PROJECT ABSTRACT The overall objective of this research project is to obtain accurate and quantitative data on decay rates of marine viruses and a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms responsible for viral decay in the marine environment. Part of this study will investigate viral decay caused by solar radiation, attachment to particles, grazing by microflagellates, and bacteria degradation. The study will attempt to distinguish between decay rates of viral infectivity and the disappearance of viral particles. The study will also undertake of marine viruses from several families in order to better incorporate the "viral loop" into geochemical cycling. The results should yield important findings toward a conceptual understanding of what controls viral dynamics in the marine environment, and provide quantitative data for a variety of marine environments on removal rates and the factors responsible for the removal of viral infectivity and particles in from the sea.
