The ASLO journal editors convene this invitation-only special session to recognize authors that published highly cited or highly downloaded articles in 2020-2021 in the ASLO family of journals: Limnology and Oceanography , Limnology and Oceanography: Methods , Limnology and Oceanography: Letters , and Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin. The ASLO journals are a success because authors publish their finest work here. We greatly appreciate the contributions of these authors to our science and to the ASLO community. This session is an opportunity to celebrate the authors and showcase their work, highlighting some of the most influential work in recent years. We invited the lead author or any co-author to present updates to the selected article, describe their evolving research directions, or present a review of the state of the art in their field. Given the broad scope of our journals, these presentations represent the breadth of the aquatic sciences, and some of the most exciting work now underway. Although our selections are based on reader interest, we note that the authors of these articles are representative of ASLO’s broad geographic reach and include several early career researchers.
Lead Organizer: Rita Franco-Santos, CSIRO, Oceans & Atmosphere (rita.franco-santos@outlook.com)
Co-organizers:
David Hambright, University of Oklahoma (lo-editor@aslo.org)
James Cloern, USGS (loletters-eic@aslo.org)
Laura Falkenberg, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (lobulletin-editor@aslo.org)
Paul Kemp, ASLO (lomethods-editor@aslo.org)
Presentations
10:30 AM
Impacts of deep-sea mining on microbial ecosystem services (7162)
Primary Presenter: Maria Pachiadaki, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (mpachiadaki@whoi.edu)
Interest in extracting mineral resources from the seafloor through deep-sea mining has accelerated in the past decade, driven by consumer demand for zinc, cobalt, and rare earth elements. Ongoing studies evaluating environmental impacts of deep-sea mining have shown significant effects on the composition and activity of benthic fauna. Yet, deep-sea mining impacts on the microscopic spectrum of seafloor life are rarely considered. In April 2018, scientists met to define the microbial ecosystem services that should be considered when assessing potential impacts of deep-sea mining. We described potential major losses of microbial ecosystem services at active hydrothermal vents, and major ecosystem service degradation at inactive massive sulfide deposits without extensive mitigation efforts. Assessment of impacts to microbial ecosystem services at seamounts with ferromanganese crusts is too poorly understood to be definitive. We also hypothesized important impacts to primary production capacity and other microbial functions within manganese nodule fields. Indeed, a subsequent study on the effects of a deep-sea mining experiment on seafloor microbial communities at the Peru Basin nodule field, showed a dramatic loss in microbial cell abundances and activities. Growth estimates suggested that microbially mediated biogeochemical functions require over half a century to return to undisturbed levels. Baseline assessments of microbial diversity, biomass, and, biogeochemical function need to be considered in environmental impact assessments of deep-sea mining.
10:45 AM
Micro-by-micro interactions: How microorganisms influence the fate of marine microplastics (7517)
Primary Presenter: Nicole Posth, University of Copenhagen (nrep@ign.ku.dk)
Microorganisms drive the biogeochemical cycles that link abiotic and biotic processes in the aqueous environment and are found intricately associated with debris in the Plastisphere. Due to their small particle size and wide distribution, microplastics are incorporated into the biogeochemical pathways and food webs of the marine water column and sediment. In our 2020 contribution to L&O Letters, we reviewed the state of knowledge on microbe-plastic interactions and summarized the potential impact of biogeochemical processes on plastic distribution, cycling, transport, and sedimentation. We also explored how microbe-plastic interactions influence the exposure of consumers to microplastics and plastic degradation products. Key methods to study biofilm development, microbial biodegradation, and microplastic detection in the aqueous environment were discussed, and extended with a commentary on future questions and research directions. Here, we will review the key points of our communication Rogers et al., 2020 and highlight research of the subsequent years that have since added to knowledge in this area of plastics research. Finally, we will touch on the current state of our research and new perspectives gained on the interaction of plastics with microbes and minerals in aquatic biogeochemical cycles.
