If you could step back to the edge of the solar system...
...and look at our atmosphere...
...what would you see?
Chemical signatures of a living planet!
- Primary production
- Nutrient cycling
- GHG production / consumption
- Influence geology, climate, chemistry, and biology of Earth
Microbial life
(Micro)
Kump, Kasting, and Crane, The Earth System
Microbial life keeps the big wheel turning...
But what about the future?
Microbial life
But what about the future?
(Micro)
Kump, Kasting, and Crane, The Earth System
What effect will anthropogenic pressures such as climate change and coastal eutrophication have on microbial "ecosystem services"?
A "model ecosystem" in Cape Breton
A "model ecosystem" in Cape Breton
- Anoxic, sulfidic waters
- Model site for impacts of coastal deoxygenation
- Metabarcoding, metagenomics will be done soon to understand taxa present
- Student research projects characterizing this system will be built on this foundation
- Projects will support overarching research question
Whycocomagh Bay (WB)
A "model ecosystem" in Cape Breton
Microbiology
Environmental science
Bioinformatics
Evolution, population genetics
Ecosystem modelling, global change biology
Microbial ecology, biogeochemistry
Types of research questions
Holistic ecosystem knowledge
Reductionist (multiple entry points)
Bioinformatics
rRNA-FISH
Cultivation
Diverse entry points for undergrads
Instrumental
- Real data, relevant skills, collaborative project development
Psychosocial
Evidence-based approaches
- Mentoring to foster emotional belonging and research success
- Research project scaffolding, culturally-aware mentoring
Mentoring philosophy
Want to know more?
Microbe art: @claudia_traboni
stfxmicroeco.ca | jmcnicho@stfx.ca
2025-2026: aiming to recruit 1 summer student