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The Chesapeake Bay Microbe Project – on
the hunt for microbes at Fort McHenry, Maryland The Fort McHenry Wetland is both a restoration and field
station located at the
The value of tidal wetlands such as those found at They are threatened and damaged by erosion and pollutants such as motor oil runoff, causing problems for both the magnificent animals (Including fish such as Spot, Striped bass, Sunfish, Croaker, White Perch, and at least 45% of birds on the Maryland state list, including sea ducks, heron, and red-winged blackbirds. It is even is home to muskrats and a family of foxes) and plants of the bay (including smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora). Not usually as well recognized are the many representatives of the microbial world found there. Currently, relatively little is known about all the microbes living in and around the Bay. What we do know is that they are essential to the cycling of nutrients and minerals, and as primary producers, serve as the basis for all food chains. In a unique partnership of the The project is student-driven and inquiry-based. Students will learn basic microbiology principles using the Model Microbe, Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 (http://zdna2.umbi.umd.edu/~haloed/), which is an ideal teaching organism that is both easy to manipulate and does not harbor potentially pathogenic (disease-causing) traits. Additionally, because it grows on a very specific, high-salt medium, the potential for growing alternative organisms in the growth medium, is minimized. With this knowledge, they will be able to apply what they have learned in a hands-on laboratory environment to a real-life situation. They will set goals for themselves to try and isolate microbes, and then characterize them with respect to their classification as well as with respect to environmental impact. In the next step, students will be given the chance to propose the next level of testing and experimentation that would result in a Phase II grant to the CBT. Potentially resulting in a major environmental impact. Future students could take up the project at this stage and aid in the cleanup efforts in the Bay. The weather was clear and hot. What struck us was the quiet location of the site. It was peaceful, yet only minutes from the city center. Our first Field Trip to the site
was really a pre-tip on July 7, 2005 in order to get to know the lay of the
land. Pictured standing on the “upper
trail” (Figure 1 left to right): Denise Taylor and Carol Schmidhauser (from
Figure 1 Denise posed in front of the There is also a data logging instrument suspended 1 m.
below the surface that continuously monitors water parameters such as
salinity, water temperature, pH, turbidity and chlorophyll, (not
pictured).
Figure 2 The Bay (Figure 3) looked spectacular as we peaked though the vegetation [including some Halobacterium-pink seeds on an invasive species known as Ailanthus altissima or Tree of Heaven (Figure 4)– to learn more about this, see http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/aial1.htm). We even spotted a few blue herons (though not pictured here, you may find more information at http://www.fws.gov/chesapeakebay/heron.htm].
Figure 3
Figure 4 However, we were there for sampling much smaller beings. Our first sampling site on the edge of the lower trial (Figures 5 & 6). The lower trail has a protected barrier (made mainly of coconut “hair”) to protect the shoreline against erosion.
Figure 5
Figure 6 The second site (Figure 7), was actually located closer to the beginning of the trail, was dryer and more exposed to the sun. Here, potentially, the solar evaporation might form pockets of hypersaline environments harboring halophiles.
Figure 7 This, third sampling site (Figure 8), was located near the second site, but was coated with a reddish slime, presumably caused by microbial action.
Figure 8 Priya and Denise took sampled at the fourth site (Figure 9), for some unfiltered harbor water. We are aware that there are pollutants both on land as well as in the water that could lead to the presence of microbes of interest. – Since our ultimate goal is to
identify native microbes to
Figure 9
Figure 10 This Project is funded in part by
the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, National Park Service and the |
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