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Temporal Variations of Microbial Activity and Diversity in Marine Tropical Sediments (New Caledonia Lagoon)

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Abstract

Temporal variations of oxygen consumption, sensitivity to metal spiking, and microbial diversity were investigated during a one-year survey at the sediment–water interface in the tropical lagoon of New Caledonia. Sediment oxygen consumption (SOC) exhibited strong variations with time with maximum rates during February (Austral summer) and minimum values during July (cold period). SOC was strongly positively correlated with temperature, with an apparent activation energy (E a) of 41 kJ mol−1, corresponding to an apparent Q 10(20–30 °C) of 1.75. Strong short-term variations of SOC were also observed with ratios between two consecutive samplings reaching up to twofold of magnitude within one week, whereas the maximum/minimum ratio over the whole year was equal to 2.73. In most cases, metal spiking led to a strong decrease of SOC; however, in a third of sampling dates, spiking did not significantly decrease activity. These periods of apparent metal tolerance were not characterized by a particular bacterial community structure. Bacterial community structure estimated from terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis exhibited strong variations over the one-year survey, and no seasonality was observed for bacterial richness. However, on average, the Whittaker similarity index between two consecutive T-RFLP profiles was above 60% suggesting a relative stability of the bacterial community structure on the short timescale with prominent T-RFs representing on average more than 67% of relative abundance occurring over most of the year, whereas other T-RFs only occurred during some periods.

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Acknowledgements

This project received financial supports from the French Institute for Research and Development (IRD), the French Program for Coastal Environment (PNEC), and the French Ministry of Outre-Mer. We express special thanks to the captain of the R/V Coris. Cécile Villette is thanked for her help in T-RFLP analysis. Dr. Emma Rochelle-Newall is gratefully acknowledged for her helpful criticisms on an early version of the manuscript and for English improvements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité de Recherche 103, Centre IRD de Nouméa, BP A5, 98848, Nouméa Cedex, New Caledonia

    Olivier Pringault, Séverine Jacquet & Jean-Pascal Torréton

  2. Laboratoire d’Ecologie Moléculaire EA3525, Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, Avenue de l’Université, BP1155, 64013, Pau Cedex, France

    Robert Duran

  3. Centre Technique Littoral, Lyonnaise des Eaux, Technopôle Izarbel, 64210, Bidart, France

    Séverine Jacquet

  4. IRD UR103, UMR 5119 CNRS-Université Montpellier II “Ecosystèmes lagunaires”, Case 093, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 05, France

    Jean-Pascal Torréton

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  1. Olivier Pringault
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Correspondence to Olivier Pringault.

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Pringault, O., Duran, R., Jacquet, S. et al. Temporal Variations of Microbial Activity and Diversity in Marine Tropical Sediments (New Caledonia Lagoon). Microb Ecol 55, 247–258 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-007-9272-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-007-9272-8

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