Ecology

Ecology Department photo

Overview

Scientists in the Ecology Department lead development of new technologies to dissect the microbial diversity of complex ecosystems. Their internationally recognized expertise include scale-aware ecology systems, advanced imaging, physiological diversity of microbes, and plant-microbe interactions.

Core Capabilities

Our six core capabilities are:

Advanced Infrared Microscopy and Manipulation
Interactions and Feedbacks between Different Trophic Levels of an Ecosystem
Environmental Microbial Physiology and Biochemistry
Environmental Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics
Predictive Multiscale Models and Model Data Integration
Soil Biogeochemical Cycling

Advanced Infrared Microscopy and Manipulation

Schematic genome-centric quantitative microbiome analysis — Environmental Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics

Romy Chakraborty in her research lab — Environmental Microbial Physiology and Biochemistry

Interactions and Feedbacks between Different Trophic Levels of an Ecosystem

Predictive Multiscale Models and Model Data Integration

Lisa Alvarez-Cohen

Mechanical Faculty Scientific Engineer

Phone: 510-643-5969
lalvarez-cohen@lbl.gov

Nicholas J. Bouskill

Research Scientist

Phone: 510-486-7490
Fax: 510-486-5686
njbouskill@lbl.gov

Eoin Brodie

Microbiologist, Senior Scientist

Deputy Director, Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division

Lead, Environmental & Biological Systems Sciences Program Domain

Phone: 510-486-6584
Fax: 510-486-7152
elbrodie@lbl.gov

Kristine Cabugao

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Phone: 707-631-9219
kcabugao@lbl.gov

Stephany Chacon

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Phone: 510-486-6899
Fax: 510-486-4773
sschacon@lbl.gov

Romy Chakraborty

Ecology Department Head

Staff Scientist

Phone: 510-486-4091
Fax: 510-486-7152
rchakraborty@lbl.gov

Ricardo Jorge Eloy Alves

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Phone: 510-486-6180
rjealves@lbl.gov

Mary Firestone

Faculty Scientist

Phone: 510-642-3677
mfirestone@lbl.gov

Sara Gushgari-Doyle

Postdoctoral Fellow

Phone: 510-486-4091
gushgari@lbl.gov

Zhao Hao

Principal Scientific Engineering Associate

Phone: 510-486-7335
zhao@lbl.gov

Kolby Jeremiah Jardine

Research Scientist

Phone: 510-495-8231
kjjardine@lbl.gov

Ulas Karaoz

Research Scientist

Phone: 510-486-4118
ukaraoz@lbl.gov

Gianna Marschmann

Postdoctoral Fellow

Phone: 510-486-6899
glmarschmann@lbl.gov

Hannah Naughton

Postdoctoral Fellow

Phone: 510-486-6584
hnaughton@lbl.gov

Michelle Newcomer

Research Scientist

Phone: 510-486-7057
mnewcomer@lbl.gov

Noele Norris

Postdoctoral Fellow

Phone: 510-486-6584
nnorris@lbl.gov

Nigel William Trevelyan Quinn

HydroEcological Engineering Advanced Decision Support (HEADS)

Group Leader, Staff Scientist

Phone: 510-486-7056
Fax: 510-486-7152
nwquinn@lbl.gov

Whendee L. Silver

Faculty Scientist

Phone: 510-486-6223
wlsilver@lbl.gov

Patrick Oliver Sorensen

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Phone: 510-486-4390
posorensen@lbl.gov

Neslihan Tas

Research Scientist

Phone: 510-486-5538
Fax: 510-486-7152
ntas@lbl.gov

Shi Wang

Principal Research Associate

Phone: 510-495-2657
shiwang@lbl.gov

Xiaoqin Wu

Project Scientist

Phone: 510-486-7515
Fax: 510-486-5686
xiaoqinwu@lbl.gov

Jizhong Zhou

Visiting Faculty

Phone: 510-486-6223
jzzhou@lbl.gov

News & Events

Depending Upon Soil Depth, Warming Affects Microbes Differently

May 21, 2021

Microbiologists study how tiny soil-dwelling microbial organisms behave individually and in community in order to evaluate how climate change is affecting the extent carbon is being released from soils into the atmosphere as planet-warming carbon dioxide. A new paper by EESA scientists published in the journal Nature Communications describes how microbes responded to experimental soil…

Study Finds Natural Organic Carbon Source Fuels Growth of Diverse, Distinct Bacteria from Groundwater

March 25, 2021

Xiaoqin Wu, Sara Gushgari-Doyle, and Mon Oo Yee from Romy Chakraborty’s group in EESA’s Ecology Department and the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT have published a paper in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology describing a study they hope will advance cultivation and isolation strategies for recovering diverse, uncultivable, and novel microorganisms from Earth’s…

EESA Postdoc Places at Lab’s 2020 SLAM Competition

October 2, 2020

The 2% of microbes on Earth that we can grow in the lab have led to groundbreaking discoveries, such as the vaccine for malaria, but can you imagine what the other 98% could give us? Sara Gushgari-Doyle’s approach to cultivating difficult-to-culture microorganisms tied her for second place in the Sept. 17 finals of Berkeley Lab’s…

Berkeley Lab Isotope Geochemists Study Isotopic Fractionation by Plants

August 3, 2018

Isotope geochemists at Berkeley Lab are the first to establish the degree of Potassium (K) isotopic fractionation by plants. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have a different number of neutrons. Scientists have just in the past decade begun studying for key nutrient elements (other than C,…

Three Amazing EESA Women Take Home Women @ The Lab Awards

July 12, 2018

Romy Chakraborty, Ecology Department Head Sixteen women at various stages of their careers were honored for making extraordinary contributions to STEM and Operations here at Berkeley Lab at the third Women @ The Lab event on Monday, July 9. Hundreds of friends and colleagues cheered as each woman approached the stage in the B50…

CESD research scientist Kolby Jardine Selected as Early Career Research Program Recipient

June 21, 2018

Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division scientist Kolby Jardine is one of six researchers selected by the Department of Energy to receive significant funding for research through its Early Career Research Program this year. The program, now in its ninth year, is designed to bolster the nation’s scientific workforce by providing support to exceptional researchers during the…