Influence of Sedimentary and Seagrass Microbial Communities on Shallow Water Benthic Optical Properties
Abstract
LONG-TERM GOALS. An overall goal of the CoBOP program is to produce a working radiative-transfer model for selected sub-littoral environments. From a microbiological context, it is important to investigate the entire community of microorganisms associated with the benthic environments of focus, i.e., sediments and seagrass. Light must pass through a "microbial gateway", both before it reaches the sediment or seagrass and prior to its return to the water column. To understand time-and-space variations in optical parameters, we must understand the microbial milieu in which they exist. OBJECTIVES. At both study sites, Lee Stocking Island in the Bahamas and Monterey Bay, California, I wish to quantify and identify the major functional groups of microorganisms in sediments and on seagrass blades. Given a characterization of microbial biomass and composition, the data can be combined with the first-principles information collected by other CoBOP sediment researchers (including other microbiologists, sedimentologists, organic geochemists, seagrass ecologists) and delivered to the optical modelers for input to their radiative-transfer models. APPROACH. My approach is to combine extensive field sampling of sediments and seagrasses with biochemical determination (membrane lipids) and microscopic examination (light and scanning electron microscopy) of their microbiological constituents.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA629731
Entities
People
- Fred C. Dobbs
Organizations
- Old Dominion University