Click to read about the affects of Hurricane Frances.

Microbial Life Forced into the Fast Lane: the Sudden “Awakening” of Hypersaline Microbial Communities by Hurricane Frances


Data provided by Elyse Voegeli, San Salvador High School

 

Click to view a pdf of Jay Pinckney's presentation on:

Photoacclimation Responses of Microbial Mats along a Depth Gradient in a Hypersaline Pond, San Salvador Island, Bahamas
Presented at American Society of Limnology & Oceanography Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Feb 2003, Salt Lake City, Utah

Relevant Papers
(if you would like to request a copy of one of these papers please click here)

Bebout, B. M., H. W. Paerl, K. M. Crocker, and L. E. Prufert. 1987. Diel interactions of oxygenic photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation (Acetylene Reduction) in a marine microbial mat community. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 53:2353-2362.

Bebout, B. M., H. W. Paerl, J. E. Bauer, D. E. Canfield and D. J. DesMarais. 1994. Nitrogen cycling in microbial mat communities: The quantitative importance of N-fixation and other sources of N for primary productivity. pp. 265-272, in L. J. Stal and P. Caumette (eds.), Microbial Mats: Structure, Development and Environmental Significance. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

Stal, L. J., H. W. Paerl and B. M. Bebout. 1994. Heterocystous versus non-heterocystous cyanobacteria in microbial mats. pp. 403-414, in L. J. Stal and P. Caumette (eds.), Microbial Mats: Structure, Development and Environmental Significance. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

Pinckney, J. L., H. W. Paerl and B. M. Bebout. 1995. Salinity controls of benthic microbial mat community production in a Bahamian hypersaline lagoon. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 187:223-237.

Pinckney, J. L., H. W. Paerl and M. Fitzpatrick. 1995. The impacts of seasonality and nutrients on microbial mat community structure and function. Marine Ecology Progress Series 123:207-216.

Zehr, J. P., S. Braun, W. Litaker, T. Steppe and H. W. Paerl. 1995. Diversity of heterotrophic nitrogen fixing genes in a marine cyanobacterial mat. Applied Environmental Microbiology 61:2527-2532.

Pinckney, J. L., H. W. Paerl, R.P. Reid and B. M. Bebout. 1995. Ecophysiology of stromatolitic microbial mats, Stocking Island, Exuma Cays, Bahamas. Microbial Ecology 29:19-37.

Paerl, H. W., M. Fitzpatrick and B. M. Bebout. 1996. Seasonal nitrogen fixation dynamics in a marine microbial mat: Potential roles of cyanobacteria and microheterotrophs. Limnology and Oceanography 41:419-427.

Steppe, T. F., J. B. Olson, H. W. Paerl and J. Belnap. 1996. Consortial N2 fixation: A strategy for meeting nitrogen requirements of marine and terrestrial cyanobacterial mats. FEMSMicrobiology Ecology 21:149-156.

Paerl, H. W. and J. L. Pinckney. 1996. Microbial consortia: Their role in aquatic produc-tion and biogeochemical cycling. Microbial Ecology 31:225-247.

Pinckney, J. L. And H. W. Paerl. 1997. Anoxic photosynthesis and N2 fixation by a microbial mat community in a Bahamian hypersaline lagoon. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 63:420-426.

Olson J. B., R. W. Litaker and H. W. Paerl. 1999. Ubiquity of heterotrophic diazotrophs in marine microbial mats. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 19:29-36.

Paerl, H. W., J. L. Pinckney and T. F. Steppe. 2000. Cyanobacterial-bacterial mat consortia: Examining the functional unit of microbial survival and growth in extreme environments. Environmental Microbiology 2(1):11-26.

Reid, R.P., Visscher, P., Decho, A. Stolz, J., Bebout, B., Macintyre, I, Dupraz, C., Pinckney, J., Paerl, H. Prufert-Bebout, L., Steppe, T., DesMarais, D. (2000) Microbial lithification in modern marine stromatolites. Nature 406:989-992.

Paerl, H.W., T.F. Steppe, and R.P. Reid. 2001. Bacterially-mediated precipitation in marine stromatolites. Environmental Microbiology 3:123-130.

Paerl, H.W. and J. Kuparinen. 2001. Microbial aggregates and consortia. In: G. Bitton (Ed). Encyclopedia of Environmental Microbiology.

Steppe, T.F, H.W. Paerl and R. P. Reid. 2001. Diazotrophy in modern marine Bahamian stromatolites. Microbial Ecology 41: 36-44.

Steppe, T.F and Paerl, H.W. 2002. Potential N2 Fixation by sulfate-reducing bacteria in a marine intertidal microbial mat. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 28:1-12.

Paerl, H.W., Steppe, T.F., Potts, M. 2001. Elevated tropical hurricane activities provides new lease for extreme microbial communities in Bahamian hypersaline lakes. Ambio (in press)

(if you would like to request a copy of one of these papers please click here)