两株芽孢杆菌对黄瓜和番茄根际土壤微生物群落结构影响

采用聚合酶链式反应/变性梯度凝胶电泳技术(PCR-DGGE),研究了盆栽条件下,接种多粘类芽孢杆菌(Paenibacillus polymyxa)和枯草芽孢杆菌(Bacillus subtilis)对不同时期黄瓜和番茄根际土壤微生物群落结构的影响.通过DGGE图谱的主成分分析表明,这2株生防菌对根际微生物的影响因作物的种类不同而不同:对黄瓜根际细菌和真菌群落结构均无显著影响,真菌群落随着取样时期而发生明显变化;对番茄根际细菌群落结构无明显影响,但不同采样时期细菌群落结构发生明显变化,而2株生防菌对其真菌群落结构的变化有显著影响.蔬菜种类是决定根际微生物群落结构的主要因素,接种生防细菌对根际细菌群落结构影响不显著,而对根际真菌群落结构的影响因蔬菜种类的不同而有差异.     

南明河城区河段细菌多样性与环境因子的关系

摘要:【目的】了解南明河城区河段细菌群落结构及多样性变化,探讨城区河段环境因子对细菌群落结构的影响。【方法】应用对细菌16S rDNA V4区的高通量测序技术,分析和比较了南明河流经城区的5个样点的细菌群落多样性;然后采用冗余分析(RDA)探讨了水体环境因子与细菌多样性的关系。【结果】南明河贵阳区段细菌多样性指数( Shannon-Wiener 指数)分析结果显示,多样性指数平均达7.5,乌当桥采样点的细菌多样性＞水口寺采样点＞五眼桥采样＞花溪大桥采样点＞冠洲桥采样点。序列比对结果显示,南明河内细菌除了部分分类地位不明确的菌群和稀有菌群外,其余分布于11个门包含327个属的细菌,优势菌门为变形菌门(Proteobacterice,66.1%±3.30%),其中γ-变形菌纲(Gammaproteobacteria,54.76%±4.86%)为优势亚群,假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas,16.92%±0.02%)为优势菌属;RDA结果表明不同菌群受不同环境因子的影响 不同,菌属群落Ⅳ和环境中总氮、总磷显著正相关。【结论】高通量测序分析能获得更为全面的细菌群落多样性信息。河流经过城区后环境因子发生较大变化,影响河流细菌群落结构改变。这为研究河流城市区段的细菌结构多样性及与环境因子的关系提供了新的科学数据。     

深圳大鹏湾海域锥状斯氏藻赤潮期间细菌群落结构变化研究

目的:近年来,赤潮在我国的发生呈增加的趋势,并造成了极大的经济损失。过去研究赤潮发生的机理主要集中在理化因素的影响,而越来越多的证据表明仅凭借营养盐等环境因素并不能解释大部分赤潮现象,藻际微生物可能发挥着重要作用。本文跟踪观测了2010年7月深圳大鹏湾海域爆发的锥状斯氏藻赤潮生消过程中细菌群落丰度种类的变化,从微生物与赤潮藻相互作用的角度探讨了赤潮的生消过程,讨论了不同时期不同关键菌群的特殊作用,为解释赤潮爆发和消亡提供了新的视角,为赤潮的监控和防治新方法的建立奠定了理论基础。方法:本文按时间顺序共采集该赤潮9次样本,利用末端限制性酶切片段长度多态性分析(T-RFLP)等分子生物学方法,通过主成分分析、克隆文库的构建,研究了微生物群落的变化过程,并探讨了特定种属的微生物在赤潮发生、发展和消亡过程中的作用。结果:从浮游细菌丰度来看,随着锥状斯氏藻细胞数量的波动,浮游细菌总数也随之呈现相应的变化。从浮游细菌的种类来看,它们主要属于变形杆菌门(Proteobacteria)、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)和厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)。从浮游细菌的动态变化过程来看,赤潮生消过程中,浮游细菌群落呈现出一定的演替现象,特别是在赤潮后期,群落主成分变化尤为显著。从关键菌群的作用来看,属于γ变形杆菌门的Alteromonas sp.一直占有较高的丰度,赤潮中后期受到菌群相互作用导致比例下降,而赤潮后期其他关键菌群的丰度的增高可能是导致赤潮消亡的重要原因。结论:本文利用T-RFLP这一DNA指纹技术分析微生物群落结构和多样性特征,通过研究赤潮生消过程中藻际浮游细菌群落的动态变化,发现随着赤潮的发展,浮游细菌群落发生着相应的变化。结果说明赤潮藻体丰度数量的改变影响着浮游细菌群落的组成。相对地,细菌群落的适应调整迅速造成赤潮藻体局部生长环境的改变,从而影响赤潮的发展过程。     

