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Ocean Microbes Run the Planet — Here's Why That Matters · How To Protect The Ocean

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  When people imagine ocean life, they
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  picture whales and sharks and coral reefs
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  and giant kelp forests.
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  But the vast majority of life in the
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  ocean is actually invisible.
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  In a single teaspoon of water, there can
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  be millions of microbial cells, including
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  bacteria, archaea, and
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  microscopic phytoplankton.
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  These organisms are too small for most
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  people to even think about them.
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  But collectively, they control the
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  chemistry of the ocean and much of the
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  Earth's climate system.
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  Without them, the ocean
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  ecosystem will collapse.
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  This is the How to Protect the Ocean
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  podcast, where you get your weekday
• 1:00:38
  updates on ocean news.
• 1:00:40
  If you care about staying informed about
• 1:00:42
  the ocean each and every weekday, Monday
• 1:00:44
  through Thursday, hit that follow button
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  so you don't miss tomorrow's story.
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  Ocean microbes quietly power the systems
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  that make life on Earth possible.
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  They regulate oxygen production, recycle
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  nutrients, and influence how carbon moves
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  between the ocean and the atmosphere.
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  In fact, many scientists now argue that
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  microbes are the true
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  engineers of ocean ecosystems.
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  Yet despite their importance, they are
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  rarely discussed in conservation policy.
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  If microbes run the ocean, why do we
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  almost never talk about them
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  when we talk about conservation?
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  So here is the problem. Microbes are
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  invisible to ocean policy
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  and not just the naked eye.
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  Marine conservation often focuses on the
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  big animals and the
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  habitats that we can see.
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  Sometimes it could be ranged from marine
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  mammals and all the way down to small
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  invertebrates and fish.
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  But even then, the
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  invertebrates kind of get ignored.
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  These are important species and
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  ecosystems, but they represent only a
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  small portion of ocean life.
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  In fact, it's actually funny when I was
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  an undergraduate at the University of
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  Guelph in the marine
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  biology and freshwater program,
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  one of my marine biology professors came
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  out and said like and to be I was pissed
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  off the class and he said,
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  "Hey, look, a lot of you are here for
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  because you want to study whales and
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  sharks and other like
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  and then and of course
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  marine mammals, manatees and dolphins and
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  all that kind of stuff
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  because those are not important.
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  I hate to say it, but you're wasting your
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  time." He was obviously
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  focused more on zooplankton.
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  He goes, "It's the
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  plankton that run the ocean."
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  And he goes, "I know a lot of you aren't
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  going to like me for this,
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  but the fact is that I'm right."
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  This is him talking and he's like, "You
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  have to understand the
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  foundations of the ocean, the animals
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  and the cells that actually run the
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  planet before you even learn about the
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  marine mammals and the
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  big and the whale sharks and all that
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  kind of fun stuff and the fish and
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  everything that goes with it."
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  Because if you don't know the foundation,
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  you don't know what runs
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  the ocean, you're never really
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  going to be a true marine biologist. Now,
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  obviously that really kind of pissed off
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  a lot of people in the class.
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  And they took a lot of it sparked, let's
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  just say, a heated
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  debate or a lively debate.
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  But it was it was true. If you really
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  look at things, the fact is
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  that we just don't understand.
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  A lot of people just don't know. And when
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  I tell them that every second breath is
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  pretty much due to the ocean,
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  the oxygen is coming out of the ocean.
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  And so we need to understand
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  the focus, the focus on these
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  microbes and how important they can be.
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  Microbes, plankton, whatever
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  you want to categorize them
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  and obviously different categories, but
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  the unseen organisms, especially
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  microbes, we're going to focus
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  this week on microbes. I got a great
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  interview on Friday for you guys to check
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  out as well and to see
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  the applications of those microbes. So
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  microbial organisms
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  dominate ocean ecosystems, both in
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  abundance and metabolic activity. In
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  fact, microbial life accounts for the
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  vast majority of
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  living cells in the ocean.
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  These organisms drive the biogeochemical
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  cycles that regulate ocean chemistry.
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  They control how elements
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  like carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus move
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  through the oceans. And if you don't know
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  why this is so important,
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  especially when it comes to nitrogen and
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  phosphorus, obviously carbon is important
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  for a number of different reasons.
