"People who look for the first time through a microscope say, 'Now I see this, and then I see that,' and even a skilled observer can be fooled. On these observations I have spent more time than many will believe, but I have done them with joy, and I have taken no notice of those who have said, 'Why take so much trouble,' and, 'What good is it?'"
Ongoing Research Projects
Polar Mixotrophic Protists
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Mixotrophy has been readily observed in protist species in both the Arctic and Antarctic, where the environment puts significant constraints on the available niches for organisms.
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Mixotrophy is the ability to use photosynthesis plus ingestion of food particles to gain energy and/or limiting elements. When solar energy is limiting, mixotrophic protists use phagotrophy to capture food, frequently bacteria, which can be an important source of organic carbon. Within the natural environment, many species of protists rely on the uptake of dissolved nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate as a means to sustain steady growth. Mixotrophic protists are able to obtain these essential elements through the consumption of prey. When dissolved nutrients are limited, mixotrophs can thus combine photosynthetic and phagotrophic nutrition and use ingested organic nitrogen and phosphorus to enhance population growth.
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My research goal is to analyze the mixotrophic ability of several polar species through a series of experiments to determine ingestion rates under different light conditions and dissolved nutrient levels. By comparing the results, I strive to understand responses to environmental factors by different mixotrophs adapted to a seemingly similar environment.
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[ Micromonas spp., mixotrophic phytoflagellates, under flourescence microscope. ]
Species Responses to Environmental Changes
Protists comprise an important part of both terrestrial and aquatic food webs.
Increased temperature and UV radiation can have significant effects on protists.
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I am currently investigating how rising temperatures affects the life history of the fresh water protist, Chrysolepidomonas dendrolepidota.
Chrysolepidomonas dendrolepidota is a freshwater chrysophyte (flagellated species characterized by presence of 2 flagella, with one shorter than the other) that is relatively understudied. There is little known of its life history, physiology, and distribution. However, mixotrophic chrysophytes are known to play an important role in aquatic systems, and can dominate in planktonic blooms.
Investigating and understanding how changes in temperature affect C. dendrolepidota can provide an outlook on how mixotrophic species respond to global warming and environmental change.
Future Directions
Identification of a poorly studied chrysophyte in temperate lakes and waters
Protists have been traditionally identified via microscopy. However, a lot of protists are nano-sized (<20 µm) and many are in the 5 µm range, making accurate identification of species extremely difficult.
Chrysolepidomas dendrolepidota is a freshwater chrysophyte with little known about its ecology and distribution. Currently, the only known distribution of this species is the lake where it was originally isolated from.
I intend to investigate whether this species is present in other freshwater systems via a series of molecular methods. By comparing C.dendrolepidota’s sequence to HTS done in freshwaters, the presence and abundance of this species can be examined in a wide selection of aquatic communities.