Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $1,093,785 to the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay.  The award will help fund a project titled, “Microbial Community Structure and Expression of Functional Genes Involved in the Seasonal Cycling of DMSP in the Southern Ocean.”

“Bigelow Laboratory is a leader in efforts to study microbes and their effect on processes within our oceans,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement.  “The health of our oceans is vital not only to the fishing industry, but to the entire global ecosystem.  This investment will help the skilled oceanographers and scientists at Bigelow Laboratory better understand one important factor that affects the growth and development of marine microorganisms.”

The project seeks to determine how dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) can influence the diversity and composition of microbial assemblages in the ocean.  The research will also be leveraged to introduce concepts and data linking microbial diversity and biogeochemistry to a range of audiences, including high school and undergraduate students in Maine.  Moreover, the project will engage teachers and students in rural K-8 schools.

To read more about this project, click HERE.