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  But nitrogen and phosphorus are the key
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  indicators and depending on the levels
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  that will drive nutrients and also algae.
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  And if you get an overabundance of
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  nitrogen and an overabundance of
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  phosphorus or
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  phosphorus at the right level,
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  you will spark a huge algal bloom, which
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  can cause a lot of problems for lakes and
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  rivers and oceans alike.
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  So this means that microbes determine how
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  nutrients are recycled, how oxygen is
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  produced and how carbon
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  is stored in the deep sea. Yet when
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  marine protected areas are designed,
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  microbial ecosystems are almost never
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  considered explicitly.
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  A lot of times when you hear MPAs being
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  designated, you hear, "Oh, we designated
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  an MPA to protect sharks" or "We
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  designated an MPA to protect fish."
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  And a lot of the times when you would
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  expect that everything below that, so
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  anything below this
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  these umbrella species,
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  would be protected as well. So that
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  includes the microbes and everything else
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  that goes along with it.
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  And the genetics of all the organisms
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  that fall within that habitat, but
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  they're never really the focus.
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  Most conservation planning focuses on
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  populations or habitat protection rather
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  than microbial community health.
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  But environmental stress can rapidly
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  change microbial communities.
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  Ocean warming, pollution and
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  acidification can shift microbial
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  populations in ways that
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  destabilize marine ecosystems.
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  The key point is simple. If microbial
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  systems collapse, the
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  rest of the ocean can follow.
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  Now let's get into talking a little bit
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  about the science of it all.
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  Our understanding of ocean microbes has
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  grown dramatically
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  over the past 20 years.
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  One of the most important projects
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  studying this was the Terra oceans
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  expeditions, which sampled microbial life
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  across the world's oceans. So researchers
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  collected thousands of samples and used
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  DNA sequencing to map global marine
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  microbial diversity.
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  The results were actually staggering.
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  Scientists identified more than 40
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  million previously unknown microbial
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  genes in the ocean alone.
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  The expedition also revealed that
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  microbial communities vary depending on
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  ocean temperature, nutrient availability,
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  and water circulation.
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  Scientists also discovered how microbes
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  drive the marine carbon pump, a process
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  that moves carbon from
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  surface waters to the deep ocean.
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  Microscopic phytoplankton absorb carbon
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  dioxide naturally during photosynthesis.
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  When these organisms die or are consumed,
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  some of the carbon sinks into the deeper
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  waters where it can
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  remain stored for centuries.
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  Another major discovery
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  relates to oxygen production.
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  So microscopic phytoplankton produce
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  roughly half of the oxygen of the Earth's
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  atmosphere, just as I mentioned earlier.
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  One ocean organism in particular is
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  remarkable. The cyanobacterium
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  prokolococcus is considered the most
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  abundant
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  photosynthetic organism on Earth.
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  It thrives in warm ocean waters and
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  contributes significantly
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  to global ocean production.
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  Other microbes can play
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  equally critical roles.
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  Nitrogen fixing bacteria, the
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  trichodesmium, converts atmospheric
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  nitrogen into nutrients that
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  phytoplankton can use.
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  Without these microbes, large regions of
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  the oceans would be nutrient limited and
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  far less productive.
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  Hetotrophic bacteria then recycle organic
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  material from dead organisms and waste,
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  keeping nutrients
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  circulating through the food web.
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  Together, these microbes are the
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  foundation of marine ecosystems.
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  Fish populations, marine mammals and
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  entire fisheries ultimately depend on
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  microbial productivity.
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  Why are microbes so powerful? They
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  perform several essential ecosystem
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  services. Firstly, they produce oxygen
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  through photosynthesis.
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  Second, they capture carbon dioxide from
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  the atmosphere and
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  convert it to organic matter.
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  Third, they regulate nitrogen
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  availability in the ocean, which
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  determine how productive
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  marine ecosystems can be.
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  And fourth, they break down organic waste
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  and dead organisms, recycling nutrients
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  back into the ecosystems.
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  Without microbial recycling, nutrients
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  would quickly become locked
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  away in dead organic material.
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  Scientists often describe microbes as the
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  biochemical engines of the ocean.
