The science of aquatic viruses is the topic of the next Science at the Local webinar, to be held online on September 19.
Speaking will be microbiologist Dr Sheree Yau, who researches the life of marine algae and their viruses at the Banyuls Oceanologic Observatory in France.
"Obviously there's a certain virus that's been making headlines," said Science at the Local co-founder Hamish Clarke. "But there's so much more to viruses than that. They are big players in microbial ecosystems."
Dr Yau did her PhD at the University of NSW on the microbial communities of Antarctic lakes which contain seawater that has been separated from the ocean for thousands of years. She moved to France, then Spain to continue her work on microbial ecology.
"I've always been curious about how microbes live in their natural habitats," said Dr Yau.
"In Spain I worked on new methods to understand viral 'dark matter'."
Since returning to France, Dr Yau has continued to work on one of the biggest questions in microbial ecology: "How do we link the astronomical number of viruses in the environment to their host species?".
"We had high hopes of bring back in person events this year," said fellow Science at the Local co-founder Kevin Joseph. "This is the next best thing and we're looking forward to seeing folks online. All I can say is, bring on 2022!"
The talk is free. To register and find out more, go to www.scienceatthelocal.org.
The initiative is supported by Inspiring Australia and the NSW Government. The webinar will be held on Sunday September 19 from 5-6pm.