Researchers Showcase Bigelow Laboratory Science

Bigelow Laboratory scientists are heading down to North Carolina en masse later this month for the ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting. In fact, we’re sending one of our largest contingents of students yet, including over 10 recent participants of our Research Experience for Undergraduates program. The meeting is being held at the Charlotte Convention Center, March 26-31, and offers several opportunities for attendees to learn more about our institution and our science.

Be sure to check out one of the talks or posters being presented by our affiliates throughout the weekend. The schedule is below. You can also learn more about Bigelow Laboratory — and potential career and collaboration opportunities — by stopping by our booth in the Exhibit Hall (Booth 100) between Friday and Sunday. And be sure to come by the Crown Ballroom on Saturday, March 29, to see Nicole Poulton and Deborah Bronk each receive one of ASLO’s prestigious awards.

Staff, friends, and alumni of the institute and our education programs should also join us at the Bigelow Laboratory After Party at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 at STIR on South Tryon Street.

Thursday, March 27

9:00 a.m. (W206A): ASLO Multicultural Program Student Symposium

• 9:30 a.m.
  Growth and ingestion rate of Ochromonas CCMP 1391 under nutrient limitation
  Alejandro Mapula, Texas A&M University at Galveston (2024 REU student advised by Nicole Poulton and Isaac Miller)

1:00 p.m. (W207AB)

The Research and Education Coalition for Ocean Sciences
Deborah Bronk, President and CEO

3:15 p.m. (W206B): Viral Interactions and Ecological Dynamics
Integrated ‘omics uncovers phage-host dynamics in the ETNP Oxygen Minimum Zone
Julia Brown, Research Scientist

4:30 p.m. (W206A): ASLO Multicultural Program Student Symposium

• 5:30 p.m.
  Marine and terrestrial sediment on algal turf limits herbivory pressure and species richness
  Zuri Murph, Hampton University (2023 REU student advised by Peter Countway)

Friday, March 28

9:00 a.m. (W201CD): Microbial Processes of the Dark Ocean
Organized by Ramunas Stepanauskas, Senior Research Scientist

• 9:00 a.m.
  A single-cell genome chart of dark ocean prokaryoplankton
  Tianyi Chang, Xiamen University/Bigelow Laboratory (featuring several affiliates of the Single Cell Genomics Center)
• 9:15 a.m.
  Dark ocean chemoautotrophy and other tales from tiny organisms with big impact
  Maria Pachiadaki, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (featuring several affiliates of the Single Cell Genomics Center)
• 9:45 a.m.
  Opening a single-cell genomic window on modular denitrification pathway components in sunlit and dark ocean waters
  Julia Anstett, University of British Columbia (featuring several affiliates of the Single Cell Genomics Center)
• 10:00 a.m.
  Genomic insights into chemotaxis of the ubiquitous SAR324 bacteria in the pelagic deep ocean
  Paula Ruiz-Fernández, Instituto Milenio de Oceanografía (featuring Ramunas Stepanauskas)

2:30 p.m. (W201CD): Microbial Processes of the Dark Ocean
Organized by Ramunas Stepanauskas, Senior Research Scientist

4:30 p.m. (W207AB): Author Spotlight
The global contribution of seasonally migrating copepods to the biological carbon pump
Jérôme Pinti, Gulf of Maine Research Institute (featuring Nick Record)

4:45 p.m. (W206B): Fish and Fisheries
Linking larval temperature tolerance in the lab to settlement and performance in the field in the American Lobster
Eric Annis, Hood College (featuring several Bigelow Laboratory researchers and affiliates)

5:30 p.m. (W208): Harmful Blooms
Persistence of low levels of Pseudo-nitzschia australis on the coast of Maine eight years after its first appearance
Sydney Greenlee, University of Maine/Bigelow Laboratory (featuring Robin Sleith and Peter Countway)

Saturday, March 29

11:00 a.m. (Crown Ballroom)
Presentation of Tommy and Yvette Edmondson Distinguished Service Awards and Ramón Margalef Award for Excellence in Education

2:30 p.m. (W201CD): Undergraduate Research in Marine and Aquatic Sciences
Organized by David Fields, Senior Research Scientist

• 3:15 p.m. Beyond bioaccumulation: A deep dive into PFAS transformations and bioaccumulation in Maine’s blue mussels
  Ella Webber, Colby College (2024 REU student advised by Christoph Aeppli)

4:30 p.m. (W205CD): Climate “winners and losers”
Do all cyanobacteria win? Using paleolimnological approaches to disentangle the long-term nutrient and climate drivers of harmful cyanobacteria blooms
Avery Lamb, University of Maine (featuring Robin Sleith and Peter Countway)

9:00 a.m. (W201CD): Microbial Processes of the Dark Ocean
Organized by Ramunas Stepanauskas, Senior Research Scientist

4:30 p.m. (W201CD): Undergraduate Research in Marine and Aquatic Sciences
Organized by David Fields, Senior Research Scientist

• 5:00 p.m. The varying effects of temperature and viscosity on the kinematics of three congener species of marine, carnivorous copepods
  Cassandra DeBlois, Rhode Island College (2023 postbacc advised by David Fields)
• 5:15 p.m. Seasonal cycles in the carnivorous calanoid copepod Euchaeta norvegica
  Claire Fecteau-Volk, University of New England (2023 REU advised by David Fields)
• 5:45 p.m. Coastal capture: Quantifying microplastic accumulation on native rockweed Ascophyllum nodosum
  Annabelle Warren, Colby College (2024 REU and 2023 Sea Change student advised by Rachel Sipler)

6:00 p.m. (Exhibit Hall A): Posters

Ocean and Freshwater Zooplankton Ecology
The generation effects of temperature and viscosity on freshwater copepod body size
Zachary Wagner, Georgia Institute of Technology/Bigelow Laboratory

Viral interactions and ecological dynamics
Genomics of environmental microcompartments reveals novel viruses and other genetic elements in the ocean
Ramunas Stepanauskas, Senior Research Scientist

Microbial Processes of the Dark Ocean
Single-cell sequencing reveals the global-scale abundance and diversity of bacterioplankton encoded proteorhodopsin in dark ocean waters
Mahan Rafieenaini, University of British Columbia (featuring several Bigelow Laboratory researchers)

ASLO Multicultural Program Student Symposium

• Is black spot shell disease related to Jonah Crab health?
  Nyla Thompson, Hampton University (2024 REU student advised by Maya Groner and Reyn Yoshioka)
• Swimming in style: Viscosity drives Euchaeta norvegica speed
  Jayla Butler, Johns Hopkins University (2024 REU student advised by David Fields)
• Determining whether iron is limiting in the Gulf of Maine
  Kayla Ellerbe, UMaine (2024 REU student advised by Ben Twining and Laura Sofen)

Undergraduate Research in Marine and Aquatic Sciences Organized by David Fields, Senior Research Scientist

• Viscosity drives feeding behavior of E. norvegica
  Timothy Buckley, University of Connecticut (2024 REU student advised by David Fields)
• Can zooplankton utilize dissolved amino acids as a nutrient source?
  David Gonzalez, California State University Dominguez Hills (2024 REU student advised by Karen Stamieszkin and Rachel Sipler)
• The 2023 austral summer phytoplankton bloom in the Southern Ocean
  Lillian Braun, University of Maine (2024 REU student advised by Ben Twining and Laura Sofen)