Seasonal dynamics and environmental controls of planktonic archaea in a typical subtropical estuary.

ABSTRACT: Planktonic archaea are pivotal in the biogeochemical cycling across estuaries to coastal seas. A thorough comprehension of their adaptive mechanisms to seasonal environmental fluctuations remains largely unexplored. This study investigates the seasonal dynamics of planktonic archaeal communities and their responses to the biotic and abiotic factors in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE). Thermoproteota and Thermoplasmatota are the two most abundant phyla, and both show a significant difference between summer and winter. As phosphorus is the most limiting nutrient in the PRE, PO₄^3- is found to have the most significant seasonal variation in random forest, followed by temperature and Chl a. The Mantel test for the abundant archaea showed that the number of phosphate-correlate

SUBMITTER: Wei W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12671124 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature