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Seasonality in molecular and cytometric diversity of marine bacterioplankton: the re‐shuffling of bacterial taxa by vertical mixing
Author(s) -
García Francisca C.,
AlonsoSáez Laura,
Morán Xosé Anxelu G.,
LópezUrrutia Ángel
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.12984
Subject(s) - bacterioplankton , biology , phytoplankton , water column , seasonality , ecology , taxon , bay , plankton , oceanography , nutrient , geology
Summary The ‘cytometric diversity’ of phytoplankton communities has been studied based on single‐cell properties, but the applicability of this method to characterize bacterioplankton has been unexplored. Here, we analysed seasonal changes in cytometric diversity of marine bacterioplankton along a decadal time‐series at three coastal stations in the Southern Bay of Biscay. S hannon– W eaver diversity estimates and B ray– C urtis similarities obtained by cytometric and molecular (16S rRNA tag sequencing) methods were significantly correlated in samples from a 3.5 year monthly time‐series. Both methods showed a consistent cyclical pattern in the diversity of surface bacterial communities with maximal values in winter. The analysis of the highly resolved flow cytometry time‐series across the vertical profile showed that water column mixing was a key factor explaining the seasonal changes in bacterial composition and the winter increase in bacterial diversity in coastal surface waters. Due to its low cost and short processing time as compared with genetic methods, the cytometric diversity approach represents a useful complementary tool in the macroecology of aquatic microbes.