Quantification of the effects of ocean acidification on sediment microbial communities in the environment: the importance of ecosystem approaches
Quantification of the effects of ocean acidification on sediment microbial communities in the environment: the importance of ecosystem approaches
To understand how ocean acidification (OA) influences sediment microbial communities, naturally CO2-rich sites are increasingly being used as OA analogues. However, the characterization of these naturally CO2-rich sites is often limited to OA-related variables, neglecting additional environmental variables that may confound OA effects. Here, we used an extensive array of sediment and bottom water parameters to evaluate pH effects on sediment microbial communities at hydrothermal CO2 seeps in Papua New Guinea. The geochemical composition of the sediment pore water showed variations in the hydrothermal signature at seep sites with comparable pH, allowing the identification of sites that may better represent future OA scenarios. At these sites, we detected a 60% shift in the microbial community composition compared with reference sites, mostly related to increases in Chloroflexi sequences. pH was among the factors significantly, yet not mainly, explaining changes in microbial community composition. pH variation may therefore often not be the primary cause of microbial changes when sampling is done along complex environmental gradients. Thus, we recommend an ecosystem approach when assessing OA effects on sediment microbial communities under natural conditions. This will enable a more reliable quantification of OA effects via a reduction of potential confounding effects.
ocean acidification, microbial community composition, shallow-water hydrothermal vents, natural laboratories, next generation sequencing
fiw027
Hassenrück, Christiane
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Fink, Artur
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Lichtschlag, Anna
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Tegetmeyer, Halina E.
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de Beer, Dirk
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Ramette, Alban
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King, Gary
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16 February 2016
Hassenrück, Christiane
b8352849-a00a-458b-92d4-ebd06bc020f4
Fink, Artur
c7db4071-e367-49f9-bd0f-cc1bcac746c2
Lichtschlag, Anna
be1568d9-cc63-4f85-bd38-a93dfd7e245f
Tegetmeyer, Halina E.
77ffc249-cda8-4ab5-9d2f-da208ede425a
de Beer, Dirk
cb8d8130-86eb-4ecb-9496-41543e1fe536
Ramette, Alban
958f197e-b073-431e-b233-7a75b6e7ccad
King, Gary
4c244b88-721f-4e15-8a65-9d08168c7e4f
Hassenrück, Christiane, Fink, Artur, Lichtschlag, Anna, Tegetmeyer, Halina E., de Beer, Dirk, Ramette, Alban and King, Gary
(2016)
Quantification of the effects of ocean acidification on sediment microbial communities in the environment: the importance of ecosystem approaches.
FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 92 (5), .
(doi:10.1093/femsec/fiw027).
Abstract
To understand how ocean acidification (OA) influences sediment microbial communities, naturally CO2-rich sites are increasingly being used as OA analogues. However, the characterization of these naturally CO2-rich sites is often limited to OA-related variables, neglecting additional environmental variables that may confound OA effects. Here, we used an extensive array of sediment and bottom water parameters to evaluate pH effects on sediment microbial communities at hydrothermal CO2 seeps in Papua New Guinea. The geochemical composition of the sediment pore water showed variations in the hydrothermal signature at seep sites with comparable pH, allowing the identification of sites that may better represent future OA scenarios. At these sites, we detected a 60% shift in the microbial community composition compared with reference sites, mostly related to increases in Chloroflexi sequences. pH was among the factors significantly, yet not mainly, explaining changes in microbial community composition. pH variation may therefore often not be the primary cause of microbial changes when sampling is done along complex environmental gradients. Thus, we recommend an ecosystem approach when assessing OA effects on sediment microbial communities under natural conditions. This will enable a more reliable quantification of OA effects via a reduction of potential confounding effects.
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Accepted/In Press date: 8 February 2016
Published date: 16 February 2016
Keywords:
ocean acidification, microbial community composition, shallow-water hydrothermal vents, natural laboratories, next generation sequencing
Organisations:
Marine Geoscience
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Local EPrints ID: 397725
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/397725
PURE UUID: 464a7a05-18c7-48cc-a107-9e2f3b5b596a
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2016 11:03
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 01:21
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Contributors
Author:
Christiane Hassenrück
Author:
Artur Fink
Author:
Anna Lichtschlag
Author:
Halina E. Tegetmeyer
Author:
Dirk de Beer
Author:
Alban Ramette
Author:
Gary King
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