Update

We are excited to share this expedition, supported by Miami University, with everyone! As this is a continuation of teacher Lucy Coleman's research experience that started with PolarTREC in 2014, we thought it fitting that she continues to share her experience here and with you. We hope you'll join us!

Archive Available
In case you missed it - there is an archive available of Lucy's live PolarConnect event from the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Visit our PolarConnect Archives webpage to get the link.

What Are They Doing?

Microbial communities are more than just a scientific curiosity. Microbes represent the single largest source of evolutionary and biochemical diversity on the planet. They are the major agents for cycling carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other elements through the ecosystem. Despite their importance in ecosystem function, microbes are still generally overlooked in food web models and nutrient cycles.

Moreover, microbes do not live in isolation: their growth and metabolism are influenced by complex interactions with other microorganisms. This project will focus on the ecology, activity, and roles of microbial communities in Antarctic Lake ecosystems.

Where Are They?

The team will characterize the genetic underpinnings of microbial interactions and the influence of environmental gradients (e.g. light, nutrients, oxygen, sulfur) and seasons (e.g. summer vs. winter) on microbial networks in Lake Fryxell and Lake Bonney in the Taylor Valley within the McMurdo Dry Valley region, Antarctica.

Photo showing the terminal end of Taylor Glacier meeting Lake Bonney, which is fed by the meltwater of the glacier. Lake Bonney, Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Photo by Kevin Dickerson (PolarTREC 2018), Courtesy of ARCUS
The terminal end of Taylor Glacier meets Lake Bonney, which is fed by the meltwater of the glacier. Lake Bonney, Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Photo by Kevin Dickerson (PolarTREC 2018), Courtesy of ARCUS

Latest Journals

After a LOOOOOOONNNNNNG time traveling, I'm home, safe and sound! things were smooth, for the most part. The trip off the Ice was exciting but sooo uncomfortable. My team and I traveled by People Mover (I don't know what else to call it!) out to the sea ice runway. There, our "Herc", or Hercules,…
Soon, we will leave "The Ice" - maybe even today? Our bags are packed and turned in to the cargo department, and we are waiting for news of our flight. Will we leave today, as planned? Maybe! We fly back to Christchurch on an LC-130. Its a smaller plane, way smaller than the C-17 we arrived on.…
Beaker, our team mascot, freaking out in an ice cave on Lake Fryxell. Yay!!! I GOT MAIL! Mrs. Lively forwarded me notes and questions from students at Twelve Bridges Middle School. I miss you all and appreciate your well-wishes and curiosity. Here's a selection of Q & A (with more later),…
High resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM) image by Brad Kryzsiak. You may have noticed that we are a team of microbiologists (and one science teacher) but I haven't shown you any microscopes yet. How does that work? How do we study things that can't even really be SEEN with our eyes?…
Dates
-
Location
McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Project Funded Title
ANT LIA: Collaborative Research: Genetic Underpinnings of Microbial Interactions in Chemically Stratified Antarctic Lakes (Award #1937546)
Lucy Coleman - Teacher
Teacher
Twelve Bridges Middle School

Although Lucy Coleman grew up camping a lot, it wasn't until after college that she discovered a lifelong passion for helping others appreciate and understand the natural world. For a few years, she spent summers as an interpretive park ranger in Glacier National Park and the school years teaching environmental science at outdoor schools in California. From there, it was a natural transition to settle into a very rewarding teaching career that has spanned two decades.

When not teaching, Ms. Coleman makes fast tracks for the wild and roadless places of our planet. In addition to backpacking, her favorite pastimes include hiking, cross-country skiing, gardening and reading.

Rachel Morgan-Kiss - Researcher
Researcher
Miami University

I have been a Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Miami University, since 2007. I grew up in a small town located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. I received a B.Sc. from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, in 1995 and a Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario, Ontario, in 2000. My Ph.D. dissertation focused on the adaptation of the photosynthetic apparatus in a psychrophilic green alga isolated from an ice-covered lake in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Following my Ph.D., I took a position as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where I worked on bacterial fatty acid synthase and β-oxidation pathways in the laboratory of John Cronan. I then worked as a research scientist in the laboratory of Thomas Hanson at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware. My work at DBI focused on the photobiology of a thermophilic green sulfur bacterium. My current research program focuses on polar microbiology and specifically on the diversity and function of microbial eukaryotes residing in ice-covered Antarctic lakes. Research projects in my laboratory combine field studies in Antarctica with physiological studies on a large collection of polar photosynthetic and eukaryotic microorganisms.

