Ubiquity and quantitative significance of bacterioplankton lineages inhabiting the oxygenated hypolimnion of deep freshwater lakes

The oxygenated hypolimnion accounts for a volumetrically significant part of the global freshwater systems. Previous studies have proposed the presence of hypolimnion-specific bacterioplankton lineages that are distinct from those inhabiting the epilimnion. To date, however, no consensus exists regarding their ubiquity and abundance, which is necessary to evaluate their ecological importance. The present study investigated the bacterioplankton community in the oxygenated hypolimnia of 10 deep freshwater lakes. Despite the broad geochemical characteristics of the lakes, 16S rRNA gene sequencing demonstrated that the communities in the oxygenated hypolimnia were distinct from those in the epilimnia and identified several predominant lineages inhabiting multiple lakes. Catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that abundant hypolimnion-specific lineages, CL500-11 (Chloroflexi), CL500-3, CL500-37, CL500-15 (Planctomycetes) and Marine Group I (Thaumarchaeota), together accounted for 1.5-32.9% of all bacterioplankton in the hypolimnion of the lakes. Furthermore, an analysis of single-nucleotide variation in the partial 16S rRNA gene sequence (oligotyping) suggested the presence of different sub-populations between lakes and water layers among the lineages occurring in the entire water layer (for example, acI-B1 and acI-A7). Collectively, these results provide the first comprehensive overview of the bacterioplankton community in the oxygenated hypolimnion of deep freshwater lakes.

Biodegradation and Detoxification of Sanitary Landfill Leachate by Stabilization Ponds System

  The performance of a pilot stabilization ponds system was evaluated for the treatment of sanitary landfill leachate, focusing on effluent detoxification. Three serial ponds (anaerobic-P1, facultative-P2, and maturation-P3) were evaluated during two different operational conditions: natural condition (period 1) and 24 hours of artificial aeration in P2 (period 2). The ponds system exhibited removal efficiencies of 53% for soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD), 81% for filtered biochemical oxygen demand (FBOD), and 84% for NH4+-N during period 1 and 70% for SCOD, 80% for FBOD, and 96% for <inline-graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="00539-ilm01.gif"/>-N during period 2. Most metals (Fe, Cu, Cd, Zn, Cr, Ni, and Pb) and organic compounds in the leachate were significantly reduced in the treatment system, with greater reductions during period 2. Moreover, toxicity tests demonstrated the capacity of the system to reduce the toxicity of the raw leachate (up to 89% toxicity reduction).

A Comparison of Methods to Analyze Aquatic Heterotrophic Flagellates of Different Taxonomic Groups

Heterotrophic flagellates contribute significantly to the matter flux in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Still today their quantification and taxonomic classification bear several problems in field studies, though these methodological problems seem to be increasingly ignored in current ecological studies. Here we describe and test different methods, the live-counting technique, different fixation techniques, cultivation methods like the liquid aliquot method (LAM), and a molecular single cell survey called aliquot PCR (aPCR). All these methods have been tested either using aquatic field samples or cultures of freshwater and marine taxa. Each of the described methods has its advantages and disadvantages, which have to be considered in every single case. With the live-counting technique a detection of living cells up to morphospecies level is possible. Fixation of cells and staining methods are advantageous due to the possible long-term storage and observation of samples. Cultivation methods (LAM) offer the possibility of subsequent molecular analyses, and aPCR tools might complete the deficiency of LAM in terms of the missing detection of non-cultivable flagellates. In summary, we propose a combination of several investigation techniques reducing the gap between the different methodological problems.

Genotypic, size and morphological diversity of virioplankton in a deep oligomesotrophic freshwater lake (Lac Pavin, France)

We examined changes in morphological and genomic diversities of viruses by means of transmission electronic microscopy and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) over a nine-month period (April-December 2005) at four different depths in the oligomesotrophic Lac Pavin. We found that the majority of viruses in this lake belonged to the family of Siphoviridae or were untailed, with capsid sizes ranging from 30 to 60nm, and exhibited genome sizes ranging from 15 to 45kb. On average, 12 different genotypes dominated each of the PFGE fingerprints. The highest genomic viral richness was recorded in summer (mean=14 bands per PFGE fingerprint) and in the epilimnion (mean=13 bands per PFGE fingerprint). Among the physico-chemical and biological variables considered, the availability of the hosts appeared to be the main factor regulating the variations in the viral diversity.

