Abstract Long Island is home to a vast array of
Description: Abstract Long Island is home to a vast array of marine grasses and reeds both invasive and native. Salt marshes on the south shore are home to many of these grasses which form thriving ecosystems. Boat pollution is presented in many forms
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slide1. Abstract
Long Island is home to a vast array of marine grasses and reeds both invasive and native. Salt marshes on the south shore are home to many of these grasses which form thriving ecosystems. Boat pollution is presented in many forms such as oil, anti-foul chemicals, contaminated bilge water, fuel spills, and oil based garbage as stated by the state of jersey. These substances are emitted from boats as they travel through the water. According to the DEC, the grasses are indistinguishable which makes barcoding necessary to obtain information on whether the species are native or invasive, and how abundant both are in a high boat traffic environment. The DNA was extracted from the organism. Before the samples were sent to CSH, PCR was conducted to replicate the CO1 gene. In conclusion, the samples found in high boat density areas are shown by the phylogenetic trees to have the most genetic similarities. In contrast there was greater biodiversity in lower boat traffic areas, indicating that the plants that grew in high boat density areas were more resilient to pollution and of the same family. Method
Different types of reeds and grasses will be collected from areas of varying human interaction. Using the quadrat system will maximize biodiversity of marine grasses collected. Some collection sites will be areas with high boat traffic, such as the drawbridge or Lindenhurst cut, while others will be for the most part untouched. Using latex gloves, a small section of each plant will be carefully removed using a sterile cutting device (sample size roughly 2cm). They will be stored in Ziploc® bags labeled for their collection sites. After the marine plants are collected, they will be checked for debris and oil residue, such as sheen in the surrounding water and plants, and the presence of additional organisms. The same observations regarding pollution will be made at all the collection sites. The samples will be stored in freezers in Babylon Junior Senior High School until the open lab at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories(CSHL).
Once the organisms were extracted they were lysed using a lysis buffer. The DNA was extracted from the organism and PCR was conducted on the COI and rbcL genes. The amplification was conducted to get the desired amount of gene segments for electrophoresis. Gel electrophoresis is necessary in the barcoding process because it indicates whether or not the PCR process was successful in replicating the genes of interest. The data then was formatted into phylogenetic trees and this shows the relationship of the microorganisms collected to known species . Introduction
Long Island is home to a vast array of marine grasses and reeds both invasive and native. Salt marshes on the south shore are home to many of these grasses which form thriving ecosystems. Some of the native grasses include black grass (Juncus gerardii), spike grass (Distichlis spicata), salt meadow cordgrass (Spartina patens), and saltwater cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). There is also an invasive species of marine grass located on Long Island, according to the New York Invasive Species List, called the common reed (Phragmites australis). All of these plants are a crucial part to the ecosystem because they provide a habitat for many organisms such as blue claw crabs, various birds and many types of fish and shellfish. Though for the most part altered slightly by human activities, these ecosystems can be harmed drastically by boat pollution, invasive plants, as well as by devastating storms. Boat pollution is presented in many forms such as oil, anti-foul chemicals, contaminated bilge water, fuel spills, and oil based garbage as stated by the state of jersey. These substances are emitted from boats as they travel through the water. Additionally, these types of pollution can enter the water through storm water run-off from marinas during periods of heavy rain, these storms bring chemicals and other pollutants into the bay. In addition to these storms bringing chemicals into the bay they also cause serious erosion to these marshes. Although a person can limit their use of pollutants it is impossible to stop 100% of the emissions. This pollution can cause the biodiversity of a certain area to decrease. Areas of high boat traffic, like the state channel by Ceder Beach and Hemlock Cove, would be expected to have higher boat pollution which could trigger a decrease in biodiversity of the grasses. The pollutants disrupt the ecosystem by damaging both the habitat and the plants within by restricting the ability of performing photosynthesis by the plants. The pollutants do this by either coating the surface of the water or coating the leaves of the plants. What this does is restrict the sunlight that is able to reach the plants and sunlight is a major component of photosynthesis. According to the DEC, the grasses are indistinguishable which makes barcoding necessary to obtain information on whether the species are native or invasive, and how abundant both are in a high boat traffic environment. For example, the salt meadow cordgrass (Spartina patens) and the salt water cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) are different plants, but look very similar. The differences between the two are found in very miniscule details that could be mistaken by the human eye, therefore barcoding will identify the differences through the sequences produced. Reeds will be collected in and around the Great South Bay to be examined and barcoded. It can be inferred that areas of high boat traffic would have lower levels of biodiversity of grasses because the invasive species of plants are more tolerant to the pollution. The samples will all be taken from saltwater environments because of the more frequent human interaction and higher probability of pollution or contamination. Figure 2:Tree showing the relationship of possible genus species matches to sequenced DNA of plant samples. Atriplex patula was made the outgroup due to high banding mismatches. Biodiversity of marine plants in relation to high density boat traffic areas.
