PNNL

Abstract

Productivity is a major determinant of ecosystem diversity. Microbial ecosystems are the most diverse on the planet yet very few relationships between diversity and productivity have been reported as compared to macro-ecological studies. Here we evaluated the spatial relationships of productivity and microbiome diversity in a laboratory-cultivated photosynthetic mat. The goal was to determine how spatial diversification of microorganisms drives localized carbon and energy acquisition rates. We measured sub-millimeter depth profiles of net primary-productivity and gross oxygenic photosynthesis in the context of the localized microenvironment and community structure and observed negative correlations between species richness and productivity within the energy-replete, photic zone. Variations between localized community structures were associated with distinct taxa as well as environmental profiles describing a continuum of biological niches. Spatial regions corresponding to high primary productivity and photosynthesis rates had relatively low species richness and high evenness. Hence, this system exhibited negative species-productivity and species–energy relationships. These negative relationships may be indicative of photosynthetically-driven, light-controlled mat ecosystems that are able to be the most productive with a relatively smaller, even distributions of species that specialize within the highly-oxic, photic zones.