激活剂用量对油藏内源微生物群落的影响

为了明确激活剂用量对油藏内源微生物群落的影响,在沾3内源微生物试验区块细菌密度达到平台期后,在激活剂注入阶段实施了一个周期的寡营养期(2013年10月—11月)和一个周期的富营养期(2014年1月—2月)。结果发现:该措施实施后,沾3区块内源微生物群落结构发生了明显改变。寡营养期后,油井产出液的细菌密度略有降低,同时群落多样性明显升高,富营养期后,细菌密度出现反弹,突破实施前的平台期达到106个/mL以上,而油藏微生物多样性明显降低。本研究还发现,激活剂用量对油藏内源微生物群落结构的影响会进一步对现场生产动态产生影响,降低激活剂浓度可以改善现场生产动态。     

城市河流改造工程对河流生态系统野生维管植物的影响

随着城市化的发展,许多城市对流经市区的河流进行了大规模工程改造,在获得了多种效益的同时,也引起了诸如生物多样性破坏和物种组成改变等一系列生态问题,因此对城市河流改造工程的生态影响进行研究非常重要,将有助于在未来城市河流改造中更有效地保护河流生态系统。该文以汾河太原段的河道改造工程为研究对象,用Shannon-Weiner 多样性指数、Sørensen群落相似性指数和单因素方差分析方法,研究了河流改造工程对河流生态系统中的野生维管植物物种多样性、频度和群落物种组成相似性的影响。结果表明:太原汾河段改造后比改造前的野生维管植物物种数和Shannon-Weiner 多样性指数显著降低;低频度的物种数明显增加而高频度的物种数明显减少;河流改造前后的群落相似性明显降低。由此可见,城市河流改造工程对河流生态系统中的野生维管植物物种多样性、频度和群落相似性有明显影响。     

鄱阳湖湖泊细菌群落组成及结构——以松门山为例

于2011年5月在鄱阳湖——松门山湖区采集底泥与表层水样,分别提取了表层水体浮游和底泥微生物基因组DNA,利用454高通量测序技术对细菌的16S rRNA基因进行了序列测定,分析了湖泊底泥细菌、水体浮游细菌群落结构特征。结果显示:底泥细菌OTUs(Operational Taxonomic Units)为1454,表层水体浮游细菌OTUs为269;底泥细菌群落比表层水体更加多样化,底泥细菌的物种数大大多于表层水体。同时,底泥细菌群落与表层浮游细菌群落结构存在显著差异。物种分类显示鄱阳湖底泥细菌种类隶属于20门,228属,其中优势种群为δ-变形菌纲(Deltaproteobacteria)、β-变形菌纲(Betaproteobacteria)和疣微菌门(Verrucomicrobia);表层水体浮游细菌隶属于13门116属,优势种群为β-变形菌纲、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)和放线菌门(Actinobacteria)。结果进一步揭示,无论是浮游细菌群落还是沉积物细菌群落,优势细菌种群的基因型多样性更高。     

利用DGGE法研究不同种植体系中根际微生物群落结构

利用DGGE技术研究不同间作和轮作种植体系对作物根际细菌和真菌群落结构的影响.运用16SrDNA和18SrDNA特异引物对,将土壤中提取的总DNA进行PCR扩增后,通过DGGE技术对PCR产物进行分析,结果表明:玉米-蚕豆轮作对蚕豆根际细菌和真菌群落结构影响明显,二者都与单作蚕豆有较大差异;小麦/蚕豆间作明显改变两种作物根际细菌群落结构和蚕豆根际真菌群落结构;玉米/蚕豆间作明显改变玉米根际细菌、真菌群落结构和蚕豆根际真菌群落结构.     

