1 Supporting Information 2 3 4 Patterns and drivers of bacterial α- and β-diversity across vertical 5 profiles from surface to subsurface sediments 6 7 Luna G.M.1, Corinaldesi C. 2, Rastelli E. 2, Danovaro, R. 2, * 8 9 1 National Research Council - Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR - ISMAR), Castello 1364/a, 30122 10 Venezia, Italy 11 2 12 Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce 13 14 15 Supplementary Materials and Methods 16 Figures S1 – S2. 17 Tables S1 – S4. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1 Supplementary Materials and Methods 2 Study areas and sampling activities 3 Sediment sampling was performed in two areas in the Mediterranean Sea, one located in the 4 Southern Adriatic Sea (41°34’33’’N, 16°02’71’’E) and the other in the Aegean Sea (37°39’23’’ N, 5 23°58’10’’E). The first area was characterized by the presence of soft, non vegetated sediments, 6 mostly characterized by silts and clays (>90%). These sediments were collected in a gulf 7 characterized by a limited water circulation, high sedimentation rates and high water column 8 productivity. The area in the Aegean Sea was located on the coast south of Attiki, in a strait formed 9 between the coast and the small island of Patroklos, and was characterized by the presence of the 10 seagrass Posidonia oceanica, with an average shoot density of ca. 357–372 m-2 (Díaz-Almela et al., 11 2008), and by mostly carbonate, sandy sediments (silt/clay contributing to <5%; Apostolaki et al., 12 2007). From each site, three replicated cores were collected. In the Southern Adriatic Sea, 13 sediments were collected in October 2002, at 15-meters depth, using a gravity corer (Carmacoring, 14 model SW 104). In the Aegean Sea, sediments were collected in June 2003 in the Sounion Bay, in a 15 station located at ca. 500 m distance from the coast. In Sounion, sediments were collected by scuba 16 divers, at a depth of 16 meters, using a long, sterile steel corer which was gently pushed into the 17 sediment (internal diameter ca. 8 cm). 18 Immediately after sampling, the cores were kept in the dark at in situ temperature and 19 transported into the laboratory. Each core was then sliced, using sterile spatulas, into layers from the 20 surface down to 1 meter below the surface (0–1 cm, 1–2 cm, 2–3 cm, 3–4 cm, 4–5 cm, 5–10 cm, 21 10–15 cm, 15–20 cm, 20–30 cm, 30–40 cm, 40–50 cm, 50–60 cm, 60–70 cm and 70–100 cm). The 22 sediments were processed according to the specific protocol required for each of the environmental 23 and microbiological variables. All the samples were collected from the central part of the cores to 24 avoid any possible contamination or contact with the adjacent layers. Temperature, pH and redox 25 potential were measured in each sediment horizon using punch-in probes during the slicing 26 procedure. For trophic variables (chloroplastic pigments, total organic matter, protein, 1 1 carbohydrates, lipids and biopolymeric carbon), sediments were put into sterile Petri dishes and 2 stored at -20°C until analyses. For total prokaryotic abundance determinations, sediment samples 3 (ca. 1 cm3) were transferred into sterile test tubes, fixed with 4 ml of pre-filtered (0.2 µm) seawater 4 added with buffered formalin (final concentration 2%) and stored at 4°C until analyses (within 1 5 week). For estimates of prokaryotic heterotrophic carbon production rates, aliquots of sediment 6 were collected from the sediment core using sterile syringes and immediately analysed as described 7 below. For molecular analyses of bacterial diversity, aliquots (ca. 10 cm 3) of sediments were put 8 into polystirene sterile 50-ml test tubes using sterile spatulas, immediately frozen and then stored at 9 -20°C until DNA extraction (within one week). From each core, one sediment sample was collected 10 for each variable in each layer, and the subsequent analyses were performed in triplicate. This 11 results in a total of nine analyses for each layer and each habitat. The resulting data are presented as 12 the average of the nine replicates ± standard deviation. 