Spatial distribution of bacteria in response to phytoplankton community and multiple environmental factors in surface waters in Sanggou Bay

Song Peng; Rong Bi; Jiwen Liu; Jiaxuan Cui; Xinkai Fu; Xiaotong Xiao; Ruihuan Li; Zengjie Jiang; Shulan Xu; Chuanli Zhang; Xiao-Hua Zhang; Meixun Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106912

Spatial distribution of bacteria in response to phytoplankton community and multiple environmental factors in surface waters in Sanggou Bay

Mar Environ Res. 2024 Dec 12:204:106912. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106912. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Song Peng¹, Rong Bi², Jiwen Liu³, Jiaxuan Cui¹, Xinkai Fu¹, Xiaotong Xiao¹, Ruihuan Li⁴, Zengjie Jiang⁴, Shulan Xu¹, Chuanli Zhang¹, Xiao-Hua Zhang⁵, Meixun Zhao⁶

Affiliations

¹ Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, and Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, 266237, China.
² Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, and Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, 266237, China. Electronic address: rongbi@ouc.edu.cn.
³ Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, 266237, China; Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, and College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China. Electronic address: liujiwen@ouc.edu.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China.
⁵ Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, 266237, China; Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, and College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China.
⁶ Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, and Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China; Laoshan Laboratory, Qingdao, 266237, China.

PMID: 39721559
DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106912

Abstract

Coastal bays link terrestrial and oceanic carbon reservoirs and play important roles in marine carbon cycles. Particulate organic carbon (POC) produced by phytoplankton is a major autochthonous carbon source in coastal bays. Previous studies on the fate of POC produced by phytoplankton mainly focused on the relationship between phytoplankton and zooplankton in classic food webs, while our knowledge on the roles of bacterioplankton is still limited, particularly in bays under highly intensive aquaculture activities. Here, we investigated bacterial community structure, and the influence of environmental factors and phytoplankton biomass and community structure based on samples collected in August 2022 from Sanggou Bay, a typical aquaculture bay in northern China. Environmental conditions, phytoplankton and bacterial community structure differed significantly between different aquaculture areas, showing higher relative abundance of Synechococcus sp. in the mixing area of shellfish and kelp culture (Area II) than the shellfish culture area (Area I). In contrast, Marivita cryptomonadis was more abundant in Area I, associated with elevated dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), POC, POC/PN (the molar ratio of POC to particulate nitrogen) and sterol-derived total phytoplankton biomass. The strong correlation between total phytoplankton biomass and particle-associated bacteria indicated the important role of this bacterial fraction in processing organic compounds produced by phytoplankton. Significant correlations between bacterial community composition and POC/PN suggested more organic carbon potentially entering detrital biomass pools in Area I compared to Area II. Our results suggest that spatial distribution patterns of bacterial community structure were regulated by multiple abiotic and biotic factors and had a profound impact on the fate of organic carbon under highly intensive aquaculture activities in Sanggou Bay.

Keywords: Bacterial community structure; Carbon cycle; Coastal bays; Intensive aquaculture activities; Phytoplankton.