青藏高原北部戈壁植物群落物种、功能与系统发育β多样性分布格局及其影响因素

戈壁荒漠广泛分布于全球干旱和极旱区域, 是我国陆地生态系统的重要组成部分。由于自然环境恶劣和交通条件限制, 目前有关戈壁植物群落物种、功能和系统发育等多维度β多样性形成机制的系统研究还很缺乏, 严重制约着对戈壁植物多样性维持机制的认知。本文以青藏高原北部61个典型戈壁生境植物群落为研究对象, 通过构建系统发育树和测量8个关键功能性状, 获取戈壁生境的物种、功能和系统发育β多样性, 比较3个维度β多样性格局与零模型的差异, 同时量化环境距离和地理距离对其的相对影响, 以探讨戈壁植物多样性的形成机制。结果显示: (1)戈壁植物的物种、功能和系统发育β多样性均表现出显著的距离衰减效应; (2)戈壁植物的物种、功能和系统发育β多样性均表现为非随机的格局; (3)由于功能性状趋同进化, 植物功能和系统发育β多样性变化趋势并不一致; (4)环境差异对植物3个维度β多样性均有着比空间距离更为重要的影响, 且土壤含水量、地表砾石盖度等局域生境因素的影响比气候更为强烈。以上结果表明, 戈壁植物的β多样性可能主要由局域生境过滤作用控制, 且不同维度的β多样性分布格局并不一致。     

青弋江鱼类分类群和功能群的α和β多样性纵向梯度格局

确定溪流鱼类多样性的时空分布格局可为鱼类多样性保护与管理提供科学基础。尽管溪流鱼类分类群多样性的纵向梯度格局已有大量报道, 但以鱼类生物学特征为基础的功能多样性研究较少。本文基于2009-2010年4个季度对青弋江1-5级溪流共15个样点的调查数据, 利用形态特征数据和食性构建了鱼类复合功能群, 研究了不同级别溪流间鱼类分类群和功能群组成及多样性的异同, 着重探讨了鱼类分类群和功能群的α和β多样性沿溪流纵向梯度的变化规律。采集到的56种鱼类可分为4个营养功能群和5个运动功能群, 共计14个“营养-运动”复合功能群。双因素交互相似性分析结果显示, 鱼类分类群和功能群组成都随河流级别显著变化, 但季节动态不显著; 双因素方差分析后发现, 鱼类分类群和功能群α、β多样性都随河流级别显著变化, 但受季节影响不显著。经回归分析, 分类群和功能群α多样性与河流级别大小呈显著的线性正相关, 但最大分类群α多样性出现于4级河流, 最大功能群α多样性在4级和5级河流间一致; 分类群和功能群β多样性与河流级别大小呈显著的二项式关系, 呈U型分布。分类群β多样性的空间变化主要取决于物种周转, 而功能群β多样性主要由嵌套所驱动。本研究表明, 沿着“上游-下游”的纵向梯度, 河流鱼类的α和β多样性的空间变化规律不同, 分类群和功能群α多样性的空间格局基本一致, 但分类群(主要是物种周转)和功能群β多样性(主要是功能嵌套)的空间变化过程的驱动机制不同。     

莱州湾金城海域鱼礁投放后大型底栖动物群落变化

为研究莱州湾金城海域人工鱼礁对大型底栖动物的影响,2009-2012年对鱼礁区与对照区的大型底栖动物进行了9次调查,研究底栖动物种类组成、群落结构、种类相似性、生物量、丰度以及多样性的变化和群落稳定性.结果表明:人工鱼礁区与对照区共采集到大型底栖动物4门30科35种,其中鱼礁区30种,对照区27种.调查海域站点按照鱼礁投放与否可分为两个不同的群落,造成群落分组的首要贡献种为浮游生物食者.鱼礁区与对照区种类相似性由鱼礁投放后第一年的37.5％提高到第二年的58.6％.鱼礁区底栖动物生物量由第一年的1.00 g·m-2增加到第二年的1.55 g·m-2,差异显著;丰度由540 ind·m-2增至622ind·m-2.鱼礁区底栖动物的生物量和丰度均高于对照区.与对照区相比,鱼礁投放后鱼礁区Shannon指数、丰富度指数有所升高,均匀度指数有所降低.丰度/生物量比较(ABC)曲线表明,鱼礁投放后第二年底栖动物群落的扰动较第一年更为明显,说明人工鱼礁投放早期(1～2年)大型底栖动物群落还处于一个被扰动状态.莱州湾金城海域鱼礁投放后大型底栖动物群落变化主要受到物理、化学、生物以及人类活动的影响.     

浙江省主要亚热带森林群落类型物种和谱系水平的α和β多样性比较

了解不同森林群落类型的物种和谱系水平的α和β多样性, 有助于指导森林经营和生物多样性保护。本研究比较了浙江省内不同地点主要森林类型(包括常绿阔叶林、常绿落叶阔叶混交林、落叶阔叶林和针阔叶混交林)的物种α多样性和谱系α多样性, 以及物种β多样性和谱系β多样性。研究表明, 该地区主要森林类型的物种和谱系α多样性均存在较大差异, 但控制了空间和地形因子的作用后, 差异几乎全部消失; 森林类型内部及相互间的物种和谱系β多样性均存在显著差异, 同种森林类型内部的物种和谱系β多样性分别小于不同森林类型之间的物种和谱系β多样性, 且在控制了空间和地形因子的作用后, 以上差异仍然显著。本研究表明影响亚热带主要森林群落类型物种和谱系水平的α和β多样性的因素存在差异: α多样性可能主要受到空间和地形因子等的影响, 而β多样性则可能受到森林类型的重要影响。     

莱州湾多毛类底栖动物生态特征及其对环境变化的响应

研究了2010年莱州湾15个站位的多毛类底栖动物群落生态特征及其对主要海水化学、沉积物环境变化的响应,并与1998年的相关研究进行了对比,以期对莱州湾生态质量现状进行健康评价。结果表明:与1998年相比,2010年底栖动物种类组成和生物多样性发生了较大的变化,底栖动物中绝对优势种为小头虫(Capitellacapitata)。夏季,H’与硝酸盐、石油类、重金属铅、铜、锌、铬呈负相关,说明多毛类动物多样性随着富营养化程度的提高而相应降低,营养物质氮的大量输入,重金属的污染,对莱州湾多毛类动物群落产生了一定负面影响。ABC曲线和BOPA指数结果显示,底栖动物的丰度优势度曲线高于生物量曲线,表明莱州湾底栖动物群落处于重度扰动状态,并且以小头虫为主的多毛类动物显著增加预示了莱州湾已经受到了一定程度的污染。加强海水养殖管理,合理利用海洋生物资源,对底栖动物群落的稳定性和环境的可持续利用具有重要意义。     

莱州湾大型底栖动物功能群现状

2011年对莱州湾20个站位进行了4个航次的大型底栖动物调查,运用功能群为基础的研究方法,研究了莱州湾大型底栖动物的功能群组成及多样性.结果表明:2011年共发现177种大型底栖动物,以环节动物、软体动物和节肢动物为主,各功能群所含种类占全部种类的百分比依次为C＞D＞Pl＞O＞Ph,栖息密度百分比依次是Pl＞D＞C＞O＞Ph,生物量百分比依次是Pl＞C＞D＞O＞Ph;通过聚类分析可将20个站位分为3组;各功能群的种类数、栖息密度和生物量在季节变化上均无显著差异,各功能群的丰富度指数(d)依次是C＞D＞P1＞O(Ph功能群除外),季节间差异显著(P＜0.05),均匀度指数(J')依次是C＞D＞O＞Pl,季节间差异不显著,多样性指数(H')依次是C＞D＞Pl＞O,季节间差异不显著;种类多样性和功能群多样性呈显著线性正相关;ABC曲线显示,大型底栖动物群落受到了不同程度的扰动;大型底栖动物群落与其食物来源共有4个营养级,大型底栖动物功能群占第Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ营养级,各营养级之间构成了一张复杂的食物网.     

稀有种和常见种对植物群落物种丰富度格局的相对贡献

物种丰富度格局的形成不仅依赖于群落的构建过程, 同样也依赖于群落中的物种组成(如稀有种和常见种)。本文以黄土高原子午岭林区的辽东栎(Quercus wutaishanica)林为研究对象, 根据频度大小对物种进行排序, 形成稀有-常见种和常见-稀有种两条物种序列, 通过逐一添加(去除)物种, 分析引起的总体物种丰富度及其成分(α多样性和β多样性)的变化, 确定稀有种和常见种对物种丰富度格局的相对贡献。结果表明: (1)常见-稀有种序列与群落总体物种丰富度的相关性呈先剧增后平稳的对数增长曲线, 而稀有-常见种序列与群落总体的相关性与前者刚好相反, 呈先平稳后剧增的指数增长曲线; (2) α多样性在常见-稀有种序列中呈明显的对数变化曲线, 而在稀有-常见种序列中呈指数增长曲线; (3)与α多样性变化相反, β多样性在常见-稀有种序列中随物种的进入先迅速降低后逐渐平稳, 而在稀有-常见种序列中先平稳后急剧降低。可以看出, 常见种不仅主导群落的总体物种丰富度格局, 同时也是α多样性和β多样性格局的重要贡献者。因此, 常见种是群落物种丰富度格局的指示者, 也应该是优先保护的物种。     