有机稻鸭共作对土壤理化性状和细菌群落空间分布的影响

为探明有机稻鸭共作对不同深度耕层土壤理化性状和细菌群落的影响,采用田间实验,研究了有机稻鸭共作(12年)和转型期稻鸭共作(3年)田在0~6、6~13和13~20 cm土层的理化性状和细菌群落结构变化规律。结果表明:有机稻鸭共作12年后,0~6和6~13 cm土壤理化性状得到较大程度改善,但13~20 cm层改变较小;与转型期稻鸭共作相比,有机稻鸭共作显著改变了细菌群落组成,使不同耕层土壤具有了更高比例的共同细菌门;同时还提高了各耕层土壤细菌群落的丰富度和多样性,减小了各耕层土壤细菌群落结构分布差异性,这在0~6 cm层土壤中表现尤为明显,使细菌群落结构整体朝着更加稳定方向发展;相关分析表明,pH值、土壤容重、全氮和硝态氮是影响有机稻鸭共作后土壤细菌群落空间分布的重要因子。综合来看,有机稻鸭共作主要通过改变土壤理化性状来影响细菌群落的空间分布,是促进农业可持续发展的一种重要模式。     

夏季达里诺尔湖浮游细菌群落表、底层结构特征及其关键驱动因子

浮游细菌是湖泊水体物质循环和能量流动过程中的关键要素, 影响着整个生态系统的迁移转化。为探索中国北方典型内陆封闭型湖泊浮游细菌群落结构对环境因子变动的响应, 以夏季内蒙古达里诺尔湖(以下简称“达里湖”)为例, 采集表、底层水共32个样品, 基于16S rRNA基因测序, 详细分析了浮游细菌群落结构的表、底层变化特征及其主要影响因素, 结果显示: (1)夏季达里湖水体中浮游细菌群落多样性和均匀度均呈现表层＞底层, 丰富度则呈底层＞表层。(2)浮游细菌群落以变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、蓝细菌门(Cyanobacteria)和拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)四大优势菌门为主要组成部分, 且变形菌门含量在表、底层水体中均占绝对优势: 在底层水中占比46.46 %, 在表层水中占比36.21 %。(3)基于不同环境因子和浮游细菌优势菌门间的Pearson相关性分析, 表层水体中总溶解性固体(TDS)、溶解态无机磷(DIP)是多数优势菌门的主要驱动因子, 而底层水体中的总氮(TN)、叶绿素a(Chl a)和水温(WT)为主要驱动因子。总的来说, 达里诺尔湖表、底层浮游细菌群落结构与不同环境因子间存在显著相关, 而水体环境因子的表、底层差异是影响多数优势菌门演化的重要因素。     

环境因子对河流底栖无脊椎动物群落结构的影响

底栖无脊椎动物是河流生态系统的重要组成部分,在物质循环和能量流动中是不可或缺的重要环节。其群落结构特点与河流环境因子密切相关,能较好地反映河流生态系统健康状况。综述了物理因子(底质、温度、水深、水流、洪水干扰等)、化学因子(溶氧量、p H值、磷、氮等)、生物因子(水生植物、竞争和捕食)、人为干扰(电站建设、城镇化等)和综合因子对河流底栖无脊椎动物群落结构的影响,并根据国内外研究现状指出水流、海拔和洪水干扰等环境因子对河流底栖无脊椎动物群落结构影响的研究较少或不足,对这些环境因子的研究应是今后河流生态学领域需要着力推进重要内容。深入研究和完善环境因子与底栖无脊椎动物群落结构的关系可为保护底栖无脊椎动物群落、流域水生态系统管理和受损河流生态系统修复提供更为全面的科学依据。     

Relationship between bacterial community composition and bottom-up versus top-down variables in four eutrophic shallow lakes

Bacterial community composition was monitored in four shallow eutrophic lakes during one year using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified prokaryotic rDNA genes. Of the four lakes investigated, two were of the clearwater type and had dense stands of submerged macrophytes while two others were of the turbid type characterized by the occurrence of phytoplankton blooms. One turbid and one clearwater lake had high nutrient levels (total phosphorus, >100 micro g liter(-1)) while the other lakes had relatively low nutrient levels (total phosphorus, <100 micro g liter(-1)). For each lake, seasonal changes in the bacterial community were related to bottom-up (resources) and top-down (grazers) variables by using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Using an artificial model dataset to which potential sources of error associated with the use of relative band intensities in DGGE analysis were added, we found that preferential amplification of certain rDNA genes over others does not obscure the relationship between bacterial community composition and explanatory variables. Besides, using this artificial dataset as well as our own data, we found a better correlation between bacterial community composition and explanatory variables by using relative band intensities compared to using presence/absence data. While bacterial community composition was related to phytoplankton biomass in the high-nutrient lakes no such relation was found in the low-nutrient lakes, where the bacterial community is probably dependent on other organic matter sources. We used variation partitioning to evaluate top-down regulation of bacterial community composition after bottom-up regulation has been accounted for. Using this approach, we found no evidence for top-down regulation of bacterial community composition in the turbid lakes, while grazing by ciliates and daphnids (Daphnia and Ceriodaphnia) was significantly related to changes in the bacterial community in the clearwater lakes. Our results suggest that in eutrophic shallow lakes, seasonality of bacterial community structure is dependent on the dominant substrate source as well as on the food web structure.     

