Lazar Lab
Microbial Ecology

Microbial Ecology
TERRESTRIAL SUBSURFACE HABITATS


Groundwater microbial communities in the shallow subsurface
Projects led by Karine Villeneuve
Benjamin Groult
Collaboration: Prof. Marie Larocque (UQAM )
Prof. Benoit Barbeau (UQAM)


Sessile and endolithic microbial communities in the shallow subsurface
Projects led by Divya Patel
Collaboration: Prof. Marie Larocque (UQAM )



Microbial communities in the deep subsurface
Projects led by Jean-Christophe Gagnon
Julia Meyer
Collaboration: Prof. Kai Uwe Totsche (FSU, Germany)
Derena Geosciences (consulting firm)
Utica Resources (oil exploration)


The terrestrial subsurface is composed of sediment and a rock matrix often deeper. In the saturated zone, water flows from the surface in recharge zones, into the subsurface at aquifer level (groundwater), then rises to the surface at discharge or resurgent zones. In underground habitats, there are planktonic microorganisms that live in water, sessile organisms that live attached to particles or on rock surfaces, and endolithic organisms that live in rock pores. These populations colonize both saturated and unsaturated areas in subsurface habitats, ranging from a few meters (shallow) to a few kilometers (deep).
The underground world contains natural habitats such as caves, mainly formed by water erosion, or man-made environments such as abandoned mines. These subsurface habitats contain a large number of microbial populations yet to be discovered.
Thus, we are studying the microbial communities in groundwater (Laurentides and Lanaudière regions, Quebec), sediments and rocks of the superficial subsurface (<50m), in the groundwater surface discharge zones, and in the deep subsurface (Canada and Germany).



Microbial communities in abandoned and flooded mines
Projects led by Elise Lhoste
Collaboration: PTO Exploration (diving team)
Prof. Violaine Ponsin (UQAM)
Prof. David Jaclin (University of Ottawa)
Prof. Maikel Rosabal (UQAM)
Prof. Alison Derry (UQAM)
Microbial communities in natural caves
Project led by Jocelyn Lauzon
Collaboration: Daniel Caron (Quebec Speleological Society)