Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study LTER. freshwater metagenome

The Hubbard Brook Ecosystem study conducts long-term ecological research within the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. The Hubbard Brook LTER is located on a ca. 3,100 hectare reserve of Northern hardwoods in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. The site is characterized by perennial freshwater stream flow and underlying watertight bedrock that limits the seepage from overlying watersheds and necessitates the drainage of precipitation into local streams, which range from small, seasonal channels to the large, perennial Hubbard Brook stream. Additional water bodies include Mirror Lake, a 15-hectare lake located at the eastern end of Hubbard Brook Valley, and Cone Pond, a small acidic lake located 8 km west of the Hubbard Brook Experimental forest. The Hubbard Brook LTER conducts long term monitoring of the structure and productivity of the ecosystem, the linkages between ecosystem and atmosphere, and the long-term effects of climate change and human disturbance on the local populations. Samples obtained for the MIRADA study were primarily taken from Mirror Lake, a circumneutral (pH 6.5), oligotrophic lake that lies at a relatively low elevation (200 m) and is surrounded with a few residences and a small public beach. Part of the watershed to Mirror Lake is transected by a highway, and as a result has been impacted by road salt since 1970. Water samples for analysis were taken at each of the lake's three inlets, the single outlet, at two depths within the central water column, and from the nearby reference watershed. A final sample was collected from Cone Pond, a small (3-ha), clear-water, highly acidified lake (pH 4.7) in an elevated (700m), forested area with no development. Preliminary sequence data generated by the MIRADA project suggests Mirror Lake to have a diverse range of microbial populations between adjacent sites, and a dissimilar profile to the Cone Pond acidic lake site. Sequences obtained from Cone Pond suggest lower bacterial diversity and more specifically, a varied population of acidophilic bacteria. The HBR dataset allows for the assessment of the impact of human development on the Lake microbial populations, specifically as they relate to changes in local geochemistry and corresponding microbial population dynamics.