| 1. |
- Downey, Harriet, et al.
(author)
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Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management
- 2021
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In: Ecological Solutions and Evidence. - : Wiley. - 2688-8319. ; 2:1
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 1. To be effective, the next generation of conservation practitioners and managers need to be critical thinkers with a deep understanding of how to make evidence-based decisions and of the value of evidence synthesis.2. If, as educators, we do not make these priorities a core part of what we teach, we are failing to prepare our students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice.3. To help overcome this problem we have created open access online teaching materials in multiple languages that are stored in Applied Ecology Resources. So far, 117 educators from 23 countries have acknowledged the importance of this and are already teaching or about to teach skills in appraising or using evidence in conservation decision-making. This includes 145 undergraduate, postgraduate or professional development courses.4. We call for wider teaching of the tools and skills that facilitate evidence-based conservation and also suggest that providing online teaching materials in multiple languages could be beneficial for improving global understanding of other subject areas.
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| 2. |
- Zhu, Youjian, et al.
(author)
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Cogasification of Australian Brown Coal with Algae in a Fluidized Bed Reactor
- 2015
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In: Energy & Fuels. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0887-0624 .- 1520-5029. ; 29:3, s. 1686-1700
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recently, the use of algae for CO2 abatement, wastewater treatment, and energy production has increasingly gained attention worldwide. In order to explore the potential of using algae as an alternative fuel as well as the possible challenges related to the algae gasification process, two species of macroalgae, Derbesia tenuissima and Oedogonium sp., and one type of microalgae, Scenedesmus sp. were studied in this research. In this work, Oedogonium sp. was cultivated with two protocols: producing biomass with both high and low levels of nitrogen content. Cogasification of 10 wt % algae with an Australian brown coal was performed in a fluidized bed reactor, and the effects of algae addition on syngas yield, ash composition, and bed agglomeration were investigated. It was found that CO and H-2 yield increased and CO2 yield decreased after adding three types of macroalgae in the coal, with a slight increase of carbon conversion rate, compared to the coal alone experiment. In the case of coal/Scenedesmus sp, the carbon conversion rate decreased with lower CO/CO2/H-2 yield as compared to coal alone. Samples of fly ash, bed ash, and bed material agglomerates were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy combined with an energy dispersive X-ray detector (SEM-EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was observed that both the fly ash and bed ash samples from all coal/macroalgae tests contained more Na and K as compared to the coal test. High Ca and Fe contents were also found in the fly ash and bed ash from the coal/Scenedesmus sp. test. Significant differences in the characteristics and compositions of the ash layer on the bed particles were observed from the different tests. Agglomerates were found in the bed material samples after the cogasification tests of coal/Oedogonium N+ and coal/Oedogonium N. The formation of liquid alkalisilicates on the sand particles was considered to be the main reason for agglomeration for the coal/Oedogonium N+ and coal/Oedogonium N tests. Agglomerates of fused ash and tiny silica sand particles were also found in the coal/Scenedesmus sp. test. In this case, however, the formation of a Fe-Al silicate eutectic mixture was proposed to be the main reason for agglomeration. Debersia was suggested to be a potential alternative fuel, which can be cogasified with brown coal without any significant operating problems under the current experimental conditions. However, for the other algae types, appropriate countermeasures are needed to avoid agglomeration and defluidization in the cogasification process.
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| 3. |
- Crespo, Ana, et al.
(author)
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Phylogenetic generic classification of parmelioid lichens (Parmeliaceae,Ascomycota) based on molecular, morphological and chemical evidence.
- 2010
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In: Taxon. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0040-0262 .- 1996-8175. ; 59:6, s. 1735-1753
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Parmelioid lichens are a diverse and ubiquitous group of foliose lichens. Generic delimitation in parmelioid lichens has been in a state of flux since the late 1960s with the segregation of the large, heterogeneous genus Parmelia into numerous smaller genera. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have demonstrated that some of these new genera were monophyletic, some were not, and others, previously believed to be unrelated, fell within single monophyletic groups, indicating the need for a revision of the generic delimitations. This study aims to give an overview of current knowledge of the major clades of all parmelioid lichens. For this, we assembled a dataset of 762 specimens, including 31 of 33 currently accepted parmelioid genera (and 63 of 84 accepted genera of Parmeliaceae). We performed maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of combined datasets including two, three and four loci. Based on these phylogenies and the correlation of morphological and chemical characters that characterize monophyletic groups, we accept 27 genera within nine main clades. We re-circumscribe several genera and reduce Parmelaria to synonymy with Parmotrema. Emodomelanelia Divakar & A. Crespo is described as a new genus (type: E. masonii). Nipponoparmelia (Kurok.) K.H. Moon, Y. Ohmura & Kashiw. ex A. Crespo & al. is elevated to generic rank and 15 new combinations are proposed (in the genera Flavoparmelia, Parmotrema, Myelochroa, Melanelixia and Nipponoparmelia). A short discussion of the accepted genera is provided and remaining challenges and areas requiring additional taxon sampling are identified.
