Project:

Analyzing Biodiversity of Bacteria in Oysters on the East Coast

Students:

Shiva Karmakar, Raymilka Rodriguez Ortiz, Rosaura Pantaleon, Devyn LaForey-Colter

School:

Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, Manhattan

Mentors:

Evelyn Wing

Abstract:

It is crucial to understand the effect different environmental conditions within an urban area has on ecosystems. One way to manage this relationship is to compare the amount of biodiversity of any given organisms within these regions. In this project we decided to explore the effect on bacterial biodiversity of oysters within different regions of the East Coast, where urbanization varies based on the waters where the organisms are supplied. Since oysters are considered filter feeders and purchasing commercial oysters are frequent by consumers, we can analyze the bacterial population within the oysters located at Blue Point, Long Island and Plymouth Rock Massachusetts. The urban location of blue point causes the water quality to be increasingly contaminated, whereas the waters at Plymouth Rock are generally tended to by the company which would provide the oysters. In order to analyze the bacterial biodiversity within both regions, we will first gather the oysters and plate the bacteria

Poster:

Team samples: