Moyer Research

Dr. Craig Moyer's

Research & Laboratory Homepage

Craig L. Moyer Professor Biology Department Western Washington University Bellingham, WA 98225 email: cmoyer@wwu.edu Curriculum Vitae

Brief Synopsis of Research and Educational Activities

My speciality is the marine microbial ecology and geomicrobiology of hydrothermal vent systems. I also maintain interests in terrestrial and aquatic microbial ecology, microbe-macrobe symbiotic relationships, bioremediation and microbial cycles that impact global climate change. My focus in recent years has been the study of microbial mats in and around hydrothermal vents, this includes the biodiversity and biogeography of iron- and sulfur-oxidizers from several vent sites across the Pacific Ocean. We were also the first to describe multiple microbial mat communities associated with active submarine volcanoes along the Mariana Arc region. Beyond establishing the basic microbial census survey, we also identified that this area was a microbial hotspot with unusually high biodiversity and our discoveries were used to support the federal government's formation of the Volcanic Unit of the Mariana Trench Marine Sanctuary.

My lab's latest investigations have shown that in high-iron environments, such as diffuse hydrothermal vents, the Zetaproteobacteria are important members of the microbial mat community, driving its structure and functioning as ecosystem engineers. We are presently monitoring the ecological changes associated with these microbial communities that have occurred after a major eruptive event using molecular microbial techniques including functional genomics coupled with fine-scale sampling. Genome-resolved metagenomics allows for the specific binning of microbial genomes based on genomic signatures present in composite metagenome assemblies (with Heather Fullerton, College of Charleston). We have also use SSU rRNA high-throughput amplicon sequencing in coordination with geochemical analysis to show the functional role of the lithotrophically-driven microbial mat communities associated with iron- and sulfur-rich hydrothermal venting.

My educational activities include facilitating opportunities for both undergraduates and Master's level graduate students. I am also involved with educational outreach at both the elementary and secondary levels. Myself and my students have recently participated in both science fair and culture camp activities with high school and grade school students in Hydaburg, Alaska (with Wendy Todd, Univ of Alaska Southeast). My teaching here at Western focuses in the areas of molecular evolution, microbiology, and microbial ecology.

Selected Recent Publications:

Establishing community structure and diversity within hydrothermal vent bacterial communities of the East Pacific Rise at 9°50'N (Microbiol Spectr, 2026) & Supplemental Material

Complex hydrothermal vent microbial mat communities used to assess primer selection for targeted amplicon surveys from Kama'ehuakanaloa Seamount (PeerJ, 2024) & Supplemental Material

Microbial Metabolic Potential of Hydrothermal Vent Chimneys along the Submarine Ring of Fire (Front Microbiol, 2024) & Supplemental Material

Seafloor Incubation Experiments at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents Reveal Distinct Biogeographic Signatures of Autotrophic Communities (FEMS Microbial Ecology, 2024) & Supplemental Material

Unexpected Diversity Found Within Benthic Microbial Mats at Hydrothermal Springs in Crater Lake, Oregon (Front Microbiol, 2022) & Supplemental Material

Mariana Serpentinite Mud Volcanism Exhumes Subducted Seamount Materials: Implications for the Origins of Life (Phil Trans R Soc A, 2020) & Supplemental Material

Fine-Scale Biogrography and the Inference of Ecological Interactions among Neutrophilic Iron-Oxidizing Zetaproteobacteria (Front Micro, 2019)

Structure of Lo'ihi Seamount, Hawai'i and Lava Flow Morphology From High-Resolution Mapping (Front Earth Sci, 2019)

Community Structure of Lithotrophically-Driven Hydrothermal Microbial Mats from the Mariana Arc and Back-Arc (Front Microbiol, 2017) & Supplemental Material

Physiological and Ecological Implications of an Iron- or Hydrogen-Oxidizing Member of the Zetaproteobacteria, Ghiorsea bivora, gen. nov., sp. nov. (ISME J, 2017) & Supplemental Material

In situ Estimates of Iron-Oxidation and Accretion Rates for Iron-Oxidizing Bacterial Mats at Loihi Seamount (Deep Sea Res Part I, 2017)

Hidden Diversity Revealed by Genome-Resolved Metagenomics of Iron-Oxidizing Microbial Mats from Loihi Seamount, Hawaii (ISME J, 2017) & Supplemental Material