不同水深条件下刺参养殖池塘大型底栖动物群落结构季节性变化特征

于2012年7月至2013年4月调查了荣成靖海湾3个不同水深的刺参(Apostichopus japonicus)养殖池塘内大型底栖动物的构成,以了解不同水深对刺参养殖池塘环境条件的影响以及由此引起的大型底栖生物群落结构的改变。结果表明:3个不同水深梯度池塘(1#浅水位、2#正常水位和3#高水位)底部光照强度、叶绿素a(Chla)和总有机物(TOM)含量存在显著差异,各池塘水温差异不显著。光强、Chla和TOM含量在夏季、冬季和春季均表现为1#池塘显著高于3#池塘;秋季各池塘间光强和TOM含量差异不显著,Chla含量则表现为3#池塘显著高于1#池塘。各季节3个池塘间大型底栖动物在种类组成、丰度、生物量和多样性指数上均存在显著性差异。大型底栖动物丰度和生物量夏季均表现为1#池塘显著高于3#池塘,秋季和冬季则相反;春季1#池塘丰度显著高于3#池塘,生物量则差异不显著。这些差异主要与其各自优势种及其优势度指数大小有关。大型底栖动物多样性指数夏季和秋季均表现为1#池塘高于3#池塘,春季则相反,冬季各池塘间多样性指数差异不显著。单因子相似性分析(ANOSIM)表明,各季节3个池塘间大型底栖动物群落结构均存在显著差异,表明水深梯度对刺参养殖池塘大型底栖动物群落结构造成显著性影响。相似性百分比分析(SIMPER)显示,各季节对3个池塘间大型底栖动物群落差异起主要作用的物种为各个池塘的优势种。典范对应分析(CCA)表明,水深、Chla和TOM含量为影响大型底栖动物群落的主要环境因子。     

杭州湾南岸大桥建设区域潮间带大型底栖动物功能群及营养等级的季节动态

2006年5月至2007年1月在杭州湾南岸跨海大桥附近潮滩共采集到32种大型底栖动物,根据其食性类型划分为5种功能群。用功能群方法对这些物种生境变化的关系进行了分析,结果表明:大型底栖动物各多样性指数在潮带间差异显著,季节间则只有Margalef种类丰度(S)和Shannon-Wiener指数(H′)存在显著性差异;各功能群密度在季节间均不存在显著性差异,而在潮带间除了浮游生物食者外,其它类群均存在显著性差异;肉食者的种类数在潮带间不存在显著性差异,而在季节间存在显著性差异,其它功能群刚好相反。滩涂大型底栖动物群落主要包括4个营养级别,各营养级的构成密度在季节间差异不显著,在潮带间则差异显著;各营养级种类数是处于第四级的肉食者季节间差异显著,潮带间变化不显著,处于第二、三营养等级的功能群则正好相反。底栖动物功能群多样性综合反映了杭州湾南岸大桥建设区域潮间带大型底栖动物群落变化情况。     

福建省主要海湾潮下带大型底栖无脊椎动物组成与分布特征

根据2010年8月对福建省12个主要海湾潮下带大型底栖无脊椎动物的调查资料,分析了大型底栖无脊椎动物的种类组成、生物多样性和群落结构分布特征及其与环境因子的关系.结果表明: 12个海湾共采集到大型底栖动物382种,包括环节动物170种、甲壳动物75种、软体动物78种、棘皮动物19种,以及其他类群40种.物种数、丰度、生物量和生物多样性指数空间差异较大: 罗源湾物种数最高,为92种,旧镇湾最低,为25种,所有海湾平均(55±21)种;所有海湾在物种组成上均为多毛类占优势,其平均物种数百分比为(51.8±5.5)%;诏安湾平均丰度最高,为(1330±1094) ind·m^-2,其次为福清湾、厦门湾、湄洲湾,泉州湾最低;兴化湾平均生物量最高,为(821.2±2387.7) g·m^-2,其次为福清湾、厦门湾,深沪湾最低;丰富度指数和Shannon多样性指数在罗源湾、湄洲湾、深沪湾、厦门湾和东山湾呈现较高值,而在福清湾和旧镇湾呈现较低值,两者的全域均值分别为(0.80±0.09)和(2.73±0.64).以相似度20%为界,可将研究区域的大型底栖无脊椎动物划分为14个群组,其中罗源湾内各站位间群落相似度最高,湾内差异最小,其次为三沙湾、福清湾、深沪湾和诏安湾,而其他海湾不同站位的群落组成差异较大.物种数、多样性指数和环境因子间的相关性分析和主成分分析显示,造成研究区大型底栖动物群落结构组成和分布差异的主要环境因子依次为沉积物铜、水深和底层水体活性磷酸盐.     

