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Links between Phytoplankton and Bacterial Community Dynamics in a Coastal Marine Environment

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Abstract

Bacteria and phytoplankton dynamics are thought to be closely linked in coastal marine environments, with correlations frequently observed between bacterial and phytoplankton biomass. In contrast, little is known about how these communities interact with each other at the species composition level. The purpose of the current study was to analyze bacterial community dynamics in a productive, coastal ecosystem and to determine whether they were related to phytoplankton community dynamics. Near-surface seawater samples were collected in February, May, July, and September 2000 from several stations in the Bay of Fundy. Savin et al. (M.C. Savin et al., Microb Ecol 48: 51-65) analyzed the phytoplankton community in simultaneously collected samples. The attached and free-living bacterial communities were collected by successive filtration onto 5 μm and 0.22 μm pore-size filters, respectively. DNA was extracted from filters and bacterial 16S rRNA gene fragments were amplified and analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). DGGE revealed that diversity and temporal variability were lower in the free-living than the attached bacterial community. Both attached and free-living communities were dominated by members of the Roseobacter and Cytophaga groups. Correspondence analysis (CA) ordination diagrams showed similar patterns for the phytoplankton and attached bacterial communities, indicating that shifts in the species composition of these communities were linked. Similarly, canonical CA revealed that the diversity, abundance, and percentage of diatoms in the phytoplankton community accounted for a significant amount of the variability in the attached bacterial community composition. In contrast, ordination analyses did not reveal an association between free-living bacteria and phytoplankton. These results suggest that there are specific interactions between phytoplankton and the bacteria attached to them, and that these interactions influence the composition of both communities.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Michael Ferrier for his assistance in sample collection for molecular phylogenetic analyses. This work was supported by Grants NA97FE0401 (UMass-CMER) and NA86RG0074 (MIT Sea Grant) from the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Award OCE-0117820 from the National Science Foundation. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements either expressed or implied of the U.S. Department of Commerce (NOAA) or the U.S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Complex Environmental Systems, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, 01854, USA

    J.N. Rooney-Varga, M.W. Giewat & S. Sood

  2. Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    M.C. Savin

  3. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, NB, Canada

    M. LeGresley & J.L. Martin

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  1. J.N. Rooney-Varga
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  2. M.W. Giewat
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  3. M.C. Savin
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  5. M. LeGresley
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  6. J.L. Martin
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Correspondence to J.N. Rooney-Varga.

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Rooney-Varga, J., Giewat, M., Savin, M. et al. Links between Phytoplankton and Bacterial Community Dynamics in a Coastal Marine Environment. Microb Ecol 49, 163–175 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-003-1057-0

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