Projects

Investigating spatial and depth-related patterns in microbial enzyme activities in ocean waters, as well as the specific factors controlling these patterns, is the major theme for some of the ongoing work happening in our lab. This work involves development of new experimental methods as well as field work in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. The project involves collaborations with scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Bremen, Germany), as well as the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Bremerhaven, Germany).

Investigating the effects of high hydrostatic pressure on microbial communities, the enzymes they produce, and rates of carbon cycling in the deep ocean is the focus of our newest project.

Development of new means to measure specific steps in microbial carbon cycling is a major focal point of work in the lab.  Current efforts focus particularly on development of  new probes to measure microbial extracellular enzyme activities in seawater and sediments. We are also developing new techniques to measure the activities of dissolved enzymes.

In collaboration with the Teske lab at UNC, we are investigating the relationship between microbial community structure and function. Our work has shown that  microbial communities in the water column and in sediments often differ in their functional abilities to enzymatically hydrolyze high molecular weight substrates. The composition of these microbial communities also differs substantially, suggesting that compositional differences have functional consequences for carbon cycling. See also Publication highlights.