Stacey Littlefield

 

 

My Master's thesis work with Dr. Craig Plante at Grice Marine Laboratory involves microbial ecology of marine sediments. We are examining the effects of deposit-feeding invertebrates, specifically Holothuria mexicana, on sedimentary bacterial communities. Deposit-feeding invertebrates can cause a disturbance in the natural microbial populations of marine sediments which affects biogeochemical processes within these sediments. We are examing the effect of gut passage on microbial communities and processes of microbial recolonization within sediments.