Shrimp Help Microbes Deal with Oil

Nihar Deb Adhikary's research was the subject of an article on the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) website.

Nihar uses his veterinary training and microbiology research to better understand the connections between oil fate, microbial degradation, and sediment-dwelling organisms such as shrimp and clams. "Oil in coastal sediment can significantly impact the animals that live there," he said. "I think it will be amazing if we can show that these benthic organisms help enhance oil degradation."

Nihar Deb Adhikary is a graduate student in the Department of Biology and a member of Paul Klerk's lab.

Read the article here.

Photo: Nihar conducts a 14C-radiolabeled naphthalene assay in a radioactive laboratory to determine naphthalene degradation rate using sediments after each greenhouse microcosm experiment. (Photo credit: Suchandra Hazra)