Please join us Thursday:
Thursday, December 5th @ 3 pm
Room 200, Oceanography & Physics Building
Or Via Zoom
Natalie Cohen
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
University of Georgia
Microeukaryote physiology and molecular ecology across gradients of the North Atlantic Ocean
ABSTRACT
Marine microeukaryotes are key contributors to carbon cycling and ecosystem function, with their growth and activity dependent on a complex suite of environmental conditions. Their community dynamics and ecological roles are not well understood across large expanses of the ocean, and key unknowns exist regarding how resource availability has shaped their physiology over evolutionary timescales. In this talk, I will share results describing microeukaryote ecology across three distinct study regions, beginning in nearshore coastal Georgia and moving into the vast Sargasso Sea. I will highlight results obtained by combining physiology and ‘omic techniques to gain insights into growth strategies, behavior, and ecological interactions. Studies discussed will include tracking harmful algal blooms in a coastal estuary, examining the molecular physiology of coccolithophores and diatoms from a continental shelf ecosystem, and characterizing microeukaryote community composition and metabolism in the western North Atlantic Ocean using paired metatranscriptomics and metaproteomics. I will also share preliminary results from ongoing studies examining mixotrophy in the field, and how mixotroph abundance and activity may be monitored.
Zoom: Contact OES Admin- OESadmin@odu.edu