De Meester, N.

Degraer, S.

Moens, T.

Rigaux, A.

Vanaverbeke, J.

Vlaeminck, E.

Voet, H.

Open Marine Archive

101 
Poster presentation Competition poster 
Effect of climate change on the microbiome of the blue mussel  
De Meester Nele1, Voet Helena1,2, Vlaeminck Ellen1, Rigaux Annelien1, Degraer Steven2, 
Vanaverbeke Jan2 and Moens Tom1 
1  Universiteit Gent: Onderzoeksgroep Mariene Biologie (UGent-MARBIOL), Campus De Sterre, 
s8, Krijgslaan 281, 9000 Gent, Belgium 
 E-mail: nele.demeester@ugent.be 
2  Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen: Operationele Directie Natuurlijk 
Milieu (IRScNB/KBIN-OD Natuur), Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussel, Belgium 
 
Marine environments are being threatened by global change. Increased atmospheric CO2 
concentrations lead to global warming on the one hand, and on the other hand to a decrease in 
ocean pH. Moreover, marine coastal areas are increasingly used for the production of marine 
renewable energy, mainly by installing offshore wind farms. As such, artificial hard substrates 
are being introduced in areas that are otherwise characterized by sandy sediments. These 
artificial hard substrates are being colonized by a fouling fauna: for instance, the bivalve Mytilus 
edulis. They can serve as a predictable and resource-rich surface for microbial communities and 
are to be considered as biogeochemical hotspots in the aquatic environment producing 
considerable amounts of N2O, and in this way affecting the N-cycle. N2O is considered a highly 
potent greenhouse gas, and thus also contributing significantly to global warming.  In the 
PERSUADE project (BELSPO) 16S rRNA gene sequencing will be conducted to detect and identify 
these N2O producing sources in biofilms associated with the shell of the mussel. The 
microbiome and some functional genes will be screened between the current natural situation 
and acidified and warmer conditions, and a combination of both. In this way, we can try to 
predict if climate change has an influence on the bacterial composition of biofilms and if this 
change in composition may have an effect on the N-cycle. Preliminary results show that the 
microbial communities present in the microbiomes of the mussels, and the denitrification rates, 
differ between the control and all climate change treatments. These results indicate that 
climate change may influence the N-cycle and may have an impact on the production of an 
important greenhouse gas. The new hard substrates created by offshore wind farms in the North 
Sea may thus influence communities and nutrient cycles more than previous expected. 
 
Keywords: Offshore wind farm; Microbiome; Climate change; N-cycle  


Effect of climate change on the microbiome of the blue mussel

http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/324874.pdf

Effect of climate change on the microbiome of the blue mussel

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