There are a million microorganisms in a single drop of water. These diverse microbial communities include everything from well-known pathogens to organisms new to science, and their collective activities drive global cycles of essential elements such as nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen. From the distant past into the future, these tiny cells have been central in controlling Earth’s climate and habitability. However, human activities have subsequently disrupted global biogeochemical cycles in multiple ways—especially by altering Earth’s atmosphere and climate. The overarching goal of our research is to connect these perspectives by developing a predictive understanding of microbial ecology and biogeochemistry on our rapidly changing planet. We try to figure out: (1) what microbes can ‘do’ and how they do it; (2) how they interact with each other; (3) how this can change; and (4) what the implications are.
To achieve this, we use techniques ranging from stable isotope biogeochemistry to large ‘omic datasets generated via DNA and RNA sequencing. We apply these to experimental manipulations and environmental gradients within the tropical Pacific ocean, ‘marine lakes’ in Palau, freshwater lakes in Yosemite, extreme environments, seafloor sediments, and beyond. We seek to understand linkages and feedbacks among microbial communities and the biogeochemical processes that they mediate, and how these may be altered by (or resilient to) ocean deoxygenation, ocean acidification, nutrient pollution, and climate change—including the powerful Category 4 hurricane that we encountered at sea. For example, Mike’s early research on how agricultural runoff fuels phytoplankton blooms was featured on the front page of the Washington Post in December 2021.
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Beman Lab, University of California, Merced 