Rosenberg Institute Seminar Series - Allison Moreno

Allison Moreno, Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz 

Southern California Respiration Quotient Controls 

Abstract: Southern California Bight coastal waters are dynamic and strongly influenced by a changing climate. An increased respiration quotient has been found during high temperature and low nitrogen conditions. These observations are specific to open ocean conditions, and their applicability to coastal environments is uncertain. To disentangle the controlling factors in a coastal environment, we examined environmental conditions, particulate organic matter, and the respiration quotient over five years in the Southern California Bight. Our study revealed clear seasonal variation in environmental conditions and biological parameters. We detected higher than previously reported respiration quotient ratios. We found a strong inverse relationship between respiration quotient, nitrate and chlorophyll. Our findings also suggest that changes in community structure, triggered by nutrient shifts and a local oil spill, affected the range in respiration quotient and explains some of the variability measured. Coastal environments are more complicated than open ocean measurements, with wider implications.  

Bio: An Assistant Professor at UC Santa Cruz. My journey is simple on paper but complex and I would have it no other way. I love complexity, which is why my lab focuses on marine biogeochemistry and its connection to deoxygenation and climate. Although my lab is just starting it is a trifecta- lab work, being out in the field, and hanging with our computers modeling new ideas. At the center of all we do is the respiration quotient and phytoplankton physiology. Everywhere I go, I come with my life experiences and am who I am- a scientist and bold Chicana.