The purpose of this study was to evaluate how the ongoing acidification of the ocean would affect the abundance of cyanobacteria. In order to investigate this, the environmental pH of Synechococcus spp. WH7803, a strain of cyanobacteria, was manipulated to four different pH levels. After an incubation of 168 hours, the abundance was quantified using a simple plate count method. The results showed a significant positive linear correlation between the environmental pH and the percentage of cyanobacteria. These results indicated that the acidification of the
ocean would have a negative effect on this particular strain of cyanobacteria, thus disrupting multiple factors in the ocean, including the aquatic carbon cycle and the trophic web in the open ocean. Essay submission was sponsored by Dr. Jessie Clasen, (Science and Technology Department) for course EAES 2537 and was presented at the New Westminster campus on April 11, 2024, for Student Research Days 2024.
