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R/IS-06 A
Measuring the transfer, dynamics, and risk of invasion for microbial communities associated with ballast water of ships
Principal Investigator:
Gregory M. RuizStart/End Year:
1998 - 2001Institution:
Smithsonian Environmental Research CenterCo-Principal Investigator:
Fred C. Dobbs, Old Dominion University; Anson H. Hines, Smithsonian Environmental Research CenterTopic(s):
Description:
Our overall objective is to characterize the transfer, dynamics, and potential to invade for microbial communities associated with ballast water of ships. More specifically, our study will: Measure the abundance, biomass, growth and carbon-source utilization patterns of bacteria that arrive in ballast water as a function of source region, voyage duration, and specific water characteristics (e.g., temperature, salinity, macro-plankton abundance and diversity); Measure changes in microbial community characteristics of ballast water during voyages, including the effects of current ballast management practices on these communities; Measure the specificity and functional relationships between Vibrio spp. and selected macrozooplankton species; Assess the invasibility of Chesapeake Bay to microbial organisms (especially Vibrio spp.) that arrive in ballast water.
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Featured Fellow
Leone Yisrael is a cephalopod-loving scuba diver, cook, and loves to try new activities. She conducts genetic analysis and fieldwork at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center through the Coastal Disease Ecology Lab.
Featured Research Project
Developing a habitat model for mysids, an important link in Chesapeake Bay food webs
Mysids are important mesozooplankton prey for many species of fish in Chesapeake Bay and are an important link in transferring energy from lower to upper trophic levels. Mysids also serve as biological vectors for benthic-pelagic coupling due to their diel vertical migration and omnivorous prey-switching behavior, which makes mysids important regulators of food web architecture. Despite their central role in coastal food webs, surprisingly little is known about mysid ecology and dynamics in Chesapeake Bay.
