Aquarium Biogeography and Succession of Microbial Communities in Aquatic Built Environments Nitrification Results in Coral Pond 1 The nitrite levels in the water rose until sediment from another tank was added on Day The inoculum possibly contained microbes capable of converting nitrite to nitrate, resulting in a sudden increase in nitrate levels The following chart was generated using PHINCH alpha to show the microbial composition of the water samples as nitrate levels increase in the coral pond This visual provides a good example of the correlation between microbial chemistry data and the microbial community As nitrate levels increase, the genus Tenacibaculum seems to take over the samples Tenacibaculum species have been found to be fish pathogens, but no fish were present in the coral pond The tropical tank that was used as the inoculum did contain fish, but there was not a significant amount of Tenacibaculum present, according to the limited data analyzed by PHINCH Nitrification Results in Coral Pond 1 The nitrite levels in the water rose until sediment from another tank was added on Day The inoculum possibly contained microbes capable of converting nitrite to nitrate, resulting in a sudden increase in nitrate levels The following chart was generated using PHINCH alpha to show the microbial composition of the water samples as nitrate levels increase in the coral pond This visual provides a good example of the correlation between microbial chemistry data and the microbial community As nitrate levels increase, the genus Tenacibaculum seems to take over the samples Tenacibaculum species have been found to be fish pathogens, but no fish were present in the coral pond The tropical tank that was used as the inoculum did contain fish, but there was not a significant amount of Tenacibaculum present, according to the limited data analyzed by PHINCH Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Alfred P. SLOAN Foundation, the DNA Technologies Core facility at the UCD Genome Center, Holly Bik and Jonathan Eisen. Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Alfred P. SLOAN Foundation, the DNA Technologies Core facility at the UCD Genome Center, Holly Bik and Jonathan Eisen. What is the “Built Environment”? The “built environment” environment refers to our cars, schools, offices, water pipes, etc These are the areas we spent most of our time, yet we do not know much about the microbial composition of these environments Aquariums are habitats that bridge the natural and built environments, and that is why they were the focus of this work What is the “Built Environment”? The “built environment” environment refers to our cars, schools, offices, water pipes, etc These are the areas we spent most of our time, yet we do not know much about the microbial composition of these environments Aquariums are habitats that bridge the natural and built environments, and that is why they were the focus of this work Research Questions In this study, we aim to better understand the biogeography and succession of the microbial communities inhabiting a pair of newly established tanks in the UC Davis Biological Sciences Teaching Laboratory We utilize 16S rRNA PCR surveys—a culture-independent, DNA-based sequencing method—to answer 2 questions: 1)How does the microbial composition of newly established aquarium systems change over time? 2)How do the environmental conditions (temperature, salinity, pH, oxygen and nutrient concentrations) correlate with these changes? Research Questions In this study, we aim to better understand the biogeography and succession of the microbial communities inhabiting a pair of newly established tanks in the UC Davis Biological Sciences Teaching Laboratory We utilize 16S rRNA PCR surveys—a culture-independent, DNA-based sequencing method—to answer 2 questions: 1)How does the microbial composition of newly established aquarium systems change over time? 2)How do the environmental conditions (temperature, salinity, pH, oxygen and nutrient concentrations) correlate with these changes? Sabreen Aulakh, Lakshmi Bharadwaj, Akshay Sethi, Alex Alexiev, Andrew Shaver, Matthew Haggerty, Jennifer Flanagan, Jenna Morgan Lang, David Coil, Ph.D. Department of Evolution and Ecology University of California, Davis, Methods We took sediment, water and wall samples from two newly established coral ponds every day from December March 2013 Water chemistry data including nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, ammonia, pH, salinity, and temperature was collected each day Day 12.5 = Sediment from previously established tropical tank was added to coral pond as the inoculum 3 technical replicate samples were taken from each sampling period The following chart explains sampling methods: Samples were sequenced and then analyzed using QIME and PHINCH alpha Methods We took sediment, water and wall samples from two newly established coral ponds every day from December March 2013 Water chemistry data including nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, ammonia, pH, salinity, and temperature was collected each day Day 12.5 = Sediment from previously established tropical tank was added to coral pond as the inoculum 3 technical replicate samples were taken from each sampling period The following chart explains sampling methods: Samples were sequenced and then analyzed using QIME and PHINCH alpha SedimentWaterWall Profile of sediment in 1.5 ml tubes 1L water sample vacuum filtered through 1 micron filter ¼ KimWipe swipe of the sides of the tank Why 16S PCR? 16S rRNA  highly conserved in all bacteria Species-specific microbial gene sequences Community profiles tells us the make-up of ecosystem Why 16S PCR? 16S rRNA  highly conserved in all bacteria Species-specific microbial gene sequences Community profiles tells us the make-up of ecosystem Next Steps The findings discussed here serve as a preview to the type of results we aim to obtain after sequencing and analyzing all 500 samples This preliminary data will serve as the model for further analysis We plan to characterize the microbial community in both coral ponds and compare the microbial composition to that present in the original tropical tank We will use PHINCH alpha and QIME to generate visuals and better understand the succession of the microbial community Next Steps The findings discussed here serve as a preview to the type of results we aim to obtain after sequencing and analyzing all 500 samples This preliminary data will serve as the model for further analysis We plan to characterize the microbial community in both coral ponds and compare the microbial composition to that present in the original tropical tank We will use PHINCH alpha and QIME to generate visuals and better understand the succession of the microbial community Discussing the Areas for Improvement PHINCH analyzed an OTU file that did not contain all the data points we collected in the first run This made it difficult to draw conclusions regarding the relationship between some water chemistry data and microbial composition The completed runs must be analyzed with all data points in order to provide accurate and meaningful results Discussing the Areas for Improvement PHINCH analyzed an OTU file that did not contain all the data points we collected in the first run This made it difficult to draw conclusions regarding the relationship between some water chemistry data and microbial composition The completed runs must be analyzed with all data points in order to provide accurate and meaningful results Phosphate Results in Coral Pond 1 The phosphate levels in the water were constant until sediment from another tank was added on Day The phosphate levels then immediately rose and followed a general upward trend The following chart was generated using PHINCH alpha to show the microbial composition of the water samples as the phosphate levels changed in the pond No correlation could be observed between phosphate levels and microbial composition, suggesting that more data points need to be inserted and considered The genus Tenacibaculum and the order Stramenopiles were present in high levels, but their roles, if any, are unknown Phosphate Results in Coral Pond 1 The phosphate levels in the water were constant until sediment from another tank was added on Day The phosphate levels then immediately rose and followed a general upward trend The following chart was generated using PHINCH alpha to show the microbial composition of the water samples as the phosphate levels changed in the pond No correlation could be observed between phosphate levels and microbial composition, suggesting that more data points need to be inserted and considered The genus Tenacibaculum and the order Stramenopiles were present in high levels, but their roles, if any, are unknown Nitrate levels (ppm) % Composition of Sample Nitrite Nitrite levels (ppb) Sampling Date Nitrate Sampling Date Nitrate levels (ppm) % Composition of Sample Phosphate levels (ppm) Tenacibaculum Stramenopiles