Good day, everyone! Hopefully, y’all are enjoying the cooler weather! It's about time Texas gave us a break from the brutal 100-degree weather. For today's (first) blog post, we are going to discuss some of the things going on in our very own analytical chemistry team – aka Team Ruth. I had the pleasure of talking to researchers Anisa, Teja, and Ashley of Team Heavy Metals under Team Ruth (Lots of teams, huh!?). These three have spent the last two weeks looking for, well, heavy metals! More specifically, they’ve been trying to find evidence of seven specific heavy metals in Waller Creek: Arsenic, Candioum, Silver, Chromium, Zinc, Lead, and Copper. These metals can be toxic to the creek and alter the water's chemistry and pH balance, significantly impacting the ecosystem there.
Member Spotlight: Anisa is currently working on her thesis continuing previous research conducted by Rithika who has already graduated from UT. For her thesis, she is using biofilms which are microbial communities made up of algae, fungi, and bacteria that live together in a slimy, thick film on a surface of a cobble or rock. The reasoning behind using biofilms is due to their ability to absorb contaminants which in this case would be heavy metals. Since they are able to hold these contaminants they prove to be effective in tracking and monitoring pollution in water. So rather than simply collecting water samples which could vary due to external factors, biofilms are far more representative in the sense that they hold the contaminants for far, much longer and show a more accurate representation of contaminant levels.
On the flip side, another team called Bioremediation has recently started to collect data and experimenting. For most of the semester, this team has been preparing and refining their lab skills to ensure that their data collection and analysis run as smoothly as possible. Now, they have begun their first experiments that aim to grow bacteria in a solution filled with toxic chemicals and teach them how to break down the toxic chemicals. Their first experiments also involve creating a suitable solution for growing bacterial colonies and measuring their growth rates.
Now that we have finished the serious things, let's get into some other fun things and thoughts our researchers are having about their experience in Urban Ecosystems! I asked Anisa, Teja, and Ashley what their biggest challenges were and why they chose their team. Both Ashley and Teja, who are in Team Heavy Metals, were interested in helping to track the quality and health of Waller Creek and added that they enjoyed working within the confines of a lab and not in the field. And honestly, I don't blame them, who would want to work in the blistering Texas heat that has been roasting us for the past five months?
Last but not least, Caroline and Amaya from Team Bioremediation shared with me a funny experience they had while in Urban ecosystems. The two had to go down to the Algae lab here at UT (they mentioned that you can buy algae from there as well!). However, once they arrived, they realized that the entrance was locked and that the lab looked empty, so they decided to wait a while right at the door in hopes that someone would come by to open it. Moments pass, and finally, someone approaches them. Both Amaya and Caroline make direct eye contact with the person as they begin to get closer to the door and open it. Unfortunately for the duo, the individual completely ignores them, locks the door, and vanishes within the lab. How rude! But, who knows? Maybe this mysterious individual was just as tired and out of it as we are in this midterm season…
Well, this concludes our first Urban Ecosystem blog post! Stay safe and enjoy this beautiful fall weather! Until next time!
- Angel