Diversity Distribution and Assembly Mechanisms of Planktonic and Benthic Microeukaryote Communities in Intertidal Zones of Southeast Fujian, China
The intertidal zone occupies the shore between the high and low tide marks and is subjected both to natural forces and anthropogenic activities. Compared with the coastal ecosystem, studies comparing diversity and community structure of intertidal planktonic and benthic microeukaryotes are limited....
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doaj-c63273030803470dbeb3483e2cdea0312020-11-25T00:46:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2019-11-011010.3389/fmicb.2019.02640484897Diversity Distribution and Assembly Mechanisms of Planktonic and Benthic Microeukaryote Communities in Intertidal Zones of Southeast Fujian, ChinaJie Kong0Jie Kong1Ying Wang2Ying Wang3Alan Warren4Bangqin Huang5Bangqin Huang6Ping Sun7Ping Sun8Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaFujian Province Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaKey Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaFujian Province Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaDepartment of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, United KingdomFujian Province Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaKey Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaFujian Province Key Laboratory for Coastal Ecology and Environmental Studies, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaThe intertidal zone occupies the shore between the high and low tide marks and is subjected both to natural forces and anthropogenic activities. Compared with the coastal ecosystem, studies comparing diversity and community structure of intertidal planktonic and benthic microeukaryotes are limited. Therefore, the ecological processes mediating their assemblies remain poorly understood. Environmental rRNA from two size fractions (nano- and micro-sized) of plankton and from seasonally collected (spring and summer) benthos, together with water and sediment chemistry and concentrations of heavy metals, were used to explore diversity and community structure of microeukaryotes in intertidal zones of southeast Fujian Province, China. Benthic microeukaryotes harbored significantly higher alpha-diversity than those of the plankton, whereas no distinct patterns of organism size/seasonal distribution were observed for either community. Community compositions differed significantly between planktonic and benthic microeukaryotes, with the former presenting size-fractionated discrepancies and the latter showing seasonal variation. Community turnover between planktonic and benthic microeukaryotes was mainly driven by stramenopiles and alveolates. Distance-decay patterns were found in both communities, with the rate of community turnover being higher for planktonic than benthic microeukaryotes. Among the environmental factors measured, the concentration of Cd and the water content of sediment were closely associated with benthic community variations, whereas none of the factors measured was identified as being responsible for planktonic community variation. Phylogenetic null model analysis indicated that dispersal limitation was the most crucial ecological process mediating community assembly for both planktonic and benthic microeukaryotes in intertidal zones, with heterogeneous selection making a higher contribution to community variation of benthic than planktonic microeukaryotes. Stochastic processes, mainly dispersal limitation, were found to prevail in both communities. This study thus provides new insights into the diversity distribution and assembly mechanism of microeukaryotes in intertidal zones.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02640/fullrRNAdiversitycommunity structureassembly mechanismplanktonic microeukaryotesbenthic microeukaryotes |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Jie Kong Jie Kong Ying Wang Ying Wang Alan Warren Bangqin Huang Bangqin Huang Ping Sun Ping Sun |
spellingShingle |
Jie Kong Jie Kong Ying Wang Ying Wang Alan Warren Bangqin Huang Bangqin Huang Ping Sun Ping Sun Diversity Distribution and Assembly Mechanisms of Planktonic and Benthic Microeukaryote Communities in Intertidal Zones of Southeast Fujian, China Frontiers in Microbiology rRNA diversity community structure assembly mechanism planktonic microeukaryotes benthic microeukaryotes |
author_facet |
Jie Kong Jie Kong Ying Wang Ying Wang Alan Warren Bangqin Huang Bangqin Huang Ping Sun Ping Sun |
author_sort |
Jie Kong |
title |
Diversity Distribution and Assembly Mechanisms of Planktonic and Benthic Microeukaryote Communities in Intertidal Zones of Southeast Fujian, China |
title_short |
Diversity Distribution and Assembly Mechanisms of Planktonic and Benthic Microeukaryote Communities in Intertidal Zones of Southeast Fujian, China |
title_full |
Diversity Distribution and Assembly Mechanisms of Planktonic and Benthic Microeukaryote Communities in Intertidal Zones of Southeast Fujian, China |
title_fullStr |
Diversity Distribution and Assembly Mechanisms of Planktonic and Benthic Microeukaryote Communities in Intertidal Zones of Southeast Fujian, China |
title_full_unstemmed |
Diversity Distribution and Assembly Mechanisms of Planktonic and Benthic Microeukaryote Communities in Intertidal Zones of Southeast Fujian, China |
title_sort |
diversity distribution and assembly mechanisms of planktonic and benthic microeukaryote communities in intertidal zones of southeast fujian, china |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Microbiology |
issn |
1664-302X |
publishDate |
2019-11-01 |
description |
The intertidal zone occupies the shore between the high and low tide marks and is subjected both to natural forces and anthropogenic activities. Compared with the coastal ecosystem, studies comparing diversity and community structure of intertidal planktonic and benthic microeukaryotes are limited. Therefore, the ecological processes mediating their assemblies remain poorly understood. Environmental rRNA from two size fractions (nano- and micro-sized) of plankton and from seasonally collected (spring and summer) benthos, together with water and sediment chemistry and concentrations of heavy metals, were used to explore diversity and community structure of microeukaryotes in intertidal zones of southeast Fujian Province, China. Benthic microeukaryotes harbored significantly higher alpha-diversity than those of the plankton, whereas no distinct patterns of organism size/seasonal distribution were observed for either community. Community compositions differed significantly between planktonic and benthic microeukaryotes, with the former presenting size-fractionated discrepancies and the latter showing seasonal variation. Community turnover between planktonic and benthic microeukaryotes was mainly driven by stramenopiles and alveolates. Distance-decay patterns were found in both communities, with the rate of community turnover being higher for planktonic than benthic microeukaryotes. Among the environmental factors measured, the concentration of Cd and the water content of sediment were closely associated with benthic community variations, whereas none of the factors measured was identified as being responsible for planktonic community variation. Phylogenetic null model analysis indicated that dispersal limitation was the most crucial ecological process mediating community assembly for both planktonic and benthic microeukaryotes in intertidal zones, with heterogeneous selection making a higher contribution to community variation of benthic than planktonic microeukaryotes. Stochastic processes, mainly dispersal limitation, were found to prevail in both communities. This study thus provides new insights into the diversity distribution and assembly mechanism of microeukaryotes in intertidal zones. |
topic |
rRNA diversity community structure assembly mechanism planktonic microeukaryotes benthic microeukaryotes |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02640/full |
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