This Project Grant award for $170,598 from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) supports research to assess the impacts of Hurricane Milton on the function and diversity of soil microbial communities in Florida. The University of Miami is the prime recipient for this one-year project, which will combine pre- and post-hurricane field surveys, microbial experiments, and metagenomic sequencing to evaluate the resistance and resilience of microbial communities to hurricane disturbance. The research aims to provide the first landscape-scale assessment of how hurricanes restructure microbial taxonomic and functional biodiversity. By tracking changes over time, the project will identify the environmental factors most important for the rapid recovery of microbial community function following hurricane events. This work will contribute to a better understanding of the stability of critical microbial ecosystem services in the face of increasing hurricane frequency and intensity.
Generated 3/25/25, 5:35 AM