Water mass-driven spatial effect and environmental heterogeneity shape microeukaryote biogeography in a subtropical hydrographically complex ocean system - A case study of ciliate

Little is known about the relative importance of geographic distance and depth in shaping microbial community on a regional scale, especially how it is related to movement of water masses. Here, we collected 156 water samples across Taiwan Strait which is characterized by complex topography and dynamic circulation, for investigating ciliate community with 18S rRNA gene transcript high-throughput sequencing. This study reveals that ciliate biogeography across depth and environmental gradients on a regional scale is linked to the water masses they persist in, resulting in pattern of microbial biogeography that mainly correspond to the regional scale physical oceanography.