...Georgianna1 & Stephen P Mayfield1 . doi:10.1038/nature11479 Exploiting diversity and synthetic biology for the production of algal biofuels Modern life is intimately linked to the availability of fossil fuels, which continue to meet the world’s growing energy needs even though their use drives climate change, exhausts finite reserves and contributes to global political strife. Biofuels made from renewable resources could be a more sustainable alternative, particularly if sourced from organisms, such as algae, that can be farmed without using valuable arable land. Strain development and process engineering are needed to make algal biofuels practical and economically viable. D espite limited supply and increasing demand, fossil fuels remain among the world’s cheapest commodities. Prices will inevitably rise once demand starts to outstrip supply, but short- to medium-term replacement of fossil fuels by renewable and more environmentally benign alternatives will occur only if the substitutes can compete economically. One of these alternatives is based on the oils extracted from algae, and commercial-scale pilot facilities to test these are in operation. However, significant improvements are still needed to make algal biofuels economically viable. In this Review, we outline the advantages of algae as a biofuel producer, discuss the different cultivation methods, consider the options for achieving optimal algal biomass and lipid production, and the process engineering needed to make the...
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...kJm-2 year-1. Typically around 20% of this chemical energy is used by the plant for respiration. The remainder is known as net productivity which is available to the primary consumer in the food chain Net productivity: Net productivity = Gross productivity - Respiratory losses. There are two main factors affecting net productivity: - Efficiency of the crop carrying out photosynthesis: efficiency is improved if all the necessary conditions are supplied and there are no limiting factors. - Area of ground covered by leaves of the crop. In a natural ecosystem, productivity is relatively low as there is only solar energy and no additional energy input whereas in an agricultural ecosystem, additional energy is used to increase the productivity of a crop by reducing the effect of limiting factors. Natural Ecosystem Agricultural Ecosystem Solar energy - no additional input. Solar energy plus energy from food and fossil fuels. Lower...
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...Question 1 Most insects use external sources of heat to achieve their operative temperature range. Heinrich's research on the sphinx moth (Manduca sexta) indicates that some insects can thermoregulate by using their flight muscles and: A. using their blood as a coolant. B. decreasing their metabolic rate. C. possessing an internal respiratory system. D. using a countercurrent heat exchange mechanism. Question 2 The thermal stability of aquatic environments is a result of the: A. high specific heat of water. B. low latent heat of vaporization of water. C. low latent heat of fusion of water. D. All of the choices are correct. Question 3 Animals that rely mainly on external sources of energy for regulating body temperature are called: A. epitherms. B. endotherms. C. ectotherms. D. peritherms. Question 4 In general, reptiles are considered to be a/an: A. poikilotherm. B. homeotherm. C. endotherm. D. heterotherm. Question 5 Mammalian and avian aquatic endotherms use all of the following mechanisms to thermoregulate EXCEPT: A. fat. B. internal respiratory systems. C. fur or feathers. D. concurrent heat exchange. Question 6 The water availability for organisms is determined by: A. internal dissolved ion concentrations. B. external dissolved ion concentrations. C. movement of water down its concentration gradient. D. movement of water...
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...A2 level Biology notes By bssjonny Contents A2 level Biology notes 1 Contents 2 Section 1.1 – Populations and ecosystems 2 Section 1.2 – Investigating Populations 3 Section 1.3 – Variation in population size 4 Section 1.4 / 1.5 – Competition / Predation 5 Section 1.6 – Human Populations 6 Section 2.1 – Energy and ATP 8 Section 3.1 + 3.2 – Photosynthesis and the light dependent reaction 10 Section 3.3 – The light – independent reaction 11 Section 3.4 – Factors affecting photosynthesis 12 Section 4.1 – Glycolysis 13 Section 4.2 – Link reaction + Kreb cycle 14 Section 4.3 – Electron transport chain 15 Section 4.4 – Anaerobic respiration 16 Section 5.1 – Food chains and food webs 17 Section 5.2 – Energy transfer between trophic levels 18 Section 5.3 – Ecological pyramids 19 Section 5.4 – Agricultural ecosystems 20 Section 5.5 – Chemical and biological control of agricultural pests 21 Section 5.6 – Intensive rearing of domestic livestock 22 Section 6.1 – The carbon cycle 23 Section 6.2 - The greenhouse effect and global warming 24 Section 6.3 – The nitrogen cycle 25 Section 6.4 – Use of natural and artificial fertilisers 26 Section 6.5 – Environmental consequences of using fertilisers 27 Section 7.1 – Populations and Ecosystems 28 Section 7.2 – Conservation of habitats 29 Section 8.1 – Studying inheritance...
