Dr. Amy Burgin
Microbial Ecologist
Ph.D., 2007, Michigan State University

My research integrates across the fields of microbial ecology, biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology. Microbial community composition and biogeochemical processing regulate basic ecosystem functions such as primary productivity, nutrient availability and turnover, and carbon flux, thus, the three fields are closely intertwined. This work draws on skills in analytical chemistry, microbiological assays and rate measurements, and molecular techniques to better understand how microbes control ecosystem-level nutrient fluxes. More specifically, I am interested in how microbial metabolism can link biogeochemical cycles. A well-known example of this is respiratory denitrification, a metabolic pathway in which microbes use a form of carbon to reduce nitrate to gaseous N2, thus linking the carbon and nitrogen (N) cycles. A less-studied example, which I focused on in my dissertation, is a pathway in which microbes utilize sulfur (S) in place of carbon to also reduce nitrate, thus linking the N and S cycles. This research increases the fundamental understanding of how microbes interact with their environment to affect global biogeochemical cycles. My research also has valuable connections to current issues, such as global change and the eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems, and will hopefully be used to inform management decisions.