Microbes

Microbes are mostly tiny, single-celled organisms. They include bacteria, Archaea, viruses, and microbial eukaryotes.

Marine microbes play many important roles in the oceans of the Antarctic

• they influence climate
• are the major primary producers in the ocean
• are the driving force behind the flow of marine energy and nutrients

Microbiologists study these important organisms using microscopes, culture equipment, and DNA techniques. Scientists will study the microbes from sea ice, benthic sediments, water column, and organism-associated microbes.

Palmer Station, Anvers Island

CAML Scientific Steering Committee member, Dr. Alison Murray, recently led a team studying bacterioplankton genomics and ecology in the waters near Palmer Station.

The group collected and analysed the marine micro-organisms in an effort to understand genomic adaptations that have enabled them to succeed in the winter waters of the Southern Ocean.

Palmer Station is a United States research station located on Anvers Island (64° 46’ 27.40"S, 64° 3’ 13.66"W).

Read more on the project website Bacterioplankton genomic adaptations to Antarctic winter, or the United States Antarctic Program

Census of Antarctic marine microbes workshop

Austria - 31 March 2006

Scientists met in March 2006 in Innsbruck, Austria and discussed ways of developing international partnerships for CAML-microbial studies. They discussed standardizing sampling and analysis protocols for assessing diversity in Antarctic marine microbial habitats. These habitats included sea ice, benthic sediments, water column, and surface and organism-associated microbes.

Abstracts from the microbes workshop [PDF]

Minutes from the microbes workshop [PDF]