In November 2015, we started by collecting seed to grow endophyte-low Spartina alterniflora plants.
After over-wintering the seeds, we surface sterilized them…
…and grew them in a growth chamber
We let them grow for about 3 months and moved the trays to the greenhouse.
We collected topsoil from oiled and unoiled marshes.
Then, we screened the soil for vegetation, homogenized it….
…and transplanted the seedlings into the soil.
We let the plants establish for a month, and then transferred them to mesocosms (science talk for 5-gallon bucket).
The buckets contained either plain soil…
…or soil mixed with weathered oil from the BP oil spill.
Now we are letting them grow for 2 years. We will be sampling the soil and plants every 6 months to see how the microbial communities and oil chemistry change over time! Like the bucket says: “Let’s do this!”