Departmental Seminar

Microeukaryotes are key components of the biological carbon pump, contributing to primary production, carbon remineralization, and fueling marine food webs. Their growth and behavior is dependent on a complex suite of environmental conditions with ecological roles not well understood across large expanses of the ocean. Key unknowns remain regarding how resource availability shapes their physiology and activity. In this talk, I will share results describing microeukaryote ecology across three distinct study regions: nearshore coastal Georgia, continental shelf transition zones, and the Southern Ocean. Studies discussed will include tracking estuarine harmful algal blooms, optimizing methods for tracking mixotrophy, and characterizing the metal metabolism of Southern Ocean phytoplankton.