Permafrost soils found at the poles are particularly vulnerable to climate change because the average annual temperature at these sites is at or just below the freezing point of water. Therefore, even a small increase in local warming can have large melting consequences. This is particularly troubling because permafrost is a large carbon reservoir. The… [Read More]

New Zealand was separated from other land masses eight million years ago when the Gondwana supercontinent split up and the only mammals found there were bats and marine mammals. This isolation has led to the evolution of native species that may not be found anywhere else in the world such as the huhu grub, a… [Read More]

Ocean phytoplankton fix at least half of the carbon on the planet, and ocean viruses are responsible for the largest flux of carbon in the oceans through microbial cell lysis. Even though the viruses outnumber microbial cells 10 to one, however, the processes by which host and virus interact remains poorly understood. To better understand… [Read More]

About 50 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico is the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. The region is the intersection of several regional ecosystems, including grasslands, woodlands and riparian vegetation. The location is ideal for researchers to study how climate variability and climate change… [Read More]

One of the biggest challenges in making biofuels cost-effective is finding alternative methods for breaking down biomass, and particularly, materials such as lignocellulose that provide rigidity and structure to the plant cell walls. To find these alternative methods, many researchers are turning to natural refineries such as the cow rumen or forestomach to learn more… [Read More]

One of the most common types of environmental contaminants, especially in groundwater, is chlorinated solvents. Often used as degreasing agents or for dry cleaning, these compounds have toxic properties and contaminate more than 50,000 groundwater sites throughout North America. Studies have identified several microbial species that can break down these compounds and harness the energy… [Read More]

Earthworms are common soil organisms that influence the fertility of soils by altering the nutrient availability to plants. These nutrients include forms of nitrogen, phosphorous and carbon. The microbial community within earthworms releases nitrous oxide, degrades cellulose, and stimulates the growth of fungi that can break down cellulose. The earthworm egg capsule microbial community represents… [Read More]