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Trichodesmium is a key group of ocean bacteria (also referred to as sea sawdust) found in nutrient-poor areas of the ocean. It converts nitrogen gas into material that can be used by other forms of life, all of which need nitrogen to grow and prosper. In many ways, it functions as the fertilizing agent of the open ocean.
The continued existence of this bacteria is currently threatened by rising carbon dioxide levels. A study published in the September 2015 issue of Nature Communications found that, in response to rising ocean acidification, the bacteria goes into reproductive overdrive, evolving to grow faster and produce 50 percent more nitrogen.
One consequence of this is that the bacteria could consume significant quantities of nutrients that are in limited supply in the ocean (e.g. iron and phosphorous) which leaves other organisms who depend on these same nutrients without a sufficient supply that they can survive on. Additionally, the extra consumption of nutrients at the current rate could lead Trichodesmium to create the circumstances that lead to its own extinction.
What’s even more concerning is that researchers have found that even when the bacteria is returned to lower levels of carbon dioxide exposure, it continues to over-consume and overproduce. The inability of the bacteria to regulate its growth, as with any organism, is an unhealthy phenomenon that will lead to more health complications for the bacteria in the foreseeable future.
Media Censorship Internationally
According to The Guardian, trichodesmium is known for surviving in nutrient-poor parts of the ocean. From there, the bacteria can convert nitrogen, which is an essential element towards all forms of life, into a material that can be used to feed other forms of life anywhere from plankton to whales. The harm of this is that there will be an overproduction of nitrogen, which in the end lead to the extinction of all organisms in the ocean because the organisms will retrieve too much iron and not enough oxygen.
In this article, the topic is being covered by scientific studies and implications. The Guardian is not covering the topic in a way that tells it's readers what this can cause and do damage to.
Media Censorship Domestically
USC recorded that trichodesmium will evolve the ecosystem. With that said, it will change the way the food chain works. David Hutchins found that there is DNA in trichodesmium that was not there before. This potentially could lead to mutations among organisms. The more carbon dioxide there is, the bacteria has a chance to produce 50 percent more than it did before. Trichodesmium needs iron and phosphorus to survive, and because it is producing so fast there is no way to regulate its growth so they just dial off. Since it is dying off, that affects ocean life that needs nitrogen in order to survive.
In this article, the topic is being covered by giving you real life threats. It talks about what the future might hold. With this all said, USC is near the ocean and does real life studies every day in order to save or education readers on what the harms of trichodesmium could do. This story covers the topic very well due to their hands-on research towards the subject. The Guardian tries to frame the threat as hypothetical instead of realistic. The USC article doesn't give you as much background information on how to stop it or what we can do to save it.
Media Coverage The reason the media chose to cover this the way they did is for ethical reasons. In a way, the media did not really cover the issue. They wanted to frame it more as a thing that is getting researched, not something that is actually set in stone. In certain cases, the media treats the issue as something that has a long-term effect instead of something that is currently in the process of happening.
The reason behind the articles being censored it because they could possibly create rising human tensions and fear that may be uncontrollable. Activists are known to start the tension, which in the beginning they try to cause people to fear something that is out of their control. In order to keep the world with less chaotic behavior, those said articles retract some information to keep it out of sight and out of mind. The articles want to frame it as an issue that is going to happen, not as something that is currently happening. They are worried about individuals getting their stories and facts wrong and therefore can get educated on issues that are non-existent.
References
edithttps://en.wiki.x.io/wiki/Trichodesmium
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms9155
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-17/blue-green-algae-warning-for-darwin/5896466
https://news.usc.edu/85742/climate-change-will-irreversibly-force-key-ocean-bacteria-into-overdrive/
External links
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