Disentangling the complex microbial community of coral reefs using standardized Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS).

ABSTRACT: Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) have been applied worldwide to describe eukaryotic cryptic reef fauna. Conversely, bacterial communities, which are critical components of coral reef ecosystem functioning, remain largely overlooked. Here we deployed 56 ARMS across the 2,000-km spread of the Red Sea to assay biodiversity, composition and inferred underlying functions of coral reef-associated bacterial communities via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We found that bacterial community structure and diversity aligned with environmental differences. Indeed, sea surface temperature and macroalgae cover were key in explaining bacterial relative abundance. Importantly, taxonomic and functional alpha diversity decreased under more extreme environmental conditions (e.g., higher temperatures) in

SUBMITTER: Pearman JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6851789 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature