Journal
ECOTOXICOLOGY
Volume 24, Issue 5, Pages 1131-1140Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10646-015-1460-6
Keywords
Copper tolerance; Bacterial isolate; Kelp forest
Categories
Funding
- NSF Division of Undergraduate Education [1323809]
- Division of Microbial Biology [1330800]
- FIPSE-CAPES USA-Brazil Higher Education Consortia Program
- CAPES-FIPSE
- Dutch Science foundation (NWO) Veni Grant [016.111.075]
- Direct For Education and Human Resources
- Division Of Undergraduate Education [1323809] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Div Of Molecular and Cellular Bioscience
- Direct For Biological Sciences [1330800] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Kelp forests in southern California are important ecosystems that provide habitat and nutrition to a multitude of species. Macrocystis pyrifera and other brown algae that dominate kelp forests, produce negatively charged polysaccharides on the cell surface, which have the ability to accumulate transition metals such as copper. Kelp forests near areas with high levels of boating and other industrial activities are exposed to increased amounts of these metals, leading to increased concentrations on the algal surface. The increased concentration of transition metals creates a harsh environment for colonizing microbes altering community structure. The impact of altered bacterial populations in the kelp forest have unknown consequences that could be harmful to the health of the ecosystem. In this study we describe the community of microorganisms associated with M. pyrifera, using a culture based approach, and their increasing tolerance to the transition metal, copper, across a gradient of human activity in southern California. The results support the hypothesis that M. pyrifera forms a distinct marine microhabitat and selects for species of bacteria that are rarer in the water column, and that copper-resistant isolates are selected for in locations with elevated exposure to transition metals associated with human activity.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available