Bacterial Community Composition and Environmental Factors in a Hypereutrophic Watershed

Abstract

Lake Macatawa is a drowned river mouth of Lake Michigan impacted by agricultural activity and urbanization. These impacts include high sediment, nutrient and fecal coliform loading. We are monitoring this watershed in order to aid decisions about remediations and public access to these recreational waters. Weekly samples over the course of a one‐year period from twelve representative lake and stream sites were analyzed for microbiological content by community 16S rRNA sequencing, fecal indicator bacteria presence, and Escherichia coli whole‐genome sequencing. Along with biological characterization, we have also profiled chemical and physical parameters including dissolved oxygen, nutrients, temperature, and pH. Results indicate continued high phosphorus, total suspended solids, and E. coli levels, exceeding total maximum daily load targets, or other benchmarks, for the watershed. Patterns in microbial communities show variation influenced by season and geographic location; for example, diversity of microbial communities increases in late fall and winter. Identification of microbial taxa acting as signatures of environmental conditions could lead to new methods of monitoring water quality. These data provide a baseline for monitoring remediation efforts in the Macatawa Watershed and serve as a comparison for hypereutrophic watersheds around the nation.Support or Funding InformationNSF RUI Award 1616737This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.