Marine Vertebrates Impact the Bacterial Community Composition and Food Webs of Antarctic Microbial Mats
The biological activity of marine vertebrates represents an input of nutrients for Antarctic terrestrial biota, with relevant consequences for the entire ecosystem. Even though microbial mats assemble most of the biological diversity of the non-marine Antarctica, the effects of the local macrofauna...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175 2024-02-11T09:57:55+01:00 Marine Vertebrates Impact the Bacterial Community Composition and Food Webs of Antarctic Microbial Mats Almela, Pablo Velázquez, David Rico, Eugenio Justel, Ana Quesada, Antonio 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Microbiology volume 13 ISSN 1664-302X Microbiology (medical) Microbiology journal-article 2022 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175 2024-01-26T10:04:39Z The biological activity of marine vertebrates represents an input of nutrients for Antarctic terrestrial biota, with relevant consequences for the entire ecosystem. Even though microbial mats assemble most of the biological diversity of the non-marine Antarctica, the effects of the local macrofauna on these microecosystems remain understudied. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, 13 C and 15 N stable isotopes, and by characterizing the P and N-derived nutrient levels, we evaluated the effects of penguins and other marine vertebrates on four microbial mats located along the Antarctic Peninsula. Our results show that P concentrations, C/N and N/P ratios, and δ 15 N values of “penguin-impacted” microbial mats were significantly higher than values obtained for “macrofauna-free” sample. Nutrients derived from penguin colonies and other marine vertebrates altered the trophic interactions of communities within microbial mats, as well as the relative abundance and trophic position of meiofaunal groups. Twenty-nine bacterial families from eight different phyla significantly changed with the presence of penguins, with inorganic nitrogen (NH 4 + and NO 3 – ) and δ 15 N appearing as key factors in driving bacterial community composition. An apparent change in richness, diversity, and dominance of prokaryotes was also related to penguin-derived nutrients, affecting N utilization strategies of microbial mats and relating oligotrophic systems to communities with a higher metabolic versatility. The interdisciplinary approach of this study makes these results advance our understanding of interactions and composition of communities inhabiting microbial mats from Antarctica, revealing how they are deeply associated with marine animals. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Frontiers (Publisher) Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Frontiers in Microbiology 13 |
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Microbiology (medical) Microbiology |
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Microbiology (medical) Microbiology Almela, Pablo Velázquez, David Rico, Eugenio Justel, Ana Quesada, Antonio Marine Vertebrates Impact the Bacterial Community Composition and Food Webs of Antarctic Microbial Mats |
topic_facet |
Microbiology (medical) Microbiology |
description |
The biological activity of marine vertebrates represents an input of nutrients for Antarctic terrestrial biota, with relevant consequences for the entire ecosystem. Even though microbial mats assemble most of the biological diversity of the non-marine Antarctica, the effects of the local macrofauna on these microecosystems remain understudied. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, 13 C and 15 N stable isotopes, and by characterizing the P and N-derived nutrient levels, we evaluated the effects of penguins and other marine vertebrates on four microbial mats located along the Antarctic Peninsula. Our results show that P concentrations, C/N and N/P ratios, and δ 15 N values of “penguin-impacted” microbial mats were significantly higher than values obtained for “macrofauna-free” sample. Nutrients derived from penguin colonies and other marine vertebrates altered the trophic interactions of communities within microbial mats, as well as the relative abundance and trophic position of meiofaunal groups. Twenty-nine bacterial families from eight different phyla significantly changed with the presence of penguins, with inorganic nitrogen (NH 4 + and NO 3 – ) and δ 15 N appearing as key factors in driving bacterial community composition. An apparent change in richness, diversity, and dominance of prokaryotes was also related to penguin-derived nutrients, affecting N utilization strategies of microbial mats and relating oligotrophic systems to communities with a higher metabolic versatility. The interdisciplinary approach of this study makes these results advance our understanding of interactions and composition of communities inhabiting microbial mats from Antarctica, revealing how they are deeply associated with marine animals. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Almela, Pablo Velázquez, David Rico, Eugenio Justel, Ana Quesada, Antonio |
author_facet |
Almela, Pablo Velázquez, David Rico, Eugenio Justel, Ana Quesada, Antonio |
author_sort |
Almela, Pablo |
title |
Marine Vertebrates Impact the Bacterial Community Composition and Food Webs of Antarctic Microbial Mats |
title_short |
Marine Vertebrates Impact the Bacterial Community Composition and Food Webs of Antarctic Microbial Mats |
title_full |
Marine Vertebrates Impact the Bacterial Community Composition and Food Webs of Antarctic Microbial Mats |
title_fullStr |
Marine Vertebrates Impact the Bacterial Community Composition and Food Webs of Antarctic Microbial Mats |
title_full_unstemmed |
Marine Vertebrates Impact the Bacterial Community Composition and Food Webs of Antarctic Microbial Mats |
title_sort |
marine vertebrates impact the bacterial community composition and food webs of antarctic microbial mats |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175/full |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica |
op_source |
Frontiers in Microbiology volume 13 ISSN 1664-302X |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Microbiology |
container_volume |
13 |
_version_ |
1790593463628070912 |