Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin最新文献

The fear of making mistakes and/or expressing ideas incorrectly is a common reason for early career researchers (ECRs) to avoid engaging in activities that they feel could expose them. This feeling often intensifies at international conferences, where renowned scientists in our field are present and the possibility of being judged becomes very real. Some of us can vividly recall our first international conference and the anxiety that crept up when entering the auditorium where we would present our work. That feeling can be amplified when ECRs decide to go a step further and organize their own conference session.

We are two ECRs from South America interested in the cycle of methane in freshwater ecosystems. Paula is a postdoctoral fellow in Canada working on methanotrophy in lakes, and Sofia is finishing up her Ph.D. in Argentina, looking at methane dynamics in Pampean lakes. In 2022, during the conference of the International Society of Limnology, the desire to organize our own session at an international conference in the future sparked in us. At that moment, doubts abounded: What should the session focus on? Should we target a broad audience or be very specific? Who would be interested in presenting during our session? Are more experienced researchers going to propose sessions that might overshadow ours? Would our proposed session be accepted? How can we effectively and confidently communicate with our audience? These and other concerns crossed our minds, but we persevered and submitted a session proposal for the ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting to be held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, in June 2023.

Our session focused on the recent advances in understanding the biological and physical controls on the cycle of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in freshwater and marine ecosystems. Despite significant progress in recent decades, much uncertainty remains regarding mechanistic explanations, quantitative estimations, upscaling, and predictions of each component of the intricate methane cycle. We invited contributions related to any step (production, oxidation, accumulation, emission, food web incorporation) and at every scale (from molecular to global) in both freshwater and marine systems. Session presentations included experimental and field evidence of oxic methane production, methane oxidation by aerobic bacteria under oxygen-limited conditions, the importance of neglected methane emission pathways such as plant mediated and ebullition, the effect of submerged macrophytes on methane dynamics, sediment flushing and degassing in hydropower reservoirs, and coupled physical and biogeochemical modeling (Fig. 1). Some of the ECRs in the audience approached us after the session curious about the process we went through to organize it, and some even suggested that we publish a note about our experience. Below we share our journey and the valuable lessons we learnt, particularly that confronting our fears and preparing well can lead to unexpec

The world's oceans are in constant motion, transporting the sun's heat from the equator to the poles, bringing marine life fresh supplies of oxygen and nutrients, and sequestering nearly half of our carbon dioxide emissions since the Industrial Revolution. Within this dynamic aquatic milieu exists another type of motion: the perpetual teeming of trillions of swimming animals. Are these organisms simply along for the ride, carried by the prevailing ocean currents and occasionally using their powers of locomotion to explore their surroundings; or could their propulsion result in dynamical feedbacks that influence the physical and biogeochemical structure of the ocean itself?

The global language of limnology is English, but most of our study objects do not have English names. Here, I compare 57,000 lake names in a lake-rich, non-English speaking country, that is, Sweden, with a previous analysis of 83,000 lakes in the conterminous United States. The diversity of lake name appellations is strikingly different. In the United States, three different appellations (“lake,” “pond,” “reservoir”) apply to 96% of the lakes, whereas in Sweden to account for 93% of the lakes, 76 different appellations and suffixes were required. The etymology of the remaining largely idiosyncratic 4000 lake names is difficult to assess, and of ancient origin. In the United States, lake names with appellations in languages of non-English European colonizers are rare and lakes that include words in indigenous languages almost exclusively also include an English appellation. Contrastingly, in regions of Sweden where Sami, Finnish, and Meänkieli are spoken, lake names are typically fully indigenous, including the appellation. The historical reasons for the differences are discussed. Examples of malpractice in the use of lake names in scientific papers are presented, and suggestions are made for how we better can achieve a good lake-name practice.

The ASLO Multicultural Program (ASLOMP) began in 1990 to promote diversity in the aquatic sciences. It involves brining diverse undergraduate and graduate students to annual ASLO meetings. The students participate in special programing that includes an opening dinner and keynote speaker, a student symposium where they present their work, a field trip, and work with meeting mentors. Between 1990 and 2023, 1443 different students participated in ASLOMP. They were a diverse lot; 43.0% African American, 33.0% Hispanic, 6.4% white, 6.4% Native American, 5.3% Pacific Islander, 3.5% Asian, and 2.4% other. Participants have gone on to be the first persons of color to serve on the ASLO Board of Directors and to assume other leadership positions in the society. Many former ASLOMP participants have gone on for advanced degrees and often return as mentors in the program. The ASLOMP model has been adopted by various other scientific societies including the Ecological Society of America (Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability - SEEDS), the Society of Wetland Scientists, Sigma Xi, and the Coastal and Estuarine and Research Federation. The founding of ASLOMP demonstrated the usefulness of empowered allies in leading efforts to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.