Virus-bacteria-protist intercations under future ocean conditions

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This project aims at improving the assessment and predictability of ocean biology feedbacks to expected climate change. In particular, the potential response patterns of temperate/arctic pelagic microbial food webs will be studied from a virus-oriented perspective. In order to obtain a mechanistic understanding of prospective responses and structuring mechanisms in microbial assemblages, small-scale perturbation experiments will be performed manipulating various relevant abiotic climate change stressors. While focusing on ocean warming, this project will particularly account for non-linear response patterns and (interactive) synergistic or antagonistic effects of warming in combination with other factors (e.g. nutrients, salinity). Using microbial communities of different complexity (e.g. size-fractionated in situ samples, cultures/virus-host systems), responses in biotic interactions (e.g. viral lysis, protist predation) to abiotic forcing will be investigated. Within a community ecological framework, experiments will analyse activity-diversity relationships and features such as stability and resilience. Changes in viral, bacterial and protist abundances will be detected and combined with molecular biological community analyses and a functional assemblage profiling. Moreover, these studies will be closely linked to a partner project of Dr. Julia Wohlers investigating the ultimate consequences of community changes for the associated biogeochemical cycling and microbial processing of organic matter.