Bacterioplankton community responses to key environmental variables in plateau freshwater lake ecosystems: A structural equation modeling and change point analysis

Elevated environmental pressures negatively affect the bacterial community structure. However, little knowledge about the nonlinear responses of spatially related environmental variable across multiple plateau lake ecosystems on bacterioplankton communities has been gathered. Here, we used 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes to study the associations of bacterial communities in terms of environmental characteristics as well as the potentially ecological threshold-inducing shifts of the bacterial community structure along the key environmental variables based on hypothesized structural equation models and the SEGMENTED method in 21 plateau lakes. Our results showed that water transparency was the major driving force and that total nitrogen was more significant than total phosphorus in determining the taxon composition of the bacterioplankton community. Significant community threshold estimates for bacterioplankton were observed at 7.36 for pH and 25.6% for the percentage of the agricultural area, while the remarkable change point of the cyanobacteria community structure responding to pH was at 7.74. Furthermore, the findings indicated that increasing nutrient loads can induce a distinct shift in dominance from Proteobacteria to Cyanobacteria, as well as a sharp decrease and adjacent increase when crossing the change point for Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes along the gradient of the agricultural area.

Influence of ocean acidification on plankton community structure during a winter-to-summer succession: An imaging approach indicates that copepods can benefit from elevated CO2 via indirect food web effects

Plankton communities play a key role in the marine food web and are expected to be highly sensitive to ongoing environmental change. Oceanic uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) causes pronounced shifts in marine carbonate chemistry and a decrease in seawater pH. These changes-summarized by the term ocean acidification (OA)-can significantly affect the physiology of planktonic organisms. However, studies on the response of entire plankton communities to OA, which also include indirect effects via food-web interactions, are still relatively rare. Thus, it is presently unclear how OA could affect the functioning of entire ecosystems and biogeochemical element cycles. In this study, we report from a long-term in situ mesocosm experiment, where we investigated the response of natural plankton communities in temperate waters (Gullmarfjord, Sweden) to elevated CO2 concentrations and OA as expected for the end of the century (~760 μatm pCO2). Based on a plankton-imaging approach, we examined size structure, community composition and food web characteristics of the whole plankton assemblage, ranging from picoplankton to mesozooplankton, during an entire winter-to-summer succession. The plankton imaging system revealed pronounced temporal changes in the size structure of the copepod community over the course of the plankton bloom. The observed shift towards smaller individuals resulted in an overall decrease of copepod biomass by 25%, despite increasing numerical abundances. Furthermore, we observed distinct effects of elevated CO2 on biomass and size structure of the entire plankton community. Notably, the biomass of copepods, dominated by Pseudocalanus acuspes, displayed a tendency towards elevated biomass by up to 30-40% under simulated ocean acidification. This effect was significant for certain copepod size classes and was most likely driven by CO2-stimulated responses of primary producers and a complex interplay of trophic interactions that allowed this CO2 effect to propagate up the food web. Such OA-induced shifts in plankton community structure could have far-reaching consequences for food-web interactions, biomass transfer to higher trophic levels and biogeochemical cycling of marine ecosystems.

A Global eDNA Comparison of Freshwater Bacterioplankton Assemblages Focusing on Large-River Floodplain Lakes of Brazil

With its network of lotic and lentic habitats that shift during changes in seasonal connection, the tropical and subtropical large-river systems represent possibly the most dynamic of all aquatic environments. Pelagic water samples were collected from Brazilian floodplain lakes (total n = 58) in four flood-pulsed systems (Amazon [n = 21], Araguaia [n = 14], Paraná [n = 15], and Pantanal [n = 8]) in 2011-2012 and sequenced via 454 for bacterial environmental DNA using 16S amplicons; additional abiotic field and laboratory measurements were collected for the assayed lakes. We report here a global comparison of the bacterioplankton makeup of freshwater systems, focusing on a comparison of Brazilian lakes with similar freshwater systems across the globe. The results indicate a surprising similarity at higher taxonomic levels of the bacterioplankton in Brazilian freshwater with global sites. However, substantial novel diversity at the family level was also observed for the Brazilian freshwater systems. Brazilian freshwater bacterioplankton richness was relatively average globally. Ordination results indicate that Brazilian bacterioplankton composition is unique from other areas of the globe. Using Brazil-only ordinations, floodplain system differentiation most strongly correlated with dissolved oxygen, pH, and phosphate. Our data on Brazilian freshwater systems in combination with analysis of a collection of freshwater environmental samples from across the globe offers the first regional picture of bacterioplankton diversity in these important freshwater systems.

