Prokaryotic Diversity of a Salt Marsh/Estuarine Complex at the University of Georgia Marine Institute, Sapleo Island

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A microbial observatory is being established to study the diversity and ecological roles of coastal marine bacteria. The project study site is Sapelo Island, a barrier island off the coast of Georgia that supports some of the most extensive and pristine salt marshes in the United States. Prokaryotes play critical ecological roles in these marshes, carrying out decomposition of the salt marsh grasses, serving as the basis for an extensive microbial food web, and driving the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and other major and minor elements. Despite these important roles, relatively little is currently known about the identity and diversity of coastal marine prokaryotes. The study will undertake a comprehensive inventory of bacteria in the waters and sediments of the marshes and adjacent estuaries, using both culture-based approaches (i.e., methods that rely on growing bacterial colonies in the laboratory) and culture-independent approaches (i.e., methods that rely on retrieving bacterial DNA directly from the environment). Selected prokaryotes that play important ecological roles in the marsh ecosystem and are amenable to culturing in the laboratory will serve as the focus for detailed physiological and genetic studies. These studies will develop tools to link specific prokaryotic groups with the biogeochemical functions they perform. Understanding the diversity of prokaryotes and their functional roles will be important for meeting environmental challenges in the coming decades. Coastal marshes and estuaries are particularly relevant environments in this effort because of their location at the interface of terrestrial and marine ecosystems and the growing pressures they experience from human activities.