UAlberta Math Biology Seminar: Pablo Venegas Garcia

Oilsands tailings ponds are waste reservoirs where bioavailable organic materialcan be largely converted into methane. This methane is produced by activemethanogenic and bacterial communities capable of surviving even undernutrient-poor conditions. Recently, mitigation strategies have been proposed toshift these microbial communities through the addition of various terminalelectron acceptors to the tailings. Such electron acceptors can stimulatemicrobial populations that outcompete methanogens while still degradinghydrocarbons. However, no studies have yet examined the potential risks ofpartially applying these strategies or the unintended outcomes that may arise.Our current research demonstrates that, if not carefully designed andimplemented, such interventions can substantially compromise the potential foreffective methane mitigation.