Nature’s Partnership: How Algae and Salamanders Team Up in Our Vernal Pools with John Burns, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Colby College in Hexagon

Nature’s Partnership – Vernal Pool

Each spring, as the snow melts and the ground thaws, a remarkable event known as “Maine’s Big Night” takes place around our vernal pools and wetlands here in Maine and also throughout the Eastern United States. During this time, spotted salamanders emerge from their underground hibernation and migrate en masse to their breeding grounds. But they don’t go it alone – their eggs are colonized by a microscopic green alga, forming a mutually beneficial relationship that is unique among animals.

In this talk, I will explore the extraordinary nature of this partnership, which begins during Maine’s Big Night and continues as the alga not only resides in the salamander egg fluid but also enters the developing salamander tissues and cells – something not known to occur in any other vertebrate animal. I will discuss the latest research unraveling the mysteries of how this relationship is established and maintained, and the potential implications for understanding the evolution of our own immune system.

Join me on a fascinating journey into the world of the spotted salamander and its microscopic algal partner, and discover the surprises and insights this unique partnership, born during Maine’s Big Night, has to offer.

Bio:
John Burns is a Senior Research Scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences with a journey that’s as unique as the organisms he studies. From mapping Mars to working as a movie extra in LA, John’s path to science has been anything but conventional. Driven by a passion for understanding the fundamental units of life, he now leads a research group exploring the intricate world of microscopic creatures, unraveling mysteries that range from the lesser-studied branches of the tree of life to the fascinating symbiotic relationships between unlikely partners, like spotted salamanders and green algae. With a knack for the unconventional and a diverse set of skills, John’s work is shedding light on the basic principles that govern life on Earth, one microbe at a time.