Position: Postdoc / Research Officer

Nationality/where you work: New Zealand

Number of Seasons on the ice: 2

100 words about your scientific interest:

I am primarily interested in the process of microbial and ecosystem evolution. The role of genetic isolation in establishing endemic lineages is of particular interest. Currently, I am examining the isolated microbial community of Tramway Ridge, Mt. Erebus, Antarctica. The geothermal environment at Tramway Ridge is characterized by sharp physiochemical gradients that effectively sort the microbial community found. Because Mt. Erebus is also separated from similar geothermal environments by hundreds of kilometers of ice, the site is well-suited for studies aimed at unraveling the relative contributions of spatial and physiochemical separation in directing prokaryotic evolution.

 

100 words about what you do for ICTAR:

I am involved with the Igniterra project in which we study Antarctic geothermal soil microbiology. Antarctic geothermal activity is restricted to three volcanoes that are separated by hundreds of kilometers of ice. Mt. Erebus hosts the large expanses of hot soil and is our primary study site.  Each summer, I travel to Mt. Erebus to collect soil samples for genetic analysis. These samples are compared to samples from similar environments found on Mts Melbourne and Rittman to better understand microbial dispersal between Antarctic volcanoes and how restriction of microbial dispersal leads to the evolution of endemic lineages.

 

Contact information:

Your email address- cherbold@waikato.ac.nz

Mailing address-

The University of Waikato

Biological Sciences

Private Bag 3105

Hamilton 3240

New Zealand

Phone number-

07-838-4029