Computer model of the abundance of carbon-consuming microbes in Pacific Ocean surface waters, information that may help scientists better predict how the ocean stores and cycles carbon. (Image: Courtesy of Emily Zakem.)
Scientists map the ocean’s invisible workforce
New USC Dornsife research reveals how tiny sea-faring microbes compete for nutrients and help regulate the planet’s climate.
Key findings:
- Scientists identified a new way to classify ocean microbes into groups based on how they consume nutrients and recycle carbon.
- They found that different microbes dominate in different parts of the ocean, depending on how much and the type of food that is available.
- Grouping microbes by behavior instead of species could improve climate models and predictions about carbon storage in the ocean.
- The research helps explain how tiny marine organisms play a major role in regulating Earth’s climate.
The ocean is full of invisible workers. Trillions of microbes quietly break down carbon-containing organic matter, which helps to regulate Earth’s climate. But scientists have long struggled to understand how different microbes contribute to the process.
Now, researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and collaborators have developed a new way to make sense of that hidden workforce. Their study, published recently in Science Advances, identifies a small set of “metabolic niches” — or functional roles — that help explain how marine microbes grow, compete for resources and recycle carbon around the globe.