TY - JOUR
T1 - Seasonal hydrologic and geologic forcing drive hot spring geochemistry and microbial biodiversity
AU - Colman, Daniel R.
AU - Lindsay, Melody R.
AU - Harnish, Annette
AU - Bilbrey, Evan M.
AU - Amenabar, Maximiliano J.
AU - Selensky, Matthew J.
AU - Fecteau, Kristopher M.
AU - Debes, Randall V.
AU - Stott, Matthew B.
AU - Shock, Everett L.
AU - Boyd, Eric S.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation to D.R.C. and E.S.B. (EAR‐1820658). E.L.S., K.M.F. and R.V.D. acknowledge support from NASA Exobiology (NNX16AJ61G). M.B.S. was supported by a Fulbright US Scholar Award and the GNS Science GRN programme. A.H. and M.B.S. were supported by the Montana State University Undergraduate Scholars Program. Funding for 16S rRNA gene sequencing was provided by an American Geosciences Institute/Deep Carbon Observatory grant to D.R.C. We thank Christie Hendrix, Stacey Gunther and Annie Carlson at YNP for research permitting.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - Hot springs integrate hydrologic and geologic processes that vary over short- and long-term time scales. However, the influence of temporal hydrologic and geologic change on hot spring biodiversity is unknown. Here, we coordinated near-weekly, cross-seasonal (~140 days) geochemical and microbial community analyses of three widely studied hot springs with local precipitation data in Yellowstone National Park. One spring (‘HFS’) exhibited statistically significant, coupled microbial and geochemical variation across seasons that was associated with recent precipitation patterns. Two other spring communities, ‘CP’ and ‘DS’, exhibited minimal to no variation across seasons. Variability in the seasonal response of springs is attributed to differences in the timing and extent of aquifer recharge with oxidized near-surface water from precipitation. This influx of oxidized water is associated with changes in community composition, and in particular, the abundances of aerobic sulfide-/sulfur-oxidizers that can acidify waters. During sampling, a new spring formed after a period of heavy precipitation and its successional dynamics were also influenced by surface water recharge. Collectively, these results indicate that changes in short-term hydrology associated with precipitation can impact hot spring geochemistry and microbial biodiversity. These results point to potential susceptibility of certain hot springs and their biodiversity to sustained, longer-term hydrologic changes.
AB - Hot springs integrate hydrologic and geologic processes that vary over short- and long-term time scales. However, the influence of temporal hydrologic and geologic change on hot spring biodiversity is unknown. Here, we coordinated near-weekly, cross-seasonal (~140 days) geochemical and microbial community analyses of three widely studied hot springs with local precipitation data in Yellowstone National Park. One spring (‘HFS’) exhibited statistically significant, coupled microbial and geochemical variation across seasons that was associated with recent precipitation patterns. Two other spring communities, ‘CP’ and ‘DS’, exhibited minimal to no variation across seasons. Variability in the seasonal response of springs is attributed to differences in the timing and extent of aquifer recharge with oxidized near-surface water from precipitation. This influx of oxidized water is associated with changes in community composition, and in particular, the abundances of aerobic sulfide-/sulfur-oxidizers that can acidify waters. During sampling, a new spring formed after a period of heavy precipitation and its successional dynamics were also influenced by surface water recharge. Collectively, these results indicate that changes in short-term hydrology associated with precipitation can impact hot spring geochemistry and microbial biodiversity. These results point to potential susceptibility of certain hot springs and their biodiversity to sustained, longer-term hydrologic changes.
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U2 - 10.1111/1462-2920.15617
DO - 10.1111/1462-2920.15617
M3 - Article
C2 - 34111905
AN - SCOPUS:85107396432
SN - 1462-2912
VL - 23
SP - 4034
EP - 4053
JO - Environmental microbiology
JF - Environmental microbiology
IS - 7
ER -