Microbes constitute approximately 70% of marine biomass and play a fundamental role in biogeochemical cycling. Understanding microbial communities is essential for studying the ecological dynamics of local waterways.

For our pilot project, we collaborated with the Billion Oyster Project to assess how oyster presence influences microbial community structure and functional capacity. Water samples were collected from July to September 2024 at Bush Terminal Piers Park and filtered using Millipore Sigma 0.22 µm Cellulose Nitrate Filter membranes before DNA extraction with the Qiagen DNEasy PowerWater kit. Sequencing was performed in October 2024 using the NovaSeq XP platform with paired-end sequencing. The resulting dataset provides baseline microbial community profiles from an urban oyster reef and offers insights into microbial dynamics in response to oyster reef restoration efforts. 

See more at the project page on experiment.com