Physiology of Copepod Diel Vertical Migration
Collaborators: Amy Maas, Leo Blanco-Bercial, Ann Tarrant Primary production in the ocean mostly occurs in the surface layer, but organisms in the deeper, darker ocean need access to these surface nutrients as well. Vertically migrating zooplankton are an important part of the carbon cycle between the surface and deep ocean. Some species, such as the subtropical Pleuromamma xiphias (right), migrate hundreds of meters daily, feeding in the productive surface layers at night and sinking to the depths during the day. Their metabolic activity at depth determines how much carbon and other nutrients reach the deeper food webs. We applied proteomics techniques to uncover the contribution of the copepod P. xiphias to the ocean carbon cycle. Cluster of protein abundances over day-night cycles in the copepod P. xiphias reveal cohorts of proteins that are up- and down-regulated on a circadian cycle.
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P. xiphias separated from other plankton species.
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Influence of the hatchery microbiome on oyster larvae
Collaborator: Steven Roberts One of the major bottlenecks in bivalve aquaculture is the unpredictable mass mortality events that occur during larval production. These mortality events occur after considerable resources have been used to raise a cohort of larvae. The causes of these events are rarely known and thus cannot be avoided in the future. We hypothesized that the intimate relationship between oyster larvae and their ambient microbiome may influence the success or failure of larval cohorts. We followed multiple cohorts of larvae at two different temperatures over the time period that usually includes the mass mortality events. We concurrently sampled the larvae and their rearing tank microbiome. We will explore the proteomic responses of both the larvae and their microbiome to find biomarkers of larval outcomes. |