Sign in

Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD

@zepernickbn.bsky.social
231 followers 360 following 29 posts

Assistant Professor University of North Carolina Wilmington Phytoplankton Ecology & PhySiology Lab Algal Blooms•Aquatic Continuum•Climate 🔼 Multi ‘omics 🧬🌊🦠

PostsRepliesMedia
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
PEPSi lab had a great time volunteering at the Saturday river cleanup yesterday hosted by @capefearriverwatch.bsky.social Think globally act locally! 🌎
000
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Gust Bilcke @gustbilcke.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
When I started my postdoc, only 10 genomes were available for an estimated 100,000 species of diatoms. To fill this gap, we present the 100 Diatom Genomes Project, out now in PLOS Biology. Analyzing the first assemblies suggests that we will double the diatom gene space by the end of the project! 📈
a drawing of the diatom phylogeny, indicating the species for which new genome assemblies were created so far in the 100 Diatom Genomes Project.
0317
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Are you planning to attend #ASLO27 and have data concerning how changing #light regimes in #aquatic systems are altering #biogeochemistry & #ecology? If so - consider submitting to @eechase.bsky.social and I's session! Bonus points if you mention #algae or #phytoplankton! Abstracts due Sept. 15th.
011
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Always a great time tagging along on the ModMon to sample the Neuse River Estuary - this time collecting pilot samples with incoming graduate student Brynn! #Fieldwork #NC #Estuary
020
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Incredibly excited to work on this #meta’omics time series of the Albemarle Pamlico estuarine continuum with JGI and collaborators Hans Paerl, Nathan Hall, Ryan Paerl & @tolarchaeota.bsky.social! Stay tuned as we dig into algal-microbial interactions! 🦠 #algae #microbes
0122
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
It was an honor to receive the Daylight Award in Research recently with @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social and Mike McKay. Daylight is the driving currency of life on Earth. Sincere thanks to the Daylight Academy - check out the write-up below if you're wanting to learn more! uncw.edu/news/academi...
030
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Wilhelm Lab at the University of Tennessee @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
The Horizon Scan for Harmful Cyanobacteria is online at TREE. A global collective of experts charted a 5 year plan to combat toxic blooms. Understanding strains, metabolism, microbiomes, nutrients and predators are all part of the story. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Scanning the horizon for harmful cyanobacterial blooms
Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are increasing worldwide, threatening freshwater ecosystems, animal health, and human well-being. To guide research need…
021
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Greg Dick @greatlakesgreg.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
@laurenhart.bsky.social's terrific PhD research is out! @freep.com has a good story on it (with links to the papers): www.freep.com/story/news/e... great work Lauren 👏 - the product of many collaborations at @ciglrum.bsky.social, NOAA, USGS, + the Great Lakes Center for Freshwaters & Human Health
freep.com
There's more harmful stuff in Lake Erie algae than previously thought
Better understanding the potentially toxic components of a harmful algal bloom might prepare water managers to protect the public, researchers said.
1147
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
An unapologetically angry post about what’s being done to US science:
science.org
The Current Crisis: What's Happening to Science in America
10518249
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Wilhelm Lab at the University of Tennessee @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Excited for this award with @zepernickbn.bsky.social and Professor McKay @uwindsor.bsky.social. Rewarding research published with @isme-microbes.bsky.social and more clearly explained in @theconversation.com. www.uwindsor.ca/news/2026-05... doi.org/10.1093/isme... doi.org/10.64628/AAI...
uwindsor.ca
As Great Lakes lose ice, a UWindsor researcher makes the consequences visible — and wins an international prize for it
<p><em>By Sara Elliott </em></p> <p>As climate change strips ice from the Great Lakes, something less visible is also changing: the underwater world of light that microscopic life depends on.  </p> ...
194
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
PEPSi lab directed independent studies student Brynn Shelley just completed her first growth curve using an estuarine dinoflagellate she isolated from North Carolina’s Neuse River. Needless to say - she’s #teamdinolfagellate
030
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Wilhelm Lab at the University of Tennessee @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Lake Erie was 3.7C but full of diatoms...... A good day sampling with @zepernickbn.bsky.social and Professor McKay
071
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Big thank you to @mpimarinemicrobio.bsky.social for the science swag! Love the phytoplankton representation!
020
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Wilhelm Lab at the University of Tennessee @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Research globally and act locally. Nice to see @zepernickbn.bsky.social @utkmicrobiology.bsky.social getting attention for collaborations with GLCFWHH researchers to address a local algal bloom. Just published in Harmful Algae. artsci.utk.edu/meads-quarry...
artsci.utk.edu
Mead’s Quarry Research Reveals Toxic Algae Drivers - College of Arts and Sciences
UT research into a pink algae bloom that closed the popular swimming area at Ijams Nature Center in 2024 is providing insight into how the organisms thrive.  Researchers from the University of Tenness...
042
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Excited to see this out - spearheaded by Xuhui Huang who I had the pleasure of mentoring when he was a visiting international scholar in the Wilhelm Lab @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social 🦠
000
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
In 2022, the #NSF Advanced Studies Institute on #WaterQuality & #HarmfulAlgalBlooms in Lake Victoria, Kenya conducted a three-week survey of the Nyanza Gulf. This week, a subset of the original team went back to follow up on our initial findings - a thread 🦠🇰🇪
100
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Congratulations to Margarita Lankford on a successful thesis - and thank you for inviting me to be on your committee! My first of hopefully many…committees & phytoplankton themed cakes that is 🦠🌊
060
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Sunday sampling trip to the Albemarle Sound & Chowan River of North Carolina. Cyanobacteria were abound, particularly in the Chowan as we were hoping! More to come once we extract all these sterivex in the -80 C…
050
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Wilhelm Lab at the University of Tennessee @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
