Top Conservation Issues to Watch Out for in 2023

Metadata

• Author: Mary Hoff for Ensia
• Full Title: Top Conservation Issues to Watch Out for in 2023
• Category: articles
• Document Tags: #planet
• URL: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/28/top-conservation-issues-watch-out-for-2023-wetland-fertiliser-amphibians

Highlights

• Chitin, a complex molecule found in shellfish, insects and fungi, can be broken down into a treasure trove of useful chemicals. (View Highlight)
• Demand for lithium is skyrocketing as efforts to electrify more things expands the need for batteries. Some conservationists are concerned that the pressure will result in development of new mines with less environmental protection and tapping subprime sources with more severe implications for environmental harm. (View Highlight)
• Emerging technologies produce electricity by using biological molecules to break down other biological molecules, releasing electrons in the process. These technologies open the door to storing energy in batteries made of organic compounds. Such batteries could pack more power into a given space than conventional battery technologies. And they could potentially have benefits for biodiversity by reducing environmental impacts of battery production and disposal that involves toxic metals. (View Highlight)
• Rich in nitrogen and about as ubiquitous as a substance can get, human urine holds huge opportunity for reducing the need to produce and transport artificial fertiliser, which requires substantial energy and so contributes to the climate crisis. (View Highlight)
• Artificial fertilisers have contributed tremendously to alleviating hunger, but at a significant environmental cost: They require fossil fuels to manufacture, produce into planet-warming greenhouse gases, and pollute water and air. One workaround is to plant crops that obtain nitrogen from bacteria living in or near their roots that can literally pull the substance out of thin air – a process known as “nitrogen-fixing”. Until recently, this talent has been limited to a relatively small number of crop species such as soybeans and cowpeas. But now scientists are applying modern tools of biology to expand the capabilities by genetically engineering plants to be better able to take up nitrogen and using synthetic biology to create new forms of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. (View Highlight)
• Natural cycling of saltwater through the top layer of the oceans distributes nutrients needed by ocean life and helps determine weather and climate around the world. As the atmosphere, and so the ocean’s surface, warms, this circulation is accelerating and moving toward the surface, modifying the circulation patterns ocean life and coastal communities – including human ones – have evolved to thrive with. Scientists fear the changes will make oceans less able to moderate the changing climate and support marine ecosystems. They also could make ocean movements and temperature regimes less predictable, interfering with fisheries and ocean aquaculture and thus altering how humans affect marine organisms. (View Highlight)
• Ocean fishers who use nets or traps have long used lights near the surface to attract squid and other target species. Now, some are starting to apply this same approach at lower depths. The shift can be beneficial in increasing their catch. But depending on the circumstances, it could also increase or decrease the likelihood non-target species will be captured along with the desired species. Could the approach also disrupt biology or ecology by introducing light into the dark of the deep? (View Highlight)
• Wetlands found along ocean coasts offer rich habitat for a spectrum of fish, birds and other plants and animals. They also benefit humans by sheltering land from storms, providing habitat for food species and more. Under attack by human development for decades, they are now facing another threat: a rise in ocean levels due to the climate crisis. There is some hope that they might be partly saved by sediment buildup creating new substrate or by moving inland. (View Highlight)
• Advancing technology for identifying microbes reveals that biodiversity is not just about plants and animals: The invisible communities around us are becoming more homogeneous as humans passively or actively alter microbe mixes for purposes ranging from protecting coral reefs to improving our own health. This could affect the ability of plants, animals and biological communities to benefit from the presence of microorganisms. And prognosticators predict we’ll be more actively involved in shaping micro-communities in the future, with implications for policy as well as science. (View Highlight)
• Perkinsea, a protist that kills tadpoles, seems to be spreading from North America to other parts of the world. Scientists have found similar microbes in Central America, South America and Europe. As amphibian trade continues and the changing climate potentially makes more areas habitable for frogs, toads and their kin, researchers warn that the disease could spread farther and faster, disrupting the balance of ecosystems as these prolific insect-eaters disappear. (View Highlight)
• Protecting biodiversity is drawing increased attention, with corporations, financial institutions and other private entities voluntarily or by government dictum beginning to identify and report on their impact on animals and plants and what they are doing about it. As more and more hop on the accountability bandwagon, formal structures for doing so, such as the taskforce on nature-related financial disclosures, are emerging as well. Together these trends bode well for biodiversity with their potential to enhance transparency and action. (View Highlight)
• Conservation biologists are beginning to explore the option of applying the iterative process to developing and testing manufactured substances designed for release into the environment. If successful, this approach could help reduce harm to native species such as pollinators or to ecosystems as a whole by identifying and minimising risks before a chemical is approved for use. (View Highlight)
• Scientists and engineers are hard at work using this principle to develop a new type of battery that uses heat to generate electricity. These so-called thermophotovoltaic systems could help reduce need for fossil fuels, conventional batteries, and large, centralised power plants, all of which have adverse implications for biodiversity (View Highlight)
• Plastic gathers in massive clusters in the ocean as trash dumped in or washed out to sea gets caught up in circulation swirls. The assumption often is that these “garbage patches” are detrimental to ocean life. But sampling shows that in reality they are rich with organisms that live at the interface of air and water. Though not natural, these communities may have some positive benefits in terms of producing food for fish, turtles and other animals. Efforts to rid the ocean of trash would do well to consider how we might protect these communities in the process. (View Highlight)
• As desirable as even monoculture plantations might be for mitigating the climate crisis, they pose a challenge in the form of relatively poor habitat and a risk of spreading nonnative invasive species into native forests, disrupting the ecosystems there. One way to prevent this is to use genome editing to make the plantation trees sterile. However, this too can have downsides, as funds spent in this way are not available for other, potentially more beneficial, activities and the genome editing could inadvertently cause trouble for native species, too. (View Highlight)