Personnel

Through photosynthesis, energy and carbon enter the marine food web providing food for higher trophic levels (such as fish). I study the ways in which phytoplankton acquire and process elements (mainly C and Fe) required for photosynthesis. The ways they acquire these elements differs among species, which affects the distribution and abundance of phytoplankton groups.

I am studying inorganic carbon acquisition in marine diatoms using a variety of physiological and molecular methods. I am also involved in field research to understand the effects of rising CO₂ on phytoplankton photosynthesis and community structure.

I am looking at the flux of inorganic carbon into diatoms and symbiotic dinoflagellates using mass spectroscopy in order to illustrate the effects of variable dissolved organic carbon levels on photosynthesis. Understanding this can shed light on the ecological changes that occur in ecosystems such as coral reefs as climate continues to change.