ABSTRACT:

This data resource characterizes non-perennial stream sites and other metadata for microbial samples collected as part of the NSF-funded project AIMS (Aquatic Intermittency Effects on Microbiomes in Streams), including Approach 2 ('seasonal sampling') and Approach 3 (spatially intense synoptic sampling) for three non-perennial stream systems in Alabama, starting in January 2022 and ending in February 2024. Characterization of sampling sites follow the AIMS Microbial Field Sampling SOP (Zeglin & Busch, 2024). Data collected includes whether the sampling crew observed surface water in the stream channel at the time of sampling ('WetDry'), the identities of leaves collected for leaf litter sampling, a visual estimation of benthic sediment texture, a visual estimation of habitat coverage (percent of surface area covered by rocks, sediment, or leaf litter), percent canopy coverer (estimated via densiometer), and the wetted width of the stream at each sampling location where possible. Some measurements are missing from sites due to logistical/human errors, and are recorded as NAs. Wetted width could only be collected when surface water was present, so NAs associated with dry sites are flagged ('WW_flag' variable) for convenience.

Talladega Site Description:
Talladega (stream code=TAL) research watershed (outlet location: 33.76219799, -85.59550775) in the Talladega National Forest (Cleburne County, AL, USA). The watershed drains a non-perennial unnamed tributary of Pendergrass Creek, and contains 0.92 km^2 of mixed coniferous and deciduous forest in the Piedmont Upland physiographic section. Located near Anniston, AL, the watershed spans an elevation range from 345 to 456 m above sea level and is a tributary to the Coosa River (within the larger Mobile-Tombigbee basin). The region has a humid subtropical climate, with mean daily January and July air temperatures of 5.3°C and 25.3°C respectively, and mean annual precipitation of 1,400 mm/yr.

Paint Rock Site Description:
Paint Rock (stream code=PRF) research watershed (outlet location: 34.96861724, -86.16501705) on privately owned property in Jackson County (AL, USA). The watershed drains a non-perennial unnamed tributary to Burks Creek, and contains 2.97 km^2 of deciduous forest in the Cumberland Plateau physiographic section. Located near Estillfork, AL, the watershed spans an elevation range from 211 to 550 m above sea level, and is a tributary to the Paint Rock River (within the larger Tennessee basin). The region has a humid subtropical climate, with mean daily January and July air temperatures of 4.4°C and 25.4°C respectively, and mean annual precipitation of 1,390 mm/yr.

Shambley Creek Site Description:
Shambley Creek (stream code=WHR) research watershed (outlet location: 32.98410915, -88.01334337) was on privately owned property in Greene County (AL, USA). The watershed drains a non-perennial unnamed tributary to Shambley Creek, and contains 0.70 km^2 of coniferous forest managed for silviculture in the East Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic section. Located near Eutaw, AL, the watershed spans an elevation range from 63 to 94 m above sea level, and is a tributary to the Sipsey River (within the larger Mobile-Tombigbee basin). The region has a humid subtropical climate, with mean daily January and July air temperatures of 7.3°C and 27.4°C respectively, and mean annual precipitation of 1,350 mm/yr.

ABSTRACT:

"This study quantified chlorophyll-a (as a proxy for biomass of microbial photoautotrophs) on rock surfaces (µg/cm2) and in surface waters (µg/L) collected from non-perennial stream sites (descriptions below). These samples were collected as part of the NSF-funded project AIMS (Aquatic Intermittency Effects on Microbiomes in Streams) Approach 2 ('seasonal sampling') and Approach 3 (spatially-intense synoptic sampling) for three non-perennial stream systems in Alabama, starting in January 2022 and ending in February 2024.
For rocks, rock surfaces were scraped with a sterile wire brush over a known area, and the loosened epilithic biofilms were rinsed into a sterile container with a known volume of sterile deionized water. Then 10 mL of the resulting biofilm slurry was filtered through a 0.7 µm GFF filter. For water samples, a known volume of stream water was filtered through a 0.7 µm GFF filter. These Chl-a samples (GFF flters) were stored at -20ºC.
For quantification, chlorophyll-a was extracted from collected GFF filters in 90% ethanol at 80ºC for 5 minutes, steeped overnight (4ºC in darkness) and immediately quantified using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) via fluorescence detection (Halvorson et al., 2019; Meyns, Illi, & Ribi, 1994) with a Shimadzu 10ADvp series equipped with a Shimadzu RF10Axl fluorescence detector (excitation 430nm, emission 670 nm). Chlorophyll-a content was calculated as µg per cm2 of rock surface area sampled, and µg per L of surface water sampled.

