Allometry and Ecology of the Bilaterian Gut Microbiome

Classical ecology provides principles for construction and function of biological communities, but to what extent these apply to the animal-associated microbiota is just beginning to be assessed. Here, we investigated the influence of several well-known ecological principles on animal-associated microbiota by characterizing gut microbial specimens from bilaterally symmetrical animals (Bilateria) ranging from flies to whales. A rigorously vetted sample set containing 265 specimens from 64 species was assembled. Bacterial lineages were characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Previously published samples were also compared, allowing analysis of over 1,098 samples in total. A restricted number of bacterial phyla was found to account for the great majority of gut colonists. Gut microbial composition was associated with host phylogeny and diet. We identified numerous gut bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences that diverged deeply from previously studied taxa, identifying opportunities to discover new bacterial types. The number of bacterial lineages per gut sample was positively associated with animal mass, paralleling known species-area relationships from island biogeography and implicating body size as a determinant of community stability and niche complexity. Samples from larger animals harbored greater numbers of anaerobic communities, specifying a mechanism for generating more-complex microbial environments. Predictions for species/abundance relationships from models of neutral colonization did not match the data set, pointing to alternative mechanisms such as selection of specific colonists by environmental niche. Taken together, the data suggest that niche complexity increases with gut size and that niche selection forces dominate gut community construction

Intensification of the meridional temperature gradient in the Great Barrier Reef following the Last Glacial Maximum

Tropical south-western Pacific temperatures are of vital importance to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), but the role of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the growth of the GBR since the Last Glacial Maximum remains largely unknown. Here we present records of Sr/Ca and d18O for Last Glacial Maximum and deglacial corals that show a considerably steeper meridional SST gradient than the present day in the central GBR. We find a 1–2 °C larger temperature decrease between 17° and 20°S about 20,000 to 13,000 years ago. The result is best explained by the northward expansion of cooler subtropical waters due to a weakening of the South Pacific gyre and East Australian Current. Our findings indicate that the GBR experienced substantial meridional temperature change during the last deglaciation, and serve to explain anomalous deglacial drying of northeastern Australia. Overall, the GBR developed through significant SST change and may be more resilient than previously thought

Reconstructing oxygen deficiency in the glacial Gulf of Alaska: Combining biomarkers and trace metals as paleo-redox proxies

Marine anaerobic oxidation of ammonium (anammox) plays a central role in the nitrogen cycle of modern Oxygen Deficient Zones (ODZs). The newly developed bacteriohopanetetrol stereoisomer (BHT-x) biomarker for anammox, which is largely unaffected by early diagenesis, allows for the reconstruction of the presence and dynamics of past ODZs from the sedimentary record of continental margins. In this study, we investigate the development and dynamics of the ODZ in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) between 60 and 15 cal ka BP using records of redox sensitive trace metals (TM) and the BHT-x anammox biomarker from IODP Site U1419 (~700 m water depth). The biomarker record indicates that the ODZ in the GOA was in concert with global climate fluctuations in the late Pleistocene. Anammox was more pronounced during warmer periods and diminished during cooler periods, as indicated by correlation with the δ18O signal obtained by the North Greenland Ice core Project (NGRIP). Trace metal enrichments, however, do not match the trend in BHT-x. Systematic metal enrichments in intervals where biomarkers point to more intense water column deoxygenation are not observed. We suggest that this proxy discrepancy was caused by environmental factors, other than water column redox conditions, with opposing effects on the TM and biomarker records. Two of the most widely used redox indicators, Mo and U, are not significantly enriched throughout the sediment record at Site U1419. Site U1419 experienced some of the highest sedimentation rates (100–1000 cm ka−1) ever reported for late Pleistocene continental margin sediments, leading to a continuous and rapid upward migration of the sediment-water interface. We suggest that despite water column and seafloor oxygen depletion, significant sedimentary enrichments of these redox sensitive trace metals were prevented by a limited time for their diffusion across the sediment-water interface and subsequent enrichment as authigenic phases. Thus, depositional conditions were ideal for biomarker preservation but prevented significant authigenic trace metal accumulations. Similar discrepancies between organic and inorganic redox proxies could exist in other high sedimentation rate environments, potentially putting constraints on paleo-redox interpretations in such settings if they are based on trace metal enrichments alone