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Multiscale Spatial Variability and Stability in the Structure and Diversity of Bacterial Communities Associated with the Kelp Eisenia cokeri in Peru

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Abstract

Ecological communities are structured by a range of processes that operate over a range of spatial scales. While our understanding of such biodiversity patterns in macro-communities is well studied, our understanding at the microbial level is still lacking. Bacteria can be free living or associated with host eukaryotes, forming part of a wider “microbiome,” which is fundamental for host performance and health. For habitat forming foundation-species, host-bacteria relationships likely play disproportionate roles in mediating processes for the wider ecosystem. Here, we describe host-bacteria communities across multiple spatial scales (i.e., from 10s of m to 100s of km) in the understudied kelp, Eisenia cokeri, in Peru. We found that E. cokeri supports a distinct bacterial community compared to the surrounding seawater, but the structure of these communities varied markedly at the regional (~480 km), site (1–10 km), and individual (10s of m) scale. The marked regional-scale differences we observed may be driven by a range of processes, including temperature, upwelling intensity, or regional connectivity patterns. However, despite this variability, we observed consistency in the form of a persistent core community at the genus level. Here, the genera Arenicella, Blastopirellula, Granulosicoccus, and Litorimonas were found in >80% of samples and comprised ~53% of total sample abundance. These genera have been documented within bacterial communities associated with kelps and other seaweed species from around the world and may be important for host function and wider ecosystem health in general.

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Data Availability

ASV table and metadata are available at (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22182457.v1).

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Funding

D.A.S. was supported by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (MR/S032827/1). P.J.M. was supported by NERC grant NE/S011692/2

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK

    Nathan G King, Kathryn Smith & Dan A Smale

  2. Área de Macroalgas y Biodiversidad, Instituto del Mar del Perú – IMARPE, av. La Ribera # 805, Huanchaco, La Libertad, Perú

    Roberto Uribe

  3. Dove Marine Laboratory, Newcastle University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK

    Pippa J Moore, Hannah S Earp & Adam Gouraguine

  4. Department of Life Science, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DA, UK

    Hannah S Earp

  5. Programa de Maestría en Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru

    Diego Hinostroza

  6. Subtidal Ecology Laboratory (Subelab), Estación Costera de Investigaciones Marinas (ECIM), Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 114, -D, Santiago, Chile

    Alejandro Perez-Matus

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  1. Nathan G King
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Contributions

NGK, RU, DAS, and PJM conceived the designed the study. All authors contributed to fieldwork. NGK conducted all laboratory work. NGK and DAS lead the manuscript preparation, and all authors contributed equally to subsequent edits. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Nathan G King.

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King, N.G., Uribe, R., Moore, P.J. et al. Multiscale Spatial Variability and Stability in the Structure and Diversity of Bacterial Communities Associated with the Kelp Eisenia cokeri in Peru. Microb Ecol 86, 2574–2582 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-023-02262-2

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