Relationship between Bacterial Community Composition and Bottom-Up versus Top-Down Variables in Four Eutrophic Shallow Lakes

Bacterial community composition was monitored in four shallow eutrophic lakes during one year using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified prokaryotic rDNA genes. Of the four lakes investigated, two were of the clearwater type and had dense stands of submerged macrophytes while two others were of the turbid type characterized by the occurrence of phytoplankton blooms. One turbid and one clearwater lake had high nutrient levels (total phosphorus, >100 μg liter⁻¹) while the other lakes had relatively low nutrient levels (total phosphorus, <100 μg liter⁻¹). For each lake, seasonal changes in the bacterial community were related to bottom-up (resources) and top-down (grazers) variables by using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Using an artificial model dataset to which potential sources of error associated with the use of relative band intensities in DGGE analysis were added, we found that preferential amplification of certain rDNA genes over others does not obscure the relationship between bacterial community composition and explanatory variables. Besides, using this artificial dataset as well as our own data, we found a better correlation between bacterial community composition and explanatory variables by using relative band intensities compared to using presence/absence data. While bacterial community composition was related to phytoplankton biomass in the high-nutrient lakes no such relation was found in the low-nutrient lakes, where the bacterial community is probably dependent on other organic matter sources. We used variation partitioning to evaluate top-down regulation of bacterial community composition after bottom-up regulation has been accounted for. Using this approach, we found no evidence for top-down regulation of bacterial community composition in the turbid lakes, while grazing by ciliates and daphnids (Daphnia and Ceriodaphnia) was significantly related to changes in the bacterial community in the clearwater lakes. Our results suggest that in eutrophic shallow lakes, seasonality of bacterial community structure is dependent on the dominant substrate source as well as on the food web structure.     

大兴安岭森林火烧后不同演替阶段土壤细菌多样性动态

【目的】研究我国最大的林区之一——大兴安岭森林火烧后不同演替阶段土壤细菌多样性动态,为天然林保护工程对于生物多样性的影响增添新的认识。【方法】以空间替代时间的方法分析大兴安岭森林演替对于土壤细菌多样性动态的影响。大兴安岭森林火烧后典型的自然演替序列为火烧迹地(LG-BA)、灌丛(SHR)、白桦林(BP)、白桦落叶松混交林(BP-LG)、落叶松林(LG-OM)。在演替序列的每个典型样地上采集0-10 cm土样,采用Illumina Mi Seq高通量测序技术测定土壤细菌群落组成及其多样性。【结果】细菌操作分类单位(OTU)数量从少到多的顺序为火烧迹地落叶松白桦混交林灌丛落叶松林白桦林。随着森林演替,多样性指数Simpson先增高后降低;Shannon指数先增加后减少再增加;OTU的丰度变化比较平缓,表明物种变化较小。在各演替阶段中,土壤细菌种类主要有变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)和浮霉菌门(Planctomycetes),4个门的种类含量随演替顺序都呈现先增加后减少的趋势。主成分分析表明不同演替阶段土壤细菌群落存在一定的差异性。冗余分析表明有机质(SOM)、全氮(TN)、全磷(TP)和p H对于土壤细菌群落变化有影响。【结论】随着森林演替,大兴安岭地区土壤细菌种类和生物多样性会发生变化,其变化与土壤化学成分和p H有关。     

Characterization of microbial communities and composition in constructed dairy wetland wastewater effluent

Constructed wetlands have been recognized as a removal treatment option for high concentrations of contaminants in agricultural waste before land application. The goal of this study was to characterize microbial composition in two constructed wetlands designed to remove contaminants from dairy washwater. Water samples were collected weekly for 11 months from two wetlands to determine the efficiency of the treatment system in removal of chemical contaminants and total and fecal coliforms. The reduction by the treatment was greatest for biological oxygen demand, suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand, nitrate, and coliforms. There was only moderate removal of total nitrogen and phosphorus. Changes in the total bacterial community and ammonia-oxidizing bacterial composition were examined by using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing of PCR-amplified fragments of the gene carrying the alpha subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase gene (amoA) recovered from soil samples and DGGE bands. DGGE analysis of wetlands and manure samples revealed that the total bacterial community composition was dominated by bacteria from phylogenetic clusters related to Bacillus, Clostridium, Mycoplasma, Eubacterium, and Proteobacteria originally retrieved from the gastrointestinal tracts of mammals. The population of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria showed a higher percentage of Nitrosospira-like sequences from the wetland samples, while a higher percentage of Nitrosomonas-like sequences from manure, feces, raw washwater, and facultative pond was found. These results show that the wetland system is a natural process dependent upon the development of healthy microbial communities for optimal wastewater treatment.     

