Abstract
The development of coastal vermetid reefs and rocky shores depends on the activity of several reef builders, including red crustose coralline algae (CCA) such as Neogoniolithon sp. To initiate studies on the interaction between Neogoniolithon sp. and its associated bacteria, and their impact on the algae physiological performance, we characterized the bacterial community by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. These were extracted from the algal tissue and adjacent waters along two sampling campaigns (during winter and spring), in three study regions along a reef in the east Mediterranean Israeli coast and from laboratory-grown algae. The analysis revealed that aquaria and field communities differ substantially, suggesting that future research on Neogoniolithon sp. interaction with its microbiome must rest on aquaria that closely simulate coastal conditions. Some prokaryote classes found associated with the alga tissue were hardly detected or absent from surrounding water. Further, bacterial populations differed between sampling campaigns. One example is the presence of anaerobic bacteria and archaea families in one of the campaigns, correlating with the weaker turbulence in the spring season, probably leading to the development of local anoxic conditions. A better understanding of reef-building activity of CCA and their associated bacteria is necessary for assessment of their resilience to climate change and may support coastal preservation efforts.
Highlights
Vermetid reefs along the warm ultra-oligotrophic eastern Mediterranean coast constitute a hotspot of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
After the removal of low abundant amplicon sequence variants (ASVs, see Section 2), the tissue surface and water samples from Neogoniolithon sp. inhabiting the reef and that collected from aquaria-derived samples were clustered
It is widely accepted that the microbiome composition and changes therein may serve as an indicator for the growth conditions of the relevant host [32,33,34,35]
Summary
Vermetid reefs along the warm ultra-oligotrophic eastern Mediterranean coast constitute a hotspot of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Despite the prevailing harsh natural conditions, including hydration–desiccation cycles, mechanical stress, rapid pH shifts, and fluctuating light intensity [1], these reefs, consisting of structures termed abrasion platforms [2], are among the most important biogenic habitats of temperate waters They play a major role in preventing coastal erosion, altering the sediment and nutrient transport, and providing a habitat for a variety of fish, invertebrates, and algae [2,3,4,5]. These ecosystem engineering functions are largely attributed to two species of intertidal vermetid gastropods [2] and to crustose coralline algae (CCA) such as Neogoniolithon brassica-florida, which cements the reef structures [5,6].
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