OK. So you get a motivated postdoc @zepernickbn.bsky.social, who teaches a class of great graduate students, and then some support from the institution and a lot of great labs. Find yourself a nice pink algal bloom in the early spring and....science happens. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
The ornithine-arginine cycle supported a toxic, metalimnic Planktothrix rubescens bloom
Planktothrix rubescens is distinct from other cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom (cHAB) genera: the crimson-red cHAB thrives in the cold, low-light, nutrient-limited metalimnion. Studies have attribut...
041
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Wilhelm Lab at the University of Tennessee @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
The first contribution from David Niknejad's thesis: a collaboration with UTIA and the Watershed Association of the Tellico Reservoir to start applying molecular tools to the Tellico Reservoir. Thanks to USC's @eric-a-webb.bsky.social for jumping in to help! journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org
Metagenome-assembled genome of Synechococcus sp. “Tanasi” from the Tellico Reservoir, Tennessee, USA | Microbiology Resource Announcements
Picocyanobacteria, especially members of the Synechococcus collective (1), contribute to primary productivity, food webs, and biogeochemical cycles of fresh and marine waters worldwide (2). The Synech...
011
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
A great defense of discovery-based science in a time when it is very much needed.
americanscientist.org
“Why Are We Funding This?”
Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.
04319
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
That’s a wrap on the #OceanObservatoriesInitiative #ImagingFlowCytobot Community Focus Group at UNCW! Looking forward to using this data in the lab and the classroom 🌊
020
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
ISME - International Society for Microbial Ecology @isme-microbes.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Many phytoplankton are affected by climate change via changes in temperature & pH, but to winter diatoms, it appears the issue is light. 🔗rebrand.ly/jsfhiow @zepernickbn.bsky.social @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social @eechase.bsky.social @utkmicrobiology.bsky.social @unc-emes.bsky.social
032
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
ISME - International Society for Microbial Ecology @isme-microbes.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Congratulations to @jianhuaguo.bsky.social; @zepernickbn.bsky.social, R. Michael L. McKay, @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social; and Fabian Grein for their outstanding and impactful articles published in The ISME Journal. View the articles on isme-microbes.org/the-isme-jou... #MicrobialEcology #microbes
274
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
Had an amazing time at #Eco-DAS2025 here in Oahu, Hawai’i! Much scientific scheming was had & new collaborations were made - stay tuned for the pubs to come from the phytoplankton ‘omics team with @akrinos.bsky.social & others!
072
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
Can’t go to #ASLO25 without revisiting all things #HABs & #Limnology with old friends
140
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
Had a great time at #ASLO25 with @unc-emes.bsky.social & @marchettilab.bsky.social talking all things marine 🌊
041
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Marchetti Lab @marchettilab.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Smaller members of the Marchetti Lab presenting massive research findings at the Aquatic Sciences meeting in Charlotte NC @aslo.org. Go Raquel!
142
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Gordon Research Conference in Polar Marine Science 2025 was a success! Had a great time discussing all things related to sea ice & proton-pumping rhodopsins, and made new friends along the way. Looking forward to the next one!
031
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Today we chose to #standupforscience2025 in Raleigh, NC! So proud to be a part of this community! 🧪🥼🔬
0195
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Katie O'Reilly @drkatfish.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
NOAA's #GreatLakes Environmental Research Lab will be taking an "indefinite hiatus" from communications due to staff cuts. GLERL communicates critical weekly updates about the extent of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie - like the one that left my hometown of Toledo without drinking water in 2014
A screenshot of a Facebook post from the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
11446254
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Monthly Albemarle sampling in 45 mph wind gusts! 🌊 Lots of sand mixed in with the plankton - going to be a challenge to extract. Peep my technician & the truck “lab”.
190
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Wilhelm Lab at the University of Tennessee @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Happy to see "Lysogen formation governs colonies while lytic infection is more prevalent in single cells of the bloom-forming cyanobacterium, Microcystis" available.. Xuhui and others show a linkage between lifestyle (colonies vs single cells) and infection strategy (lytic vs lysogenic)
biorxiv.org
Lysogen formation governs colonies while lytic infection is more prevalent in single cells of the bloom-forming cyanobacterium, Microcystis
While the bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis can exist as free-living single cells or within dense mucilaginous colonies, the drivers and consequences of colony formation remain unclear. Here, w...
041
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Great write-up on our work in Lake Victoria, Kenya by my partner-in-crime @laurenhart.bsky.social & colleagues! Check it out to see how the North American & African Great Lakes share a few commonalities - including toxigenic cyanobacteria 🧪
theconversation.com
Lake Victoria is turning green – the deadly bacteria behind it
The organisms that cause greening are highly concentrated in Kenya’s shallow Winam Gulf.
031
Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD @zepernickbn.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
A brisk, foggy day on the Neuse River, NC with the Paerl lab ModMon team. This month’s run we encountered a bloom - 160 ug/L Chlorophyll a readings & some very yellow-brownish filters! 😊
081
Reposted by Brittany N. Zepernick, PhD
Wilhelm Lab at the University of Tennessee @tn-marine-micro.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Nice to see this important work make the news cycle when there is a lot of news in the world. Kudos to @laurenhart.bsky.social, @zepernickbn.bsky.social and others. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... And very nice of Newsweek to pick it up! www.newsweek.com/lake-erie-la...
newsweek.com
Worrying signs for Lake Erie uncovered 7,500 miles away in Africa
New research from Africa's Lake Victoria has revealed critical clues about toxic algal blooms and their potential impact on Lake Erie and beyond.
076