Biome-level biogeography of streambed microbiota

A field study was conducted to determine the microbial community structures of streambed sediments across diverse geographic and climatic areas. Sediment samples were collected from three adjacent headwater forest streams within three biomes, eastern deciduous (Pennsylvania), southeastern coniferous (New Jersey), and tropical evergreen (Guanacaste, Costa Rica), to assess whether there is biome control of stream microbial community structure. Bacterial abundance, microbial biomass, and bacterial and microbial community structures were determined using classical, biochemical, and molecular methods. Microbial biomass, determined using phospholipid phosphate, was significantly greater in the southeastern coniferous biome, likely due to the smaller grain size, higher organic content, and lower levels of physical disturbance of these sediments. Microbial community structure was determined using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles and bacterial community structure from terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and edited (microeukaryotic PLFAs removed) PLFA profiles. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate patterns in total microbial community structure. The first principal component separated streams based on the importance of phototrophic microeukaryotes within the community, while the second separated southeastern coniferous streams from all others based on increased abundance of fungal PLFAs. PCA also indicated that within- and among-stream variations were small for tropical evergreen streams and large for southeastern coniferous streams. A similar analysis of bacterial community structure indicated that streams within biomes had similar community structures, while each biome possessed a unique streambed community, indicating strong within-biome control of stream bacterial community structure.     

基于MiSeq测序分析新疆泥火山土壤细菌群落多样性

【目的】以新疆乌苏泥火山土壤为研究对象,了解泥火山细菌群落结构及其时空动态变化。【方法】选择泥火山4种不同生境土壤在4、7、11月份采样,应用Illumina Mi Seq测序技术测定泥火山土壤细菌的16S r RNA基因V3–V4变异区序列,分析乌苏泥火山不同生境土壤细菌群落组成。【结果】泥火山土壤细菌在97%的相似水平下共得到OTU个数为29 005,在细菌门水平上共有38种细菌类群,Proteobacteria、Actinobacteria、Bacteroidetes为优势菌群,在属水平上共有72种细菌类群,其中含量最高的是未分类细菌;多样性分析表明生境D的丰度指数和多样性指数最高,将泥火山细菌群落多样性与理化因子结合分析,发现其多样性随着土壤养分的增加而基本降低,说明物种多样性指数与理化因子之间呈负相关关系;OTU水平的分析表明生境A的群落组成在时空动态上没有显著差异,其样品群落组成较为相似,而生境C的物种组成差异较大。【结论】相比较于传统方法,Mi Seq测序能够更全面解析环境样品中微生物多样性,揭示了乌苏泥火山群蕴含着丰富的微生物资源,这将为深入研究泥火山生态系统奠定基础,为合理利用和开发泥火山微生物资源提供指导。     

徐州权台煤矿井下700m水平微生物群落分布特征

煤矿井下与表生环境具有明显差异,研究其微生物群落分布及多样性对深入探讨井下水-岩-气-生作用机制具有重要意义。本研究在徐州权台煤矿井下700 m水平采集了8个沉积物样本,对样品进行了理化指标测试和Miseq高通量测序。结果表明,煤矿井下具有丰富的微生物多样性,8个样本共检测到35个细菌门类,其中变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)和放线菌门(Actinobacteria)为优势菌门,其相对丰度之和占比超过80%;煤矿井下的优势菌属主要包括乳球菌属(Lactococcus)、假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)、分枝杆菌属(Mycobacterium)和芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)。从井下环境细菌群落分布来看,变形菌门和厚壁菌门主要分布在岩巷中,而放线菌门则主要分布在煤巷中。岩巷中的细菌多样性整体上高于煤巷。样本理化指标与微生物群落间的相关性分析表明,pH值是影响煤矿细菌群落门水平分布的主要因素(R2=0.766,P<0.05),其中放线菌、厚壁菌门和Latescibacteria与pH呈正相关,其他门类与pH呈负相关。TOC、总氮、总磷及硫酸盐对群落丰度分布也有一定的影响。因此,在煤矿污染机制及污染物迁移的研究中需充分考虑井下微生物的影响。     

