UBC researchers have identified eight per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in B.C. sea otters.

Known as ‘forever’ chemicals for how long it takes them to break down in the environment, these human-made chemicals are found in many common household products and have been linked to adverse health effects in humans. They are widespread in the environment, found in animals around the world including otters in the U.K., and orcas in B.C.

Now, UBC researchers have found PFAS chemicals in B.C. otters for the first time. Analyzing liver and skeletal muscle samples from 11 dead sea otters, they found eight of 40 tested PFAS chemicals present in every otter, with seven found only in the liver.

The study showcases an innovative and effective approach for large-scale genomic research of individual cells and viral particles, highlighting the abundance of marine viruses with unusual DNA chemistry.

An international study led by CEAB-CSIC and published in Nature Communications presents the first global assessment of blue carbon accumulated in the living parts of seagrass plants. According to the results, their leaves, rhizomes and roots store up to 40 million tonnes of carbon worldwide. To this figure must be added the carbon stored in the seabed, which can remain sequestered for thousands of years, as long as the meadow persists. The data confirm that, despite covering a very small area, these ecosystems play a key role in absorbing atmospheric CO₂, transforming it, and retaining it.

Microorganisms in the Black Sea can produce large amounts of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O). However, this gas never reaches the atmosphere because it is swiftly consumed by other microorganisms, which convert it to harmless dinitrogen gas (N₂). Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology have now investigated this process and identified the key players involved.