I published my first paper in the journal, Deep Sea Research Pt I on Feb 12th. Its a story about the community structure of the unicellular eukaryotic (protist) inhabitants of an oceanic desert located near Oahu in the North Pacific Subtropical gyre (station ALOHA). The takehome message from my analysis is spelled out in the title: “Depth not season, shapes protistan community structure at station ALOHA.”
We sampled water from 12 depths: 5 m, 25 m, 45 m, 75 m, 100 m, 125 m, 150 m, 175 m, 300 m, 400 m, 500 m, and 770 m. Its important to note that it gets too dark for photosynthesis at about 175- to 300 m at station ALOHA. Right off the bat, you would not expect to find anything that survives via photosynthesis alone to be below those depths.
I characterized the LIVING protistan species* in each sample using the 18S rRNA (cDNA). I discussed earlier that RNA is a proxy for the living in the “liquid nitrogen and the trans-Atlantic slave trade post.” I used this genetic information to describe the community structures down the water column from the sun-lit depths (5- 175 m) to below the line where light can penetrate (300- 770 m). I didn’t find much RNA for strictly photosynthetic organisms, just as we expected. However, I found evidence for symbiosis, mixotrophy, parasitism, and a vast array of heterotrophic lifestyles that appeared to be different from what I was seeing in the samples from the sun-lit depths. Much different. In stark contrast to the magnitude of community level changes due to depth, the influence of seasonal changes on the overall community was restricted to a few groups. For example, diatoms, which are strictly photosynthetic protists, were most abundant in the summer, most likely due to changes in light intensity.
Satellite imagery illustrating the NPSG and station ALOHA. Bright green represents chlorophyll a, a proxy for photosynthetic activity.
The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is the largest contiguous biome on earth. Its role in exporting atmospheric CO2, capturing energy, and cycling biologically relevant chemicals and elements is grounded in decades of research. Because microbes are responsible for all of these processes, and because protists are integral components of nearly all microbial communities, improve our understanding of their diversity and distributions is fundamentally important. I believe this paper is an (incremental) improvement in our understanding of protistan diversity and distribution in the NPSG, but more work is needed to develop a more comprehensive view point. For example, the use of the scripps plankton camera to quantify the species that are hard to capture by our methods such as large rhizarian taxa who’s skeletons have been found in abundance using light microscopy, whereas molecular approaches fail.
Publishing this paper showed me just how much care goes into publishing research in a reputable journal. Shout out to all my “science deniers.” The careful sampling and statistics is one fraction of the process. The writing itself is a whole ‘nother ball game. How one must carve out a small story from a mountain of data; how one must effectively describe each result; how one must construct and then convey multifaceted ideas that are contextualized by existing research in the field with precision. How a paper is like a living organism composed of several self contained cells called paragraphs. And how each paragraph is composed of several short stories called sentences. And how individual words are to sentences what atoms are to molecules. How, unlike these blog posts, “ain’t no mistakes allowed.” (Eric B. and Rakim)
I started this PhD as a poor writer; I had to take an “incomplete” grade during the grant proposal writing course here at SC in order to use the summer to produce a scientific proposal that was competent at best. I committed to improving my writing after this painful (and embarrassing) realization by instituting morning writing workouts. Each morning I would flip a thirty-minute hourglass once and unscrew the lid on a vial of eucalyptus oil and begin deep focused writing without distraction at least until the last grain of sand fell.
I’m not claiming that I am now a perfect writer. I’m not. I am, however, a much better writer than I was. Every reviewer of this manuscript, including the handling editor for the journal, began their critique with a compliment to the clear writing in the manuscript.
“Clear and effective writing is expected. They are just letting you know that you hit the mark.”
All of this is just to say to anyone that struggles with a weakness, that the weakness can be one of your greatest strengths if you punch the clock, put in the reps, and be consistent. What I mean is that sunshine wouldn’t be so sweet if it weren’t for the rain. And by understanding how the “bad” and the “good” relate, you have access to a fuller appreciation for the whole.
As always…
