Researchers in the Field of Biology

There are many researchers and scholars in the field of biology. Research is the heart of biology and is what most biologists do in one way or another. One researcher I was interested in was Esther Angert. She is a biology researcher who focuses mainly on microbiology but has other interests that included bacteriology, developmental biology, and molecular biology. Angert went to Indiana University where she received a B.S. in Biology. She had been in the laboratory training under Dr. Norman Pace where she then earned her Ph.D.  

Most currently, Angert and other colleagues developed an undergraduate course in microbiology specifically for non-science majors. In her research, she focuses on Epulopiscium which are some of the largest known bacteria and intestinal symbionts which can get up to about 0.6 mm in length. This organism is a great model for showing the general concepts of microbial biology. They are intestinal symbionts of a specific species in tropical marine fish and are able to provide a deeper understanding of the role they play. This will lead to a greater appreciation of nutritional ecology involved with endangered animals such as coral reefs that are found in low-nutrient tropical seas. 

She has a lab named after her called Angert Lab and there they look at the characterizing cellular modifications that support a bulky cell size in the bacterium. These members of the Angert Lab are involved in numerous outreach programs that share ideas with the K-12 generation about their enthusiasm for biology. Other things they are trying to look at are the identification of the molecular mechanisms in internal offspring formation and the development. 

From this research she wants to mainly observe how these cells are able to surmount the restrictions that keep most other bacteria small. So why is this bacterium able to grow to such a significant size? Also, the development of the unique reproductive program that is observed in these bacteria and others is also an interest to Angert and her team. 

Retrieved from http://biology.cornell.edu/search-research/userprofile/era23 

Retrieved from https://micro.cornell.edu/people/esther-angert 

Ocean Dead Zones are Getting Worse

This is an algal bloom off the coast of Maryland which help contribute to the formation of dead zones.

The article I chose is called Ocean Dead Zones are Getting Worse Globally Due to Climate Change and is dated November 10th, 2014. It is mainly about how dead zones are progressively increasing across the globe. These low hypoxic areas have doubled in frequency every ten years since the 1960’s, according to Alteiri and Gedan of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland. Altieri and Gedan write in a newspaper that is in Global Change Biology today. The opening statement of the article talks about how dead zones will increase by the end of the century due to climate change. This was stated by a few of the authors presented in my literature review.

This article is written by Sarah Zielinski. She also mentions that dead zones can be created or become worse due to human activities. She describes the whole process of how a dead zone is created. It starts with runoff with the nutrients in it which feed an algal bloom. These nutrients contain phosphorus or nitrogen which is what ignites these algal blooms. When the organisms (algae) eventually die, they decompose which sucks up the oxygen in the water causing a dramatic decrease in the oxygen level in a body of water. Altieri and Gedan were a source brought up in the article who say, “Climate change will drive expansion of dead zones, and has likely contributed to the observed spread of dead zones over recent decades". This statement agrees with what she Zielinski says about dead zones. 

This article focuses on the main causes that are thought to be by scientists. Hence the title, climate change is what the author focuses on but there are many other potential factors to the formation of dead zones. There are solutions to this problem and one is brought up at the end of the article and that is to reduce the nutrient pollution. If this is lessened, then there will be less nitrogen and/or phosphorus for algal blooms to feed off of and there will be less dead zones across the globe.

McLendon Russell. (2011). What is the gulf of mexico Dead Zone? Retrieved from http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/what-is-the-gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone 

Zielinski, Sarah. (2014). Ocean Dead Zones are Getting Worse Globally Due to Climate Change. Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ocean-dead-zones-are-getting-worse-globally-due-climate-change-180953282/ 

What exactly is a 'dead zone' and what are its effects?

The term 'dead zone' is most likely an unfamiliar term to most people. Dead zones are an area in a body of water such as earth’s oceans or large lakes that have a much lower oxygen level than it should have. This not only affects the water quality, but it leads to a decrease in the wildlife that lives there. When the oxygen level in water decreases drastically, this leaves the animals with two choices which are to flee from their habitat or they can die. This should not be the case and is a problem occurring in known places such as the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay. There are over 400 dead zones around the world.

This shows where the dead zones are located around the world.

There are many believable causes of dead zones. According to Aaron Cohen, he says the main one is from industrial agriculture (p. 7). This is because of all the fertilizers used and with the numerous amounts of nitrate that they contain. When these are used on their fields, the rain will send them to the runoff and down into the waters. There is then a buildup of the nitrates into the water and will then decrease that waters oxygen levels. Others believe it is natural causes such as climate change.

As mentioned before, this is a severe environmental problem that directly affects the wildlife such as crabs, fish, and many other organisms. Fish have a hard time getting away from these dead zone areas because they need water to breathe and getting out of the oxygen depleted waters is not a choice for them. Other animals such as frogs and crabs can live and move on land so they have a chance on getting to another spot to live. These creatures are majorly affected but so are their homes as well. These low oxygen levels end up destroying the animals’ habitats and therefore leads to them searching to find new ones. This is an issue that is occurring presently and there are many researchers investigating it and trying to find solutions to help. Possible solutions that have been mentioned are ways such as trying to decrease the amount of fertilizers used or even having different products used that do not have the harmful nitrates in them. This would be for if industrial agriculture is the main contributor. There are many possible contributors to dead zones but researchers have not pin-pointed the main one.

Simmons, Amy. (2010). Scientists fear mass extinction as oceans choke. ABC News. Retrieved from https://nofishleft.wordpress.com/tag/marine-dead-zones/  

Cohen, A. M. (2009). Oceans' dead zones on the rise. The Futurist, 43(6), 7-8. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/218583270?accountid=14541