Auburn University received the following grants from the National Science Foundation on August 23, 210.
Benedict Okeke (Associate Professor of Biology at Auburn University at Montgomery) received $40,000 for a one year collaborative study assessing the effects of gulf oil spill on mobility of toxic metals and microbial activities in Alabama coastal wetlands.
Ming-Kuo Lee (Professor Physical Geology and Environmental Geology at Auburn University) and James Saunders (Professor aqueous and environmental geochemistry, general geochemistry, and economic geology) received $34,083 for a one year collaborative study assessing the effects of gulf oil spill on mobility of toxic metals and microbial activities in Alabama coastal wetlands.
The explosion of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, has released ~3 million barrels of crude oil to the Gulf as of mid-June (The Economist, 2010). This oil has a range of deleterious effects on the aquatic and coastal ecosystems of the Gulf. One such effect may include alteration of biogeochemical cycling of heavy metals in the coastal wetlands. Cycling of mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As) both depend on microbial activity, particularly iron and sulfate reduction, which may be promoted by the influx of organic matter (i.e. oil). Coastal wetlands are particularly susceptible to heavy metal contamination and may therefore be especially vulnerable to altered heavy metal cycling as a result of the oil spill. This project would examine solids and pore waters from sediment cores in Weeks Bay, Alabama for changes in microbial activity, arsenic concentration and speciation, and mercury concentration and speciation over the next eight to twelve months.
Results will be of broad interest to the fields of bioremediation, biogeochemistry, geomicrobiology, and environmental health. During the progress of the study, PIs will be cooperating with local scientists and government officials, and plan on presenting technical seminars and workshops in the Alabama Gulf shore region. Because ocean oil spills are a common environmental problem worldwide, the data gathered in the research should benefit many other affected regions. Research will expose students from Alabama to state of the art methods and to a timely research topic. The Weeks Bay field site will serve as an outdoor laboratory for Auburn University Water Education for Alabama Black Belt (WET) outreach activities and existing courses.
Kenneth M. Halanych (Alumni Professor and Coordinator, Marine Biology Program) received $38,784 for a one year collaborative study developing taxonomic and metagenetic analysis of species distributions for marine meiofauna from the Gulf of Mexico.
Oceanic sediments harbor most of the world's biodiversity, primarily comprised of minute organisms that perform key ecological functions such as nutrient cycling, critical to the biodegradation of hydrocarbons. Unfortunately, knowledge of these communities of organisms in the Gulf of Mexico is sparse, thus precluding informed mitigation and remediation of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Knowledge-based action requires that three key questions be addressed: 1) How unique are the sediment communities in the Gulf? 2) How structured are the sediment communities within the Gulf? and 3) What has been the effect of anthropogenic disturbance on these communities? Cutting-edge, high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies will be employed, together with traditional taxonomic methods to assay the diversity of virtually all complex organisms from sediment samples collected prior to the April 2010 spill, representing diverse habitats across the Gulf of Mexico.
The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill represents a dramatic anthropogenic event of historic proportions. It will both require and inspire the interest of future biologists for decades. This funding will specifically provide new opportunities for student engagement in the long-term characterization of biodiversity, using new tools to understand the response of organisms to environmental change and the consequences, mitigation and remediation of such an environmental disturbance. Training will include support for undergraduate students to attend a workshop in Gulf of Mexico biodiversity assessment as well as graduate and postdoctoral training. In all cases participation by underrepresented groups in science will be actively encouraged. Most importantly, all data collected will be made openly accessible to the public and scientific communities to facilitate ongoing research and maximize the engagement of all stakeholders.
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