Document Type
Poster Session
Publication Date
1-5-2026
Abstract
The marine mycobiome is a largely unexplored area of research despite its importance to the environment as a carbon sink, nutrient manager, and as a symbiont of various marine life. With rising temperatures, there is a need to identify the fungi present in these environments to monitor changes in biodiversity and their effect on climate change. Along Tampa Bay, six sites were chosen to collect samples from surface water using a CTD rosette system. The collected water was filtered, and DNA was extracted in order to classify and catalog species of both bacteria and fungi through 16S and ITS sequencing, respectively; the results of the bacterial study will be reported elsewhere. This cataloging will allow for further monitoring of the Tampa Bay region mycobiome in reference to changing environmental factors. We noted a trend indicating that biodiversity is higher near the coast based on on-site sample collections.
Rights Information
Scholar Commons Citation
Fischer, Alyssa L.; Ferguson, Yanori M.; Natarajan, Ojas; and Dishaw, Larry J., "Tampa Bay Mycobiome" (2026). Making Waves REU. 5.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/making-waves_reu/5
