Linking Groundwater to Surface Discharge Ecosystems: Archaeal, Bacterial, and Eukaryotic Community Diversity and Structure in Quebec (Canada).

Aquifer systems are composed of water flowing from surface recharge areas, to the subsurface and back to the surface in discharge regions. Groundwater habitats harbor a large microbial biomass and diversity, potentially contributing to surface aquatic ecosystems. Although this contribution has been widely studied in marine environments, very little is known about the connection between underground and surface microbial communities in freshwater settings.

Ecological processes differ in community assembly of Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryotes in a biogeographical survey of groundwater habitats in the Quebec region (Canada).

Aquifers are inhabited by microorganisms from the three major domains of life: Archaea, Eukaryotes and Bacteria. Although interest in the processes that govern the assembly of these microbial communities is growing, their study is almost systematically limited to one of the three domains of life. Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryotes are however interconnected and essential to understand the functioning of their living ecosystems.