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  They regulate the chemical balance that
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  keeps marine ecosystems functioning.
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  If microbes are so important, why are
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  they not considered in conservation? Why
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  is there a conservation
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  blind spot with these microbes?
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  Despite their importance, microbial
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  ecosystems can be highly sensitive to
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  environmental change.
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  And because microbes reproduce quickly,
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  even small changes in environmental
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  conditions can rapidly shift communities.
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  These shifts can have major ecological
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  consequences. Let's look at a few
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  examples. Let's talk about marine
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  heatwaves, for instance.
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  They're becoming more frequent and
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  intense due to climate change. When ocean
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  temperatures spike, microbial communities
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  often shift dramatically.
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  For example, during marine heatwaves in
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  the Northeast Pacific between 2013 and
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  2016, scientists observed large changes
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  in microbial populations associated with
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  harmful algal blooms.
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  Warmer waters favored microbes to produce
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  toxins, which then led to widespread
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  algal blooms that contaminated shellfish
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  along the US west coast.
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  These blooms forced fisheries closures
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  and disrupted coastal economies. In other
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  cases, warming oceans can increase
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  populations of disease, causing microbes
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  that affect corals and marine animals.
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  Let's talk nutrient pollution and harmful
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  algal blooms. When excess nutrients from
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  agriculture or wastewater enter coastal
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  waters, microbial
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  communities respond rapidly.
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  These nutrients fuel the explosive growth
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  of certain phytoplankton species. This
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  process can trigger harmful algal blooms,
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  sometimes called red tides.
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  Some of these blooms produce toxins that
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  can kill fish, contaminate shellfish, and
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  cause illness in humans.
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  One well-known example occurred in the
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  Gulf of Mexico. Nutrient runoff from the
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  Mississippi River stimulates massive
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  microbial blooms, which eventually leads
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  to oxygen depletion in the warmer waters.
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  That creates seasonal dead zones in the
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  summer when the wind is not mixing the
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  water altogether. It just
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  causes this stratification.
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  In these dead zones, the fish and marine
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  animals cannot survive. These
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  microbial-driven events can affect
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  thousands of square kilometers of ocean.
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  One thing we don't talk a lot about in
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  climate change is the role that microbes
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  play in ocean acidification.
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  As atmospheric carbon dioxide increases,
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  more CO2 dissolves in the ocean. This
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  causes ocean acidification. While we
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  often hear about acidification that
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  affects coral reefs and shell-forming
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  organisms, it also affects microbes.
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  Changes in the ocean chemistry can alter
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  micro-metabolism and nutrient cycling.
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  For example, some studies show that
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  acidification can influence how microbes
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  process nitrogen and carbon, which may
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  alter productivity in marine ecosystems.
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  These changes are subtle but potentially
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  significant if microbial nutrient cycling
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  shifts, entire food webs can be affected.
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  So this matters because microbes respond
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  quickly to environmental stress. That
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  means they can act as early warning
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  systems to ecosystem change.
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  But it also means microbial shifts can
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  cascade through marine
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  ecosystems faster than we expect.
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  This is why scientists increasingly argue
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  that microbial health needs to be
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  integrated into ocean monitoring systems.
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  So what would this look like for success?
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  Recognizing microbes in ocean
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  conservation could
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  involve several important steps.
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  First, integrating microbial monitoring
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  into global ocean
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  observing systems would be key.
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  DNA sequencing technology now allows
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  scientists to monitor microbial
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  communities in near real time. The
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  technology is there.
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  Second, including microbial ecosystem
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  health and marine
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  protected area research.
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  So MPAs often protect habitats and fish
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  populations, but scientists are now
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  beginning to study how microbial
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  communities respond to protection.
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  The third way is expanding global ocean
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  DNA sequencing programs
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  like the TARA Oceans Project.
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  And finally, funding long term microbial
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  research programs that allow scientists
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  to track changes over decades.
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  Understanding microbial dynamics will be
• 1:12:05
  essential for predicting
• 1:12:07
  the future of the ocean.
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  Now, if you want to hear more of this
• 1:12:11
  science based breakdowns of ocean science
• 1:12:13
  every single weekday, follow this show so
• 1:12:16
  you don't miss what comes next.
