High resolution monitoring of microbial dynamics in aquatic ecosystems
Event details
| Date | 24.11.2015 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:00 |
| Speaker | Dr Frederik Hammes, Environmental Microbiology, EAWAG Duebendorf |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Abstract:
Accurate monitoring of microbial dynamics in engineered and environmental aquatic ecosystems is critical for a better understanding of the causes and consequences of microbiological changes. However, the common practice of infrequent grab-sampling and measurements with outdated methodology hampers sensible characterization of such dynamics. In this presentation I will discuss new approaches and methods to characterize temporal fluctuations in the microbiomes of complex systems. (1) In a first example, we tracked microbiological changes in a Dutch drinking water system bi-weekly during 2 years with a complete set of microbiological tools. We demonstrated dramatic seasonal fluctuations in bacterial cell concentrations, partially governed by changes in water temperature. This enabled the establishment of a dynamic baseline that can be used to predict bacterial concentrations and detect abnormal events in the drinking water system. (2) In a second example, we implemented newly developed fully automated online flow cytometry to monitor changes in groundwater aquifers used for drinking water at 15 minute resolution during multiple months. With these large data sets we could accurately describe and quantify both natural events (e.g., rainfall) and man-made events (e.g., water extraction), which influenced the microbial dynamics and which would be missed by grab sampling. This demonstrates the need for, and progress towards, automated online microbiological monitoring technologies.
Short biography:
Frederik Hammes is a senior researcher and group leader of the Drinking Water Microbiology group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). His group’s research focuses on the microbial ecology and dynamics of drinking water treatment and distribution systems from source-to-tap, with specialization in advanced/alternative single-cell detection methods. He is the author/co-author of 60 peer-reviewed publications.
Accurate monitoring of microbial dynamics in engineered and environmental aquatic ecosystems is critical for a better understanding of the causes and consequences of microbiological changes. However, the common practice of infrequent grab-sampling and measurements with outdated methodology hampers sensible characterization of such dynamics. In this presentation I will discuss new approaches and methods to characterize temporal fluctuations in the microbiomes of complex systems. (1) In a first example, we tracked microbiological changes in a Dutch drinking water system bi-weekly during 2 years with a complete set of microbiological tools. We demonstrated dramatic seasonal fluctuations in bacterial cell concentrations, partially governed by changes in water temperature. This enabled the establishment of a dynamic baseline that can be used to predict bacterial concentrations and detect abnormal events in the drinking water system. (2) In a second example, we implemented newly developed fully automated online flow cytometry to monitor changes in groundwater aquifers used for drinking water at 15 minute resolution during multiple months. With these large data sets we could accurately describe and quantify both natural events (e.g., rainfall) and man-made events (e.g., water extraction), which influenced the microbial dynamics and which would be missed by grab sampling. This demonstrates the need for, and progress towards, automated online microbiological monitoring technologies.
Short biography:
Frederik Hammes is a senior researcher and group leader of the Drinking Water Microbiology group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). His group’s research focuses on the microbial ecology and dynamics of drinking water treatment and distribution systems from source-to-tap, with specialization in advanced/alternative single-cell detection methods. He is the author/co-author of 60 peer-reviewed publications.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
- This event is internal
Organizer
- EESS - IIE
Contact
- Prof. Urs Von Gunten, LTQE