Salinity is a dominant environmental factor shaping bacteriobenthos in a neotropical coastal wetland

We generated 16S rRNA amplicon sequences to analyse the composition and diversity of bacteriobenthos in floodplain lakes located along a salinity gradient in the Grijalva-Usumacinta deltaic plain (GUd), southern Gulf of Mexico. We detected spatial changes in the bacteriobenthos community structure on the GUd floodplain lakes associated with changes along the salinity gradient. Research on bacterial community composition and ecology is critical to understand the complex dynamics of these wetlands. They are heavily impacted by multiple human stressors, and the effects of saltwater intrusion are yet unknown and may cascade into significant ecosystem changes.