developmenthasreachedascaleanddimensionthat cansignificantlyalterthestructureandfunctionof aquaticbiosystems,evenonaglobalscale.Theincreasingandwideningthreatsposedbytheactionsofhuman biosystemstotheintegrityandsustainabilityofaquatic biosystemshighlighttheimportanceofunderstanding howthesesystemsfunction,andtheirresilienceto environmentalchange.Understandingtheaquatic microbialcommunityanditseffectsonplantsandanimalsiskeytochoosingasustainablefuture.Itisalso importanttoplacethereactionsofaquaticbiosystems tohumanactionswithinthecontextofnon-anthropogenically-drivenchangesintheenvironment,suchasclimaticcycles. Thecomplexityofthistaskwillrequiretheuseofall availableresources,includingthewiderangeoftechnologicalcapabilitiesdrivingbasicandappliedresearchin the21stcentury.Successwillrequireopenaccessto informationandtheconcertedandlong-termcommitmentofscientists,managersandpolicymakers.This commitmentmustextendtoexploringinnovativeways toprevent,minimizeorreversedamagetoaquaticbiosystems,includingthedevelopmentofengineeredbiosystemsaimedatrenewableproductionofessential resourcesandmitigationofharmfulwastematerials, suchasgreenhousegases,excessnutrientsandpollutants.Inotherwords,count eringtheconsequencesof *Correspondence:phlips@ufl.edu;sdassarma@som.umaryland.edu1DepartmentofFisheriesandAquaticSciences,7922NW71stStreet, UniversityofFlorida,Gainsville,FL32653,USA2DepartmentofMicrobiologyandImmunology,InstituteofMarineand EnvironmentalTechnology,701EastPrattStreet,UniversityofMaryland, Baltimore,MD21202,USA FulllistofauthorinformationisavailableattheendofthearticlePhlipsandDasSarma AquaticBiosystems 2012, 8 :1 http://www.aquaticbiosystems.org/content/8/1/1 AQUATIC BIOSYSTEMS 2012PhlipsandDasSarma;licenseeBioMedCentralLtd.ThisisanOpenAccessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreative CommonsAttributionLicense(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0),whichpermitsunrestricteduse,distribution,and reproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalworkisproperlycited.

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negativeactionswithpositiveactions,inordertoavoid negativereactionsbycriticalaquaticbiosystems. Inordertofacilitatecommu nicationacrosssuchan interdisciplinaryspectrum,welaunchthenewOpen Accessindependentjournalnamed AquaticBiosystems Thescopeofthejournalrangesfromthemolecularand organismiclevelstoglobalsystemsandprocesses, reflectingthewiderangeofresearchinaquaticbiologicalsystems.Thejournalencouragesreportsonawide arrayofenvironments,includinglakes,rivers,marshes, springs,lagoons,solarpans,estuaries,andtheopenseas andocean,andtheirmicro-andmacro-floraandfauna. Thefocusisontherelationshipsbetweentheenvironmentandbiologicalsystems,encompassingmicrobial genomics,physiology,andecology,biogeochemical cycling,foodwebs,paleolimnology,biodiversity,conservation,resourcemanagement,andecosystemstructure andfunction.Engineeredsystems,suchasforaquaculture,renewableresource,bio fuels,biotechnology,and biomedicalproduction,aswellasconstructedwetlands, arewithinthescopeof AquaticBiosystems Thegoalof AquaticBiosystems istobridgeacross freshwaterandsalinesystems,betweenbasicandapplied research,andfromgenesystemstoecosystems.The onlineOpenAccessformatofthejournalisdesignedto acceleratetheprocessofdisseminatingimportant researchresultsandinformation,inordertobettermeet theneedsanddemandsofthehighlydynamicandglobalscience,management,andprivatesectors.Weinvite ourinternationalcommunityoffellowscientiststocontributeto AquaticBiosystems .Authordetails1DepartmentofFisheriesandAquaticSciences,7922NW71stStreet, UniversityofFlorida,Gainsville,FL32653,USA.2DepartmentofMicrobiology andImmunology,InstituteofMarineandEnvironmentalTechnology,701 EastPrattStreet,UniversityofMaryland,Baltimore,MD21202,USA. Received:20November2011Accepted:30January2012 Published:30January2012doi:10.1186/2046-9063-8-1 Citethisarticleas: PhlipsandDasSarma: Aquaticbiosystems:reactions andactions. AquaticBiosystems 2012 8 :1. Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Central and take full advantage of: Convenient online submission Thorough peer review No space constraints or color gure charges Immediate publication on acceptance Inclusion in PubMed, CAS, Scopus and Google Scholar Research which is freely available for redistribution Submit your manuscript at www.biomedcentral.com/submit PhlipsandDasSarma AquaticBiosystems 2012, 8 :1 http://www.aquaticbiosystems.org/content/8/1/1 Page2of2