Main Goals
Our goal is to understand how different groups of organisms persist over time and space in the marine environment. We conduct field studies in estuaries, coastal regions, and the open ocean, and we complement our field studies with laboratory experiments. We use molecular tools, microscopy and flow cytometry to investigate the spatial and temporal diversity at a range of scales, including the individual, population, species, genus and community. Our targets are environmentally important planktonic organisms that range in size from phytoplankton (e.g. cyanobacteria, diatoms, including harmful algal species) to macrozooplankton (e.g. copepods).
Specific topics of interest include:
- Mechanisms of and genetic and physiological consequences of population divergence in the diatom Ditylum brightwellii (led by Julie Koester)
- Identification of mechanisms that lead to structure in genetically distinct (but morphologically similar) populations of Calanus on a global scale (led by Mikelle Nuwer)
- Response of pico- and nano-phytoplankton populations in various nutrient regimes to fluxes of organic and inorganic nitrogen, and the effect of these nitrogen sources on phytoplankton community structure (led by Sara Bender and Micaela S. Parker)
- Environmental forces that shape inter- and intra-specific community diversity in the genus Pseudo-nitzschia (led by Kate Hubbard and Adrian Marchetti)
Additional people involved in these projects include
Ellen Lin (molecular biology),
Rhonda Marohl (flow cytometry), Claire Ellis (undergraduate), Rachelle Lambert (undergraduate), and April Bailey (undergraduate).