Global phylogeography of Oithona similis s.l. (Crustacea, Copepoda, Oithonidae) - A cosmopolitan plankton species or a complex of cryptic lineages?

Traditionally, many small-sized copepod species are considered to be widespread, bipolar or cosmopolitan. However, these large-scale distribution patterns need to be re-examined in view of increasing evidence of cryptic and pseudo-cryptic speciation in pelagic copepods. Here, we present a phylogeographic study of Oithona similis s.l. populations from the Arctic Ocean, the Southern Ocean and its northern boundaries, the North Atlantic and the Mediterrranean Sea. O. similis s.l. is considered as one of the most abundant species in temperate to polar oceans and acts as an important link in the trophic network between the microbial loop and higher trophic levels such as fish larvae. Two gene fragments were analysed: the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI), and the nuclear ribosomal 28 S genetic marker. Seven distinct, geographically delimitated, mitochondrial lineages could be identified, with divergences among the lineages ranging from 8 to 24%, thus representing most likely cryptic or pseudocryptic species within O. similis s.l. Four lineages were identified within or close to the borders of the Southern Ocean, one lineage in the Arctic Ocean and two lineages in the temperate Northern hemisphere. Surprisingly the Arctic lineage was more closely related to lineages from the Southern hemisphere than to the other lineages from the Northern hemisphere, suggesting that geographic proximity is a rather poor predictor of how closely related the clades are on a genetic level.

Spatial distribution of planktonic bacterial and archaeal communities in the upper section of the tidal reach in Yangtze River

Bacterioplankton and archaeaplankton communities play key roles in the biogeochemical processes of water, and they may be affected by many factors. In this study, we used high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing to profile planktonic bacterial and archaeal community compositions in the upper section of the tidal reach in Yangtze River. We found that the predominant bacterial phyla in this river section were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria, whereas the predominant archaeal classes were Halobacteria, Methanomicrobia, and unclassified Euryarchaeota. Additionally, the bacterial and archaeal community compositions, richnesses, functional profiles, and ordinations were affected by the spatial heterogeneity related to the concentration changes of sulphate or nitrate. Notably, the bacterial community was more sensitive than the archaeal community to changes in the spatial characteristics of this river section. These findings provide important insights into the distributions of bacterial and archaeal communities in natural water habitats.

16S rRNA gene profiling of planktonic and biofilm microbial populations in the Gulf of Guinea using Illumina NGS

16S rRNA gene profiling using a pipeline involving the Greengenes database revealed that bacterial populations in innermost (proximal to the steel surface) and outer regions of biofilms on carbon steel exposed 3 m below the surface at an offshore site in the Gulf of Guinea differed from one another and from seawater. There was a preponderance of gammaproteobacterial sequences, representing organisms known for hydrocarbon degradation. Total DNA from the innermost layer was 1500 times that recovered from the outermost. Stramenopiles (diatom) sequences were prevalent in the former. Rhodobacteriaceae, key biofilm formers, comprised 14.9% and 4.22% OTUs of inner and outer layers, respectively. Photosynthetic anaerobic sulfur oxidizer sequences were also prominent in the biofilms. Analysis of data using a different pipeline with Silva111 allowed detection of 0.3-0.4% SRB in the biofilms. The high abundance of aerobic micro-algal sequences in inner biofilm suggests they are initial colonizers of carbon steel surfaces in a marine environment. This is the first time that the microbial population of the strongly attached inner layer of the biofilm on steel has been differentiated from the outer, readily removed layer. The accepted scraping removal method is obviously inadequate and the resulting microbial analysis does not offer complete information on the biofilm community structure.