Stressor fluxes alter the relationship between beta‐diversity and regional productivity

Dispersal of organisms can influence the relationship between beta‐diversity and regional productivity in heterogeneous environments. However, many ecosystems are also linked by fluxes of stressors, with an unknown influence on this relationship. In this study, we assess the relationship between beta‐diversity (measured as Bray–Curtis dissimilarity) and regional productivity (measured as biovolume) under various levels of a stressor flux in meta‐ecosystems that were composed of two marine micro‐algae communities. We created heterogeneity by exposing one of the two communities to a herbicide and manipulated regional diversity by applying a dispersal gradient, which decreased beta‐diversity. We applied four stressor flux levels, which homogenized the herbicide concentration between the communities over time. The stressor flux changed the relationship between beta‐diversity and regional productivity by changing the effect of dispersal on regional productivity. In absence of the stressor flux, the relationship between beta‐diversity and regional productivity was mostly not significant, but positive at the end of the experiment. This positive relationship was generated by a negative effect of dispersal on regional productivity, probably because dispersal disrupted local dynamics by removing organisms from the most‐productive unstressed community. In presence of the stressor flux, the relationship between beta‐diversity and regional productivity was often negative as dispersal now increased regional productivity. Dispersal increased regional productivity by increasing the productivity of the stressed community. This positive effect was stronger in the presence than in the absence of the stressor flux because the stressor flux reduced the concentration of the herbicide in the stressed community, where it facilitated recovery. Our study shows that stressor fluxes can strongly interact with the effects of dispersal on productivity and thus influence diversity–productivity relationships.     

Current problems in marine biodiversity studies

This paper deals with a discussion of terminology and six proposed levels of biodiversity. Recent data and estimates were used to compare species and taxonomic diversity of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine organisms. About 1.5 million terrestrial species and 320000 aquatic species are hitherto known. In spite of a long history of research, only about 280000 marine species have been discovered, of which 180000 species are invertebrates. Of 33 metazoan phyla, 31 are found in the sea, 13 of these being exclusively marine. Seventeen metazoan phyla contain freshwater species, and only 11 phyla comprise terrestrial animals. Two phyla (freshwater Micrognathozoa and terrestrial Onychophora) possess no marine species. In this paper, we review the assessment reports on marine biological diversity in coral reefs, coastal ecosystems, macrobenthos, and meiofauna. Recent data on the number of known species are listed for each metazoan phylum; the number of anticipated new species to be discovered is estimated. Deep-sea macrobenthos are believed to comprise about 25 million species; meiofauna seems to be composed of 20 to 30 million species, ten million of whom are marine nematodes. Hypotheses are discussed that can account for the high species diversity of deep-sea macrobenthos and meiofauna.     

Community structure of macrobenthos in homestead ponds of Noakhali coast,Bangladesh

The integrity of the homestead pond supply depends on how various macrobenthic communities make their living more diversified and contribute to complex food webs. In addition, the macrobenthic community are significantly used as indicator organisms to detect the pollution impacts in aquatic ecosystems. In this study, we show the data about the diversity and community structure of macrobenthos and their relationship with environmental variables in homestead ponds of Noakhali coast from January 2019 to August 2019. The current study yielded 17 species belonging to seven taxonomic groups with a mean density of 3630 ind./m². The Nematode community, comprising 48.86% of the total taxonomic groups with Prionchulus sp. as the dominant macrobenthic species represented more than 31% of the total macrobenthic taxa, and showed a significant negative correlation with the value of salinity, DO, pH. The environmental variables and diversity indices were detected significant variations (P < 0.05) among stations by the Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA, whereas Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index (H´) assessed moderate pollution, Evenness index (J) assessed uniform distributions of macrobenthic community, and environmental variables showed acceptable condition for the productivity of ponds. Cluster analysis (CA) and Non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) demonstrate demarcations in the community structure of macrobenthos between samples. Within macrobenthic communities, Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) provided insights and interpretations of the relationships between species and environmental gradients. Macrobenthic community reached the most abundance at a lower temperature, transparency and a higher DO, pH and salinity.     