Brandon Briggs - Researcher
Researcher
University of Alaska Anchorage

I am an Associate Professor in Biological Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage. I received a B.S. in Biology (2003) and M.S. in Microbiology (2007) at Idaho State University. My Masters Thesis was characterizing microbes that form biofilms at very acidic water. This research project cemented my love for extreme microbes. I then moved to Oregon State University for a Ph.D. in Oceanography (2011) where my dissertation focused on microbes found in marine sediments that have gas hydrates. I was then a C-DEBI Postdoctoral Fellow at Miami University and worked on hot springs in China. In 2015, I moved to Alaska to start my own research group in microbes that live in extreme environments. My group uses a variety of molecular, physiological, microscopic, and bioinformatic techniques to characterize microbes. We combine field studies from around Alaska and the world with laboratory and bioinformatic processing to understand how these microbes survive in harsh conditions.

Bradley Krzysiak - Researcher
Researcher
Miami University

Bradley Krzysiak is a graduate student within the department of Microbiology at Miami University. He was born and raised in Southwest Florida where he attended Florida Gulf Coast University for his bachelors in Biology. After finishing his Bachelors degree he began attending Miami University within the lab of Dr. Rachael Morgan-Kiss, where he is currently working towards obtaining a doctorate degree. His research focuses on the microbial communities within Antarctic lakes, primarily studying the interactions between algae and bacteria, and the effects of environmental changes on those interactions. 

Kodi Haughn - Researcher
Researcher
University of Alaska Fairbanks

Kodi was born in Hawaii, but was mesmerized by the beauty of these cold landscapes and eager to learn more about the organisms that survive these harsh environments. My research experience started during my undergrad at University of Alaska Anchorage investigating microbial communities found within proglacial environments.

Rochelle Pereira - Researcher
Researcher
Miami University

Rochelle Pereira is a graduate student in the Department of Microbiology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA. She grew up in a small state called Goa in India. She received her B.Sc. degree, in the field of Microbiology, in 2018 at St. Xavier's College, Mapusa, Goa, India, and an M.Sc. degree in Microbiology, at Goa University, Goa, India in 2020. She joined Miami University in the Spring term 2021 and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Microbiology. Her Ph.D. dissertation is focused on understanding microbial interactions in Antarctic ice-covered Lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valley's, Antarctica.    

Eckhardt Karsten - Researcher
Researcher
Miami University

Eckhardt Alexander Karsten is a 3rd year undergraduate studying Microbiology and Environmental Sciences at Miami University. He was born in Germany but grew up between Mexico and the United States. He has done work at the Pacific Northwest National Lab with the Soils Microbiomes team as well as running his own field project looking at E. coli antibiotic resistance in the waterways of Appalachia. He hopes to continue his research in Microbiomes sciences and eventually gain more experience in marine ecology.

Microbial Interactions in Antarctic Lakes Resources

This PolarConnect event on Antarctica Day (December 1) 2022 was broadcast live from the Dry Valleys of Antarctica with teacher Lucy Coleman and researcher Rachel Morgan-Kiss.

Event
Antarctic
All Aged
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Overview

In a “March Madness” game of survival of the fittest, will your microbe and its genes survive the test of changing conditions on Planet Earth and beyond? Students choose genes from a “toolbox” and pit their microbe against their classmates’, using critical thinking and argument writing to determine the microbe with the best chance of success. Based on PolarTREC

Lesson
Antarctic
Less than a week
Middle School and Up
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Overview

Analogs are used in science investigations to better understand systems we can’t access ourselves. In this lesson, students explore the Dry Valleys of Antarctica to better understand microbial communities on early Earth and what might have been possible on ancient Mars. Students will examine photographs, written descriptions, and artistic renderings of early Earth, the Dry Valley lakes, and

Lesson
Antarctic
Less than a week
Middle School and Up
Download, Share, and Remix