title: Dor reservoir time-series sampling: 2013-12-23
design: Due to the decline in natural fish populations and the global increase in demand for animal-based protein, intensive aquaculture is becoming more common. The structure of the microbial ecosystem in such intensive aquaculture is of prime importance in maintaining healthy fish populations. From a theoretical point, such aquaculture facilities provide a model system to study the relative impact of anthropogenic inputs into aquatic systems, compared with the natural effects of seasonality etc.  As part of a larger project studying the microbiomes from freshwater environments as they change across time and space, we sequenced metagenomes from samples collected at monthly intervals over two years at a water reservoir which is part of an aquaculture research unit at Dor, on the Mediterranean coast of Israel (3236N and 3455E). The water reservoir is part of a recirculating system which includes several production-scale fish ponds (2 hectare) and up to 81 smaller experimental ponds (0.2 hectare each). 5 liters of surface water were collected from the south shore of the reservoir using plastic jerry-cans previously sterilized by washing with 70% ethanol. The water was brought to the lab (~30 minute drive) and filtered onto GF/F filters until the filters were blocked (typically ~100 ml). DNA was extracted using a Qiacube robot, sequencing libraries were prepared using Nextera technology and sequenced on an Illumina NextSeq 500.