Viruses aren’t all bad: In the ocean, some help fuel the food web – a new study shows how

By Steven Wilhelm, Professor of Microbiology, University of Tennessee
Joshua Weitz, Professor of Biology, University of Maryland

Virus. The word evokes images of illness and fears of outbreaks. Yet, in the oceans, not all viruses are bad news.

Some play a helpful, even critical, role in sustaining marine life.

In a new study, we and an international team scientists examined the behavior of marine viruses in a large band of oxygen-rich water just under the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. What we discovered there – and its role in the food web – shows marine viruses in a new light.

Studying something so tiny

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