Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

S3e8: What’S So Cool About Cold-Water Corals?, Ron Lisnet, Rhian Waller

The Maine Question

When people think of coral reefs, they might imagine snorkeling in warm Caribbean waters. But corals also live in the Gulf of Maine and in some of the most extreme environments on Earth, including the Arctic and Antarctic.

Rhian Waller, associate professor of marine sciences and a National Geographic Explorer, dives deep in near-freezing water around the world to learn about what she calls the rainforests of the ocean. She examines how climate change, fishing and oil exploration affect their ecology and reproduction. And she studies the effects that their altered life cycle might have on the marine ecosystem and …

A Biogeographical Assessment Of Arctic Marine Fungi, Bentley E. Simpson

Honors College

Marine fungi play a crucial role in recycling nutrients and channeling energy to higher trophic levels in the world oceans. Despite their critical role, their distributions and community composition, particularly in the Arctic, are largely unknown. This study reveals depth-related trends of abundance, diversity, and community composition of Arctic marine fungi through analysis of data obtained in the Tara Oceans expedition. With samples from surface (0-50 m), deep chlorophyll max (50-200 m), and mesopelagic (200-1000 m) depths, relative abundance, operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness, and diversity were found to increase as a function of depth. Basidiomycota and Ascomycota were found …