"Primary microbial succession in anchialine ecosystems" by Jess Sterling (Pres 27: 5ISAE)
This presentation was a part of the 5th International Symposium on Anchialine Ecosystems (5ISAE), held in Kailua-Kona November 3-5, 2022.
Presentation 27: "The forming of a new kingdom: Primary microbial succession in anchialine ecosystems"
Session 7: Hawai‘i - Biological Sciences
Presentation Authors: Jess Sterling (1), Troy Sakihara (2), Pamela M. Brannock (3), Zoe Pearson (3), Kendra D. Maclaine (1), Scott R. Santos (4), Justin C. Havird (1)
Affiliations: (1) Dept. of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX; (2) Division of Aquatic Resources, Department of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawai‘i Hilo, HI, USA; (3) Dept. of Biology, Rollins College, Orlando, FL, USA; (4) Dept. of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo
Presentation Abstract: The creation of a new ecosystem is akin to the creation of a kingdom. Undiscovered land, untouched and unconquered, and destined to be plagued by war and colonization. The first organisms to lay siege to new territory are microbial life forms. They undergo unseen wars to establish which species will dominate the space in a process known as primary microbial succession. This initial colonization by microbial communities lays the foundation for further ecological succession of plants and animals. The anchialine ecosystem, which includes coastal ponds in young lava flows, offers a unique opportunity to examine this process. Here, we characterized microbial communities of anchialine habitats in Hawai‘i that were created during the eruptions of the Kilauea volcano in 2018. Samples from three anchialine ponds were collected ~2 years after their formation and at later time points spanning ~1 year. Sequence profiling of prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities was used to test whether communities were similar to those from older, established anchialine habitats, and if community structure changed over time. Results show that microbial communities from the new habitats were unlike any from established anchialine microbial communities, having higher proportions of Planctomycetota and Chloroflexi but lower proportions of green algae. Each new habitat also harbored its own unique community relative to other habitats. While community composition in each habitat underwent statistically significant changes over time, they remained distinctive from established anchialine habitats. These results suggest idiosyncratic microbial consortia form during the early succession of Hawaiian anchialine habitats. Future monitoring will reveal whether the early communities described here remain stable or if microbial communities will continue to change and eventually resemble those of established habitats. This work is a key first step in examining primary volcanic succession in aquatic habitats and suggests young anchialine habitats may warrant special conservation status.