Florida Coast Everglades LTER. aquatic metagenome

The Florida Coastal Everglades (FCE) are a hydrologically connected hydroscape of freshwater marsh consisting mostly of sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) and spike rush (Eleocharis cellulosa), fringing forests of mostly red (Rhizophora mangle) and black (Avicennia germinans) mangroves, and Thalassia testudinum/Syringodium filiforme/Halodule wrightii seagrass meadows of Florida Bay. This ecosystem was designated by the National Science Foundation as Long-Term Ecological Research site (FCE-LTER) in 2000. Freshwater marsh sampling sites are located in two distinct watersheds: Shark River Slough (SRS1, 2, 3) and Taylor slough/Panhandle (TS/Ph1, 2, 3, 4, 5). The mangrove forest sites in both watersheds are SRS-4, 5, and 6, and TS/Ph-6, 7, and 8. The seagrass sites in Florida Bay include TS/Ph-9, 10, and 11. Monthly samples are collected in each site and analyzed by Southeast Environmental Research Center personnel. Salinity and temperature (degrees C) are measured 10 cm below the surface using a combination salinity-conductivity-temperature probe. Surface and bottom dissolved oxygen (DO, mg l-1) are measured using an oxygen, corrected for both salinity and temperature. For MIRADA LTER two samplings were conduced on March and September, 2008. Water samples were taken using HDPE bottles and 1 liter of water was filter in each site using a Sterivex Filtration System.