Regional effects as important determinants of local diversity in both marine and terrestrial systems

Community ecologists have struggled to create unified theories across diverse ecosystems, but it has been difficult to acertain whether marine and terrestrial communities differ in the mechanisms responsible for structure and dynamics. One apparent difference between marine and terrestrial ecology is that the influence of regional processes on local populations and communities is better established in the marine literature. We examine three potential explanations: 1) influential early studies emphasized local interactions in terrestrial communities and regional dispersal in marine communities. 2) regional‐scale processes are actually more important in marine than in terrestrial communities. 3) recruitment from a regional species pool is easier to study in marine than terrestrial communities. We conclude that these are interrelated, but that the second and especially the third explanations are more important than the first. We also conclude that in both marine and terrestrial systems, there are ways to improve our understanding of regional influences on local community diversity. In particular, we advocate examining local vs regional diversity relationships at localities within environmentally similar regions that differ in their diversity either because of their sizes or their varying degrees of isolation from a species source.     

Alpha and beta diversity of connected benthic–subsurface invertebrate communities respond to drying in dynamic river ecosystems

Drying disturbances are the primary determinant of aquatic community biodiversity in dynamic river ecosystems. Research exploring how communities respond to disturbance has focused on benthic invertebrates in surface sediments, inadequately representing a connected community that extends into the subsurface. We compared subsurface and benthic invertebrate responses to drying, to identify common and context‐dependent spatial patterns. We characterized community composition, alpha diversity and beta diversity across a gradient of drying duration. Subsurface communities responded to drying, but these responses were typically less pronounced than those of benthic communities. Despite compositional changes and in contrast to reductions in benthic alpha diversity, the alpha diversity of subsurface communities remained stable except at long drying durations. Some primarily benthic taxa were among those whose subsurface frequency and abundance responded positively to drying. Collectively, changing composition, stable richness and taxon‐specific increases in occurrence provide evidence that subsurface sediments can support persistence of invertebrate communities during drying disturbances. Beta‐diversity patterns varied and no consistent patterns distinguished the total diversity, turnover or nestedness of subsurface compared to benthic communities. In response to increasing drying duration, beta diversity increased or remained stable for benthic communities, but remained stable or decreased for subsurface communities, likely reflecting contrasts in the influence of mass effects, priority effects and environmental filtering. Dissimilarity between subsurface and benthic communities remained stable or increased with drying duration, suggesting that subsurface communities maintain distinct biodiversity value while also supporting temporary influxes of benthic taxa during drying events. As temporary rivers increase in extent due to global change, we highlight that recognizing the connected communities that extend into the subsurface sediments can enable holistic understanding of ecological responses to drying, the key determinant of biodiversity in these dynamic ecosystems.     

单细胞稳定同位素标记技术在固氮微生物中的应用研究

生物固氮是指固氮微生物将大气中氮气还原为生物可利用氨的过程,是环境中新氮的主要来源,调控初级生产力并影响氮储库的收支平衡。由于环境中大部分固氮微生物不可纯培养,不依赖培养且具有高空间分辨率水平的单细胞技术,成为研究固氮微生物的有力手段。~(15)N_2稳定同位素标记技术,以微生物对~(15)N的同化量或速率为依据,是表征微生物固氮活性的最直接手段。本文对~(15)N_2稳定同位素标记结合两种单细胞技术,即纳米二次离子质谱(Nano SIMS)和单细胞拉曼光谱,用于固氮微生物研究的最新进展进行了综述,内容包括揭示环境中高活性固氮微生物、空间分布、与其他生物的共生关系、细胞生理状态等,并进一步对近期发展的基于单细胞拉曼光谱的固氮微生物研究进行了展望。     

水圈微生物：推动地球重要元素循环的隐形巨人

正生活在水圈环境中的微生物数量巨大、遗传与代谢方式极为多样,它们驱动着地球上重要元素的循环。水圈微生物研究已经成为生命科学与地球科学的研究热点。国家自然科学基金委员会于2017年启动了"水圈微生物驱动地球元素循环的机制"重大研究计划(简称"水圈微生物"计划)。"水圈微生物"计划拟选择典型水圈生境,通过多学科交叉研究,借助新技术、新方法,揭示水圈微生物在物种、群落和生态水平驱动碳氮硫循环的机制及其环境响应,     

