The University of British Columbia

Viruses are the most abundant biological entities in aquatic environments and are thought to play a key role in aquatic microbial communities. By specifically lysing heterotrophic and autotrophic microorganisms found at the base of the aquatic food webs, viruses can influence the structure of the microbial populations and thereby affecting the flow of energy and carbon within aquatic ecoystems. However, very little is known about viruses in polar regions, especially in the Arctic Ocean. The objectives of my research are to study the dynamic and the diversity of marine virus communities on the Canadian Arctic Shelf and to determine how they interact with their hosts. My PhD research is a part of a large interdisciplinary study, CASES (Canadian Arctic Shelf Exchange Study: http://www.cases.quebec-ocean.ulaval.ca/). Keywords: Bacteria, Phytoplankton, Viral Ecology, Viral Production, Viral Mortality, Viral Diversity, Arctic Ocean