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...A2 level Biology notes Unit 4- Populations and the Environment 1. Populations 3 1.1 Populations and ecosystems 3 1.2 Investing populations 3 1.3 Variation in population size 5 1.4 Competition 6 1.5 Predation 8 1.6 Human populations 10 2. ATP 12 2.1 Energy and ATP 12 3. Photosynthesis 14 3.1 Overview of Photosynthesis 14 3.2 The Light- dependent reaction 16 3.3 The Light Independent Reaction 17 3.4 Factors Affecting Photosynthesis 18 4. Respiration 20 4.1 Glycolysis 20 4.2 Link reaction and Krebs cycle 21 4.3 The electron transport chain 23 4.4 Anaerobic respiration 24 5. Energy and Ecosystems 25 5.1 Food chains and Food webs 25 5.2 Energy Transfer between Trophic Levels 26 5.3 Ecological Pyramids 27 5.4 Agricultural Ecosystems 28 5.5 Chemical and Biological Control of Agricultural Pests 29 5.6 Intensive Rearing of Domestic Livestock 31 6. Nutrient Cycles 33 6.1 The carbon cycle 33 6.2 The greenhouse effect and global warming 34 6.3 The Nitrogen Cycle 35 6.4 Use of Natural and Artificial Fertilisers 36 6.5 Environmental consequences of using nitrogen fertilisers 36 7. Ecological Succession 37 Succession 37 7.2 Conservation of Habitats 38 8. Inheritance and Selection 39 8.1 Studying inheritance 39 8.2 Monohybrid Inheritance 40 8.3 Sex Inheritance and Sex Linkage 41 8.4 Co-dominance and Multiple...
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...| Midterm Review Project | Chapter 4-14 | | | 1/16/2014 | AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CHAPTER 4 EARTH SYSTEMS AND RESOURCES I. The Nature of Ecology a. Ecology is the study of connections in nature i. Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with one another and with their non-living environment ii. An organism is any form of life. The cell is the basic unit of life in organisms. b. Population i. Members of a species interact in groups called populations. ii. Species of the same population live together in a particular place or habitat. c. Communities and Ecosystems i. A community consists of populations of different species living and interacting in an area ii. An ecosystem is a community interacting with its physical environment of matter and energy. II. The Earth’s life support systems a. The different spheres of life-parts of Earth that support life systems. i. The Earth is made up of interconnected spherical layers that contain air, water, soil, minerals, and life. i.i Atmosphere: thin envelope or membrane of air around the planet. Its inner layer is the troposphere; it extends only about 17 km above sea level. i.ii Stratosphere: subsequent layer; its lower portion contains ozone to filter out the sun’s harmful...
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...An analysis of two of the main environmental impacts of global warming and an evaluation of two recent solutions to this problem. Contents page Introduction- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 Causes of global warming- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 Environment impacts- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5 Increasing cyclones and flood risks- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5 Changing marine biodiversity- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -6 Other impacts- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -10 Latest solutions- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -10 CO2 absorption- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10 Renewable energies- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11 Other solutions- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -12 Evaluate the two latest solutions- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13 Summary- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -13 Reference list- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15 Introduction Global warming has become one of the most challenging problems in the world today. This is the observed...
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...Technologies for Alternative Energy Climate Change Working Paper No. 7 Ainsley Jolley Climate Change Project Working Paper Series March 2006 Centre for Strategic Economic Studies Victoria University PO Box 14428 Melbourne VIC 8001 AUSTRALIA Telephone +613 9919 1340 Fax +613 9919 1350 Email: csesinfo@vu.edu.au Website: http://www.cfses.com Technologies for Alternative Energy 1. Introduction In Papers 5 and 6 technologies for the main sources of energy consumption were discussed. In Papers 7 and 8 the attention is focussed on technologies that impact on emissions from energy production. Table 1 provides data on the main sources of GHG emissions in the advanced economies for the year 2000. Table 1. Sources of GHG Emissions in the Advanced Economies, 2000 Source of emissions Electricity and heat production Petroleum refining Other energy production (coal and gas transformation) Fugitive emissions (coal, oil and gas) Total energy production All sources of emissions Note: (a) energy production as % of all sources of emissions. Source: CSES (2004). Tg CO2 -e 3831.2 420.7 324.6 441.5 5018.1 13175.3 % of total 76.3 8.4 6.5 8.8 38.1 (a) Papers 7 and 8 focus on emissions from the production of electricity and heat, which represent 76.3% of all emissions related to energy production. The other sources of emissions are not discussed in detail in this report. Coverage of the issues relating to these sources of emissions is given in CSES (2004). Incremental technological...