Joseph Conti, Dylan Pané
Andrew Sheltz
Babylon Junior Senior High School Figure 3: Map indicating the locations around the Great South Bay where samples were collected. Figure 1:Tree showing the relationship of possible genus species matches to sequenced DNA of plant samples. Atriplex patula was made the outgroup due to high banding mismatches. Figure 4: data table describing location of the site and description of the sample Discussion
The marine grasses were each collected in three different places on the Great South Bay. Each of these places contained different severities of pollution and boat traffic. The samples 1-10 show the most similarity with eachother as seen in the phylogenetic trees.In conclusion the samples found in high boat density areas are shown by the phylogenetic trees to have the most genetic similarities. In contrast there was greater biodiversity in lower boat traffic areas, indicating that the plants that grew in high boat density areas were more resilient to pollution and of the same family. References
1. “Aquatic Reed.” New York Invasive Species Information,
Cornell University,2017,www.nyis.info/index.php?action=invasive_detail&id=42.
2. Balcom, Nancy. “Aquatic Invasions.” Sound Update - News Letter of the Long Island
Sound, vol. 2, no. 1, 1 Apr. 1987, pp. 167–194., seagrant.sunysb.edu/Images/Uploads/PDFs/LISSUpdate-Invasives-Sum12.pdf.
3. Crichton, Sarah. “Ocean Pkwy. Rebuild Gets Help from Midwest.” Newsday, Newsday, 24
Mar. 2013, www.newsday.com/long-island/ocean-parkway-dunes-get-beach-grass-from-far-and-wide-1.4893846.
4. “Salt Marshes.” The American Biology Teacher, vol. 30, no. 3, 1 Mar. 1968, p.
197., longislandsoundstudy.net/wp-
content/uploads/2010/02/2_LivingTreasures_SaltMarshes_LoRes.pdf.
5. States of Jersey. “Tips for Preventing Water Pollution on Your Boat.” Tips for Preventing
Water Pollution on Your Boat, Department of the Environment, www.gov.je/Environment/ProtectingEnvironment/SeaCoast/Pages/ProtectingMarineEnvironment.aspx. Acknowledgements
A special thank you is extended to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, the DNA learning center as well as the Babylon High School research department.<br>
Long Island is home to a vast array of marine grasses and reeds both invasive and native. Salt marshes on the south shore are home to many of these grasses which form thriving ecosystems. Boat pollution is presented in many forms such as oil, anti-foul chemicals, contaminated bilge water, fuel spills, and oil based garbage as stated by the state of jersey. These substances are emitted from boats as they travel through the water. According to the DEC, the grasses are indistinguishable which makes barcoding necessary to obtain information on whether the species are native or invasive, and how abundant both are in a high boat traffic environment. The DNA was extracted from the organism. Before the samples were sent to CSH, PCR was conducted to replicate the CO1 gene. In conclusion, the samples found in high boat density areas are shown by the phylogenetic trees to have the most genetic similarities. In contrast there was greater biodiversity in lower boat traffic areas, indicating that the plants that grew in high boat density areas were more resilient to pollution and of the same family. Method
Different types of reeds and grasses will be collected from areas of varying human interaction. Using the quadrat system will maximize biodiversity of marine grasses collected. Some collection sites will be areas with high boat traffic, such as the drawbridge or Lindenhurst cut, while others will be for the most part untouched. Using latex gloves, a small section of each plant will be carefully removed using a sterile cutting device (sample size roughly 2cm). They will be stored in Ziploc® bags labeled for their collection sites. After the marine plants are collected, they will be checked for debris and oil residue, such as sheen in the surrounding water and plants, and the presence of additional organisms. The same observations regarding pollution will be made at all the collection sites. The samples will be stored in freezers in Babylon Junior Senior High School until the open lab at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories(CSHL).