Drivers of Change in a 7300-Year Holocene Diatom Record from the Hemi-Boreal Region of Ontario, Canada

A Holocene lake sediment record spanning the past 7300 years from Wishart Lake in the Turkey Lakes Watershed in the Hemi-Boreal of central Ontario, Canada, was used to evaluate the potential drivers of long-term change in diatom assemblages at this site. An analysis of diatom assemblages found that benthic and epiphytic taxa dominated the mid-Holocene (7300–4000 cal yr BP), indicating shallow, oligotrophic, circum-neutral conditions, with macrophytes present. A significant shift in diatom assemblages towards more planktonic species (mainly Cyclotella sensu lato, but also several species of Aulacoseira, and Tabellaria flocculosa) occurred ~4000 cal yr BP. This change likely reflects an increase in lake level, coincident with the onset of a more strongly positive moisture balance following the drier climates of the middle Holocene, established by numerous regional paleoclimate records. Pollen-inferred regional changes in vegetation around 4000 yrs BP, including an increase in Betula and other mesic taxa, may have also promoted changes in diatom assemblages through watershed processes mediated by the chemistry of runoff. A more recent significant change in limnological conditions is marked by further increases in Cyclotella sensu lato beginning in the late 19^th century, synchronous with the Ambrosia pollen rise and increases in sediment bulk density, signaling regional and local land clearance at the time of Euro-Canadian settlement (1880 AD). In contrast to the mid-Holocene increase in planktonic diatoms, the modern increase in Cyclotella sensu lato likely indicates a response to land use and vegetation change, and erosion from the watershed, rather than a further increase in water level. The results from Wishart Lake illustrate the close connection between paleoclimate change, regional vegetation, watershed processes, and diatom assemblages and also provides insight into the controls on abundance of Cyclotella sensu lato, a diatom taxonomic group which has shown significant increases and complex dynamics in the post-industrial era in lakes spanning temperate to Arctic regions.

'End to end' planktonic trophic web and its implications for the mussel farms in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (Ionian Sea, Italy)

The Mar Piccolo is a semi-enclosed basin subject to different natural and anthropogenic stressors. In order to better understand plankton dynamics and preferential carbon pathways within the planktonic trophic web, an integrated approach was adopted for the first time by examining all trophic levels (virioplankton, the heterotrophic and phototrophic fractions of pico-, nano- and microplankton, as well as mesozooplankton). Plankton abundance and biomass were investigated during four surveys in the period 2013-2014. Beside unveiling the dynamics of different plankton groups in the Mar Piccolo, the study revealed that high portion of the plankton carbon (C) pool was constituted by small-sized (<2 μm) planktonic fractions. The prevalence of small-sized species within micro- and mesozooplankton communities was observed as well. The succession of planktonic communities was clearly driven by the seasonality, i.e. by the nutrient availability and physical features of the water column. Our hypothesis is that beside the 'bottom-up' control and the grazing pressure, inferred from the C pools of different plankton groups, the presence of mussel farms in the Mar Piccolo exerts a profound impact on plankton communities, not only due to the important sequestration of the plankton biomass but also by strongly influencing its structure.

Interactions between hydrology and water chemistry shape bacterioplankton biogeography across boreal freshwater networks

Disentangling the mechanisms shaping bacterioplankton communities across freshwater ecosystems requires considering a hydrologic dimension that can influence both dispersal and local sorting, but how the environment and hydrology interact to shape the biogeography of freshwater bacterioplankton over large spatial scales remains unexplored. Using Illumina sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, we investigate the large-scale spatial patterns of bacterioplankton across 386 freshwater systems from seven distinct regions in boreal Québec. We show that both hydrology and local water chemistry (mostly pH) interact to shape a sequential structuring of communities from highly diverse assemblages in headwater streams toward larger rivers and lakes dominated by fewer taxa. Increases in water residence time along the hydrologic continuum were accompanied by major losses of bacterial richness and by an increased differentiation of communities driven by local conditions (pH and other related variables). This suggests that hydrology and network position modulate the relative role of environmental sorting and mass effects on community assembly by determining both the time frame for bacterial growth and the composition of the immigrant pool. The apparent low dispersal limitation (that is, the lack of influence of geographic distance on the spatial patterns observed at the taxonomic resolution used) suggests that these boreal bacterioplankton communities derive from a shared bacterial pool that enters the networks through the smallest streams, largely dominated by mass effects, and that is increasingly subjected to local sorting of species during transit along the hydrologic continuum.

