Prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities from seawater and bulk material of Particle Interceptor Traps (PITs) from the Sargasso Sea

In spring 2012, the center of a 6-month-old cyclonic eddy (C2) and the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site were sampled. In summer 2012, samples were collected from the center and the edge of a < 1-month-old anticyclonic eddy (AC2, ACe2) and from BATS, influenced by the edge of a cyclonic eddy. A three-day deployment of poisoned surface-tethered Particle Interceptor Traps (PITs) was done at the four sites according to BATS standard protocols (http://bats.bios.edu/) to study the microbial community associated with sinking particles at 150 m depth. All stations were sampled twice in the same eddy, 48 h apart at 20 m and the deep chlorophyll maximum that ranged in depth from 80 to 100 m. We collected samples from replicate tubes from each PITS. However, the PITs samples collected at BATS in both seasons could not be further analyzed because of a missing replicate sample and low sequence read. The award information can be found here: https://www.bco-dmo.org/award/55163