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Astrid Schnetzer

Area(s) of Expertise

  • Protistan Ecology and Molecular Diversity
  • Zooplankton Ecology
  • Marine Food-Web Dynamics
  • Biogeochemical Cycling
  • Harmful Algal Blooms
  • Ocean Acidification

Research Summary

My research focuses on the ecology of protists and zooplankton which comprise numerous taxa and play diverse ecological roles within aquatic ecosystems. Protists are major primary producers (phytoplankton) and consumers (i.e. heterotrophic cilliates) at the base of the food web. Zooplankton (i.e. copepods and euphausiids) are important consumers of protists (and each other) and in turn preyed upon by shellfish, fish and marine mammals. My lab is interested in how natural and anthropogenic processes shape plankton assemblages and how changes in protistan and/or zooplankton community structure impact biogeochemical cycles in coastal and open ocean environments.

Publications

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