Bacterial communities associated with the decomposition of Fucus vesiculosus in transitional waters

In this work we study the temporal and spatial patterns of the bacterial communities associated with the decomposition of Fucus vesiculosus and a control substrate in a transitional ecosystem. Leaf-bags with 5 mm mesh-size and containing the experimental substrates were placed in three areas, euhaline, mesohaline and limnetic, covering the full salinity gradient. The substrates were submerged at day 0 and three replicates were randomly collected per site, at days 3, 7, 15, 30 and 60. The complexity and structural changes of the bacterial communities inhabiting F. vesiculosus and the control substrates were assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Bacterial community fingerprints showed no significant differences between areas only at day 3, for both substrates. The bacterial community associated with F. vesiculosus showed significant differences over time in the euhaline and mesohaline areas but not in the limnetic area. A different trend was observed for the artificial substrate. Comparing the bacterial communities of F. vesiculosus and the artificial substrate, the results indicated that the significant differences between the two substrates were detected from day 7 in the euhaline area and only later, at day 15, in the other areas. These results are coherent with the fastest decomposition rate of the alga in the euhaline area, where it occurs naturally, and the slowest in the limnetic area, where it does not naturally exists.

► Bacterial succession was studied in an alga and a control substrate along a full salinity gradient.
► Bacteria communities changed along the salinity gradient in the alga and in the control substrate.
► Bacterial succession in the alga was faster in the euhaline area.
► The alga acted as an artificial substrate as we move up the estuary towards lower salinities.
► Decomposition based functional studies must carefully consider the substrate and estuarine gradient.