{"id":10874,"date":"2016-03-16T13:43:31","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T17:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/?p=10874"},"modified":"2016-03-16T13:43:31","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T17:43:31","slug":"epscor-researcher-explores-change-at-microscopic-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/2016\/03\/16\/epscor-researcher-explores-change-at-microscopic-level\/","title":{"rendered":"EPSCoR researcher explores change at microscopic level"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Tatiana Rynearson<\/strong>
\nURI Graduate School of Oceanography<\/a><\/strong>
\nAssociate professor, oceanography<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Rhode Island STAC<\/a> awards<\/h3>\n

2012 STAC grant: Understanding Coastal Environmental Change, Past, Present and Future: A Novel Approach Combining Algal Physiology, Genetics and Lipid Biomarkers.<\/strong> The project studied an important class of organic biomarker produced by algae that are thought to record past sea surface temperatures to produce a marine-based, local climate history of Narragansett Bay against which future patterns and rates of modern global change can be compared. The objective was to use this information to better understand future environmental change at our nation’s coastlines.
\nCollaborators:<\/strong> Timothy Herbert and Linda Amaral-Zettler, Brown University; Tatiana Rynearson, URI<\/p>\n

\n

2013 STAC grant:<\/strong> Ocean acidification effects on plankton community composition and food web energy flow.<\/strong> Ocean acidification and its impact on food webs have quickly emerged as pressing global issues. This research exposed whole plankton communities to acidified waters and examined how community composition was altered in order to identify the sensitivity of food webs to future environmental change.
\nCollaborators:<\/strong> Susanne Menden-Deuer, Tatiana Rynearson, URI; Jason Grear, US Environmental Protection Agency; Breea Govenar, Rhode Island College<\/p>\n

\n

2014 STAC grant:<\/strong> Environmental Genomics and Proteomics of Nitrogen Stress in Narragansett Bay.<\/strong> Because phytoplankton form the base of the highly productive food web in Narragansett Bay (NB), understanding their adaptive potential and evolutionary responses are fundamental to understanding the past and future ecological responses of the entire Bay system. This trans-disciplinary project, which was the first study of its kind in NB, brought together oceanography, ecology and evolutionary biology to gain insight into the environmental stresses and adaptive responses of important phytoplankton.
\nCollaborators:<\/strong> Tatiana Rynearson, URI; David Rand, Brown University<\/p>\n

\n

2015 STAC grant:<\/strong> Diatom Community Composition as an Indicator of Coastal Ecosystem Change.<\/strong> This project brings together four scientists from different fields to explore coastal biogeochemical responses to climate change and develop new assessment tools for monitoring ecological change.
\nCollaborators:<\/strong> Rebecca Robinson, Tatiana Rynearson, URI; Warren Prell, David Murray, Brown University<\/p>\n

\n

2015 STAC grant:<\/strong> Canaries in Narragansett Bay? Untangling the Ecological Response of a Key Diatom Genus to Environmental Change.<\/strong> This project links an academic scientist with expertise in genetics and a federal agency scientist with expertise in predictive modeling to examine how the base of the food web in Narragansett Bay is changing in response to changes in environmental conditions.
\nCollaborators:<\/strong> Tatiana Rynearson, URI; Jason Grear, US Environmental Protection Agency<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

To the non-scientist, the idea sounds farfetched \u2014\u00a0microscopic organisms drift freely in the currents and tides of the world\u2019s oceans, generating half<\/em> of the oxygen we breathe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>These tiny, one-celled plants \u2014 phytoplankton \u2014 undergo photosynthesis in the sunlit waters of the ocean\u2019s surface, drawing down enormous amounts of carbon dioxide and pumping oxygen into the atmosphere. Unseen by the naked eye, they also form the base of the marine food web, eaten by tiny floating animals, zooplankton, which in turn serve as a food source for the next level of predators.<\/p>\n

Consequently, climate change or not, these organisms hold considerable interest for scientists and are the subject of much study.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to know what they do and how they work,\u201d says Tatiana Rynearson, whose research focuses on plankton ecology and evolution. \u201cThen, you add in climate change, and there is the concern of how they are going to respond. What drives their productivity, what regulates their success over time?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s much like if you are running a farm and raising cows, what\u2019s going to happen to the grass if there is a drought and you don\u2019t have enough to feed the cows? In a similar sense, phytoplankton are the grass of the ocean. How are they going to respond to higher temperatures? Ocean acidification? And in some cases, lower levels of nutrients?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rynearson says she takes three primary approaches to her investigations, first looking at evolutionary dynamics. Different species have different adaptations. And, from an evolutionary perspective, her interest lies in how the different species of phytoplankton adapt to their specific locations and how much genetic exchange takes place between locations.<\/p>\n

