Browsing by Author "Smith, C"

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    Elucidating stygofaunal trophic web interactions via isotopic ecology
    (PLOS One, 2019-10-16) Saccò, M; Blyth, AJ; Humphreys, WF; Kuhl, A; Mazumder, D; Smith, C; Grice, K
    Subterranean ecosystems host highly adapted aquatic invertebrate biota which play a key role in sustaining groundwater ecological functioning and hydrological dynamics. However, functional biodiversity studies in groundwater environments, the main source of unfrozen freshwater on Earth, are scarce, probably due to the cryptic nature of the systems. To address this, we investigate groundwater trophic ecology via stable isotope analysis, employing δ13C and δ15N in bulk tissues, and amino acids. Specimens were collected from a shallow calcrete aquifer in the arid Yilgarn region of Western Australia: a well-known hot-spot for stygofaunal biodiversity. Sampling campaigns were carried out during dry (low rainfall: LR) and the wet (high rainfall: HR) periods. δ13C values indicate that most of the stygofauna shifted towards more 13C-depleted carbon sources under HR, suggesting a preference for fresher organic matter. Conversion of δ15N values in glutamic acid and phenylalanine to a trophic index showed broadly stable trophic levels with organisms clustering as low-level secondary consumers. However, mixing models indicate that HR conditions trigger changes in dietary preferences, with increasing predation of amphipods by beetle larvae. Overall, stygofauna showed a tendency towards opportunistic and omnivorous habits—typical of an ecologically tolerant community—shaped by bottom-up controls linked with changes in carbon flows. This study provides baseline biochemical and ecological data for stygofaunal trophic interactions in calcretes. Further studies on the carbon inputs and taxa-specific physiology will help refine the interpretation of the energy flows shaping biodiversity in groundwaters. This will aid understanding of groundwater ecosystem functioning and allow modelling of the impact of future climate change factors such as aridification. Subterranean ecosystems host highly adapted aquatic invertebrate biota which play a key role in sustaining groundwater ecological functioning and hydrological dynamics. However, functional biodiversity studies in groundwater environments, the main source of unfrozen freshwater on Earth, are scarce, probably due to the cryptic nature of the systems. To address this, we investigate groundwater trophic ecology via stable isotope analysis, employing δ13C and δ15N in bulk tissues, and amino acids. Specimens were collected from a shallow calcrete aquifer in the arid Yilgarn region of Western Australia: a well-known hot-spot for stygofaunal biodiversity. Sampling campaigns were carried out during dry (low rainfall: LR) and the wet (high rainfall: HR) periods. δ13C values indicate that most of the stygofauna shifted towards more 13C-depleted carbon sources under HR, suggesting a preference for fresher organic matter. Conversion of δ15N values in glutamic acid and phenylalanine to a trophic index showed broadly stable trophic levels with organisms clustering as low-level secondary consumers. However, mixing models indicate that HR conditions trigger changes in dietary preferences, with increasing predation of amphipods by beetle larvae. Overall, stygofauna showed a tendency towards opportunistic and omnivorous habits—typical of an ecologically tolerant community—shaped by bottom-up controls linked with changes in carbon flows. This study provides baseline biochemical and ecological data for stygofaunal trophic interactions in calcretes. Further studies on the carbon inputs and taxa-specific physiology will help refine the interpretation of the energy flows shaping biodiversity in groundwaters. This will aid understanding of groundwater ecosystem functioning and allow modelling of the impact of future climate change factors such as aridification. © 2019 Saccò et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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    Rainfall as a trigger of ecological cascade effects in an Australian groundwater ecosystem
    (Springer Nature Limited, 2021-02-12) Saccò, M; Blyth, AJ; Humphreys, WF; Cooper, SJB; White, NE; Mousavi-Derazmahalleh, M; Hua, Q; Mazumder, D; Smith, C; Griebler, C; Grice, K
    Groundwaters host vital resources playing a key role in the near future. Subterranean fauna and microbes are crucial in regulating organic cycles in environments characterized by low energy and scarce carbon availability. However, our knowledge about the functioning of groundwater ecosystems is limited, despite being increasingly exposed to anthropic impacts and climate change-related processes. In this work we apply novel biochemical and genetic techniques to investigate the ecological dynamics of an Australian calcrete under two contrasting rainfall periods (LR—low rainfall and HR—high rainfall). Our results indicate that the microbial gut community of copepods and amphipods experienced a shift in taxonomic diversity and predicted organic functional metabolic pathways during HR. The HR regime triggered a cascade effect driven by microbes (OM processors) and exploited by copepods and amphipods (primary and secondary consumers), which was finally transferred to the aquatic beetles (top predators). Our findings highlight that rainfall triggers ecological shifts towards more deterministic dynamics, revealing a complex web of interactions in seemingly simple environmental settings. Here we show how a combined isotopic-molecular approach can untangle the mechanisms shaping a calcrete community. This design will help manage and preserve one of the most vital but underrated ecosystems worldwide. © 2021 The Authors Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
