RESEARCH INTERESTS

[Epifluorescence Photomicrograph of Bacterioplankton from Lake Superior]

RESEARCH GRANTS (past 5 years)


Community Development and PCB-Induced Alterations in the Bacterial Assemblages of Benthic Nepheloid Layers. Sea Grant College Program. 1993-94.


Predicting the Survival and Effects of Introduced Microorganisms: An Evaluation of Three Aquatic Microcosm Protocols. U.S. EPA Competitive Research Grant. 1992-95. (Co-PI with Lyle J. Shannon)


Improvement of Microbial Ecology Curricula by Measuring Microorganism Use of Sole Carbon Sources. Biolog, Inc. (Hayward, CA) Equipment Grant. 1993-94.


Community Development and PCB-Induced Alterations in the Bacterial Assemblages of Benthic Nepheloid Layers. Sea Grant College Program. 1994-96.


Organic Matter Processing by Filter Feeders in Stream Ecosystems. National Science Foundation. 1994-96. (Co-PI with A. E. Hershey, R. Merritt, and M. C. Miller)


Survival and Reproduction of Pathogenic Bacteria in a Great Lakes Estuary: A Comprehensive Test of Combined Municipal and Industrial Sewage Management. Minnesota Sea Grant College Program. 1996-98.


On-Site Sewage Treatment Alternatives: Pathogen Removal/Technology Transfer. Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources. 1997-99. (Co-PI with G. Sabel, J Anderson, D Gustafson, B. McCarthy, R. Axler, J. Crosby, T. Bovee, Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, and Minnesota OST Cotractors Association)


Comparative Analysis of Archaeal Nucleic Acids in Picoplankton from Great Lakes. University of Minnesota Graduate School. 1998-99.


Pathogen and Nutrient Removal by Constructed Wetlands for Treatment of Single Home and Small Community Wastewater Flows. Minnesota Sea Grant College Program. 1998-00. (Co-PI with R. Axler)

[Conducting Research with Johnson-SeaLink II Submersible in Lake Michigan]

PUBLICATIONS (past 5 years)

Aas, P., and R. E. Hicks. 1993. Biodegradation of organic particles by surface and benthic nepheloid layer microbes from Lake Superior. J. Great Lakes Res. 19: 310-321.

Hicks, R. E., C. J. Owen, and P. Aas. 1994. Deposition, resuspension, and decomposition of particulate organic matter in the sediments of Lake Itasca, Minnesota, USA. Hydrobiologia 284:79-91.

Weaver, D. T., and R. E. Hicks. 1995. Biodegradation of Azotobacter vinelandii exopolymer by Lake Superior microbes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 40:1039-1045.

Hicks, R. E., D. A. Pascoe, and T. M. Schmidt. 1995. Ribosomal RNA-based probes reveal Archaea in picoplankton from the North American Great Lakes. Pp. 23-25 In Center for Microbial Ecology Research Findings, Spring 1995, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

Tapper, M. A., and R. E. Hicks. 1998. Temperate viruses and lysogeny in Lake Superior bacterioplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr.: 43:95-103.

Hicks, R. E., and D. A. Pascoe. in press. A comparison of cyanobacterial dominance within the picoplankton of the North American Great Lakes estimated by 16S rRNA-based hybridizations and direct cell counts. Pp. ___ - ___ In Exploring the Great Lakes of the world: Food-web dynamics, health, & integrity, (Munawar, M. and R. Hecky, eds.).

Pascoe, D. A., and R. E. Hicks. Community DNA similarity and metabolic diversity of bacterioplankton communities from the North American Great Lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr.: in revision.

[Russian and Finnish Colleagues on Valaam Island in Lake Ladoga, Russia]

INVITED LECTURES (past 5 years)


How Active are Bacterioplankton in Lake Superior: Where, When, and Who? March 10, 1993. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN.


Genetic and Phenotypic Similarity of Bacterioplankton in the Laurentian Great Lakes: Are They All the Same? September 15, 1994. Department of Microbiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.


Resuspension and Decomposition in Sediments as Indicated by the Monosaccharide Composition of Particulate Organic Matter. October, 28, 1994. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI.


Ribosomal RNA-Based Probes Reveal Archaea in Bacterioplankton from the North American Great Lakes. May 19, 1995. NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, MI.


Ribosomal RNA-Probes Reveal Archaea in Picoplankton from the North American Great Lakes". July 15-19, 1996. International Symposium "Exploring the Great Lakes of the World: Food-web Dynamics, Health & Integrity, Victoria Fall, Africa. (poster presentation; coauthors: D. Pascoe, and T. Schmidt)

Different Genetic Characters of Communities Across Thermal Barriers in the Great Lakes Spoil the Myth of Structurally Uniform Bacterial Plankton. October 11-12, 1996. ASM North Central Branch Annual Meeting, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI.

Effects of Temperature and Suspended Particles on the Survival of Salmonella typhimurium in Freshwater Microbial Communities. November 6, 1998. Department of Biology and Microbiology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, WI.

 
PUBLISHED ABSTRACTS (past 5 years)
 

1993. Bacterioplankton Abundance and Production in the Western Arm of Lake Superior. Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, July 31-August 4, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

1994. Metabolic and Community DNA Similarities of Natural Bacterioplankton Communities in the North American Great Lakes. American Society for Microbiology 94th General Meeting, May 23-27, Las Vegas, NV (first author: D. Pascoe)

1994. Ultraviolet Light and Chemical Induction of Temperate Bacteriophage from a Great Lake Ecosystem. American Society for Microbiology 94th General Meeting, May 23-27, Las Vegas, NV (first author: M. A. Tapper)

1995. Ribosomal Probes Reveal Archaea in Picoplankton Assemblages from the North American Great Lakes. 38th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research, Int. Assoc. for Great Lakes Research, May 28-June 1, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI. (coauthors: D. A. Pascoe and T. M. Schmidt)

1995. Organic Matter Processing by Larval Black Flies: Ingestion of Dissolved Components. North American Benthological Society Annual Meeting, May 29-June 2, Keystone, CO. (with first author: A. E. Hershey and co-authors R. W. Merritt, M. C. Miller, and R. S. Wotton)

1995. Ribosomal RNA-Based Probes Reveal Archaea in Picoplankton from the North American Great Lakes. Center for Microbial Ecology Forum, June 1, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI. (coauthors: D. A. Pascoe and T. M. Schmidt)

1995. Ribosomal RNA-Based Probes Reveal Archaea in Bacterioplankton from the North American Great Lakes. Seventh International Symposium on Microbial Ecology. August 27-September 1, Santos, Brazil. (coauthors: D. A. Pascoe and T. M. Schmidt)

1996. Effect of PCB Addition on Model Lake Superior Microbial Communities. Midwest Regional Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry meeting, April 3-5, Duluth, MN. (with first author J. S. Denny and coauthor D. Pascoe)

1997. Survival, Viability, and Reproduction of Salmonella typhimurium in an Estuarine Planktonic Community. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Aquatic Sciences Meeting, February 10-14, Santa Fe, NM. (coauthors: F. Walsh and D. A. Pascoe)

1997. Effect of Biphenyl Exposure on Model Lake Superior Microbial Communities. Midwest Regional Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry meeting, April 2-4, 1997, Green Bay, WI. (with first author J. S. Denny and coautthors B. R. Sheedy and D. A. Pascoe)

1998. Effect of Suspended Clay on the Survival and Viability of a Pathogenic Bacterium in a Freshwater Harbor. XXVII Societas Internationale Limnologie (SIL) International Congress. August 10-14, Dublin, Ireland. (coauthors: P. Aas and R. P. Maki)