Ousting Oil

On October 1, 2021, an oil pipeline in San Pedro Bay (P00547) ruptured. Approximately 25,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the ocean, with considerable amounts seeping into the state-protected Magnolia, Brookhurst, and Talbert saltwater marshes in the Huntington Beach Wetlands (HBW), Orange County. USC Sea Grant has funded a team who, fortuitously, had collected water and sediment samples one year prior to the spill in the Magnolia and Talbert Marshes. The team collected additional samples several days, a few weeks, and approximately one and two years after the spill to enable a detailed analysis of the ecosystem recovery at the wetlands. This project will answer questions about: the short- and long-term effects of the oil-spill on the microbial community of the Huntington Beach Wetlands/ What are the key microbial taxa that are stimulated by the recent oil-spill and could these key players be used as indicators for oil degradation? And is it possible to grow novel oil-degrading microbes that are relevant to this site?