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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2004, p. 3425-3433, Vol. 70, No. 6
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.6.3425-3433.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Richness and Diversity of Bacterioplankton Species along an Estuarine Gradient in Moreton Bay, Australia

Ian Hewson* and Jed A. Fuhrman

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0371

Received 19 November 2003/ Accepted 8 March 2004

Bacterioplankton community diversity was investigated in the subtropical Brisbane River-Moreton Bay estuary, Australia (27°25'S, 153°5'E). Bacterial communities were studied using automated rRNA intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA), which amplifies 16S-23S ribosomal DNA internally transcribed spacer regions from mixed-community DNA and detects the separated products on a fragment analyzer. Samples were collected from eight sites throughout the estuary and east to the East Australian Current (Coral Sea). Bacterioplankton communities had the highest operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness, as measured by ARISA at eastern bay stations (S [total richness] = 84 to 85 OTU) and the lowest richness in the Coral Sea (S = 39 to 59 OTU). Richness correlated positively with bacterial abundance; however, there were no strong correlations between diversity and salinity, NO3– and PO43– concentrations, or chlorophyll a concentration. Bacterioplankton communities at the riverine stations were different from communities in the bay or Coral Sea. The main differences in OTU richness between stations were in taxa that each represented 0.1% (the detection limit) to 0.5% of the total amplified DNA, i.e., the "tail" of the distribution. We found that some bacterioplankton taxa are specific to distinct environments while others have a ubiquitous distribution from river to sea. Bacterioplankton richness and diversity patterns in the estuary are potentially a consequence of greater niche availability, mixing of local and adjacent environment communities, or intermediate disturbance. Furthermore, these results contrast with previous reports of spatially homogeneous bacterioplankton communities in other coastal waters.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 3616 Trousdale Pkwy. AHF 107, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0371. Phone: (213) 740-5759. Fax: (213) 740-8123. E-mail: hewson{at}usc.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2004, p. 3425-3433, Vol. 70, No. 6
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.6.3425-3433.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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