13 14 Environmental and trophic variables 15 Sediment water content was calculated as the difference between wet and dry weight (at 60°C until 16 a constant weight was achieved) and expressed as percentage. Total sediment organic matter (OM) 17 was determined as the difference between dry weight (60°C, 24–48 hours) of the sediment and 18 weight of the residue after combustion at 450°C (2 hours). Sediment chlorophyll–a and 19 phaeopigments were extracted in 90% acetone overnight and analyzed fluorometrically according to 20 the method described elsewhere (Pusceddu et al. 1999; 2009). Chloroplastic pigment equivalents 21 were calculated as the sum of Chl–a and phaeopigment concentrations. The biopolymeric carbon 22 content was determined as the sum of carbon equivalents of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. All 23 biochemical components were determined spectrophotometrically according to the methods 24 described by Dell’Anno et al. (2002). 25 26 2 1 Total prokaryotic abundance 2 Total prokaryotic abundance was determined according to the Sybr Green Direct Count (SGDC) 3 procedure described by Luna et al. (2002). Samples were sonicated three times (Branson Sonifier 4 2200, 60W) for 1 minute, properly diluted with 0.2 µm pre-filtered formalin (2% final 5 concentration) and then concentrated on 0.2 µm pore-size Al2O3 Anodisc filters (Whatman). Filters 6 were then stained with SYBR Green I (Molecular Probes) by adding, on each filter, 20 µl of the 7 stock solution (previously diluted 1:20 with filtered [0.2-µm-pore-size] Milli-Q water), washed 8 twice with 3 ml sterilized Milli-Q water and mounted onto microscope slides. Filters were analyzed 9 using epifluorescence microscopy (Zeiss Axioskop 2MOT, magnification × 1,000). For each filter, 10 at least 20 microscope fields were observed and at least 400 cells counted. Data were normalized to 11 sediment dry weight after desiccation (48 hours at 60°C). 12 13 Total viral abundance 14 Viral abundance was determined under epifluorescence microscopy according to the procedure 15 described by Danovaro et al. (2001). Sediments were treated using pyrophosphate (5 mM final 16 concentration) and ultrasound treatment (three times for 1 min, Branson 2200, 60 W) to increase the 17 extraction yields. In order to eliminate uncertainties in virus counting due to extracellular DNA 18 interference, sub-samples were supplemented with DNase I from bovine pancreas (10 U mL−1 final 19 concentration) and incubated for 15 min at room temperature. Sediment samples were diluted 250 20 times with 0.02-μm-pre-filtered Milli-Q sterile water, filtered onto 0.02-μm-pore-size Al2O3 filters 21 (Anodisc; diameter 25 mm) and then stained with 20 μl of SYBR Green I stock solution diluted 22 1:20 with 0.02-µm-pore-size Milli-Q water). Filters were incubated in the dark for 20 minutes, 23 rinsed three times with 3 ml 0.02-µm-pore-size Milli-Q water, dried under laminar flow hood and 24 then mounted on glass slides with 20 μl of antifade solution (50% phosphate buffer (pH 7.8) and 25 50% glycerol containing 0.5% ascorbic acid). Viral counts were obtained by epifluorescence 26 microscopy (Zeiss Axioskop 2MOT, magnification × 1000) examining at least 20 fields per slide, in 3 1 order to count at least 400 viral particles per filter. Viral abundance was expressed as the number of 2 viruses per gram of sediment dry weight (after desiccation, 60°C for 48 h). The virus–to–prokaryote 3 ratios (VPR) were calculated by dividing viral abundances by total prokaryotic abundances. 