Microbial community dynamics over large spatial and environmental gradients in a subtropical ocean basin.

ABSTRACT: Microbes are fundamental to ocean ecosystem function, yet they remain understudied across broad spatial and environmental scales in dynamic regions like the Gulf of America/Gulf of Mexico (GOM). We employed DNA metabarcoding to characterize prokaryotes (16S V4-V5) and protists (18S V9) across 51 stations, spanning 16 inshore-offshore transects and three depths. Cluster analysis revealed three clusters corresponding to depth zones that integrated vertical and horizontal sampling: photic zone (inshore near surface-bottom and offshore surface), deep chlorophyll maximum (offshore), and aphotic zone (offshore near bottom). We applied group-specific generalized additive models (GAMs) to log-transformed abundance data of major taxa in the photic zone, identifying key environmental factors that ex

SUBMITTER: Anderson SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12915303 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature