PNNL

Abstract

Subsurface zones of groundwater and surface water mixing (hyporheic zones) are regions of enhanced rates of biogeochemical cycling, yet ecological processes governing hyporheic microbiome composition and function through space and time remain unknown. We sampled attached and planktonic microbiomes in the Columbia River hyporheic zone across seasonal hydrologic change, and employed statistical null models to infer mechanisms generating temporal changes in microbiomes within three hydrologically-connected, physicochemically-distinct geographic zones (inland, nearshore, river). We reveal that microbiomes remain dissimilar through time across all zones and habitat types (attached vs. planktonic) and that deterministic assembly processes regulate microbiome composition in all data subsets. The consistent presence of heterotrophic taxa and members of the Planctomycetes-Verrucomicrobia-Chlamydiae (PVC) superphylum nonetheless suggests common selective pressures for physiologies represented in these groups. Further, co-occurrence networks were used to provide insight into taxa most affected by deterministic assembly processes. We identified network clusters to represent groups of organisms that correlated with seasonal and physicochemical change. Extended network analyses identified keystone taxa within each cluster that we propose are central in microbiome composition and function. Finally, the abundance of one network cluster of nearshore organisms exhibited a seasonal shift from heterotrophic to autotrophic metabolisms and correlated with microbial metabolism, possibly indicating an ecological role for these organisms as foundational species in driving biogeochemical reactions within the hyporheic zone. Taken together, our research demonstrates a predominant role for deterministic assembly across highly-connected environments and provides insight into niche dynamics associated with seasonal changes in hyporheic microbiome composition and metabolism.