Microorganisms and spatial distribution of the sinkholes of the Yucatan Peninsula, underestimated biotechnological potential?

Investigación basada en el potencial bio-tecnológico de las micro-especies que habitan los cenotes de la Península de YucatánAbstract Objective: To detect the spatial distribution of the sinkholes of the Peninsula of Yucatan (SPY) and identify those cenotes where microorganisms have been registered. Methods: The geographic coordinates of the SPYs were obtained from various databases, as well as from scientific publications relating to the terminology ‘sinkholes’, ‘karst systems’ and ‘cenotes’. All coordinates were transformed into the Universal Transverse Mercator reference system (UTM) with datum WGS84. An infrared composite image was created with 432 RGB bands from the Landsat 8 satellite. The points with the location of the cenotes were imported into the Software TerrSet. Results: Total 1026 coordinates of sinkholes were recorded in the Yucatan Peninsula. In 18 sinkholes (<2%), microorganisms have been recovered and identified in various taxonomic levels, and only 6 sinkholes (<0.6%) has their biotechnological potential been evaluated. Conclusions: The microorganisms that inhabit the sinkholes of the Yucatan Peninsula are a reservoir with practically unexplored biotechnological potential.CONACY

Resettlement and relocation options for coastal communities

With a nation highly vulnerable, with a risk index of 28.57% and ranked second worldwide by the World Risk Report to be affected by disasters caused by natural hazards and to the effects of climate change, many people are ramping up plans to address these projected events. As a result, it is a necessity for Tonga to strengthen its response to climate change, continue to be more resilient, and, most importantly, address migration and human rights in the context of climate change (e.g., climigration). Here, a concurrent convergence parallel triangulation design of 460 residents from 5 coastal communities, Kanokupolu, ‘Ahau, Tukutonga, Popua, and Manuka in Tongatapu, Tonga, was used – to provide a better understanding of whether people in these communities needed a resettlement and relocation options or not. The quantitative analysis revealed that based on this sample, people in this chapter would choose Australia and New Zealand as the two most preferred countries for climigration. The same factors were explored qualitatively and found Australia to be the preferment country for climigration. Based on this result, it is recommended that a relocation and/or climigration policy should be adopted for Tonga as part of its resilient Tonga by 2035 and beyond