• 1:12:17
  Let's look at the final thoughts. I just
• 1:12:19
  came from the World Ocean Summit in
• 1:12:20
  Montreal. This was
• 1:12:21
  put on by The Economist.
• 1:12:22
  It was a great summit. I got to meet a
• 1:12:24
  lot of people, which I loved going to
• 1:12:25
  conferences for a lot of new people from
• 1:12:28
  all walks of professional life and from
• 1:12:30
  all parts of the world.
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  It was really, really great for most
• 1:12:33
  parts of the world, I guess.
• 1:12:35
  One thing that was really talked about
• 1:12:37
  was the implementation of
• 1:12:38
  certain things and funding.
• 1:12:39
  And I just mentioned that funding is
• 1:12:41
  really important when we're talking about
• 1:12:42
  long term monitoring
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  of microbial ecosystems.
• 1:12:46
  The funding is the key and the funding is
• 1:12:47
  where everything lies without funding.
• 1:12:50
  We can't do any of this. And I don't know
• 1:12:52
  the answers to funding. I'm not an
• 1:12:53
  economist. I'm not someone who goes out
• 1:12:55
  and does fundraising.
• 1:12:57
  But I know one thing from just hearing
• 1:12:59
  from people talk this past week in
• 1:13:01
  Montreal at the summit is
• 1:13:02
  it's extremely difficult to get.
• 1:13:04
  And with the economy, the way it is, with
• 1:13:06
  the world, the way it is, everything's
• 1:13:07
  shifting, everything changing.
• 1:13:09
  This is a time where funding for marine
• 1:13:12
  protection from all scales is going to be
• 1:13:15
  extremely important.
• 1:13:16
  The world's largest ecosystem, not the
• 1:13:18
  ecosystem that we see with marine mammals
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  and sharks and other, you know, amazing
• 1:13:24
  ocean species, some of the most important
• 1:13:26
  parts of the ocean is the is the largest
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  ecosystem is also invisible.
• 1:13:31
  Microbes shape the chemistry of the
• 1:13:33
  water, influence the stability of the
• 1:13:35
  climate and support the
• 1:13:36
  productivity of fisheries.
• 1:13:38
  Yet most people have
• 1:13:39
  never even heard of them.
• 1:13:41
  Ocean conservation often focuses on the
• 1:13:43
  species that we can see, but the ocean
• 1:13:45
  functions because of
• 1:13:46
  the species we cannot.
• 1:13:48
  Protecting the ocean ultimately means
• 1:13:50
  protecting the microbial
• 1:13:51
  engines that keep it alive.
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  And tomorrow we're going to look at the
• 1:13:55
  most important roles microbes play on
• 1:13:57
  Earth, regulating the planet's climate.
• 1:14:00
  So share this episode if you can, if you
• 1:14:02
  find that there's somebody will benefit
• 1:14:04
  from hearing that someone
• 1:14:05
  who says, hey, you know what?
• 1:14:06
  What's going on in the areas of the ocean
• 1:14:08
  that we can see, especially from the
• 1:14:10
  microbial level of scale?
• 1:14:12
  If you find someone that knows this,
• 1:14:14
  share this episode with them. I would
• 1:14:16
  love to hear your
• 1:14:16
  feedback on this episode.
• 1:14:18
  You can hit me up at speak up for blue
• 1:14:19
  dot com forward slash feedback that speak
• 1:14:22
  up for blue dot com
• 1:14:23
  forward slash feedback.
• 1:14:25
  You can leave a voicemail or you can type
• 1:14:27
  what you want to say,
• 1:14:28
  comment question or anything.
• 1:14:30
  I want to hear from you because this is
• 1:14:31
  where you know, the whole point of this
• 1:14:32
  podcast is to start a conversation on the
• 1:14:35
  ocean for you to continue it.
• 1:14:36
  So let me hear that feedback. I'd love to
• 1:14:38
  continue that conversation. And until
• 1:14:39
  next time, thank you so much for joining
• 1:14:41
  me on today's episode of the How to
• 1:14:43
  Protect the Ocean podcast.
• 1:14:44
  I'm your host, Andrew Lewin. We'll talk
• 1:14:45
  to you tomorrow and happy conservation.