Microbial communities of aquatic environments on Heard Island characterized by pyrotag sequencing and environmental...

Heard Island in the Southern Ocean is a biological hotspot that is suffering the effects of climate change. Significant glacier retreat has generated proglacial lagoons, some of which are open to the ocean. We used pyrotag sequencing of SSU rRNA genes and environmental data to characterize microorganisms from two pools adjacent to animal breeding areas, two glacial lagoons and Atlas Cove (marine site). The more abundant taxa included Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria, ciliates and picoflagellates (e.g. Micromonas), and relatively few Archaea. Seal Pool, which is rich in organic matter, was characterized by a heterotrophic degradative community, while the less eutrophic Atlas Pool had more eucaryotic primary producers. Brown Lagoon, with the lowest nutrient levels, had Eucarya and Bacteria predicted to be oligotrophs, possess small cell sizes, and have the ability to metabolize organic matter. The marine influence on Winston Lagoon was evident by its salinity and the abundance of marine-like Gammaproteobacteria, while also lacking typical marine eucaryotes indicating the system was still functioning as a distinct niche. This is the first microbiology study of Heard Island and revealed that communities are distinct at each location and heavily influenced by local environmental factors.