Microbial Observatory established at Mono Lake
by Geoffrey McQuilkin
The
National Science Foundation has awarded several grants to fundscientific
research on microbes at Mono Lake as part of its national Microbial
Observatories initiative. With microbes making up the vast majority of the
estimated 11 million undescribed organisms on earth, the initiative is
designed to discover and investigate microbes at a variety of locations
around the country.
The project is being led by Drs. James Hollibaugh, Robert Jellison, Johnathan Zehr, and Samantha Joye. Hollibaugh and Joye, both currently at the University of Georgia, have performed recent work at Mono Lake, including measurements of bacterial processes and the identification of an entirely new class of algae found in the Mono’s waters. Jellison, a researcher at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL), has conducted research on nutrient cycling, primary productivity, and Artemia (brine shrimp) dynamics at Mono for years and has employed a hydrodynamic model that predicts meromixis and lake mixing behavior.
The goal of the microbial observatory work is to identify microbes found in Mono Lake, to determine their distribution and response to change—particularly in relation to meromixis—and to model their behavior. The research work involves extensive sampling of lake waters by boat and laboratory analysis at SNARL, and requires no significant new structures or construction.
The Mono Lake Committee will be participating in the public outreach component of the project by developing project profiles and updates on the Mono Lake Website www.monolake.org and by hosting summertime forums led by the researchers. Watch for further news of the project as summer approaches!
Geoff McQuilkin is the Committee’s Co-Executive Director. He and his wife Sarah are working very hard on making their new house a home.
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