Phytoplankton Growth Rates in the Ross Sea, Antarctica

ix INTRODUCTION. 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Site and Sampling Procedure. 14 Analytical M ethods . 15 14C-incubations. 18 Dilution Experiments. 21 Comparison of Growth Rates across Methods . 25 RESULTS Phytoplankton Assemblage Composition. 26 Phytoplankton Mortality and Growth Rates in Dilution Experiments 28 Growth Rates in 14C-incubations.31 DISCUSSION •. 34 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 44 LITERATURE CITED. 47 VITA. 81 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am truly appreciative o f the support and encouragement I have received from my friends and colleagues throughout graduate school. I would first like to thank my advisor, Walker Smith, for his guidance and support throughout my time at VIMS. You have encouraged and challenged me throughout graduate school, and I believe that I am both a better scientist and a better person because of it. You have helped me work towards the goals I set out to achieve upon first entering the lab, and you have never shown any doubt in my abilities as a scientist. Without your support, this thesis would not have been possible. I would also like to thank my committee members, Aaron Beck, Eileen Hofmann, Debbie Steinberg, and Kam Tang, who have challenged me to really think about what my research means. This study was conducted on the PRISM-RS cruise, and I could never have done this work without the support o f the members of my lab and my co-workers on this cruise. You have seen me at some of my most exhausted moments, but I have received nothing but encouragement from you. Thank you to Liza Delizo; both on and after the cruise, you have always been willing to listen and have been around to provide me with support when I truly needed it. Thanks to the honorary members o f the lab on the PRISM cruise, Sean Charles, Elise Olson, and Tommy Ryan-Keogh, who were willing to help me filter water at 2 in the morning and retrieve bottles from freezing cold incubators because it was my birthday. Thank you to Kathleen Donaldson and Randy Jones for helping me work through ideas about my thesis and graduate school. To my friends, who have provided constant love and support throughout graduate school. Thank you to Haley Garrison, Miram Gleiber, Lela Schlenker, and Carissa Gervasi; I can’t imagine getting through this thesis without the help and friendship I received from you girls. You always seem to know when I need a dinner or a movie night or even just a few minutes in the middle of the day to talk, and I don’t think I would have made it through graduate school without you guys. Thank you to Danny Kaufman; I appreciate your study sessions at Aroma’s and willingness to help even when you were busy with your own work. Thank you to everyone else at VIMS, particularly my officemates, for your help throughout this process. Finally I want to thank my family, without whose unconditional love and support I would not be where I am today. To my sisters and best friends Laura, Kelli, and Kelly and my brothers Matthew and Aaron; I know you are extremely busy, but I can always count on you for anything that I might need. The final people I want to thank are my parents. I can’t imagine getting to where I am today without you. You have forced me to push myself, and have never been anything but proud of me. I know that you would do anything for me, and your constant encouragement and support (even when I lectured you about climate change and started rambling about microscopy) means everything to me.