Once the organisms were extracted they were lysed using a lysis buffer. The DNA was extracted from the organism and PCR was conducted on the COI and rbcL genes. The amplification was conducted to get the desired amount of gene segments for electrophoresis. Gel electrophoresis is necessary in the barcoding process because it indicates whether or not the PCR process was successful in replicating the genes of interest. The data then was formatted into phylogenetic trees and this shows the relationship of the microorganisms collected to known species . Introduction
Long Island is home to a vast array of marine grasses and reeds both invasive and native. Salt marshes on the south shore are home to many of these grasses which form thriving ecosystems. Some of the native grasses include black grass (Juncus gerardii), spike grass (Distichlis spicata), salt meadow cordgrass (Spartina patens), and saltwater cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). There is also an invasive species of marine grass located on Long Island, according to the New York Invasive Species List, called the common reed (Phragmites australis). All of these plants are a crucial part to the ecosystem because they provide a habitat for many organisms such as blue claw crabs, various birds and many types of fish and shellfish. Though for the most part altered slightly by human activities, these ecosystems can be harmed drastically by boat pollution, invasive plants, as well as by devastating storms. Boat pollution is presented in many forms such as oil, anti-foul chemicals, contaminated bilge water, fuel spills, and oil based garbage as stated by the state of jersey. These substances are emitted from boats as they travel through the water. Additionally, these types of pollution can enter the water through storm water run-off from marinas during periods of heavy rain, these storms bring chemicals and other pollutants into the bay. In addition to these storms bringing chemicals into the bay they also cause serious erosion to these marshes. Although a person can limit their use of pollutants it is impossible to stop 100% of the emissions. This pollution can cause the biodiversity of a certain area to decrease. Areas of high boat traffic, like the state channel by Ceder Beach and Hemlock Cove, would be expected to have higher boat pollution which could trigger a decrease in biodiversity of the grasses. The pollutants disrupt the ecosystem by damaging both the habitat and the plants within by restricting the ability of performing photosynthesis by the plants. The pollutants do this by either coating the surface of the water or coating the leaves of the plants. What this does is restrict the sunlight that is able to reach the plants and sunlight is a major component of photosynthesis. According to the DEC, the grasses are indistinguishable which makes barcoding necessary to obtain information on whether the species are native or invasive, and how abundant both are in a high boat traffic environment. For example, the salt meadow cordgrass (Spartina patens) and the salt water cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) are different plants, but look very similar. The differences between the two are found in very miniscule details that could be mistaken by the human eye, therefore barcoding will identify the differences through the sequences produced. Reeds will be collected in and around the Great South Bay to be examined and barcoded. It can be inferred that areas of high boat traffic would have lower levels of biodiversity of grasses because the invasive species of plants are more tolerant to the pollution. The samples will all be taken from saltwater environments because of the more frequent human interaction and higher probability of pollution or contamination. Figure 2:Tree showing the relationship of possible genus species matches to sequenced DNA of plant samples. Atriplex patula was made the outgroup due to high banding mismatches. Biodiversity of marine plants in relation to high density boat traffic areas.
Joseph Conti, Dylan Pané
Andrew Sheltz
Babylon Junior Senior High School Figure 3: Map indicating the locations around the Great South Bay where samples were collected. Figure 1:Tree showing the relationship of possible genus species matches to sequenced DNA of plant samples. Atriplex patula was made the outgroup due to high banding mismatches. Figure 4: data table describing location of the site and description of the sample Discussion
The marine grasses were each collected in three different places on the Great South Bay. Each of these places contained different severities of pollution and boat traffic. The samples 1-10 show the most similarity with eachother as seen in the phylogenetic trees.In conclusion the samples found in high boat density areas are shown by the phylogenetic trees to have the most genetic similarities. In contrast there was greater biodiversity in lower boat traffic areas, indicating that the plants that grew in high boat density areas were more resilient to pollution and of the same family. References
1. “Aquatic Reed.” New York Invasive Species Information,
Cornell University,2017,www.nyis.info/index.php?action=invasive_detail&id=42.
2. Balcom, Nancy. “Aquatic Invasions.” Sound Update - News Letter of the Long Island
Sound, vol. 2, no. 1, 1 Apr. 1987, pp. 167–194., seagrant.sunysb.edu/Images/Uploads/PDFs/LISSUpdate-Invasives-Sum12.pdf.
3. Crichton, Sarah. “Ocean Pkwy. Rebuild Gets Help from Midwest.” Newsday, Newsday, 24
Mar. 2013, www.newsday.com/long-island/ocean-parkway-dunes-get-beach-grass-from-far-and-wide-1.4893846.
4. “Salt Marshes.” The American Biology Teacher, vol. 30, no. 3, 1 Mar. 1968, p.
197., longislandsoundstudy.net/wp-
content/uploads/2010/02/2_LivingTreasures_SaltMarshes_LoRes.pdf.
5. States of Jersey. “Tips for Preventing Water Pollution on Your Boat.” Tips for Preventing
Water Pollution on Your Boat, Department of the Environment, www.gov.je/Environment/ProtectingEnvironment/SeaCoast/Pages/ProtectingMarineEnvironment.aspx. Acknowledgements
A special thank you is extended to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, the DNA learning center as well as the Babylon High School research department.<br>