Microbes in Great Lakes ecosystems response to light synthetic crude

Sediment and water samples were collected from three sites in northern Lake Michigan and the Straits of Mackinac and microcosm experiments were conducted with three different treatments: control (no crude addition), the addition of crude, and addition of crude and fertilizer and incubated for 45 days. Hydrocarbon degradation byproducts and 16S rRNA sequences were collected to examine the impact this crude had on microbial community diversity.