Palau's marine lakes are 'miniature seas' that exhbibit similar properties to the open ocean, but are also dramatically different. Some lakes are fairly similar, others radically distinct, allowing for many different types of comparisons. We believe these are model systems for understanding marine microbial ecology, and we will be conducting research in these lakes in August 2010 in collaboration with Mike Dawson at UC Merced. Our initial work is funded by the UCM Graduate Research Council.

Our investigation of these marine lakes is aimed at:

1: Describing microbial communities present in Jellyfish Lake - with a focus on ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria and/or archaea - and how they may vary in space and time.

2: Examining microbial community responses to pronounced changes in chemistry that occur within the water column.

3: Exploring variability in microbial community composition and structure throughout a series of marine lakes.

More information about these lakes is available from the Dawson lab:
http://marinelakes.ucmerced.edu/