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...The Latitudinal Diversity Gradient Hypothesis: the state of knowledge Biogeography Spring 2013, Term Paper Title: Latitudinal Diversity Gradient Hypothesis, the state of knowledge By Schibon 1. Introduction Latitudinal gradients in species diversity are generally understood to be increases in the number of species from high (cold-temperate) to low (warm) latitudes (Rohde, 2011). As early as 1807, von Humboldt provided the first formulation for this hypothesis (based on climate) to explain latitudinal gradients of richness (Hawkins 2001) which has remained one of the key questions in Evolutionary Ecology. No single pattern of biodiversity has fascinated ecologists more than the increase of richness toward the Tropics (Pianka 1966; Rohde 1992; Rosenzweig 1995; Gaston and Blackburn 2000). Still, there is an astonishing lack of consensus about the mechanisms leading to this spatial variation in diversity (Hillebrand, 2004). As the search for a primary cause to this latitudinal gradient has been hampered by the increase number of hypotheses (Pianka 1966; Rohde 1992), their interdependence (Currie 1991; Gaston and Blackburn 2000), and the lack of rigorous falsification (Currie et al. 1999), it makes sense to assess the current state of knowledge on this issue. The current paper aims at updating on the current state of knowledge concerning the latitudinal diversity gradient particularly through reviewing the most dominant hypotheses and theories striving...
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...EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: AGRICULTURAL AND ANIMAL WASTE TO ENERGY Kathleen Cimino, Kimberly Andros, Teresa Bartley NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT University of Maryland University College Spring 2009 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Waste to energy definition/history/uses 1.2 Agricultural / Animal waste production 1.3 Graph, chart, quantities produced in United States, etc.. 2.0 Conversion of w2e 2.1 Conversion Pathways 2.1.1 Thermochemical 2.1.2 Biochemical 2.1.3 Physico-chemical 2.2 Factors affecting energy recovery 3.0 Agricultural Residue 3.1 Introduction to residue 3.2 What is it 3.3 Where is it produced 3.4 What is role in environment 3.4.1 Environmental risks 3.4.2 Health risks 3.5 Conversion of agricultural residue to energy 3.5.1 Process 3.5.2 Risks 3.5.3 Benefits 3.5.4 Future as energy source 4.0 Animal Wastes 4.1 Introduction to animal waste 4.2 What is animal waste comprised of 4.3 Where is it produced 4.4 What is its role in environment 4.4.1 Environmental risks 4.4.2 Health risks Table of Contents (Cont’d) 4.5 Conversion of animal waste to energy 4.5.1 Process 4.5.2 Risks 4.5.3 Benefits 4.5.4 Future as Energy source 5.0 Processes/Regulations/Technology 5.1 Availability of w2e facilities, costs 5.2 Technological benefits/risks 5.2.1 Other information on technology of w2e, production, transportation, environmental implications 5.3 Regulation governing...
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...EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: AGRICULTURAL AND ANIMAL WASTE TO ENERGY NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT University of Maryland University College Spring 2009 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Waste to energy definition/history/uses 1.2 Agricultural / Animal waste production 1.3 Graph, chart, quantities produced in United States, etc.. 2.0 Conversion of w2e 2.1 Conversion Pathways 2.1.1 Thermochemical 2.1.2 Biochemical 2.1.3 Physico-chemical 2.2 Factors affecting energy recovery 3.0 Agricultural Residue 3.1 Introduction to residue 3.2 What is it 3.3 Where is it produced 3.4 What is role in environment 3.4.1 Environmental risks 3.4.2 Health risks 3.5 Conversion of agricultural residue to energy 3.5.1 Process 3.5.2 Risks 3.5.3 Benefits 3.5.4 Future as energy source 4.0 Animal Wastes 4.1 Introduction to animal waste 4.2 What is animal waste comprised of 4.3 Where is it produced 4.4 What is its role in environment 4.4.1 Environmental risks 4.4.2 Health risks Table of Contents (Cont’d) 4.5 Conversion of animal waste to energy 4.5.1 Process 4.5.2 Risks 4.5.3 Benefits 4.5.4 Future as Energy source 5.0 Processes/Regulations/Technology 5.1 Availability of w2e facilities, costs 5.2 Technological benefits/risks 5.2.1 Other information on technology of w2e, production, transportation, environmental implications 5.3 Regulation governing w2e 6.0 Recommendations 6.1 Policy recommendations/guidelines...
