Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Our research programmes investigate how phytoplankton, microscopic free-floating photosynthetic organisms found in water bodies, tolerate and adapt to environmental change.  Phytoplankton are responsible for about half of all the biological uptake of CO2 from the global atmosphere, but it is unclear how this will change in response to rapid changes in their environment. We are requesting funding to install three bioreactors that can monitor phytoplankton density and health in response to different environmental conditions.  The light, temperature, acidity and chemical composition of the water in these bioreactors is monitored and controlled by a computer system.  This allows us to expose phytoplankton to controlled changes in their local environment, and precisely compare their capacities to cope with these changes.  Our goal is to understand how different species of marine phytoplankton will respond to changing acidity, nutrients and temperature, to understand what will happen to phytoplankton communities and their productivity in response to environmental change.