Biogeography of the sediment bacterial community responds to a nitrogen pollution gradient in the East China Sea.

ABSTRACT: Patterns of microbial distribution represent the integrated effects of historical and biological processes and are thus a central issue in ecology. However, there is still active debate on whether dispersal limitation contributes to microbial diversification in strongly connected systems. In this study, sediment samples were collected along a transect representing a variety of seawater pollution levels in the East China Sea. We investigated whether changes in sediment bacterial community structures would indicate the effects of the pollution gradient and of dispersal limitation. Our results showed consistent shifts in bacterial communities in response to pollution. More geographically distant sites had more dissimilar communities (r = -0.886, P < 0.001) in this strongly connected sediment

SUBMITTER: Xiong J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3957648 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature