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Distinct response of total and active fungal communities and functions to seasonal changes in a semi-enclosed Bay with mariculture (Dongshan Bay, Southern China)
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  • Wei Xu,
  • Change Yang,
  • Yu Luo,
  • Yuanhao Gao,
  • Meng Li,
  • Hans- Grossart,
  • Lixing Huang,
  • zhuhua Luo
Wei Xu
Third Institute of Oceanography Ministry of Natural Resources

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Change Yang
Third Institute of Oceanography Ministry of Natural Resources
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Yu Luo
Third Institute of Oceanography Ministry of Natural Resources
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Yuanhao Gao
Third Institute of Oceanography Ministry of Natural Resources
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Meng Li
Shenzhen University
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Hans- Grossart
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in the Forschungsverbund Berlin eV
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Lixing Huang
Jimei University
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zhuhua Luo
Third Institute of Oceanography Ministry of Natural Resources
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Abstract

Increasing evidence suggests that fungal communities are key components of biogeochemical cycles in coastal ecosystems. While several studies highlighted strong spatial patterns in fungal abundance and diversity, there are very few studies using a more integrative approach to study the spatio-temporal distribution of fungi, taking also the active part of the community into account. To better understand the consequences of anthropogenic activities, e.g. marine aquaculture, for fungal community composition and activities, we simultaneously evaluated the temporal (four different seasons) and spatial dynamics in total (DNA) and active (RNA) fungal communities in relation to several major physicochemical properties. Fungal communities were highly diverse, but showed the ubiquitous dominance of Dikarya and the occasional predominance of Glomeromycota, Mucoromycota, Mortierellomycota, Chytridiomycota, Mortierellomycota, Olpidiomycota, and Rozellomycota. Thereby, fungal diversity indices showed a much higher seasonal variation than with the degree of aquaculture activity, for both total and active communities. This notion is supported by co-occurrence networks exhibiting a clear seasonal pattern. Furthermore, fungal community structure in coastal waters showed distinct relationships with environmental factors varying both with season and in space. For both, total and active fungal communities, a combination of environmental variables such as temperature, DO and NO2- exhibited the greatest impact on community structure. Our study demonstrates a distinct spatio-temporal dynamics of both, total and active fungi and provides a foundation to better understand the ecological roles of marine fungi in coastal ecosystems in relation to mariculture activities.
21 Oct 2021Submitted to Molecular Ecology
29 Dec 2021Assigned to Editor
29 Dec 2021Submission Checks Completed
21 Feb 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
06 Jan 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
11 Jan 2023Editorial Decision: Revise Minor