Her second focus looks at the successful metabolic pathways the organism employs. Using cutting edge molecular tools, Rynearson probes inside the cells to gauge what pathways are turning on and off, and if and how that alters their growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to know how they respond to the environment,\u201d Rynearson says. \u201cWe start to ask who might be more successful under different scenarios. The new technology is so cool \u2014 we can probe inside a cell to assess its health, see whether it\u2019s stressed when there is not enough light or nutrients.\u201d<\/p>\n

The third avenue seeks to understand interactions between the groups of plankton \u2014\u00a0such as between phytoplankton and bacteria, both of which exist in what Rynearson describes as a symbiotic relationship. As with any set of individuals living in a group, a change in context can change the nature of interaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if the phytoplankton are stressed?\u201d asks Rynearson. \u201cWill the bacteria sense the weakness, start to attack and hasten their downfall? We think the kinds of interactions between phytoplankton and bacteria might change depending on the context.\u201d<\/p>\n

Specifically, in Narragansett Bay, Rynearson says research indicates there are seasonal changes in both cold and warm water species. She describes the cold water species as highly productive and suspects they will retreat and lessen in abundance as water temperatures warm, a pattern that follows the current seasonal shift. The questions that follow are whether and how this change will affect the Bay\u2019s food web.<\/p>\n

Rynearson says most of her work, in one way or another, has benefitted from the Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR grant \u2014 most broadly through the use of the shared core facilities. She has mentored Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship<\/a> (SURF) students, trained EPSCoR graduate fellows, and secured RI Science and Technology Advisory Council<\/a> (STAC) grants, which have yielded publications and launched other grants.<\/p>\n

The students gain tremendous access to scientific methods through active, hands-on research. Rynearson describes her role as a guide: \u201cI love it \u2014 they are a group of super creative, really motivated students who can be unleashed on a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of her STAC projects funded a postdoctoral student who arrived in Rhode Island from Delaware. When the project ended, he took a job in a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/a> (NOAA) facility in the state. He trained here and stayed, the STAC project serving as his entry point to the Ocean State. At the graduate and undergraduate levels, students in the Rynearson lab have secured internships through STAC grants and trained on cutting edge molecular work, and gone onto careers in the biotech industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne paper may not change the trajectory of policy, but if we have a list of 20 publications that all reach the same set of conclusions, then we can say, globally, here are the changes we expect.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rynearson also has taken advantage of professional development opportunities through the Metcalf Institute\u00a0for Marine & Environmental Reporting<\/a>\u00a0SciComm Exchanges, science communication events sponsored by RI EPSCoR.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe science communication events and workshops have been enormously helpful to me and my lab,\u201d she notes. \u201cI\u2019ve sent grad students and post docs. Most recently, the SciComm on how to testify at a congressional hearing was new information for me \u2014 I had no idea. It\u2019s also important continuing education that students don\u2019t get in their normal courses. It makes us better scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stepping back and contemplating the impact of her research, Rynearson says no single project or outcome is likely to change minds or spur leaders to act. However, she figures, her findings will add to a continually growing body of work and help fill in the unknowns. The information produced by the RI EPSCoR community as a whole can help leadership adapt policy to projected change; for example, less phytoplankton in Narragansett Bay could lead to less fish, which means adjusting to the new normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cCapstone conclusions are always supported by many, many research projects,\u201d she explains. \u201cOne paper may not change the trajectory of policy, but if we have a list of 20 publications that all reach the same set of conclusions, then we can say, globally, here are the changes we expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story and photo by Amy Dunkle | RI NSF EPSCoR<\/em><\/p>\n

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Tatiana Rynearson URI Graduate School of Oceanography Associate professor, oceanography Rhode Island STAC awards 2012 STAC grant: Understanding Coastal Environmental Change, Past, Present and Future: A Novel Approach Combining Algal Physiology, Genetics and Lipid Biomarkers. The project studied an important class of organic biomarker produced by algae that are thought to record past sea surface […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21,1,63],"tags":[519,522,525,570,585,753],"class_list":["post-10874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized","category-we-are-ri-epscor","tag-phytoplankton","tag-plankton-ecology","tag-plankton-evolution","tag-rhode-island-nsf-epscor","tag-ri-stac","tag-uri-graduate-school-of-oceanography"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10874\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/rinsfepscor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}