Evaluation of Biofilm Assembly and Microbial Diversity on a Freshwater, Ferrous-Hulled Shipwreck

Shipwrecks are sitting at the bottom of oceans, lakes, and rivers around the world. Over time, microbial-comprised biofilms, can help protect wrecks again chemical corrosion and deterioration or contribute to their deterioration through microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) by microorganisms. Identifying and understanding the community composition of these biofilms will give us a better understanding of the role these microbes play in MIC of these structures and factors that influence it. Environmental samples were collected and sequenced from across the wreck site including surface biofilm, nearby sediment, and surrounding water in order to determine if microbial community composition differ based on the microenvironment across a shallow freshwater steel-hulled shipwreck and how MIC organisms may assemble on the wreck that could influence deterioration over time.