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| Protists mitigate climate change |
Some simple measurements of the cell size and shape of protists can predict their response to global warming
.
Image source: Duke UniversitySimple measurements of the cell size and shape of protists can predict their response to global warming
Every drop of pond water and a teaspoon of soil is filled with thousands of tiny single-celled organisms called protists
.
They are numerous, and it is estimated that their weight is twice the weight of all animals on the planet
More than 200,000 known protists are often overlooked
.
But Jean Philippe Gibert, assistant professor of biology at Duke University, said that as temperatures warm, they can play an important role in buffering the effects of climate change
Researchers say this is because they eat bacteria and release carbon dioxide into the air when they breathe, just like when a human breathes out
.
However, because bacteria account for more of the earth’s biomass than any other organisms except plants, they are one of the largest natural emitters of carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas that causes global warming
In a study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, researchers tested the impact of climate warming on bacteria-feeding protists by creating a micro-ecosystem-each glass flask contains 10 Different kinds of protists
.
The flask is kept at 5 temperatures from 60 degrees Fahrenheit to 95 degrees Fahrenheit
.
Two weeks later, the researchers observed the species that survived at each temperature and measured the amount of carbon dioxide they released during respiration
The researchers found that the response of each species to temperature can be predicted by some simple measurements of its size, shape, and cell content
.
These factors together affect the respiration rate of the entire community
They also found that by measuring the size and shape of cells and inserting them into a mathematical model, they can be very close to the state of operation of their micro-ecosystem in reality
.
The researchers said: “We can actually use the relationship between the known properties and temperature response to extend it to the entire ecosystem level
.
” This work is important because it clarifies “how climate change will change the microbial community.
Related paper information: https://doi.
