- ebyoung@uwm.edu
- 414-229-3257
- Lapham Hall 593
- CV
Erica Young
- Professor, Biological Sciences
Education
- PhD, Algal Physiology, Monash University, Australia, 1999
- BSc Honours, First Class-Plant Biochemistry, University of Western Australia, 1988
- BSc, Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, 1987
Research Interests
The research in my lab focuses on the ecophysiology of photosynthesis, nutrient acquisition and nutrient limitation in plants, algae and microbes in ecosystem scales from coastal oceans to large lakes to small ponds to micro-ecosystems associated with carnivorous pitcher plants. A key area is Phosphorus Acquisition by freshwater phytoplankton, benthic filamentous algae and bacteria. Our research includes examining expression and function of alkaline phosphatase (AP), use of a range of organic P sources, and the ecological role of viral lysis of bacteria and phytoplankton in release of P in freshwater ecosystems. We are also examining use of natural algal assemblages to strip nutrients from wastewater and produce biomass for biofuels production. In the lab, we employ physiological measurements of metabolic processes including nutrient fluxes, photosynthesis and respiration, enzyme activity and expression, molecular analysis of genes involved in acquisition, assimilation and cycling of nutrients, and genetic analysis of nutrient transformations by microbes. Physiological stress in algae is examined using cell staining assays and chlorophyll a fluorescence with PAM fluorometry and epifluorescence microscopy. The role of viral lysis in P cycling is being examined in field, laboratory and modeling experiments. My research interests also include inorganic carbon acquisition by algae and regulation by variable light, carbon dioxide and nutrient availability.Biographical Sketch
Website http://people.uwm.edu/ebyoung/Selected Publications
Berges, John A., Young, Erica B., Thamatrakoln, Kimberlee, and Taylor, Alison R.“Chapter 14: From genes to ecosystems: using molecular information from diatoms to understand ecological processes” Advances in Phytoplankton Ecology: Applications of Emerging Technologies(2022).
Strzepek, Robert, Nunn, Brook, Bach, Lennart, Berges, John A., Young, Erica B., and Boyd, Philip. “The ongoing need for rates: can physiology and omics come together to co-design the measurements needed to understand complex ocean biogeochemistry?” Journal of Plankton Researchfbac026. (2022).
Young, Erica B., Reed, Lindsay A., and Berges, John A.“Growth parameters and responses of green algae across a gradient of phototrophic, mixotrophic and heterotrophic conditions” PEER J(2022).
Fremin, Brayon J., Bhatt, Ami S., Kyrpides, Nikos C., Global Phage Small Open Reading Frame (GP-SmORF) Consortium, , and Young, Erica B.“Thousands of small, novel genes predicted in global phage genomes” Cell Reports39. (2022): 110984.
Grothjan, Jacob J., and Young, Erica B.“Bacterial recruitment to carnivorous pitcher plant communities: identifying sources influencing plant microbiome composition and function” Frontiers in Microbiology13. (2022): 10.3389/fmicb.2022.791079.
Bittleston, Leonora, Freedman, Zachary, Bernadin, Jessica, Grothjan, Jacob J., Young, Erica B., Record, Sydne, Baiser, Benjamin, and Gray, Sarah. “Exploring microbiome functional dynamics through space and time with trait-based theory” mSystems6.4 (2021): e00530-21.
Berges, John A., Driskill, Allison M., Guinn, Emily J., Pokrzywinski, Kaytee, Quinlan, Jessica, von Korff, Benjamin, and Young, Erica B.“Role of nearshore benthic algae in the Lake Michigan silica cycle” PLOS one16.8 (2021): e0256838.
Wang, Zixuan, He, Zhen, and Young, Erica B.“Toward enhanced performance of integrated photo-bioelectrochemical systems: Taxa and functions in bacteria-algae communities” Current Opinions in Chemical Biology59. (2020): 130-139.
Nayfach, Stephen, Young (part of IMG consortium), Erica B., ., and Eloe-Fadrosh, Emiley. “A Genomic Catalogue of Earth’s Microbiomes” Nature Biotechnology(2020).
Donnelly, Alison C., Yu, Rong, Rheberg, Chloe, Meyer, Gretchen A., and Young, Erica B.“Leaf chlorophyll estimates of temperate deciduous shrubs during autumn senescence using a SPAD-502 meter and calibration with extracted chlorophyll” Annals of Forest Sciences77.30 (2020).
Luo, Shuai, Waller, Lucas, Badgely, Brian, He, Zhen, and Young, Erica B.“Effects of bacterial inoculation and nitrogen loading on bacterial-algal consortium composition and functions in an integrated photobioelectrochemical system” Science of The Total Environment716. (2020): 137135.
Kozik, Christine, Young, Erica B., Sandgren, Craig D., and Berges, John A.“Cell death in individual freshwater phytoplankton species: relationships with population dynamics and environmental factors” European Journal of Phycology54.3 (2019): 369-379.
Grothjan, Jacob J., and Young, Erica B.“Diverse microbial communities hosted by the model carnivorous pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea: Analysis of both bacterial and eukaryotic composition across distinct host plant populations” PEER J7:e6392. (2019).
Young, Erica B., Sielicki, Jessica R., and Grothjan, Jacob J.“Regulation of hydrolytic enzyme activity in aquatic microbial communities hosted by carnivorous pitcher plants” Microbial Ecology76.4 (2018): 885-898.
Hanson, Alicia M., Berges, John A., and Young, Erica B.“Virus diversity and relationship to bacteria and chlorophyll across a freshwater trophic gradient in the Lake Michigan watershed” Hydrobiologia741.1 (2017): 93-108.
Luo, Shuai, Berges, John A., He, Zhen, and Young, Erica B.“Algal-Microbial Community Collaboration for Energy Recovery and Nutrient Remediation from Wastewater in Integrated Photo-Bioelectrochemical Systems” Algal Research(2017).
Young, Erica B., and Berges, John A.“Nitrate reductase: a nexus of disciplines, organisms and metabolism” Aquatic Nutrient Biogeochemistry and Microbial Ecology: A Dual PerspectiveEd. Glibert, Patricia. (2016).
Berg, Jason A., Meyer, Gretchen A., and Young, Erica B.“Propagule pressure and environmental conditions interact to determine establishment success of and invasive plant species, glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus), across five different wetland habitat types” Biological Invasions18.5 (2016): 1363-1373.
Young, Erica B., and Berges, John A.“Nitrogen stress in the marine environment: from scarcity to surfeit” Stressors in the Marine Environment: physiological responses and ecological implicationsEd. Solan, Martin. (2016).
Lee, Philip O., McLellan, Sandra, Graham, Linda E., and Young, Erica B.“Invasive Dreissenid mussels and benthic algae in Lake Michigan: Characterizing the effects on sediment bacterial communities” FEMS Microbiology Ecology91.1 (2015): 1-12.