CHEM SENSOR
Above: Biogeochemical sensor buoys launched in Narragansett Bay's East Passage as part of the Consortium's Bay Observatory will also stage real-life biofilm experiments.
HOW DOES
BACTERIA
STAGE 1 Seconds: Bacteria, or “first colonizers” attach to surface within the marine environment and begin to draw carbon and other nutrients from surface materials.
FORM? The successful operation of any object i n placed in a marine environment, from a boat motor to the Bay Observatory’s biogeochemical sensors buoys, can be hindered by the formation of so-called ‘biofilm,’ a slimy substance created by tiny bacteria attaching themselves to that object’s surface. 10
STAGE 4 Days to weeks: Macro-organisms like plankton and invertebrates utilize biofilm as a nutrient source and attach. A complex, three-dimensional species community forms with the biofilm as a foundation.
THE CURRENT | SUMMER 2019