Aquatic Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry: A Dual Perspective

304 Pages·2016·13.88 MB·English

by  Patricia M. Glibert

Patricia M. Glibert
Todd M. Kana Editors
Aquatic Microbial
Ecology and
Biogeochemistry:
A Dual Perspective
Aquatic Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry:
A Dual Perspective

Patricia M. Glibert • Todd M. Kana
Editors
Aquatic Microbial Ecology
and Biogeochemistry:
A Dual Perspective
Editors
Patricia M. Glibert Todd M. Kana
Horn Point Laboratory Horn Point Laboratory
University of Maryland Center for University of Maryland Center for
Environmental Science Environmental Science
Cambridge , MD , USA Cambridge , MD , USA
ISBN 978-3-319-30257-7 ISBN 978-3-319-30259-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-30259-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016942786
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
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Preface: Building on a History of Dual Careers
in the Sciences
Aquatic microbial ecology and the processes of biogeochemistry are coupled and
synergistic. The aim of this book is to highlight some perspectives, insights, and
data in the coupled fi elds of aquatic microbial ecology and biogeochemistry when
viewed through the lens of collaborative duos—dual career couples. Their synergy
and collaborative interactions have contributed substantially to our contemporary
understanding of pattern, process, and dynamics. This is thus a book b y dual career
couples, not about them.
A great deal has been written about dual career couples—the challenges they
face in job searches, spousal hiring negotiations as well as the daily challenges and
rewards of working in like-minded professions, often in shared offi ces or work
environments (e.g., Ferber and Loeb 1997). Little has been written to highlight the
important contributions many dual career couples have made to contemporary
aquatic sciences. This book aims to do just that.
Science has long attracted bright minds, and bright minds often think alike. Most
notable are the spousal collaborations of the Curies and the Einsteins, but, in fact,
there is a long history of creative couples working together—especially in fi elds
such as ecology and plant sciences. As noted by Slack (1996), “Collaborative mar-
riages were common in botany even in the fi rst half of the nineteenth century in
England. However, many of these partnerships were highly imbalanced, as was the
case, for example, of the collaborative marriage of Elizabeth G. Knight and
Nathaniel Lord Britton. He, a professor of Botany at Columbia by 1891, and she a
Hunter College graduate. Their collaboration was one in which he had the sole paid
position, and she conducted her research unpaid. Nevertheless, she went on to pub-
lish over 300 articles and reviews, edited several journals and even supervised at
least one graduate student” (Slack 1996). Theirs was a “personal and botanical part-
nership.” While their partnership was scientifi cally fulfi lling, it highlights the frus-
trations of antinepotism regulations, sexism, and bias that have pervaded academia
for decades. The Comstocks of Cornell, Anna Botsford Comstock and John Henry
Comstock, had a similar professional and personal partnership, with Anna only
embarking on a teaching career late in life, having been the “power behind the
v
vi Preface: Building on a History of Dual Careers in the Sciences
throne” for decades. Because Cornell, where she had been an instructor of
nature- study, did not permit full professorships for women except in the Department
of Home Economics (Henson 1996), only 2 years before her retirement, in 1922,
was she fi nally advanced to full professor.
These vignettes are interesting reading, and the collection of essays edited by
Pycior et al. (1996) describes many more, but many of the experiences are not so
dissimilar from experiences today, where many dual career couples have to make do
in order to advance their collective personal and professional careers. Fortunately,
pathways for dual career couples are improving, with many institutions recognizing
that spousal collaborative teams often bring a unique and special strength to a col-
laboration. Whether they work closely on a daily basis, or whether they share only
a similar passion for their work but maintain distinct disciplines, couples share “in
the joys and the sorrows of their life-companions, but they also have a part in their
thoughts, their studies, their labors, their achievements” (Mozens 1913, cited in
Pycior et al. 1996). This book hopes to celebrate those thoughts, studies, labors, and
achievements.
In the fi eld of aquatic microbial ecology, as is most likely the case in all sciences,
dual career couples are more and more common. As recently reported in an article
in N ature highlighting dual career couples, and based on a National Science
Foundation survey, over 25 % of “married people with doctorates had a spouse
working in science or engineering” (Smith 2014). The goal of this book was to
assemble a series of chapters written by dual career couples—and only by them.
The couples selected were invited because we aimed to represent established scien-
tists as well as up-and-coming scientists, those working in both marine and freshwa-
ter, across a spectrum of topics, and who represented a diverse geographic area. The
end result is the nearly two dozen papers herein, representing contributions from
across the globe, from USA to Australia and Europe (France, Germany), and the UK
(Wales). More than that, several of the couples originally hail from outside the USA,
including Africa, India and Israel. In fact, based on the couples we knew and came
to know during this process, we could have fi lled three volumes rather than just one.
The chapters presented here represent a wide-ranging collection of topics. This is
not a structured book, wherein a set suite of topics was outlined and authors chosen
to each write their piece of the assignment. Rather, this collection of chapters fl owed
organically. The fi rst set of chapters begins to unravel microbial diversity, from a
discussion of the history of ideas of the microbial web (Sherr and Sherr) to an over-
view of the drivers of biodiversity (Rynearson and Menden-Deuer) and selective
pressures of phytoplankton shape (Karp Boss and Boss), followed by a phylogenetic
analysis of bacteria across the freshwater–saltwater continuum (Bižić- Ionescu and
Ionescu), and an analysis of the challenges linking biogeochemical models with
‘omics data (Coles and Hood). These chapters are followed by two chapters that
