Uncovering the microbial ecology of Australia's coasts: Friends next-door or enemies at the gate?

Funding: 2013: $94,372
2014: $188,572
2015: $188,615
2016: $188,380
2017: $93,965

Project Member(s): Seymour, J.

Funding or Partner Organisation: Australian Research Council (ARC Future Fellowships)

Start year: 2014

Summary: The health and function of coastal habitats is mediated by an abundant community of marine microbes, which perform essential ecosystem services. However, some microbes can periodically disrupt the biogeochemical balance of coastal habitats, while others are dangerous pathogens that cause human illness. Anthropogenic impacts may underpin episodic shifts in the balance of 'good' and 'bad' coastal microbes, but the mechanisms and dynamics of these shifts are undefined. This research program will unite cutting-edge analytical tools, including microfluidics and ecogenomics, to redefine our understanding of the microbiology of the Australian coast, providing transformative new insights for preserving our aquatic backyard and protecting our health

Publications:

Carney, RL, Brown, MV, Siboni, N, Raina, J-B, Kahlke, T, Mitrovic, SM & Seymour, JR 2020, 'Highly heterogeneous temporal dynamics in the abundance and diversity of the emerging pathogens Arcobacter at an urban beach', Water Research, vol. 171, pp. 115405-115405.
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Green, TJ, Siboni, N, King, WL, Labbate, M, Seymour, JR & Raftos, D 2019, 'Simulated Marine Heat Wave Alters Abundance and Structure of Vibrio Populations Associated with the Pacific Oyster Resulting in a Mass Mortality Event', Microbial Ecology, vol. 77, no. 3, pp. 736-747.
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Hurtado-McCormick, V, Kahlke, T, Petrou, K, Jeffries, T, Ralph, PJ & Seymour, JR 2019, 'Regional and Microenvironmental Scale Characterization of the Zostera muelleri Seagrass Microbiome', Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 10, no. MAY.
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Macreadie, PI, Atwood, TB, Seymour, JR, Fontes, MLS, Sanderman, J, Nielsen, DA & Connolly, RM 2019, 'Vulnerability of seagrass blue carbon to microbial attack following exposure to warming and oxygen', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 686, pp. 264-275.
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Moore, LR, Huang, T, Ostrowski, M, Mazard, S, Kumar, SS, Gamage, HKAH, Brown, MV, Messer, LF, Seymour, JR & Paulsen, IT 2019, 'Unicellular Cyanobacteria Are Important Components of Phytoplankton Communities in Australia’s Northern Oceanic Ecoregions', Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 9, no. JAN.
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Haydon, TD, Seymour, JR & Suggett, DJ 2018, 'Soft corals are significant DMSP producers in tropical and temperate reefs', Marine Biology, vol. 165, no. 7.
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Lawson, CA, Raina, J, Kahlke, T, Seymour, JR & Suggett, DJ 2018, 'Defining the core microbiome of the symbiotic dinoflagellate, Symbiodinium', Environmental Microbiology Reports, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 7-11.
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Gribben, PE, Nielsen, S, Seymour, JR, Bradley, DJ, West, MN & Thomas, T 2017, 'Microbial communities in marine sediments modify success of an invasive macrophyte', Scientific Reports, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1-8.
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Macreadie, PI, Nielsen, DA, Kelleway, JJ, Atwood, TB, Seymour, JR, Petrou, K, Connolly, RM, Thomson, ACG, Trevathan‐Tackett, SM & Ralph, PJ 2017, 'Can we manage coastal ecosystems to sequester more blue carbon?', Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 206-213.
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Messer, LF, Brown, MV, Furnas, MJ, Carney, RL, McKinnon, AD & Seymour, JR 2017, 'Diversity and Activity of Diazotrophs in Great Barrier Reef Surface Waters', Frontiers in Microbiology, vol. 8, no. JUN, pp. 1-16.
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Seymour, JR, Amin, SA, Raina, J-B & Stocker, R 2017, 'Zooming in on the phycosphere: the ecological interface for phytoplankton–bacteria relationships', Nature Microbiology, vol. 2, no. 7, pp. 1-12.
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Tout, J, Astudillo‐García, C, Taylor, MW, Tyson, GW, Stocker, R, Ralph, PJ, Seymour, JR & Webster, NS 2017, 'Redefining the sponge‐symbiont acquisition paradigm: sponge microbes exhibit chemotaxis towards host‐derived compounds', Environmental Microbiology Reports, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 750-755.
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Tran, N-AT, Seymour, JR, Siboni, N, Evenhuis, CR & Tamburic, B 2017, 'Photosynthetic carbon uptake induces autoflocculation of the marine microalga Nannochloropsis oculata', Algal Research, vol. 26, pp. 302-311.
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Trevathan-Tackett, SM, Seymour, JR, Nielsen, DA, Macreadie, PI, Jeffries, TC, Sanderman, J, Baldock, J, Howes, JM, Steven, ADL & Ralph, PJ 2017, 'Sediment anoxia limits microbial-driven seagrass carbon remineralization under warming conditions', FEMS Microbiology Ecology, vol. 93, no. 6.
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Carney, RL, Seymour, JR, Westhorpe, D & Mitrovic, SM 2016, 'Lotic bacterioplankton and phytoplankton community changes under dissolved organic-carbon amendment: evidence for competition for nutrients', Marine and Freshwater Research, vol. 67, no. 9, pp. 1362-1362.
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Garren, M, Son, K, Tout, J, Seymour, JR & Stocker, R 2016, 'Temperature-induced behavioral switches in a bacterial coral pathogen', The ISME Journal, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 1363-1372.
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Jeffries, TC, Curlevski, NJ, Brown, MV, Harrison, DP, Doblin, MA, Petrou, K, Ralph, PJ & Seymour, JR 2016, 'Partitioning of fungal assemblages across different marine habitats', ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 235-238.
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Messer, LF, Mahaffey, C, Robinson, CM, Jeffries, TC, Baker, KG, Isaksson, JB, Ostrowski, M, Doblin, MA, Brown, MV & Seymour, JR 2016, 'High levels of heterogeneity in diazotroph diversity and activity within a putative hotspot for marine nitrogen fixation', ISME JOURNAL, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 1499-1513.
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Siboni, N, Balaraju, V, Carney, R, Labbate, M & Seymour, JR 2016, 'Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Vibrio spp. within the Sydny harbour Estuary', FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY, vol. 7, no. APR.
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Carney, RL, Mitrovic, SM, Jeffries, T, Westhorpe, D, Curlevski, N & Seymour, JR 2015, 'River bacterioplankton community responses to a high inflow event', Aquatic Microbial Ecology, vol. 75, no. 3, pp. 187-205.
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Tout, J, Siboni, N, Messer, LF, Garren, M, Stocker, R, Webster, NS, Ralph, PJ & Seymour, JR 2015, 'Increased seawater temperature increases the abundance and alters the structure of natural Vibrio populations associated with the coral Pocillopora damicomis', FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY, vol. 6, pp. 432-432.
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Wang, R, Zhong, Y, Gu, X, Yuan, J, Saeed, AF & Wang, S 2015, 'Corrigendum: The pathogenesis, detection, and prevention of Vibrio parahaemolyticus.', Front Microbiol, vol. 6, pp. 437-437.
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Keywords: Marine microorganisms,Coastal Ecology,Bacteria

FOR Codes: Microbial Ecology, Marine Oceanic Processes (excl. climate related), Biological Oceanography, Coastal and Estuarine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity, Natural Hazards in Coastal and Estuarine Environments, Coastal and estuarine systems and management, Marine systems and management, Natural hazards

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.