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Composition changes of phototrophic microbial communities along the salinity gradient in the solar saltern evaporation ponds of Eilat, Israel

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Abstract

The planktonic and benthic microbial communities in eight hypersaline evaporation ponds of Eilat, Israel, ranging in salinity between 58 and 329 g l−1, were studied by microscopic methods. Marked shifts in the species composition of phototrophic microbial communities were found along the salinity gradient. Planktonic communities consisted mainly of cyanobacteria and diatoms, except for the pond with the highest salinity, which was dominated by green alga Dunaliella salina. Species composition of benthic communities was markedly different in each pond. At the lowest salinities, mats of oscillatoriacean cyanobacteria, accompanied with diatoms, covered the sediment. The cyanobacterium Halothece sp. dominated the ponds of intermediate salinity where gypsum precipitated. However, less abundant Halothece sp. also occurred in lower salinities. At the highest salinities the bottom was covered by salt crystals and was not colonized by phototrophic microorganisms. Photosynthetically active oxygenic microorganisms (cyanobacteria, diatoms) were found to abound even in deep layers of sediments (up to 5 cm) where light and oxygen are supposedly unavailable.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Israel Salt Company in Eilat, Israel for allowing access to the salterns. This study was made during the 8th International Workshop of Group for Aquatic Primary Productivity (GAP) and Batsheva de Rothschild Seminar on Gross and Net Primary Productivity held at the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences, Eilat, Israel in April 2008. We thank the Batsheva de Rothschild Foundation, Bar Ilan University, the Moshe Shilo Center for Marine Biogeochemistry, and the staff of the Interuniversity Institute for funding and logistic support. The Grant Agency of the Czech Republic project no. 206/06/0462, GA ASCR KJB 600960703, and Program Support of Targeted Research in the Academy of Sciences of CR projects no. 1QS600170504, AV0Z60050516 and 1QS500200570 (OP) provided financial assistance for this study. The research of O.P. and H.M. was also supported by institutional support concepts AV0Z50200510 and MSM6007665808.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Botany, AS CR, Dukelská 135, Třeboň, 379 82, Czech Republic

    Klára Řeháková

  2. Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of AS CR, Na Sádkách 7, České Budějovice, 370 05, Czech Republic

    Klára Řeháková & Eliška Zapomělová

  3. Department of Autotrophic Microorganisms, Institute of Microbiology, AS CR, Opatovický mlýn, Třeboň, 379 81, Czech Republic

    Ondřej Prášil & Hana Medová

  4. Institute of Physical Biology, University of South Bohemia, Nový Zámek 136, Nové Hrady, 373 33, Czech Republic

    Ondřej Prášil & Hana Medová

  5. Department of Botany, Faculty of Sciences, Charles University, Benátská 2, Prague 2, 128 01, Czech Republic

    Jana Veselá

  6. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Institute of Life Sciences, and the Moshe Shilo Minerva Center for Marine Biogeochemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Aharon Oren

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  1. Klára Řeháková
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  2. Eliška Zapomělová
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  3. Ondřej Prášil
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Correspondence to Klára Řeháková.

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Appendix 1.

Microphotographs of the diatoms found in the hypersaline ponds. (a) Nitzschia aff. N. lorenziana, (b, c) Nitzschia aff. N. acula, (d) Tabularia fasciculata, (e, f) Mastogloia pumila, (g) cf. Navicula, (h) Nitzschia aff. N. lorenziana, (i) Mastogloia pumila, (j) Navicula cf. vandamii, (k) Amphoraacutiuscula, (l) Amphora holsatica, (mΓÇôo) A. coffeaeformis, (p) A. holsatica and A. coffeaeformis, (q) Rhopalodia gibberula, (r) Tryblionella punctata, (s) Cocconeisbardawilensis. Scale bars represent 10 μm (a–c) and 5 μm (d–s). (PDF 49 kb)

Appendix 2.

Microphotographs of the cyanobacterial and diatoms found in the hypersaline ponds. (a) Leptolyngbya cf. woronichinii, (b,c) Phormidium laetevirens, (d,e) Phormidium cf. inundatum, (f) Oscillatoria margaritifera type1, (g) O. margaritifera type 2, (h) Halospirulina tapeticola type 1, (i) H. tapeticola type 2, (j) Halothece sp. single-celled, (k,l) Halothece sp. colonial, (m,n) unidentified pleurocapsacean cyanobacterium, (o) Cocconeisbardawilensis. Scale bars represent 10 μm (a–n) and 5 μm (o). (PDF 48 kb)

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Řeháková, K., Zapomělová, E., Prášil, O. et al. Composition changes of phototrophic microbial communities along the salinity gradient in the solar saltern evaporation ponds of Eilat, Israel. Hydrobiologia 636, 77–88 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9936-0

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