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

Romy Chakraborty

Ecology Department Head

Staff Scientist

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

Mingfei Chen

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

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

Ricardo Jorge Eloy Alves

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

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

Brandon C. Enalls

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

bcenalls@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 Research Fellow

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

Hannah Naughton

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

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

Michelle Newcomer

Research Scientist

Phone: 510-486-7057
mnewcomer@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

Jizhong Zhou

Visiting Faculty

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

News & Events

Study Sheds Light on Microbial Communities in Earth’s Subsurface

August 16, 2023

From the tops of tree canopies to the bottom of groundwater reservoirs, a vast amount of living organisms interact with nonliving components such as rock, water, and soil to shape this area of Earth known as the “critical zone.” Over half of Earth’s microbes are located in the subsurface critical zone, which ranges from…

EESA Scientists Close Rhizosphere Microbiome Knowledge Gaps

July 20, 2023

The rhizosphere–the region of soil surrounding plant roots in which soil and microbes closely interact–plays an important role in soil carbon cycling. The rhizosphere is only about 1-2% of Earth’s soil volume but can store up to 30-40% of Earth’s total soil organic matter. Plants secrete organic compounds such as amino acids or enzymes known…

A Q&A With Postdoc Brandon Enalls

January 4, 2023

After flipping on the TV to a science channel segment about environmental microbes, postdoc researcher Brandon Enalls was instantly amazed by microbiology. After working with a research group that studied microbes in extreme salinity, like the Dead Sea, Enalls knew he wanted to study microbes “in strange places, doing strange things,” inspiring him to get…

Wageningen Students Visit Ecology Department Team

June 22, 2022

On May 31, a delegation of students from Wageningen University & Research Center (WUR) Microbiology and Systems Biology Groups in the Netherlands came to visit EESA’s Ecology department. WUR is a highly esteemed world-class Dutch university that trains specialists in a variety of life sciences disciplines. WUR’s research and teaching activities range from sustainable agriculture…

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…