Most natural ecosystems are heavily affected by changes to the human habitat, climate change or invasive species. In order to protect these ecosystems, one needs to know which organisms live in them. Therefore, assessing the state of and change in biodiversity is central to ecology and conservation biology. However, classical methods are often only suitable for determining a subset of organisms. Moreover, they are expensive and involve collecting the organisms themselves.
Recently, scientists came up with the idea of collecting the DNA of organisms from environmental samples instead, such as soil or water, and determining the various species that way. All organisms constantly shed DNA into the environment, such as via feces or skin particles. This environmental DNA is sequenced using state-of-the-art technology and subsequently matched with databases to determine the species. “This completely novel approach has the potential to revolutionize the study of biodiversity,” says Florian Altermatt, a professor at the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag).
NA from mayflies and beavers
Altermatt and his team at Eawag in Dübendorf recently provided practical evidence of this idea by collecting water at various points in the Glatt, a river in the Canton of Zurich, and subsequently extracting all the DNA. “We collected a liter of water, which meant we could extract DNA from a staggering number of species, from aquatic insects, such as mayflies, to the beaver who lives further upstream,” explains study coordinator Altermatt. DNA from thousands of organisms was compared with traditional estimates of biodiversity. This confirmed that the organisms detected actually live in this environment.
In previous studies, the authors had already demonstrated that rivers transport DNA for several kilometers. “This opens up completely novel approaches to collect information on the diversity of organisms in river systems,” says Altermatt. “We can now potentially determine biodiversity in a similar way to the chemistry of the water.” Not only do the individual water samples contain information on aquatic organisms, but also land organisms found along the river. Consequently, the scientists gained a fingerprint of the organisms living in entire catchment areas and demonstrate the potential of environmental DNA for determining the biodiversity of all animals, from aquatic insects to mammals.
Routinely determining biodiversity
The study conducted by the UZH researchers reveals that, through their unique network structure, rivers collect and transport DNA containing information on the organisms in the water and on land. As the method can be automated, it might be possible to obtain data on biodiversity in an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution in the future. “I could imagine that the water samples currently taken by cantonal or federal authorities on a daily or even hourly basis for chemical screening could also be used to record biodiversity,” speculates Altermatt.
Source: sciencedaily.com
Erik Solheim just concluded a two-day visit to Abidjan, a first for a Head of UN Environment in Côte d’Ivoire. The visit provided an opportunity to present the priorities of his mandate and discuss key environmental challenges constraining the country’s development process as it aspires to lift thousands out of poverty.
Norway is one of the most developed countries in the world when it comes to renewable energy sources, the use of oil resources and the profits that the state has of these resources. Serbia and Norway cooperate very actively last 15 years. A large part of the aid is realized through a close and direct cooperation between Norwegian and Serbian governments. There are several great investors such as Telenor that take care of protection of environment and social problems through foundations. Some of those companies act through programmes and innovations. Important priorities in this cooperation are energy and environmental issues, reform of security, justice and domestic sector etc. During holidays we spent few hours with ambassador of Norway in Serbia, Mr Arne Sanes Bjornstad and ask him what he thinks about Serbia and our possibilities for better using of renewable sources of energy, and responsibility of companies which operate in Serbia and have influence on environmental issues. Here is what he said for Energy Portal of Serbia.
Mr. Bjonstard: Serbia is a country rich with renewable energy sources ranging from biomass to hydro, solar and wind. However, in spite of this high potential, the renewable energy sector in Serbia has yet to be developed. One of the first big steps towards developing the renewable energy sector in Serbia was when the Serbian government adopted in 2011 a new energy law, wich included renewable energy as a complementary part. According to SIEPA, there are a number of projects underway in the field of renewable energy in Serbia. It is estimated that over the next five to seven years, Serbia has potential to attract at least two billion euro in renewable energy facilities investment. In addition to this, we should not forget that energy and environmental protection is very important for Serbia’s EU integration, as these areas together with agriculture, make over a half of total EU standards that Serbia is due to harmonise during negotiation process, It is important that Serbia continues with harmonization process and that public authorities take into account the environmental protection when deciding on the development projects.
More than 600 CCS Combo chargers have been installed in Europe so far this year according to data from the CCS Charge Map. The total number of stations now stand at 2,418 and includes 2,186 that are open to the public 24/7, and 218 (either not 24/7, or at least not confirmed as open 24/7).
