Educator "Up Close"

Ron Hermann & Lisa Mutillo Towson University MESRP Internship at the Center of Marine Biotechnology

Lisa Muttillo and Ron Hermann at their study site on Pier 6 outside the Columbus Center, Inner Harbor, Baltimore.

In the spring of 2001 we applied for a Maryland Summer Educators Research Project (MESRP). MESRP is a Towson University initiative designed to allow teachers to experience science and technology through the eyes of a scientist in an authentic research experience. Luckily we were placed at the Center of Marine Biotechnology (CoMB) where we worked with Adam Frederick and Dan Terlizzi, Ph.D.

Our seven weeks there were educational and provided a lot of information and ideas to take back to our classroom. Our research was part of an ongoing experiment using biofilms to assess water quality. Biofilms are made up of an organic slime produced by and containing primarily bacteria. This slime protects the microbes from the environment and helps them stick to surfaces. Biofilms can be found in many areas of the human body and the environment. Teeth, intestines, medical devices, contact lenses, drainage pipes, and the bottoms of ships. We placed 4 inch diameter acrylic disks in the Inner Harbor. In less than three days biofilms formed allowing for a succession of aquatic organisms. The biofilm community changed rapidly in composition (biodiversity) and biomass over the three week time period they were observed.

Biofilm discs as viewed by an underwater video camera exhibit the growth of the communities.

Each week the discs were brought into the lab and exposed to various levels of phosphate. In addition to a control group that did not receive phosphate, there was a one-hour exposure, two-hour exposure, and a four-hour exposure. Biomass was measured and biodiversity was calculated from random samples of the discs on a weekly basis to help track changes in the biofilm community. We also measured a variety of parameters that may effect the experiment, such as weather, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, phosphate levels, secchi depth, salinity, etc. The culmination of the project was a phosphate uptake experiment. The control and three treatment groups were exposed to 10 ppm of phosphate and the depletion of phosphate was recorded for four hours. The results indicate that the greater the exposure a biofilm community has to phosphate the less phosphate the community will uptake. This may indicate that the communities store phosphate during previous exposures.

Ciliates are commonly found in the biofilm communities in the Inner Harbor.

We are thankful to have had the opportunity to work at such a great site with knowledgeable and helpful mentors. It proved to be a fantastic experience and provided an insightful look at the way science research is performed beyond the classroom. Due to our backgrounds we plan to use this information in different ways.

Ron plans to have students use biofilms to investigate how water quality effects the biodiversity of the community throughout it's succession. The idea being that stressed environments should show less biodiversity over time. Lisa will use biofilms to look at the diversity of microorganisms within a community and have students predict which type of environment will show a greater diversity over time.

(This year Ron Hermann will be teaching Earth Science and Biology at Bel Air High School and Lisa Muttillo will be teaching 4th grade at Forest Lakes Elementary School).

Educator "Up Close Candidates

http://www.mdsg.umd.edu/Extension/msgsnn/msgsnn04_1/educator.html