Talladega Site Description:
Talladega (stream code=TL) research watershed (outlet location: 33.76219799, -85.59550775) in the Talladega National Forest (Cleburne County, AL, USA). The watershed drains a non-perennial unnamed tributary of Pendergrass Creek, and contains 0.92 km^2 of mixed coniferous and deciduous forest in the Piedmont Upland physiographic section. Located near Anniston, AL, the watershed spans an elevation range from 345 to 456 m above sea level and is a tributary to the Coosa River (within the larger Mobile-Tombigbee basin). The region has a humid subtropical climate, with mean daily January and July air temperatures of 5.3°C and 25.3°C respectively, and mean annual precipitation of 1,400 mm/yr.

Paint Rock Site Description:
Paint Rock (stream code=PR) research watershed (outlet location: 34.96861724, -86.16501705) on privately owned property in Jackson County (AL, USA). The watershed drains a non-perennial unnamed tributary to Burks Creek, and contains 2.97 km^2 of deciduous forest in the Cumberland Plateau physiographic section. Located near Estillfork, AL, the watershed spans an elevation range from 211 to 550 m above sea level, and is a tributary to the Paint Rock River (within the larger Tennessee basin). The region has a humid subtropical climate, with mean daily January and July air temperatures of 4.4°C and 25.4°C respectively, and mean annual precipitation of 1,390 mm/yr.

Shambley Creek Site Description:
Shambley Creek (stream code=WH) research watershed (outlet location: 32.98410915, -88.01334337) was on privately owned property in Greene County (AL, USA). The watershed drains a non-perennial unnamed tributary to Shambley Creek, and contains 0.70 km^2 of coniferous forest managed for silviculture in the East Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic section. Located near Eutaw, AL, the watershed spans an elevation range from 63 to 94 m above sea level, and is a tributary to the Sipsey River (within the larger Mobile-Tombigbee basin). The region has a humid subtropical climate, with mean daily January and July air temperatures of 7.3°C and 27.4°C respectively, and mean annual precipitation of 1,350 mm/yr.

ABSTRACT:

This study surveyed leaf litter across a non-perennial stream system located within the South Fork of King’s Creek at Konza Prairie Biological Station. At the USGS gage located on the mainstem (06879560; est. 1979), Kings Creek is a 5th order intermittent stream draining 1059-ha of tallgrass prairie in the Kansas Flint Hills.
Sample collection followed a synoptic survey design to support the sampling goals of the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) Project. During June 2021, a field team co-collected datasets characterizing stream microbiota, biogeochemistry, and hydrology across 50 locations within a sub-drainage of the South Fork of Kings’ Creek. The 50 sites were selected to balance multiple competing priorities: (i) strategically targeting existing monitoring infrastructure with long-term data (n=14); (ii) including sites near several known springs and tributary junctions (n=9); and (iii) including a range of drainage area and topographic wetness index (TWI) values (n=27), both of which have been correlated with flow permanence elsewhere. For a detailed description of the site selection process, please see (Swenson et al., 2024).
Samples were collected during the period of June 4th to June 8th, 2021, following the AIMS Microbial Field Sampling protocol (Zeglin and Busch, 2024). Briefly, at each site, the microbial sampling field crew visually ascertained whether surface water was present at the site, classifying sites as 'wet' (n=45) or 'dry' (n=5). At the time of sampling the stream was divided into three subsampling areas (compartments) of equal width across the wetted width of the channel at wet sites, or across the inferred channel width at dry sites. At each site, one leaf was collected randomly from each of the three sampling compartments. Where there was no leaf litter located directly within a subsampling area, leaf litter up to 2-m upstream of the transect was sampled, or beyond 2-m no leaf litter was sampled for that compartment. We avoided leaves that were too decomposed to be identifiable and also avoided green undecomposed leaves. All sampled leaves were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. For subsequent data analysis, the leaf litter data from each site was converted to provide the binary presence/absence of leaf taxa within the sampling transect. In the binary coding scheme, most plant species were lumped to the genus level, but grasses and sedges were lumped to the order Poales. In some cases, leaves were only identified as 'unknown shrub' or 'unknown forb'. The leaves identified in this dataset correspond with the leaves collected for microbial analyses, i.e., EEA analysis, qPCR, 16SS and ITS rDNA metabarcoding. Presence/absence of a leaf type in this dataset corresponds with the presence/absence of a leaf type from the corresponding leaf DNA sample or leaf enzyme sample.

