Animal, Mineral, Microbe: How the Interplay Between Abiotic and Biotic Processes Shapes Deep-Sea Chemoautotrophic Symbioses

Living organisms evolve in response to one another, but also to the physical and chemical conditions in their habitat. Living things, via their activity, also shape the abiotic world. This is especially true for microbes, which play a major role in the biogeochemical transformations in our biosphere. The interplay between the biotic and abiotic is very evident in and around many deep-sea habitats, in particular hydrothermal vents and hydrocarbon seeps. These ecosystems depend on harnessing energy from magmatic and hydrological processes. Our lab aims to better understand how these communities harness energy from geochemical sources, as well as the nature of their physiological and biochemical adaptations to their environs. We develop systems that allow us to keep deep-sea organisms alive in the lab and at sea, and tools to make in situ geochemical measurements. We also strive to make these technologies broadly available to the broader community of scientists with the hope that we can work together to better understand the ocean system and its role in maintaining our biosphere

Speaker: Peter Girguis (Harvard University)

Talks are held in the STScI John N. Bahcall Auditorium. Light lunch (provided) starts at 12pm; talk starts at 12:30pm.

Planets, Life, and the Universe Lecture Series presentations are also webcast live. Webcasts can be viewed at the STScI webcast site during the scheduled presentation, and can be found afterward in the STScI webcast archive.

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