Effect of Silicate Grain Shape, Structure, and Location on the Biomass and Community Structure of Colonizing Marine Microbiota

Nickels, Janet S.; Bobbie, Ronald J.; Martz, Robert F.; Smith, Glen A.; White, David C.; Richards, Norman L.

doi:10.1128/aem.41.5.1262-1268.1981

Cited by 35 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The coarse-grained fraction of permeable sands can be expected to hold the major share of benthic bacteria (Nickels et al, 1981;Rusch et al, 2003), reaching levels of 10 9 -10 10 cells cm -3 , with up to one order of magnitude higher cell numbers in carbonate compared with silicate sands (Wild et al, 2005;Rusch et al, 2006). In our study, similar levels of microbial biomass were obtained for both sand types, despite marked differences in grain complexity.…”

Section: Changes In Microbial Cell Numbersupporting

confidence: 73%

Drivers of bacterial diversity dynamics in permeable carbonate and silicate coral reef sands from the Red Sea

Schöttner

Pfitzner

Grünke

et al. 2011

Environmental Microbiology

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Permeable sediments and associated microbial communities play a fundamental role in nutrient recycling within coral reef ecosystems by ensuring high levels of primary production in oligotrophic environments. A previous study on organic matter degradation within biogenic carbonate and terrigenous silicate reef sands in the Red Sea suggested that observed sand-specific differences in microbial activity could be caused by variations in microbial biomass and diversity. Here, we tested this hypothesis by comparing bacterial abundance and community structure in both sand types, and by further exploring the structuring effects of time (season) and space (sediment depth, in/out-reef). Changes in bacterial community structure, as determined via automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA), were primarily driven by sand mineralogy at specific seasons, sediment depths and reef locations. By coupling ARISA with 16S-ITS rRNA sequencing, we detected significant community shifts already at the bacterial class level, with Proteobacteria (Gamma-, Delta-, Alpha-) and Actinobacteria being prominent members of the highly diverse communities. Overall, our findings suggest that reef sand-associated bacterial communities vary substantially with sand type. Especially in synergy with environmental variation over time and space, mineralogical differences seem to play a central role in maintaining high levels of bacterial community heterogeneity. The local co-occurrence of carbonate and silicate sands may thus significantly increase the availability of microbial niches within a single coral reef ecosystem.

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Section: Changes In Microbial Cell Numbersupporting

confidence: 73%

Drivers of bacterial diversity dynamics in permeable carbonate and silicate coral reef sands from the Red Sea

Schöttner

Pfitzner

Grünke

et al. 2011

Environmental Microbiology

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“…However, further evidence for the flushing effect comes from flume experiments where cultures of diatoms, resembling particulate organic matter, were added to the permeable sediment (Pilditch and Miller ). In combination with mechanical abrasion of bacteria from sand grains (Nickels et al ) the flushing reduces microbial respiration and thus benthic oxygen fluxes. However, on longer time scales particulate organic matter is redistributed and clogging is suppressed which maintains the system and enhances the benthic‐pelagic coupling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation of benthic oxygen fluxes in permeable sediments of the coastal ocean

Ahmerkamp

Winter

Krämer

et al. 2017

Limnology & Oceanography

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Large areas of the oceanic shelf are composed of sandy sediments through which reactive solutes are transported via porewater advection fueling active microbial communities. The advective oxygen transport in permeable sands of the North Sea was investigated under in situ conditions using a new benthic observatory to assess the dynamic interaction of hydrodynamics, sediment morphodynamics, and oxygen penetration depth. During 16 deployments, concurrent measurement of current velocity, sediment topography, and porewater oxygen concentration were carried out. In all cases the oxyclines were found at depths of 1-6 cm, correlating with the topography of stationary and migrating bedforms (ripples). Different conditions in terms of bottom water currents and bedform migration led to fluctuating oxygen penetration depths and, hence, highly variable redox conditions in up to 2.5 cm thick layers beneath the surface. Volumetric oxygen consumption rates of surface sediments were measured on board in flow-through reactors. Bedform migration was found to reduce consumption rates by up to 50%, presumably caused by the washout of organic carbon that is otherwise trapped in the pore space of the sediment. Based on the observations we found oxygen penetration depths to be largely controlled by oxygen consumption rates, grain size, and current velocity. These controlling variables are summarized by an adapted Damk€ ohler number which allows for prediction of oxygen penetretion depths based on a simple scaling law. By integrating the oxygen consumption rates over the oxygen penetration depth, oxygen fluxes of 8-34 mmol m 22 d 21 were estimated.

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“…The degree of protection seems to influence the population size of colonizing microbiota. Surface morphology affected both the total biomass and the community structure of the microbiota (including bacteria, algae, and grazers) on silica grains in a running seawater experiment (Nickels et al 1981). Total microbial biomass was higher on grains with more surface irregularities.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Relationships between bacteria and grain surfaces in intertidal sediments1

DeFlaun

Mayer

1983

Limnology & Oceanography

192

100

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Seasonal changes in total bacterial numbers and their associated mucus coatings in surficial sediments were examined. Bacterial numbers followed the temperature cycle, with highest numbers in summer. The specific surface areas of the sediments were measured rather than inferred from other granulometric properties; bacterial numbers were proportional to surface areas only for sample suites collected at the same time. Bacteria inhabited shallow depressions on sand and silt grains; they were not found on grains smaller than about 10 µm or inside smaller pores like those on weathered feldspar grains. Mucus coatings also followed a seasonal cycle, increasing in abundance and coalescence from spring into summer. These coatings accumulated clay grains, suggesting that the relationship of bacteria to surface area may be due to bacterial control of surface area rather than the reverse. Organic carbon concentrations in grain size separates of these sediments increased with decreasing size until the fine silt fraction, and decreased in the clay fraction; it is not clear, however, whether this trend is a result or a cause of bacterial colonization patterns.

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Effect of Silicate Grain Shape, Structure, and Location on the Biomass and Community Structure of Colonizing Marine Microbiota

Cited by 35 publications

References 33 publications

Drivers of bacterial diversity dynamics in permeable carbonate and silicate coral reef sands from the Red Sea

Drivers of bacterial diversity dynamics in permeable carbonate and silicate coral reef sands from the Red Sea

Regulation of benthic oxygen fluxes in permeable sediments of the coastal ocean

Relationships between bacteria and grain surfaces in intertidal sediments1

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