Associate Professor Jim Mitchell

Contact Details

Key Responsibilities

Head of School

Member of the marine/aquaculture cluster within the School

Teaching

BIOL1112  Biology & Society

BIOL2162  Cell to Planet: Functional Biology & Experimental Design

BIOL1101  Evolution of Biological Diversity

BIOL3101  Marine Ecological Processes

EASC1102   Marine Sciences 1

Research

Refer to Mitchell/Seuront lab website

See Publication List

Bacterial Motility

There is little apparent reason for marine bacteria floating in the ocean to be motile. Yet, they are among the most highly motile bacteria known. Research in this lab addresses the generation of high-speed motility, its use, and the energetic and competitive costs of possessing it. Current work focuses on the hypothesis that the high speed permits bacteria to hop on or remain very close to passing nutrient sources.

Phytoplankton Dynamics

Research on phytoplankton distributions traditionally occurs over kilometres. However, phytoplankton are much smaller than 1 mm. The basic ecological processes of nutrient competition, reproduction infection spread and grazing occur over distances of millimetres to a metre. Our research describes phytoplankton distributions over millimetres to centimetres and the processes that generate those distributions to understand phytoplankton ecology better.

Microbial Nanopatterning

The cell surfaces of marine microbes are exposed to a variety of salubrious, pathogenic and poisonous particles that range in size from salt ions to bacteria. We are testing the hypothesis that microbial surface topography helps control movement of nearby particles. In ground breaking work, Michelle Hale, has shown that diatom surfaces localise, deflect and sort submicrometre particles. These results help explain why diatoms are a dominant microalgal group in marine and freshwater environments. A spinoff from this work insight into how to control macromolecules in microfluidic flows on silicon chips. Some of this research is carried out in collaboration with Cornell Nanofabrication Facility at Cornell University.

Oyster Conditioning

The Pacific oyster lives near its physiological limits in South Australian coastal waters. Salinity does not drop below 36 parts per thousand and during the summer can reach 50 part per thousand. Temperatures are similarly high compared to the Northern hemisphere temperature waters of Japan that is the Pacific oyster’s native habitat. Without traditional temperature and salinity cues, oyster condition changes unpredictably. Our research examines ways to predict and improve oyster condition in aide of and collaboration with the South Australian oyster aquaculture industry.

Current and Recent researchers in the lab

Michelle Hale: Particle behaviour at diatom surfaces

Raechel Waters: Analysis methods for microscale phytoplankton distributions

Rosemary Paxinos: The dynamics of phytoplankton distributions

Greg Barbara: Marine Bacterial Behaviour

Ben Baghurst: Prediction oyster growth and condition

Katerina Kantalis: Molecular ecology of marine bacterial motility

Irma Kesaulya: Contribution of phytoplankton to ocean viscosity

Alauddin Talukder: Microscale turbidity distributions

Justin Seymour: Microscale baterial distributions

Dr. Peter Strutton: Nonlinear time series analysis

Dr. Nick Blackburn: Observations and modelling of bacterial motility

Dr. Rolf Luchsinger: Modelling of bacterial motility in flow

Prof. Birger Bergensen: Modelling of bacterial motility in flow

Current Honours Students

Nicole Patten Microscale phytoplankton distributions

Chantel Westley influence of temperature on phytoplankton distributions

Past Students

Lyn Bridger: Finding a location for improved oyster growth

Simon Dillon: Controls on high-speed marine bacterial motility

Natalie Dowling: Fractal search patterns in juvenile barramundi

Kylie Evans: Measurement methods for marine organic particles

Matt Fitzpatrick: Oyster feeding

Anne Fordham: Microalgal colonisation of rocky intertidal surfaces

Paul Grieg: Raman spectroscopy of algae

Adam Gromadski: Larval mudworm behaviour

Johannes Hagstrom: Small scale plankton distributions

Kosette Lambert: Bubble transport of plankton

Hui Hui Lee: Growth in marine algae and viruses

Michelle Lemon: Microbial flora of marine mammals

Martin Loipersberger: Oxygen profiles near juvenile abalone

Sar Ng: A circulation model of Gulf St. Vincent

Rachael Pearce: Fouling of oyster surfaces

Nathan Rhodes: Phytoplankton time series

James Tilley: Dinoflagellate motility

Esmee van Wijk: Phytoplankton distributions across fronts

Collaborations

Dr. Nico Voelcker, Flinders U: Diatom surface structures

Prof. J. Armitage, Oxford U.: energetics and genetics of marine bacterial motility

NSF Cornell Nanofabrication Facility, Cornell U.: High speed DNA and colloidseparation using marine microbial surface patterns

Prof. I. Koike, U. Tokyo, Ocean Research Institute: Ocean carbon flux

Dr. L. Seuront, French National Center of Scientific Research, data analysis methods

Dr. H. Yamazaki, Tokyo U. Fisheries: Millimeter scale vertical profiling of physical parameters, chlorophyll a and bacterioplankton in the central Pacific ocean.

See Publication List

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