Microbial Systems Ecology of a Seasonally Anoxic Fjord: Saanich Inlet
EMSL Project ID
39959
Abstract
Marine oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) are widespread oceanographic features currently expanding due to global warming. Although inhospitable to aerobic respiring organisms, OMZs support a thriving microbiota whose combined metabolic activity results in biological nitrogen loss and greenhouse gas production. Therefore, OMZ expansion and intensification represents a pervasive ecological phenomenon with potentially deleterious effects on marine productivity and climate balance. In order to diagnose or mitigate these transitions, studies monitoring and modeling systems metabolism of OMZ microbiota in relation to physical and chemical oceanographic parameters are imperative. To this end we are seeking an EMSL users's agreement to conduct gene expression profiling using shotgun transcriptomics and proteomics on microbial communities spanning defined water column redox gradients in a seasonally anoxic fjord, Saanich Inlet on the coast of Vancouver Island British Columbia. Each year the Inlet undergoes a predictable pattern of stratification and deep water renewal resulting in large water column redox gradients and high rates of climatologically active trace gas production and consumption. Combined with ease of access, proximity to shore-based infrastructure, and facilitated by more than 350 million base pairs of community genome sequence with accompanying metadata, Saanich Inlet provides a model ecosystem for studying microbial community responses to OMZ expansion and intensification. This work will open a functional genomic window into the biogeochemistry of marine OMZs and facilitate identification and description of environmental and genetic factors regulating systems metabolism within the oxygen-deficient water column i.e. ecological indicator genes, useful in the development of probe sets for in situ monitoring devices.
Project Details
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2010-10-12
End Date
2011-10-16
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator