CAREER: Comparative Biodiversity and Community Ecology of Chemosynthetic Ecosystems

College Of William And Mary, Williamsburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

This CAREER Development Plan will focus on integrating undergraduate and graduate students into a creative research program focused on several aspects of the ecology of deep?sea hydrothermal vents, with opportunities for student engagement through every stage of the research effort, from the initial field sampling to final preparation of manuscripts. It also will bring research into the classroom, through development of research?oriented laboratories and of a course on Life in Extreme Environments that features the body of work on hydrothermal vents to which the PI is a significant contributor. The investigator will address three fundamental issues in the ecology of chemosynthetic communities: 1) Community structure of hydrothermal vents, 2) Sulfide as an abiotic control on species composition at vents, and 3) Comparative trophic and reproductive studies of mussel bed fauna. These research programs will offer abundant opportunities for undergraduate and graduate research and they will address specific issues identified as current priorities of the NSF?RIDGE Program. Educational goals of the PI and The College of William & Mary will be supported in 3 ways: Research Mentoring ? Formal research experience in the field and laboratory will be provided to 4 undergraduates, 1?2 Master's students and 1 Ph.D. student each year. Curriculum Development ? A new lecture course on Life in Extreme Environments will be developed for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Incorporating Research into Teaching ? Process?oriented laboratories will be developed to replace the more traditional survey approach to invertebrate zoology. The new emphasis will be on functional biology and will be based on methods and issues found in the very recent literature and which take advantage of specific opportunities afforded by proximity to Chesapeake Bay. A research?oriented approach for one or two of the labs at the end of the semester will be introduced once the new laboratories are established, where students conduct experiments they design themselves.