11:00 AM
Unoccupied aerial systems, or drones, for monitoring harmful algal blooms: A guide for aquatic scientists. (7516)
Primary Presenter: Edna Fernandez-Figueroa, Auburn University (egf0013@auburn.edu)
Reliable remote sensing platforms and methods for monitoring phytoplankton are needed for mitigating the detrimental impacts of harmful cyanobacterial blooms on small inland waterbodies. Commercial, unoccupied aerial systems (UASs, or drones) present an affordable high-resolution solution for the rapid assessment of cyanobacterial abundance in small aquatic systems by recording the reflectance of photosynthetic pigments found in all phytoplankton (i.e., chlorophyll a) and those related to cyanobacteria (i.e., phycocyanin). This talk will expand on a study published in Limnology and Oceanography: Methods titled “Commercially available unoccupied aerial systems for monitoring harmful algal blooms: A comparative study” in which we evaluated the performance of four sensors, including visible light spectra (red, green, blue - [RGB]) sensors on the Phantom 4 and Phantom 4 Professional platforms, the MAPIR Survey3W modified multispectral (i.e., near-infrared, green, blue) sensor, and the Parrott Sequoia multispectral (i.e., green, red, near-infrared, red-edge) sensor for estimating cyanobacterial abundance. We will discuss why we chose these sensors, how we evaluated our results, what we would have done differently, and which sensors and processing methods work best based on funding and the size and trophic state of the waterbody.
11:15 AM
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: COMMUNITIES OF COLOR & HISPANIC COMMUNITIES LACK DATA ON LAKE HEALTH IN THE U.S. (5835)
Primary Presenter: Jessica Díaz Vázquez, Michigan State University; University of Maryland, Baltimore County (jessica.dv405@gmail.com)
Environmental injustices have widely been recorded and investigated since the 1970s in the United States. However, environmental justice (EJ) studies on freshwater ecosystems are few and mostly at the local scale, in part because of the difficulty in obtaining sufficient spatial and temporal data. In fact, it is not even known whether current water quality monitoring is adequate to understand national-scale water quality in an EJ context. To fill this knowledge gap, we quantified the relationship between community demographics near lakes and lake water quality monitoring. We used two large publicly-available datasets for the conterminous U.S., one with the frequency and location of lake water quality samples (LAGOS-US) and the other containing racial and ethnic population data (U.S. Census). Using water clarity measures, we found that lakes in communities of color and Hispanic communities were both about 3 times less likely to be monitored than lakes in White and non-Hispanic communities, and 7 and 19 times (respectively) less likely to have long-term monitoring data (≥ 15 years) compared to White and non-Hispanic lakes. Widespread inequity in lake monitoring can leave marginalized communities near lakes vulnerable to environmental hazards when those lakes are not regularly monitored for early detection of negative environmental outcomes. It is not enough to expand freshwater monitoring; programs must consider human population demographics in their sampling design to achieve management outcomes that are equitable for communities of all racial and ethnic compositions.
11:30 AM
SIMPLE RULES FOR CONCISE SCIENTIFIC WRITING (5516)
Primary Presenter: Scott Hotaling, Utah State University (scott.hotaling@usu.edu)
One of the most common editorial refrains is “this needs to be tighter.” Typically, this means too many words and ideas are jumbled together and the underlying point is unclear. The writing is not concise. Improving conciseness, however, is difficult because the problem is caused by a host of factors that are hard to identify and therefore easily overlooked, especially by early career researchers. In 2020, I wrote an essay about what it means to write concisely and outlined 10 rules, with examples, to help scientists tighten their prose. This essay has gone on to be widely read and downloaded. In this presentation, I’ll review the recommendations of the essay, how it came to fruition, and why I still aspire every day to be more concise in my scientific writing and encourage others to do the same.
EP006B Author Spotlight: Recent High-Impact Articles From the ASLO Journals
Description
Time: 10:30 AM
Date: 5/6/2023
Room: Sala Menorca A