{"id":2655,"date":"2025-01-27T13:12:56","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T18:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.golive.clarku.edu\/?p=2655"},"modified":"2025-04-18T13:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T17:54:17","slug":"how-phytoplankton-helps-us-breathe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/research-highlights\/how-phytoplankton-helps-us-breathe\/","title":{"rendered":"How phytoplankton helps us breathe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Biology Professor Nathan Ahlgren is investigating how iron nourishes and shapes the adaptation of Synechococcus, <\/em>one of the most abundant phytoplankton in the ocean and a key driver to the photosynthesis that generates as much as 15 percent of the oxygen we breathe. Backed by a $1.56 million National Science Foundation Early Career Development grant, Ahlgren is investigating \u201chow iron, as a nutrient, shapes the Synechococcus <\/em>community structure and how these organisms adapt to deal with differing iron nutrient conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Biology<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cClimate is always present in the background of our research.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Synechococcus<\/em> is a type of marine cyanobacteria, formerly known as blue-green algae, that \u201cform an important foundation of life in the oceans,\u201d according to Ahlgren<\/a>. At the bottom of the ocean\u2019s food chain, \u201cthey produce organic material and oxygen, just like plants on land do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, like all living things, cyanobacteria need iron to survive, Ahlgren says. For that important reason, scientists have focused on iron levels in the ocean, where phytoplankton play a crucial role in \u201ccontrolling the amount of photosynthesis and flow of carbon dioxide on our planet,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In about 30 percent of the ocean, phytoplankton growth is limited by a lack of iron, a phenomenon that has been well studied, according to Ahlgren. Less studied is phytoplankton\u2019s response to low, medium, or high iron levels in the rest of the ocean, he explains, and how the variability or stability of iron conditions affects phytoplankton populations, including Synechococcus<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe hope to set the context for understanding what\u2019s happening right now so we can start to make predictions for the future,\u201d he explains. \u201cIf we know how iron conditions are going to change, and if iron is going to be more variable or more stable, then we might know how cyanobacteria could respond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forecasting the future health of phytoplankton contributes to scientists\u2019 broader understanding of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClimate is always present in the background of our research,\u201d he says, \u201ceven if it\u2019s not the direct focus.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Department of BIOLOGY<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
School of climate, environment, and society<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Biologist Nathan Ahlgren is investigating how iron nourishes and shapes the adaptation of Synechococcus, a marine phytoplankton and a key driver to the photosynthesis that generates as much as 15 percent of the oxygen we breathe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":2796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"research-initiaive","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[66,45],"class_list":["post-2655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-highlights","tag-department-of-biology","tag-school-of-climate-environment-and-society"],"yoast_head":"\nHow phytoplankton helps us breathe | Clark University | Clark University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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