Molecular Characterization of the Total Bacteria and Dissimilatory Arsenate-Reducing Bacteria in Core Sediments of the Jianghan Plain,Central China

Arsenic contamination in groundwater has been reported in the Jianghan Plain of China since 2005, yet little is known about the microbial communities involved in As mobilization in this area, especially the dissimilatory arsenate-reducing bacteria (DARB) communities. Here, we conducted a cultivation-independent investigation on core sediments collected from a region with arsenic-contaminated groundwater in the Jianghan Plain to reveal the total bacteria and DARB community structures. Highly diverse As-resistant bacteria communities were found from sediment samples via high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Notably, we identified 27 unique arrA gene (encoding the alpha subunit of dissimilatory arsenate reductase) phylotypes, none of which was related to any previously described arrA gene sequence. This suggests a novel and unique DARB community in the sediments of the Jianghan Plain and expands our knowledge about the distribution and diversity of this group of bacteria in natural environments. Moreover, RDA and CCA demonstrated that total bacterial communities and specific functional groups are controlled by different environmental factors. Specifically, sediment pH, NH₄⁺, total nitrogen, total Fe, total organic carbon and total phosphorus were the key factors driving total bacterial community compositions, while As significantly shaped DARB community structures. This report is the first to describe DARB communities and their correlation with environmental factors in Jianghan Plain sediments, which could give us clues about the origin of the arsenic contamination of groundwater in this region.     

Phosphorus chemistry and bacterial community composition interact in brackish sediments receiving agricultural discharges

Background

External nutrient discharges have caused eutrophication in many estuaries and coastal seas such as the Baltic Sea. The sedimented nutrients can affect bacterial communities which, in turn, are widely believed to contribute to release of nutrients such as phosphorus from the sediment.

Methods

We investigated relationships between bacterial communities and chemical forms of phosphorus as well as elements involved in its cycling in brackish sediments using up-to-date multivariate statistical methods. Bacterial community composition was determined by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and cloning of the 16S rRNA gene.

Results and Conclusions

The bacterial community composition differed along gradients of nutrients, especially of different phosphorus forms, from the estuary receiving agricultural phosphorus loading to the open sea. This suggests that the chemical composition of sediment phosphorus, which has been affected by riverine phosphorus loading, influenced on bacterial communities. Chemical and spatial parameters explained 25% and 11% of the variation in bacterial communities. Deltaproteobacteria, presumptively sulphate and sulphur/iron reducing, were strongly associated to chemical parameters, also when spatial autocorrelation was taken into account. Sulphate reducers correlated positively with labile organic phosphorus and total nitrogen in the open sea sediments. Sulphur/iron reducers and sulphate reducers linked to iron reduction correlated positively with aluminium- and iron-bound phosphorus, and total iron in the estuary. The sulphate and sulphur/iron reducing bacteria can thus have an important role both in the mineralization and mobilization of nutrients from sediment.

Significance

Novelty in our study is that relationships between bacterial community composition and different phosphorus forms, instead of total phosphorus, were investigated. Total phosphorus does not necessarily bring out interactions between bacteria and phosphorus chemistry since proportions of easily usable mobile (reactive) phosphorus and immobile phosphorus forms in different sediments can vary. Our study suggested possible feedbacks between different forms of phosphorus and bacterial community composition.     

Effects of a natural flood disturbance on species richness and beta diversity of stream benthic diatom communities

Natural hydrological disturbances in streams may reduce biomass and species richness and change community composition within streams. Disturbances can also affect beta diversity among streams if their effects are species specific or vary across sites. We investigated the effect of a natural flood on species richness, community composition and among-streams beta diversity of benthic diatoms (total community and three functional groups: low profile, high profile and motile) of seven streams in New Zealand. Sampling occurred shortly before, 10 days after and 40 days after the flood. Species richness of the total diatom community did not change after the flood. The high-profile group was the only one whose species richness declined after the flood, whereas species richness of the low-profile group increased. Community composition changed after the flood, mostly as a result of species replacement rather than richness differences over time. Finally, among-streams beta diversity did not change after the flood, suggesting that variation in species composition of benthic diatoms among streams may be maintained in the face of flood disturbances.