Kyle Mayers: My research
Hello! My name is Kyle and I’m currently a first year PhD student at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. My research focuses on marine microbiology, specifically phytoplankton – the microscopic plants of the oceans. In fact phytoplankton produce almost 50% of the oxygen on Earth and so are vital for our survival!
I study a specific group of phytoplankton known as coccolithophores which produce beautiful shells of calcium carbonate (chalk) and as such are incredibly important for the global carbon cycle. You would usually need a microscope to see these organisms, but if you ever find yourself on the south coast of England, the famous white cliffs of Dover are made up of the shells of coccolithophores from the past!
Emiliania huxleyi (left) a species of coccolithophore, the white cliffs of Dover (right) are made up of the shells of these organisms (coccolithophore image credit Jeremy Young)
Coccolithophores are also able to produce these immense ‘blooms’ in the oceans, sometimes as large as 100,000km2, where they can have many impacts on the physical and biological characteristics of the ocean.
Satellite image of an Emiliania huxleyi bloom off the coast of the UK & France (left) (credit NASA), the view from the Celtic Sea in April of an E. huxleyi bloom (right), where a change of colour is visible due to the density of cells
Specifically, I am researching the factors affecting the growth and mortality of coccolithophores. To do this, I have spent almost two months at sea working out how fast they are producing these calcium carbonate shells. This is done by using radioactive carbon and measuring how much they take up over a 24 hour period. I am also interested in the mortality of these organisms, and the rates of their death. It is believed the two major forms of death in coccolithophores are from grazing by the planktonic animals of the ocean (zooplankton) and through viral infection. For grazing rates we carry out incubations with different dilutions of unfiltered and filtered seawater (i.e. containing grazers and not) and incubate them for 24 hours and comparing populations at the end to look for growth-grazing relationships. These experiments are important as carbon taken into the shells of coccolithophores can be turned into ‘faecal pellets’ (zooplankton poo) and sink to the ocean floor, locking up this carbon for many years.
Collecting water from a CTD rosette for grazing experiments
I have also been lucky enough to spend five weeks in the Arctic circle at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) on a summer course in Arctic microbiology. Not only was this a stunning environment (and 24 hours of sunshine!) but we also got the opportunity to carry out cutting edge science and spend plenty of time in the marine and terrestrial polar environment.
Deploying a plankton net to catch zooplankton in Isfjorden (left), fixing samples at sea for later analysis in the lab (middle), and some zooplankton (Copepods) (credit Moya MacDonald) found in the Arctic (right) (credit James Crosby)
This was an incredible experience, and meeting so many other students from around the world was definitely one of the highlights!
Celebrating Canada day in the Arctic by braving the -0.1oC water for a “refreshing” dip (Arctic microbiology summer school students)