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Oceans of ChangeBigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

Annual Report 2008

“There is no finish line in the work of science.The race is always with us—the urgent workof giving substance to hope . . .”

~ President Barack Obama, March 9, 2009

Message from the ChairIntroduction

Oceans of Change: From Microbial Evolution to Global Climate

A Pivotal Moment in Evolutionary Time ................................................7Genetic Alphabets: Sequencing Genomes, One Single Cell at a Time...8Survival Strategies ....................................................................................11

A Matter of TasteHiding in Plain Sight

Putting Viruses to Good Use....................................................................14Fire with Fire: Fighting Vibrios with Vibriophages

Expanding the Collection ........................................................................17

Glass and Chalk: Global Biogeochemical Cycling ................................19 Ancient Metabolism: Living on Iron ......................................................20Nutrients in the Arctic Ring of Life........................................................23Icebergs in Motion ....................................................................................24

Where Evolution Begins ..........................................................................27Native Habitat: Evolutionary TransformationsThe Riddle of Robinson Crusoe Island

Underwater Pastures and Experimental Waves ......................................32

Summer Clouds over the High Arctic ....................................................35Melting Ice: Climate Change in the Bering Sea......................................38Sea Truth: The North Atlantic Bloom ....................................................40In the Long Run ........................................................................................42Bright Waters and Rough Seas ................................................................43A Moving Target: Carbon Dioxide and the Southern Ocean ................46150 Scientists, 40 Institutions, 8 Nations: ............................................47

The Southeast Pacific Climate Field Experiment

Education and Public Outreach ..................................................................47

Active Grants ..............................................................................................50

Publications and Scientific Presentations ..................................................54

Research Expeditions ................................................................................56

Summary Financial Statements..................................................................57

Trustees, Scientists, and Staff ....................................................................58

Glossary......................................................................................................60

Contents

Strands of Life

Infinite Networks

Worlds Underwater

Liquid Sunlight, Surface Alchemy

Cover: The bright waters of an E. huxleyi bloom off thenorthern coast of Norway in the Arctic Ocean’s BarentsSea, as seen from an altitude of 438 miles by a MODISpolar orbiting satellite. Image courtesy of JacquesDescloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASAGSFC.

Facing page: R/V Roger Revelle’s wake, South AtlanticOcean off the coast of Patagonia. Photo by JeffLawrence.

Back cover: Instrument well on the R/V Roger Revelle inthe midst of the 2008 coccolithophore bloom over thePatagonian shelf. The bright turquoise color is caused bythe intense radiance of backscattered (indirect) lightreflected upwards by coccolithophores in the water.Story on p. 43. Photo by Jeff Lawrence.

The foundation for Bigelow

Laboratory’s ability to attract

world-class scientific talent

lies in the unique culture of

the organization and in its

35-year history of visionary

leadership.

Why do we commit our time, our energy,and our treasure to basic scientificresearch? The answer, I believe, is

our strong desire to challenge the frontiers ofknowledge and make discoveries that willenhance the quality of our lives.

As I have observed Bigelow Laboratory advanceour understanding of the oceans’ microbialecosystems, ocean processes, and global climatechange, I have no doubt why the Laboratory is sosuccessful. Our extraordinary team of scientistshas demonstrated a record of winning competitive, peer-reviewedresearch grants from the National Science Foundation at a rate that istwice the national average. This does not happen by chance; it happenswith impressive consistency because of the dedication and hard work ofa team of highly talented, twenty-first century scientific explorers.

The foundation for Bigelow Laboratory’s ability to attract world-classscientific talent lies in the unique culture of the organization and in its35-year history of visionary leadership. In his first year as the ExecutiveDirector, Dr. Graham Shimmield has demonstrated why the Board ofTrustees was so excited to attract him to the Laboratory. Graham hasbrought the Laboratory his wisdom and energy as a leader, and his globalreputation as an ocean scientist.

Working with our senior research scientists, the staff, and the Board,Graham has charted an ambitious new course for the Laboratory. Thisnew strategic plan builds upon the Laboratory’s historic success in basicresearch, adding two important new elements to strengthen its resourcesand extend its goals through institutional partnerships. The firstinitiative contemplates partnering with one or more academicinstitutions to engage in joint research projects and further theLaboratory’s commitment to educating the next generation of oceanscientists. The second involves building a technology transfer capabilityin partnership with commercial enterprises, enabling the translation ofour scientific discoveries into applications in such fields as medicine andbiofuels, among others.

As you read this Annual Report, I hope that you will come to appreciate the quality and relevance of the great work that goes on at Bigelow Laboratory. I hope you will also come away with a betterunderstanding of the role that our planet’s vast oceans play in our everyday lives, and of the potential for scientific discovery in areas that can enhance the quality of life for generations to come.

I welcome your interest in Bigelow Laboratory, and hope that you will become part of the Bigelow community.

David M. CoitChairman

Facing page: Recovering a CTD rosette from the deep water over the Patagonian shelf.Photo by Jeff Lawrence.

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences4

Oceans of Change

I n the year 2000, the NobelPrize-winning atmosphericchemist Professor Paul Crutzen

coined the term AAnntthhrrooppoocceennee, todescribe the influence of humanactivities on Earth as being suffi-ciently profound to have given birthto a new geological epoch. Theimprint of these human activitiescan now be identified in the atmos-phere, on land, and even in thedeepest reaches of the ocean.

There have been momentouschanges in the politics of science aswell. Over the past several months,we have seen an unprecedentedshift in the way science is viewed inthe United States. President Obamahas made it clear that his Adminis-tration will seek to resurrect theposition of scientific research in thehealth, security, financial economy,and societal values of the nation.

Within the context of a changingworld ocean, Bigelow Laboratory’smission is to understand the keyprocesses driving the world’s oceanecosystems, their evolution,and their fundamental relationshipto life on Earth. Collaborating withscientists and institutions fromaround the world, we work to

understand and predict the role ofocean ecosystems—from the scaleof microbes and their evolution, toglobal biogeochemical cycles andEarth’s climate. We investigate the molecular, microbial, organis-mal, and biogeochemical processesaffecting the world’s oceans, coastalseas, and estuaries, and the interac-tions between ocean ecosystemsand the natural and anthropogenicvariability of global climate.

The Laboratory’s 2008 Annual Reportreflects four overarching and inter-connected themes that shape ourresearch strategy, now and into thefuture:

MMiiccrroobbiiaall eevvoolluuttiioonn aanndd ggeennoommiiccssapplies molecular biology andmicrobial ecology to the viruses,bacteria, and algae—the strands oflife—that exist in diverse environ-ments throughout the world’soceans. Working within the vastreservoir of microbial organisms inthe marine environment thatremain uncultured, we seek tounderstand their evolution, geneticand chemical make-up, and theirpotential application in humanindustry and enterprise.

From Microbial Evolution to Global Climate

High Arctic landscape photo by Thorsten Mauritsen.

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5Annual Report 2008

OOcceeaann bbiiooggeeoocchheemmiissttrryy researchat the Laboratory examines theinfinite networks within whichessential elements such as carbon,nitrogen, phosphorus, silica, andmicronutrients (e.g., iron, zinc) arecycled through the ocean, control-ling phytoplankton and bacterialgrowth, often in the extremeenvironments of polar seas andsubmarine hydrothermal systems.

The impact of both natural andanthropogenic change—particular-ly on the underwater world of sen-sitive marine habitats and sseennttiinneellssppeecciieess—is the unifying context ofthe Laboratory’s focus on eeccoossyyss--tteemm ffuunnccttiioonn aanndd cchhaannggee. Ourresearch in this area examines theevolution and adaptation that isoccurring throughout the world’soceans and coastal waters.

Key interactions between sun-light, water, atmosphere, and icedetermine basin-wide planktonecology and biogeochemistry atthe interface of sea and sky. Theseprocesses and are the focus ofobservation, measurement, analy-sis and modeling within our oocceeaannssyysstteemmss sscciieennccee aanndd cclliimmaatteecchhaannggee theme.

Within these broad researchthemes, the Laboratory has identi-fied key priority areas for contin-

ued development in the next fiveyears. These are ocean remotesensing of microbial populations;ocean acidification; microbialecosystem modeling; ocean energyand biotechnology, including bio-fuels and natural product chem-istry; development of the com-bined culture collection for marinealgae, bacteria, and viruses; andthe ocean’s role in human health.

Over this past year, we also havebegun to define a future academicpartnership that will allow signifi-cant educational and professionaldevelopment at the Laboratory, andbuild a substantial and vital bridgeto the future. Our new status as aNational Science Foundation-sponsored institution under theResearch Experience for Under-graduates program is the first,important step in this direction.

Finally, we have made a majorcommitment to developing signifi-cant technology transfer capabilitythrough innovation and carefullyselected opportunities in order to

ensure that our research discoveriesreach the private sector, helping tostimulate economic developmentin the State of Maine and in thenation.

This Annual Report marks theend of my first year at BigelowLaboratory for Ocean Sciences, andthe 35th year since Drs. Charlieand Clarice Yentsch founded theLaboratory in 1974. It has been ahuge honor and privilege to helpset the course for the next decade,and to work with the depth ofintellectual talent and commit-ment shown by our scientists,staff, and Board of Trustees. In thisyear of profound political andfinancial change, we will work tomore fully recognize and under-stand the life support that theoceans provide for our planet—andto help predict what is ahead forall of us.

Graham B. Shimmield, Ph.D.Executive Director

Note: Words in bold italic type are defined in the glossary on pp. 60-61.

Within the context of a changing world ocean, Bigelow

Laboratory’s mission is to understand the key processes

driving the world’s ocean ecosystems, their evolution, and

their fundamental relationship to life on Earth.

STRANDSOF LIFEMicrobial evolution and genomics

7Annual Report 2008

A Pivotal Moment in Evolutionary Time

Photosynthesis became thebasis of the planet’s foodchain; the foundation upon

which multicellular organisms,including human beings, depend forsurvival.

PPhhoottoossyynntthheessiiss takes place inspecialized structures called ppllaass--ttiiddss, found inside the cells of allplants—from giant trees in ancient,old growth forests to driftingblooms of innumerable phytoplank-ton cells that flourish and fade eachyear in the world’s oceans. The ori-gin of plastids and their develop-ment as microscopic machines ofphotosynthesis are the focus of Dr.Hwan Su Yoon’s research on thegenomes of two species ofPaulinella amoebas.

About 60 million years ago, Paulinella chromatophora under-went the same plastid-acquiringprocess that transformed certainbacterial cells into single-celledplants more than a billion years

Summary of Plastid Evolution The origin of the first plastid can be traced to a single primary endosymbiosis event(highlighted on the left, above), during which a non-photosynthetic protist engulfed acyanobacterium and put it to work as an organelle. This proto-algae subsequently gaverise to red, green, and glaucophyte algae. Diagram courtesy of H. S. Yoon.

earlier. Instead of consuming bacte-ria as food, P. chromatophora beganto capture and use them as enginesfor photosynthesis, generating itsown supply of food. P. chromato-phora’s relative Paulinella ovalishas not accomplished this, and con-tinues life as a single-celled animal,feeding on bacteria for its foodenergy needs.

A grant from the NationalScience Foundation (NSF) is fundingYoon’s analysis of the genomes ofboth amoebas. Yoon and his collab-orators, including co-principal in-vestigator Dr. Robert Andersen, areusing single-cell genomics technolo-gy first developed at Bigelow

Laboratory (see next page) to com-pare the genetic structure of thesetwo plant and animal relatives, gen-erating a precise gene profile ofPaulinella evolution, before andafter plastids entered the pictureand changed everything. Theresearchers are investigating thegenetic modifications that allowedplastids to form, and the geneticpathway by which the first animalsbecame the first plants. Besidesadvancing scientific methods in thefield of genetic engineering, thisresearch has direct bearing on howscientists view critical geneticchanges in the context of majortransitions in evolutionary history.Dr. Hwan Su Yoon.

Facing page: Paulinella chromatophora cells.Photo by R. Andersen.

There was a moment, a billion and a half years ago, when a few single-celled organisms developed the ability to photosynthesize—to convert sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into energy for food. It was a momentthat changed the world.

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Genetic AlphabetsSequencing Genomes, One Single Cell at a Time

The ocean’s microbes—micro-scopic bacteria, viruses, sin-gle-celled algae, and minis-

cule predators—collectively formthe basic components of globalocean ecosystems, and are the initiallinks in the ocean’s food chain. Theydrive the cycling of elements—suchas nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and sulfur—necessary for ecosystemprocesses, and recycle the nutrientsessential for photosynthesis and

bbiioollooggiiccaall pprroodduuccttiivviittyy. Respon-sible for half of the carbon dioxide(CO2) that is removed from theatmosphere and most of the carbonexported to marine sediments,ocean microbes are a critical part ofthe global carbon cycle. Less than1% of the ocean’s microbial diversi-ty has been cultured for study inlaboratory settings, however,leaving a wealth of informationuntouched and unexplored.

Geographic distribution of microorganisms related to two uncultured flavobacteria, known as MS024-2A and MS024-3C, containing genes for proteorhodopsin (figure from PLoS ONE 4:e5299). The geographic pattern shown here is inferred from DNA comparisons between the two single cell genomes(SAGs) and the Venter Institute’s broad Global Ocean Sampling (GOS) metagenome (PLoS Biology 5:e77).

Single cell genomics (SCG)

technology was developed

at Bigelow Laboratory over

the past several years and

represents a major break-

through in the field of

microbial research.

Although they are invisible without strong magnification, millions of the microbes thatsupport life in the ocean can be found in a singledrop of seawater.

9Annual Report 2008

The National ScienceFoundation has awarded BigelowLaboratory a Major ResearchInstrumentation grant for theequipment needed to begin estab-lishing a national microbial singlecell genomics center. Single cellgenomics (SCG) technology wasdeveloped at Bigelow Laboratoryover the past several years and rep-resents a major breakthrough in thefield of microbial research.

SCG bypasses the need to firstgrow a cell in culture beforesequencing its genome, allowingscientists to isolate an individualcell from environmental samplesthat contain a multitude of micro-bial species, and then extract andduplicate that particular cell’sgenetic material in sufficientquantities for analysis andexperimentation.

Examining the genetic structureof individual cells in the environ-ment dramatically increasesresearchers’ ability to understandmicrobial communities andunlocks a wealth of previouslyunavailable resources for bio-prospecting. The SCG center willoffer scientists new laboratory andbbiiooiinnffoorrmmaattiiccss tools to investigatethe diversity, ecological roles, evo-lution, and biotechnology potentialof microorganisms from marine andother environments.

In 2008, scientists at BigelowLaboratory received funding for several major research projects thatuse single cell genomics technologyto study the genetic diversity ofuncultured ocean microbes andhow their genomes evolve inresponse to changing environmen-tal conditions.

Drs. Michael Sieracki (seated) andRamunas Stepanauskas.

The ability to analyze multiplegenetic segments in individualmicrobial cells allows scientists tounderstand how unculturedmicrobes function and interact inthe environment. Drs. RamunasStepanauskas, Michael Sieracki,and Jane Heywood are using SCGto study food preferences of individ-ual bacteria-eating microbes,whether these preferences are trig-gered by bacterial metabolism, and

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how such food preferences affectthe reservoir of genetic diversity inthe ocean’s microbial communities.

