Seafloor Sediment Bacterial Community Profiling for Baselines and Environmental Effects Monitoring at a Deep-Sea Oil Production Site Offshore Nova Scotia, Canada

Monitoring effects of environmental pollution is a critical aspect to preserving ecosystem health, but is challenging if baseline conditions are never established. Microorganisms are the first responders in a marine pollution event, hence oil-degrading bacteria can be used to monitor dispersion and biodegradation of oil spills. Deep-water subsurface oil reservoirs are predicted to exist along the Scotian Slope offshore Nova Scotia. Seafloor sediment from 19 Scotian Slope stations spanning a ~70,000 km2 area were used to generate 51 bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicon libraries (V3-V4 region) to form a DNA baseline. A 300-day-long mock oil spill experiment using Scotian Slope sediment identified potential bacterial bioindicators of pristine and contaminated conditions, relative to baseline, underpinning an environmental monitoring approach that is proposed. This study shows that bacterial rRNA gene amplicon sequencing offers a novel parameter for baselines and environmentally responsible development of offshore deep-water oil drilling in Canada and beyond.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MSc)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biological Sciences

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Science

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Stacey, Deidra Kathryn

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Hubert, Casey R. J.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Dunfield, Peter F.
• Vamosi, Steven M.
• Else, Brent G. T.

• Environmental Effects Monitoring, Environmental baselines, Microbial ecology, Nova Scotia, Marine pollution, Offshore oil, Marine environmental monitoring, Marine ecosystem monitoring, 16S rRNA gene

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/36150

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/109917