Microbial community structure and function in Canada's changing aquatic ecosystems

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Microorganisms are the most diverse component of ecosystems, and their activities support all other life on the planet via essential contributions to nutrient and energy cycling. As the climate warms and human activities intensify, changes in the distributions and activities of these microbes are inevitable, yet difficult to predict since our understanding of how microbial communities are affected by environmental conditions is limited. Northern ecosystems are among those that are changing most rapidly. In addition, northern microbial communities are among those that we know the least about. The research program seeks to address the impacts of human activities on the ecology and evolution of microorganisms in northern aquatic ecosystems using advanced genomic approaches. The research program has two core pursuits: 1. To investigate climate change impacts on Arctic Ocean microbiomes. The Arctic Ocean is a system currently undergoing unprecedented climate-driven changes in environmental and biotic conditions. Here the overall objective is to investigate the biogeography, metabolic diversity, and evolution of microbes in the Arctic Ocean. The approach involves large-scale studies of microbial biodiversity patterns using genomic analyses of microbial communities collected over the past ~15 years (2004 to the present). By linking changes in the microbial community to shifting environmental conditions, we will advance our understanding of how climate change may influence the distribution and activities of Arctic microbes and the ecosystems that depend on them. 2. To investigate the influence of human stressors such as urban development and agriculture on Canada's lake microbiomes. With over 1 million lakes covering approximately 37% of Earth's total lake area, it is fair to say that Canada is a country of lakes. Globally, there is increasing evidence that human activities and climate change are affecting lake ecosystems. In the next few years, we will develop genomic approaches for assessing how the human alteration of lakes influences the microbial communities that are integral to lake food webs. We will also assess which genomic features of the microbial communities can be most effectively used as indicators for the health of Canadian lakes. To meet these objectives, we are conducting a pan-Canadian metagenomic assessment of microbial communities in hundreds of freshwater lakes. This represents the largest metagenomic survey of lakes ever performed. It is expected that our findings will contribute to the scientific understanding required for evidence-based policymaking and improving lake management in all regions.