USC College Department of Biology

Faculty

Biological Sciences has more than 60 full-time faculty members, as well as more than 20 faculty with joint appointments and 15 visiting or adjunct professors. Among its many distinctions and honors, the Ph.D. program faculty includes two members of the National Academy of Sciences, four members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 18 holders of endowed chairs and professorships.

Douglas Capone

William and Julie Wrigley Chair in Environmental Studies and Professor of Biological Sciences

Contact Information
E-mail: capone@usc.edu
Phone: (213) 740-2772
Office: AHF 108

LINKS
Curriculum Vitae
Lab Home Page

Biographical Sketch

Douglas G. Capone received his Ph.D. in Oceanography from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences of the University of Miami (Fl) in 1978. He joined the faculty of the Marine Sciences Research Center of Stony Brook University (NY) in 1979 and the Center for Environmental Science of the University of Maryland in 1987. Since 1999, he has held the Wrigley Chair of Environmental Biology at the University of Southern California and is currently Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His research focuses on the role and importance of marine microbes in major biogeochemical cycles, particularly those of nitrogen and carbon, both from the perspective of the fundamental ecology of these ecosystems and their physical, chemical and biotic factors controls. Capone has studied diverse systems including the tropical open ocean, coral reefs, mangroves, temperate estuaries, groundwater aquifers and Antarctic snows. He has participated in over 30 major oceanographic expeditions to the tropical Atlantic, Caribbean and Pacific Oceans including to the Great Barrier Reef, over 10 as chief scientist. He has also conducted research at remote field stations in the Caribbean, Great Barrier Reef, McMurdo and South Pole Stations of the US Polar Program. He uses diverse approaches and technologies (e.g. of physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, geochemistry and remote sensing). He has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals including Science and Nature. His research has been supported by NSF, NASA, NOAA, EPA and USGS (among others). In 1999, he received and led two major NSF grants targeting Biocomplexity in the Environment in which he organized multi-investigator teams composed of biological, chemical, geochemical and physical oceanographers, atmospheric chemists and modelers. He continues to collaborate with researchers in diverse fields and countries (e.g. Australia, France, Germany). Professor Capone is a leading expert on the marine N cycle. He is called upon frequently to provide definitive overviews on the subject. In the last year, he gave synthesis papers at international workshops in England and India. He produced a still highly regarded edited volume on the marine nitrogen cycle (Nitrogen in the Marine Environment, 1983, Academic Press) and has just completed the updated second edition, now in press, as lead Editor. In particular, he has shown nitrogen fixation to be a key biogeochemical process in several marine ecosystems. He documented the quantitative importance of nitrogen fixation in tropical seagrass ecosystems during his Ph.D. studies. More recently, he has focused on open ocean systems and organisms such as the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium, ubiquitous through the tropical ocean and a substantial source of fixed nitrogen. His work has revealed how nitrogen fixation may be a major determinant of the capacity of the oligotrophic tropical oceans to take up atmospheric carbon dioxide. Professor Capone has taken a leadership role in national environmental research programs. He has also made a major contribution to the development of human resources in oceanography and environmental science. He has successfully mentored 11 M.S., 12 Ph.D. students and 12 Postdoctoral fellows as well as numerous undergraduates. His students have gone on in the fields of Chemical and Biological Oceanography, Hydrology, and Environmental Microbiology. Over half of his graduate students (8) and postdoctoral associates (7) have been female.

Education

B.S. Biology, University of Miami, 12/1973
Ph.D. Biological Oceanography, University of Miami, Rosensteil School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences, 12/1978

Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History

Tenure Track Appointments

Professor, Center for Environmental Sciences, University of Maryland, 07/01/1987-08/01/1999
Associate Professor, Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook University, 09/01/1984-06/01/1987

Non-Tenure Track Appointments

Research Assistant Professor, Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook University, 03/01/1979-08/31/1984

Visiting and Temporary Appointments

Visiting Scientist, Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, 03/08/2007-04/08/2007
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Fellow, Laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche, 09/01/2006-02/28/2007
Research Collaborator, Department of Chemistry, Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1984-1991

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests

Learning about bacteria's ability to promote the absorption of the greenhouse gas may shed light on how the oceans can mitigate the effects of pollution. That's partially why Capone researches the role and importance of marine bacteria in major biogeochemical cycles particularly those of nitrogen and carbon, as well as the response of these populations to, and interactions with, various environmental perturbations. Professor Capone is currently studying the importance of nitrogen fixation in the biogeochemistry of the oceans and the major groups of organisms involved in this process. He is also involved in other studies including experimental manipulation of nutrient dynamics in coral reefs systems, the examination of South Pole snows for active populations of bacteria, and analyses of microbial processes in mangrove ecosystems.

Research Keywords

Marine microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, nitrogen fixation, biocomplexity, mangrove, ecosystem, bacteria

Research Specialties

Marine biochemistry, microbiology, biogeochemistry and microbial ecology. The microbial ecology of nitrogen transformations with particular emphasis on nitrogen fixation. Pollutant impact on the microbiota of marine sediments and the role of microorganisms in environmental detoxification.

