Premium
Seasonal rather than spatial variability drives planktonic and benthic bacterial diversity in a microtidal lagoon and the adjacent open sea
Author(s) -
Quero Grazia Marina,
Perini Laura,
Pesole Graziano,
Manzari Caterina,
Lionetti Claudia,
Bastianini Mauro,
Marini Mauro,
Luna Gian Marco
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/mec.14363
Subject(s) - benthic zone , pelagic zone , ecology , plankton , metacommunity , ecosystem , biology , marine ecosystem , community structure , seasonality , biodiversity , taxon , oceanography , population , biological dispersal , demography , sociology , geology
Abstract Coastal lagoons are highly productive ecosystems, which are experiencing a variety of human disturbances at increasing frequency. Bacteria are key ecological players within lagoons, yet little is known about the magnitude, patterns and drivers of diversity in these transitional environments. We carried out a seasonal study in the Venice Lagoon (Italy) and the adjacent sea, to simultaneously explore diversity patterns in different domains (pelagic, benthic) and their spatio‐temporal variability, and test the role of environmental gradients in structuring assemblages. Community composition differed between lagoon and open sea, and between domains. The dominant phyla varied temporally, with varying trends for the two domains, suggesting different environmental constraints on the assemblages. The percentage of freshwater taxa within the lagoon increased during higher river run‐off, pointing at the lagoon as a dynamic mosaic of microbial taxa that generate the metacommunity across the whole hydrological continuum. Seasonality was more important than spatial variability in shaping assemblages. Network analyses indicated more interactions between several genera and environmental variables in the open sea than the lagoon. Our study provides evidences for a temporally dynamic nature of bacterial assemblages in lagoons and suggests that an interplay of seasonally influenced environmental drivers shape assemblages in these vulnerable ecosystems.