Microbial Mat Compositional and Functional Sensitivity to Environmental Disturbance.

ABSTRACT: The ability of ecosystems to adapt to environmental perturbations depends on the duration and intensity of change and the overall biological diversity of the system. While studies have indicated that rare microbial taxa may provide a biological reservoir that supports long-term ecosystem stability, how this dynamic population is influenced by environmental parameters remains unclear. In this study, a microbial mat ecosystem located on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas was used as a model to examine how environmental disturbance affects the protein synthesis potential (PSP) of rare and abundant archaeal and bacterial communities and how these changes impact potential biogeochemical processes. This ecosystem experienced a large shift in salinity (230 to 65 g kg^-1) during 2011-2012

SUBMITTER: Preisner EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5066559 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature