Scientists estimate there are more than a million times more viruses in the ocean than stars in the universe. While wildly abundant, their tiny sizes present a big a hurdle to fully understanding their function in ocean ecosystems. If a cell were the size of a baseball stadium, a virus would be roughly the size of a baseball, so not only are viruses difficult to see under the microscope, but even gathering enough of their genetic material to analyze can be tricky.

After five years, with more than 25 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, six dedicated research cruises, and more than 45 presentations at national and international meetings, the BIOS-SCOPE (Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences – Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology) program has received five years of additional funding from the Simons Foundation International to continue its study of the microbial oceanography of the Sargasso Sea.

Sampling offshore Bermuda this July, the BIOS-SCOPE (Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences – Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology) program completed its first full year of study to learn how marine microbes produce, transform, and leave behind dissolved organic matter as the seasons progress, and microbial communities wax and wane.

The gender disparity within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree programs and the college-educated workforce is an issue that has faced colleges, universities, funding agencies, and employers for decades.

A molecular facility will enhance sample processing for researchers and experiential learning for students

In 1991, a group of undergraduate students arrived in Bermuda to spend a semester with BIOS faculty and staff who mentored their independent marine science research projects. The program, known as Research Experiences for Undergraduates, or REU, was designed to provide a semester-long, rigorous research experience enhanced by field trips on land and at sea. Since then, nearly 200 university students have participated on a variety of projects, with themes ranging from climate change to coral reef ecology. Their work culminates in a final, formal presentation to BIOS faculty and staff.

BIOS research initiatives and education programs were the topic of a recent episode of “Ocean Hour,” the online education series produced by the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI). The third episode of the program, which aired on the organization’s Facebook page on October 9, featured an interview with Lakshmi Magon, a 2018 BIOS Bermuda Program intern and a 2020 BIOS Ocean Academy intern.

For five weeks spanning October and early November, Brett Jameson, a doctoral candidate at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, is working with BIOS biogeochemical oceanographer Damian Grundle on a project investigating the microbial production of nitrous oxide (N2O) in low oxygen marine environments.

Many organisms have unique distributions that vary across the earth’s surface, following lines of latitude, elevation gradients, and habitat types. A plant or animal’s distribution pattern, or biogeography, can help scientists understand what environmental factors allow the organism to flourish in certain areas, while failing to take hold in others.

In today’s competitive academic environment and job market, graduate and undergraduate students can benefit from internships and study abroad semesters that provide hands-on experience in marketable skills. For decades BIOS has been providing aspiring scientists with such opportunities through CABIOS (Canadian Associates of BIOS), the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, and the Bermuda Program.