Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 4-29-2025
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Colin Jackson
Second Advisor
Peter Zee
Third Advisor
John Samonds
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Microbial communities in sand play essential roles in their ecosystems, yet little is known about how bacterial diversity and function vary across different sand depths. This study investigated bacterial microbiomes at varying depths (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 cm) on Biloxi East Beach, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and assays of extracellular enzyme activity. 11,161 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were identified across all samples, with the most abundant bacterial phyla being Planctomycetota, Gammaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidota. Depth had a significant impact on bacterial community composition, with surface layers having more diverse bacterial communities. Microbial diversity decreased with depth, suggesting that environmental gradients such as oxygen availability and the presence of organic matter influence microbial survival in this system. These results highlight the depth-dependent structuring of bacterial communities in sandy beach ecosystems. Understanding the composition and function of such beach microbiomes is critical for assessing ecosystem health and the impacts of human and climate-related changes on coastal environments.
Recommended Citation
Roth, Hays S., "BACTERIAL MICROBIOMES IN DIFFERENT DEPTHS OF SAND AT THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST" (2025). Honors Theses. 3305.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3305
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