A comparison of bacterial community diversity between Tahsis Inlet and the open ocean

Senior thesis written for Oceanography 445

[author abstract] This study aimed to ascertain bacterial community diversity in the coastal North Pacific Ocean during the beginning of winter. The hypotheses were that the coastal ocean would be more diverse than the open ocean, and that the contributors to the diversity would be different between the two. To this end, T – RFLP paired with a literature search of papers using molecular techniques was used to identify the organisms present in the samples. Between 145 and 175 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) were identified in coastal waters in this study, and many of the abundant organisms were successfully identified.

University of Washington School of Oceanography