Diversity and dynamics of Antarctic marine microbial eukaryotes under manipulated environmental UV radiation

In the light of the predicted global climate change, it is essential that the status and diversity of polar microbial communities is described and understood. In the present study, molecular tools were used to investigate the marine eukaryotic communities of Prydz Bay, Eastern Antarctica, from November 2002 to January 2003. Additionally, we conducted four series of minicosm experiments, where natural Prydz Bay communities were incubated under six different irradiation regimes, in order to investigate the effects of natural UV radiation on marine microbial eukaryotes. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and 18S rRNA gene sequencing revealed a eukaryotic Shannon diversity index averaging 2.26 and 2.12, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of 472 sequenced clones revealed 47 phylotypes, belonging to the Dinophyceae, Stramenopiles, Choanoflagellidae, Ciliophora, Cercozoa and Metazoa. Throughout the studied period, three communities were distinguished: a postwinter/early spring community comprising dinoflagellates, ciliates, cercozoans, stramenopiles, viridiplantae, haptophytes and metazoans; a dinoflagellate-dominated community; and a diatom-dominated community that developed after sea ice breakup. DGGE analysis showed that size fraction and time had a strong shaping effect on the community composition; however, a significant contribution of natural UV irradiance towards microeukaryotic community composition could not be detected. Overall, dinoflagellates dominated our samples and their diversity suggests that they fulfill an important role in Antarctic coastal marine ecosystems preceding ice breakup as well as between phytoplankton bloom events.     

New insights into relationships between active and dormant organisms,phylogenetic diversity and ecosystem productivity

Marine microbes make up a key part of ocean food webs and drive ocean chemistry through a range of metabolic processes. A fundamental question in ecology is whether the diversity of organisms in a community shapes the ecological functions of that community. While there is substantial evidence to support a positive link between diversity and ecological productivity for macro‐organisms in terrestrial environments, this relationship has not previously been verified for marine microbial communities. One factor complicating the understanding of this relationship is that many marine microbes are dormant and are easily dispersed by ocean currents, making it difficult to ensure that the organisms found in a given environmental sample accurately reflect processes occurring in that environment. Another complication is that, due to microbes great range of genotypic and phenotypic variability, communities with distantly related species may have greater range of metabolic functions than communities have the same richness and evenness, but in which the species present are more closely related to each other. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Galand et al. (2015) provide compelling evidence that the most metabolically active communities are those in which the nondormant portion of the microbial community has the highest phylogenetic diversity. They also illustrate that focusing on the active portion of the community allows for detection of temporal patterns in community structure that would not be otherwise evident. The authors’ point out that the presence of many dormant organisms that do not contribute to ecosystem functioning is a feature that makes microbial ecosystems fundamentally different from macro‐ecosystems and that this difference needs to be accounted for in microbial ecology theory.     

Characterization of Bacterial,Archaeal and Eukaryote Symbionts from Antarctic Sponges Reveals a High Diversity at a Three-Domain Level and a Particular Signature for This Ecosystem

Sponge-associated microbial communities include members from the three domains of life. In the case of bacteria, they are diverse, host specific and different from the surrounding seawater. However, little is known about the diversity and specificity of Eukarya and Archaea living in association with marine sponges. This knowledge gap is even greater regarding sponges from regions other than temperate and tropical environments. In Antarctica, marine sponges are abundant and important members of the benthos, structuring the Antarctic marine ecosystem. In this study, we used high throughput ribosomal gene sequencing to investigate the three-domain diversity and community composition from eight different Antarctic sponges. Taxonomic identification reveals that they belong to families Acarnidae, Chalinidae, Hymedesmiidae, Hymeniacidonidae, Leucettidae, Microcionidae, and Myxillidae. Our study indicates that there are different diversity and similarity patterns between bacterial/archaeal and eukaryote microbial symbionts from these Antarctic marine sponges, indicating inherent differences in how organisms from different domains establish symbiotic relationships. In general, when considering diversity indices and number of phyla detected, sponge-associated communities are more diverse than the planktonic communities. We conclude that three-domain microbial communities from Antarctic sponges are different from surrounding planktonic communities, expanding previous observations for Bacteria and including the Antarctic environment. Furthermore, we reveal differences in the composition of the sponge associated bacterial assemblages between Antarctic and tropical-temperate environments and the presence of a highly complex microbial eukaryote community, suggesting a particular signature for Antarctic sponges, different to that reported from other ecosystems.