Project:

The Effects of Salinity on the Microbiome of Acropora

Students:

Kyle Caputo, Victoria Basharina, Alexandra Macchia

School:

William Floyd High School, Suffolk

Mentors:

Christopher Orlando

Abstract:

As climate change continues to worsen we are looking at the possibility of certain coral dying at high rates not seen before. Currently, we do not know how coral and different organisms will respond to the increased stress of their environment. By testing coral are different salinities and examining the microbiome of each both internally and externally we will be able to see how the coral may respond to this shift and if they will be able to repopulate in a prompt manner. We were unable to get our data analyzed prior to the deadline but from the results from the experiment, we expect to find that at higher concentrations the biodiversity of coral will vastly decrease as the coral bleached.

Poster:

Team samples: