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Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Influence of historical inundation frequency on soil microbes (Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria) in semi-arid floodplain wetlands

Tsuyoshi Kobayashi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3641-4120 A E , Timothy J. Ralph B , Pranay Sharma C and Simon M. Mitrovic D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Science Division, Office of Environment and Heritage, PO Box 29, Lidcombe, NSW 1825, Australia.

B Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.

C School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.

D School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: yoshi.kobayashi@environment.nsw.gov.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 71(5) 617-625 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18468
Submitted: 6 December 2018  Accepted: 30 March 2019   Published: 31 May 2019

Abstract

Cyanobacteria and other microbes are important moderators of biogeochemical processes in semi-arid floodplain wetlands with varying inundation regimes. Inundation is a key environmental driver for floodplain biological communities. Little is known about the effect of historical inundation frequency on the spatial abundance of floodplain–wetland Cyanobacteria and other microbes. In this study, soil samples were collected at two locations with a gradient of low-to-high inundation frequency in the Macquarie Marshes, south-east Australia. We used high-throughput sequencing to estimate the proportional abundance of the soil Cyanobacteria and other dominant microbes, targeting the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Of the microbes recovered, Cyanobacteria constituted proportionally a minor component, relative to other dominant phyla like Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. Linear regression (generalised least-squares) models accounting for spatial autocorrelation showed that historical inundation frequency had no significant effect on the proportional abundance of Cyanobacteria at both wetlands studied. However, inundation frequency had a significant positive effect on the proportional abundance of Proteobacteria and a significant negative effect on the proportional abundance of Actinobacteria. Cyanobacteria seem to occupy a different hydrological niche from Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria in semi-arid floodplain wetlands, suggesting taxon-dependent response of floodplain microbial communities to varying inundation regimes and associated soil conditions in those environments.

Additional keywords: inundation gradient, wetlands in drylands.


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