Title

The Microbe-Stonefly-Fish Connection: Exploring trophic linkages and fish pathogen transfer through microbial community analysis in the Nyack Flood Plain

Abstract

The Nyack flood plain is a hyporheic zone in which surface, ground, and subsurface water interact. This pristine and unique subsurface environment supports a diverse array of biota, including abundant plecopterans, which are often found at great distances (> 1 km) from the streambed.

Microbial communities in aquatic ecosystems are important nutrient cyclers and are the base of a complex food web. We hypothesize that microbial communities serve as a storage reservoir of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous in the flood plain. Through surveying the hind-gut contents of plecopterans, resident microbial populations in the region were characterized phylogenetically, providing insight to basic mechanisms that are driving the ecosystem. The majority of microorganisms that were identified were most closely related to known denitrifying bacterial species.

Preliminary findings collectively suggest high microbial diversity in the hindguts of plecopterans. However, within insect genera, the diversity in the microbial assemblage was low. For example, individual insects belonging to the genus Paraperla appeared to harbor essentially a monoculture of the bacterial species Aeromonas salmonicida, generally considered to be a fish pathogen. We hypothesize a tritrophic relationship between microbial communities, plecoterans, and fish. The presence of microbes related to denitrifiers and to fish pathogens in insect hindguts intriguingly suggests such relationships may exist. For example, in this system, plecopterans receive a nutritional benefit from microorganisms both as food and functionally, while the microorganisms may receive benefits of environmental control (e.g. an anoxic environment for dentrification) or pathogen transfer through an intermediate host.

Start Date

1-4-2005 1:00 PM

End Date

1-4-2005 3:00 PM

Document Type

Poster

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The Microbe-Stonefly-Fish Connection: Exploring trophic linkages and fish pathogen transfer through microbial community analysis in the Nyack Flood Plain

The Nyack flood plain is a hyporheic zone in which surface, ground, and subsurface water interact. This pristine and unique subsurface environment supports a diverse array of biota, including abundant plecopterans, which are often found at great distances (> 1 km) from the streambed.

Microbial communities in aquatic ecosystems are important nutrient cyclers and are the base of a complex food web. We hypothesize that microbial communities serve as a storage reservoir of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous in the flood plain. Through surveying the hind-gut contents of plecopterans, resident microbial populations in the region were characterized phylogenetically, providing insight to basic mechanisms that are driving the ecosystem. The majority of microorganisms that were identified were most closely related to known denitrifying bacterial species.

Preliminary findings collectively suggest high microbial diversity in the hindguts of plecopterans. However, within insect genera, the diversity in the microbial assemblage was low. For example, individual insects belonging to the genus Paraperla appeared to harbor essentially a monoculture of the bacterial species Aeromonas salmonicida, generally considered to be a fish pathogen. We hypothesize a tritrophic relationship between microbial communities, plecoterans, and fish. The presence of microbes related to denitrifiers and to fish pathogens in insect hindguts intriguingly suggests such relationships may exist. For example, in this system, plecopterans receive a nutritional benefit from microorganisms both as food and functionally, while the microorganisms may receive benefits of environmental control (e.g. an anoxic environment for dentrification) or pathogen transfer through an intermediate host.