Graduate student Tony Bertagnolli collects seawater samples while PISCO researchers Dr. Francis Chan and Christine Hansen look on. (Photo by Megan Wolf)

Hypoxia is defined as water that contains less than 1.4 ml/L dissolved oxygen and is thus not sustainable to marine life. Severe hypoxia has become a recurring phenomenon within the inner shelf region of coastal Oregon. From 2002 to 2006, the area and extent of the hypoxic zone, or "dead zone", has increased. While severe hypoxia has been documented in estuary systems around the world, coastal hypoxia is a relatively new phenomenon. Researchers in the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) have made a tremendous effort in documenting the biological, chemical, and physical oceanographic changes that occur during these events. However, a thorough investigation of changes in the oceanic microbial communities in response to low oxygen conditions has not yet been determined.

PISCO researchers aboard the R/V Elakha deploy monitoring equipment at the study site.

In a collaborative effort with PISCO, our laboratory is determining how microbial communities change in response to hypoxic events. To study these changes, we are using a suite of techniques in molecular biology and basic oceanography to specifically determine the extent to which the microbial communities change. Samples from the surface, mid-depth, and bottom of the water column are being collected before, during, and after the anticipated hypoxic event in 2007.

Funding for this project is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.