Station ALOHA filtered particle microbial communities
We examined the prokaryotic communities associated with sinking and suspended particulate organic matter throughout the water column at the abyssal Station ALOHA (22.75N, 158W). Particles were filtered in situ at depths from 25 m below the surface to 50 meters above the bottom (4650 m depth) and were size fractionated into large (>53 um), small (1-53 um), and submicron (0.3-1 um) fractions.