4 5 Prokaryotic heterotrophic carbon production 6 The determination of prokaryotic heterotrophic carbon production was carried out using the method 7 of 3[H]–leucine incorporation, according to the procedure described for coastal marine sediments by 8 Luna et al. (2002). An aqueous solution of 3[H]–leucine (Amersham) was added to triplicate 9 sediment subsamples (200 µL) at the final concentration 1 µM. Samples were then incubated at in 10 situ temperature for 1 hour in the dark. After incubation, samples were supplemented with ethanol 11 (80%) to stop prokaryotic incorporation of leucine. For each sample, blanks were run by adding 1.7 12 mL of 80% ethanol to sediment immediately before 3[H]–leucine addition. After two washes of the 13 samples with ethanol (80%) by mixing, centrifuging at 16000 × g and removing the supernatant, the 14 sediment was resuspended once more in ethanol (80%) and the whole sample was filtered onto a 15 white polycarbonate filter (0.2 µm pore size, Whatman). Subsequently, the filters were washed four 16 times with 5% trichloroacetic acid. Filters were treated with 2N NaOH for 2 hours in a dry bath at 17 100°C. One ml of supernatant was transferred to scintillation vials containing 10 ml of scintillation 18 liquid. Measurements of radioactivity were carried out using a liquid scintillation counter (Packard, 19 Tric-Carb 2100 TR). Prokaryotic carbon production was then normalized to sediment dry weight 20 after desiccation (60°C, 48 h) and expressed as ngC g-1 h-1. 21 22 Bacterial diversity and community composition 23 The T–RFLP fingerprinting technique was utilized for estimating bacterial OTU richness (α- 24 diversity) and β–diversity (turnover diversity) in the entire set of sediments. DNA was extracted 25 from 1 g aliquots of sediment by the UltraClean Soil DNA Isolation kit (MoBio Laboratoires Inc., 26 California, USA). Three replicated DNA extractions were performed for each sediment layer and 4 1 then analysed as follows. Extracted DNA was quantified spectrofluorimetrically using SYBR Green 2 I. The 16S rDNA was amplified from standardized DNA quantities (5 ng) using universal primers 3 27F and 907R. The primer 27F was fluorescently labelled at the 5’ end with the fluorochrome HEX 4 (MWGspa BIOTECH). Polymerase chain reactions were performed using a thermalcycler 5 (Biometra) in a final volume of 50 µl and using the MasterTaq ® kit (Eppendorf), according to the 6 manufacturer’s instructions. We used 30 PCR-cycles, each cycle consisting of 94°C for 1 min, 55°C 7 for 1 min and 72°C for 2 min, preceded by 3 min of denaturation at 94°C and followed by a final 8 extension of 10 min at 72°C. Negative controls, containing only the PCR-reaction mixture without 9 DNA templates, were run. PCR-products were checked on agarose-TBE gel (1%), containing 10 ethidium bromide for DNA staining and visualization. For each DNA sample, four 50-µl PCRs were 11 performed on each extracted DNA sample. The four PCR products resulting from each DNA sample 12 were pooled together to minimize stochastic PCR biases and then purified using a Wizard PCR 13 clean-up system (Promega). Purified 16S rDNA products was then digested, in duplicate, in a 20 µl 14 reaction volume with 10 U of either Alu I or Rsa I (Promega) at 37°C for 3 hours. Restriction 15 digestions were stopped by incubating at 65°C for 20 minutes, and samples were then kept frozen at 16 –20°C until analysis. Standard aliquots (2 µl) of each digest were mixed with appropriate internal 17 size standard (GS1000-ROX; Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) and fragments were analysed 18 in an ABI Prism 3100 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems). For each digestion, two replicates 19 were analysed as described. Terminal restriction fragment sizes between 35 and 900 bp were 20 determined using Peak Scanner version 1.0 (Applied Biosystems). For interpretation of T-RFLP 21 profiles and the identification of each ribotype or OTU within electropherograms, the procedure 22 described by Danovaro et al. (2006) and Luna et al. (2006) was adopted, which included binning of 23 peaks, elimination of “shoulder” and non-replicated peaks, and cut-off criterion. We then calculated 24 bacterial α–diversity (expressed as number of bacterial OTUs), and β–diversity (as percentage % of 25 Bray-Curtis dissimilarity on a presence/absence basis) using the SIMPER tool of the PRIMER 6+ 26 software (Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK). 