Ed Carpenter

Edward Carpenter

Professor of Biology
Microbial Ecology
Phone: (415) 338-3732
Email: carpent@sfsu.edu

Biography

Our group has several major interests. One concerns nitrogen fixation in the sea. We work in tropical and subtropical waters on the biology and ecology of nitrogen fixation in marine planktonic cyanobacteria. We are attempting to determine factors that limit phytoplankton growth, as well as to understand the role of a species as a primary producer. This research requires a field program to collect phytoplankton and environmental data, and laboratory studies on species in culture. Other local research concerns studying the food web of a threatened fish in the San Francisco Bay Delta and understanding of nutrient cycling in Bay Area wetlands as it affects restoration efforts. Lastly, we have been investigating causes of blooms of harmful marine phytoplankton in coastal and estuarine waters. Proposed research involves:
1) a gene expression study of how ocean acidification would affect a calcifying marine phytoplankton species,
2) microbial activity in the hyporheic zone of Antarctic Dry Valley glacial melt water streams,
3) Saharan aeolian dust and its effect on plankton processes in the equatorial Atlantic and
4) influence of the Amazon River outflow on plankton productivity of the equatorial Atlantic Ocean.

Selected Publications

  • Weber, S.C. E.J. Carpenter, V.J. Coles, P.L. Yager, J. Goes, & J.P. Montoya. 2017. Amazon River influence on nitrogen fixation and export production in the western tropical North Atlantic. Limnol. Oceanogr. 62:618-631.
  • Bezryadina, A., R. Gautam, G. Siggins, A. Kalmbach, J. Lamstein, D. Gallardo, E.J. Carpenter, A. Ichimura, & Z. Chen. 2017. Deep penetration of light through biological suspensions: From cyanobacteria to human red blood cells. Physical Review Letters. 119 (5) p.058101.
  • Murphy*, J.L., K. E. Boyer, & E.J. Carpenter. 2017. Restoration of cordgrass salt marshes: Fertilization for stimulation of nitrogen fixation and primary production. Wetlands. DOI: 10/1007/s13157-017-0973-6. *SFSU masters student 
  • Conroy, B.J., D.K. Steinberg, B. Song, A. Kalmbach, E.J. Carpenter, & R.A. Foster. 2017. Mesozooplankton graze on cyanobacteria in the Amazon River Plume. In the western tropical North Atlantic. Fronteers Microbiology.