The pools were located within an 80-year-old secondary-growth forest, which is characterized by well-drained, silt loam soils and a canopy dominated by Acer saccharum and Fagus grandifolia. This study was conducted at Case Western Reserve University's Squire Valleevue and Valley Ridge Farms (41☂9′53″N, 81☂5′27″W elevation, 320 m), where five vernal pools (one man-made pool, called the salamander pond, and four natural pools), which ranged in size from 16 to 20 m 2, were studied. The main objective of this study was to characterize the microbial (eukaryotic and bacterial) communities of vernal pools in northeastern Ohio and to illustrate any spatial and temporal variations in these communities in relation to abiotic factors. In one survey of a single snowmelt pool, 76% of the identified biota were protists or bacteria ( 15), which suggests that these organisms dominate temporary water bodies in terms of both species richness and abundance ( 8). Further, while the diversity of vernal-pool macroorganisms has been well-documented, comparable studies of microbial biodiversity are rare (see reference 8 for a review). Given the abundance of vernal pools in the landscape (e.g., reference 5) and their highly variable physicochemical natures ( 2, 4, 6, 17, 19), vernal pools can serve as a model system to explore abiotic influences on microbial communities. Although previous studies have documented the importance of abiotic conditions for vernal-pool macroorganisms ( 3, 9, 10, 12, 18, 20), little is known about abiotic influences on microorganisms. Vernal pools are seasonally flooded ecosystems that are subject to variability in abiotic conditions ( 8).
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