Anna James

Biography

I have been a Ph.D. student in the Carlson Lab since 2011. My research interest lies at the interaction between marine microbial process and ocean carbon biogeochemistry. I am specifically interested in the role of increased partial pressure of carbon dioxide on microbial processes and selection of its community structure.

Research

I am most interested in answering questions pertaining to the effects of ocean acidification on the biogeochemical cycling of carbon in the ocean and the resulting implications for marine ecosystems. Specifically, detailing the biogeochemical processes associated with increasing pCO2 and a concomitant decline in pH are of interest to me because understanding these processes will enable predications of the degree to which the global oceans will continue to be a sink for anthropogenically derived carbon. As a graduate student, I have chosen to focus on the biogeochemical implications of increasing pCO2 on bacterial utilization of carbon and community structure; understanding the effects of pCO2 on bacterial populations is of great significance because of the contribution of bacteria to the microbial loop.