Microbial eukaryote diversity and community structure in relation to natural stressors and trace metal pollutants in subtidal coastal marine sediments (North Sea, Belgium)
Pede, A.; Gillan, D.C.; Gao, Y.; Lesven, L.; Verstraete, T.; Baeyens, W.; Vyverman, W.; Sabbe, K.; Billon, G. (2012). Microbial eukaryote diversity and community structure in relation to natural stressors and trace metal pollutants in subtidal coastal marine sediments (North Sea, Belgium), in: Pede, A. Diversity and dynamics of protist communities in subtidal North Sea sediments in relation to metal pollution and algal bloom deposition. pp. 15-49
In: Pede, A. (2012). Diversity and dynamics of protist communities in subtidal North Sea sediments in relation to metal pollution and algal bloom deposition. PhD Thesis. Universiteit Gent; Vakgroep Biologie, Onderzoeksgroep Protistologie en Aquatische Ecologie: Gent. 200 pp., more
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| Authors | | Top |
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- Lesven, L.
- Verstraete, T., more
- Baeyens, W., more
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- Vyverman, W., more
- Sabbe, K., more
- Billon, G.
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| Abstract |
Little information is available on the diversity and structure of microbial communities in marine subtidal sediments, especially for microeukaryotes. Using a combination of general and group-specific eukaryotic primers based on the 18s rRNA gene, we characterized benthic microeukaryotic diversity with an emphasis on ciliate and cercozoan diversity in sediments of the Belgian Continental Zone (BCZ). We assessed spatial (9 subtidal stations, top O-lcm vs. bottom 9-10cm) and seasonal (February vs. July) variation in protist community composition in relation to sediment granulometry, geochemistry and trace metal contamination. Sediments ranged from sandy and well oxygenated to silty and anoxic with high levels of metal contamination. Eukaryotic diversity was dominated by Stramenopila (mainly diatoms), Metazoa and Fungi. Protozoan (Alveolata, Rhizaria, Amoebozoa) sequences were rarely detected using general eukaryotic primers, but 15 unique ciliate and 5 unique cercozoan phylotypes (OTUs) were found using ciliate- and cercozoan-specific primers in the silty sediments. The ciliate clone library was dominated by representatives of the classes Phyllopharyngea and Spirotrichea, followed by Oligohymenophorea, Litostomatea and Karyorelictea, while all cercozoans belonged to the Cryomonadida clade. Many sequences, especially cercozoan, dinophyte and fungal OTUs, were related to as yet uncultured species. While no clear trends in microeukaryotic species richness were found between seasons, community composition showed pronounced differences between sandy and muddy stations. No significant impact of metals on microeukaryotic species richness was observed. |
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