Category Archives: Diversity and Biogeography

MIT scientists discovered an amazing amount of diversity among a population of marine microbes living in a few drops of water. Each subpopulation of the marine microbe Prochlorococcus is characterized by a shared genomic "backbone." The figurative backbones are depicted in this artist's rendering.

Ocean microbes display remarkable genetic diversity

Diversity and Biogeography,

The smallest, most abundant marine microbe, Prochlorococcus, is a photosynthetic bacteria species essential to the marine ecosystem. An estimated billion billion billion of the single-cell creatures live in the oceans, forming the base of the marine food chain and occupying a range of ecological niches based on temperature, light and chemical preferences, and interactions with other species. But the full extent and characteristics of diversity within this single species remains a puzzle. Continue reading Ocean microbes display remarkable genetic diversity →

Publication

Kashtan, N., S.E Roggensack, S. Rodrigue, J.W. Thompson, S.J. Biller, A. Coe, H. Ding, P. Marttinen, R. Stocker, M.J. Follows, R. Stepanauskas and S.W. Chisholm (2014) Single cell genomics reveals hundreds of coexisting subpopulations in wild Prochlorococcus, Science, 344(6182), 416-420, doi: 10.1126/science.1248575

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Clayton, S., T. Nagai and M.J. Follows (2014), Fine scale phytoplankton community structure across the Kuroshio Front. J. Plankton Res., 1-14, doi: 10.1093/plankt/fbu020

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Darwin goes to Ocean Sciences 2014

Climate Change, Diversity and Biogeography, Macromolecular Modeling, Mixotrophy, Nitrogen Fixation, Top-Down Control, Trait Based Approaches, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leaving the cold of a New England February behind, the Darwin team will be in full attendance at this year’s Ocean Sciences conference taking place February 23-28 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Continue reading Darwin goes to Ocean Sciences 2014 →

Publication

Clayton, S., S. Dutkiewicz , O. Jahn, and M.J. Follows (2013), Ocean eddies and dispersal maintain phytoplankton diversity, Limnology and Oceanography, Fluids and Environments, Volume 3: 182–197, doi: 10.1215/21573689-2373515

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Vallina, S. M. , B. A. Ward, S. Dutkiewicz, and M. J. Follows (2013), Maximal feeding with active prey-switching: a kill-the-winner functional response and its effect on global diversity and biogeography, Progress in Oceanography, 120, 93–109, doi: 10.1016/j.pocean.2013.08.001

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Goebel, N.L., C.A. Edwards, J.P. Zehr, M.J. Follows and S.G. Morgan (2013), Modeled phytoplankton diversity and productivity in the California Current System, Ecological Modelling, vol. 264, pp. 37, doi: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.11.008

800px-Phytoplankton_-_the_foundation_of_the_oceanic_food_chain

Winners and losers in a warming ocean

Climate Change, Diversity and Biogeography,

by Alli Gold Roberts (MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change)
Read this story at MIT News

Phytoplankton — small plant-like organisms that serve as the base of the marine ecosystem — play a crucial role in maintaining the health of our oceans by consuming carbon dioxide and fueling the food web. But with a changing climate, which of these vital organisms will survive, and what impact will their demise have on fish higher up the chain?
Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a researcher with the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, and her colleagues developed a model that investigates the potential effects of climate change on phytoplankton.

Continue reading Winners and losers in a warming ocean →

Publication

Ward, B.A., S. Dutkiewicz, C.M. Moore and M.J. Follows (2013), Iron, phosphorus, and nitrogen supply ratios define the biogeography of nitrogen fixation Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 58, pp. 2059, doi: 10.4319/lo.2013.58.6.2059

 

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Barton, A.D., Z.V. Finkel, B.A. Ward, D.G. Johns and M.J. Follows (2013), The roles of cell size and trophic strategy in North Atlantic diatom and dinoflagellate communities. Limnology and Oceanography, 58(1), 2013, 254-266, doi: 10.4319/lo.2013.58.1.0254