The Nüsslein Group
Microbial Ecology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
The single most important contribution of CO2 to the atmosphere is via microbial decomposition of dead organic material. My research goal is to broaden our understanding of microbial communities in drinking water systems in relation to carbon from leaf leachate. Here, we examine carbon from one leaf type Red Maple (Acer rubrum) dominantly surrounding the Quabbin Reservoir in Ware, Massachusetts. The Quabbin Reservoir is one of the largest man made reservoirs in the United States supplying 44 communities in Metro-West Boston. As the atmospheric concentration of CO2 and therefore the temperature of our environment increase, our spring and summer seasons become longer and warmer. This increase in what represents the growing season in New England, leads to more leaf litter and an increase in carbon available form leaf leachate. Carbon from leaf leachate readily enters drinking water systems, and becomes a food source for microorganisms as well as a precursor for hazardous disinfection by products. Within the constructed distribution system model we can analyze the community changes and how they are affected by available carbon. On a historical level, we can look back at these data and make inferences on how shifts in the global climate may change the community patterns within similar ecosystems and as a result affect the cycle of carbon in the biosphere.
Our second area of study involves the natural attenuation of 1,2-dibromoethane (EDB) from a sole source aquifer at the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR) Barnstable County, Massachusetts. EDB is a lead scavenger used as an anti-knocking additive in fuels, especially in jet fules. Our objective in this study is to assess the microbial community at the MMR and whether this community has ability to biodegrade EDB currently affecting the local aquifer. Currently, this site is completely remediated using standard pump and treat technology. We hope that our research can contribute to the more economic model of bioremediation, and thus the clean up of contamination in this and similar ecosystems.
2010 M.A. candidate, The University of Massachusetts, Amherst
2009 Student Travel Grant recipient; American Society for Microbiologists
2009 HHMI Travel Grant
2008 HHMI Spring Research Award
2008 HHMI Travel Grant
In preparation: “Microbial Degradation of Bioavailable Organic Carbon from Leaf Leachate and Effects on Microbial Community Composition”
Kahlil Rieber, Teresa Conneely, Klaus Nüsslein, “Response of Microbial Communtites to Carbon from Leaf Leachate Over Time”, 2009 109th Annual General Meeting of the American Society of Microbiology, Philadelphia Pa, May 2009
Kahlil Rieber, Teresa Conneely, Klaus Nüsslein, “Response of Microbial Communtites to Carbon from Leaf Leachate Over Time”, 2009 15th Annual Massachusetts Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference, University of Massachusetts, Amherst May 2009
Kahlil Rieber, Teresa Conneely, Klaus Nüsslein, “Response of Microbial Communtites to Carbon from Leaf Leachate Over Time”, 2009 3rd Annual HHMI Undergraduate Life Science Research Symposium, April 2009
Kahlil Rieber, Teresa Conneely, Klaus Nüsslein, “Response of Microbial Communtites to Carbon from Leaf Leachate Over Time”, 2008 108th Annual General Meeting of the American Society of Microbiology, Philadelphia Pa, June 2008
Kahlil Rieber, Teresa Conneely, Klaus Nüsslein, “Response of Microbial Communtites to Carbon from Leaf Leachate Over Time”, 2008 14th Annual Massachusetts Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference, University of Massachusetts, Amherst May 2008
Kahlil Rieber, Teresa Conneely, Klaus Nüsslein, “Response of Microbial Communtites to Carbon from Leaf Leachate Over Time”, 2008 2nd Annual HHMI Undergraduate Life Science Research Symposium, April 2008
This past semester I had the pleasure to be a teaching assistant for the basic microbiology lab class offered through our Department of Microbiology here at UMass. Although it was my first endeavor as a teaching assistant it was not my first experience teaching. As was the case when I was a substitute teacher in my hometown of Barnstable Massachusetts or as a Leisure Services basketball coach in Amherst, Mass, I always felt I learned as much from the students as they learned from me. I look forward to continue working with future students within our department.
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