Stepanauskas and Sieracki utilizeSCG to identify unculturedmicroorganisms containing geneticcodes for pprrootteeoorrhhooddooppssiinnss, anewly-discovered protein thatallows a large fraction of marinebacteria to use light as a supple-mentary source of energy. Incollaboration with researchers fromthe U.S. Department of EnergyJoint Genome Institute and severalother organizations, they haveobtained the first near-completegenome sequences of two uncul-tured, proteorhodopsin-containing

marine bacteria from the Gulf ofMaine.

The study demonstrates that, incontrast to cultivation, single cellgenomics enables rapid genomerecovery of those types of microbesthat are dominant in the oceansand are therefore likely to play sig-nificant ecological roles. A newresearch grant from NSF will allowStepanauskas and Sieracki toexpand this research to freshwaterecosystems, where proteorhodops-ins may be as plentiful as they areat sea.


Dr. Jane Heywood in the SCG Laboratory.

Microbes dominate a region between 650 feet and 3,300 feet below

the ocean’s surface known as the mesopelagic zone, which receives

organic matter that rains down from the upper, sunlit photosynth-

etic zone. Containing approximately 25% of the ocean’s volume,

this vast environment is home to one of the largest and least under-

stood ecosystems on Earth, and offers scientists a rich, untapped

source of genetic and biomolecular resources.

Microorganisms in the mesopelagic zone play a major role in

global ocean productivity and carbon cycling by regulating nutrient

flow between the photosynthetically active, but nutrient-poor

surface ocean, and the dark, nutrient-rich deep ocean.

Until recently, difficulties in cultivation of microorganisms from

the mesopelagic zone prevented comprehensive studies of their

diversity, biochemistry, physiology, and evolutionary history. As

part of another NSF-funded research project at the Laboratory,

Drs. Stepanuaskas, Sieracki, and David McClellan are using SCG tech-

nology to read the genetic codes of mesopelagic microorganisms

from the South Atlantic Gyre. This research will lead to a better

understanding of the role of mesopelagic microbes in carbon and

nitrogen cycling in the global ocean.

200 m

1000 m

4000 m

650 ft

3300 ft

13000 ft

Mesopelagic

Epipelagic

Bathypelagic

Abyssopelagic

Hadopelagic

The Twilight Zone

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11Annual Report 2008

Under the right environ-mental conditions in theocean, E. huxleyi can grow

in enormous numbers. At theheight of a pphhyyttooppllaannkkttoonn bblloooomm,there can be over 10,000 E. huxleyicells in a single teaspoonful of sea-water. These immense turquoiseblooms occur in vast stretches ofocean, offering dramatic evidence ofthe extent of the world’s annualmarine phytoplankton productivity.E. huxleyi’s life cycle directlyaffects the chemistry of the sur-rounding water, and has a majorimpact on the ocean’s biogeo-chemical cycles.

Viruses that infect marine phyto-plankton destroy individual cells,leading to the rapid disintegrationof the massive seasonal blooms.Scientists estimate that by breakingdown E. huxleyi and other phyto-plankton cells, viruses have a directinfluence in determining nutrientpathways in the ocean. Virusesrecycle approximately 25% of thecarbon captured by photosynthesisthrough a process termed the vviirraallsshhuunntt, making them essential tothe life-sustaining flow of nutrientsand energy in the global ocean.

Marine virologist Dr. WillieWilson has discovered a group ofgiant viruses that are responsiblefor the demise of oceanic E. huxleyiblooms. He termed this group theccooccccoolliitthhoovviirruusseess.

For successful infection of itshost cells, marine viruses typically

Survival StrategiesEmiliania huxleyi is one of the most abundant and widely distributed speciesof phytoplankton in the ocean. This tiny, single-celled plant belongs to agroup of microscopic algae known as ccooccccoolliitthhoopphhoorreess, and forms an outershell of calcium carbonate plates called coccoliths.

True color satellite image of a milky E. huxleyi phytoplankton bloom in the EnglishChannel south of Plymouth, UK.

Research Associate Ilana Gilg and Postdoctoral Researcher Dr. Joaquin Martinez analyzethe impact of marine viruses on phytoplankton growth in the Wilson laboratory.

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require high levels of phosphorus asa nutrient in the water. E. huxleyi,however, prefers to grow in lowphosphorus conditions. Using genet-ic analysis, Wilson and his col-leagues have found that, as part ofan endless predator-prey evolution-ary “arms race,” coccolithoviruseshave evolved a specific geneinvolved in phosphorus acquisition,gaining an advantage over its algalhost during infection.

Wilson is now working with the Laboratory’s Senior ResearchScientists Drs. RamunasStepanauskas and Susie Wharam ona new multi-year National ScienceFoundation project to determine

Depiction of coccolithoviruses exiting anE. huxleyi cell.

Marine viruses have other means of

influencing the pathways by which

organic matter and energy cycle

through ocean ecosystems. In a joint

project with Dr. Claire Evans of the

Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea

Research, Wilson discovered that,

given the choice, single-celled

vegetarian grazers, in this case the

dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina, prefer

to graze on E. huxleyi cells that are

infected with a virus, rather than

uninfected cells. Chemical cues

during the infection process may

A Matter of Tastemake infected cells more palatable for

grazers, or it may simply be that the

increased size of these cells makes

them a more appealing morsel.

As O. marina subsequently

becomes food for other, larger forms

of marine life, carbon that would

otherwise have flowed back through

the microbial loop as a nutrient after

the E. huxleyi cell died is instead

channeled further up the oceanic

food chain. Wilson and his fellow

researchers are continuing to

investigate how profound an effect

preferential grazing of this kind is

having on both the flow of energy

through the marine food web and

on the overall ecology and

biogeochemistry of the ocean.

Oxyrrhis marina. Photo by R. Anderson.

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Working with an international team of

colleagues, Wilson has also discovered that

E. huxleyi has evolved an effective,“Cheshire

Cat-like” strategy to help it escape viral

infection. By switching from a growth to

a reproductive stage in its life cycle, the

coccolithophore is able to change its physi-

cal appearance to such an extent that it

becomes essentially invisible to the attack-

ing virus. Rather than using energy to fight

infection, E. huxleyi cells can then reproduce,

conserving their resources for growth until

conditions in their environment improve.

The researchers believe that E. huxleyi’s

ability to respond to viral infection by

switching to a reproductive stage may give

it the genetic diversity and flexibility to

adapt to rapid changes in climate and

ocean conditions.

Hiding in Plain Sighthow this gene helps its virus collectphosphorus from an otherwise lowphosphorus environment.

Part of this study involved fieldwork at a seawater mesocosmsite in Bergen, Norway during June2008. A mesocosm is an enclosedexperimental system that closelymimics real-life conditions—in this case a coccolithophore bloom—while allowing scientists tomanipulate specific environmentalfactors. In the Bergen study,Wilson’s team examined how varying cellular, genomic, and environmental conditions in a series of (pseudo)natural bloom situations affected the virus’s phosphorus acquisition gene.

Mesocosm bags are emptied at the end of the month-long field study at the Espeland Marine Biological Station in Bergen, Norway.Note that the water is turning a milky color as E. huxleyi cells are returned to the adjacent fjord. Scientists (from left-to-right): Jan Finke,NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, the Netherlands; Dr. Susan Kimmance, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK; Dr. MikeAllen, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK; Dr. Assaf Vardi, Rutgers University, USA.

Dr. Wilson working with cocco-lithovirus sample in the marinevirology laboratory.

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Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences14 Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences14

As infectious bacteria evolveever-increasing resistanceto antibiotics, scientists are

turning to viruses as an alternativeapproach in the fight against bacter-ial infections. Known as phage ther-apy, this technique was first devel-oped almost a century ago and hassince been widely used in EasternEurope. “Phage” (short for bacterio-phage, meaning “bacteria-eater”),refers to a virus that infects specificbacteria. Most viruses in the oceanare bacteriophages.

With funding from the MaineAquaculture Innovation Center,microbiologist Dr. Susie Wharamhas worked in collaboration with anexperimental lobster hatchery on aninfection-fighting phage therapyinitiative that has potentially far-reaching benefits—not only forthe aquaculture industry, wheredisease causes the largest economiclosses—but also for wider applica-tion of environmentally-friendlyviruses to control harmful bacteria.

Putting Viruses to Good Use

Vibriophages as seen by microscopy.Direct magnification: 85000–14000X.Microscopist: W. Wilson.

Marine viruses represent the largest unexploitedbiotechnological resource on the planet. They function as natural biological regulators in theenvironment, and have a global impact bycontrolling the ocean’s phytoplankton blooms and bacterial populations. On average, there are 1 million to 100 million viruses in a single milliliter of seawater.


A phage destroys an individualbacterial cell by attaching itself to a host cell and injecting its geneticmaterial through the cell’s outermembrane (see above). Replicationwithin the cell leads to the forma-tion of new phage particles.Ultimately, the infected cell bursts,spreading the newly replicatedviruses to other host cells. Thisself-perpetuating process continuesas long as there are host cells forthe spreading virus to infect.

Phage therapy uses viruses asbiological agents to fight disease

and infection, even antibiotic-resistant infections. Phages are veryhost-specific, thriving only in thepresence of their target bacteria,without harming other organisms.Deploying them to attack particulardisease-causing bacteria leavesothers—such as potentially benefi-cial bacteria—intact and flourish-ing. Antibiotic treatment, on theother hand, does not discriminate,destroying good and bad bacteriaalike.

Phage therapy uses viruses

as biological agents to

fight disease and infection,

even antibiotic-resistant

infections.

Phage VirusInfectionPhage head

tailDNA

1. Phage attachesto host cell surface

2. DNA is injectedinto host cell

4. Host cell bursts,releasing phages 3. Phages replicate

in host cell

Illustration by David Perry.


Maine’s Zone CExperimental LobsterHatchery in Stonington

was established to evaluate the fea-sibility of growing and releasingjuvenile lobsters into the wild as a way to increase natural lobsterpopulations in locally depletedareas. Although many thousands of lobsters have been successfullyreleased since its work began threeyears ago, the hatchery has had tocontend with vibriosis, an infec-tious disease caused by severalspecies of naturally occurring,harmful Vibrio bacteria that candestroy entire aquaculture stocks.

In the past, many aquaculturefacilities tried to control vibriosisby using large amounts of antibi-otics, which often proved ineffec-tive and, worse, led to the emer-gence of antibiotic-resistantVibriostrains.

Wharam was looking for natural-ly occurring phages that could beused as an antibiotic-free way toprevent or control vibriosis out-

breaks. In a one-year pilot study toassess phage therapy as a way tocontrol disease in lobster hatch-eries, she and her research staff tooksamples of water and larvae, thenused filtration, microbial

culture techniques, and DNAsequence analysis to isolate andcharacterize 82 strains of Vibriobacteria from the experimentalhatchery. The bacterial strains were used to isolate five distinctmarine phages from the hatcherysamples. These phages, identified byelectron microscopy and DNAanalysis, could be deployed to attack specific Vibrio, while leaving other, beneficial bacteriaunaffected.

Laboratory tests of various com-binations of these five potentialtherapeutic phages on Vibrio cul-tures showed a promising initialdrop in bacterial cell densities.Further study of phage-bacteriadynamics—at lower, “hatchery-level” population densities—willhelp refine phage therapy tech-niques and their potential applica-tions—not only for a wide range of aquaculture settings, but also as a general approach to safe, effec-tive treatment and prevention ofbacterial disease.

Dr. Susie Wharam.

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Fire with Fire: Fighting Vibrios with Vibriophages

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Phytoplankton physiologistDr. Robert Guillard, workingin collaboration with Yale

University’s Dr. Luigi Provasoli,began growing phytoplankton incultures more than 60 years ago.Over time, the scientists’ privatecollections were consolidated andmoved to Bigelow Laboratory,where research continued in meth-ods for collecting, growing, and pre-serving phytoplankton gatheredfrom the world’s oceans.

In 1985, the collection began tobe called a “center” to reflect itsbroadening research mission, andwas formally named in honor ofProvasoli and Guillard as a tributeto their pioneering contributions toculturing marine phytoplankton.The United States Congress desig-nated the Provasoli-Guillard Centeras the nation’s official marine phy-toplankton culture collection in1992. The Center began ccrryyoopprree--sseerrvviinngg its strains and providinglarge-scale cultures and DNA toscientists worldwide in 1996.

Today, the Center annually sup-plies thousands of cultures to bio-chemists, cell and molecular biolo-gists, biotechnologists, ecologists,oceanographers, and taxonomists,and conducts a professional trainingcourse in phytoplankton culturingtechniques that draws an interna-tional cadre of scientists to theLaboratory each year.

The Center is supported bygrants from the National ScienceFoundation, National Oceanic andAtmospheric Association, and theOffice of Naval Research. TheCenter’s collection has grown tomore than 2,700 strains of algaeliving at temperatures ranging fromtropical to polar ocean environ-ments. There are two culturechambers at each temperature, andthree sets of cultures are main-tained for each strain. A fourth setof cultures is housed in anotherbuilding, as a fail-safe in case ofcatastrophic loss at the facilityitself. Cryopreserved strains aremaintained in storage tanks; eachstrain has frozen vials in at leasttwo separate storage tanks.

In 2008, with funding from theNational Science Foundation’s FieldStations and Marine Laboratoriesprogram, the Laboratory began amajor expansion of the Provasoli-Guillard National Center, whichwill add the world’s first livingcollections of marine viruses andbacteria to what is now the largestliving phytoplankton library inexistence.

The new bacteria and viruscollections will be organized withinthe framework of an expandedCenter facility. The Laboratory’smarine virologist Dr. Willie Wilsonand microbiologist Dr. DavidEmerson are working to assemblethe equipment necessary to houseand maintain bacteria and viruscollections, identify culture strains,and develop quality control policiesthat complement the Center’s suc-cessful model for phytoplanktoncultures.

Once established, the newcultures will also become availableto scientists worldwide, furtherstreamlining the research processby saving the time and expense ofobtaining specific microbialsamples from the world’s oceansone project at a time.

Expanding the CollectionBigelow Laboratory’s Provasoli-Guillard National Center for the Culture of Marine Phytoplankton is a major international resource in the rapidly developing field of microbial oceanography.

Dr. R. Andersen.

The Center’s collection

has grown to more than

2,700 strains of algae living

at temperatures ranging

from tropical to polar ocean

environments.

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INFINITENETWORKSOcean biogeochemistry

Scientists have long believedthat cellular “armor” evolvedas a means of protecting

cells from grazing by animals, butmeasuring grazing rates in relationto the amount of mineral in a cell’scovering was not possible.

Recent technological advances in flow cytometry and micro-cinematography have improved the ability to identify and track specific elements in individualcells. This has allowed scientists tobegin taking such measurements,and find out whether and to whatextent armored cells are less vulnerable to predation than cells without a hard coat.

Drs. David Fields and MichaelSieracki are leading a project funded by the National ScienceFoundation to examine the rela-tionship between concentrations of minerals found in several speciesof ddiiaattoommss and the ingestion ratesof the copepods that graze on them.Their research is leading to agreater understanding about varyingpathways by which elements movethrough the ocean’s biogeochemicalcycle.

A primary focus of this study is Thalassiosira weissflogii, a re-latively large diatom that is afavorite food for ccooppeeppooddss andother microscopic crustaceans.

Fields and Sieracki are using con-trolled algal culturing techniques atthe Laboratory’s Provasoli-GuillardCenter to grow T. weissflogii cellswith different amounts of silica intheir glassy armor (the more silica,the harder the armor). The research-ers offer these cells to hungry cope-pods under controlled conditions,and examine the animals’ grazingbehavior to determine whether pro-tection from grazing varies in rela-tion to the hardness of the armor.

Preliminary experiments showthat young copepods have a strongpreference for softer cells with lowermineral content. Once ingested, the silica passes through the gut ofthe copepod relatively undigested,and is released back into the watercolumn as pellets of silica andundigested carbon.

The amount of silica in a pelletaffects its overall density (the armoris typically up to three times moredense than the rest of the cell).Pellet density determines the rate at which the carbon portion of thepellet sinks through the water col-umn. Transporting carbon to thedeep ocean (through the bbiioollooggiiccaallppuummpp) is the principal mechanismby which the ocean sseeqquueesstteerrss car-bon dioxide out of the atmosphere.


Glass and ChalkGlobal Biogeochemical Cycling

Thalassiosira weissflogii diatom.

A female Temora longicornis copepod preparingto consume a Brachionus rotifer.

Many microscopic, single-celled species in theocean cover themselves with hard cases, externallatticework trellises, or coatings fashioned fromeven more microscopic plates and scales. Theelements and minerals in these glass- and chalk-like coverings are essential components in theocean’s biogeochemical cycle.

Recent technological

advances in flow cytometry

and micro-cinematography

have improved the ability to

identify and track specific

elements in individual cells.

Facing page: Ula Nui, South Rift, Loihi Seamount September 2008.JASON II Digital Still Camera.

Rotifer

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Ancient Metabolism: Living on Iron

Images of iron-oxidizing Mariprofundusferrooxydans bacteria. These panels showa composite of light microscope imagesshowing the iron filaments with cellsattached to the ends, denoted by arrowsand green dots (these are stained cells).Top photo: Unstained M. ferroxydans cells.

Iron is one of the most abundant elements on theplanet, and in trace amounts, the metal is anessential nutrient for nearly all life forms.Surprisingly, the iron found in volcanic rocks anddeep in the Earth is a rich source of food energyfor an unusual type of rust-forming (iirroonn--ooxxiiddiizziinngg) bacteria.

S everal groups of microorgan-isms live entirely by chemi-cally extracting all the energy

they need to grow and reproducefrom iron. These microbes are notonly unique in how they grow andwhere they fit into the tree of life,but also in how they behave andthe kinds of minerals they form.Scientists speculate that processingiron was one of the first, ancientforms of microbial metabolism.

With funding from the NationalScience Foundation, the NationalAeronautics and Space Adminis-tration, and the Office of NavalResearch, Dr. David Emerson andhis research team are studying thephysiology and behavior of iron-oxi-dizing bacteria by sampling them inthe wild, then isolating, identifying,and growing them in laboratory cul-tures. In September 2008, workingin collaboration with researchers

Dive JZ-366-VV4559. September 28, 2008.

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from Scripps Institution of Ocean-ography, Oregon Health andSciences University, WesternWashington University, and Uni-versity of Southern California,Emerson’s team participated in the third major expedition ofFeMO, the Iron-OxidizingMicrobial Observatory at LoihiSeamount. Loihi is a young, veryactive underwater volcano in theHawaiian Islands. The FeMO pro-ject is investigating the diversity,evolution, physiology, and habitatsof iron-oxidizing bacteria—from the extreme heat of hhyyddrrootthheerrmmaallvveennttss to cold seeps and solid rockin the ocean depths.

Abundant populations of iron-oxidizing bacteria live in the deepwater over and around Loihi, and in similar deepwater environments,where massive amounts of volcanicrock and associated vent fluids comein contact with seawater. The vol-canic rocks, basalts, and the chemi-cally altered water that flows fromvents associated with these under-sea volcanoes are enriched withsoluble iron. This makes an idealhabitat for iron-oxidizing bacteria.


“By virtue of their large numbers, unique metabolism,

and perseverance over millions of years, iron-oxidizing

bacteria could have produced the iron used in the hulls

of today’s research vessels. It is a source of some humility

to think that the iron our ship is made of, may have, at

one time, been food for bacteria like the ones we are

hunting at Loihi.”

~ David Emerson, aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson,29 September, 2008

Microbial mats formed by iron-oxidizing bacteria at an iron-rich hydrothermal vent at LoihiSeamount. The two small white floats are attached to short-term samplers that have been placed inthe flow from the vent to investigate microbial colonization at the site. The two red laser dots (10 cm apart) are pointed at the vent orifice, which appears out of focus because hot water (55º C/131º F) from the vent is meeting the cold (4º C/39.2º F) ocean water, producing a “shimmer”known as the Schlerian effect. The rocks surrounding the vent are covered in a thick layer of rust-colored iron oxides made by bacteria that live off the ferrous iron in the vent fluid. Even thesamplers, which had been deployed for 10 days when this photograph was taken, are becomingcovered in these fast-growing microbial mats.

The R/V Thomas G. Thompson.

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Using small amounts of oxygen,they consume soluble iron andprecipitate rust (iron oxide) as a by-product. The bacteria create fila-mentous microbial mats that carpetlarge areas of rock, coating them in rusty deposits that can be morethan a meter (over three feet) thick.The rust, in turn, impacts othermicroorganisms in the marine com-munity and affects elemental geo-logical processes on the planet.FeMO’s goal is to understand thebiochemical process by which iron-oxidizing bacteria form rustdeposits, how they affect oceanchemistry, and their interactionwith other bacteria in ocean eco-systems.

Scientists believe that early inEarth’s history, iron-oxidizing bac-teria may have helped create themassive deposits of iron ore in thebanded iron formations that are

now mined to supply the steel indus-try. Today, these bacteria may becontributing to the ongoing underseadisintegration of the Titanic andother historic shipwrecks, literallyeating away the iron hulls of thosesunken ships. This kind of microbialbio-corrosion is also an importantpart of the larger industrial problemof metal corrosion. The economic toll from metal corrosion is enor-mous, costing industries as much as $250 billion a year in the UnitedStates alone.

Emerson and his team are work-ing to piece together the physiologyand ecology of iron-oxidizing bac-teria. This research will help scien-tists discover how these bacteria col-onize steel surfaces and the part theyplay in bio-corrosion, their role incarbon fixation and the cycling ofgreenhouse gases, and whether theselife forms may exist on other planets.


Equipment elevator launch.

Drs. David Emerson (right) and theUniversity of Hawaii’s Brian Glazer re-moving a push core sample for fine-scalechemical analysis.

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The Chukchi is north of theBering Strait, betweenSiberia and Alaska; the

Beaufort Sea lies off northernAlaska, to the east of the Chukchi.Their combined area extends over200,000 square miles (518,000 sqkm), and sustains such a rich diver-sity and abundance of species thatnearby Inupiat communities havenamed it the “Arctic Ring of Life.”

Chemical oceanographer Dr.John Christensen has been directinga multi-year research project to

collect sedimentcores along aseries of four tran-sects in the shelfand slope regionsof the Chukchiand Beaufort Seasto measure sedi-ment-water nutri-ent flows in dif-ferent regions and

at varying depths of the shelf basin.Because the continental shelf isgenerally more fertile and bio-logically diverse than the openocean, measuring changes in how oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitro-gen, and other nutrients cyclebetween the water and sedimentsof these areas is important inunderstanding patterns of globalocean productivity.

Christensen’s analysis showsthat, for each transect, the highestlevels of gas and nutrient flowoccur in an eleven-mile wide bandseaward of the continental sshheellffbbrreeaakk, the area where the sea floorslopes abruptly down from the

shelf. When compared to flows inshallower areas closer to land, theseresults indicate that cold uuppwweelllliinnggcurrents at the upper edges of thedeep ocean play an essential role insupplying nutrients needed to nour-ish the highly productive ecosys-tems that exist on the borderbetween these two underwaterhabitats.

Changes in global climate arelikely to affect established patternsof nutrient flow in this region,either by altering upwelling and circulation patterns in nutrient richwater flowing in through the BeringStrait, or though ecosystem shiftsresulting from changes in sea icedistribution. Christensen’s findingssuggest a vital link between thebiological abundance of this regionand the currents that flow upwardfrom the deep Pacific.


Chukchi Sea. Courtesy of NASA.

Dr. John Christensen.

The continental shelfecosystems of theBeaufort and ChukchiSeas in the westernArctic Ocean areamong the mostbiologically abundantmarine regions in the world.

Nutrients in the Arctic Ring of Life

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ALASKA

SIBERIA

The icebergs continue tomelt as they drift north-ward, adding freshwater

and nutrients to the seawateraround them, and creating hotspotsof biological and chemical enrich-ment that vary substantially fromthe surrounding open ocean ecosys-tem. As they move, the icebergsbecome a focal point for the biolog-ical communities in the vicinity,and affect biogeochemical cyclingwithin the ocean as a whole. Asmore icebergs are formed and jointhe “iceberg population,” scientistsestimate that these mobile eessttuuaarr--iieess will affect almost 40% of thesurface ocean of the Antarcticregion.

Dr. Benjamin Twining is part ofa multi-year, collaborative fieldstudy of iceberg biogeochemistrythat includes researchers from theScripps Institution of Oceanographyand the Monterey Bay AquariumResearch Institute (MBARI). In June2008, Twining joined a 29-memberNSF-funded expedition aboard theresearch ship and icebreaker R/VNathaniel B. Palmer. The expedi-tion, led by Dr. Ken Smith fromMBARI, was organized to test thetechnology needed to track free-drifting icebergs in the northwestWeddell Sea and establish methodsfor analyzing their role in nutrientcycling—particularly iron enrich-ment, biological productivity, andccaarrbboonn eexxppoorrtt in the SouthernOcean.


Icebergs in Motion

Dr. Ben Twining aboard the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer, approaching one of the huge tabular icebergs, calved from the ice shelf in theSouthern Ocean’s Weddell Sea. Researchers estimate that large icebergs have a biochemical “zone of influence” around them approxi-mately 20 miles in diameter. Tabular icebergs can stretch over 180 miles (300 km) in length.

An orthographic projection from NASA’s BlueMarble data set of the continent of Antarctica.The Weddell Sea is the bay at the upper left.

Among the most dramatic effects of the planet’s warming atmosphere arethe disintegrating ice shelves of the western Antarctic Peninsula and theresulting increase in the number of free-drifting icebergs in the AntarcticOcean, particularly in the Weddell Sea.

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The 2008 cruise began a broadinterdisciplinary research initiativeinvolving everything from the engineering challenges of icebergrotation and meltwater mechanics,to phytoplankton and zooplanktonbiology, to microbial oceanographyand molecular study of bacterialprocesses. A primary goal of thisfirst cruise was to devise methodsof finding, tracking, and monitoringindividual icebergs. Researcherschose likely candidates from satel-lite imagery, located them at sea,and used small remote-controlledplanes to drop GPS units on them

for tracking. The team alsodeployed sediment traps designedto sink underneath icebergs andreturn with samples for analysis ofcarbon export and trace metals.

Research is focusing on the rela-tionship between the physicalstructure and dynamics of free-drifting icebergs and the iron andnutrient distributions of the sur-rounding water column. The effectsof iceberg processes on the sur-rounding ppeellaaggiicc communities,including microbes and zooplank-ton, and their impact on organiccarbon transport to the deep ocean

are providing new evidence aboutthe connection between climatechange and carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean.

Iron is an essential, and oftenlimiting, nutrient in ocean ecosys-tems. Twining is investigatingtotal dissolved iron concentrationsat various distances from the ice-bergs and examining changes iniirroonn ooxxiiddaattiioonn states and cchheemmiiccaallssppeecciiaattiioonn at different distancesfrom the iceberg. He is looking forevidence that the iron entering thesystem from iceberg meltwater andparticulate matter is providing asignificant source of bbiiooaavvaaiillaabblleeiron as a nutrient in the surround-ing biological community.

If this is the case, then free-drifting icebergs may be fertilizingan otherwise iron-limited biologicalcommunity, spurring greater pro-ductivity and changing the wayorganic matter is cycled or sequest-ered. The more the icebergs melt,the more bioavailable iron entersthe picture. Over the long term, asthe climate warms and icebergsbecome more abundant, the effectof adding bioavailable iron to largeareas of the ocean may trigger fur-ther changes in the biogeochemicalprocess that regulate the global carbon cycle.


Twining studies the distribution of iron molecules within a cell using a technology called

synchrotron X-ray fluorescence, which uses a brilliant X-ray beam to view a single, intact

cell (such as the silicoflagellate on the right). The beam causes electrons to eject, resulting

in characteristic patterns of fluorescence for different elements (Si, S, Fe, Zn in this exam-

ple). Since different elements fluoresce at different wavelengths, researchers are able to

pinpoint specific elements present in a cell by “interrogating” it with the X-ray beam.

There are four Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence facilities in the United States operated by

the U.S. Department of Energy. At any given time, there is room for 45 microscopes around

the 1 km-wide ring of the machine, and, much like ship time, researchers apply for time and

a seat around the ring.

Synchrotron Time

Recovering seawater sampling instruments.

Si S

Fe Zn

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WORLDSUNDERWATEREcosystem function and change

WORLDSUNDERWATEREcosystem function and change


Bigelow scientists are using phylo-genetic analysis to study evolutionat opposite ends of the world’socean. Research on populations of native oysters in Maine andendemic lobsters in the SouthPacific is opening new windows in our scientific understanding ofthe biochemical mechanism bywhich life adapts and survives,advancing our ability to identifyand track the ongoing story of evolutionary change.

Phylogenetics is a key compo-nent of a collaborative project atthe Laboratory to assess the feasi-bility of strengthening a rreelliicctt

NATIVE HABITATEvolutionary Transformations

Where Evolution Begins

The physical processes that drive evolution beginat the molecular level, within the nuclei ofbillions of cells, where an organism’s geneticinstructions are encoded in DNA sequences forenzymes, proteins, growth, and reproduction.

Evolution at the Biomolecular Scale The Cytochrome bc1 Protein Complex

This complex of proteins is part of theinner membrane of a cell’s mitochondriaand is responsible for an essential step incellular metabolism. An organic com-pound called ubiquinone (Coenzyme Q10)ushers electrons into the complex near thecenter, facilitating reactions that produceenergy for the cell to live. Illustration by D. McClellan.

DNA molecules and proteinsequences in cells regulatethe characteristics that

determine how an individual willfare in the crucible of natural selec-tion, the way it will adapt to itsenvironment, and whether it willsurvive to pass its genetic codes onto future generations.

A host of factors determines howindividual genes—and consequentlythe genome of a species as a whole—respond to shifting circumstancesin the environment. Abrupt envi-ronmental changes can destroy orisolate large numbers of individualsin a population, causing a popula-tion bottleneck that results in lessgenetic variation in the remainingpopulation.

