Dr. Naomi Levine, March 17, 2021
Title: Small but mighty – marine microbial dynamics and the impact on global carbon cycling
Abstract: Marine microbes are the engines that drive the cycling of carbon and nutrients in the oceans and are responsible for approximately half of all global photosynthesis. Through my research, I seek to illuminate the mechanisms through which climate variability influences microbial systems and to identify how microbial systems in turn impact climate (ecosystem-to-climate feedback loops). My research group is developing innovative, interdisciplinary numerical models that allow us to understand how dynamics occurring at the scale of individual microbes impact large-scale ecosystem processes such as rates of global carbon cycling. This talk will focus on two stories related to how fluctuating environments impact microbial dynamics: 1) how organic carbon accumulates in the environment, and 2) how environmental fluctuations impact microbial adaptation.