Global warming and bacteria - Research Paper Example

Global Warming and Bacteria Introduction The earth is surrounded by thick layer of gases thatkeep the planet warm and allows flora and fauna to thrive. These gases work like a blanket, without which the earth could be much colder, making it less suitable for survival of plants, animals and microbes. Climate change is being witnessed due to increment in temperatures across the globe. This makes the earth to heat up, resulting in a phenomenon referred to as global warming. The gases become thicker, they trap more heat within the atmosphere making the earth to be warmer. These extra gases are known as greenhouse gases and include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide which have rapidly increased in the recent past as a result of human activities. Microbes, on the other hand, play an essential role either as generators or consumers of the gases in the environment as they are able to recycle and transform the fundamental elements such as carbon and nitrogen that make up cells. These paper seeks to discuss global warming in relation to environmental microbiology. In doing this, the paper will analyze the general characteristics of bacteria and relate them to the aspect of global warming to ascertain how they affect the environment of microbes Uses of Bacteria Bacteria and archaea are significantly used in cycles of almost all essential elements. For example, in the nitrogen cycle, the nitrogen fixing bacteria such as rhizobium fix nitrogen, which insinuates that they convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into biological nitrogen that plants can use to build plant proteins. Photosynthetic algae and cyanobacteria form a major component of the marine plankton. They play a major role in the carbon cycle through photosynthesis and form the basis of food chains in the oceanic environments. Importance of Bacteria In Global Warming Some species of bacteria are useful in the environment, and in the end can help in mitigating the problem of global warming. Prochlorococcus and synechococcus are single celled cyanobacteria, the smallest yet most abundant photosynthetic microbes in the oceanic ecosystems. Researchers have established that these microbes have the ability to remove about 10 billion tonnes of carbon from the air each year. With this information, scientists hope to find out reasons as to why these cyanobacteria are successful in their photosynthesis and the ability to harness such microbial power can slow down the increases of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases thereby mitigating global warming and reducing significantly the effects of climate change globally. Fungi and soil bacteria commonly known as the decomposers, play an essential role, in breaking down the organic carbon and releasing carbon dioxide back in the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide in as much as it causes global warming, but is also harnessed again by plants, to form energy, through the process of photosynthesis. Effects of bacteria on global warming Ruminants, which are animals with four digestive chambers, the largest of the chambers being the rumen, also contribute to global warming. The rumen has millions of microbes including yeasts, bacteria, protozoa and moulds, which break down cellulose, a major component of animal feed. Cellulose is a tough and insoluble Fibre that makes part of the plant cell. The ruminants cannot break down cellulose directly, because they lack the essential required digestive juices and enzymes to do so. Therefore, they achieve this via the help of methanogens, which are a group of archaea which habitat in the rumen. These microbes specialize in breaking the animal food into methane gas. The animal then ejects this gas through belching, on both ends of the digestive tract. The produced gas (methane) is a very powerful greenhouse gas because it traps 20 times as much as the same volume of carbon dioxide. This implies that methane warms the earth 20 times as much times as carbon dioxide. Soil as a medium carries microbes in it as well. When temperatures increase, the soil microbial activities also increase, proportionally. The breakdown of carbon materials by decomposing bacteria in the soil increases, thereby producing lots of carbon dioxide as a waste product. It is estimated that soil microbial activity can double when there is a temperature increase of about (5°C-10°C). When this happens, there is an increase in respiration, a process in which carbon dioxide is released into the environment, as a waste. This carbon dioxide causes global warming as a greenhouse gas. As global warming occurs, temperatures increase and consequently the microbial activities within the soil increase, producing more carbon dioxide. This process is endless, and can continue up to a point in which the temperatures would be too high, and life unsustainable on earth. This clearly indicate the significance of such bacteria in relation to the environment, and the impacts on global warming at large. Impacts of Global Warming On Bacteria Bacteria present in all living organisms, thrive well in different optimum temperatures, and various optimum conditions, depending on the organism itself, and the part of the organism, in which the bacteria are inhabited. Increase in global temperatures, resulting from global warming, affects the activities of the bacteria, which renders some dormant, inactive or death of the bacteria on the extreme end. When such happens, processes in some ecosystems are completely terminated, due to unfavorable environments. This is dependent on the bacteria species. While some may thrive well in higher temperatures, others may do well in lower temperatures, this shows the diversity of the microbes. As global temperatures rise, and glaciers retreat, the bacteria and other microorganisms lose their habitat, and many probably go extinct. Global warming leads to serious problems in food security. Using the basic epidemiologic triad (host, agent and environment), it is clear that climate, which impacts the three sectors, can have effects on spread of infectious diseases. The occurrence of waterborne diseases caused by bacteria, protozoa and viruses is common. The seasonality of waterborne diseases, and the patterns of the disease that occur as a consequence of temperature, and severe weather events, due to global warming. The microflora of food consists of the microorganisms, associated with the raw material, those acquired during handling and processing, those surviving and the preservation and handling technique, and those of storage. Bacteria and other microorganisms such as viruses and fungi, which are pathogenic to humans, can frequently contaminated food and food supply.The subsequent growth and survival of the bacteria is dependent on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, global warming being part of the latter. (Hall et al., 2002) Global warming leads to the melting of snow on mountain peaks, retreat glaciers and increased rainfall, increased flow of water within the water bodies, floods also occur in some parts. This increase in water movements, results in the spreading on microbes such as viruses and bacteria, from their cradle lands, to other foreign places. This movements, can also lead to the spread of waterborne diseases. For example, in 2004, an outbreak of vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacteria associated with warm ocean temperatures, sickened 62 passengers on a cruise ship when it showed up for the first time in oysters harvested from Alaskan waters, indicating a rise in water temperatures. Methods of Reducing the Effects of Bacteria on Global Warming As discussed earlier, the major greenhouse gases which include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are a threat to human survival and the life on planet earth in general. Therefore attention has to be taken, in the means of reducing the production of this gases into the atmosphere. As for the purposes of this paper, the methods to reduce the production of the greenhouse gases produced as a result of bacterial activities. Ruminants, as mentioned earlier are great contributors of methane, a serious greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. Scientists have come up with a vaccine to prevent bacteria living in ruminants from producing methane. This was tested and approved, though the downfall remains as it can only be applied to domesticated animals, whereas getting to the wild ruminates will still pose a challenge, however, a majority of the ruminants are reared and are easier to accesses and vaccinate. The most convenient method, is for the balance of the ecosystems. This shall ensure that if an ecosystem has bacteria that produce nitrogen, there are other organisms that can utilize the nitrogen in equal measure, to avoid excess release of the gas into the atmosphere, to cause global warming. In a similar manner, when there are microorganisms producing carbon or methane within a given ecosystem, there are other utilizing it. This symbiotic kind of relationship within an ecosystem, tends to reduce the release of the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere hence reducing global warming. Conclusion It is crystal clear, that global warming has impacts on bacteria, and other microbial organisms. And it effects are diverse depending on the bacteria species and location. The effects of global warming are mainly on the bacterial activities as well as the spread and action of the bacteria. It is also evident that bacteria have impacts on global warming, particularly in the formation of the greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane. These occurs within the various element cycles such as the carbon and nitrogen cycles, in which bacteria play very significant roles. Works Cited Dariel B, Microbes and climate change, 2008 Bascatow R, Atmospheric carbon dioxide and radiocarbon in the natural carbon cycle, 1974 Peter M, Ecology and global change, 1994 Tauxe R, Emerging food borne pathogens, 2002 Hall et al, Foodborne disease in the new millennium, 2002. Read More