Project: High Resolution Linkages Between DOC Turnover and Bacterioplankton in a Coastal Ocean

Acronym/Short Name:

SIMCO

Start Date:

2014-01

End Date:

2016-12

Geolocation:

Southeastern U.S. coastal ocean, 31.4° N Lat, 81.3° W Lon

Programs:

Unaffiliated

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Description

Description from NSF award abstract:
Long-standing questions regarding the fate of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in coastal oceans require a better understanding of the network that links bacterioplankton metabolism with carbon transformation. These questions address uncertainties about the composition of the bioreactive DOC components transformed in ocean margins, and the role of bacterial taxonomic and genetic composition in determining the fate of DOC.

This project will infuse a new type of data into coastal carbon cycle research based on high-resolution chemical analysis coupled with bacterial gene expression measures. It will extend DOC process studies down to the single-compound level and bacterial activity studies down to the single-gene level, and integrate this information into existing bioinformatic resources for biogeochemical and modeling applications.

The specific goals of this project are:
1) To reconstruct major components of the network linking DOC composition, DOC turnover, and bacterial heterotrophy in the coastal ocean (the composition of the DOC pool, the major bioreactive components, the bacterioplankton taxa mediating transformations, and the bacterial genes and pathways responsible).

2) To test hypothesized network links for selected DOC compounds using a simplified system that queries individual DOC compounds against a complex natural microbial community.

3) To test hypothesized network links for marine bacteria using a simplified system that queries a single generalist heterotrophic bacteria against a complex natural DOC pool.

4) To verify predicted DOC-gene linkages that are most informative about heterotrophic activities of bacterioplankton.

This research addresses fundamental questions on bacterial mediation of organic carbon fate in the ocean and atmosphere. As such, these investigations linking the chemical changes in dissolved organic carbon with patterns of gene expression in coastal bacterioplankton communities will be of interest to scientists across several disciplines.

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Note: The project acronym, SIMCO, means "Sapelo Island Microbial Carbon Observatory".

More Information

Funding

Funding Source	Award Number
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences	OCE-1356010

Dataset Collections

Dataset Short Name	Full Dataset Title
SIMCO 1 and 2: Taxonomic transcript bins	Taxonomic binning of transcripts from samples collected during the SIMCO1 (July 2014) and SIMCO2 (Oct 2014) incubation experiments on the linkage between DOM changes and microbial transcription patterns at Sapelo Island, GA.
SIMCO 1 and 2: Transcripts per liter	Transcript counts per liter from samples collected during the SIMCO 1 & 2 (July & Oct 2014) incubation experiments on the linkage between DOM changes and microbial transcription patterns at Sapelo Island, GA.
SIMCO metatranscriptome sequence accessions	Metatranscriptome sequence NCBI accessions from samples collected during the SIMCO 1 & 2 incubation experiments, July & Oct 2014
SIMCO Pilot Study: DOC, delta13C and salinity	Characterization of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in estuarine waters near Sapelo Island, GA, using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry and stable carbon isotope analyses.
SIMCO Pilot Study: FTICRMS spectra	Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS) data from seasonal collections, Doboy Sound, Sapelo Island, GA, 2012 and 2013
SIMCO Study: FTICRMS spectra 2014	Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICRMS) data from seasonal collections, Doboy Sound, Sapelo Island, GA, July and October 2014
SIMCO: DOC and salinity 2014	Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and salinity data from seasonal collections/incubations, Doboy Sound, Sapelo Island, GA, July and October 2014

Deployments

Total: 1

Cruise/Deployment	Platform Type	Start Date	Chief/Co-chief Scientist
Moran_Sapelo_2012-14	laboratory	01 Sep 2012

Project Coordinators

Person	Roles	Affiliation
Mary Ann Moran	Lead Principal Investigator, Contact	University of Georgia (UGA)
Dr I. Jonathan Amster	Co-Principal Investigator	University of Georgia (UGA)
Dr Ford Ballantyne	Co-Principal Investigator	University of Georgia (UGA)
Patricia M. Medeiros	Co-Principal Investigator	University of Georgia (UGA)
William Whitman	Co-Principal Investigator	University of Georgia (UGA)
Shannon Rauch	BCO-DMO Data Manager	Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO)

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Project: High Resolution Linkages Between DOC Turnover and Bacterioplankton in a Coastal Ocean