Summary:
The explosion and subsequent release of oil associated with the Deepwater Horizon platform may have substantially altered the pelagic ecosystem in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The effects, usually concentrated at the surface where much of the released oil accumulates, may also be felt within the water column. The effects on the deeper ecosystem may be increased by the application of dispersants to the oil at the source, ~1200 m deep.
Both the oil and the dispersants may have toxic effects, but may also alter the pelagic microbial community by stimulating growth in the portion of the community capable of metabolizing this carbon rich material. The growth of these microbes may be controlled by the availability of oxygen and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous. The influx of carbon-rich, but nutrient poor, organic matter from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill could result in a shift in the diversity pelagic microbial community which could translate into a shift in the functioning of the microbial loop and carbon transfer to higher trophic levels.
Phase I of the NGI supported the examination of the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the pelagic microbial community. In the three months since the proposal was funded, significant progress has been made on all three hypotheses. As much of this work has included the acquisition and set up of instruments along with the optimization of protocols, analysis of samples is rapidly being carried out from November through early January. Significant milestones from Phase I include the acquisition and optimization of a quantitative PCR instrument, the installation and preliminary optimization of a flow cytometer, completion of three sets of field experiments and the presentation of preliminary data at two separate meetings.
The research already in progress and the proposed future activities address both the Observe and Understand components of the NGI's project clusters. We have been observing changes associated with oil exposure by using "before, during, and after" sampling collection where possible. To understand the changes in a larger context, we need to continue to address these hypotheses. In Phase II we propose to extend the analysis of the microbial community response to oil beyond quantification and diversity of genes to protein expression through a collaboration with Dr. Mariola Endelmann and Dr. Tibor Pechan (Mississippi State University).
The research proposed here will also complement a deep sequencing project which will be supported through the MESC-AL-BP initiative in collaboration with Ken Halanych at Auburn University. The research techniques, data and analyses will also be integrated into education and outreach through the NSF funded CCLI program in the Biology department at the University of South Alabama and by developing a collaboration to coordinate sample processing and analysis with Kevin Dolbeare at the Alabama School of Mathematics and Sciences. This would extend the research to the high school level and provide gifted students with the opportunity to be directly involved in understanding the effects of the oil on their environment.