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Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, May 28-30, 2014
The global ocean is currently undergoing significant changes, from the acidification of surface seawater to expansion of mid-water oxygen minimum zones to changes in vertical stratification and nutrient inputs. Understanding these present changes and prediction of their impact on marine plankton-driven biogeochemical processes requires detailed information at the level of the individual organism, such as their physiological traits, characteristics, rate processes and plasticity to respond to environmental change. Recent progress in various single cell and population-level analytical techniques offers an opportunity to bridge this knowledge gap.
This scoping workshop brought together scientists with complementary interests in observing and/or modeling specific traits and physiological characteristics and rates in marine plankton. The objectives of the workshop were to summarize our current state of knowledge of physiological observations in single cells and taxonomic populations from the environment, identify impediments to filling this knowledge gap (including data handling and analysis), and discuss future research areas. The workshop provided opportunities for the ocean science community to formulate a forward-looking vision on future research directions regarding the roles of genetic diversity, physiological plasticity and evolutionary processes in marine biogeochemical cycles.
Workshop Products
Several workshop participants contributed to published papers that emerged from discussions that took place at the workshop:
Baker, K. G., C. M. Robinson, D. T. Radford, A. S. McInnes, C. Evenhuis, M. A. Doblin (2016). Thermal Performance Curves of Functional Traits Aid Understanding of Thermally Induced Changes in Diatom-Mediated Biogeochemical Fluxes. Front. Mar. Sci., https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00044.
Kujawinski, E. B., K. Longnecker, K. L. Barott, R. J. M. Weber, M. C. Kido Soule (2016). Microbial Community Structure Affects Marine Dissolved Organic Matter Composition. Front. Mar. Sci., https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00045.
Krupke, A., L. R. Hmelo, J. E. Ossolinski, T. J. Mincer, B. A. S. Van Mooy (2016). Quorum Sensing Plays a Complex Role in Regulating the Enzyme Hydrolysis Activity of Microbes Associated with Sinking Particles in the Ocean. Front. Mar. Sci., https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00055.
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Agenda
Title: Improving biogeochemical models through single cell-based analyses of marine plankton physiological plasticity, genetic diversity and evolutionary processes
Tuesday May 27
Attendees arrive to Boothbay Harbor and settle into Rocktide Inn
Dinner on your own
Wednesday May 28
0800 Shuttle Bus outside Rocktide Inn
0815 Light Breakfast/Coffee at Bigelow Laboratory, on the Mezzanine
0900 Welcome by Bigelow Executive Director, Graham Shimmield
0915 Introduction to the Workshop, goals, objectives and products, Mike Lomas
1000 Plenary #1, Elena Litchman, MSU, Microbial traits and trade-offs: implications for community structure and
biogeochemistry
1100 Coffee Break
1130 Define breakout session topic #1, specific questions and strategy
Assign breakout groups and meeting rooms
1200 Lunch in the Commons – catered by Center Café
1300 Head to breakout rooms, Breakout group discussion #1
1515 Coffee Break – Mezzanine
1545 Plenary: Short (~15 min/group) presentation and Q & A session from each breakout group
on Breakout Topic #1
1700 Social
1800 Dinner in the Commons – catered by Center Café
2000 Shuttle Bus to Rocktide Inn
Thursday May 29
0800 Shuttle Bus outside Rocktide Inn
0815 Light Breakfast at Bigelow Laboratory, on the Mezzanine
0845 Brief introduction to the day
0900 Plenary #2, Dave Hutchins, USC, Taxon-specific biogeochemistry in a changing marine environment
1000 Coffee Break
1015 Define breakout session topic #2 and specific questions, divide into 4 breakout groups
and head to assigned rooms
1030 Breakout group discussion #2
1245 Lunch in the Commons – catered by East Boothbay General Store
1345 Plenary #3, Tatiana Rynearson, URI, Genetics, evolution, and the impact on biogeochemistry
1445 Define breakout session topic #3 and specific questions, divide into 4 breakout groups and assigned rooms
1500 Breakout group discussion #3
1700 Shuttle Bus to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens – Dinner catered by Blue Elephant
2030 Shuttle Bus return to Rocktide Inn
Friday May 30
0730 and 0800 Shuttle Bus outside Rocktide Inn
0815 Light Breakfast at Bigelow Laboratory, on the Mezzanine
0845 Brief introduction to the day
0900 Plenary: Short (~15 min/group) presentation and Q & A session
from each breakout group on Breakout Topic #2
1000 Coffee Break
1015 Plenary: Short (~15 min/group) presentation and Q & A session from each breakout
group on Breakout Topic #3
1115 Meeting Wrap Up: identification of small working groups to lead efforts to complete workshop products
1200 Meeting Adjourns
Box lunches
Shuttle Bus back to Rocktide Inn for those not leaving until later
1400 Shuttle Bus from Bigelow to Portland Airport
Saturday May 31
1030 Shuttle Bus from Rocktide Inn to Portland Airport
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Scientific Steering Committee
Chair: Mike Lomas, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science
Stephanie Dutkiewicz, MIT
Steve Giovannoni, Oregon State University
Adrian Marchetti, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Adam Martiny, University of California Irvine
Susanne Neuer, Arizona State University
Ramunas Stepanauskas, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science
Allison Taylor, University North Carolina – Wilmington
Ben Twining, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science
Science Themes and Workshop Structure
The focus of this workshop is to synthesize information from single cell methods (e.g., single-cell X-ray fluorescence, NanoSIMS) and methods that resolve discrete populations (e.g., flow cytometric sorting and secondary analyses), identify unique biological traits at these levels, and determine what those traits mean to ocean biogeochemistry now and in the future. The success of this workshop will come from bringing together scientists with a broad set of skills and points of view, with the overarching focus on the use of single cell-level analyses in ecosystem-level models.
