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Bess B. Ward |
My research concerns the marine and global nitrogen cycle, using molecular
and immunological probes for marine bacteria and bacterial processes (especially
nitrification and denitrification). We have ongoing research on denitrification
in Antarctica, chlorinated aromatic degradation genes in denitrifying bacteria,
the genes involved in nitrogen assimilation by phytoplankton, diversity
of functional guilds of bacteria involved in the nitrogen cycle of Chesapeake
Bay, the role of denitrifying and nitrifying bacteria in producing N2O,
and the role of metals in nitrogen redox biogeochemistry. Some of the main
projects are summarized explicitly below. Microbes control many of the important biogeochemical processes that occur in the oceans as well as on land. They contribute to the trace gas cycles that influence climate; they utilize and produce nutrients that are involved in eutrophication; and they are even capable of cleansing the environment by degrading a vast variety of chemical compounds, both naturally occurring and anthropogenically produced. My research focuses on the nitrogen cycle and the microorganisms involved in transformations of inorganic and organic nitrogen in the ocean and in sediment environments. This research makes use of technical approaches that range from molecular biological techniques to stable isotope biogeochemistry. The two main bacterial groups we study are the nitrifiers, autotrophs which oxidize ammonium to nitrite and nitrate, and the denitifiers, heterotrophs which can respire nitrate in the absence of oxygen. The linked activities of these two groups can be crucial in determining the chemical form and supply of nitrogen to planktonic communities and in determining the net nitrogen budget of ecosystems. |
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| Tel 609.258.5150 Fax 609.258.0796 Email: bbw@princeton.edu |
Curriculum
Vitae (pdf) | Publication
Abstracts (pdf) | Other activities: Department of Geosciences |
© 2005 Princeton University
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| Contact us | | Mailing Address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1003 |
