BIO

I’m a sophomore at Florida State University, but my hometown is Normal, Illinois. I always felt so drawn to the ocean, and in order to pursue a career in marine sciences, I decided that it might be important for me to move somewhere that actually had ocean access. It deeply saddens me that our oceans are taken advantage of, and in my professional career, I’d like to do something to help suffering marine life. Currently, I’m thinking of doing marine rehabilitation work or possibly another area of study in which I can help mitigate the effects of human disturbance in our oceans.

Meiofauna standing stocks across the West Florida Shelf

Abstract

Meiofauna are microscopic organisms ranging 63-500 µm in size that live in oceanic sediment. There are a myriad of taxa that fall within this group, but for this study, we focused on the dominant nematodes and copepods. The density and type of meiofauna were examined and compared at 12 stations along two bathymetric transects (25-300 m) across the West Florida Shelf off St Petersburg (influence of urban pollution) and 50km North of St Petersburg (reference transect). Meiofauna community composition, densities, and biomass are excellent ecological indicators, providing insights into the sedimentary environment they inhabit, while nematode:copepod ratios can be used to assess disturbance or pollution levels. Samples were washed and processed using density separation to extract the organisms. Nematodes and copepods were counted in each sample, and specimens were measured to calculate biomass. Data will be compared across bathymetry and distance from shore, and assessed against environmental parameters available from colleague investigators. The main objective of the study is to investigate whether clear meiofauna patterns can be established and whether the vicinity of urban St Petersburg affects meiofauna communities and hence environmental health of the sedimentary environment.

Keywords: meiofauna, ecological health, pollution, copepods, nematodes