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...New developments in agribusiness have emerged which have entirely transformed, not only the agricultural sector but the entire business environment. These include areas such as management and leadership, technology, changes in the environmental factors – ecological factors and the like. Traditionally management was viewed as an insignificant part of the organizational structure. Decision makers in the 21st century are more aware of the need to utilize resources more efficiently, both Human and non-human. In both cases there has been an improvement from the old to current. In management Managers had adopted a dictatorial rather autoritarian kind of leadership to achieve goals, mainly preferring a top down approach to work, resulting in high staff turnover and employee dissatisfaction. Decision making was less participatory. In the 21st century, the tall structure has been flattened so that bureaucracy is reduced. There is a more participatory approach to management where communication is both vertical and horizontal. Currently a number of organizations are adapting a bottom up approach while ensuring that decisions making is participatory. The human resource was viewed as a burden and an extra cost to the organization whereas today it is viewed as an investment for the purpose of achieving both individual and organizational goals. Traditionally...
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...Lawton, Robert V. ONeill, Harold A. Mooney, Osvaldo E. Sala, Amy J. Symstad, and David Tilman Critical processes at the ecosystem level influence plant productivity, soil fertility, water quality, atmospheric chemistry, and many other local and global environmental conditions that ultimately affect human welfare. These ecosystem processes are controlled by both the diversity and identity of the plant, animal, and microbial species living within a community. Human modifications to the living community in an ecosystem as well as to the collective biodiversity of the earth can therefore alter ecological functions and life support services that are vital to the well-being of human societies. Substantial changes have already occurred, especially local and global losses of biodiversity. The primary cause has been widespread human transformation of once highly diverse natural ecosystems into relatively species-poor managed ecosystems. Recent studies suggest that such reductions in biodiversity can alter both the magnitude and the stability of ecosystem processes, especially when biodiversity is reduced to the low levels typical of many managed systems. Our review of the available evidence has identified the following certainties concerning biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: • • • • Human impacts on global biodiversity have been dramatic, resulting in unprecedented losses in global biodiversity at all levels, from genes and species to entire...
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...use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms, minimizes pollution of air, soil and water, and optimizes the health and productivity of interdependent communities of plants, animals and people 1. To achieve this, organic farming relies on a number of objectives and principles, as well as common practices designed to minimise the human impact on the environment, while ensuring the agricultural system operates as naturally as possible2. Typical organic farming practices include2: • Wide crop rotation as a prerequisite for an efficient use of on-site resources • Very strict limits on chemical synthetic pesticide and synthetic fertiliser use, livestock antibiotics, food additives and processing aids and other inputs • Prohibition of the use of genetically modified organisms • Taking advantage of on-site resources, such as livestock manure for fertiliser or feed produced on the farm • Choosing plant and animal species that are resistant to disease and adapted to local conditions • Raising livestock in free-range, open-air systems and providing them with organic feed • Using animal husbandry practices appropriate to different livestock species Intensive farming is an agricultural system that aims to get maximum yield from the available land. This farming technique is also applied in supplying livestock. Under this system, food is produced in large quantities with the help of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that are appropriately used to save...
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...Biology – Module 1 – A Local Ecosystem The distribution, diversity and numbers of plants and animals found in ecosystems are determined by biotic and abiotic factors. Compare the abiotic characteristics of aquatic and terrestrial environments. An aquatic environment is one that consists in water. The abiotic characteristics of an aquatic environment include: Buoyancy – This refers to the upward pressure (or thrust) that is applied on the organism by its medium. Buoyancy is determined by the density of the medium and determines the floating ability of an organism. Water provides sufficient buoyancy for many organisms, e.g., the jellyfish. If a jellyfish is taken out of water and placed on land it will disintegrate by spreading apart. Thus, the water provides enough buoyancy (pressure) in order to keep the shape of the jellyfish. Pressure – This is the downward force that is applied on an organism by its medium. In water, the pressure is dependent on the depth. Organisms that live at the bottom of the ocean experience the effects of extreme pressure and they must have specific adaptations that enable them to survive in such harsh environments. Temperature Variations – Usually in an aquatic environment there are minimal temperature variations to that compared with terrestrial environments. The temperature variations also depend on the size of the body of water; a large body of water will experience much less temperature variations than a smaller body...
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