Seasonal and Spatial Changes of Planktonic Bacterial Communities Inhabiting the Natural Thermal Lake Hévíz, Hungary

Lake Hévíz is a unique thermal spa located in Hungary. Owing to the thermal springs nourishing the lake, it has a relatively rapid water turnover. In spring 2011 a comprehensive embankment reconstruction was performed to preserve the water supply of the surrounding wetland habitats. The physical and chemical parameters as well as the planktonic microbial communities were studied with special respect to the effect of the disturbance of the water of Lake Hévíz. According to the abiotic components, both temporal and spatial differences were revealed with the exception of autumn samples. The reconstruction resulted in a short term but dramatic alteration of the total planktonic bacterial and cyanobacterial community structures as revealed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. In addition, greater seasonal than spatial differences of bacterial communities were also observed. Planktonic bacterial community composition of Lake Hévíz included mainly typical freshwater species within phylum Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Cyanobacteria and class Alpha-, Beta- and Gamma-proteobacteria. Most of them were aerobic or facultative anaerobic heterotrophic but chemolitotrophic (e.g. Thiobacillus) or photolithotrophic (e.g. Cyanobacteria and Chloroflexi) autotrophic microbes were also identified.

Spatial and temporal variability of river periphyton below a hypereutrophic lake and a series of dams

Klamath River is described as an "upside-down" river due to its origins from the hypereutrophic Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) and hydrology that is heavily regulated by upstream dams. Understanding the lake and reservoir effects on benthic communities in the river can inform important aspects of its water quality dynamics. Periphyton samples were collected in May-November from 2004, 2006-2013 at nine long-term monitoring sites along 306 river km below UKL and a series of dams (n=299). Cluster analysis of periphyton assemblages identified three statistically different periphyton groups (denoted Groups 1-3). Group 1 occurred primarily in the upstream reach for June-October and had a higher percentage of sestonic species, including the cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon flos-aquae and Microcystis aeruginosa, consistent with the presence of upstream reservoirs. Group 2 had the highest relative biomass of diatoms and lowest relative biomass of cyanobacteria. Sites in the lower reach of the Klamath River fell into Group 2 in May-June and transitioning into Group 3 for July-October. Group 3 was dominated by nitrogen (N)-fixing species, including three diatoms (Epithemia sorex, Epithemia turgida, and Rhopalodia gibba) with cyanobacterial endosymbionts and the cyanobacterium Calothrix sp. Periphyton assemblages were strongly associated with temporal variations in flow conditions (e.g., decreasing flow from spring to fall) and spatial gradients in nutrient concentrations (e.g., decreasing from upstream to downstream). The inverse longitudinal relationship between periphyton biomass and nutrients may be explained by the ability of benthic N-fixers (Group 3) to overcome N limitation. Overall results showed a strong inverse relationship between the relative biomass of N-fixers and nitrogen concentrations and flow. This long-term dataset provides valuable insight into Klamath River's seasonal and longitudinal patterns of benthic algal communities and associated environmental variables. Our findings can inform river management decisions such as reducing upstream nutrient loads, setting flow regimes, and potential dam removals.

Identification of polyamine-responsive bacterioplankton taxa in South Atlantic Bight

Putrescine and spermidine are short-chained aliphatic polyamines (PAs) that are ubiquitously distributed in seawater. These compounds may be important sources of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen for marine bacterioplankton. Here, we used pyrotag sequencing to quantify the response of bacterioplankton to putrescine and spermidine amendments in microcosms established using surface waters collected at various stations in the South Atlantic Bight in October 2011. Our analysis showed that PA-responsive bacterioplankton consisted of bacterial taxa that are typically dominant in marine systems. Rhodobacteraceae (Alphaproteobacteria) was the taxon most responsive to PA additions at the nearshore site. Gammaproteobacteria of the families Piscirickettsiaceae; Vibrionaceae; and Vibrionaceae and Pseudoalteromonadaceae, were the dominant PA-responsive taxa in samples from the river-influenced coastal station, offshore station and open ocean station, respectively. The spatial variability of PA-responsive taxa may be attributed to differences in composition of the initial bacterial community and variations of in situ physiochemical conditions among sites. Our results also provided the first empirical evidence that Gammaproteobacteria might play an important role in PA transformation in marine systems.

