- Arizona State University, Biology, Graduate StudentArizona State University, School of Life Sciences, Graduate Studentadd
- www.YevMarusenko.com Research themes: - Urban ecology - Sustainability-driven projects - Social-ecological &... morewww.YevMarusenko.com
Research themes:
- Urban ecology
- Sustainability-driven projects
- Social-ecological & interdisciplinary collaborations
- Molecular & microbial ecosystem ecology
- Ammonia oxidation & ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms
- Fungal ecophysiology, bioremediation, restoration
Profile:
- While studies show that various microbial groups have the potential to mediate Nitrogen fluxes, the distribution and relative importance of these abilities is less known, particularly in desert soils and urban areas. For my dissertation research, I studied the relationships between ammonia-oxidizers and the environmental factors that influence their abundance and activity.
- In addition to exploring the complexities of microbial communities, I am interested in pursuing interdisciplinary training to put my research in an applied, social-economic-ecological context. I broadened my role through graduate studies at ASU for its strengths in microbial ecology and its focus on integrating science in society to solve real-world problems using education, outreach, and collaborative research.
- I am investigating the effects of environmental change on microbial communities and their function, focusing on fungi relevant for the Carbon cycle in boreal environments. Other group research efforts include restoration ecology in Southern California and sustainability activities through UCI.edit
In soils, nitrogen (N) addition typically enhances ammonia oxidation (AO) rates and increases the population density of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), but not that of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA). We asked if long-term inorganic N... more
In soils, nitrogen (N) addition typically enhances ammonia oxidation (AO) rates and increases the population density of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), but not that of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA). We asked if long-term inorganic N addition also has similar consequences in arid land soils, an understudied yet spatially ubiquitous ecosystem type. Using Sonoran Desert top soils from between and under shrubs within a long-term N-enrichment experiment, we determined community concentration-response kinetics of AO and measured the total and relative abundance of AOA and AOB based on amoA gene abundance. As expected, N addition increased maximum AO rates and the abundance of bacterial amoA genes compared to the controls. Surprisingly, N addition also increased the abundance of archaeal amoA genes. We did not detect any major effects of N addition on ammonia-oxidizing community composition. The ammonia-oxidizing communities in these desert soils were dominated by AOA as expected (78% of amoA gene copies were related to Nitrososphaera), but contained unusually high contributions of Nitrosomonas (18%) and unusually low numbers of Nitrosospira (2%). This study highlights unique traits of ammonia oxidizers in arid lands, which should be considered globally in predictions of AO responses to changes in N availability.
Research Interests: Microbiology, Soil Science, Ecosystems Ecology, Environmental microbiology, Ecosystem Services, and 27 moreMicrobial Ecology, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function, Arid Land Ecology, Arid environments, Ecology, Environmental Microbiology (Biology), Desert Ecology, Urban Ecology, Soil Dynamics, Soil ecology, Nitrogen Cycle, Environmental Soil Science, Soil Microbial Ecology, Atmospheric deposition, Nitrification, Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Archaea, Ecosystems, Nitrogen deposition, Nitrogen, Nitrite, Soil Fertility, Ammonia, Soil Microbiology, Nitrogen Fertilization, Climate Change and Resilient Dryland Systems, and Ammonia Oxidation
Global warming will likely force terrestrial plant and animal species to migrate toward cooler areas or sustain range losses; whether this is also true for microorganisms remains unknown. Through continental-scale compositional surveys of... more
Global warming will likely force terrestrial plant and animal species to migrate toward cooler areas or sustain range losses; whether this is also true for microorganisms remains unknown. Through continental-scale compositional surveys of soil crust microbial communities across arid North America, we observed a latitudinal replacement in dominance between two key topsoil cyanobacteria that was driven largely by temperature. The responses to temperature of enrichment cultures and cultivated strains support this contention, with one cyanobacterium (Microcoleus vaginatus) being more psychrotolerant and less thermotolerant than the other (M. steenstrupii). In view of our data and regional climate predictions, the latter cyanobacterium may replace the former in much of the studied area within the next few decades, with unknown ecological consequences for soil fertility and erodibility.
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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental pollutants produced by incomplete combustion sources such as home heating, biomass burning, and vehicle emissions. PAH concentrations in soils are influenced by source... more
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental pollutants produced by incomplete combustion sources such as home heating, biomass burning, and vehicle emissions. PAH concentrations in soils are influenced by source inputs and environmental factors that control loss processes and soil retention. Many studies have found higher concentrations of these pollutants in soils within cities of temperate climates that have a centralized urban core. Less is known about the factors regulating PAH abundance in warm, arid urban ecosystems with low population densities but high traffic volumes. The relative importance of sources such as motor vehicle traffic load and aridland ecosystem characteristics, including temperature, silt, and soil organic matter (SOM) were explored as factors regulating PAH concentrations in soils near highways across the metropolitan area of Phoenix, AZ (USA). Highway traffic is high compared with other cities, with an average of 155,000 vehicles/day. Soils contained low but variable amounts of SOM (median 2.8 ± 1.8% standard deviation). Across the city, median PAH concentrations in soil were low relative to other cities, 523 ± 1,886 μg/kg, ranging from 67 to 10,117 μg/kg. Diagnostic ratio analyses confirmed that the source of PAHs is predominantly fuel combustion (i.e., vehicle emissions) rather than petrogenic, biogenic, or other combustion sources (coal, wood burning). However, in a multiple regression analysis including traffic characteristics and soil properties, SOM content was the variable most strongly related to PAH concentrations. Our research suggests that dryland soil characteristics play an important role in the retention of PAH compounds in soils of arid cities.