Rare bacterial taxa shape the bacterioplankton community structure in the fjords of the western and northern region of Svalbard, Arctic

Fjords are highly dynamic ecosystems that are known to be sentinels to climate change due to increased glaciomarine interactions. Fjords are also potential hotspots for the burial of organic carbon and play a crucial role in modulating climatic conditions. Previous studies pertaining to bacterioplankton community structure were focused on single fjordic systems, limiting our understanding on intra fjord variability in bacterioplankton diversity, abundance ratio and their distribution patterns in space and time. This study is a first of its kind in assessing the bacterioplankton community structure of three arctic fjords namely; St.Jonsfjorden, Magdalenefjorden and Raudfjorden located in the western and northern region of Svalbard.