Spatial-temporal variations and diversity of the bacterioplankton communities in the coastal waters of Kuwait

The dynamics and composition of the bacterial community in the coastal waters of Kuwait are poorly understood. In this study, the spatial-temporal variations in the bacterial composition in the surface water along the Kuwaiti coast was examined by 16S rRNA denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting and phylogeny analyses. The sampling sites were Kuwait Bay, Al-Sabbiya (north of the bay) and Al-Khairan (to the south). The bacterial composition was more variable in the summer for all sites. A cluster analysis of the DGGE fingerprint revealed two main clusters, indicating a temporal similarity between sites. Kuwait Bay and Al-Khairan were more similar to each other than to Al-Sabbiya. The bacterial community composition exhibited distinctive spatial variations, with more diversity at Al-Khairan and less diversity at Al-Sabbiya. At all sites, the dominant bacteria were Alphaproteobacteria, in particular Rhodobacteraceae, followed by Alteromonadaceae (Gammaproteobacteria) and Bacteroidetes.

Is Planktonic Diversity Well Recorded in Sedimentary DNA? Toward the Reconstruction of Past Protistan Diversity

Studies based on the coupling of a paleolimnological approach and molecular tools (e.g., sequencing of sedimentary DNA) present a promising opportunity to obtain long-term data on past lacustrine biodiversity. However, certain validations are still required, such as the evaluation of DNA preservation in sediments for various planktonic taxa that do not leave any morphological diagnostic features. In this study, we focused on the diversity of planktonic unicellular eukaryotes and verified the presence of their DNA in sediment archives. We compared the molecular inventories (high-throughput sequencing of 18S ribosomal DNA) obtained from monitoring the water column with those obtained for DNA archived in the first 30 cm of sediment. Seventy-one percent of taxonomic units found in the water samples were detected in sediment samples, including pigmented taxa, such as Chlorophyta, Dinophyceae, and Chrysophyceae, phagotrophic taxa, such as Ciliophora, parasitic taxa, such as Apicomplexa and Chytridiomycota, and saprotrophs, such as Cryptomycota. Parallel analysis of 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) transcripts revealed the presence of living eukaryotic taxa only in the top 2 cm of sediment; although some limits exist in using RNA/DNA ratio as indicator of microbial activity, these results suggested that the sedimentary DNA mostly represented DNA from past and inactive communities. Only the diversity of a few groups, such as Cryptophyta and Haptophyta, seemed to be poorly preserved in sediments. Our overall results showed that the application of sequencing techniques to sedimentary DNA could be used to reconstruct past diversity for numerous planktonic eukaryotic groups.

Changes in Microbial Plankton Assemblages Induced by Mesoscale Oceanographic Features in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Mesoscale circulation generated by the Loop Current in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) delivers growth-limiting nutrients to the microbial plankton of the euphotic zone. Consequences of physicochemically driven community shifts on higher order consumers and subsequent impacts on the biological carbon pump remain poorly understood. This study evaluates microbial plankton <10 μm abundance and community structure across both cyclonic and anti-cyclonic circulation features in the NGOM using flow cytometry (SYBR Green I and autofluorescence parameters). Non-parametric multivariate hierarchical cluster analyses indicated that significant spatial variability in community structure exists such that stations that clustered together were defined as having a specific ‘microbial signature’ (i.e. statistically homogeneous community structure profiles based on relative abundance of microbial groups). Salinity and a combination of sea surface height anomaly and sea surface temperature were determined by distance based linear modeling to be abiotic predictor variables significantly correlated to changes in microbial signatures. Correlations between increased microbial abundance and availability of nitrogen suggest nitrogen-limitation of microbial plankton in this open ocean area. Regions of combined coastal water entrainment and mesoscale convergence corresponded to increased heterotrophic prokaryote abundance relative to autotrophic plankton. The results provide an initial assessment of how mesoscale circulation potentially influences microbial plankton abundance and community structure in the NGOM.

