Mentor: Roxanne Beinart (University of Rhode Island)
Project Location
University of Rhode Island – Bay Campus
Project Description
Student will use cultivation, microscopy, and molecular-based approaches to explore the diversity and functioning of benthic microbes in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island coastal ponds, with a particular focus on carbon cycling and anaerobic ciliates. Data collected as part of this project will be useful for understanding the role of benthic microbes in coastal ecosystem biogeochemical cycles, in particular their role in the production of methane. Student will use methods such as the cultivation of anaerobic microbes, light and epifluorescent microscopy, and molecular identification of microbes via gene sequencing. Some fieldwork to coastal intertidal habitats, like salt marshes and coastal ponds, may be possible.
This project involves:
- field work
- lab work
Available for SURF Flex?
Yes
Required/preferred skills
Background in biology or chemistry required. Microbiology or molecular biology laboratory experience is preferred, but is not required.
2022
RI NSF EPSCoR is supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation under EPSCoR Cooperative Agreements #OIA-2433276 and in part by the RI Commerce Corporation via the Science and Technology Advisory Committee [STAC]. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation, the RI Commerce Corporation, STAC, our partners or our collaborators.