DIVERSITY AND ECOLOGY OF LACUSTRINE HAPTOPHYTE ALGAE: IMPLICATIONS FOR PALEOTHERMOMETRY By: SUSANNA M. THEROUX B.S. Williams College, Williamstown, MA, 2005 M.Sc. Brown University, Providence RI, 2009 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geological Sciences at Brown University PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND MAY 2013 © Copyright 2013 by SUSANNA M. THEROUX ii This dissertation by SUSANNA M. THEROUX is accepted in its present form by The Department of Geological Sciences as satisfying the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date_________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Yongsong Huang, Ph.D., Co-Advisor Date_________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Linda Amaral-Zettler, Ph.D., Co-Advisor Recommended to the Graduate Council Date_________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Timothy D. Herbert, Ph.D., Reader Date_________________ _______________________________________________________________________ James M. Russell, Ph.D., Reader Date_________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Marco J.L. Coolen, Ph.D., Reader Approved by the Graduate Council Date_________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Peter Weber, Dean of the Graduate School CURRICULUM VITAE SUSANNA M. THEROUX EDUCATION Ph.D.: Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, Brown-Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole graduate program (2012 expected) M.Sc.: Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, Brown-Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole graduate program, 2009 B.A.: Biology and Geology with honors, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, 2005 FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS - American Association of University Women (AAUW) Dissertation Fellowship, 2011 - Geological Society of America (GSA) Student Research Grant, 2010 - Brown-MBL Graduate Fellowship in Biological and Environmental Sciences, 2007- 2009 - Professor Jack L. Strominger Graduate Fellowship, Brown University, 2008 - Freeman Foot Award (for thesis presentation), Williams College, 2005 - 1960s Scholar in Geosciences, Williams College, 2005 - Student Scholar Athlete, Williams College, 2005 - Dean’s List, Williams College, 2001-2005 TEACHING EXPERIENCE - Woods Hole Semester in Environmental Studies, 2011, student mentor - Woods Hole Partnership Education Program, 2011, guest lecturer and mentor - GEO 031: Paleoecology and the Fossil Record, Brown University, Teaching Assistant and Lab Instructor - GEO 020: Introduction to Oceanography, Brown University, Teaching Assistant PUBLICATIONS Theroux, S., Toney, J.L., Amaral-Zettler, L., Huang, Y. in prep. Production and temperature sensitivity of long chain alkenones in cultures of Pseudoisochrysis paradoxa, nomen nudum. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. Theroux, S., Huang, Y., Amaral-Zettler. 2012. Comparative molecular microbial ecology of spring haptophyte blooms in an arctic oligosaline lake in Greenland. Frontiers in Microbiology. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2012.00415. iv Toney, J., Theroux, S., Andersen, R., Coleman, A., Amaral-Zettler, L., Huang, Y. 2012. Culturing of the first 37:4 predominant lacustrine haptophyte: Geochemical, biochemical, and genetic implications. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 78, 51-64. Theroux, S., D’Andrea, W.J., Toney, J., Amaral-Zettler, L.A., Huang, Y. 2010. Phylogenetic diversity and evolutionary relatedness of alkenone producing haptophyte algae in lakes: Implications for continental paleotemperature reconstructions. EPSL 300, 311-320. Amaral-Zettler,L., Zettler, E., Theroux, S., Palacios, C., Aguilera, A., Amils, R. 2010. Microbial community structure across the tree of life in the extreme Río Tinto. ISME Journal. doi:10.1038/ismej.2010.101 Stoll, H. M., Ziveri, P., Shimizu, N., Conte, M., Theroux, S. 2007. Relationship between coccolith Sr/Ca ratios and coccolithophore production and export in the Arabian Sea and Sargasso Sea. Deep Sea Research II: 54, 581-600. Theroux, S. 2005. Effects of nutrient limitation on the productivity of coccolithophore algae and the paleoclimatic implications. BA thesis, Williams College. PRESENTATIONS & POSTERS Theroux, S., Diversity and ecology of Alkenone-producing haptophyte algae. Invited. Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory Spring Lecture Series. April, 2012. Theroux, S., Toney, J., Andersen, R., Bohn, R., Nyren, P., Amaral-Zettler, L., Huang, Y. Dynamics of a haptophyte bloom in Lake George, ND: Implications for alkenone- based temperature reconstructions. