Biological Oceanography

P. Dreux Chappell

Associate Professor
Office Phone: 727.553.1192
Email: dreux@usf.edu
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BIOME Lab

 

 

 

 

 

Research: Marine Microbial Ecology, Marine Microbiology and ‘OMICs, Phytoplankton Physiology, Trace Metal Biogeochemistry, Nitrogen Fixation 

I have an interdisciplinary background with a BA in Biology and a Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography and am interested in studying the interplay between phytoplankton physiology and ocean chemistry.  Research in my group encompasses molecular microbial ecology, phytoplankton cultivation/physiology, and trace metal biogeochemistry.  We use a suite of molecular biological tools including high-throughput sequencing and quantitative PCR combined with analysis of trace metal and macronutrient concentrations in seawater to link biological activity and chemical distributions in controlled laboratory settings and in the field.  Our group both develops and uses molecular methods to assess phytoplankton community composition and to quantitatively evaluate nutrient limitation in the field with a goal of better informing biogeochemical models. We are particularly interested in using quantitative molecular tools to answer questions regarding the biological availability of different forms of nutrients to phytoplankton (i.e., iron as dissolved, particulate, colloidal, or bound to organic ligands; phosphorus as phosphate, dissolved organic phosphorus; etc.), as these distinctions can have significant geochemical implications. We perform research that spans the global ocean, with projects focused on both the coastal and open ocean environments collected from Pole to Pole.