5 1 Statistical analyses 2 Differences between different sediment layers within each habitat were assessed for the investigated 3 environmental, trophic and microbiological variables (total prokaryotic abundance, total viral 4 abundance, prokaryotic carbon production and bacterial α-diversity) using a one-way analysis of 5 variance (ANOVA). When significant differences (P<0.05) were observed, a post-hoc Student– 6 Newman–Kuels’ test (SNK) was also performed. ANOVA was carried out using the GMAV 7 software (University of Sidney). To assess the presence of statistical differences between the two 8 habitats (non vegetated sediments from the Manfredonia Gulf and vegetated sediments from the 9 Sounion Bay), we used the analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) tool. The analysis was performed on a 10 dataset composed of all the environmental (temperature, redox potential, water content) and trophic 11 variables (chlorophyll–a, phaeopigments, total organic matter, biopolymeric carbon and protein to 12 carbohydrate ratio), based on a Bray–Curtis similarity matrix. 13 Data of bacterial community composition obtained from the 16S rDNA T–RFLP analyses 14 were analysed using multivariate statistics tools, to test the hypothesis that statistical differences 15 exist in bacterial community composition between sediment layers and habitats (non vegetated vs. 16 vegetated sediments). Bacterial community composition data were ordinated by multidimensional 17 scaling analysis (MDS), based on a Bray-Curtis similarity matrix on a presence/absence basis. The 18 Bray-Curtis similarity (%) coefficient allows to assess the degree of similarity between T-RFLP 19 profiles obtained from different samples, thus allowing the comparison of bacterial assemblage 20 composition between layers and habitat type. To do this, a similarity matrix, containing all possible 21 pairwise comparisons, was generated and used to produce a MDS plot, to visually represent the 22 Bray Curtis similarity between samples. PERMANOVA, ANOSIM and MDS analyses were 23 performed using the PRIMER 6+ software (Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK). 24 In order to determine the extent to which the environmental and biotic variables investigated 25 (temperature, redox potential, pH [only in non vegetated sediments], water content, chlorophyll-a 26 and phaeopigments, total organic matter, biopolymeric carbon, the protein to carbohydrate ratio and 6 1 viral abundance) explained the patterns in prokaryotic abundance, heterotrophic production and α- 2 and β-bacterial diversity, a non-parametric multivariate multiple regression analysis was carried out, 3 based on Bray-Curtis dissimilarities, using the routine DISTLM forward (McArdle and Anderson, 4 2001). The forward selection of the predictor variables was carried out with tests by permutation. P 5 values were obtained using 4,999 permutations of raw data for the marginal tests (tests of individual 6 variables), while for all of the conditional tests, the routine used 4,999 permutations of residuals 7 under a reduced model. For abundance, production and α-diversity, analyses were performed using 8 the software DISTLM forward (http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~mja/). For β-diversity, analyses 9 were carried out using the DISTLM function provided in the PERMANOVA+ package of the 10 PRIMER 6+ software. For β-diversity analyses, pH and redox potential were not included due to 11 lack of data in some sediment layers. 