Depth- and Nutrient-Dependent Variation in Sediment Microbial Community Structure in Loch Leven, Scotland

Loch Leven is a large, shallow eutrophic lake in east central Scotland (56o10’N, 3o30’W), which has been impacted by agricultural run-off. Long-term monitoring of macroscopic plants and animals was conducted as an indicator of loch health, but little is known about the microbial populations, despite their importance in driving biogeochemical cycles and their key role in the remediation of eutrophic environments. We used Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to identify microbial populations in the surface sediment across a depth transect, which allowed us to investigate the effects of environmental gradients on microbial communities. We also assigned functions to groups of microbes to gain a better understanding of the zonation of functional groups within the loch.Aims and Objectives:1. Examine the extent of microbial community diversity along a depth transect2. Relate variation in microbial community structure with environmental variables3. Produce a conceptual model of the key zones in Loch Leven with respect to community structure and function