SCOR Working Group 126

Role of Viruses in Marine Ecosystems

Chair(s)
Markus Weinbauer (France) and Steven Wilhelm (USA)
Other Full Members
Gunnar Bratbak (Norway), Corina Brussaard (Netherlands), Dolores Mehnert (Brazil), Mathias Middelboe (Denmark), Keizo Nagasaki (Japan), Curtis Suttle (Canada), Willie Wilson (UK), and Eric Wommack (USA)
Associate Members
Feng Chen (USA), Roberto Danovaro (Italy), Yoanna Eissler (Chile), Jed Fuhrman (USA), Sonia Gianesella (Brazil), Gerhard Herndl (Netherlands), Nianzhi Jiao (China-Beijing), Nicholas Mann (UK), Télesphore Sime-Ngando (France), John Paul (USA), Declan Schroeder (UK), Grieg Steward (USA), and Dolors Vaqué (Spain)
Terms of Reference

  1. Summarize past results on virus-meditated mortality of algae and prokaryotes and the impact on oceanic carbon and nutrient cycling.

  2. Coordinate data collection to assess the role of viruses in different water masses.

  3. Assess the methodological limitations of the techniques available for quantifying the virus-mediated mortality of microorganisms (eukaryotes and prokaryotes) and their impact on carbon and nutrient cycling, and make recommendations for the best available approaches to study viruses and viral processes in the sea.

  4. Establish and maintain a Web site as forum that can be used by the “viral community” for exchange of data and ideas and future plans.

  5. Convene an International Symposium that could include a published proceeding such as a special issue of Limnology and Oceanography or Deep-Sea Research.

  6. Write a “definitive” textbook on Methods in Marine Virology.

Approved
September 2004
Financial Sponsors
SCOR, U.S. National Science Foundation
Meetings

  1. 20 June 2005 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain

  2. 1-3 June 2006 in Victoria, B.C., Canada

  3. 7-12 May 2007 in Bergen, Norway

  4. 14-16 May 2009 in Newark, Delaware, USA

Publications