Detailed Statement of Research Interests

Douglas G. Capone’s research focuses on the role and importance of marine microbes in major biogeochemical cycles, particularly those of nitrogen and carbon, both from the perspective of the fundamental ecology of these ecosystems and the physical, chemical and biotic factors controlling these pathways in the environment. Capone has studied diverse systems including the tropical open ocean, coral reefs, mangroves, temperate estuaries, groundwater aquifers and Antarctic snows. He has participated in over 30 major oceanographic expeditions to the tropical Atlantic, Caribbean and Pacific Oceans including to the Great Barrier Reef, and has served as the chief scientist on over 10 of these missions. He has also conducted research at remote field stations in the Caribbean, Great Barrier Reef, McMurdo and South Pole Stations of the US Polar Program. His laboratory has taken advantage of diverse approaches and technologies (e.g. of physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, geochemistry and remote sensing). He has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals including Science and Nature. Professor Capone’s research has been supported by NSF, NASA, NOAA, EPA and USGS (among others). In 1999, he received and led two major NSF grants targeting Biocomplexity in the Environment. For these two programs, he organized multi-national teams composed of biological, chemical, geochemical and physical oceanographers, atmospheric chemists and modelers. He collaborates with researchers in diverse fields and countries (e.g. Australia, France, Germany). Professor Capone is a leading expert on the marine N cycle. He is called upon frequently to provide definitive overviews on the subject. For example, he recently participated and gave synthesis papers at international workshops in England and India. He produced a still highly regarded edited volume on the marine nitrogen cycle (Nitrogen in the Marine Environment, 1983, Academic Press) and has just completed the updated second edition, now in press, as lead Editor. Capone has had a particularly major impact in raising awareness of nitrogen fixation as a key biogeochemical process in several marine ecosystems. At the outset of his career, he documented the quantitative importance of nitrogen fixation in tropical seagrass ecosystems. More recently, he has focused on open ocean systems and organisms such as the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium, ubiquitous through the tropical ocean, and a substantial source of fixed nitrogen.His work has revealed how nitrogen fixation may be a major determinant of the capacity of the oligotrophic tropical oceans to take up atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Funded Research

Contracts and Grants Awarded

Biogeochemistry of Cyanobacterial Mats and Hyporheic Zone Microbes in McMurdo Dry Valley glacial mel (National Science Foundation), D.G. Capone, $375,000, 09/01/2008-08/31/2011
RELATING MICROBIAL BIODIVERSITY TO BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHIC (National Science Foundation), Jed Fuhrman, Douglas Capone, $553,151, 09/15/2005-08/31/2009
SGER: Exploratory Studies Of Marine Microbes Using Nanosims (National Science Foundation), D.G. Capone, $120,315, 09/15/2007-02/28/2009
PHYSIOLOGICAL AND STOICHIOMETRIC INVESTIGATIONS OF MARINE (National Science Foundation), D.G. Capone, Dale Keifer, $508,314, 03/01/2005-02/28/2009

Affiliations with Research Centers, Labs, and Other Institutions

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Collaborator
Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, Member of Wrigley affiliated faculty,http://wrigley.usc.edu

Publications

Book

Capone, D. G., Bronk, D., Mulholland, M., Carpenter, E. J. (2008). Nitrogen in the Marine Environment, 2nd edition. San Diego: Academic Press/ Elsevier.

Book Chapter

Carpenter, E. J., Capone, D. G. (2008). Nitrogen Fixation in the Marine Environment. pp. 141-198. San Diego: Elsevier, Academic Press.

Journal Article

Duce, R., LaRoche, J., Altier, K., Arrigo, K., Baker, A., Capone, D. G., et, a. (2008). Impacts of Atmospheric Anthropogenic Nitrogen on the Open Ocean. Science. Vol. 320, pp. 893-897.
Subramaniam, A., Yager, P., Carpenter, E., Mahaffey, C., Bjorkman, K., Cooley, S., Montoya, J., Sanudo-Wilhelmy, S., Shipe, R., Capone, D. G. (2008). Amazon River enhances diazotrophy and carbon sequestration in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean. Proceedings, National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 105, pp. DOI 10.1073/pnas.0710279105.
Sohm, J. A., Mahaffey, C., Capone, D. G. (2008). Assessment of relative phosphorus limitation of Trichodesmium spp. in the North Pacific and Atlantic and the north coast of Australia. Limnology and Oceanography. Vol. 53, pp. 2495-2502.
Shipe, R. F., Carpenter, E. J., Govil, S. R., Capone, D. G. (2007). Limitation of phytoplankton production by Si and N in the Western Atlantic Ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series. Vol. 338, pp. 33-45.
Popa, R., Weber, P., Finzi, J., Fallon, S., Pett-Ridge, J., Hutcheon, I., Nealson, K., Capone, D. G. (2007). Carbon and nitrogen fixation and metabolite exchange in and between individual cells of Anabaena oscillarioides. The International Society of Microbial Ecology Journal. Vol. 1, pp. 354-360 doi:10.1038/ismej.2007.44.
Montoya, J. P., Voss, M., Capone, D. G. (2007). Spatial variation in N2-fixation rate and diazotroph activity in the Tropical Atlantic. Biogeosciences. Vol. 4,, pp. 369-376.
Foster, R. A., Capone, D. G., Carpenter, E. J., Mahaffey, C., Subramaniam, A., Zehr, J. P. (2007). Influence of the Amazon River plume on distributions of free-living and symbiotic cyanobacteria in the western tropical north Atlantic Ocean. Limnology and Oceangraphy. Vol. 52, pp. 517-532.
Sohm, J., Capone, D. G. (2006). Phosphorus dynamics of the tropical and subtropical north Atlantic: Trichodesmium versus bulk plankton. Marine Ecology: Progress Series. Vol. 317, pp. 21-28.

Honors and Awards

Fellow (or Equivalent) of National Society in Discipline, Fellow, American Geophysical Union, 2008-
Fellow (or Equivalent) of National Society in Discipline, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2007-
Fellow (or Equivalent) of National Society in Discipline, Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology, 2004-
Endowed Chair, William and Julie Wrigley Chair in Environmental Studies, 9/1/1999-8/15/2009
Fellow, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 2006-2007
Anarctic Service Medal, 2000-2001