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Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information
Published on: June 13, 2020
Organic carbon source and salinity shape sediment bacterial composition in two China marginal seas and their major
Kai Wang1, Li Zou2, Xinxin Lu3
1College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, PR China; Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA.
Abstract:
Marginal sea sediments receive organic substrates of different origins, but whether and to what extent sediment microbial communities are reflective of the different sources of organic substrates remain unclear. To address these questions, sediment samples were collected in two connected China marginal seas, i.e., Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, and their two major tributaries (Yellow River and Liao River). Sediment bacterial community composition (BCC) was examined using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. In addition, physicochemical variables that describe environmental conditions and sediment features were measured. Our results revealed that BCCs changed with salinity and organic carbon (OC) content. Members of Gaiellaceae and Comamonadaceae showed a rapid decrease as salinity and phytoplankton-derived OC increased, while Piscirickettsiaceae and Desulfobulbaceae exhibited an opposite distribution pattern. Differences of riverine vs. marginal sea sediment BCCs could be mostly explained by salinity. However, within the marginal seas, sediment BCC variations were mainly explained by OC-related variables, including terrestrial-derived fatty acids (Terr_FA), phytoplankton-derived polyunsaturated fatty acids (Phyto_PUFA), stable carbon isotopes (δ13C), and carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N). In addition to environmental variables, network analysis suggested that interactions among individual bacterial taxa might be important in shaping sediment BCCs in the studied areas.
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