With fewer genetic options, apopulation may not be able to adaptto new changes in climate condi-tions or resource availability. The smaller the population, themore vulnerable it becomes toextinction.

Phylogeneticists study evolutionat the molecular level, uncoveringthe genetic connections and rela-tionships among organisms, popula-tions, and species. PPhhyyllooggeenneettiiccss isintegral to our knowledge aboutadaptation at the molecular leveland to our ability to predict theeffects of environmental pressureson the network of biodiversity thatsustains major ecosystem processeson the planet.

Dr. David McClellan.

Facing page: A member of the J. frontalis research team in the watersoff Robinson Crusoe Island. See p. 29. Photo courtesy of R. Wahle.

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suggesting either that the eessttuuaarriinneehabitat may have become unsuit-able for new oysters to take hold, orthat the genome of the relict popu-lation may have diverged too far tointerbreed with its relatives.

Genetic analysis will test thesetwo alternative hypotheses andhelp determine ways to restore thepopulation. Deciphering thegenome structure of the nativeoysters will allow researchers to seewhether a prolonged bottleneck hascaused sufficiently radical changesin key genes to prevent successfulintroduction of new individuals.

Dr. Peter Larsen.

ppooppuullaattiioonn of Eastern oysters(Crassostrea virginica) found inMaine. The population lives in asaltwater marsh creek at the north-ernmost limit of self-sustainingEastern oysters in the country, andis one of only two known wildpopulations in the state.

Phylogeneticist and bioinfor-matician Dr. David McClellan isworking with marine ecologist Dr.Peter Larsen to analyze the geneticstructure of this isolated oysterpopulation to determine howindividual genes have adaptedto changes in the local environ-ment. They are studying how thepopulation’s genome compares tothat of larger Crassostrea virginicapopulations to the south.

Maine’s native wild oysters con-stitute a ppooppuullaattiioonn bboottttlleenneecckk—their isolation and the limitedextent of their habitat make themvulnerable to small-scale distur-bances, disease, and pollution.Phylogenetic analysis of gene flow,or exchangeability, between differ-ent habitats and different oysterpopulations will allow McClellanand Larsen to gauge the effect thatmigrations between populationsmay have had on the relict genepool—the less gene flow, the moreprofound the effects of the popula-tion bottleneck.

On the other hand, this isolatedpopulation of oysters may also haveevolved genetic variation that couldbe vital to the species as a whole.Increasing the size of the relict pop-ulation could strengthen the genet-ic reserve of resilience with whichthe species can confront environ-mental challenges such as changingclimate conditions.

Previous attempts to enlarge thepopulation by introducing oystersfrom southern waters have failed,

Squid

Oyster Clam

Earthworm

Invertebrate Ancestor

Snail

The Oyster Branch on the Tree of Life

Octopus

Genetic analysis shows that oysters (Ostreidae), along with other bivalve mollusks such as clams (Veneridae), evolved from a common invertebrate ancestor, but separately fromsnails and other Gastropods. Different branches from the same ancestor eventually led toinvertebrates such as Cephalopods (octopus and squid) and Annelids (worms). Snailphotograph courtesy of Jürgen Schoner, Wikimedia Commons.

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At 33° South, Robinson CrusoeIsland is almost literally at theother end of the world from the saltmarshes of Maine. More than 250miles off the coast of Chile, theisland is the place where Scottishsailor Alexander Selkirk wasmarooned for four years. RobinsonCrusoe remains a remote place,now inhabited by 500 people wholive in the town of San Juan Batista,with one airstrip and one smallfishing pier. At the end of 2008,benthic invertebrate ecologist Dr.Rick Wahle was invited to join ateam of Chilean scientists in thefirst year of a multi-year projectinvestigating the ecology and recent

Robinson Crusoe Island.

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THE RIDDLE OF ROBINSON CRUSOE ISLAND


evolution of a virtually unstudiedspecies of cool water spiny lobster.Called Jasus frontalis, the species isfound nowhere else on the planetexcept in the waters aroundRobinson Crusoe and two other,smaller islands nearby that makeup the tiny Juan Fernández archi-pelago.

In addition to J. frontalis, severalother marine species are eennddeemmiiccto the waters of this isolated archi-pelago, as are nearly twenty percentof the terrestrial plant species onthe islands themselves. Although

J. frontalis is an economic mainstayof Robinson Crusoe’s human popu-lation, virtually nothing is knownabout basic aspects of the lobster’secology, biology, and evolutionaryhistory. The nearest members of itssame genus are found in NewZealand, Tasmania, SouthernAustralia, and South Africa, as wellas in a few far-flung South PacificIslands, but there are no close rela-tives on the South American coast.Why the species did not migrateany further to the coast of Chile isa mystery that makes J. frontalis an

ideal subject for evolutionary study. At the beginning of the research

project, Wahle’s Chilean colleaguesDrs. Alvaro T. Palma (UniversidadCatólica, Santiago) and CarlosGaymer (Universidad Católica delNorte, Coquimbo) transported acomplete field laboratory toRobinson Crusoe Island piece bypiece. Wahle adds expertise to theproject in methodology and instru-mentation for sampling water-borne larvae, newly-settled juvenilelobsters, and other crustaceans.

J. frontalis, at home.

Robinson Crusoe remains a

remote place, now inhabited

by 500 people who live in the

town of San Juan Batista, with

one airstrip and one small

fishing pier. Over three million

years old, the island is consid-

ered a geological youngster.

Robinson Crusoe Island, relative to the west coast of the South American continent.

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Like most spiny lobsters, J. frontalis larvae spend close to ayear in the water column—at themercy of the currents and with ahigh risk of being cast away fromtheir natal grounds. A major eni-gma surrounding J. frontalis is how enough larvae stay aroundRobinson Crusoe Island to repopu-late the area. To begin answeringthis question, the research teamhas set up a battery of instrumentsto monitor atmospheric and ocean-ic conditions and larval distributionpatterns.

Robinson Crusoe Island is threemillion years old, and is considereda geological youngster. Studying thegenetic structure of J. frontalis andother benthic species—those sharedbetween the island and the SouthAmerican continent as well asthose that are not—will allow sci-entists to reconstruct biogeographichistories and trace the emergenceof new species around the archipel-ago.

Back in North America, Wahleand Dr. David McClellan are in thefirst stages of designing a methodfor the detailed phylogenetic analy-sis of J. frontalis that will examinewhether cold uuppwweelllliinngg currents off the South American coast forma barrier between the island and the continent and may be a reasonwhy the species has evolved byitself, marooned for generationsaround Robinson Crusoe Island.


Dr. Rick Wahle (top left) and divers on the J. frontalis research team.

Why the species did not migrate any further to the coast of

Chile is a mystery that makes J. frontalis an ideal subject

for evolutionary study.

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Amultitude of physical fac-tors affects these patternsand influences the feeding

behavior and migration routes of adiversity of species.

Dr. David Fields and researchersfrom the University of SouthernMaine and the New EnglandAquarium have received fundingfrom the Office of Naval Research(ONR) for a collaborative interdisci-plinary study of the relationshipbetween the physical and biologicalprocesses in a particularly fertileregion in the western Gulf ofMaine. The ONR project uses fieldobservations and laboratory experi-ments to examine the interactionbetween internal ocean waves andsea floor topography, and how thesephysical features affect the distribu-tion of North Atlantic krill

Underwater Pastures and Experimental Waves

Krill schooling in the Gulf of Maine. This image was part of a Census of Marine Life study of the biophysical mechanism underlying krill patch formation and upper trophic level feeding at offshore banks in the Gulf of Maine.

North Atlantic krill(Meganyctiphanesnorvegica). Courtesyof MAR-ECO, Censusof Marine Life.

As ocean animals ingest smaller life forms, thefood energy generated by phytoplanktonphotosynthesis moves higher and higher through the marine food chain. Areas where ocean life aggregates and thrives are determined by patterns of food distribution and abundance.

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(Meganyctiphanes norvegica), acritical food source for baleenwhales (including the endangeredNorthern Right Whale).

The research team is usingacoustic and temperature profiles toinvestigate the possible role thatlocal topography plays in creatingboth large- and centimeter-scalewaves that affect krill behavior.Data collected in the field are usedto calibrate small, propeller-drivenpplluummeess in a laboratory tank. Thisallows the scientists to measure thebehavioral and neurophysiologicalresponses of individual krill tochanges in wave flows and internalwave structure. The team usesmicroscopic probes to tap into thekrill’s sensors and observe how theanimal detects organisms and

responds to changing flows, varyinglight intensities, and other environ-mental perturbations. The data areproviding information about howand where krill are likely to aggre-gate in the wild, and consequentlyabout where species that feed onkrill will go to look for them.

Understanding the relationshipbetween offshore topographic fea-tures and ocean life is an importantkey to predicting feeding patternsof migratory ocean species. Resultsfrom this study can be used to helpprevent negative impacts from non-combat naval activities, shipping,and fishing, as well as to provideinformation needed to sustain thediversity and function of largeocean ecosystems.

Dr. David Fields and Research TechnicianSteven Shema calibrating a small plume inthe Fields laboratory.

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LIQUID SUNLIGHT,

SURFACE ALCHEMYOcean systems science and climate change

LIQUID SUNLIGHT,


Summer Clouds over the High Arctic

Melting ice masses in the Arctic are considered asignificant factor in global sea-level rise, andthe influx of fresh water from melting ice may

alter ocean circulation patterns the world over. The physical processes of cloud formation over the

Arctic Ocean are an important element of the region’soverall influence on the global environment. As sea-icecover on the Arctic Ocean diminishes, the solar radiationthat would otherwise be reflected back into space by theice is absorbed by the open water at the surface instead,further warming the water and causing still more ice to

The icebreaker Oden with the science team’s research helicopter.

Dr. Paty Matrai.

Facing page: Sunlight in the High Arctic.Photo by Thorsten Mauritsen.

The climate in the Arctic is changingmore abruptly than anywhere else onthe planet, a reality that is seen mostvisibly in the dramatic reduction of theextent of summer sseeaa iiccee in the region.

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melt. Low-level cloud cover overthe Arctic helps control the heatbalance at the ocean’s surface. Howthis cloud shield forms, its charac-teristics, and the circumstances reg-ulating its “life cycle” are directlyrelevant to the world’s climatefuture.

International collaboration at the “Bear Bay” research station. Photo by Michael Tjernstrom.

Research Associate Carlton Rauschenberg driving a remotely-operated surface micro-layer sampler. Postdoctoral Researcher Andy Hind (in red) and University of Torontodoctoral student Rachel Chang preparing to deploy the team’s “bubble cat,” a smallcatamaran used to simulate and measure the effect of natural bubbles on the bio-chemistry of the water. A polar bear guard is standing watch in the background.

In August 2008, Dr. Paty Matraiwas a team leader on a six-weekscientific expedition on board theSwedish icebreaker Oden in thecentral Arctic Ocean. Called theArctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study(ASCOS), the expedition was amulti-disciplinary collaboration

between biological and physicaloceanographers, atmosphericchemists and physicists, and mete-orologists. Matrai’s team investigat-ed the effect that the biology of theocean’s surface—the “microlayer”ecosystem of phytoplankton andmicrobes in open water leadsbetween ice floes—has on the way summer clouds form in theatmosphere in the high Arctic.

ASCOS is part of a series ofinternational research initiativesorganized for the fourth Inter-national Polar Year, a far-ranging,interdisciplinary, multi-nationalmission to increase knowledgeabout polar regions and their role in the planet’s climate system. The ASCOS expedition was fundedthrough the Swedish ResearchCouncil, the European Union, andthe National Science Foundationand National Aeronautics andSpace Administration in the UnitedStates, with additional supportfrom private foundations.

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Using Oden as a base of opera-tions, the research team establishedan atmospheric field camp directlyon the surface of the ice near theNorth Pole to sample gases andaerosol particles in the atmosphere,measure biochemical and physicalexchanges at the ocean-air inter-face, and track meteorologicalprocesses in the lower atmosphere.The ship was anchored to driftingsea ice at 87°N. Research was con-ducted on board and on the ice,augmented by a helicopter, a land-based research plane, and flights of a tethered weather balloon.

The biological activity of phyto-plankton and ice algae createsmicrogels on the sea surface, consisting of organic matter,microbes, and insoluble particles.The researchers were investigatinghow these microaggregates, whichform tiny particles in the air calledaerosols, react with gases to catalyze cloud formation. Theaerosol particles produced by sur-face microlayer biochemistry, alongwith subsurface mixing and winds,are playing a key role in global cli-mate by “seeding” the atmosphereover the ocean, providing the build-ing blocks of nuclei around whichwater vapor condenses to form fog


Matrai’s team used the ASCOS weather balloon to collect cloud water samples foranalysis.

Matrai, wearing a harness, prepares hanging bottles for an incubation experiment test-ing the effect of ultraviolet radiation on sea water conditions.

and cloud droplets. As the climatewarms, the ice melts, creating moreareas of open water, which affectsthe biological productivity anddynamics of the ocean’s surface,and thus the size and number ofaerosols that are released. This inturn, determines the nature andlongevity of the clouds that influ-ence the formation and melting ofsea ice and the amount of incomingsolar radiation that ultimatelyreaches phytoplankton, controllingtheir growth in surface waters.

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Relative to the rest of theworld’s oceans, the BeringSea is experiencing one of

the most rapid periods of climatechange in recent history. Each yearfor the past decade, the region haswitnessed a steady rise in tempera-ture and a loss of sseeaa iiccee over largeareas. Since water from the NorthPacific must pass through theBering Sea before entering theArctic Ocean, the extent andduration of the sea-ice sheet thatforms in winter and retreats insummer has an enormous influenceon the region.

Sea ice directly affects the flowof heat and dissolved nutrients inthe Bering Sea, influencing the timing, intensity, and species com-position of the spring phytoplank-ton bloom there. Recent changes in the Bering Sea’s phytoplanktonpopulations have had profoundeffects on the rest of the foodchain—shifting periods of peak biological productivity, causingextensive die-offs of sea birds,reducing survival of commerciallyimportant larval fish populations,and altering migration patterns forseveral species of whales. Further

Dr. Joaquim Goés aboard the USCG Healy.

Ice in the Bering Sea, July 2008.

Melting IceClimate Change in the Bering Sea

Located in the northernmost part of the PacificOcean between Eurasia and North America, theBering Sea is a critical link between theecosystems of the North Pacific and ArcticOceans. The region supports many of the world’smajor fisheries, and produces more than half ofthe fish and shellfish that are caught in theUnited States.

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warming anticipated over the nextseveral years is likely to become amajor issue for the health of thisvital ecosystem.

Ocean biogeochemists Drs.Joaquim Goés and Helga Gomesjoined colleagues from LouisianaState University and LamontDoherty Earth Observatory in July2008 for a month-long researchcruise to the Bering Sea on boardthe United States Coast Guard Ice-breaker Healy. Their mission wasto investigate a series of biologicaland ecological variables associatedwith sea ice, including its relation-ship to phytoplankton biodiversityand distribution, the carbon cycle,and other ecosystem processes inthe region. This research is part ofthe National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA) contribu-tion to the International Polar Year.

The NASA-funded expeditionteam examined the productivityand physiological status of phyto-plankton populations over theEastern Bering Sea shelf, together

with environmental conditions, inorder to understand the likelyresponse of the ecosystem to dimin-ishing sea ice. In the course of themission, the researchers also col-lected bio-optical data in that couldbe utilized for improving satelliteobservations of the oceans.

Satellite remote sensing technol-ogy has given scientists the oppor-tunity to obtain environmentalinformation over unprecedentedtime and space scales necessary forclimate research.

Because of difficult working con-ditions, shipboard data collectionin the Bering Sea is extremely chal-lenging, so predicting long-termconsequences of climate changemust largely depend on satellitedata. Through its observations atsea, the expedition team is ensuringthat information from satellites isaccurate. Combined with dataabout sea-ice cover, heat exchange,surface winds, and temperature, theBering Sea project is contributing toincreased knowledge about trendsin physical, chemical, and biologi-cal processes of polar regions andallowing scientists to understandthe connections between polarecosystem processes and climatechange occurring on the rest of our planet.

Dr. Helga do Rosario Gomes.

Research team deploying from the USCG Healy.

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There is a continuousexchange between carbondioxide (CO2) in the atmos-

phere and the reservoirs of carbonon land and in the oceans. The rateat which carbon is cycled thoughthe Earth’s biogeochemical systemaffects the biological productivity ofthe world’s ecosystems, the amountof atmospheric CO2 taken up byphotosynthesis, and the pathwaysby which carbon is sequestered, on land and in the ocean. It is in the ocean, however, that biogeo-chemical processes generate animmense biological carbon trans-port pump, creating an oceanic carbon sink that holds ten times the amount of carbon found in terrestrial systems.

Over the past decade, research-ers from Bigelow Laboratory haveworked with a number of institu-tions and agencies to develop andtest technologies for analyzing theocean’s carbon system and studyingthe dynamics of carbon flow duringthe North Atlantic Ocean’s giganticannual phytoplankton blooms. Aprimary goal of this research is todevelop reliable methods to assesshow changing environmental condi-tions—such as cloud cover, cur-rents, winds, and waves—areaffecting and altering these massiveglobal events and their role in theglobal carbon cycle.

Sea Truth: The North Atlantic Bloom

Phytoplankton bloom (light blue colors) off Iceland.

More so than any other element, carbon forms the chemical basis of all known life on the planet.Carbon is essential to every plant and animal; it is a key component of the atmosphere and hassupplied most of the power that fueled humanindustrial technology for the past three centuries.

Nearly a quarter of global net CO2 uptake by photosynthesis

occurs in the North Atlantic Ocean, driven by the annual

spring phytoplankton bloom north of 50°N.

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Nearly a quarter of global netCO2 uptake by photosynthesisoccurs in the North AtlanticOcean, driven by the annual springphytoplankton bloom north of50°N. Nourished by the winteraccumulation of deep water nutri-ents, billions of phytoplankton cellsrespond to lengthening hours ofdaylight as the Northern Hemi-sphere moves into spring, triggeringa dramatic global phenomenon.Many phytoplankton species flour-ish over thousands of square milesduring the bloom, creating strikingdisplays of swirling color, from theturquoise of chalk-covered coccol-ithophores to deep emerald greensfrom dense concentrations ofchlorophyll pigments.

In May 2008, at the onset of theNorth Atlantic spring bloom, Drs.

Mike Sieracki and Nicole Poultonjoined a collaborative, multi-disci-plinary team of colleagues from theUniversity of Washington,University of Maine, DalhousieUniversity, and University ofCalifornia, San Diego ScrippsInstitution of Oceanography aboardthe R/V Knorr for three weeks ofshipboard research off the southerncoast of Iceland. The Knorr waspart of a research fleet for the proj-ect that also included vessels andscientists from Iceland and theUnited Kingdom.

As the bloom progressed, theresearchers aboard the Knorr usedBigelow Laboratory’s ffllooww ccyyttoommee--ttrryy technology to determine phyto-plankton biomass and communitystructure from water samples. Theteam deployed programmed instru-

ment floats, autonomous under-water gliders, and sediment traps to document the growth, peak, and fallout of the bloom withinspecific water parcels and eddies—and to calculate the resulting fluxof carbon to the deeper ocean. Sea-truth “inter-calibration” of datagenerated by this suite of roboticsensors —including optical meas-urements of vertical and horizontalmixing, patchiness and concentra-tion of phytoplankton, organic carbon, nitrates, and oxygen—wereused to model net carbon flow andpredict changes in phytoplanktonspecies composition through thefertile North Atlantic spring.

During the North Atlantic spring cruise, Drs.Sieracki and Poulton found that a speciesof the chain-forming Chaetoceros diatom(upper left) was predominant throughoutthe study area during the bloom. The sin-gle-cell alga went through a complete lifecycle over three weeks, ending in a restingstage (bottom right) on the ocean floor,and possibly functioning as a “seed” for thenext bloom.Ph

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Systematic, long-term monitoring of the oceanenvironment is essential to understand howglobal climate change is affecting ecosystem

processes. The summer of 2008 marked the tenth consecutive year that Dr. William Balch and hisresearch team at the Laboratory have been running the NASA-funded Gulf of Maine North Atlantic Time Series (GNATS) between Portland, Maine andYarmouth, Nova Scotia, documenting changes innutrient concentrations, phytoplankton biomass, andrates of ccaarrbboonn ffiixxaattiioonn by calcifying phytoplanktonin the biologically productive ocean ecosystems of theGulf of Maine. GNATS is the longest transect timeseries in the Gulf of Maine and reflects environmentalchanges in response to multiple years of extremefreshwater discharge from rivers in the Gulf of Mainewatershed. These observations are making it possibleto calibrate ocean color measurements from satellitesand improve our large-scale interpretation of the bio-logical oceanography of this large ocean ecosystem.

Balch and his team added an important new dimen-sion to their GNATS program with the August 2008launch of Henry, the Laboratory’s first autonomousunderwater Slocum glider, designed to collect datawith a variety of customized sensors along theGNATS transect. The glider was funded by the State of Maine. This state-of-the-art, program-mable, battery-powered instrument has significantly

augmented the team’s research activities by allowingGNATS observations to proceed independently of traditional data collection from surface ships.

GNATS has provided one of the most recent com-prehensive regional assessments of carbon fixation inthe Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. Together withonly a few other long-term oceanic time series in theworld—the Atlantic Meriodional Transect (AMT), theHawaii Ocean Time Series (HOTS), and the BermudaAtlantic Time Series (BATS)—GNATS is providing acritical and ongoing perspective on changing condi-tions in coastal oceans not covered by the centralocean time series.

Balch research team member Bruce Bowler wasaboard the British Antarctic research ship RSS JamesClark Ross as part of the October 2008 AtlanticMeridional Transect time series, which measuredchanges in biodiversity and ecosystem processes overmore than 7,200 nautical miles between the Northand South Atlantic Oceans.

In the Long Run

Research Associate David Drapeau with Henry in dry dock.

Left: Henry changes buoyancy to move up and down through the ocean at a horizontal speed of approximately half aknot. On board sensors can collect data on temperature, salinity, conductivity and a number of optical properties to amaximum depth of 200 meters for overthree weeks at a time. Approximately four feet long, and weighing 114 pounds,the glider is programmed to surface atregular intervals to transmit data andreceive further instructions.

Photo by Greg Bernard.

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When coccolithophoresshed their scales at theend of a seasonal bloom,

these small particles act likebillions of little mirrors, reflectingsunlight and turning the water amilky turquoise color, visible fromspace over thousands of squaremiles. The scales, or coccoliths,collectively contain vast amounts


Bright Waters and Rough Seas

of carbon, which is eventuallyburied in sediments on the oceanfloor. Because calcium carbonaterepresents a vast storehouse of car-bon on the planet, making up aquarter to a third of all marine sedi-ments, the biogeochemistry ofannual coccolithophore blooms hasdirect consequences for the globalcarbon cycle.

As of this writing, we arenow in the “headwaters”of the coccolithophorebloom, south of theFalklands/Malvinas.

~ Chief Scientist William Balch,aboard the R/V Roger Revelle,December 10, 2008

Coccolithophores such as Emiliania huxleyi andits relatives are an extremely abundant, micro-scopic, calcifying phytoplankton species, that coverthemselves with tiny limestone (calcium carbon-ate) scales during the course of their life cycle.

True-color AQUA MODIS image of theSouthwest Atlantic off of Argentina andthe Falkland/ Malvinas Islands (10December 2008; processed by NormanKuring, NASA, Goddard Space FlightCenter). The turquoise blooms consistedprimarily of coccolithophores, which wereso dense that objects could not be seenthree feet (1m) below the surface. As thecurrents flowed northeast, the phyto-plankton species composition in thebloom changed from coccolithophores tomixed dinoflagellates and flagellates (seenin the deeper green hues of the image).The cruise track of the R/V Roger Revellethrough the bloom appears as a dottedred line.

Dr. William Balch (right) and ResearchAssociate Bruce Bowler carry stand-alonepumps (SAPS) to filter cubic meters ofwater for molecular analysis.

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Human use of fossil fuels andthe resulting impact of carbon diox-ide (CO2) levels on global climatechange have highlighted the impor-tance of phytoplankton blooms indriving the carbon cycle. The abil-ity of marine organisms to take upcarbon in the form of CO2 (orHCO3 bicarbonate, in chemicalequilibrium with CO2) and convertit to organic matter or calcium car-bonate for skeletons or coverings isa crucial step in this cycle, and anyfactors affecting this process havefar-reaching implications for allglobal ecosystems.

Numerous models predict con-tinued increases in atmosphericCO2 as a result of burning fossilfuels. A large fraction of thisanthropogenic CO2 diffuses intoseawater, combining with water toform carbonic acid, making largeregions of the ocean more acidic.This ocean acidification is likely tohave a significant negative impacton life in the sea, especially calcify-ing organisms’ ability to functionand survive (including a large rangeof organisms, not just coccol-ithophores).

Some of the most extensive coc-colithophore phytoplankton bloomsin the world occur every year onthe Patagonian Shelf east ofArgentina. Despite the importanceof understanding the factors regu-lating these enormous naturalblooms, the remoteness of this partof the Southern Ocean has been amajor impediment for scientificresearch there.

In December 2008, Dr. WilliamBalch was Chief Scientist aboardthe R/V Roger Revelle, leading a33-member research team on a five-week expedition to study the ecolo-gy, dynamics, and impacts of oceanacidification in the SouthernHemisphere’s largest recurringcoccolithophore bloom. In theexpedition known as CoPaS’08(CCoccolithophores of thePPatagonian SShelf), researchersaboard the R/V Roger Revelleexamined the processes regulatingthe bloom and investigated theimpact of increasing levels of oceanacidification on its dynamics.

A key goal for the ship’s scienceteam was to examine the effects ofocean acidification on changes incoccolithophore concentrations,growth and calcification rates, zoo-plankton grazing, and dissolution ofcalcium carbonate. This knowledgeis critical to model complex biogeo-chemical processes that regulatephytoplankton production and thebbiioollooggiiccaall ppuummpp (the net processinvolved with biological fixation ofCO2 into organic matter) and thevertical sinking of this material tothe sea floor. Prior to this expedi-


Despite weathering two intense ocean storms

in the cold southwest Atlantic “summer,” the

researchers conducted underway sampling and

deck experiments to allow real-time evaluation

of phytoplankton species diversity and abun-

dance in both bloom and surrounding non-

bloom waters. Calibrating satellite observations

is an essential tool in understanding the global

carbon cycle, since satellite sensors provide a

picture of bloom conditions in the world’s

oceans every two days.

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Research Technician Emily Lyczkowski in the Balch laboratory on board the R/V Roger Revelle.

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tion, which was one of the firstmulti-disciplinary, ship-based inves-tigations of the Patagonian Shelfbloom, scientific knowledge aboutcoccolithophore ecology was basedalmost exclusively on northernhemisphere bloom studies.

Combining satellite and under-way observations with directsampling, the expedition gatheredbasic information about the speciescomposition and phytoplanktoncommunity structure of the bloom.Satellite measurements were used toestimate levels of particulate organicand inorganic carbon in the bloom.

Data analysis and shipboardexperiments examined the relation-ship between coccolithophores andother species of phytoplankton, theimpact of coccolithophores on thecarbon cycle, and how changingenvironmental conditions mightaffect bloom dynamics.


The R/V Roger Revelle computer room.

Heavy weather during CoPas ’08.

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Accurate assessment of theamount of CO2 taken upby the world’s oceans is

essential to predicting futureatmospheric levels of this potentgreenhouse gas, and the amount ofocean acidification that it is likelyto cause. Ability to measure thescale and rate of increase in CO2levels generated by fossil fuel emis-sions and the seasonal variations inthe exchange of CO2 between theocean and the atmosphere requirescoordination among a multitude ofcomplex variables.

Between February and April 2008, ResearchAssociate David Drapeauwas part of a 30-personcollaborative researchexpedition known as the Southern Ocean Gas Exchange(GasEx-III) experiment.Comprising 30 percent of

the total ocean surface area ofworld, the Southern Ocean has aprofound influence on global CO2levels, but only limited researchhas been carried out there. Thiswas the third large-scale ocean–CO2 exchange study led by UnitedStates scientists in the past decade.GasEx-I took place in the NorthAtlantic in 1998; GasEx-II was inthe Equatorial Pacific in 2001. Theexpeditions have been funded bythe National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration(NOAA), NASA, and the NSF.

The scientists spent 42 daysaboard the NOAA ship, R/V

Ronald H. Brown, amidthe freezing winds andhigh waves 1,000 milesat sea in the westernAtlantic sector of theSouthern Ocean. They

gathered data about thedynamics of CO2 and other

ocean surface atmospheric gasexchange under varying physicalconditions including wind velocity,fetch, and vertical and horizontalnear-surface turbulence. The teamalso measured phytoplanktonchlorophyll content at the surfaceand within the water column.

Differentiating among the opti-cal properties responsible for lightbackscattering in the water, such ascalcium carbonate concentrationsand bubbles from turbulence, was a primary focus of BigelowLaboratory’s research during thecruise. In satellite studies of theSouthern Ocean, Balch hasobserved what appear to be vastregions of elevated concentrationsof calcium carbonate (limestone)stretching from the tip of SouthAmerica over to the waters south of Tasmania.

Coccolithophores produce vastnumbers of tiny coccoliths made ofthis highly reflective, light scatter-ing mineral and may be responsiblefor increasing the ocean’s reflect-ance. Alternatively, intense windsand associated bubble formationcould explain this enormous regionof high reflectance. Results of thiswork have clearly confirmed thepresence of massive amounts ofsuspended calcium carbonate fromcoccolithophores. The expedition’sfindings will improve knowledgeabout the global distribution of coc-colithophores and provide a muchclearer understanding of CO2 fluxin large ocean ecosystems such asthe Southern Ocean.


A MOVING TARGETCarbon Dioxide and the Southern Ocean

The location of the expedition’s study area in the Southern Ocean, showing mean windspeeds during March 2008. Hotter colors (brighter orange) denote higher winds.

