Phytoplankton settling quality has a subtle but significant effect on sediment microeukaryotic and bacterial communities.

ABSTRACT: In coastal aphotic sediments, organic matter (OM) input from phytoplankton is the primary food resource for benthic organisms. Current observations from temperate ecosystems like the Baltic Sea report a decline in spring bloom diatoms, while summer cyanobacteria blooms are becoming more frequent and intense. These climate-driven changes in phytoplankton communities may in turn have important consequences for benthic biodiversity and ecosystem functions, but such questions are not yet sufficiently explored experimentally. Here, in a 4-week experiment, we investigated the response of microeukaryotic and bacterial communities to different types of OM inputs comprising five ratios of two common phytoplankton species in the Baltic Sea, the diatom Skeletonema marinoi and filamentous cyanobacteri

SUBMITTER: Albert S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8674317 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature