Half of earth’s primary production occurs in the oceans, largely mediated by fast-growing microbes that comprise a tiny fraction of earth’s total biomass. Every day, massive numbers of these microbes die, balancing their rapid growth. In their death, these microbes are the food that sustains marine food webs or eventually become sequestered on the seafloor. The Carlson lab is broadly interested in understanding the causes and consequences of microbial death in oceans, and how these factors impact the functioning of marine ecosystems in the present and future oceans.​ We use genome-informed tools to investigate the ecology, physiology, and evolution of microorganisms and their predators, parasites, and viruses in the ocean.