Viruses are the most abundant biological agents on Earth. Every living organism is susceptible to a viral infection, including unicellular organisms like plankton. To further discuss the role of viruses in marine ecosystems, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences will be hosting the next lecture of the 2016 Café Scientifique series on Tuesday, Aug. 9, from 6 to 7 p.m. The lecture will be presented by Dr. Joaquín Martínez Martínez who will discuss the questions: “How many viruses are in a teaspoon of seawater? What difference does it make?” Martínez Martínez is a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory who studies marine virus ecology.

Viruses manifest themselves in several different ways within an infected organism. Although viruses often cause disease or death of their host, viruses in marine environments do not have strictly detrimental effects. Certain viruses remain dormant in their planktonic host, which can make the plankton more resistant to other viral infections. Viruses also allow for increased biodiversity among plankton populations by infecting fast-growing species that would otherwise out-compete other species in the ecosystem. Plankton killed by viruses then release nutrients into the water column that can be utilized by other organisms. Understanding the behavior of viruses will help to better assess their positive and negative impacts in marine ecosystems.

This event is free and open to the public. Members of the press are encouraged to attend. All 2016 Café Scientifique lectures will be held at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, located at 60 Bigelow Drive in East Boothbay. Lectures will also be recorded and livestreamed at live.bigelow.org.

Café Scientifique is an international movement designed to encourage discussion about scientific issues between scientists and the public. Each lecture in the series will relate to this year’s theme, “Changing Climate, Changing Ocean.” For more information, please contact the Laboratory at (207) 315-2567 or info@bigelow.org. Visit www.bigelow.org for a complete schedule of events this summer.