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Bacterial Community Composition and Physiological Shifts Associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Patos Lagoon Estuary

  • Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

The Patos Lagoon estuary is a microtidal system that is strongly regulated by atmospheric forces, including remote large-scale phenomena such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which affects precipitation patterns in the region. In this study, we investigated whether the bacterial community composition (BCC), community-level physiological profiles (CLPP), and a set of environmental variables were affected by the transition from a moderate El Niño to a strong La Niña event (June 2010 to May 2011). We identified two distinct periods: a period following El Niño that was characterized by low salinity and high concentrations of NO3 − and PO4 −3 and low molecular weight (LMW) substances and a period following La Niña during which salinity, temperature, and transparency increased and the concentrations of nutrients and LMW substances decreased. The BCC and CLPP were significantly altered in response to this transition. This is the first study addressing the effect of ENSO on bacteria at the community level in an estuarine system. Our results suggest that there is a link between ENSO and bacteria, indicating the role of climate variability in bacterial activities and, hence, the cycling of organic matter by these microorganisms.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Brazilian Long-Term Ecological Research (BR-LTER, Patos Lagoon) (PELD, Lagoa dos Patos) team for support during sampling and for kindly providing the salinity data. We are also grateful to Dr. Clarisse Odebrecht and Dr. José Henrique Muelbert from the Institute of Oceanography and Pedro Eduardo Almeida da Silva from the College of Medicine of the Federal University of Rio Grande and two anonymous reviewers for the valuable comments and suggestions made on the original manuscript. This study was supported by the Brazilian agencies, CNPq and CAPES. L. Marins and P.C. Abreu are Research Fellows of the National Council for the Scientific and Technological Development of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Post-Graduate Program in Biological Oceanography, Institute of Oceanography, Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), Av. Itália km 08, Campus Carreiros, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil

    Ng Haig They

  2. Institute of Oceanography, Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, RS, Brazil

    Lise Maria Holanda Ferreira & Paulo Cesar Abreu

  3. Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, RS, Brazil

    Luís Fernando Marins

  4. Department of Oceanography and Limnology, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte, Avenida Senador Dinarte Mariz, Praia de Mãe Luiza, s/n, Natal, RN, 59014-002, Brazil

    Ng Haig They

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  1. Ng Haig They
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They, N.H., Ferreira, L.M.H., Marins, L.F. et al. Bacterial Community Composition and Physiological Shifts Associated with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Patos Lagoon Estuary. Microb Ecol 69, 525–534 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-014-0511-5

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