Microeukaryotic Communities Associated With the Seagrass Zostera marina Are Spatially Structured. (10th November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Trevizan Segovia, Bianca; Sanders‐Smith, Rhea; Adamczyk, Emily M.; Forbes, Coreen; Hessing‐Lewis, Margot; O'Connor, Mary I.; Parfrey, Laura Wegener
• Is Part Of: Journal of eukaryotic microbiology. Volume 68:Number 1(2021)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2020-11-10
• Subjects: 18S rRNA gene -- biodiversity -- biogeography -- community assembly -- core microbiota -- eelgrass -- Protists; Protista -- Periodicals; Eukaryotic cells -- Periodicals; Microbiology -- Periodicals; 579.05
• DOI: 10.1111/jeu.12827
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1066-5234

Abstract

Abstract: Epibiotic microorganisms link seagrass productivity to higher trophic levels, but little is known about the processes structuring these communities, and which taxa consistently associate with seagrass. We investigated epibiotic microeukaryotes on seagrass ( Zostera marina ) leaves, substrates, and planktonic microeukaryotes in ten meadows in the Northeast Pacific. Seagrass epibiotic communities are distinct from planktonic and substrate communities. We found sixteen core microeukaryotes, including dinoflagellates, diatoms, and saprotrophic stramenopiles. Some likely use seagrass leaves as a substrate, others for grazing, or they may be saprotrophic organisms involved in seagrass decomposition or parasites; their relatives have been previously reported from marine sediments and in association with other hosts such as seaweeds. Core microeukaryotes were spatially structured, and none were ubiquitous across meadows. Seagrass epibiota were more spatially structured than planktonic communities, mostly due to spatial distance and changes in abiotic conditions across space. Seawater communities were relatively more similar in composition across sites and more influenced by the environmental component, but more variable over time. Core and transient taxa were both mostly structured by spatial distance and the abiotic environment, with little effect of host attributes, further indicating that those core taxa would not show a strong specific association with Z. marina .