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The atmosphere above thisregion contains the largestsubtropical deck of low-

lying ssttrraattooccuummuulluuss clouds on theplanet. Compared to the NorthPacific or Atlantic Oceans, the ele-ments of this enormous climatesystem (defined as the land of sub-equatorial Peru down to approxi-mately 35°S in Chile and theSoutheast Pacific Ocean out to110°W) have not been sufficientlystudied to be adequately represent-ed in global climate models.

During October 2008, Matrairesearch team members AndrewHind and Carlton Rauschenberg,joined 150 other scientists from 40 institutions in eight nations totake part in VOCALS-REx, a multi-agency, international field programof the Variability of the AmericanMonsoon Systems’ (VAMOS)Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-LandStudy. The goal of this program wasto develop methods and collect datato improve scientific understand-ing, model simulation, and predic-tions about the southeastern Pacificocean-atmosphere-land climate system for a range of timescalesaffecting global climate models.

VOCALS was scheduled for themonth of October to allow scien-tists to conduct research at a timewhen stratocumulus cloud cover isgreatest, the southeast trade windsare strongest, and the connectionsbetween the upper ocean and thelower atmosphere are most active.

The VOCALS-REx team used aNOAA research ship and five air-craft to sample the upper ocean andlower atmosphere during the courseof the expedition. The team exam-ined a range of environmental fac-tors in the climate system, fromprocesses that control the proper-ties and formation of stratocumulusclouds—including the influence ofmicroscopic aerosol particles emit-ted from volcanoes and humanactivities on the South Americancontinent—to the mechanisms thatcontrol transport of cold water

through the ocean and the bio-chemical interactions between thelower atmosphere and upper ocean.The resulting real-time data aboutcritical components of the atmos-phere-ocean-land climate system ofthe southeastern Pacific region areadding much needed, missing information to climate models,increasing confidence in climateforecasts and predictions aboutfuture global climate change.


150 Scientists, 40 Institutions, 8 NationsThe Southeast Pacific Climate Field Experiment

Routes that the various aircraft and ships followed as they made observations of theocean, clouds, and atmosphere in the Southeast Pacific region during the VOCALS fieldcampaign.

On the other side of South America from Patagonia, the southeast PacificOcean is characterized by a strong coastal uuppwweelllliinngg that carries cold waterfrom the deep ocean toward the surface, creating cold surface temperaturesover coastal areas.

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The Laboratory communi-cates about ocean sciencewith researchers, educators,

students, the media, and the publicthrough a range of programs.Today’s changing oceans make itimperative for us to work within anarray of emerging scientific disci-plines, train new oceanographers,and reach a wide audience, helpingpeople to learn about the connec-tions between the global ocean andthe world that future generationswill inherit, inhabit, and govern.


Widening Circles of Scientific UnderstandingSharing knowledge about the ocean’s importanceto our environmental future is a growing priorityin the Laboratory’s education and outreach programs.

The Keller BLOOM Program:What Marine Invertebrate Do You Want to Be and Why?High school juniors from across Maine responded to this question as part of their application to become one of sixteen students chosen for the May 2008 Keller-BLOOM Program. Bigelow Trustee Emeritus James McLoughlin and the late Dr. MaureenKeller began the BLOOM (Bigelow Laboratory Orders Of Magnitude) Program in 1990 as a way to provide youngpeople with opportunities that foster scientific literacy and creativity. The program isan intensive, in-residence week of ocean science activities typical of the work andscope of the Laboratory’s research. The program is sponsored by donations fromindividuals and businesses in Maine.

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Open House: Up Close and Public

For one day each summer, the Laboratory opens its doors to visitors of all ages, and invites the public to meet scientists, tour laboratory facilities, and acquire some hands-on experience with ocean sampling and analysis. The 2008 Open House drew peoplefrom our local community and the state, as well as summer tourists to the New England region. Left: Dr. Nicole Poulton helps OpenHouse visitors on the Laboratory’s dock collect samples from a plankton tow. Center: Guests in the conference room. Right: Glider pilotDavid Drapeau, with Henry and guests.

Phytoplankton Culturing Class

In October 2008, scientists from seven states, Pakistan, and Australiagathered at the Laboratory to participate in an intensive trainingcourse in phytoplankton culturing techniques. Taught annually byDrs. Robert Andersen and Michael Sieracki, the class is designed forgraduate students, faculty members, and aquaculturists. It coversbasic and advanced techniques for isolating, growing, and cryo-preserving marine phytoplankton for use in environmental and biomedical research.

Café Scientifique in MaineOcean Science Conversations

Bigelow Laboratory hashosted informal conver-sations with the publicabout research findingsand emerging scientificissues for over threedecades. Ten years ago,these gatheringsbecame part of theinternational move-ment called CaféScientifique, whichbrings discussionsabout science to more than 150 “cafés” in 42 countries.In 2008, the Labor-atory’s summerBoothbay HarborCafé Scientifiqueseries expanded toadd talks and events in the wider Maine community. Topics included thecontroversy around proposals to fertilize the oceanswith iron to reduce global CO2 levels, the challengesof ocean ecosystems science in the 21st century,the invisible jungle of marine microbes, use of phagetherapy in lobster hatcheries, coastal ecosystemrestoration, climate change and sea-level rise, andthe discovery of new ocean microbial life forms.

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TITLE

Bacterial dormancy, bacterivory, and bacterioplanktondiversity in the ocean

Collaborative Research: Producing an updated synthesis ofthe Arctic's marine primary production regime and its controls

Information Technology Research/Collaborative Research:Interactive software systems for expert-assisted analysis andclassification of aquatic particles

Collaborative Research: ATOL: Deep Brown - A phylogenic andgenomic investigation of the algal heterokont tree

Small Grants for Exploratory Research: Single-cell genomics ofmarine bacterioplankton

COSEE: Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence

Annual cycles of nitrate and phytoplankton stocks using opticsat the North Pole Environmental Observatory

Plankton dynamics and carbon cycling in the equatorial PacificOcean: Control by Fe, Si, and grazing

Biocomplexity in the environment, coupled biogeochemicalcycles, complex molecular to global interaction and feedbacksin the marine dimethylsulfide cycle

The Collaborative O-Buoy Project: Development of a networkof Arctic Ocean chemical sensors for the IPY and beyond

Collaborative Research: The role of phytoplankton ballastmaterial in deterring copepod grazing

Provasoli-Guillard National Center for Culture of MarinePhytoplankton

Western Arctic Shelf Basin Interactions: SBI—Mesoscale nutri-ent structures in the Northern Chukchi and Beaufort Seas inseveral seasons

Mechanoreception in Marine Copepods: Detecting complexfluid signals

Workshop: Single cell alternatives to metagenomics inenvironmental microbiology

FUNDING AGENCY

NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

UME/NSF

NSF

OSU/NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S)

Stepanauskas/Sieracki

Matrai

Sieracki/Balch

Andersen

Stepanauskas

Sieracki/Goés

Christensen

Balch

Matrai

Matrai

Fields/Sieracki

Andersen

Christensen

Fields


AMOUNT

659,836

306,793

1,555,515

943,318

147,412

662,778

560,310

305,657

1,716,238

413,994

462,847

1,915,968

299,999

201,148

44,856


Active Grants

January–December, 2008

CADWR State of California Department of WaterResources

CBEP Casco Bay Estuary ProjectCIW Carnegie Institute of WashingtonDEPSCOR Department of Defense Experimental

Program to Stimulate Competitive Research

DUKE Duke UniversityFSML Field Station and Marine LaboratoryIPY International Polar YearMAIC Maine Aquaculture Innovation CenterMRI Major Research InstrumentationMTI Maine Technology InstituteNEC Northeast Consortium NSF National Science Foundation

ONR Office of Naval ResearchOSU Oregon State UniversityREU Research Experience for

UndergraduatesRSA Research Set AsideUCB University of California-BerkeleyUCONN University of ConnecticutUME University of Maine

TITLE FUNDING AGENCYPRINCIPAL

INVESTIGATOR(S) AMOUNT

Collaborative Research: From structure to information inmechanosensory systems: The role of sensor morphology indetecting fluid signals

Collaborative Research: Phytoplankton community dynamicsand physiological status in the South Atlantic subtropical gyreand Benguela upwelling systems

MRI: Acquisition of new culture chambers for the Provasoli-Guillard National Center

Collaborative Research: Marine Microgels: A microlayer sourceof summer cloud condensation nuclei in high Arctic oceanleads

Patagonian Shelf Coccolithophores: Ecological factors regulat-ing the Southern Hemisphere's largest recurring coccol-ithophore bloom

Functional genomics of phosphate acquisition during virusinfection of Emiliania huxleyi

Collaborative Research: Loihi Seamount as an observatory forthe study of neutrophilic iron-oxidizing bacteria and themicrobial iron cycle

Collaborative Research: Plant regulation of competitionbetween methanogens and iron-reducing bacteria in fresh-water wetlands

Collaborative Research: Autonomous measurements of carbonfluxes in the North Atlantic bloom

Collaborative Research: Biological and physical controls onDMS production and emission during VOCALS

Collaborative Research: FeCycle II -- natural variability in plank-ton iron quotas during an unamended Lagrangian experiment

Unlocking the mysteries of plastid origin through comparativegenomic analysis of two Paulinella species

Single cell genome sequencing of uncultured prokaryotesfrom the South Atlantic mesopelagic

Collaborative Research: Quantitative importance and trophicrole of Nocticula blooms in the Arabian Sea

Establishing marine archaeal, bacterial and viral collections tocomplement the Provasoli-Guillard National Center at Bigelow Laboratory

REU Site: Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences —Undergraduate research experience in the Gulf of Maine andthe world ocean

NSF

NSF

NSF/MRI

NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

UME/NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF

NSF/FSML

NSF/REU

Fields/Sieracki

Sieracki

Andersen

Matrai

Balch

Wilson/Stepanauskas/Wharam

Emerson

Emerson

Sieracki

Matrai

Twining

Yoon/Andersen

Stepanauskas/McClellan/Sieracki

Goés

Andersen/Emerson/Wilson

Wahle/Fields

322,532

228,646

204,314

498,722

495,729

808,750

114,695

100,721

36,559

320,000

181,090

818,006

976,747

296,905

335,341

258,685



MRI: Acquisition of equipment for microbial single cellgenomics research

Small Grants for Exploratory Research: Giant virus regulation ofcoccolithophorid dynamics

Estimating nitrate in the world’s oceans from space and itsutility to study environmental regulation of nitrate-based NEWP production in the Arabian Sea

Using remote sensing to understand the consequences of cli-mate, sea level changes, and increased human activities in thecoastal Gulf of Maine: An interdisciplinary study of land-seacarbon coupling

GNATS, The Gulf of Maine North Atlantic Time Series:Integrating terrestrial and ocean carbon cycles in a coastalshelf sea through coordinated ship and satellite observations

Climate change and its impact on the ecosystem of theArabian Sea

Impact of Pacific climate variability on ocean circulation,marine ecosystems, and living resources

Climate-related interannual variability of potential new pro-duction over the western North Atlantic Ocean

Organic matter metabolism in a coastal ocean ecosystem

Spatial and temporal variability in chlorophyll, primaryproduction, and carbon export in the Bering Sea linked toclimate change (NSPIRES)

Biosphere of Mars: Ancient and recent studies

Astrological Pathways: From the interstellar medium, throughplanetary systems, to the emergence and detection of life

Differentiating sources of backscattering in the SouthernOcean: calcite, bubbles, and other optical constituents

Using remote sensing to understand carbon flow and its trans-formations from upland ecosystems into the coastal ocean

Ecosystem carbon dynamics in high-latitude seasonal seas ofthe subarctic North Pacific and North Atlantic

A proposal for refinement of the MODIS calcite algorithm andCAL/VAL activities towards assembly of Earth System DataRecords

NSF/MRI

NSF

NASA

NASA

NASA

NASA

DUKE/NASA

NASA

NASA

NASA

UCB/NASA

CIW/NASA

UCONN/NASA

NASA

OSU/NASA

NASA MODIS

Stepanauskas/McClellan/Emerson

Wilson

Goés

Balch/Roesler

Balch

Goés

Goés

Goés

Matrai/Sieracki

Goés

Emerson

Emerson

Balch

Balch

Sieracki

Balch

494,045

69,523

255,262

881,608

800,391

966,277

114,186

180,095

719,053

700,316

217,845

55,854

437,022

524,795

115,846

676,980



Active Grants

January–December, 2008


Lobster settlement forecasting in the Gulf of Maine

Reducing uncertainty in the marine carbon cycle by couplingsatellite and in-water robotic measurements

Nanoparticles and ocean optics

DEPSCoR -- Energy transfer to upper trophic levels on a smalloffshore bank

Role of Fe-oxidizing bacteria in metal bio-corrosion in themarine environment

Developing genetic fingerprinting techniques in lobsterseeding trials

Developing tools to evaluate spawning and fertilizationdynamics of the Giant Sea Scallop, Placopecten magellanicus

Research on lobster age-size relationships: Developingregionally specific growth models from meta-analysis ofexisting data

A proposal to add two Slocum Gliders to the Gulf of MaineNorth Atlantic Time Series (GNATS)

Facilities to catalyze a Center for Ocean Microbial SystemsScience

Establishment of a LC-GC-MS Facility for research andeducation in marine science

Investigate effects of commercial rockweed harvesting on theassociated macroinvertebrate community (Cobscook Bay)

Coordinate the regional settlement survey

Historical records of fouling organisms on the coast of Maine

Historical records of fouling organisms on the coast of Maine

Depth-related settlement patterns of the American Lobster inSouthern New England and the Gulf of Maine

Workshop: Single-cell alternatives to metagenomics inenvironmental microbiology

Assessment of phage therapy for the control of disease inlobster hatcheries

Using FlowCAM technology to measure high frequency spatialand temporal variations in phytoplankton and zooplanktonspecies composition and develop state-of-the-art planktonmonitoring

UME/NASA

UME/NASA

ONR

USM/ONR DEPSCoR

ONR

UMESeagrant/NOAA

NOAA RSA

DMR

MTI

MTI

MTI

DMR

DMR

ME DEP

CBEP/USM

UNH/NEC/NOAA

Sloan

MAIC

CA DWR

Wahle

Sieracki

Balch/Goés

Fields

Emerson

Wahle

Wahle

Wahle

Balch

Sieracki

Goés

Larsen

Wahle

Larsen

Larsen

Wahle


Wharam

Poulton

66,535

86,455

622,336

136,513

418,877

173,969

183,270

70,000

141,200

160,000

346,000

5,051

3,000

2,500

500

264,735

45,000

24,968

24,000



Allen MJ, Howard JA, Lilley KS, Wilson WH(2008) Proteomic analysis of the EhV-86virion. Proteome Science 6.

Allen MJ, Wilson WH (2008) Aquatic virusdiversity accessed through omic tech-niques: A route map to function. CurrentOpinion in Microbiology 11:226–232.

Andersen RA Meeting Report: SeventhInternational Chrysophyte Symposium.An International Meeting at ConnecticutCollege, New London, CT, USA; June 22–26,2008. Protist.

Andersen RA (2008) Public outreachtools: Moon boards. Limnology andOceanography Bulletin 17:8–9.

