Projects
Microbial Communities of Restored Oyster Reefs
New York coastlines used to be full of oysters, but populations are less than 0.1% of their historical abundances. Through partnerships with restoration organizations like the Billion Oyster Project and the Gino Macchio Foundation, we are monitoring the impacts of microbes on oyster health and oyster reef restoration. Reefs have varying successes and failures. Some of this may be due to bacterial pathogens, which are causing disease in marine animals all over the world due to rising water temperatures.
With funding from the NY Water Resources Institute, we have developed a bacterial health monitoring tool that uses third generation sequencing techniques to help managers determine the onset of bacterial diseases during restoration activities or during aquaculture. Currently we are testing this approach in Great South Bay.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) Signatures of Marine Animals
As they transit through water, marine animals leave behind cellular material, which can be filtered and their DNA (“eDNA”) extracted and sequenced to determine their taxonomic identity. This novel approach is being used to determine presence, absence, and diversity of marine animals, including rare species that are hard to catch by traditional methods. We are collaborating on a project in Shinnecock Bay and recently initiated a project with the Gino Macchio Foundation in Great South Bay for implementing the eDNA approach to determine distributions of fish, rays, and sharks, the impact of shellfish restoration on broader marine diversity, and the resiliency of these ecosystems in terms of long-term biodiversity.
Example Analyses:
Elemental Cycling in Oxygen-Depleted Water Columns (ODWCs)
ODWCs are hotspots for biogeochemical cycling by marine microbes. My research has focused on deciphering the roles of these unique microbiomes in global biogeochemical cycling by using genomic and geochemical techniques. For more information check out the Cariaco Ocean Time-Series project.