A time series of 18S SSU rDNA V4 region meta-amplicons from Bellingham Bay, WA, USA.

To characterize microbial eukaryotes in a dynamic environment and resolve spatial and temporal patterns in community structure and diversity over time, we used meta-amplicon sequencing of ribosomal genes over four summer seasons in Bellingham Bay, an estuarine embayment in northwestern Washington State. This system is shallow, semi-urban, and is subject to both naturally occurring environmental dynamics from adjacent terrestrial and offshore environments as well as anthropogenic activity. The Nooksack River, which is influenced heavily by snowmelt from the North Cascades, flows into the Bay in the north. Tides bring oceanic influences, especially in deep waters, from the Strait of Georgia from the north and Strait of Juan de Fuca from the south.