Ocean Viruses and How They Affect Our Local Waterways

We're diving into the invisible—but incredibly important—world of ocean viruses. While most of us think of viruses as agents of disease, they actually play a major role in how nutrients and energy move through the ocean. Dr. Joaquín Martínez Martínez, a microbial oceanographer at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, joins WHCP's Ben Brunner to discuss a recent $1.15 million grant from the National Science Foundation to lead groundbreaking research into how viruses are consumed by tiny marine creatures—and how that process, called virovory, could reshape our understanding of ocean food webs and even climate change.