The overall project scope is to describe, understand, and compare the effects of sediment quality conditions on estuarine benthic foraminiferal and bacteria in order to demonstrate the utility of the Foram-AMBI and microgAMBI indices as long-term and cost-effective biomonitoring tools for estuarine health assessment. With this, the working group will be able to place constraints on the physiochemical parameters that control both indices in the estuarine environments of the San Juan, Guanica, and Jobos Bays and draw statistical inferences on the ecological response, resiliency, and adaptation of foramminifera and microbes by answering the fundamental question of biotic and geochemical rapid response signals.

This work is in collaboration with Angel Dieppa (Research Coordinator for Jobos Bay), Dr. Jorge Bauza (Science Director for the San Juan Bay), and Mr. Roberto Viqueira (Executive Director of Protectores de Cuencas in Guanica Bay). This project was funded by Puerto Rico Sea Grant and NOAA Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems (CCME-II).