Structure of bacterial and eukaryote communities reflect in situ controls on community assembly in a high-alpine lake.

Recent work suggests that microbial community composition in high-elevation lakes is significantly influenced by microbes entering from upstream terrestrial and aquatic habitats. To test this idea, we conducted 18S and 16S rDNA surveys of microbial communities in a high-alpine lake in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. We compared the microbial community of the lake to water entering the lake and to uphill soils that drain into the lake.