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Oct10

Dissertation Defense - Environmental Science and Policy

Oct 10, 2025, 12:00 - 2:00 PM

Hybrid: Potomac Science Center 3102 & Virtual on Zoom
Register in advance to join by Zoom here: https://tinyurl.com/5xp84s6y

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Dissertation Defense - Environmental Science and Policy

Oct 10, 2025, 12:00 - 2:00 PM

Hybrid: Potomac Science Center 3102 & Virtual on Zoom
Register in advance to join by Zoom here: https://tinyurl.com/5xp84s6y

PhD Dissertation
Department of Environmental Science and Policy
College of Science
George Mason University

 

Candidate: Alexis (Lex) Berger
Defense Date and Time: October 10, 2025 @ 12 PM EST
Defense Location: Hybrid - Potomac Science Center 3102 & Virtual on Zoom (registration required: https://tinyurl.com/5xp84s6y)
Title: Linking biological and functional diversity of bacterioplankton communities with dynamic environmental conditions along the Potomac River Estuary

Dissertation Director: Dr. Jennifer Salerno
Committee: Dr. Lauren Krausfeldt, Dr. T. Reid Nelson, Dr. Gad Perry

 

ABSTRACT

 

Estuaries are microbially diverse and spatiotemporally heterogeneous in microbial abundance, metabolic activity, and community structure due to natural physical and chemical gradients. Despite their ecological significance, bacterioplankton are often overlooked in climate change models and research. There is a paucity of data on the biological and functional diversity of microorganisms present in the Potomac River. This work uses a combination of 16S rRNA amplicon and metagenomic sequencing to characterize bacterioplankton communities across three key environments: tidal freshwater embayments, a salinity gradient, and anoxic zones.

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