Impact of environmental factors on bacterial communities in floodplain lakes differed by hydrological connectivity

We analysed total bacterial number and mean volume of cells at three sites in each of ten floodplain lakes in the Middle Basin of the Biebrza River, North-Eastern Poland to test bacterioplankton communities change according to the distance to the river. The composition of the bacterial communities was determined by fluorescent in situ hybridization method. Total number of bacteria in the lakes ranged from 4.0 to 7.48 cells × 106 mL−1 with dominance by Actinobacteria, the contribution of which was positively correlated with water level. Old river channels (side-arms) featured Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria. The community of Betaproteobacteria was limited by concentration of dissolved organic carbon. Archaea, in spite of a minor role (<3.65% of DAPI-4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) in the communities, showed a positive relation to floodplain lake isolation. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that bacterioplankton in riverine lakes was similar to that in rivers, while lakes with limited water exchange showed a similarity to fertile lakes. Water level and nutrients were among the factors determining bacterial community structure.