12 13 References 14 1. Apostolaki, E.T., Tsagaraki, T., Tsapakis, M., Karakassis, I. (2007) Fish farming impact on 15 sediments and macrofauna associated with seagrass meadows in the Mediterranean. Est 16 Coast Shelf Sci 75: 408-416. 17 18 2. Danovaro, R., Dell’Anno A., Trucco, A., Serresi M., and Vanucci S. (2001) Determination of virus abundance in marine sediments. Appl Environ Microbiol 67: 1384–1387. 19 3. Dell'Anno, A. Mei, M.L, Pusceddu, A., and Danovaro, R. (2002) Assessing the trophic state 20 and eutrophication of coastal marine systems: a new approach based on the biochemical 21 composition of sediment organic matter. Mar Pollut Bull 44: 611-622. 22 4. Danovaro, R., Luna, G.M., Dell’Anno, A., and Pietrangeli, B. (2006) Comparison of two 23 fingerprinting techniques, Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism and 24 Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis, for determination of bacterial diversity in 25 aquatic environments. Appl Environ Microb 72: 5982–5989. 7 1 5. Díaz-Almela, E., Marbà, N., Álvarez, E., Santiago, R., Holmer, M., Grau, A., Mirto, S., 2 Danovaro, R., Petrou, A., Argyrou, M., Karakassis, I., Duarte, C.M. (2008) Benthic input 3 rates predict seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) fish farm-induced decline. Mar Pollut Bull 56: 4 1332–1342. 5 6. Luna, G.M., Manini, E., and Danovaro, R. (2002) Large fraction of dead and inactive 6 bacteria in coastal marine sediments: comparison of protocols for determination and 7 ecological significance. Appl Environ Microbiol 68: 3509–3513. 8 9 7. Luna, G.M., Dell’Anno, A., and Danovaro, R. (2006) DNA extraction procedure: a critical issue for bacterial diversity assessment in marine sediments. Environ Microbiol 8: 308–320. 10 8. Pusceddu, A., Sarà. G., Armeni, M., Fabiano, M., and Mazzola, A. (1999) Seasonal and 11 spatial changes in the sediment organic matter of a semi-enclosed marine system (W- 12 Mediterranean Sea). Hydrobiol 397: 59–70. 13 14 9. McArdle, B.H., and Anderson, M.J. (2001) Fitting multivariate models to community data: a comment on distance-based redundancy analysis. Ecology 82: 290–297. 15 10. Pusceddu, A., Dell’Anno, A., Fabiano, M., and Danovaro, R. (2009) Quantity and 16 bioavailability of sediment organic matter as signatures of benthic trophic status. Mar Ecol 17 Prog Ser 375: 41–52. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 8 1 2 Virus to Prokaryote Abundance Ratio 3 0.0 4 1.0 2.0 3.0 0.0 5 0-1 0-1 6 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-10 1-2 2-3 3-4 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 20-30 30-40 4-5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-100 70-100 10-15 15-20 1.0 2.0 3.0 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Figure S1. Vertical patterns of the virus-to-prokaryote abundance ratio (VPR) along the vertical 23 profiles in the two investigated habitats. A = non vegetated sediments; B = vegetated sediments. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 9 Base Pairs 1 Non vegetated 0-1 cm 2 3 4 5 6 Vegetated 0-1 cm 7 8 9 10 11 Non vegetated 2-3 cm 12 13 14 15 16 Vegetated 2-3 cm 17 18 19 20 21 Non vegetated 60-70 cm 22 23 24 25 26 Vegetated 60-70 cm 27 28 29 30 Figure S2. T-RFLP electropherograms in non vegetated and vegetated sediments in different 31 sediment horizons and habitats. Shown are the results obtained using the enzyme Rsa I. 32 10 1 Table S1. Environmental and biotic drivers of prokaryotic abundance in the sediments from the two 2 habitats, based on DISTLM analysis outputs. Data are from the forward selection procedure with 3 the conditional tests (i.e. fitting each variable one at a time, conditional on the variables that are 4 already included in the model). SS: Sum of square. p-F: pseudo-F. Prop %: percentage of variance 5 explained by each variable. The cumulative percentage of variance is also reported. P value is 6 expressed as * (statistical significance at p<0.05 in the marginal test), ** (p<0.01) and *** 7 (p<0.001). n.s.: not significant. pH data are not available for vegetated sediments. 