Changes in Microbial Diversity Over Tidal Cycles (Analog Site, Dauphin Island Beach)

This dataset provides information about spatial and temporal heterogeneity of environmental gradients (e.g. bacterial community composition of sediment and water, sediment properties, water quality, and atmospheric physicochemistry) on an exposed sandy beach intensively sampled over diurnal tidal cycles. Twenty parallel intertidal beach transects, perpendicular to the shoreline, were marked and excavated over five days. Field measurements and observations include water quality (temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen concentration) recorded at each sampling time using meters; atmospheric physicochemistry (solar radiation, temperature, wind speed, barometric pressure, etc.) at each sampling time and transect location; tide height, water level and wave frequency; and other observations made at the time of collection of sediment and water sample collection. Filtered water samples were used for DNA isolation. Bacterial community composition for beach surface sediment and water are provided at the phylum and Proteobacteria class levels for four of the twenty transects (Day 1).