The role of urban wetland diversity and function in contaminant fate

dc.contributor.advisorKirkwood, Andrea
dc.contributor.authorGilbert, Nicolas
dc.date.accessioned2011-10-31T15:51:02Z
dc.date.accessioned2022-03-29T17:06:41Z
dc.date.available2011-10-31T15:51:02Z
dc.date.available2022-03-29T17:06:41Z
dc.date.issued2011-08-01
dc.degree.disciplineApplied Bioscience
dc.degree.levelMaster of Science (MSc)
dc.description.abstractIt is recognized that microbial transformations are the primary mechanism of organic contaminant removal in natural and constructed wetland systems. However, not much is known about urban wetland microbial communities or their functional capacity to process contaminants. The objective of this research was to first characterize the physiological and phylogenetic diversity of microbial communities of different urban wetland types using the BIOLOG™ method and through DGGE of 16S rRNA sequences. The capacity of urban wetlands to attenuate model chlorinated aromatic compounds (2,4-D and 3-CBA) was assessed by UPLC biodegradation and 14C mineralization experiments. Toxicity tests were conducted to assess microbial tolerance to pollutant addition. In general, results indicate that urbanization has a homogenizing effect on microbial community structure and distribution within urban wetland systems, regardless of type. Urban wetlands also appear to have a limited capacity to remove chlorinated organic pollutants. Microbial community tolerance to chlorinated organic pollutants is relatively high, whereas heavy metal tolerance was found to coincide with history of contaminant exposure.en
dc.description.sponsorshipUniversity of Ontario Institute of Technologyen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10155/192
dc.language.isoenen
dc.subjectWetlanden
dc.subjectBiodegradationen
dc.subjectMicrobial diversityen
dc.subjectBIOLOGen
dc.subjectDGGEen
dc.titleThe role of urban wetland diversity and function in contaminant fateen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineApplied Bioscience
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Ontario Institute of Technology
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (MSc)

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