The biogeography of abundant and rare bacterioplankton in the lakes and reservoirs of China

Bacteria play key roles in the ecology of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems; however, little is known about their diversity and biogeography, especially in the rare microbial biosphere of inland freshwater ecosystems. Here we investigated aspects of the community ecology and geographical distribution of abundant and rare bacterioplankton using high-throughput sequencing and examined the relative influence of local environmental variables and regional (spatial) factors on their geographical distribution patterns in 42 lakes and reservoirs across China. Our results showed that the geographical patterns of abundant and rare bacterial subcommunities were generally similar, and both of them showed a significant distance-decay relationship. This suggests that the rare bacterial biosphere is not a random assembly, as some authors have assumed, and that its distribution is most likely subject to the same ecological processes that control abundant taxa. However, we identified some differences between the abundant and rare groups as both groups of bacteria showed a significant positive relationship between sites occupancy and abundance, but the abundant bacteria exhibited a weaker distance-decay relationship than the rare bacteria. Our results implied that rare subcommunities were mostly governed by local environmental variables, whereas the abundant subcommunities were mainly affected by regional factors. In addition, both local and regional variables that were significantly related to the spatial variation of abundant bacterial community composition were different to those of rare ones, suggesting that abundant and rare bacteria may have discrepant ecological niches and may play different roles in natural ecosystems.

Biogeography of Planktonic and Benthic Archaeal Communities in a Subtropical Eutrophic Estuary of China

Mounting evidence suggests that Archaea are widespread and abundant in aquatic and terrestrial habitats and play fundamental roles in global biogeochemical cycles, yet the pattern and its ecological drivers of biogeographic distribution of archaeal community in estuarine ecosystem are still not well understood. Here, we investigated planktonic and benthic archaeal communities in the human-impacted Jiulong River estuary (JRE), southern China by using real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and Illumina 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) amplicon sequencing. RT-PCR analysis indicated that Archaea accounted for an average of 0.79 and 5.31 % of prokaryotic biomass in water and sediment samples of the JRE, respectively. The diversity of planktonic archaeal community decreased gradually from the river runoff to seawater, whereas that of benthic community did not show the similar pattern. The results of taxonomic assignments indicated that Thaumarchaeota (Nitrosopumilus and Cenarchaeum), Methanocorpusculum, and Methanospirillum were significantly more abundant in planktonic than benthic communities, whereas the relative abundances of Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group, Marine Benthic Group-B/-D, anaerobic methane-oxidizing Archaea -1/-2D, and South Africa Gold Mine Euryarchaeotic Group 1 were higher in sediments than in surface waters. Moreover, planktonic archaeal community composition varied significantly at broad and finer-scale taxonomic levels along the salinity gradient. Multivariate statistical analyses revealed that salinity is the main factor structuring the JRE planktonic but not benthic archaeal community at both total community and population level. SourceTrakcer analysis indicated that river might be a major source of archaea in the freshwater zone of the JRE. Overall, this study advances our understanding of the biogeographic patterns and its ecological drivers of estuarine archaeal communities.

Quantifying the effects of geographical and environmental factors on distribution of stream bacterioplankton within nature reserves of Fujian, China

Bacterioplankton are important components of freshwater ecosystems and play essential roles in ecological functions and processes; however, little is known about their geographical distribution and the factors influencing their ecology, especially in stream ecosystems. To examine how geographical and environmental factors affect the composition of bacterioplankton communities, we used denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and clone sequencing to survey bacterioplankton communities in 31 samples of streamwater from seven nature reserves in Fujian province, southeast China. Our results revealed that dominant bacterioplankton communities exhibited a distinct geographical pattern. Further, we provided evidence for distance decay relationships in bacterioplankton community similarity and found similar community gradients in response to elevation and latitude. Both redundancy analyses and Mantel tests showed that bacterioplankton community composition was significantly correlated with both environmental (electrical conductivity, total phosphorus, and PO4-P) and geographical factors (latitude, longitude, and elevation). Variance partitioning further showed that the joint effect of geographical and environmental factors explained the largest proportion of the variation in distribution of bacterioplankton communities (13.6 %), followed by purely geographical factors (11.2 %), and purely environmental factors (0.6 %). The Betaproteobacteria were the most common taxa in the streams, followed by Firmicutes and Gammaproteobacteria. Therefore, our results suggest that the biogeographical patterns of stream bacterioplankton communities across the Fujian nature reserves are more influenced by geographical factors than by local physicochemical properties.

