Alaskan tundra lake, stream, and soil microbiomes

Microbial communities carry out critical processes that regulate the amounts and forms of important nutrients and carbon, which are essential for all ecosystem services on Earth. Microbial biodiversity and ecosystem functions are controlled (1) by local environmental conditions that affect growth, and (2) by dispersal via wind and water; however, the relative importance of these factors is not well understood. This research project characterized these two fundamental controls on the distribution and activity of microbes in arctic lakes, streams, and soils, and revealed how seasonal, annual, and long-term shifts in microbial species are affected by climate change. These goals were achieved with a multi-year study of microbial community composition and growth rate in arctic lakes and streams on the North Slope of Alaska. This research used the data archive of environmental measurements produced by the Arctic Long Term Ecological Research program (LTER).