This is a proposal to study the impact of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April, 2010, on the bacterial community in general, and specifically on predation involving Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALOs) and their prey bacteria.This new thrust is consistent with the general aim of an existing HBCU-RISE project which is to better understand predation by BALOs on their prey and the contributions of the predatory bacteria to bacterial mortality,and,thereby, the control of bacterial populations in aquatic systems. Microorganisms are responsible for many of the natural processes that maintain healthy aquatic and terrestial ecosystems. There is great concern that the oil deposits in Gulf waters and sediments will disrupt the microbial community and those system functions for which they are responsible.The project will monitor the changes in the bacterial community and investigate the changes on an important ecological function,which is predation. Broader Impacts:The project will engage both undergraduate and graduate students in studying the impact of the largest catastrophic oil spill event in the US.Intellectual Merit:This research will uncover new scientific data on both the impacts of oil spills on microbial communities and their functions, and in the ecological systems in general.
Predation is an essential function in nature to aid in keeping populations of organisms in balance. Disruption in predation could disturb population balances and functions that help maintain healthy ecosystems. This preliminary study investigated the impact of the spillage of millions of gallons of oil from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill into the Gulf of Mexico on a group of predatory bacteria referred to as the Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALOs). Two coastal estuaries were selected for sample collections. One of them, Breton Sound, had not been exposed to large concentrations of the spilled oil. The other, Barataria Bay, was impacted by the oil spill. Water samples were collected from several locations in each water body and cultured for Bacteriovorax, the group of BALOs found in salt and brackish waters. The results demonstrated that Bacteriovorax were detected in both systems; however, the strains or types of BALO recovered differed. These results suggest that in Barataria bay, the heavy concentration of oil may have inhibited certain Bacteriovorax strains that were observed in Breton Sound. This could have diminished predation activities in the oil impacted bay which could result in population imbalances in the bacteria community. Further study is needed to confirm these results. The study involved undergraduate and graduate students and contributed to their training in microbial ecology and molecular biology. The study also involved postdoctoral fellows and contributed to their career development.
