Fourth Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences (XMAS-IV)

Fourth Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences (XMAS)
Dates: 6-9 January 2019
Location: Xiamen, China

For further information: http://mel.xmu.edu.cn/conference/4xmas

The deadline for abstract submission is Aug 31, 2018. 

GEOTRACES session:

The role of trace metals in controlling structure and function of microbial communities in contemporary oceans 

Punyasloke Bhadury, Yeala Shaked, Maria Maldonado, Yihua Cai, Chris Bowler

Trace metals are essential for life, catalyzing key cellular reactions that influence ocean productivity, biodiversity, and biogeochemical cycling of the major elements including carbon and nitrogen. Essential trace metals, such as iron and zinc, are usually present at very low dissolved concentrations in seawater and are mostly found as stable organic complexes. Indeed, in large oceanic regions trace metals control the physiology and ecological functioning of microbial communities. There is a need to understand how microbial communities including nano and pico-phytoplankton acquire essential metals and how biological activity is affected by metal availability and resulting consequences for cycling of essential elements such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. To understand many of these questions, large international research programs such as GEOTRACES have been initiated incorporating trans-disciplinary approaches to understand mechanistic links between geochemical and biological variability. In this session, we welcome contributions from researchers, including early career scientists, investigating the role of trace metals on the structure and functioning of microbial communities including marine phytoplankton across ecosystems. In particular, we welcome submissions in areas which address the link between trace metals and isotopes with a focus on microbial communities mediating the cycling of major nutrients in contemporary oceans, metal uptake and competition between microbes for metal resources and the role of trace metals in shaping cellular function and evolution.

Session ID: C3 [Bio-GEOTRACES]