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2011. Salacup, J.M., Theroux, S., Herbert, T.H., and Prell, W.L. Time-series of water column k' alkenones and 18S rRNA confirm that U37 is a viable SST proxy in Narragansett Bay, RI. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2011. Theroux, S., Amaral-Zettler, L., Huang, Y. Insights into haptophyte bloom dynamics in an arctic lake using massively parallel tag sequencing. International Society of Microbial Ecology 13, 2010. Theroux, S., D'Andrea, W. J., Toney, J.L., Amaral-Zettler, L., Huang, Y. Relating Phylogeny to Alkenone Distributions in Lacustrine Alkenone-Producing Haptophytes: Implications for Continental Paleotemperature Reconstructions. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2008. Toney, J.L., Fritz, S., Baker, P.A., Grimm, E.C., Nyren, P., Theroux, S., Huang, Y. Environmental and Climatic Control on the Occurrence and Abundance of Long Chain v Alkenones in Lakes of the Interior United States. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, 2008. Zettler, E., Amils, R., Theroux, S., Palacios, C., Sogin, M., Amaral-Zettler, L. Protistan distribution in relation to spatial variations of extreme geochemical parameters in the Rio Tinto, Spain. Phycology Society of American Annual Meeting, 2007. Theroux, S., Burke, A., Stoll, H., Shimuzu, N., Ziveri, P. Constraining nutrient effects in monsoon-driven productivity shifts during the Mediterranean sapropel events. Presentation, Geological Society of America Northeastern Section annual meeting, 2005. EMPLOYMENT - Research Assistant, 2005-2007 Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, Dr. Linda Amaral-Zettler Laboratory - Summer Research Fellowship in Geosciences, 2004-2005 Williams College, Williamstown, MA Dr. Heather Stoll Laboratory - Summer Research Fellowship in Geosciences, 2003 Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, NL Dr. Patrizia Ziveri Lab oratory MEMBERSHIPS & CERTIFICATIONS Algal Biomass Organization (ABO) American Association of University Women (AAUW) Earth Science Women’s Network (ESWN) American Geophysical Union (AGU) Sigma XI Scientific Research Society Geological Society of America (GSA) International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) Phycological Soceity of America (PSA) Spanish Language Advanced Proficiency FIELD EXPERIENCE Lake George, North Dakota: lake sampling, algal culturing, 2011 Kangerlussuaq, Greenland: lake sampling, algal culturing, 2009 Kangerlussuaq, Greenland: lake sampling, coring expedition, algal culturing, 2008 Kangerlussuaq, Greenland: lake sampling, lake sediment coring, 2007 Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Parque Nacional Yasuni, Ecuador: 2004 vi Dedicated to my family vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my greatest appreciation to my co-advisors, Linda Amaral-Zettler and Yongsong Huang. I would also like to thank the members of my thesis committee, Timothy Herbert, James Russell, Zoe Cardon and Marco Coolen. I would like to thank the Earth Systems History group at Brown University and the Josephine Bay Paul Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory. I would also like to thank my friends and family, especially Mom, Dad, Katie, Katie and Casper. viii Table of Contents CURRICULUM VITAE .................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. viii CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Alkenone production in haptophyte algae .................................................................... 2 1.2 Alkenone-based paleothermometry .............................................................................. 3 1.3 Molecular biological approaches to temperature reconstructions ................................ 5 1.4 Dissertation outline ....................................................................................................... 6 References ......................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2 ..................................................................................................................... 13 Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 14 2. Methods ......................................................................................................................... 17 3. Results ........................................................................................................................... 23 4. Discussion