This OCB scoping workshop is focused around two interrelated broad themes:
1) Taxon-specific physiological responses of marine microbes and phytoplankton in the current and a changing environment;
2) Interactions and feedbacks between plankton physiological plasticity and taxonomic diversity and the impact on global ocean biogeochemical cycles
Breakout group discussions will be centered on the following questions:
1) What are the ranges and controls on taxon-specific nutrient uptake rates, elemental quotas and standing stocks?
2) Do taxonomic diversity and physiological plasticity have similar or different impacts on ocean biogeochemistry, particularly the production and export of particulate organic matter from the surface ocean?
3) What roles do taxonomic diversity and physiological plasticity play in governing the response of planktonic communities to environmental stressors, for example, oxygen minimum zones, ocean acidification, ocean warming, stratification and changing nutrient concentrations?
4) What type of single cell-specific and population-level data is required for the mechanistic understanding and predictive modeling of marine biogeochemistry? How does it compare to the data collected now? Can we recommend improvements?
Each breakout group will be tasked with collating information on several points to further enhance the continuity between groups and relationships to the broader themes. Specifically, each group will 1) summarize current state of knowledge; 2) identify limitations to forward progress on the topic; and 3) describe appropriate and suitable sampling platforms and technologies, and 4) propose strategies for moving the field forward.
Participants
| Name | Position / Role | Institution |
| Mike Lomas | Faculty, Steering Committee | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Ben Twining | Faculty, Steering Committee | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Ramunas Stepanauskas | Faculty, Steering Committee | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Alison Taylor | Faculty, Steering Committee | University of North Carolina - Wilmington |
| Steve Giovannoni | Faculty, Steering Committee | Oregon State University |
| Adrian Marchetti | Faculty, Steering Committee | University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill |
| Adam Martiny | Faculty, Steering Committee | University of California - Irvine |
| Susanne Neuer | Faculty, Steering Committee | Arizona State University |
| Stephanie Dutkiewicz | Faculty, Steering Committee | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Harriet Alexander | PhD Student | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
| Bridget Bachman | PhD Student | University of South Carolina |
| Steven Baer | Post Doc | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Heather Benway | OCB Office | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
| Jeff Bowman | PhD Student | U Washington |
| Emily Brownlee | PhD Student | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
| Craig Carlson | Faculty | University of California - Santa Barbara |
| Cyndy Chandler | BCO-DMO Office | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
| Dreux Chappell | Faculty | Old Dominion University |
| Natalie Cohen | PhD Student | University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill |
| Pete Countway | Faculty | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Ferdi Hellweger | Faculty | Northeastern University |
| Tristan Horner | Faculty | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
| Dave Hutchins | Faculty, Plenary Speaker | University of Southern California |
| Annette Hynes | Post Doc | University of Georgia |
| Maria Deborah Iglesias-Rodriguez | Faculty | University of California - Santa Barbara |
| Jeremy Jacquot | Post Doc | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Bethany Jenkins | Faculty | University of Rhode Island |
| Andew King | Faculty | Norsk institutt for Vannforskning (NIVA) |
| Elizabeth Kujawinski | Faculty | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
| Jessica Labonte | Post Doc | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Elena Litchman | Faculty, Plenary Speaker | Michigan State University |
| Susanne Menden-Deuer | Faculty | University of Rhode Island |
| Dan Ohnemus | Post Doc | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Nicole Poulton | Research Scientist | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Nick Record | Faculty | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Tammi Richardson | Faculty | University of South Carolina |
| Julie Robidart | Post Doc | University of California - Santa Cruz |
| Tatiana Rynearson | Faculty, Plenary Speaker | University of Rhode Island |
| Mak Saito | Faculty | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
| Heidi Sosik | Faculty | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
| Diane Stoecker | Faculty | Umaryland |
| Brandon Swan | Post Doc | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Agathe Talarmin | Post Doc | University of California - Irvine |
| Gordon Taylor | Faculty | Stony Brook University |
| Mridul Thomas | Post Doc | Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology |
| LeAnn Whitney | Post Doc | Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |
| Susanne Wilken | Post Doc | Monterey Bay Aquarium and Research Institute |
| Ying Zhang | Faculty | University of Rhode Island |
| Amy Zimmerman | Post Doc | Monterey Bay Aquarium and Research Institute |
| Jon Kaye | Program Manager | Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation |
| Sara Paver (Sea Grant Fellow) | Program Manager | NSF |
| Mike Sieracki | Program Manager | NSF |
| Ajit Subramanian | Program Manager | Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation |
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Related Literature
Baines, S.B., B.S. Twining, M.A. Brzezinski, D.M. Nelson, and N.S. Fisher. 2010. The causes and biogeochemical implications of regional differences in silicification of marine diatoms. Global Biogeochemical Cycles. doi: 10.1029/2010GB003856.
