About This Project

The Ballona Wetlands are the largest wetlands in Los Angeles. Within the last 80 years urbanization has decreased the size of the wetlands from 2000 to 600 acres. Bacterial biodiversity within an ecosystem is a strong indicator of ecological stress. The goal of this project is to annually collect, analyze and publish the bacterial biodiversity within the wetlands. We hypothesize that bacterial biodiversity will decrease near areas of urbanization, reflecting higher ecological stress.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

The Ballona Wetlands have 5 distinct ecological areas: saltwater marsh, freshwater marsh, riparian corridor, sand dunes and bluffs. Using environmental DNA (eDNA) collected in soil samples as a non-invasive method provides a comprehensive method to understand the distribution of the wetlands rich biodiversity. Bacteria are essential drivers of global biogeochemical cycles, and their activity can be measured to understand ecological processes. eDNA data sampling provides a comprehensive view of all the bacterial species present in a given area. By collecting soil samples, we can determine the health of the wetlands through the monitoring of bacterial populations. We hypothesize that bacterial biodiversity will decrease near areas of urbanization, reflecting ecological stress. We will also include an educational component to this project by incorporating freshman students from the University of Southern California.

What is the significance of this project?

The significance of this project is the utilization of eDNA to monitor bacterial species distribution because it offers a non-invasive, cost-effective, large-scale data collection, and highly sensitive method to detect a wide range of species in a given area. This approach allows for broader, more efficient, and safer monitoring in challenging environments and provides a crucial snapshot of bacterial biodiversity, helping to establish baseline data and understand the impacts of environmental changes in The Ballona Wetlands. By tracking microbial diversity of time, we can determine how bacterial populations fluctuate with urbanization. Furthermore, we will train 50 undergraduate students each year to perform all parts of this project within a Course-Based Research Experience (CURE). This way, not only are we providing the public and researchers with significant data, but we are also educating young adults on the importance of environmental research.

What are the goals of the project?

There are 2 primary goals for this project. First, to provide an annually published record of the bacterial species within The Ballona Wetlands. Second, to annually train 50 undergraduate students on how to collect, analyze and publish ecological data that benefits both scientists and the public.