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Antarctic marine ecosystems and the species that depend on them are the focus of two National Science Foundation (NSF) grants awarded to a University of New England marine sciences faculty member, work that promises to inform the future of species adaptation and conservation in a region experiencing rapid ecological change.

Tricia Thibodeau, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Marine and Environmental Programs, is a principal investigator on a grant that will fund a small number of researchers to study zooplankton samples collected along the Antarctic Peninsula.

Specifically, the team of scientists will study planktonic animals called pteropods, or “sea butterflies,” to evaluate the marine adaptation capacity of the tiny mollusks across Antarctica. It’s important work, Thibodeau said, as the sea butterfly is one of the most abundant zooplankton in the Southern Ocean, which plays a crucial role in controlling global weather patterns as one of the world’s largest bodies of water.

In addition, next winter Thibodeau will join an NSF-grant-funded, six-week boat trip to Antarctica to study the impacts of sea ice melt in the Weddell Sea, an area of interest to scientists because it creates very cold and dense water that simulates all of the deep-water circulation throughout the global ocean.

The research expedition, for which Thibodeau is also a principal investigator, was awarded through NSF’s Rapid Response Research (RAPID) mechanism.

“Landing two weighty NSF grants at a time when competition for research funding is fierce speaks not only to Tricia Thibodeau’s impressive scholarship in the Antarctic region but the importance of scientific research at this stage in history, especially in the face of fast-growing threats to planetary health,” said Gwendolyn Mahon, M.Sc., Ph.D., 91��Ƭ�� provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs.

Understanding the difference between the adaptation capacity in pteropods in both the northern peninsula and the southern peninsula of Antarctica will help shed light on ice melt in the region, Thibodeau said.

“It could impact the availability of food for higher trophic levels as ice continues to melt more in the future under changing ocean systems,” Thibodeau said. “It also will affect what kinds of nutrients are getting sequestered into the deep ocean, which could further affect the different kinds of nutrients available to other plankton and organisms in other parts of the ocean.”

Thibodeau — a Maine native who realized her passion for studying global oceans as a graduate of Cape Elizabeth High School — plans to incorporate data generated from research on the sea butterfly’s gut microbiome into her courses on plankton, marine cellular biology, and molecular biology. Her grant will also support a master’s student and two undergraduate research assistants. 

Provost Mahon noted that Thibodeau’s research closely aligns with the goals of 91��Ƭ��’s recently launched School of Public and Planetary Health, which examines global health through the united expertise of faculty in the University’s six academic colleges — including public health, business, public policy, and marine and environmental programs — to prepare students to be systems-level thinkers in addressing interconnected environmental and human health challenges.

“As a plankton ecologist and biological oceanographer, Tricia’s determination to document the long-term trends in these vital plankton populations is not only a boon for science but also a great asset to 91��Ƭ��,” Mahon said. “Tricia’s ability to foster a culture of curiosity, inquiry, and innovation among her students perfectly encapsulates our University’s mission of improving the health of people and our natural world.”

Thibodeau is also one of four 91��Ƭ�� researchers to receive a mini-grant through a newly formed research accelerator program established in partnership with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), which will see her collaborating with GMRI’s Jerome Pinti, Ph.D., to study zooplankton biology off the coast of Maine.

Designed to seed research that encompasses the organizations’ shared expertise in marine and ocean sciences, the 91��Ƭ��-GMRI Research Accelerator furthers 91��Ƭ��’s institutional charge to address rising planetary health challenges by providing pairs of 91��Ƭ�� faculty and GMRI investigators with funding to complete research projects using a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to global health.