Casey, J., Lomas, M.W., Mandecki, J., and Walker, D.E. 2007. Prochlorococcus contributes to new production in the Sargasso Sea deep chlorophyll maximum. Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L10604, doi:10.1029/2006GL028725.
Grote,G., Thrash, J.C., Huggett, M.J., Landry, .Z.C., Carini, P., Giovannoni, S.J., Rappé, M.S. 2012. Streamlining and Core Genome Conservation among Highly Divergent Members of the SAR11 Clade. mBio. 3, doi:10.1128/mBio.00252-12.
Fawcett, S.E., Lomas, M.W., Casey, J.R., Ward, B.B., Sigman, D.M. 2011. Eukaryotes dominate new production in the Sargasso Sea. Nature Geosciences, 4: 717-722.
Follows, M.J., Dutkiewicz, S., 2011. Modeling diverse communities of marine microbes. Annual Review of Marine Science 3, 427-451.
Martiny, A.C., Pham, C.,Primeau, F., Vrugt, J., Levin, S., Lomas, M.W. 2013. Strong latitudinal patterns in elemental composition of marine plankton and organic matter. Nature Geoscience. 6:279-283.
Mincer, T.J., Church, M.J., Taylor, L.T., Preston, C., Karl, D.M., DeLong, E.F. 2007. Quantitative distribution of presumptive archaeal and bacterial nitrifiers in Monterey Bay and the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Environmental Microbiology, 9: 1162-1175.
Shapiro, B.J., Freidman, J., Cordero, O.X., Preheim, S.P., Timberlake, S.C., Szabo, G., Polz, M.F., Alm, E.J. 2012. Population Genomics of Early Events in the Ecological Differentiation of Bacteria. Science, 336, 48: DOI: 10.1126/science.1218198.
Swan, B.K., Martinez-Garcia, M., Preston, C.M., Sczyrba,A., Woyke, T., Lamy, D., Reinthaler, T., Poulton, N.J., Masland, E.D.P., Gomez, M.L., Sieracki, M.E., DeLong, E.F., Herndl, G.J., Stepanauskas1, R. 2011. Potential for Chemolithoautotrophy Among Ubiquitous Bacteria Lineages in the Dark Ocean. Science, 333, DOI: 10.1126/science.1203690.
Stepanauskas, R. 2011. Potential for Chemolithoautotrophy Among Ubiquitous Bacteria Lineages in the Dark Ocean. Science, 333, DOI: 10.1126/science.1203690.
Twining, B.S., D. Nuñez-Milland, S. Vogt, R.S. Johnson, and P.N. Sedwick. 2010. Variations in Synechococcus cell quotas of phosphorus, sulfur, manganese, iron, nickel and zinc within mesoscale eddies in the Sargasso Sea. Limnology & Oceanography. 55: 492-506.
Logistics
Meeting Site
The meeting was held at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, 60 Boothbay Drive, East Boothbay Harbor, Maine.
The closest airport is Portland International Airport (PWM) in Maine.
Travel Reimbursement
Invitees will have airfare covered, as will students and post-docs, but accepted applicants will have to pay for their own airfare.
We will be paying directly to the hotel for lodging for everyone. Meals at the meeting will be covered for everyone.
Hotel
Lodging will be at the Rocktide Inn, 35 Atlantic Avenue, East Boothbay Harbor, Maine. We will be giving the Inn a lodging list starting with check in on May 27 and check out on May 31. Please contact Mary Zawoysky at mzawoysky@whoi.edu if you would like different dates. We will be paying directly to the hotel for 4 nights for each participant. If you would like to extend your stay the cost per night is $79 plus an 8% lodging tax.
The Inn does not have an elevator, so please make sure to alert Mary Zawoysky by emailing mzawoysky@whoi.edu if you need to be on the first floor of the Inn.
Directions
Directions can be found at:
https://www.bigelow.org/about-bigelow-laboratory/directions/
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