Sinking bloom influences benthic microorganisms

Here, we analyzed the bacterial community structure of four abyssal sediments and one shallow reference site in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. The sediments differed in their exposure to phytoplankton blooms to investigate potential links between the blooms and benthic microorganisms. Our main hypotheses were (i) that an extended bloom situation in the surface ocean leads to shifts in the benthic microbial communities with short delay times and (ii) that certain key bacterial clades benefit from the organic matter input.

在此，我们分析了南大洋大西洋扇区（Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean）中四个深海沉积物（abyssal sediments）样本及一个浅海参考位点（shallow reference site）的细菌群落结构（bacterial community structure）。这些沉积物受浮游植物水华（phytoplankton blooms）影响的程度各异，旨在探究水华与底栖微生物（benthic microorganisms）之间的潜在联系。我们的主要假设为：（i）表层海洋的持续水华状况（extended bloom situation）会导致底栖微生物群落发生变化，且延迟时间较短；（ii）某些关键细菌类群（key bacterial clades）会受益于有机质输入（organic matter input）。