Status: this discussion paper is a preprint. It has been under review for the journal Biogeosciences (BG). The manuscript was not accepted for further review after discussion.
Temporal and spatial mediated changes in subsurface microbial
community assemblages and functions
Madison C. Davis
Abstract. Groundwater ecosystems can host different habitats with unique microbial assemblages and functions. Although groundwater microbes are important to subsurface processes, little is known about the drivers of change in these communities. Illumina sequencing and bioinformatic tools were used to examine whether different groundwater zones could have the same patterns of microbial community change over a two-year period. Five different groundwater zones from Hospital Hole, a stratified sinkhole in west-central Florida, were used in this study since they have been previously shown to host distinct microbial communities. Seasonal patterns of microbial community assemblages and potential metabolic functions were not identified in the sinkhole communities. Different physicochemical parameters correlated to microbial community change within each zone. Local hydrogeology appears to play an important role in subsurface microbial community change since Hurricane Irma and seasonal turnover events did not appear to cause a large perturbation in the microbial communities. Nutrient availability and local hydrogeochemistry appear to be important drivers of microbial community change in the subsurface.
Received: 22 Jun 2020 – Discussion started: 08 Jul 2020
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Different patterns of bacterial communities may occur in different groundwater types. Hurricanes and seasons may not always induce perturbations in bacterial communities. Changes in chemistry and local hydrology within the different regions of groundwater appear to have caused the apparent changes in the bacterial communities. Understanding how the microbes in different groundwater regions react to changes is important for groundwater management and conservation.
Different patterns of bacterial communities may occur in different groundwater types. Hurricanes...
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