The Mystery of the MRGC

One of my favorite sites, a site that has totally intrigued and mystified me, is a restored site at the Marin Rod and Gun Club in San Rafael.

This site is a favorite for a few reasons:

a) The club has a long history of restoration work in the bay area. (One of the first restoration projects that used oysters to clear up the water was done at this site.)

b) The club members are a HOOT! They love our eelgrass work. Well of course they do, it brings the fish!

c) It's simply a gorgeous place to be.

So what's this "mystery?"

Eelgrass had been successfully planted on the north side of the pier, and it persisted for about 6 years. Then, for some unconfirmed reason, it perished. We tried replanting it in the summer of 2014, and tried planting on the south side of the pier as well. Strangely, the north side (where it had been before), died yet again. But the south side... survived. Flourished, even.

We planted again in the summer of 2015, again on both sides of the pier. Same depths, same light, same salinity, same temperature... but again, the south side lived, and the north side died.

 

Apparently, at this site, a matter of meters makes all the difference.

So what's different between them? Are the microbial communities different on one side than the other?

All I can say is, I can't wait to look at the sequencing data from this site first...!