SHORELINE BACTERIAL COMMUNITY DYNAMICS IN SEAWATER AND SAND: INSIGHTS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST

Understanding how marine bacterial communities vary along spatial and temporal gradients could aid in assessing ecosystem health along the Gulf Coast. To investigate seasonal and spatial patterns in bacterial community structure, seawater and sand samples were collected from 10 sites along the Mississippi Gulf Coast over the course of a year. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that the coastal bacterial community differed between sample types, and by location and month of collection. Spatial patterns were more pronounced than temporal patterns, with sand and seawater communities influenced more by distance between sample sites than month of collection. Seawater bacterial community composition was driven by pH, salinity, and temperature, while sand bacterial communities were influenced primarily by temperature. Bacterial species richness and diversity were higher in sand than water, with both varying by site and month. Relative abundances of major bacterial phyla differed between sample type, location, and collection month, although members of the Bacteroidetes, Gammaproteobacteria, and Alphaproteobacteria were predominant across samples. Cyanobacteria accounted for a greater proportion of the seawater bacterial community compared to sand, and proportions of Cyanobacteria were positively correlated with water temperature. These findings reveal the dynamic nature of nearshore bacterial communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, potentially offering insights for coastal ecosystem management across seasons.

Presentation Preference: Poster

Primary Presenter: Stephanie Vaughn, University of Mississippi (snvaughn@olemiss.edu)

Authors:

Jacqueline Pavlovsky, University of Mississippi  (jpavlovs@go.olemiss.edu)

Colin Jackson, University of Mississippi  (cjackson@olemiss.edu)