Temporal and spatial constraints on community assembly during microbial colonization of wood in seawater.

ABSTRACT: Wood falls on the ocean floor form chemosynthetic ecosystems that remain poorly studied compared with features such as hydrothermal vents or whale falls. In particular, the microbes forming the base of this unique ecosystem are not well characterized and the ecology of communities is not known. Here we use wood as a model to study microorganisms that establish and maintain a chemosynthetic ecosystem. We conducted both aquaria and in situ deep-sea experiments to test how different environmental constraints structure the assembly of bacterial, archaeal and fungal communities. We also measured changes in wood lipid concentrations and monitored sulfide production as a way to detect potential microbial activity. We show that wood falls are dynamic ecosystems with high spatial and temporal commu

SUBMITTER: Kalenitchenko D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4817635 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature