Natural seeps are abundant in the Gulf of Mexico and help create a chemically unique habitat where microbial populations can flourish. Andy Montgomery is researching the relationship between marine microbes and ocean chemistry and how chemical shifts affect the role microorganisms play in biogeochemical cycling, a common pathway for chemicals and organic matter to move through the ocean. His goal is to push the microbes to their limits to determine what they are capable of under extremely stressful conditions to understand how major chemical disturbances, such as oil spills, affect microbial populations and processes.
Andy is a Ph.D. student with the University of Georgia’s Department of Marine Sciences and a GoMRI Scholar with the ECOGIG consortium.
Andy’s grandfathers inspired his love for life and science when he was a child. One grandfather, who lives on a lake, taught him that life is like fishing: the more lines you have in the water, the more adventures you will enjoy. His other grandfather, a biology professor, taught him to appreciate life’s ever-changing forms. These lessons instilled in Andy a desire to understand how life’s components are intertwined and inspired a passion to expand his mind through science and life experiences.
Andy began his graduate career in the University of Georgia’s Integrative Life Science program, an interdisciplinary program that covers many disciplines, including marine sciences, infectious diseases, and biochemistry. The program allowed Andy to experience different labs on campus while he searched for a research focus. While working with Dr. Mandy Joye, her research about environmental influences on marine microbes fascinated him and he wanted to take part in that opportunity. While working in a non-GoMRI position in Joye’s lab, Andy was asked to fill in for an ill researcher aboard an ECOGIG research cruise.
Andy investigates microbes’ response to chemical changes in their environment from two angles. First, he wants to understand how the microbial population responds to major environmental shifts such as oil spills and how the population changes over time after its initial response. He is particularly interested in determining if microbial populations return to pre-event levels or if they experience permanent changes. Second, he wants to determine how microbial processes related to carbon cycling react to environmental changes.
Andy collects Gulf water samples and immediately measures the rates of certain microbial processes (such as carbon degradation or assimilation) to establish their baseline activity. He then supplements the samples with a certain chemical compound, such as methane, oil, or nutrients, that he hypothesizes will affect the organisms. He measures changes in the rates of the microbial processes relative to baseline observations and analyzes genomic data using stable isotope probing and next-generation sequencing. These observations help him determine which microbial populations the chemicals are enriching or inhibiting and if and how microbial processes are altered. His uses these findings to better understand how these microbes may react to similar exposures in the natural environment.
Andy discovered the importance of educating society on scientific issues through teaching undergraduate labs and participating in ECOGIG outreach events such as the Ocean Discovery Zone and Science at the Stadium. He hopes to create future exciting opportunities for others to learn about emerging scientific ideas and findings.
The GoMRI community embraces bright and dedicated students like Andy Montgomery and their important contributions. The GoMRI Scholars Program recognizes graduate students whose work focuses on GoMRI-funded projects and builds community for the next generation of ocean science professionals.