Oyster reefs provide numerous ecosystem services including providing a physical substrate to support growth of other organisms, water filtration to remove excess phytoplankton resulting from nutrient enrichment, and increased carbon and nitrogen deposition to sediments where they can promote the microbially-mediated loss of nitrogen via denitrification. On the other hand, the incidence of food borne illness from consumption of raw oysters is increasing as more and more oysters are consumed, making them a potential public health hazard. We published a paper examining how oyster farming alters the structure of sediment microbial communities. Read more about this work here.

We know from studies of humans that microbiomes play a critical role in organism health but we know much less about the role that the microbiome plays in the health of marine organisms such as the Eastern Oyster.  Additional work in our lab is exploring the oyster microbiome, its susceptibility to perturbation by important global change drivers such as ocean acidification, and the role that the oyster microbiome plays in oyster health and disease. 

The American Lobster (Homarus americanus) supports a valuable commercial fishery in the Gulf of Maine, with landings totaling over half-billion dollars in 2014. While landings are at historic highs, the southern extent of this fishery has recently come under threat, with lobster shell disease being one potential driver. This disease occurs when bacteria consume the lobster cuticle resulting in deep lesions on infected lobsters. The recent increase in shell disease highlights the importance of understanding the ecological dynamics of the bacteria responsible for lobster shell disease. Initial investigation of the bacteria associated with lobster shell disease identified a few key members of the shell microbiome, but much more work is needed to understand the underlying causes and mechanism of spread for this disease. Working with Michael Tlusty at UMass Boston we recently published a paper exploring the bacteria associated with lobster shell disease to better understand how this disease moves across lobster shells and, ultimately, across populations in the wild. Read more about this study here.

Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) are a critically endangered species of sea turtle that strand every fall from cold-stunning, or hypothermia, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. An average of half of these turtles per cold-stun event present with respiratory abnormalities during rehabilitation at the New England Aquarium (NEAQ). We are striving to understand how the respiratory bacterial and fungal communities play a role in the health of these animals. We are also interested in evaluating the gastrointestinal microbiome as an indicator of disease state. Understanding the effects of hospitalization and antibiotic therapy on the respiratory microbiome, as well as comparing results across different diagnostic approaches and body sites, may lead to the improvement in the medical management of sea turtles in rehabilitation and ultimately lead to greater success in re-establishing these critical endangered animals. 

Globally, populations of amphibians are on the decline due to a pathogenic fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). This pathogen acts on the skin of amphibians, primarily disrupting osmotic balance and likely leading to mortality. While Bd has a high mortality rate, many species possess, to varying degrees, resistance to Bd infection and this differential susceptibility may be due to amphibian-associated microorganisms. Microbial populations associated with the skin of amphibians can provide protection against Bd infection by producing anti-fungal metabolites, conferring resistance that supplements their own immune system. Understanding the interactions, both positive and negative, between microorganisms and their host is paramount to understanding disease progression and susceptibility. 

In a collaboration with Doug Woodhams and Michael Tlusty at UMass Boston and the New England Aquarium, we showed the important role that the fungal component of the microbiome plays in potentially combating Bd. Read more here.