Evidence for Microbial Mediation of Subseafloor Nitrogen Redox Processes at Loihi Seamount, Hawaii (Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 2017)

Psychrophiles and Psychrotrophs (Reference Module of Life Sciences, 2017)

Silica Biomineralization of Calothrix-Dominated Biofacies from Queens Laundry Hot-Spring, Yellowstone National Park (Front Environ Sci, 2016)

Comparative Single-Cell Genomics of Chloroflexi from the Okinawa Trough Deep Subsurface Biosphere (Appl Environ Microbiol, 2016)

Hydrothermal Venting and Mineralization in the Crater of Kick'em Jenny Submarine Volcano (Geochem Geophys Geosyst, 2016)

Draft Genome Sequence of Mariprofundus ferrooxydans Strain JV-1, Isolated from Loihi Seamount, Hawaii (Genome Announcements, 2015)

Biogeography and Evolution of Thermococcus Isolates from Hydrothermal Vent Systems of the Pacific (Front Microbiol, 2015)

QPCR Analysis of Functional Genes in Iron-Rich Microbial Mats at an Active Hydrothermal Vent System (Appl Environ Microbiol, 2015)

The effects of ocean acidity and elevated temperature on bacterioplankton community structure and metabolism (Open J Ecol, 2014)

The first micro contamination assessment by the D/V Chikyu at Iheya North (IODP Exp 331) (Front Microbiol, 2013)

Hidden in plain sight: discovery of sheath-forming, iron-oxidizing Zetaproteobacteria at Loihi Seamount (FEMS Microb Ecol, 2013)

Mariana forearc serpentinite mud volcanoes harbor novel communities of extremophilic Archaea (Geomicro J, 2013)

Prospects for the study of evolution in the deep biosphere (Front Microbiol, 2012)

Effects of plant removal on Archaeal microbial communities (Estuaries and Coasts, 2012)

Biodiversity and emerging biogeography of the neutrophilic iron-oxidizing Zetaproteobacteria (Appl Environ Microbiol, 2011)

Ultra-diffuse hydrothermal venting supports Fe-oxidizing bacteria and massive umber deposition at 5000m off Hawaii (ISME J, 2011)

Microbiology of seamounts: Common patterns observed in community structure (Oceanography, 2010)

Zeta-Proteobacteria dominate the colonization and formation of microbial mats in low-temperature hydrothermal vents at Loihi Seamount, Hawaii (Geomicro J, 2009)

Bacterial variability within an iron-silica-manganese-rich hydrothermal mound located off-axis at the Cleft Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge (Geomicro J, 2009)

Extreme spatial and temporal variability of hydrothermal microbial mat communities along the Mariana Island Arc and southern Mariana back-arc system (J Geophys Res, 2008)

Abundance and diversity of microbial life in ocean crust (Nature, 2008)

A novel lineage of Proteobacteria involved in formation of marine Fe-oxidizing microbial mat communities (PLoS ONE, 2007)

Characterization of bacterial community structure in vestimentiferan tubeworm Ridgeia piscesae trophosomes (Mar Ecol, 2007)

Fidelity of Select Restriction Endonucleases in Determining Microbial Diversity by T-RFLP (Appl Environ Microbiol, 2003)

My Citations @ Google Scholar

Current Research Project Outreach and News Links:

"Fact"ion Comic about the New Tree of Life

Zetas make the cover again of Applied and Environmental Microbiology: May 2015

SRoF Ironman Cruise to the Mariana Arc - Nov/Dec 2014

Rust Villages of the Deep: In Pele's Shadow, Iron Oxide, or Rust, Comes to Life

Zeta biogeography makes the cover of Applied and Environmental Microbiology: August 2011

Expedition Report: Exp 331 Deep Hot Bioshpere

FeMO Cruises: 2006 to 2009

Links to Useful Database Sites:
DADA2: Fast and accurate sample inference from amplicon data with snp resolution
ARB SILVA - Database and Alignment Tools
NCBI & GenBank
NLM Catalog: Journals referenced in the NCBI Databases
Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office

Other Helpful Links:
Karen Lynch Master's Thesis 2000
Jeff Engebretson Master's Thesis 2002
Marianas Trench Marine National Monument
ROV JASON & ROPOS websites
Biology Department Homepage

Last Update: 03/18/2026