Trophic and microbial patterns in the Ross Sea area (Antarctica): spatial variability during the summer season

Azzaro M; Specchiulli A; Maimone G; Azzaro F; Lo Giudice A; Papale M; La Ferla R; Paranhos R; Souza Cabral A; Rappazzo AC; Renzi M; Castagno P; Falco P; Rivaro P; Caruso G;

In open regions of the Ross Sea the role of the microbial community in the turnover of organic matter has still scarcely been investigated; indeed, very little is known on how microbial dis-tribution and functional diversity respond to environmental conditions and hydrographic structures. During the austral summer 2017, two pelagic areas of the Ross Sea [the Drygalski Ice Tongue and the nearby Terra Nova Bay polynya (A area) and the continental Shelf Break area near Cape Adare (C area)] were studied at selected depths [surface, Deep Chlorophyll Maximum (DCM), Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW), deep waters]. Trophic properties [nu-trient concentrations, particulate (POC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and its optically significant fraction (CDOM) were measured, together with the main hydrological variables. Microbial community abundance [total prokaryotes, living, dead and actively respiring frac-tion, high- and low nucleic acid cells (HNA and LNA), pico- and nanoeukaryotes, culturable heterotrophic bacteria], composition and metabolism (as whole community and isolated bac-teria) were also assessed.
Through a multidisciplinary dataset, this study highlighted the variable response of mi-crobial abundance, diversity and metabolism of the microbial community to the changing local environmental conditions of the Ross Sea. Different forcings, such as the organic matter inputs (mostly of detrital nature) released from the Drygalski glacier in the A area and a coastal-to-offshore gradient in the C area, coexisted within this extreme ecosystem. This re-sulted in a significant spatial segregation of the edaphic parameters and of the microbial community distribution and metabolic activity patterns.

2022 - Journal article

Journal of marine science and engineering 10 (2022). doi:10.3390/jmse10111666

Keywords: water column, organic matter, optical properties, microbial community abundance and biomass, functional diversity, Ross Sea

View the Product

CNR People

ExploRA

Research Projects

The research activities of the Institute are carried out in the context of research, development and innovation projects, both national and international, based on regional funding programs (POR FEAMPA - Regional Operational Program of the European Maritime Affairs Fisheries Fund and Aquaculture and POR FESR - Regional Operational Program of the European Regional Development Fund) or ministerial (PRIN - Projects of relevant national interest, PNRA - National Research Program in Antarctica, PO FEAMPA - National Operational Program European Maritime Affairs Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund) , programs for European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg), direct funding programs of the European Commission (Horizon2020 and Horizon Europe, Life, JPI - Joint Programming Initiatives, ERA-NET Cofund) and thematic collaboration initiatives managed by international organizations such as, for example , the FAO - GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean). The Institute also develops funded projects in the context of collaborations with private companies in the sectors of the blue economy as well as technology transfer and research results. Research projects, mainly of a collaborative nature, are developed through a wide network of partners that include major Italian and foreign research institutions and universities.

FIND OUT MORE
error: Content is protected !!