Project
Microbial succession and biogeochemical activity in deglaciating ecosystemsWhen glaciers in Arctic regions recede because of ongoing climate change, they expose large new areas of nutrient-poor soil. These “pioneer soils,” which have been trapped under the ice and devoid of life for thousands of years, are quickly colonized by microorganisms that begin preparing the landscape to eventually support a new ecosystem of plants and animals. Understanding how life develops in pioneer soils is important for understanding the future of arctic ecosystems and the global climate. In my study, I will evaluate how microorganisms colonize pioneer soils by collecting samples of differently-aged (5-200 yr) old soils from in front of receding glaciers in the Canadian High Arctic and Antarctica. Each soil will be examined using a variety of techniques designed to analyze microbial activity at both the single-cell and community-level scales. The single-cell analyses will provide information on where individual bacterial cells and species live within the soil and which metabolic activities they are performing, whereas the community-level analyses will provide information on how single-cell activity relates to the performance of the entire community in the context of global nutrient cycles. By evaluating pioneer soils of multiple ages, at two different times of year, and at multiple biological scales, I will create a dynamic portrait of how soil that is initially lifeless can eventually become a rich biological community.
Keywords
biogeochemistry, microbial ecology, environmental microbiology, microbial succession, glacier forefield, climate changePublications
1- An altered microbiome in urban coyotes mediates relationships between anthropogenic diet and poor healthSugden, Scott, Dana Sanderson, Kyra Ford, Lisa Y. Stein, Colleen Cassady St. Clair
2020 Scientific Reports
2- Individual and Site-Specific Variation in a Biogeographical Profile of the Coyote Gastrointestinal Microbiota
Sugden, Scott, Colleen Cassady St. Clair, Lisa Y. Stein
2020 Microbial Ecology
3- Metabolome profiles of the alphaproteobacterial methanotroph Methylocystis sp. Rockwell in response to carbon and nitrogen source
Lazic, Marina, Scott Sugden, Dominic Sauvageau, Lisa Y Stein
2021 FEMS Microbiology Letters
4- Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Responses to Carbon and Nitrogen Sources in Methylomicrobium album BG8
Sugden, Scott, Marina Lazic, Dominic Sauvageau, Lisa Y. Stein,
2021 Applied and Environmental Microbiology
5- Nutritional and ecological perspectives of the interrelationships between diet and the gut microbiome in multiple sclerosis: Insights from marmosets
Perez-Muñoz, Maria Elisa, Scott Sugden, Hermie J.M. Harmsen, Bert A. ‘t Hart, Jon D. Laman, Jens Walter
2021 iScience
6- Inter-population differences in coyote diet and niche width along an urban–suburban–rural gradient
Sugden, Scott, Maureen Murray, Mark A Edwards, Colleen Cassady St. Clair
2021 Journal of Urban Ecology
7- Microbiome of the freshwater sponge Ephydatia muelleri shares compositional and functional similarities with those of marine sponges
Sugden, Scott, Johannes Holert, Erick Cardenas, William W Mohn, Lisa Y Stein
2022 The ISME Journal
8- A ten-year community reporting database reveals rising coyote boldness and associated human concern in Edmonton, Canada
Farr, Jonathan, Matthew Pruden, Robin Glover, Maureen Murray, Scott Sugden, Howard Harshaw, Colleen Cassady St. Clair
2023 Ecology and Society
9- Age-dependent relationships among diet, body condition, and Echinococcus multilocularis infection in urban coyotes
Scott Sugden, Deanna K. Steckler, Dana Sanderson, Bill Abercrombie, Duncan Abercrombie, M. Alexis Seguin, Kyra Ford, Colleen Cassady St. Clair
2023 PLOS ONE
