Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons^™

Microbial Responses To Unconventional Oil And Gas Development May Alter Ecosystem Function In Headwater Streams, Rachel Michaels

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The demand for natural gas, and the need for efficient extraction, has led to the development of unconventional oil and natural gas (UOG) techniques. Due to the novelty of UOG, the potential impacts to freshwater ecosystems are not fully understood. We used a dual pronged approach to study the effects of UOG development on microbial biodiversity and function via a laboratory microcosm experiment and a survey study of streams with and without UOG development within their watersheds. The laboratory microcosm study simulated stream contamination with produced water, a byproduct of UOG operation, using sediment collected from one high water-quality stream …