Microbial communities in Hudson Strait amidst rapid environmental changes.

Climate change is rapidly altering Arctic marine environments, leading to warmer waters, increased river discharge, and accelerated sea ice melt. The Hudson Bay Marine System (HBMS) experiences the fastest rate of sea ice loss in the Canadian North resulting in a prolonged open water season during the summer months. We examined microbial communities in the Hudson Strait using high throughput 16s rRNA gene sequencing during the peak of summer, in which the bay was almost completely ice-free, and air temperatures were high.