References:
Swenson, L. J., Zipper, S., Peterson, D. M., Jones, C. N., Burgin, A. J., Seybold, E., ... & Hatley, C. (2024). Changes in Water Age During Dry‐Down of a Non‐Perennial Stream. Water Resources Research, 60(1), e2023WR034623. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR034623
Zeglin, L., M. Busch (2024). AIMS SOP - Microbial Field Sampling, HydroShare, http://www.hydroshare.org/resource/4b071711215341118330c22f18b5d20d

ABSTRACT:

This study quantifies chlorophyll-a (as a proxy for biomass of microbial photoautotrophs) on rock surfaces (µg/cm2) and in surface waters (µg/L) collected from non-perennial stream sites located within the South Fork of King’s Creek at Konza Prairie Biological Station. At the USGS gage located on the mainstem (06879560; est. 1979), Kings Creek is a 5th order intermittent stream draining 1059-ha of tallgrass prairie in the Kansas Flint Hills.
Sample collection followed a synoptic survey design to support the sampling goals of the Aquatic Intermittency effects on Microbiomes in Streams (AIMS) Project. During June 2021, a field team co-collected datasets characterizing stream microbiota, biogeochemistry, and hydrology across 50 locations within a sub-drainage of the South Fork of Kings’ Creek. The 50 sites were selected to balance multiple competing priorities: (i) strategically targeting existing monitoring infrastructure with long-term data (n=14); (ii) including sites near several known springs and tributary junctions (n=9); and (iii) including a range of drainage area and topographic wetness index (TWI) values (n=27), both of which have been correlated with flow permanence elsewhere. For a detailed description of the site selection process, please see (Swenson et al., 2024).
Samples were collected during the period of June 4th to June 8th, 2021, following the AIMS Microbial Field Sampling protocol (Zeglin and Busch, 2024). Briefly, representative samples of (i) surface water and (ii) epilithon (rock surface biofilms) were collected from each site (where present) using aseptic technique. All equipment was either pre-sterilized (e.g., Nalgene bottles, syringes, filter holders and plastic containers) or was cleaned with 95% ethanol between sites and subsequently flame sterilized (forceps for handling filters) or rinsed in stream water (wire brushes for scraping rocks). Foil packets containing GFF filters (Whatman 1825025) were pre-ashed and pre-labeled for each sample. At each site, the stream was divided into three areas (compartments) of equal width across the wetted width of the channel, or inferred channel width at dry sites (n=5). For water, a 360 mL composite sample was collected (120 mL from each of the three compartments), and a known volume of the composite sample was filtered (up to 60 mL) by pushing it through a GFF filter via a syringe and filter holder. The volume filtered was recorded and the filter was saved in its pre-labeled foil packet for chlorophyll-a analysis. For epilithon, three rocks (one from each compartment) were randomly collected, and their top surfaces were scraped using wire brushes, with area scrapped quantified by using a 25-cm2 template to limit scrub area on each rock, or for rocks that did not fit the template, by measuring and estimating rocks surface areas manually. Scraped biofilms were rinsed using a maximum of 50 mL of deionized water, and the rinsed materials (slurry) were collected and mixed in pre-sterilized plastic containers. At each site, up to 10-mL of epilithic biofilm slurry was filtered onto a GFF filter, the volume filtered was recorded and the filter was saved in its pre-labeled foil packet for chlorophyll-a analysis. In the field, all filters were temporarily stored in plastic bags on ice or under ice packs, and at the end of each field day were stored in a freezer (-20ºC).
Frozen filters were later shipped on dry ice from the Zeglin lab at Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS) to the Kuehn lab at the University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg, MS). In the lab, chlorophyll-a was extracted from GFF filters in 5-10 ml of 90% ethanol at 80ºC for 5 minutes, steeped overnight at 4ºC (in darkness), and immediately quantified the following day by fluorescence using a Shimadzu 10ADvp series high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a Shimadzu RF10Axl fluorescence detector (excitation 430nm, emission 670 nm) (Meyns et al. 1994). Chlorophyll-a content quantified and calculated in terms of rock surface area sampled (µg/cm2) or concentration in surface waters (µg/L).
References:
Meyns, S., Illi, R., & Ribi, B. (1994). Comparison of chlorophyll-a analysis by HPLC and spectrophotometry: where do the differences come from? Archiv für Hydrobiologie, 129-139.
Swenson, L. J., Zipper, S., Peterson, D. M., Jones, C. N., Burgin, A. J., Seybold, E., ... & Hatley, C. (2024). Changes in Water Age During Dry‐Down of a Non‐Perennial Stream. Water Resources Research, 60(1), e2023WR034623. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR034623
Zeglin, L., M. Busch (2024). AIMS SOP - Microbial Field Sampling, HydroShare, http://www.hydroshare.org/resource/4b071711215341118330c22f18b5d20d