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Terrestrial Dissolved Organic Matter Mobilized From Eroding Permafrost Controls Microbial Community Composition and Growth in Arctic Coastal Zones

Bruhn, Anders Dalhoff ; Stedmon, Colin A. ; Comte, Jérôme ; Matsuoka, Atsushi ; Speetjens, Niek Jesse ; Tanski, George ; Vonk, Jorien E. and Sjöstedt, Johanna LU (2021) In Frontiers in Earth Science 9.
Abstract

Climate warming is accelerating erosion along permafrost-dominated Arctic coasts. This results in the additional supply of organic matter (OM) and nutrients into the coastal zone. In this study we investigate the impact of coastal erosion on the marine microbial community composition and growth rates in the coastal Beaufort Sea. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) derived from three representative glacial deposit types (fluvial, lacustrine, and moraine) along the Yukon coastal plain, Canada, were used as substrate to cultivate marine bacteria using a chemostat setup. Our results show that DOM composition (inferred from UV-Visible spectroscopy) and biodegradability (inferred from DOC concentration, bacterial production and respiration)... (More)

Climate warming is accelerating erosion along permafrost-dominated Arctic coasts. This results in the additional supply of organic matter (OM) and nutrients into the coastal zone. In this study we investigate the impact of coastal erosion on the marine microbial community composition and growth rates in the coastal Beaufort Sea. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) derived from three representative glacial deposit types (fluvial, lacustrine, and moraine) along the Yukon coastal plain, Canada, were used as substrate to cultivate marine bacteria using a chemostat setup. Our results show that DOM composition (inferred from UV-Visible spectroscopy) and biodegradability (inferred from DOC concentration, bacterial production and respiration) significantly differ between the three glacial deposit types. DOM derived from fluvial and moraine types show clear terrestrial characteristics with low aromaticity (Sr: 0.63 ± 0.02 and SUVA254: 1.65 ± 0.06 L mg C−1 m−1 & Sr: 0.68 ± 0.01 and SUVA254: 1.17 ± 0.06 L mg C−1 m−1, respectively) compared to the lacustrine soil type (Sr: 0.71 ± 0.02 and SUVA254: 2.15 ± 0.05 L mg C−1 m−1). The difference in composition of DOM leads to the development of three different microbial communities. Whereas Alphaproteobacteria dominate in fluvial and lacustrine deposit types (67 and 87% relative abundance, respectively), Gammaproteobacteria is the most abundant class for moraine deposit type (88% relative abundance). Bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) is 66% for DOM from moraine deposit type, while 13 and 28% for DOM from fluvial and lacustrine deposit types, respectively. The three microbial communities therefore differ strongly in their net effect on DOM utilization depending on the eroded landscape type. The high BGE value for moraine-derived DOM is probably caused by a larger proportion of labile colorless DOM. These results indicate that the substrate controls marine microbial community composition and activities in coastal waters. This suggests that biogeochemical changes in the Arctic coastal zone will depend on the DOM character of adjacent deposit types, which determine the speed and extent of DOM mineralization and thereby carbon channeling into the microbial food web. We conclude that marine microbes strongly respond to the input of terrestrial DOM released by coastal erosion and that the landscape type differently influence marine microbes.

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organization
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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Arctic coastal zone, chemostat, climate change, glacial deposits, marine microbial community, permafrost, terrestrial dissolved organic matter
in
Frontiers in Earth Science
volume
9
article number
640580
publisher
Frontiers Media S. A.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85104184183
ISSN
2296-6463
DOI
10.3389/feart.2021.640580
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
94f90dac-da6c-49f3-a5a8-655dbe624cd6
date added to LUP
2021-04-26 12:18:59
date last changed
2022-04-27 01:41:26
@article{94f90dac-da6c-49f3-a5a8-655dbe624cd6,
  abstract     = {{<p>Climate warming is accelerating erosion along permafrost-dominated Arctic coasts. This results in the additional supply of organic matter (OM) and nutrients into the coastal zone. In this study we investigate the impact of coastal erosion on the marine microbial community composition and growth rates in the coastal Beaufort Sea. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) derived from three representative glacial deposit types (fluvial, lacustrine, and moraine) along the Yukon coastal plain, Canada, were used as substrate to cultivate marine bacteria using a chemostat setup. Our results show that DOM composition (inferred from UV-Visible spectroscopy) and biodegradability (inferred from DOC concentration, bacterial production and respiration) significantly differ between the three glacial deposit types. DOM derived from fluvial and moraine types show clear terrestrial characteristics with low aromaticity (S<sub>r</sub>: 0.63 ± 0.02 and SUVA<sub>254</sub>: 1.65 ± 0.06 L mg C<sup>−1</sup> m<sup>−1</sup> &amp; S<sub>r</sub>: 0.68 ± 0.01 and SUVA<sub>254</sub>: 1.17 ± 0.06 L mg C<sup>−1</sup> m<sup>−1</sup>, respectively) compared to the lacustrine soil type (S<sub>r</sub>: 0.71 ± 0.02 and SUVA<sub>254</sub>: 2.15 ± 0.05 L mg C<sup>−1</sup> m<sup>−1</sup>). The difference in composition of DOM leads to the development of three different microbial communities. Whereas Alphaproteobacteria dominate in fluvial and lacustrine deposit types (67 and 87% relative abundance, respectively), Gammaproteobacteria is the most abundant class for moraine deposit type (88% relative abundance). Bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) is 66% for DOM from moraine deposit type, while 13 and 28% for DOM from fluvial and lacustrine deposit types, respectively. The three microbial communities therefore differ strongly in their net effect on DOM utilization depending on the eroded landscape type. The high BGE value for moraine-derived DOM is probably caused by a larger proportion of labile colorless DOM. These results indicate that the substrate controls marine microbial community composition and activities in coastal waters. This suggests that biogeochemical changes in the Arctic coastal zone will depend on the DOM character of adjacent deposit types, which determine the speed and extent of DOM mineralization and thereby carbon channeling into the microbial food web. We conclude that marine microbes strongly respond to the input of terrestrial DOM released by coastal erosion and that the landscape type differently influence marine microbes.</p>}},
  author       = {{Bruhn, Anders Dalhoff and Stedmon, Colin A. and Comte, Jérôme and Matsuoka, Atsushi and Speetjens, Niek Jesse and Tanski, George and Vonk, Jorien E. and Sjöstedt, Johanna}},
  issn         = {{2296-6463}},
  keywords     = {{Arctic coastal zone; chemostat; climate change; glacial deposits; marine microbial community; permafrost; terrestrial dissolved organic matter}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Frontiers Media S. A.}},
  series       = {{Frontiers in Earth Science}},
  title        = {{Terrestrial Dissolved Organic Matter Mobilized From Eroding Permafrost Controls Microbial Community Composition and Growth in Arctic Coastal Zones}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.640580}},
  doi          = {{10.3389/feart.2021.640580}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}