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Shifts in methanogenic archaea communities and methane dynamics along a subtropical estuarine land use gradient3.87 MB
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Shifts in methanogenic archaea communities and methane dynamics along a subtropical estuarine land use gradient
PloS one, Vol.15(11), e0242339
2020
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Abstract
In coastal aquatic ecosystems, prokaryotic communities play an important role in regulating the cycling of nutrients and greenhouse gases. In the coastal zone, estuaries are complex and delicately balanced systems containing a multitude of specific ecological niches for resident microbes. Anthropogenic influences (i.e. urban, industrial and agricultural land uses) along the estuarine continuum can invoke physical and biochemical changes that impact these niches. In this study, we investigate the relative abundance of methanogenic archaea and other prokaryotic communities, distributed along a land use gradient in the subtropical Burnett River Estuary, situated within the Great Barrier Reef catchment, Australia. Microbiological assemblages were compared to physicochemical, nutrient and greenhouse gas distributions in both pore and surface water. Pore water samples from within the most urbanised site showed a high relative abundance of methanogenic Euryarchaeota (7.8% of all detected prokaryotes), which coincided with elevated methane concentrations in the water column, ranging from 0.51 to 0.68 μM at the urban and sewage treatment plant (STP) sites, respectively. These sites also featured elevated dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations (0.66 to 1.16 mM), potentially fuelling methanogenesis. At the upstream freshwater site, both methane and DOC concentrations were considerably higher (2.68 μM and 1.8 mM respectively) than at the estuarine sites (0.02 to 0.66 μM and 0.39 to 1.16 mM respectively) and corresponded to the highest relative abundance of methanotrophic bacteria. The proportion of sulfate reducing bacteria in the prokaryotic community was elevated within the urban and STP sites (relative abundances of 8.0%– 10.5%), consistent with electron acceptors with higher redox potentials (e.g. O2, NO3-) being scarce. Overall, this study showed that ecological niches in anthropogenically altered environments appear to give an advantage to specialized prokaryotes invoking a potential change in the thermodynamic landscape of the ecosystem and in turn facilitating the generation of methane–a potent greenhouse gas.
Details
- Title
- Shifts in methanogenic archaea communities and methane dynamics along a subtropical estuarine land use gradient
- Creators
- Sebastian Euler (Corresponding Author) - Southern Cross UniversityLuke C Jeffrey - Southern Cross UniversityDamien T Maher - Southern Cross UniversityDerek Mackenzie - Southern Cross UniversityDouglas R Tait - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- PloS one, Vol.15(11), e0242339
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science
- Grants
- Is groundwater the missing nutrient source to the Great Barrier Reef?, DE180100535, Australian Research Council
- Identifiers
- 991012895099702368
- Copyright
- © 2020 The Authors
- Academic Unit
- Engineering; School of Environment, Science and Engineering; Southern Cross GeoScience; National Centre for Flood Research; Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article