Stroud Scientists at Work Under the Microscope: A Closer Look at Microbial Ecology and the Legacy of Tom Bott

Spend a few minutes with Tom Bott, senior research scientist and Stroud™ Water Research Center vice president, and you’ll be itching to get behind a microscope to see just what it is that has captured his imagination — and continues to fascinate him after a long and remarkable career in microbial ecology.
 
FILLING “THE BIG BLACK BOX”
When he arrived at the Center four decades ago, says Bott, “The microbial ecology of White Clay Creek was just a ‘black box;’ we really didn’t know anything about it.” In fact, the entire field of microbial ecology was still a fledgling discipline.
 
To illustrate just how the science has progressed, Bott points to a recent issue of the journal, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, more than a thousand pages thick. “When I started in the field,” he says, tapping the huge tome, “one could actually read through much of this journal in a month; now that’s virtually impossible. Every issue is a testament to how much we’ve learned about something that is not even visible to the naked eye, yet is critical to the life of every stream.
 
“People were used to seeing and thinking about fish and insects,” he continued, “but not about all those organisms we can’t see without a microscope.  We did something quite revolutionary; we started to view the microbial world as part of the ecosystem, and what we now know as a result is amazing.”

For it turns out that these microscopic organisms — the bacteria, algae, protozoa, fungi — are among the most active and important organisms in the stream ecosystem. In fact, billions of them may coexist in a square centimeter of streambed — an area about half the size of a thumbprint — and collectively they consume enormous amounts of biological material, which is essential to protecting the health of a stream.

But there is still so much more to learn about how these microbial communities interact with other organisms and their important contribution as the basis of the food web — a primary source of energy. These are the types of questions that continue to drive Bott’s research, even in his “retirement.”
 
A LOOK BACK AT MAJOR PROJECTS
Says Bott of his tenure here, “The work we’ve done over the decades has created a wonderful body of data — from which we continue to draw important scientific conclusions.” He is quick to point out that they never could have learned all they have without the benefit of studies over a long time and data from a broad array of streams — conditions that have been the bedrock of Stroud research. Bott and his colleagues have studied algae in dozens of streams and rivers, from White Clay Creek to the headwaters of the Amazon River, and some of their research projects have been ongoing for 30 years and more.
 
Such long-term research has been facilitated in the White Clay watershed by landowners who have put their land under conservation easements and restored much of the area’s streamside forests.
 
One important conclusion Bott and his team have drawn from their research is the link between land use and stream health. Noting that algal growth rates in the wooded reaches of White Clay Creek are consistent today with what they were 30-40 years ago, Bott says the message is clear: “If you manage your watershed, your stream will remain functionally healthy.”
 
Over the years Bott has also worked with industries to assess the effect of their effluents on algal growth in streams, the ways in which their products could affect microbial activity in aquatic systems, and ways that microbes could be used to reduce the impact of industrial products on water quality.
 
He is currently studying the effects of acid mine drainage (AMD) on algal growth, a problem that continues to impair thousands of stream miles in Pennsylvania and across the country decades after mining operations have shut down.
 
THE NEXT BIG THING: WHERE WE GO FROM HERE
“For the most part, we’ve studied microorganisms and what they do as communities,” says Bott. ”But scientists have to date identified far fewer organisms than actually exist in our soils, in the water that passes through them, and in our streams, rivers and lakes. Techniques, such as genetic probing, will allow us to significantly refine our understanding of the microbial world, so the next tasks are to identify all these microbes — at least to genus — and to understand how they interact with their environments.”  
 
As scientists learn more about the specific roles that each microbial population plays in a functioning stream ecosystem, they will gain a better understanding of how that ecosystem works. That knowledge is fundamental to our ability to protect, preserve and restore our sources of fresh water, and it has important implications not only for stream condition and water quality, but also for public health, aquaculture, and industrial practices.
 
REFLECTIONS
As this year will be marked by Bott’s retirement, he and the senior staff are in the process of finding his replacement.
 
“I feel very fortunate that I was given the opportunity to develop my career here,” says Bott with a wistfulness that is almost immediately replaced by the animation and excitement that come from the satisfaction he derives from his work — and from the 40 years he has spent at a place he loves.
 
Bott will continue to work at the Center on a part-time basis, a process of succession that will allow for a smooth transfer of knowledge, provide a continuity of research programs, and ensure the continuation of the Center’s pioneering research under his direction.  

Link:
Read more about Tom Bott, his research and publications at:
http://www.stroudcenter.org/about/thomasbott.htm

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