Effect of seaweed canopy disturbance on understory microbial communities on rocky shores
Introduction: The collapse of macroalgal habitats is altering the structure of benthic communities on rocky shores globally. Nonetheless, how the loss of canopy-forming macroalgae influences the structure of epilithic microbial communities is yet to be explored. Methods: Here, we used experimental f...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/174043 |
| _version_ | 1811689598140547072 |
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| author | Gonzalez, Sebastian Vadillo Wood, Georgina Tiong, Regine Hui Yi Lema, Kimberley A. Mayer-Pinto, Mariana Lauro, Federico M. Kjelleberg, Staffan Bulleri, Fabio Steinberg, Peter David Marzinelli, Ezequiel Miguel |
| author2 | Asian School of the Environment |
| author_facet | Asian School of the Environment Gonzalez, Sebastian Vadillo Wood, Georgina Tiong, Regine Hui Yi Lema, Kimberley A. Mayer-Pinto, Mariana Lauro, Federico M. Kjelleberg, Staffan Bulleri, Fabio Steinberg, Peter David Marzinelli, Ezequiel Miguel |
| author_sort | Gonzalez, Sebastian Vadillo |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Introduction: The collapse of macroalgal habitats is altering the structure of benthic communities on rocky shores globally. Nonetheless, how the loss of canopy-forming macroalgae influences the structure of epilithic microbial communities is yet to be explored. Methods: Here, we used experimental field manipulations and 16S-rRNA-gene amplicon sequencing to determine the effects of macroalgal loss on the understory bacterial communities and their relationship with epiphytic bacteria on macroalgae. Beds of the fucoid Hormosira banksii were exposed to different levels of disturbance resulting in five treatments: (i) 100% removal of Hormosira individuals, (ii) 50% removal, (iii) no removal, (iv) a procedural control that mimicked the removal process, but no Hormosira was removed and (v) adjacent bare rock. Canopy cover, bacterial communities (epilithic and epiphytic) and benthic macroorganisms were monitored for 16 months. Results: Results showed that reductions in canopy cover rapidly altered understory bacterial diversity and composition. Hormosira canopies in 50% and 100% removal plots showed signs of recovery over time, but understory epilithic bacterial communities remained distinct throughout the experiment in plots that experienced full Hormosira removal. Changes in bacterial communities were not related to changes in other benthic macroorganisms. Discussion: These results demonstrate that understory epilithic bacterial communities respond rapidly to environmental disturbances at small scales and these changes can be long-lasting. A deeper knowledge of the ecological role of understory epilithic microbial communities is needed to better understand potential cascading effects of disturbances on the functioning of macroalgal-dominated systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:50:39Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/174043 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:50:39Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1740432024-03-18T15:30:51Z Effect of seaweed canopy disturbance on understory microbial communities on rocky shores Gonzalez, Sebastian Vadillo Wood, Georgina Tiong, Regine Hui Yi Lema, Kimberley A. Mayer-Pinto, Mariana Lauro, Federico M. Kjelleberg, Staffan Bulleri, Fabio Steinberg, Peter David Marzinelli, Ezequiel Miguel Asian School of the Environment Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences and Engineering (SCELSE) Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute Earth and Environmental Sciences Bacteria Understory Introduction: The collapse of macroalgal habitats is altering the structure of benthic communities on rocky shores globally. Nonetheless, how the loss of canopy-forming macroalgae influences the structure of epilithic microbial communities is yet to be explored. Methods: Here, we used experimental field manipulations and 16S-rRNA-gene amplicon sequencing to determine the effects of macroalgal loss on the understory bacterial communities and their relationship with epiphytic bacteria on macroalgae. Beds of the fucoid Hormosira banksii were exposed to different levels of disturbance resulting in five treatments: (i) 100% removal of Hormosira individuals, (ii) 50% removal, (iii) no removal, (iv) a procedural control that mimicked the removal process, but no Hormosira was removed and (v) adjacent bare rock. Canopy cover, bacterial communities (epilithic and epiphytic) and benthic macroorganisms were monitored for 16 months. Results: Results showed that reductions in canopy cover rapidly altered understory bacterial diversity and composition. Hormosira canopies in 50% and 100% removal plots showed signs of recovery over time, but understory epilithic bacterial communities remained distinct throughout the experiment in plots that experienced full Hormosira removal. Changes in bacterial communities were not related to changes in other benthic macroorganisms. Discussion: These results demonstrate that understory epilithic bacterial communities respond rapidly to environmental disturbances at small scales and these changes can be long-lasting. A deeper knowledge of the ecological role of understory epilithic microbial communities is needed to better understand potential cascading effects of disturbances on the functioning of macroalgal-dominated systems. Nanyang Technological University Published version This work was supported by Australian Research Council funds to EM, PS and SK (DP180104041) and the Nanyang Technological University Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus to HT. 2024-03-12T07:52:20Z 2024-03-12T07:52:20Z 2023 Journal Article Gonzalez, S. V., Wood, G., Tiong, R. H. Y., Lema, K. A., Mayer-Pinto, M., Lauro, F. M., Kjelleberg, S., Bulleri, F., Steinberg, P. D. & Marzinelli, E. M. (2023). Effect of seaweed canopy disturbance on understory microbial communities on rocky shores. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1264797-. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1264797 2296-7745 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/174043 10.3389/fmars.2023.1264797 2-s2.0-85178890590 10 1264797 en URECA Frontiers in Marine Science © 2023 Vadillo Gonzalez, Wood, Tiong, Lema, Mayer-Pinto, Lauro, Kjelleberg, Bulleri, Steinberg and Marzinelli. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Earth and Environmental Sciences Bacteria Understory Gonzalez, Sebastian Vadillo Wood, Georgina Tiong, Regine Hui Yi Lema, Kimberley A. Mayer-Pinto, Mariana Lauro, Federico M. Kjelleberg, Staffan Bulleri, Fabio Steinberg, Peter David Marzinelli, Ezequiel Miguel Effect of seaweed canopy disturbance on understory microbial communities on rocky shores |
| title | Effect of seaweed canopy disturbance on understory microbial communities on rocky shores |
| title_full | Effect of seaweed canopy disturbance on understory microbial communities on rocky shores |
| title_fullStr | Effect of seaweed canopy disturbance on understory microbial communities on rocky shores |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of seaweed canopy disturbance on understory microbial communities on rocky shores |
| title_short | Effect of seaweed canopy disturbance on understory microbial communities on rocky shores |
| title_sort | effect of seaweed canopy disturbance on understory microbial communities on rocky shores |
| topic | Earth and Environmental Sciences Bacteria Understory |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/174043 |
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