Genetic assessment of meiobenthic community composition and spatial distribution in coastal sediments along northern Gulf of Mexico

Meiobenthic (meiofauna and micro-eukaryotes) organisms are important contributors to ecosystem functioning in aquatic environments through their roles in nutrient transport, sediment stability, and food web interactions. Despite their ecological importance, information pertaining to variation of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine environmental research 2016-08, Vol.119, p.166-175
Main Authors: Brannock, Pamela M., Wang, Lei, Ortmann, Alice C., Waits, Damien S., Halanych, Kenneth M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
18S rRNA
Animals
Annelida
Aquatic Organisms - classification
Aquatic Organisms - genetics
Arthropoda
Bacillariophyceae
Copepoda
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Geologic Sediments - chemistry
Gulf of Mexico
High-throughput sequencing
Illumina
Invertebrates - classification
Invertebrates - genetics
Marine
Meiofauna
Metabarcoding
Micro-eukaryotes
Nematoda
Protists
Stramenopiles
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Summary:Meiobenthic (meiofauna and micro-eukaryotes) organisms are important contributors to ecosystem functioning in aquatic environments through their roles in nutrient transport, sediment stability, and food web interactions. Despite their ecological importance, information pertaining to variation of these communities at various spatial and temporal scales is not widely known. Many studies in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) have focused either on deep sea or continental shelf areas, while little attention has been paid to bays and coastal regions. Herein, we take a holistic approach by using high-throughput sequencing approaches to examine spatial variation in meiobenthic communities within Alabama bays and the coastal northern GOM region. Sediment samples were collected along three transects (Mississippi Sound: MS, FOCAL: FT, and Orange Beach: OB) from September 2010 to April 2012 and community composition was determined by metabarcoding the V9 hypervariable region of the nuclear18S rRNA gene. Results showed that Stramenopiles (diatoms), annelids, arthropods (copepods), and nematodes were the dominate groups within samples, while there was presence of other phyla throughout the dataset. Location played a larger role than time sampled in community composition. However, samples were collected over a short temporal scale. Samples clustered in reference to transect, with the most eastern transect (OB) having a distinct community composition in comparison to the other two transects (MS and FT). Communities also differed in reference to region (Bay versus Shelf). Bulk density and percent inorganic carbon were the only measured environmental factors that were correlated with community composition. •Holistic approach to diversity and variation in meiobenthos through metabarcoding.•Mobile River Basin influence accounts for similarity in community composition.•Diatoms, annelids, copepods, and nematodes dominate northern GOM meiobenthos.•Within major taxonomic groups, dominant families varied with location.•Bulk density and percent inorganic carbon were correlated with community composition.
ISSN:0141-1136
1879-0291
DOI:10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.05.011