SGER: Impacts of Hurricane Katrina on Water Quality and Bacterial Communities in Southeastern Louisiana

飓风对海岸系统的地质有长期而持久的影响。生态学家也研究了飓风对水生系统的影响（Valiela et al., 1996; Paerl et al., 2003），但之前没有研究关注可能发生在飓风反应中的细菌动力学。这一建议侧重于细菌动力学的基本生态原因，但也因为人类健康问题。已经有迹象表明，在卡特里娜飓风过后，细菌的反应是重要而巨大的。特别是感染性疾病的威胁还包括致命的病原体——创伤弧菌。这种病原体是墨西哥湾北部的地方病（Kelly, 1982），在受卡特里娜飓风影响的地区似乎造成了数人死亡。在这项研究中，我们建议对新奥尔良上空和邻近的水域进行采样，以量化卡特里娜飓风对这一关键系统的影响。我们将通过分析pcr扩增的核糖体基因的末端限制性片段多态性（TRFLP）来分析细菌群落结构。我们生成的TRFLPs将使我们能够识别该系统中的优势细菌，并量化粪便对微生物群的相对贡献。我们将通过分析颗粒有机物质中自然存在的稳定同位素，追踪人类污染进入食物网的信号。

0553138 LaMontague Hurricanes have long and lasting effects on the geology of coastal systems. Ecologists have also examined the effects of hurricanes on aquatic systems (Valiela et al., 1996; Paerl et al., 2003), but no previous studies have focused on bacterial dynamics that may occur in response to hurricanes. This proposal focuses on bacterial dynamics for basic ecological reasons, but also because of human health concerns. There are already signs that the bacterial responses are important and large in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Especially there is a threat from infectious disease also includes the virulent pathogen, Vibrio vulnificans. This pathogen is endemic in the northern Gulf of Mexico (Kelly, 1982), and appears responsible for several fatalities in areas effected by Hurricane Katrina.In this study, we propose to sample the waters overlying and adjoining New Orleans, to quantify the effects of Hurricane Katrina on this critical system. We will analyze bacterial community structure by analysis of terminal restriction fragment polymorphisms (TRFLP) of PCR-amplified ribosomal genes. The TRFLPs we generate will allow us to identify the dominant bacteria in this system and quantify the relative contribution of feces to the microbiota. We will track human contamination signals, as it enters into the food web, by analysis of naturally occurring stable isotopes in particulate organic matter.