phosphorus

Introduced foxes transformed vegetation on Aleutian Islands from lush grasslands to tundra

...ifference in nutrient inputs was reflected in soil phosphorus levels that were more than three times higher on fox-free islands. The vegetation on the islands also showed significant differences in nutrient content. Evidence that more ocean-derived nutrients were cycling through the ecosystems of fox-free isla...

Man-made wetland's effectiveness similar to natural marsh

...s built in an agricultural area, reduced levels of phosphorus by nearly 60 percent and nitrates by 40 percent. P... ocean. "We saw a pretty significant reduction in phosphorus and nitrate concentrations ?close to the kind of decrease we typically see in a natural wetland," sa...

Molecular messengers perform a crucial role in the ability of injured nerve cells to heal themselves

...problem is that the messengers must transmit their phosphorus message over a great distance along the axon, and ...urse of this arduous journey can easily lose their phosphorus en route. Dr. Michael Fainzilber and graduate students Eran Perlson and Shlomit Hanz of the Weizman...

A hope for oil spill bioremediation

... shore, although the process required nitrogen and phosphorus amendment, these two elements being limited in marine ecosystems. The results confirmed the presence of a microbiota readily able to degrade the contaminant. Further analysis of specific organisms present in contaminated beaches revealed the presenc...

Study shows eutrophic lakes may not recover for a millennium

...results of a study that showed that the buildup of phosphorus in soils in lake watersheds is likely to be the so...g authorities on freshwater lakes. "The buildup of phosphorus in watersheds is very threatening. Sooner or later it is going to hit the lakes and it is going to p...

Toxic flood lifts lid on common urban pollution problem

...igh levels of toxic metals and nutrients including phosphorus thought to leach from building materials, Sansalone said. Organic chemicals are particularly dangerous to fish and other aquatic life because they reduce the levels of oxygen in the water, impinging on its ability to support life. Particulates cloud...

UCR environmental scientists propose chemical solution to cleaning California's Salton Sea

...two kinds of water-treatment chemicals that remove phosphorus and silt from the river water. The researchers i... the Journal of Environmental Quality. "Removing phosphorus from the inflow reduces algae growth, improves water clarity and decreases the odors common at the l...

'Dead zone' summer killed billions of ocean state mussels

...age spills into coastal waters, carrying nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients. Often fueled by warm temperatures and a lack of circulation, this nutrient rush can cause algae blooms. When the algae dies, it sinks to the bottom, where it is consumed by bacteria ?along with dissolved oxygen. This is what happ...

Iron critical to ocean productivity, carbon uptake

... key element to ocean productivity. "Nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients that come up from the ocean bottom to feed the upper water column," Behrenfeld said. "Iron, on the other hand, can come from the deep or from the air, but it also enters the ocean through dust deposited by the wind. Windstorms blowing s...

Tropical forest CO2 emissions tied to nutrient increases

...do at Boulder study. The study showed when either phosphorus or nitrogen -- both of which occur naturally in th...ecause human activities are changing the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen in ecosystems all over the globe, including the tropics, Cleveland said. Tropical rain ...

Better sludge through metagenomics

...cess to make it more reliable." Removing excess phosphorus from wastewater can be most economically accomplis...al means in a process known as enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). The researchers were able to obtain a nearly complete genetic blueprint for a key pl...

New evidence of early horse domestication

... inside the alleged corral had up to ten times the phosphorus concentration as the soils from outside the settlement. Lots of phosphorus can also indicate a hearth, said Capo, but that phosphorus is usually accompanied by a lot of potass...

Fish extinctions alter critical nutrients in water, study shows

...recycling left by an extinct species, nitrogen and phosphorus were maintained at 80 percent of their starting values until over half the total number of species were lost. Studies of complex ecosystems, especially those involving large, highly mobile fish, are almost impossible to carry out in the wild, but n...