address the history of ideas related to stoichiometry (Kilham and Kilham) and their
implications related to plankton predation (Mitra and Flynn). Understanding the
mysteries of light and nitrogen and their regulation is the topic of the next set of
chapters. This part begins with a perspective on the dynamics of saturation responses
(Kana and Glibert) and moves to the metabolism of nitrogen in terms of nitrate
Preface: Building on a History of Dual Careers in the Sciences vii
reductase (Young and Berges), and ammonium as a paradoxical nutrient (Wilkerson
and Dugdale), and the mysteries of nitrogen fi xation (Marino and Howarth), and an
analysis of the global distribution of subsurface chlorophyll maximum layers (Silsbe
and Malkin). The chapters then transition to a series of analyses in which the dynam-
ics of changing ecosystems is the focus, generally using longer-term records or
observations, including the Arabian Sea (Goes and Gomes), the Arctic Ocean
(Grebmeier and Cooper), the coastal North Sea (Wiltershire and Boersma), and
Pensacola Bay (Caffrey and Murrell), to the even fresher waters of the Seine River
(Garnier and Billen) and Maine’s Mount Desert Island lakes (Roesler and
Culbertson). Finally, the last suite of chapters highlights unique systems, processes,
and dynamics, from the Sargasso Sea (Pinckney and Richardson) to Australia’s Gulf
of Carpentaria (Rothlisberg and Burford), the Chesapeake Bay (Sellner and Sellner),
and the freshwater hydrothermal vents of the Yellowstone National Park (Aguilar
and Cuhel). In all, these chapters take us from the Arctic to Africa, from the Arabian
Sea to Australia, from small lakes and Yellowstone hot vents to the Sargasso Sea,
and in the process provide analyses that make us think about the structure and func-
tion of all of these systems in the aquatic realm.
W hile the chapters speak for themselves, each chapter is told with a little bit of
backstory—a small snapshot into the lives of the couple, who they are, how they
met, their children (they are couples, after all), or what else they may enjoy outside
of science. It is something special to learn about friendships turned more serious on
station, underwater marriage proposals, and at-sea weddings on oceanographic
ships. Aquatic science is in the veins of the couples whose work is presented here.
The more traditional bios of the authors can be found elsewhere; we are interested
to peek into the human dimension of these great teams. This is a book about dual
perspectives, and a snapshot into work–life balance helps to put it all in
“perspective.”
Our hope is that this book is useful not only for the depth and breadth of knowl-
edge that is conveyed in the chapters, but that this book also serves to be useful for
future dual career couples faced with the challenges only dual career couples face.
Great teams do make great science. Of the couples highlighted here, 78 % have
positions at the same institution. Another interesting statistic here is that 75 % of the
chapters herein were fi rst-authored by the distaff side; this just shows who really
does the work in these collaborations! This book should give new meaning to the
concept of coupled biogeochemical cycles.
W e wish to thank our authors for their contributions; we thank all those who
wanted to contribute but could not for varying reasons. We thank our editor, Janet
Slobodien at Springer, for welcoming this book into the portfolio of Springer
science books. Finally, we thank Kate, Zander and Coe, Austin and Hannah, and
Patrick and Emily for fi lling the nonscientifi c parts of our lives with joy—and for
allowing just a little bit of the science in their blood to shine through.
Cambridge, MD, USA Patricia M. Glibert
Todd M. Kana
viii Preface: Building on a History of Dual Careers in the Sciences
References
1 . F erber MA, Loeb JA (eds) Academic couples: problems and promises. University of Illinois
Press, Urbana, IL, p 323
2. Henson PM (1996) The Comstocks of Cornell: a marriage of interests. In: Pycior HM, Slack
NG, Abir-Am PG (eds) Creative couples in the sciences. Rutgers University Press, New
Brunswick, NJ, pp 112–125
3. Pycior HM, Slack NG, Abir-Am PG (eds) Creative couples in the sciences. Rutgers University
Press, New Brunswick, NJ, p 369
4 . S lack NG. Botanical and ecological couples: a continuum of relationships. In: Pycior HM,
Slack NG, Abir-Am PG (eds) Creative couples in the Sciences. Rutgers University Press, New
Brunswick, NJ, pp 235–253
5. Smith K (2014) Love in the lab: close collaborations. Nature 510:460
Contents
Part I Unraveling Microbial Diversity and Their Processes
Phagotrophic Protists: Central Roles in Microbial Food Webs ................... 3
Evelyn B. Sherr and Barry F. Sherr
Overview ............................................................................................................ 3
Protists as Elemental Recyclers ......................................................................... 4
Protists as Consumers of Bacteria ...................................................................... 6
Protists as Consumers of Phytoplankton............................................................ 7
Protists in High Latitude Food Webs ................................................................. 8
Looking to the Future ......................................................................................... 9
References .......................................................................................................... 10
Drivers That Structure Biodiversity in the Plankton ................................... 13
Tatiana A. Rynearson and Susanne Menden-Deuer
Plankton Biodiversity......................................................................................... 13
Alternate Hypotheses That Explain the Paradox of the Plankton ...................... 14
An Organismal Perspective on the Paradox of the Plankton:
A Biodiversity Explosion from Within? ............................................................ 15
Linking Individual Level Behaviors with Plankton Ecology ............................ 16
Pervasive Intra-specifi c Variability in the Genetic Diversity,
Physiological Capacity, and Behavioral Repertoire of Plankton ....................... 17
Evolution: Generating and Structuring Diversity over the Long Term ............. 19
Opportunities for Progress ................................................................................. 20
References .......................................................................................................... 22
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