Andrews JE, Samways G, Shimmield GB(2008) Historical storage budgets oforganic carbon, nutrient, and contaminantelements in saltmarsh sediments: Biogeo-chemical context for managed realign-ment, Humber Estuary, UK. Science of theTotal Environment 405:1–13.

Bailey KE, Toole DA, Blomquist B, Najjar RG,Huebert B, Kieber DJ, Kiene RP, Matrai PA,Westby GR, del Valle DA (2008) Dimethyl-sulfide production in Sargasso Sea eddies.Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies inOceanography 55:1491–1504.

Baker-Austin C, McArthur JV, Tuckfield RC,Najarro M, Lindell AH, Gooch J,Stepanauskas R (2008) Antibiotic resist-ance in the shellfish pathogen Vibrio para-haemolyticus isolated from the coastalwater and sediment of Georgia and SouthCarolina, USA. Journal of Food Protection71:2552–2558.

Balch WM, Drapeau DT, Bowler BC,Booth ES, Windecker LA, Ashe A (2008)Space-time variability of carbon standingstocks and fixation rates in the Gulf ofMaine, along the GNATS transect betweenPortland, ME, USA, and Yarmouth, NovaScotia, Canada. Journal of PlanktonResearch 30:119–139.

Balch WM, Fabry V (2008) Ocean acidifica-tion: Documenting its impact on calcifyingphytoplankton at basin scales. MarineEcology Progress Series. 373: 239–247,doi: 10.3354/meps07801.

Balzotti MRB, McClellan DA, Coleman C(2008) Expression and evolutionary relationships of the Chenopodiumquinoa 11S seed storage protein gene.International Journal of Plant Science169:281–291.

Breuer E, Law G, Woulds C, Cowie G,Shimmield G, Peppe O, Schwartz M,McKinlay S (2008) Sedimentary oxygenconsumption and microdistribution atsites across the Arabian Sea oxygen mini-mum zone (Pakistan margin). Deep-SeaResearch II 56:296–304.

Breuer E, Shimmield G, Peppe O (2008)Assessment of metal concentrationsfound within a North Sea drill cuttingspile. Marine Pollution Bulletin56:1310–1322.

Christensen J (2008) Sedimentary carbonoxidation and denitrification on the shelfbreak of the Alaskan Beaufort andChukchi Seas. Open Oceanography Journal 2: 6–17.

Christensen J, Shimada K, Semiletov I,Wheeler PA (2008) Chlorophyll responseto shelf-break upwelling and winds in theChukchi Sea, Alaska, in Autumn. OpenOceanography Journal 2: 34–53.

Cleland D, Krader P, Emerson D (2008) Use of the DiversiLab repetitive sequence-based PCR system for genotyping andidentification of archaea. Journal ofMicrobiological Methods 73:172–178.

Druschel GK, Emerson D, Sutka R,Suchecki P, Luther GW (2008) Low oxygenand chemical kinetic constraints on thegeochemical niche of neutrophilic iron (II)oxidizing microorganisms. GeochemicaCosmochimica Acta 72:3358–3370.

Emerson D, Agulto L, Liu H, Liu L (2008)Identifying and characterizing bacteria inan era of genomics and proteomics.BioScience 58:925–936.

Evans C, Wilson WH (2008) Preferentialgrazing of Oxyrrhis marina on virus-infected Emiliania huxleyi. Limnology andOceanography 53:2035–2040.

Fabry VJ, Langdon C, Balch WM, DicksonAG, Feely RA, Hales B, Hutchins DA, KleypasJA, Sabine CL (2008) Ocean acidification’seffects of marine ecosystems and biogeo-chemistry. Eos 89:143.

Frada M, Probert I, Allen MJ, Wilson WH,De Vargas C (2008) The “Cheshire Cat”escape strategy of the coccolithophoreEmiliania huxleyi in response to viral infection. Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences of the United States of America 105:15944–15949.

Fricke WF, Wright MS, Lindell AH, HarkinsDM, Baker-Austin C, Ravel J, StepanauskasR (2008) Insights into the environmentalresistance gene pool from the genomesequence of the multidrug-resistant environmental isolate Escherichia coli SMS-3-5. Journal of Bacteriology190:6779–6794.

Gabric AJ, Matrai PA, Kiene RP, Cropp R,Dacey JWH, DiTullio GR, Najjar RG, Simo R,Toole DA, delValle DA, Slezak D (2008)Factors determining the vertical profile of dimethylsulfide in the Sargasso Seaduring summer. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography55:1505–1518.

Gomes H do R, Goés J, Matondkar SGP,Parab SG, Al-Azri ARN, Thoppil PG (2008)Blooms of Noctiluca miliaris in the ArabianSea—an in situ and satellite study. Deep-Sea Research Part I: OceanographicResearch Papers 55:751–765.

Hochella Jr. MF, Lower SK, Maurice PA,Penn RL, Sahai N, Sparks DL, Twining BS (2008) Nanominerals, mineral nano-particles, and earth systems. Science319:1631–1635.


2008 Publications and Scientific Presentations


Hood R, Naqvi W, Wiggert J, Goés J, ColesV, McCreary J, Bates N, Karuppasamy PK,Mahowald N, Seitzinger S, Meyers G (2008)Research opportunities and challenges inthe Indian Ocean. Eos 89:125–126.

Ishoey T, Woyke T, Stepanauskas R,Novotny M, Lasken RS (2008) Genomicsequencing of single microbial cells fromenvironmental samples. Current Opinion inMicrobiology 11:198–204.

Kooistra WHCF, Sarno D, Balzano S, Gu H,Andersen R, Zingone A (2008) Globaldiversity and biogeography ofSkeletonema species (Bacillariophyta).Protist 159:177–193.

Kraus TEC, Bergamaschi BA, Hernes PJ,Spencer RGM, Stepanauskas R, Kendall C,Losee RF, Fujii R (2008) Assessing the contribution of wetlands and subsidedislands to dissolved organic matter anddisinfection byproduct precursors in theSacramento-San Joaquin River Delta: Ageochemical approach. OrganicGeochemistry 39:1302–1318.

Lewis-Rogers N, McClellan D, Crandall KA(2008) The evolution of foot-and-mouthdisease virus: Impacts of recombinationand selection. Infection, Genetics andEvolution 8:786–798.

Limsakul A, Goés J (2008) Empirical evidence for interannual and longer period variability in Thailand surface air temperatures. Atmospheric Research87:89–102.

Llewellyn CA, Tarran GA, Galliene CP,Cummings DG, De Menezes A, Rees AP,Dixon JL, Widdicombe CE, Fileman ES,Wilson WH (2008) Microbial dynamicsduring the decline of a spring diatombloom in the Northeast Atlantic. Journal ofPlankton Research 30:261–273.

Ma S, Luther III GW, Keller J, Madison AS,Metzger E, Megonigal JP, Emerson D(2008) Solid-state Au/Hg microelectrodefor the investigation of Fe and Mn cyclingin a freshwater wetland: implications formethane production. Electroanalysis20:233–239.

Matrai P, Tranvik L, Leck C, Knulst JC(2008) Are high Arctic surface microlayersa potential source of aerosol organic pre-cursors? Marine Chemistry 108:109–122.

McClellan DA, Ellison DD(2008) Assessingand improving the accuracy of detectingprotein adaptation with the TreeSAAPanalytical software. Proceedings of theBiotechnology and BioinformaticsSymposium 5:11–17.

Neubauer S, Emerson D, Megonigal P(2008) Microbial oxidation and reductionof iron in the root zones of wetland plants and mobility of heavy metals.In: Biophysico-Chemical Processes of HeavyMetals and Metalloids in Soil Environments.A. Violante, P.M. Huang and G. Stotzsky(eds). IUPAC. 339–371.

Orcutt KM, Gundersen K, Wells ML,Poulton NJ, Sieracki ME, Smith GJ (2008)Lighting up phytoplankton cells withquantum dots. Limnology andOceanography: Methods 6:653–658.

Rybalka N, Andersen RA, Kostikov I, MohrKI, Massalski A, Olech M, Friedl T (2008)Testing for endemism, genotypic diversityand species concepts in Antarctic terrestri-al microalgae of the Tribonemataceae(Stramenopiles, Xanthophyceae).Environmental Microbiology(On line: www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121429260/abstract).

Twining BS, Baines SBB, Vogt SV, deJongeMD (2008) Exploring ocean biogeo-chemistry by single-cell microprobeanalysis of protist elemental composition.Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology55: 151–162 .

Wahle R, Bergeron C, Chute AS, JacobsonLD, Chen Y (2008) The Northwest Atlanticdeep-sea red crab (Chaceon quinquedens)population before and after the onset ofharvesting. ICES Journal of Marine Science65:862–872.

Wharam S, Wardill TJ, Goddard V, DonaldKM, Parry H, Pascoe P, Pickerill P, SmerdonG, Hawkins AJS (2008) A leucine amino-peptidase gene of the Pacific oysterCrassostrea gigas exhibits an unusuallyhigh level of sequence variation, predictedto affect structure, and hence activity, ofthe enzyme. Journal of Shellfish Research27:1143–1154.

Wright MS, Baker-Austin C, Lindell AH,Stepanauskas R, Stokes HW, McArthur JV(2008) Influence of industrial contamina-tion on mobile genetic elements: Class 1integron abundance and gene cassettestructure in aquatic bacterial communi-ties. ISME Journal 2:417–428.

Yentsch CS, Lapointe BE, Poulton N,Phinney DA (2008) Anatomy of a red tidebloom off the southwest coast of Florida.Harmful Algae 7:817–826.

Yentsch CS, Yentsch CM (2008) Single cellanalysis in biological oceanography andits evolutionary implications. Journal ofPlankton Research 30:107–117.

Yoon HS, Grant J, Tekle YI, Wu M, ChaonBC, Cole JC, Logsdon Jr JM, Patterson DJ,Bhattacharya D, Katz LA (2008) Broadlysampled multigene trees of eukaryotes.BMC Evolutionary Biology 8.


Research Expeditions

Chukchi Sea (p.23)

North AtlanticBloom (p.40)

Atlantic MeridionalTransect (p.42)

Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (p.35)

Southern OceanGas Exchange Experiment (p.46)

Patagonian Shelf (p.43)

Gulf of Maine/North Atlantic Time Series (p.42)

Iron Microbial Observatory,Loihi Seamount (p.20)

VOCALS RegionalExperiment (p.47)

Bergen Mesocosm(p.13)

Bering Sea (p.38)

Antarctic ExpeditionNorthwestern Weddell Sea (p.24)

Background photo of phytoplankton bloom off Namibia courtesy of NASA.

Antarctic research photo (left) courtesy of J. Goés.Arctic photo (above) by Michael Tjernstrom.


SSttaatteemmeenntt ooff AAccttiivviittiieess aanndd CChhaannggeess iinn NNeett AAsssseettss(For fiscal years ended June 30) 22000088 22000077 22000066

OOppeerraattiinngg AAccttiivviittiieessOperating Revenue and Support

Grants and contracts for research and education $ 4,889,104 $ 4,317,915 $ 3,980,906Other revenue, including course fees 324,064 637,691 533,852Growth fund assets released from restrictions 698,672 360,202 0Contributions to Annual Fund 268,641 206,942 197,276

Total Operating Revenue and Support 6,180,481 5,522,750 4,712,034

Operating ExpensesResearch and Education 5,733,334 5,005,089 4,594,254Unallocated management and general 415,508 497,014 433,470Development 248,629 90,553 71,185

Total Operating Expenses 6,397,471 5,592,656 5,098,909

Change in Net Assets from Operating Activities (216,990) (69,906) (386,875)

NNoonn--OOppeerraattiinngg RReevveennuuee aanndd SSuuppppoorrttContributions to growth fund 469,688 362,750 1,100,000Grants for purchase of equipment 273,521 239,290 992,191Growth fund assets released from restrictions (698,672) (360,202) 0

Change in Net Assets from Non-Operating Activities 44,537 241,838 2,092,191

Total Change in Net Assets (172,453) 171,932 1,705,316

SSttaatteemmeenntt ooff FFiinnaanncciiaall PPoossiittiioonn(At June 30) 22000088 22000077 22000066

AAsssseettssCash $ 108,052 $ 254,395 $ 213,044Investments 2,533,757 2,599,931 2,933,632Property and Equipment, Net 5,459,860 5,082,443 4,955,469Other 1,348,424 1,620,585 1,140,107

Total Assets 9,450,093 9,557,354 9,242,249

LLiiaabbiilliittiieess aanndd NNeett AAsssseettssLiabilities 547,584 482,381 339,207Net Assets

Unrestricted 5,882,690 5,608,787 5,315,578Temporarily Restricted 2,818,775 3,267,231 3,390,816Permanently Restricted 201,044 198,944 196,639

Total Net Assets 8,902,509 9,074,962 8,903,042

TToottaall LLiiaabbiilliittiieess aanndd NNeett AAsssseettss 9,450,093 9,557,343 9,242,249

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences was formed in 1974. Bigelow is a Maine nonprofit public benefit corporation and is qualified as a tax exempt organization under Sec. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Laboratory’s financial statements for fiscal years 2006, 2007 and 2008 were audited by Macdonald Page Schatz Fletcher & Co. The summary financialstatements shown here are derived from the audited financial statements. Amounts shown in this summary as growth funds released from restrictions reflect contributions intended to support the recruitment and startup costs of new senior research scientists. Copies of the audited financial statements are available on request from: Director of Finance, BigelowLaboratory for Ocean Sciences, P.O. Box 475, West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575; or by email to: [email protected]

Summary Financial Statements


BOARD OF TRUSTEES

David M. Coit, ChairDavid W. Ellis, Ph.D.John R. Giles, IIRobert E. Healing Stephen L. Malcom Richard A. Morrell Helen A. Norton Walter M. Norton Barbara Reinertsen, Vice ChairNeil Rolde Richard J. Rubin

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND PRESIDENT

Graham B. Shimmield, Ph.D.

PRESIDENT EMERITUS

Louis E. Sage, Ph.D.

DISTINGUISHED FOUNDERS

Charles S. Yentsch, Ph.D.Clarice M. Yentsch, Ph.D.

HONORARY TRUSTEES

Marylouise Tandy Cowan† David Hibbs Donnan Edgar T. Gibson, M.D. James F. Jaffray W. Redwood Wright, Ph.D.

TRUSTEES EMERITI

Spencer Apollonio Thomas A. BerryRichard Chapin Donna Lee CheneyChristopher Flower Russell W. Jeppesen James G. McLoughlin Jefferson D. Robinson, III

TRUSTEES’ ADVISORY BOARD

Thomas A. BerryMary M. ChattertonChristopher FlowerKarin A. GregoryLee Grodzins, Ph.D.Tracy A. Huebner, Ph.D.David KnightRandall PhelpsMonroe B. ScharffColin Woodard

SCIENCE STAFF

Robert A. AndersenPh.D., Botany/Phycology, University of Arkansas,

1981; M.A., Aquatic Biology, St. Cloud State

College, 1972; B.S., Botany, North Dakota State

University, 1970.

William M. BalchPh.D., Scripps Institution of Oceanography,

1985; B.A., Biology, Cornell University, 1980.