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| 4. |
- Zhu, Youjian, et al.
(author)
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Fluidized bed co-gasification of algae and wood pellets : gas yields and bed agglomeration analysis
- 2016
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In: Energy & Fuels. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0887-0624 .- 1520-5029. ; 30:3, s. 1800-1809
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Algae utilization in energy production has gained increasing attention as a result of its characteristics, such as high productivity, rapid growth rate, and flexible cultivation environment. In this paper, three species of algae, including a fresh water macroalgae, Oedogonium sp., a saltwater macroalgae, Derbersia tenuissima, and a microalgae species, Scenedesmus sp., were studied to explore the potential of using smaller amounts of algae fuels in blends with traditional woody biomasses in the gasification processes. Co-gasification of 10 wt % algae and 90 wt % Swedish wood pellets was performed in a fluidized bed reactor. The effects of algae addition on the syngas yield and carbon conversion rate were investigated. The addition of 10 wt % algae in wood increased the CO, H2, and CH4 yields by 3–20, 6–31, and 9–20%, respectively. At the same time, it decreased the CO2 yield by 3–18%. The carbon conversion rates were slightly increased with the addition of 10 wt % macroalgae in wood, but the microalgae addition resulted in a decrease of the carbon conversion rate by 8%. Meanwhile, the collected fly ash and bed material samples were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy combined with an energy-dispersive X-ray detector (SEM–EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The fly ashes of wood/marcoalgae tests showed a higher Na content with lower Si and Ca contents compared to the wood test. The gasification tests were scheduled to last 4 h; however, only wood and wood/Derbersia gasification experiments were carried out without significant operational problems. The gasification of 10 wt % Oedogonium N+ and Oedogonium N– led to defluidization of the bed in less than 1 h, and the wood/Scenedesmus (WD/SA) test was stopped after 1.8 h as a result of severe agglomeration. It was found that the algae addition had a remarkable influence on the characteristics and compositions of the coating layer. The coating layer formation and bed agglomeration mechanism of wood/macroalgae was initiated by the reaction of alkali compounds with the bed particles to form low-temperature melting silicates (inner layer). For the WD/SA test, the agglomeration was influenced by both the composition of the original algae fuel as well as the external mineral contaminations. In summary, the operational problems experienced during the co-gasification tests of different algae–wood mixtures were assigned to the specific ash compositions of the different fuel mixtures. This showed the need for countermeasures, specifically to balance the high alkali content, to reach stable operation in a fluidized bed gasifier.
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| 5. |
- Riehl, Jennifer F. L., et al.
(author)
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Genomic and transcriptomic analyses reveal polygenic architecture for ecologically important traits in aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.)
- 2023
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In: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 13:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Intraspecific genetic variation in foundation species such as aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) shapes their impact on forest structure and function. Identifying genes underlying ecologically important traits is key to understanding that impact. Previous studies, using single-locus genome-wide association (GWA) analyses to identify candidate genes, have identified fewer genes than anticipated for highly heritable quantitative traits. Mounting evidence suggests that polygenic control of quantitative traits is largely responsible for this “missing heritability” phenomenon. Our research characterized the genetic architecture of 30 ecologically important traits using a common garden of aspen through genomic and transcriptomic analyses. A multilocus association model revealed that most traits displayed a highly polygenic architecture, with most variation explained by loci with small effects (likely below the detection levels of single-locus GWA methods). Consistent with a polygenic architecture, our single-locus GWA analyses found only 38 significant SNPs in 22 genes across 15 traits. Next, we used differential expression analysis on a subset of aspen genets with divergent concentrations of salicinoid phenolic glycosides (key defense traits). This complementary method to traditional GWA discovered 1243 differentially expressed genes for a polygenic trait. Soft clustering analysis revealed three gene clusters (241 candidate genes) involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis and regulation. Our work reveals that ecologically important traits governing higher-order community- and ecosystem-level attributes of a foundation forest tree species have complex underlying genetic structures and will require methods beyond traditional GWA analyses to unravel.
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