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    Synthesis of hexa aza cages, SarAr-NCS and AmBaSar and a study of their metal complexation, conjugation to nanomaterials and proteins for application in radioimaging and therapy
    (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2013-07-01) Mume, E; Asad, A; Di Bartolo, NM; Kong, L; Smith, C; Sargeson, AM; Price, R
    A novel hexa aza cage, N1-(4-isothiocyanatobenzyl)-3,6,10,13,16,19-hexaazabicyclo[6.6.6]icosane-1,8-diamine (SarAr-NCS) was synthesized in good yield and characterized by 1H NMR and electrospray mass spectrometry. A new method for the synthesis of the related N1-(4-carboxybenzyl)-3,6,10,13,16,19-hexaazabicyclo[6.6.6]icosane-1,8-diamine (AmBaSar) using the p-carboxybenzaldehyde is reported. The complexation of Cu2+, Co2+ and Zn2+ by the two ligands over a range of pHs was found to be similar to the parent derivative SarAr. SarAr-NCS was conjugated to both silica particles (≈90 nm diam.) and the model B72.3 murine antibody. The SarAr-NCSN-silica particles were radiolabeled with Cu2+ doped 64Cu and the number of ligands conjugated was calculated to be an average of 7020 ligands per particle. Conjugation of SarAr-NCS to the B72.3 antibody was optimized over a range of conditions. The SarAr-NCSN-B72.3 conjugate was stored in buffer and as a lyophilized powder at 4 °C over 38 days. Its radiolabeling efficiency, stability and immunoreactivity were maintained. The development of a high yielding synthesis of SarAr-NCS should provide an entry point for a wide range of Cu and Zn radiometal PET imaging agents and potentially radiotherapeutic agents with 67Cu. © 2013, The Royal Society of Chemistry.
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    What’s going on down (under) there? Unravelling biochemical flows under differential rainfall periods in a Western Australian calcrete
    (National Centre for Groundwater Research And Training, & Australian Chapter International Association Of Hydrogeologists, 2019-11-24) Saccò, M; Blyth, AJ; Meredith, KT; Smith, C; Hua, Q; Mazumder, D; Humphreys, WF; White, N; Grice, K
    Groundwater is a vital resource. It contains 97% of unfrozen water on the planet, playing a key role in present and future water needs for humanity. However, our knowledge about the ecosystem functioning is very poor, and groundwater environments are increasingly exposed to anthropic impacts and climate change-related processes. Novel biochemical (e.g. isotopic ecology) and genetic (e.g. eDNA) techniques, widely employed in fresh surface water studies, have the potential to unravel the complex dynamics shaping subsurface ecosystems, providing new insights to the small but quickly growing field of groundwater ecology. Stygofauna, together with microbes, are crucial actors in shaping and maintaining the organic matter (OM) cycles in environments characterized by low energy and scarce carbon availability. In order to understand groundwater ecological patterns, we investigate calcrete stygofaunal shifts linked with contrasting rainfall periods (low rainfall (LR), dry season; high rainfall (HR), wet season), through an interdisciplinary design composed of hydrology, isotopic ecology and genetics. Our results indicate that the inflow of rainfall under HR is responsible for increased nutrient concentrations in the system and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pulses from the surface. Both the meiofaunal and stygofaunal communities’ benefit from these organic inflows, with gamma and proteobacteria the biota that fuels carbon and nutrients to the higher levels of the trophic web. The HR regime - and its subsequent terrestrial carbon incorporation - triggers a cascade effect driven by microbes (OM processors) and amphipods (biofilm grazers), which is finally transferred to the aquatic beetles (top predators). Overall, and in line with other work in the same research area, the inflow of rainfall triggered shifts towards more deterministic dynamics, revealing a complex web of interactions in a seemingly simple environmental setting. This study provides a preliminary untangling of the biochemical flows driven by rainfall in a calcrete aquifer. More investigations involving multidisciplinary approaches on other subsurface ecosystems, i.e. alluvial aquifers, will help to understand present ecological patterns and predict future scenarios in groundwaters. © The Authors