Marine vertebrates impact the bacterial community composition and food webs of Antarctic microbial mats
Entity
UAM. Departamento de BiologíaPublisher
FrontiersDate
2022-04-08Citation
10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175
Frontiers on Microbiology 13 (2022): 841175
ISSN
1664302XDOI
10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175Project
Gobierno de España. PID2020-116520RB-I00; Gobierno de España. CTM2016-79741-R; Gobierno de España. PCIN-2016-001Editor's Version
10.3389/fmicb.2022.841175Subjects
penguins, nitrogen, phosphorus, microbial mat, trophic relationships, bacterial community, Antarctica; Biología y Biomedicina / BiologíaRights
Copyright © 2022 Almela, Velázquez, Rico, Justel and QuesadaAbstract
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, 13C and 15N 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
15N 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. Twentynine bacterial families from eight different phyla significantly changed with the presence
of penguins, with inorganic nitrogen (NH4
+ and NO3
−) and δ
15N 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
Files in this item
Google Scholar:Almela Gómez, Pablo
-
Velázquez, David
-
Rico Eguizabal, Eugenio
-
Justel Eusebio, Ana María
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Quesada del Corral, Antonio
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