Defining the buffering process by a triprotic acid without relying on stewart-electroneutrality considerations

Upon the addition of protons to an aqueous solution, a component of the H+ load will be bound i.e. buffered. In an aqueous solution containing a triprotic acid, H+ can be bound to three different states of the acid as well as to OH- ions that are derived from the auto-ionization of H2O. In quantifying the buffering process of a triprotic acid, one must define the partitioning of H+ among the three states of the acid and also the OH- ions in solution in order to predict the equilibrium pH value. However, previous quantitative approaches that model triprotic acid titration behaviour and used to predict the equilibrium pH rely on the mathematical convenience of electroneutrality/charge balance considerations. This fact has caused confusion in the literature, and has led to the assumption that charge balance/electroneutrality is a causal factor in modulating proton buffering (Stewart formulation). However, as we have previously shown, although charge balance can be used mathematically as a convenient tool in deriving various formulae, electroneutrality per se is not a fundamental physicochemical parameter that is mechanistically involved in the underlying buffering and proton transfer reactions. The lack of distinction between a mathematical tool, and a fundamental physicochemical parameter is in part a reason for the current debate regarding the Stewart formulation of acid-base analysis. We therefore posed the following question: Is it possible to generate an equation that defines and predicts the buffering of a triprotic acid that is based only on H+ partitioning without incorporating electroneutrality in the derivation? Towards this goal, we derived our new equation utilizing: 1) partitioning of H+ buffering; 2) conservation of mass; and 3) acid-base equilibria. In validating this model, we compared the predicted equilibrium pH with the measured pH of an aqueous solution consisting of Na2HPO4 to which HCl was added. The measured pH values were in excellent agreement with the predictions of our equation. Our results provide further important evidence that one can mathematically model the chemistry of acid-base phenomenology without relying on electroneutrality (Stewart formulation) considerations

Relationships between host phylogeny, host type and bacterial community diversity in cold-water coral reef sponges.

Cold-water coral reefs are known to locally enhance the diversity of deep-sea fauna as well as of microbes. Sponges are among the most diverse faunal groups in these ecosystems, and many of them host large abundances of microbes in their tissues. In this study, twelve sponge species from three cold-water coral reefs off Norway were investigated for the relationship between sponge phylogenetic classification (species and family level), as well as sponge type (high versus low microbial abundance), and the diversity of sponge-associated bacterial communities, taking also geographic location and water depth into account. Community analysis by Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA) showed that as many as 345 (79%) of the 437 different bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) detected in the dataset were shared between sponges and sediments, while only 70 (16%) appeared purely sponge-associated. Furthermore, changes in bacterial community structure were significantly related to sponge species (63% of explained community variation), sponge family (52%) or sponge type (30%), whereas mesoscale geographic distances and water depth showed comparatively small effects (<5% each). In addition, a highly significant, positive relationship between bacterial community dissimilarity and sponge phylogenetic distance was observed within the ancient family of the Geodiidae. Overall, the high diversity of sponges in cold-water coral reefs, combined with the observed sponge-related variation in bacterial community structure, support the idea that sponges represent heterogeneous, yet structured microbial habitats that contribute significantly to enhancing bacterial diversity in deep-sea ecosystems