Prochlorococcus-Mediated Restoration of Hypoxic Ecosystems Across Varying Levels of Turbidity in Aquatic Environments

Abstract

The current approaches to manage hypoxia caused by high turbidity levels only prevent or lessen the quantity of sediment discharge; little research is done on the areas that are already hypoxic, which causes these areas to become low-nutrient because aquatic plants' opportunity to photosynthesis is reduced. The goal of this study is to utilize the Cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus marinus to provide a bioremediation solution to locations where sediment flow has caused hypoxia. When exposed to high turbidity conditions, Prochlorococcus marinus will create an equivalent or comparable amount of oxygen to when it is not present in low turbidity conditions. In order to simulate aquatic habitats, fifteen tanks were set up with varied turbidity levels and the common aquatic plant Phaeophyceae (brown algae). Turbidity levels were shown using the inhibition of different amounts of UV light (25%, 50%, 75%). Analysis through a When and ANOVA statistical test was performed, the results indicated that there was a significant effect of time (p-value day < 0.0001) and the presence of Prochlorococcus marinus (p-value treatment < 0.0001) on oxygen production levels. Ultimately supporting the hypothesis that when Prochlorococcus marinus is exposed to high levels of turbidity-mimicked conditions via UV light inhibition, it does affect ecosystems by producing equal or similar levels of oxygen. With this in mind, future research should focus on applying Prochlorococcus marinus to actual marine ecosystems that currently face hypoxia to replicate the results of the current study.