title: Macroecological drivers of archaea and bacteria in benthic deep-sea ecosystems.
abstract: Bacteria and archaea dominate the biomass of benthic deep-sea ecosystems at all latitudes, playing a crucial role in global biogeochemical cycles, but their macroscale patterns and macroecological drivers are still largely unknown. We show the results of the most extensive field study conducted so far to investigate patterns and drivers of the distribution and structure of benthic prokaryote assemblages from 228 samples collected at latitudes comprising 34°N to 79°N, and from ca. 400- to 5570-m depth. We provide evidence that, in deep-sea ecosystems, benthic bacterial and archaeal abundances significantly increase from middle to high latitudes, with patterns more pronounced for archaea, and particularly for Marine Group I Thaumarchaeota. Our results also reveal that different microbial components show varying sensitivities to changes in temperature conditions and food supply. We conclude that climate change will primarily affect deep-sea benthic archaea, with important consequences on global biogeochemical cycles, particularly at high latitudes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy.; Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Danovaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy.; HGF MPG Joint Research for Deep-Sea Ecology and Technology, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9503-382X
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Molari
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Corinaldesi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dell'Anno
mesh_terms: D001105:Archaea / Q000254:growth & development*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development*; D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D057231:Climate Change; D017753:Ecosystem; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology; D013696:Temperature
keywords: archaea; benthic bacteria; deep-sea macroecology; environmental drivers; global change