If you can call yourself a Panther, you've definitely made a few visits to the BSC C-Store/Subway. So, what's actually going on under this campus oasis? That's what we, Anne Cetto and Austin Mills, are here to investigate.
We began our study, trowel in hand, under the Subway overhang among the Common Boxwood shrubs. After practicing the proper sterilization techniques and removing the light layer of pine-straw mulch, we dug approximately one inch into the top soil layer to collect our sample. The soil in this location was cool, moist, and slightly compacted. The sampling site is located on a slope and likely comes in contact with a high amount of water runoff and pedestrian traffic.
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| Sampling area in front of the BSC Subway and C-store |
After returning to the lab, we plated a series of diluted samples on four different laboratory bacterial growth plates. An additional plate contained a medium that was designed to grow only fungus so that we would be able to create a ratio of bacteria to fungus contained within the soil sample. These plates can be seen in the photos below.
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Growth plates are pictured with the far left plate being the most concentrated sample. The fluorescent pink plate selects for fungus as opposed to bacteria.
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| Growth after five days. |
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| Growth after five days. |
As seen in the above photos, the most growth occurred on the plate with the highest sample concentration. Amount of growth decreased as the sample concentration decreased, with no growth on the plate containing the least concentrated sample. As our investigation continues, we will keep you posted with the most recent information - don't forget to check back with us next week!
- Austin and Anne
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