Kay D. Bidle is a biologist investigating marine microbial processes. His 1999 study with Farooq Azam compared the dissolution of diatom silica in the presence of marine bacterial assemblages. Bacterial processing accelerated dissolution, linking organic-material degradation to the release of mineral nutrients.[ref]
Accelerated dissolution of diatom silica by marine bacterial assemblages by Kay D. Bidle and Farooq Azam. Abstract and experimental discussion, Nature 397, 508–512
A dead diatom is consequently not just an inert mineral particle. Its organic coating provides material for bacteria, and degradation of that covering changes access to the underlying silica. This is a concrete mechanism connecting microbial ecology to a biogeochemical cycle.
Portrait of Kay D. Bidle
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