Wendy Korjeff BellowsB.A., Biology, Bates College, 1977.

Charlene E. BergeronB.A., Marine Biology, University of California,

Santa Cruz, 1998.

Emily S. BoothB.S., Biology, St. Michael’s College, 2000.

Bruce C. BowlerM.S.C.S., 1984 and B.S., 1978, Union College.

Jeffrey F. BrownA.A.S., Marine Biology/Oceanography, Southern

Maine Technical College, 1977.

John P. ChristensenPh.D., Chemical Oceanography, 1981 and M.S.,

Chemical Oceanography, 1974, University of

Washington; B.A., Chemistry, Northern Arizona

University, 1971.

Terry L. CucciM.S., University of Delaware,1978; B.S., Zoology,

University of Rhode Island,1973.

David T. DrapeauM.S., Oceanography, University of Connecticut,

1993; B.A., Biology, Rutgers University, 1988.

David EmersonPh.D., Microbiology, Cornell University, 1989; B.A.,

Human Ecology, College of the Atlantic, 1981.

David M. FieldsPh.D., Oceanography, 1996, and M.S., Coastal

Oceanography, 1991, State University of New

York-Stony Brook; B.S., Biology, University of

Utah, 1986.

Emily FlemingPh.D., Microbiology, 2007 and B.S., Microbiology,

1999, University of California, Davis.

Ilana GilgM.S., Marine Environmental Biology, University of

Southern California, 2006; B.A., Biology, Colby

College, 2000.

Maria Fatima Helga do Rosario GomesPh.D., Marine Sciences, National Institute of

Oceanography, Goa, India, 1987; M.Sc.,

Microbiology and Biochemistry, 1982, and B.Sc.,

Chemistry and Botany, 1980, Bombay University,

India.

Joaquim I. GoésPh.D., Ocean Biochemistry, Nagoya University,

Japan, 1996; M.S., Marine Microbiology, 1985 and

B.S., Botany/Zoology, 1980, Bombay University,

India.

Robert R. L. Guillard Ph.D., 1954 and M.S., Microbial Ecology, Yale

University, 1951; B.S., Physics, City College of

New York, 1941.

Jane HeywoodPh.D., University of Southampton, UK, 2008;

M.Sc., Physiology, University of London, 2003;

B.Sc., Zoology, University of Manchester, 1998.

Andrew J. HindB.Sc., Environmental Sciences, University of

East Anglia, 2003.

Trustees, Scientists and Staff

† deceased

Stacey KeithB.S., Aquarium and Aquaculture Science,

University of New England, 2007.

Peter Foster LarsenPh.D., Marine Science, College of William and

Mary, 1974; M.S., Zoology, 1969 and B.A.,

Zoology, , 1967, University of Connecticut.

Isaiah LaryB.S., Pensacola Christian College, 2005.

Emily LyczkowskiB.A. Biology, Colby College, 2008.

Joaquín Martínez MartínezPh.D., Marine Viruses, University of Plymouth,

UK, 2006; M.Sc., Microbial Diversity, University of

Stirling, UK, 2002; B.S., Environmental Sciences,

University of Almería, Spain; and B.S., Marine

Sciences, University of Cádiz, Spain, 1997.

Patricia A. MatraiPh.D., Biological Oceanography, 1988, and M.S.,

Oceanography, 1984, Scripps Institution of

Oceanography; B.S., Marine Biology, Universidad

de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile, 1981.

Joyce M. McBethPh.D., The University of Manchester, 2007; M.Sc.,

University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003; B.Sc.,

University of British Columbia, 1999.

David A. McClellanPh.D., Biological Sciences, Louisiana State

University, 1999; M. S., Zoology, 1994 and B.S.,

Zoology, 1992, Brigham Young University.

Dashiell PappasM.S., Marine Sciences, University of New

England, 2009; B.A. Biology, Colorado College,

2006.

Nicole J. PoultonPh.D., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution /

MIT Joint Program in Biological Oceanography,

2001; B.S. Biology and B.A. Chemistry, Virginia

Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993.

Carlton D. RauschenbergM.S., Texas A&M University, 2005; B.S. Biology,

Environmental Science, DePaul University, 2002.

Sara RauschenbergM.S., Texas A&M University, 2005; B.S., Marine

Biology/Environmental Chemistry, Roger

Williams University, 2003.

Tracey S. RiggensB.S., Biology, Bates College, 1982.

Julianne P. SextonB.A., Biology, Clark University, 1974.

Steven ShemaB.A., Individualized Study, New York University,

2006.

Graham B. ShimmieldPh.D., Marine Geochemistry, University of

Edinburgh, 1985; B.Sc., University of Durham,

1981.

Michael E. SierackiPh.D., Biological Oceanography, 1985 and M.S.,

1980, Microbiology, University of Rhode Island;

B.A., Biological Sciences, University of Delaware,

1977.

Ramunas StepanauskasPh.D., Limnology/Ecology, 2000, and M.A.,

Limnology, 1993, Lund University, Sweden; B.A.,

Limnology, Uppsala University, Sweden, 1993.

Brian ThompsonM.S., Oceanography, 2006 and B.A., Political

Science, 1993, University of Maine.

Benjamin TupperM.S., University of Maine, 1992; B.A., Physics,

University of Maine, 1987.

Benjamin TwiningPhD., Coastal Oceanography, Stony Brook

University, 2003; B.A., Harvard University,

Environmental Science and Public Policy, 1997.

Rick A. WahlePh.D., Zoology, University of Maine, 1990; M.S.,

Biology, San Francisco State University, 1982;

B. A., Zoology, University of New Hampshire, 1977.

Susan B. WharamPh.D., Molecular Biology, University of Warwick,

UK, 1992; B.S., Molecular Biology and

Biochemistry, Durham University, UK, 1988.

William H. WilsonPh.D., Marine Viruses, 1994, and M.S., Genetics,

1991,University of Warwick, UK; B.S., Marine

Biology and Biochemistry, University College of

North Wales, Bangor, UK, 1990.

Christine WollB.S., Bates College, 2007.

Eun Chan YangPh.D., 2007; M.Sc., 2004; and B.Sc., 1999,

Chungnam National University, Korea.

Hwan Su YoonPh.D., Botany, 1999; M.S., Biology, 1994; and B.S.,

Biology, 1992, Chungnam National University,

Korea.

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Leslie BirdDirector of Finance

Tatiana BrailovskayaDirector of Communications

Steve BryerMaintenance Supervisor

Kathleen CucciReceptionist

Jane GardnerExecutive Assistant

James Genus, Jr.System Administrator

John McKownGrants Manager

Victoria ReineckeHuman Resources/Financial Assistant

Frances ScannellDirector of Development

Pam ShephardLibrarian

Graham B. ShimmieldExecutive Director and President

Mary WoodAccounting Administration Assistant



Glossary

Anthropocene epoch—the period(marked by a complex range of effectsthat are changing the physics, chemistry,and biology of the planet) when humansbecame the predominant force in Earth’senvironment. The Anthropocene epoch isoften considered to have started 2,000years ago, when the activities of humansfirst began to have significant impact onEarth’s ecosystems and climate.

bioavailability—the degree to which, orthe rate at which, a substance is absorbedor becomes available for use in anorganism.

bioinformatics—an emerging area of bio-logical research that combines molecularbiology and mathematical modeling ofbiological phenomena with computersoftware design and implementation.

biological productivity—nature’s abilityto reproduce and regenerate living matter,defined as the rate at which organic mat-ter is produced.

biological pump—the series of biologicalprocesses that transport organic carbonfrom the ocean’s surface to its interior.

bivalve—an aquatic mollusk that isenclosed within two symmetrical, hingedshells, such as a scallop, clam, oyster, ormussel.

carbon export—the transfer of carbonout of the planet’s atmosphere or surfaceinto sediments on land or on the oceanfloor.

carbon fixation—the process in plantsand algae by which atmospheric carbondioxide is converted into organic carboncompounds, usually by photosynthesis.Carbon fixation also takes place when cal-cifying phytoplankton such as Emilianiahuxleyi form calcium carbonate shells.

chemical speciation—dissolved iron canoccur in many chemical forms, or species,for example Fe2+ and Fe(OH)3, which arethought to vary in their bioavailability asnutrients.

coccolithophore—a type of phytoplank-ton (single-celled marine plant) that livesin large numbers throughout the upperlayers of the ocean. Coccolithophoressurround themselves with microscopicplates called coccoliths made of calciumcarbonate.

coccolithoviruses—a recently discoveredgroup of viruses that infect the globallyimportant marine calcifying phyto-plankton Emiliania huxleyi.

copepods—a group of tiny, shrimp-likecrustaceans found throughout the world’soceans and in nearly every freshwaterhabitat. Most of the known copepodspecies are free-living marine forms andare a key part of the ocean’s food chain.

cryopreservation—a process in whichcells or whole tissues are preserved bycooling to low, sub-zero temperatures.

CTD rosette—A CTD is an electronicinstrument that oceanographers use torecord salinity, temperature, and depth.It is attached to a frame fitted with anarray of water-collecting bottles calledNiskins; the instrument, together with the bottles, is called a CTD rosette.

cyanobacteria—a category of bacteriathat obtain their energy through photo-synthesis. Also known as blue-green algaeor blue-green bacteria, they are importantprimary producers in the ocean.

diatoms—single-celled algae with intri-cate glass-like cell walls made of silica.Diatoms can live in colonies that form a variety of shapes, and are one of themost common types of phytoplankton.

dinoflagellates—a large group of single-celled organisms, many of whichare photosynthetic marine algae. Dino-flagellates have one or more whip-likeorganelles called flagella, used for locomotion.

endemic—native or restricted to a certainregion.

endosymbiosis—a relationship betweentwo organisms in which one (theendosymbiont) lives inside the body of the other (the host).

estuarine—characteristic of an estuary,an aquatic environment in which freshand salt water mix, usually a semi-enclosed coastal water body with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it,and with a free connection to the openocean. Estuarine habitats are characterizedby a combination of marine (tides, waves,and influx of salt water) and freshwater(currents, sediment, runoff ) conditions.

flavobacteria—a type of bacteria widelydistributed in water and soil habitatsaround the world.

flow cytometry—a technique for count-ing, examining, and sorting microscopicparticles suspended in a stream of fluid.

fluorescence—the property of absorbinglight of short wavelengths and emittinglight of longer wavelengths, allowingresearchers to analyze the elements andchemicals present in an object.

glaucophytes—a small group of fresh-water microscopic algae that containchlorophyll, the green pigment necessaryfor photosynthesis.

Global Ocean Sampling metagenome—the Craig Venter Institute’s Sorcerer IIGlobal Ocean Sampling expedition col-lected microbial DNA samples every fewhundred miles around the globe, yieldingan extensive dataset of DNA sequencefragments. This data provides an assess-ment of the overall gene composition, orthe metagenome, within marine microbialassemblages.

hydrothermal vent—a fissure or crack in the planet’s surface from which waterthat has been heated within Earth’s interior is released. The areas around submarine hydrothermal vents host complex communities nourished bychemicals dissolved in the vent fluids.

invertebrate—an animal without aninternal skeleton made of bone.

iron oxidation—the reaction of iron andoxygen in the presence of water or airmoisture, resulting in rust.

microbial loop—the pathway in aquaticenvironments by which organic carbon is reintroduced into the food web by bacteria, which consume dissolved organic matter that cannot be directlyingested by larger organisms.

mitochondria—cellular organelles inwhich the biochemical processes ofmetabolism and energy production occur.

organelle—a specialized subunit inside acell that performs a specific function andis separately enclosed within its ownmembrane.

orthographic projection—a map assem-bled from different angles to create a perspective that represents the planet’ssurface as it appears from space.

pelagic—part of the upper layers of theopen ocean.

photosynthesis —a process that uses the energy from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into organiccompounds, producing oxygen as a by-product.

phylogenetics—the study of evolutionaryhistory or development.

phytoplankton—the plant component ofthe suspended or floating microscopicanimals, plants, and bacteria in the ocean,collectively known as plankton. Composedmostly of single-celled algae and bacteria,phytoplankton carry out photosynthesisand are at the base of the marine foodchain. Most phytoplankton species are toosmall to be individually seen with theunaided eye.

phytoplankton bloom—phytoplanktonblooms occur when, under favorable con-ditions, phytoplankton rapidly increase innumbers.

plastids—organelles that are found in thecells of plants and algae, and are the siteof manufacture and storage of importantchemical compounds used by the cell.Plastids often contain pigments used in photosynthesis, and the types of pig-ments present can change or determinethe cell’s color.

plume—in hydrodynamics, a plume is acolumn of one fluid moving throughanother; factors affecting the motion ofthis flow include the density, momentum,and diffusion of the liquid.

population bottleneck—the result of anevent during the evolution of a species in which a significant percentage of itsindividuals are killed or otherwise pre-vented from reproducing.

primary productivity—the amount ofbiomass (organic compounds) producedfrom atmospheric or aquatic carbon dioxide, principally through photo-synthesis. All life on Earth is directly or indirectly dependent on primary productivity.

proteorhodopsin—a light-sensitive pro-tein found in marine bacterioplankton.

protists—a collective term for single-celled organisms, including single-celledalgae, whose cells have a nucleus, butwhich are not considered animals, plants,or fungi.

relict population—the vestige of whatwas once a widespread natural popula-tion, now surviving only in isolated locali-ties because of environmental changes.

rotifer—a microscopic, multicellularaquatic animal whose name is derivedfrom a Latin word meaning “wheel-bearer,” referring to the rapid movementof the crown of cilia, or hairs, around its mouth, which make it appear to whirl like a wheel.

sea ice—frozen ocean water that forms,grows, and melts in the ocean; in contrast,icebergs, glaciers, ice sheets, and iceshelves all originate on land.

sentinel species—species that provideecological information and give earlywarning signals about the ecosystem theyinhabit because of their sensitivity tochanging conditions.

sequestration—in chemistry, the creationand secure storage of a compound in astable form, making it no longer availablefor reactions. The global carbon sink,which accumulates and stores carbon foran indefinite period, is a result of carbonsequestration.

shelf break—the region of the oceanfloor where the continental shelf and continental slope meet, and where thegently-shelving region of the sea bed next to a land mass abruptly slopes more steeply down towards the oceandepths, commonly at around 200 meters(approximately 656 feet) in depth.

stratocumulus—a type of cloud thatforms a low layer of rounded, dark graymasses, usually occurring in groups, lines,or waves.

upwelling—the transport of deep waterto shallow levels of the ocean. The up-welling of nutrient-rich water is oftenresponsible for driving biological pro-ductivity in the ocean, and is largely controlled by winds.

viral shunt—the process by which marineviruses move nutrients from organismsinto pools of dissolved and non-livingparticulate organic matter.

Written by Tatiana Brailovskaya, M.A., M.S.

Design by Mahan Graphics.

Unless otherwise noted, all photos are fromBigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.

Bigelow scientist and on-site laboratoryphotographs by Greg Bernard, Buddy Doyle,and Dennis Griggs.

This publication is printedon recycled paper.

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Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

PO Box 475 • 180 McKown Point Road

West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575 USA

www.bigelow.org • 207.633.9600

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