Depth-Dependent Variables Shape Community Structure and Functionality in the Prince Edward Islands
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ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
Depth-Dependent Variables Shape Community Structure and Functionality in the Prince Edward Islands Boitumelo Sandra Phoma 1,2 & Thulani Peter Makhalanyane 1,2 Received: 1 April 2020 / Accepted: 3 August 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Physicochemical variables limit and control the distribution of microbial communities in all environments. In the oceans, this may significantly influence functional processes such the consumption of dissolved organic material and nutrient sequestration. Yet, the relative contributions of physical factors, such as water mass variability and depth, on functional processes are underexplored. We assessed microbial community structure and functionality in the Prince Edward Islands (PEIs) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon analysis and extracellular enzymatic activity assays, respectively. We found that depth and nutrients substantially drive the structural patterns of bacteria and archaea in this region. Shifts from epipelagic to bathypelagic zones were linked to decreases in the activities of several extracellular enzymes. These extracellular enzymatic activities were positively correlated with several phyla including several Alphaproteobacteria (including members of the SAR 11 clade and order Rhodospirillales) and Cyanobacteria. We show that depth-dependent variables may be essential drivers of community structure and functionality in the PEIs. Keywords Bacteria . Archaea . Prince Edward Islands . Community structure . Extracellular enzymatic activity . Correlation analyses
Introduction Climate change has clear impacts on both terrestrial and marine ecosystems globally [1–3]. Ocean acidification, calcification and warming are just some of the environmental consequences of climate change on marine environments [4–6]. Together, these stressors directly affect marine fauna and phytoplankton communities, with several studies suggesting direct decreases in biodiversity [7]. Macroecology studies have reported drastic decreases in the diversity of several species of corals and seaweeds [1, 8–10]. In several marine regions, species are replaced by less Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-020-01589-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Thulani Peter Makhalanyane [email protected] 1
Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics (CMEG), Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
2
Marine Microbiomics Programme, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
productive and less complex species, resulting in habitats with a diminished capacity to provide key ecosystem services [8, 11]. Microbial communities (bacteria, archaea, fungi, protist and viruses) are important components of healthy marine environments [12–14]. Several studies have shown that ecosystem services such as nut
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