300128 UE Marine Microbial Symbiosis Course (2019S)

This course provides an introduction into the practical field of marine microbial symbiosis research. Emphasis is laid on a multidisciplinary integrative approach, ranging from microbial to organismal biology to ecology. Every course has a specific topic that will be discussed in seminars. Students will learn how to cooperate in small groups, develop a research project, get an overview on the relevant literature, develop hypotheses, research questions and a research plan, organize the field trip, get familiar with underwater field and lab work, carry out practical work under the given circumstances, and present their results in form of oral presentations and a written report. A research station, appropriate for the selected topic will be chosen for a two-weeks field trip.
Goals:
According to chosen model systems, we will search for symbioses in situ, and characterize the their distribution and abundance in the habitat (location, depth, temperature, salinity, pH, oxygen, sulfide, nitrate). Experiments will be designed by the students and carried out in the laboratory.
Methods:
NO scuba diving, snorkeling required (ABC equipment required, diving suite recommended)
Underwater sampling of animals, wood, water and porewater, sediment; underwater photography and video; measurements of temperature, salinity, pH, oxygen, sulfide, nitrate; dissection-, light- and epifluorescence microsopy and photography and video, extraction and filtration techniques for microbes and animals, stainings: DAPI, live/dead bacterial viability, nile red and bodipy staining, biofilm cell stain, flow-through experimental chambers.