Macroecological patterns of archaeal ammonia oxidizers in the Atlantic Ocean |
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Authors: | Eva Sintes Daniele De Corte Natascha Ouillon Gerhard J Herndl |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Limnology and Bio‐Oceanography, Center of Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria;2. Department of Biological Oceanography, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | Macroecological patterns are found in animals and plants, but also in micro‐organisms. Macroecological and biogeographic distribution patterns in marine Archaea, however, have not been studied yet. Ammonia‐oxidizing Archaea (AOA) show a bipolar distribution (i.e. similar communities in the northernmost and the southernmost locations, separated by distinct communities in the tropical and gyral regions) throughout the Atlantic, detectable from epipelagic to upper bathypelagic layers (<2000 m depth). This tentatively suggests an influence of the epipelagic conditions of organic matter production on bathypelagic AOA communities. The AOA communities below 2000 m depth showed a less pronounced biogeographic distribution pattern than the upper 2000 m water column. Overall, AOA in the surface and deep Atlantic waters exhibit distance–decay relationships and follow the Rapoport rule in a similar way as bacterial communities and macroorganisms. This indicates a major role of environmental conditions in shaping the community composition and assembly (species sorting) and no, or only weak limits for dispersal in the oceanic thaumarchaeal communities. However, there is indication of a different strength of these relationships between AOA and Bacteria, linked to the intrinsic differences between these two domains. |
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Keywords: | ammonia oxidizers biogeography deep ocean macroecology Thaumarchaeota |
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