| 1. |
- Adrian-Kalchhauser, Irene, et al.
(författare)
-
The mitochondrial genome sequences of the round goby and the sand goby reveal patterns of recent evolution in gobiid fish
- 2017
-
Ingår i: BMC Genomics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2164. ; 18:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Vertebrate mitochondrial genomes are optimized for fast replication and low cost of RNA expression. Accordingly, they are devoid of introns, are transcribed as polycistrons and contain very little intergenic sequences. Usually, vertebrate mitochondrial genomes measure between 16.5 and 17 kilobases (kb). Results During genome sequencing projects for two novel vertebrate models, the invasive round goby and the sand goby, we found that the sand goby genome is exceptionally small (16.4 kb), while the mitochondrial genome of the round goby is much larger than expected for a vertebrate. It is 19 kb in size and is thus one of the largest fish and even vertebrate mitochondrial genomes known to date. The expansion is attributable to a sequence insertion downstream of the putative transcriptional start site. This insertion carries traces of repeats from the control region, but is mostly novel. To get more information about this phenomenon, we gathered all available mitochondrial genomes of Gobiidae and of nine gobioid species, performed phylogenetic analyses, analysed gene arrangements, and compared gobiid mitochondrial genome sizes, ecological information and other species characteristics with respect to the mitochondrial phylogeny. This allowed us amongst others to identify a unique arrangement of tRNAs among Ponto-Caspian gobies. Conclusions Our results indicate that the round goby mitochondrial genome may contain novel features. Since mitochondrial genome organisation is tightly linked to energy metabolism, these features may be linked to its invasion success. Also, the unique tRNA arrangement among Ponto-Caspian gobies may be helpful in studying the evolution of this highly adaptive and invasive species group. Finally, we find that the phylogeny of gobiids can be further refined by the use of longer stretches of linked DNA sequence.
|
|
| 2. |
- Gutting, Alicia, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
-
Atomic Rivers : The (Un)sustainability of Nuclear Power in an Age of Climate Change
- 2023
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The increasingly noticeable effects of climate change are leading to increased advocacy of nuclear energy. Even though the so-called nuclear renaissance has come to an abrupt halt, especially due to the Fukushima disaster, proponents of nuclear energy are promoting it as an inevitable solution to decarbonise electricity production. Yet it has been known since the 1960s that waste heat from nuclear power plants has devastating effects on river ecosystems. Even though countries like Germany and Switzerland have taken measures to limit the thermal load of the Rhine and Aare, the Rhine is still the most thermally polluted river in the world in relation to its water resources. This raises the question of whether the socio-technical promise of sustainability of the current nuclear power plants is at all tenable from a river perspective.On this basis, this paper explores the (un)sustainability of riverine nuclear energy in past, present, and future, tracing its evolution over time from the early days of nuclear planning and construction to today’s – as of yet unfulfilled – dreams of a “nuclear renaissance”. We look at several European rivers that underwent nuclearization from the 1950s onwards, reconstructing the often-harsh struggles among a diverse group of actors for access to sufficient volumes of cooling water, the fight against “thermal pollution”, the negotiations about allowed temperature limits, and the emergence of technical fixes such as cooling towers and artificial lakes as – partly successful, partly failed – solutions to such problems.
|
|
| 3. |
- Gutting, Alicia, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
-
Atomic Rivers : The (Un)sustainability of Nuclear Power in an Age of Climate Change
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Energy Policy. - 0301-4215 .- 1873-6777.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The sustainability of nuclear energy amidst climate change and environmental regulations poses critical challenges, particularly in European contexts where major rivers like the Rhine, the Danube, and the Rhône are experiencing declining water levels and rising temperatures. We scrutinise the operational difficulties nuclear power plants encounter, arising from insufficient cooling water and environmental mandates that prevent the discharge of overly warm cooling water into rivers. These conditions have led to partial or full shutdowns of nuclear facilities across France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Romania, and other countries, emphasising the tension between nuclear energy as a low-carbon solution and its environmental impacts. We explore the concept of sustainability in the context of riverine nuclear energy from three angles: technical challenges posed by water scarcity, regulatory constraints on cooling water temperatures, and the ecological impacts of thermal discharges on riverine ecosystems. In our analysis we reveal an emerging contradiction between ensuring electricity supply and adhering to environmental protections, highlighting the need for a reevaluation of nuclear energy's role in a future sustainable energy landscape.
|
|
| 4. |
- Hirsch, Philipp Emanuel, et al.
(författare)
-
An approach to incorporate individual personality in modeling fish dispersal across in-stream barriers
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 7:2, s. 720-732
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Animal personalities are an important factor that affects the dispersal of animals. In the context of aquatic species, dispersal modeling needs to consider that most freshwater ecosystems are highly fragmented by barriers reducing longitudinal connectivity. Previous research has incorporated such barriers into dispersal models under the neutral assumption that all migrating animals attempt to ascend at all times. Modeling dispersal of animals that do not perform trophic or reproductive migrations will be more realistic if it includes assumptions of which individuals attempt to overcome a barrier. We aimed to introduce personality into predictive modeling of whether a nonmigratory invasive freshwater fish (the round goby, Neogobius melanostomus) will disperse across an in-stream barrier. To that end, we experimentally assayed the personalities of 259 individuals from invasion fronts and established round goby populations. Based on the population differences in boldness, asociability, and activity, we defined a priori thresholds with bolder, more asocial, and more active individuals having a higher likelihood of ascent. We then combined the personality thresholds with swimming speed data from the literature and in situ measurements of flow velocities in the barrier. The resulting binary logistic regression model revealed probabilities of crossing a barrier which depended not only on water flow and fish swimming speed but also on animal personalities. We conclude that risk assessment through predictive dispersal modeling across fragmented landscapes can be advanced by including personality traits as parameters. The inclusion of behavior into modeling the spread of invasive species can help to improve the accuracy of risk assessments.
|
|
