Microbes & Plankton
The open ocean, and the Sargasso Sea in particular, is home to a diverse collection of organisms. Many are too small to swim against the ocean currents – these are the plankton. Ongoing research seeks to understand these species, which include viruses, bacteria, archaea, protists and animals, and to detail their role in marine ecosystems.
Even though they are too small to see with the naked eye, microbes (or micro-organisms) dominate the ocean, and indeed all of Earth. Marine microbes influence the biology and chemistry of the ocean, and thereby the entire food web as well as the ocean’s climate-related biochemical cycles. Microbial oceanography is a rapidly evolving field, and BIOS-SCOPE aims to make significant research advances in our scientific understanding. This five-year multi-institutional research collaboration leverages the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) and its associated research as well as our capabilities via the Microbial Ecology Laboratory. The Microbial Ecology Laboratory focuses on the cell biology and biogeochemical activities of major microbial groups within the open-ocean and coastal environments around Bermuda. Projects include viral dynamics within the Sargasso Sea, the response of microbial communities to low oxygen within a seasonally anoxic sound, the response of microbial communities to anthropogenic sources and how corals and microbes interact BIOS-SCOPE also links the larger planktonic organisms into our understanding these microbial processes via collaborations with the zooplankton ecology and invertebrate physiology labs.
Work on the larger organisms, in particular the zooplankton, is focused on elucidating the ever-changing composition and function of these small marine animals in the ocean’s ecosystems and biochemistry. Using molecular biology and visual machine learning technology, the Zooplankton Ecology Lab is expanding our understanding of biodiversity in the plankton. Current projects include describing the endemic cave fauna of Bermuda, documenting the biodiversity in the Sargasso, and helping to shed light on organisms inhabiting the twilight zone of the oceans. The Invertebrate Physiology Lab explores how the function of marine invertebrates is modified by their environment, using experimental analyses of animal response to various cues, such as changing temperature, daily cycle, carbon dioxide or oxygen level. With a major focus on zooplankton such as copepods, krill and pteropods, these analyses are then linked into the BATS and Hydrostation time series, distributional and biodiversity studies, to quantify how changing conditions influence the ocean’s biochemistry.
Coral Reefs, Seagrass, and Fishes
Bermuda’s coral reefs are the northernmost coral reefs of the Atlantic and some of the healthiest reefs in the world. Not surprisingly, coral reefs have long been a research topic of interest for scientists at ASU BIOS.
Active areas of research are aimed at assessing the composition of coral reefs locally and throughout the globe, and understanding how coral reef ecosystems function and respond to natural and man-made stresses:
- The Coral Reef Ecology and Optics Laboratory (CREOL) studies coral reef ecosystems in Bermuda and abroad, using both field surveys and remote sensing techniques. The health of Bermuda’s corals are evaluated as part of the Marine Environmental Program (MEP); and the status of corals worldwide are being assessed through a large multi-institutional effort led by BIOS called the Coral Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL).
- The Coral Reef Ecology and Resilience Laboratory analyzes the reproductive cycles of coral under various conditions and studies the factors that enable or prevent successful colonization. Investigations into the potential link between ocean acidification and coral gene expression are also being conducted.
- The Marine Benthic Ecology and Ecophysiology (MABEE) Laboratory focuses on shallow water coral reefs and temperate and tropical seagrass meadows, integrating aspects of physiology, ecology, and oceanography.
Our scientists are also engaged in research to understand more about Bermuda's fish populations, from distribution and abundance of native fishes to addressing issues of invasive species management.
- Work is underway to develop a more comprehensive DNA library for Bermuda's fish. Beginning with the extensive specimen collection in the Natural History Museum at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, scientists are now using environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis to capture genetic material from Bermuda's most abundant fish species in the wild.