Tipping-point detection (IMAGE)
Caption
Found in lakes and rivers worldwide, single-celled creatures like these Paramecium bursaria can both eat and photosynthesize. Microbes like this play a double role in climate change, releasing or absorbing carbon dioxide -- the heat-trapping greenhouse gas that is the primary driver of warming -- depending on whether they rely on an animal-like lifestyle or a plant-like lifestyle.
Credit
Daniel J. Wieczynski, Duke University
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Please credit Daniel J. Wieczynski, Duke University
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