Two New Genera of Planktonic Ciliates and Insights into the Evolution of the Family Strombidiidae (Protista, Ciliophora, Oligotrichia)

Oligotrich ciliates are common marine microplankters, but their biodiversity and evolutionary relationships have not been well-documented. Morphological descriptions and small subunit rRNA gene sequences of two new species representing two new strombidiid genera, Sinistrostrombidium cupiformum gen. nov., sp. nov. and Antestrombidium agathae gen. nov., sp. nov. are presented, and their taxonomy and molecular phylogeny are analyzed. Sinistrostrombidium gen. nov. is characterized by a sinistrally spiraled girdle kinety and a longitudinal ventral kinety. Antestrombidium gen. nov. is distinguished by tripartite somatic kineties (circular and ventral kineties plus dextrally spiraled girdle kinety). Sinistrostrombidium and Antestrombidium branched separately from one another in phylogenetic trees, clustering with different clades of strombidiids. The new genera added to the diversities of ciliary patterns and small subunit rRNA gene sequences in strombidiids leads to presentation of a new hypothesis about evolution of the 12 known strombidiid genera, based on ciliary pattern and partly supported by molecular evidence. In addition, our new morphological and molecular analyses support establishment of a new order Lynnellida ord. nov., characterized by an open adoral zone of membranelles without differentiation of anterior and ventral membranelles, for Lynnella, but we remain unable to assign the genus to a subclass with confidence.

Fossil and genetic evidence for the polyphyletic nature of the planktonic foraminifera "Globigerinoides", and description of the new genus Trilobatus

Planktonic foraminifera are one of the most abundant and diverse protists in the oceans. Their utility as paleo proxies requires rigorous taxonomy and comparison with living and genetically related counterparts. We merge genetic and fossil evidence of "Globigerinoides", characterized by supplementary apertures on spiral side, in a new approach to trace their "total evidence phylogeny" since their first appearance in the latest Paleogene. Combined fossil and molecular genetic data indicate that this genus, as traditionally understood, is polyphyletic. Both datasets indicate the existence of two distinct lineages that evolved independently. One group includes "Globigerinoides" trilobus and its descendants, the extant "Globigerinoides" sacculifer, Orbulina universa and Sphaeroidinella dehiscens. The second group includes the Globigerinoides ruber clade with the extant G. conglobatus and G. elongatus and ancestors. In molecular phylogenies, the trilobus group is not the sister taxon of the ruber group. The ruber group clusters consistently together with the modern Globoturborotalita rubescens as a sister taxon. The re-analysis of the fossil record indicates that the first "Globigerinoides" in the late Oligocene are ancestral to the trilobus group, whereas the ruber group first appeared at the base of the Miocene with representatives distinct from the trilobus group. Therefore, polyphyly of the genus "Globigerinoides" as currently defined can only be avoided either by broadening the genus concept to include G. rubescens and a large number of fossil species without supplementary apertures, or if the trilobus group is assigned to a separate genus. Since the former is not feasible due to the lack of a clear diagnosis for such a broad genus, we erect a new genus Trilobatus for the trilobus group (type species Globigerina triloba Reuss) and amend Globoturborotalita and Globigerinoides to clarify morphology and wall textures of these genera. In the new concept, Trilobatus n. gen. is paraphyletic and gave rise to the Praeorbulina/Orbulina and Sphaeroidinellopsis/Sphaeroidinella lineages.

Redox-specialized bacterioplankton metacommunity in a temperate estuary

This study explored the spatiotemporal dynamics of the bacterioplankton community composition in the Gulf of Finland (easternmost sub-basin of the Baltic Sea) based on phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA sequences acquired from community samples via pyrosequencing. Investigations of bacterioplankton in hydrographically complex systems provide good insight into the strategies by which microbes deal with spatiotemporal hydrographic gradients, as demonstrated by our research. Many ribotypes were closely affiliated with sequences isolated from environments with similar steep physiochemical gradients and/or seasonal changes, including seasonally anoxic estuaries. Hence, one of the main conclusions of this study is that marine ecosystems where oxygen and salinity gradients co-occur can be considered a habitat for a cosmopolitan metacommunity consisting of specialized groups occupying niches universal to such environments throughout the world. These niches revolve around functional capabilities to utilize different electron receptors and donors (including trace metal and single carbon compounds). On the other hand, temporal shifts in the bacterioplankton community composition at the surface layer were mainly connected to the seasonal succession of phytoplankton and the inflow of freshwater species. We also conclude that many relatively abundant populations are indigenous and well-established in the area.