Background
Microbial communities in summer are more balanced and kept in check by grazers compared to spring bloom microbial communities. Blooms, if they occur, are rather rare and short lived. How this balance is changing with progressing climate change, and especially with heatwaves which are gaining in intensity and frequency is not yet know. To tackle this key scientific challenge, we compare ambient in situ conditions with a “heat wave” scenario mimicking occasionally occurring anomalous heat events in the North Sea. Within this Master thesis the candidate will focus on the influence of grazing on the microbial community composition. Is there a selective grazing on specific bacterial groups? Does the grazing preference shift to different prey bacteria under the influence of a heatwave?
Tasks
To answer these questions, samples will be analyzed by Fluorescence-In-Situ-Hybridization and automated counting at the Max-Planck-Institute (Bremen), and combined to sequencing and taxonomic data gained at the Alfred-Wegener-Institute.
Requirements
You should be enrolled at a University in a cursus of microbiology, or aquatic biology/ecology
Organisation
Alfred Wegener Institute – Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI)
Location
Germany › Bremen
Deadline
1st May 2022
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