Environmental gradients and habitat specificity structure benthic microbial assemblages in a temperate seagrass...

Area of Science:

• Marine Ecology
• Benthic Ecology
• Microbial Ecology

Background:

• Seagrass meadows are critical coastal ecosystems supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• Global seagrass decline threatens benthic communities and ecosystem functioning.
• Microbial and microeukaryote communities in seagrass habitats are understudied compared to macrofauna.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze bacteria/archaea, microeukaryote, and meiofauna communities in temperate seagrass and bare sediment habitats.
• To investigate the influence of environmental gradients and seagrass presence on benthic community structure.
• To understand drivers of biodiversity in estuarine seagrass ecosystems.

Main Methods:

• Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of 16S and 18S rRNA genes.
• Analysis of bacteria/archaea, microeukaryotes, and meiofauna communities.
• Sampling across three sites along an estuarine gradient in Bodega Harbor, California.

Main Results:

• Microbial and microeukaryote communities were structured by site and environmental gradients (e.g., sediment properties).
• Meiofauna communities responded more strongly to the presence of seagrass.
• Network analysis revealed co-occurrences between bacteria and nematodes, indicating potential symbiotic relationships.

Conclusions:

• Environmental gradients and microhabitat features are key drivers of benthic biodiversity in temperate seagrass ecosystems.
• Microbial-nematode associations are likely influenced by environmental variation.
• Integrating multiple benthic components enhances understanding of biodiversity drivers and microbial community structure in seagrass habitats.