Aquatic bacterial assemblage structure in Pozas Azules, Cuatro Cienegas Basin, Mexico: Deterministic vs. stochastic processes

Authors

  • Laura Espinosa-Asuar Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City
  • Ana Elena Escalante National Laboratory of Sustainability Sciences, Institute of Ecology, Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City
  • Jaime Gasca-Pineda Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Jazmín Blaz Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Lorena Peña Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Luis Enrique Eguiarte Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Valeria Souza Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.

Keywords:

bacterial assemblage structure, bacterial diversity · biogeography, inland waters, Cuatro Cienegas, Mexico

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the contributions of stochastic vs. deterministic processes in the distribution of microbial diversity in four ponds (Pozas Azules) within a temporally stable aquatic system in the Cuatro Cienegas Basin, State of Coahuila, Mexico. A sampling strategy for sites that were geographically delimited and had low environmental variation was applied to avoid obscuring distance effects. Aquatic bacterial diversity was characterized following a culture-independent approach (16S sequencing of clone libraries). The results showed a correlation between bacterial beta diversity (1-Sorensen) and geographic distance (distance decay of similarity), which indicated the influence of stochastic processes related to dispersion in the assembly of the ponds’ bacterial communities. Our findings are the first to show the influence of dispersal limitation in the prokaryotic diversity distribution of Cuatro Cienegas Basin. [Int Microbiol 2015; 18(2):105-115]

Keywords: bacterial assemblage structure · bacterial diversity · biogeography · inland waters· Cuatro Cienegas, Mexico

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