Publications by authors named "Carly M Moreno"

Unlabelled: The continental shelf of the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a highly variable system characterized by strong cross-shelf gradients, rapid regional change, and large blooms of phytoplankton, notably diatoms. Rapid environmental changes coincide with shifts in plankton community composition and productivity, food web dynamics, and biogeochemistry. Despite the progress in identifying important environmental factors influencing plankton community composition in the WAP, the molecular basis for their survival in this oceanic region, as well as variations in species abundance, metabolism, and distribution, remains largely unresolved.

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Photosynthetic carbon (C) fixation by phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean (SO) plays a critical role in regulating air-sea exchange of carbon dioxide and thus global climate. In the SO, photosynthesis (PS) is often constrained by low iron, low temperatures, and low but highly variable light intensities. Recently, proton-pumping rhodopsins (PPRs) were identified in marine phytoplankton, providing an alternate iron-free, light-driven source of cellular energy.

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Iron availability limits primary productivity in large areas of the world's oceans. Ascertaining the iron status of phytoplankton is essential for understanding the factors regulating their growth and ecology. We developed an incubation-independent, molecular-based approach to assess the iron nutritional status of specific members of the diatom community, initially focusing on the ecologically important pennate diatom Pseudo-nitzschia.

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