8 Non vegetated sediments Variable SS p-F P prop % cumulative % Temperature 3573.14 7.487 *** 5.97 5.97 Redox Potential 9340.95 16.09 *** 15.61 21.58 pH 294.43 1.292 n.s. - - Water Content 1663.31 6.554 ** 2.78 24.36 Chlorophyll-a 2288.51 7.480 *** 3.83 28.19 Phaeopigments 33070.04 38.32 *** 55.28 83.47 OM content 880.41 3.850 * 1.47 84.94 Biopolymeric Carbon 181.81 0.788 n.s. - - Protein:Carbohydrate 3290.29 8.733 *** 5.5 90.44 601.99 1.828 n.s. - - Redox Potential 496.51 1.537 n.s. - - Water Content 5199.51 13.03 *** 10.86 10.86 Chlorophyll-a 125.83 0.395 n.s. - - Phaeopigments 800.20 2.626 n.s. - - OM content 30729.60 55.50 *** 64.16 75.02 Biopolymeric Carbon 2143.17 6.328 *** 4.47 79.49 Protein:Carbohydrate 157.39 0.507 n.s. - - Vegetated sediments Temperature 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 11 1 Table S2. Environmental and biotic drivers of prokaryotic heterotrophic production in the 2 sediments from the two habitats, based on DISTLM analysis outputs. Data are from the forward 3 selection procedure with the conditional tests (i.e. fitting each variable one at a time, conditional on 4 the variables that are already included in the model). SS: Sum of square. p-F: pseudo-F. Prop %: 5 percentage of variance explained by each variable. The cumulative percentage of variance is also 6 reported. P value is expressed as * (statistical significance at p<0.05 in the marginal test), ** 7 (p<0.01) and *** (p<0.001). n.s.: not significant. pH data are not available for vegetated sediments. 8 9 Non vegetated sediments Variable SS Temperature P prop % cumulative % 33692.88 38.45 *** 55.36 55.36 Redox Potential 12448.94 25.38 *** 20.46 75.82 pH 1407.83 4.593 * 2.31 78.13 Water Content 564.80 2.033 n.s. - - Chlorophyll-a 767.50 2.658 n.s. - - Phaeopigments 1560.78 4.513 * 2.56 80.69 OM content 509.92 1.902 n.s. - - Biopolymeric Carbon 548.53 2.144 n.s. - - Protein:Carbohydrate 3472.28 8.955 *** 5.71 86.40 1404.87 13.81 *** 7.47 7.47 Redox Potential 40.19 0.480 n.s. - - Water Content 1470.03 10.13 *** 7.82 15.29 Chlorophyll-a 77.67 0.959 n.s. - - Phaeopigments 512.91 5.893 * 2.73 18.02 OM content 12973.9 69.05 *** 69.02 87.04 Biopolymeric Carbon 54.84 0.669 n.s. - - Protein:Carbohydrate 254.38 3.147 n.s. - - Vegetated sediments Temperature p-F 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 12 1 Table S3. Environmental and biotic drivers of α-diversity patterns in the sediments from the two 2 habitats, based on DISTLM analysis outputs. Data are from the forward selection procedure with 3 the conditional tests (i.e. fitting each variable one at a time, conditional on the variables that are 4 already included in the model). SS: Sum of square. p-F: pseudo-F. Prop %: percentage of variance 5 explained by each variable. The cumulative percentage of variance is also reported. P value is 6 expressed as * (statistical significance at p<0.05 in the marginal test), ** (p<0.01) and *** 7 (p<0.001). n.s.: not significant. pH data are not available for vegetated sediments. 8 9 Non vegetated sediments Variable SS p-F P prop % cumulative % Temperature 676.23 2.791 n.s. - - Redox Potential 1117.46 5.357 * 3.94 3.94 pH 1174.58 15.55 *** 4.14 8.08 Water Content 1873.28 13.19 *** 6.61 14.69 Chlorophyll-a 312.46 4.827 * 1.10 15.79 Phaeopigments 15994.56 40.13 *** 56.42 72.21 TOM 2978.58 9.528 *** 10.51 82.72 Biopolymeric Carbon 1128.28 3.966 * 3.98 86.70 Protein:Carbohydrate 638.88 5.267 * 2.25 88.95 Viral abundance 1033.20 4.008 * 3.64 92.59 206.64 3.687 * 2.61 2.61 Redox Potential 107.08 2.597 n.s. - - Water Content 22.961 0.567 * 2.75 5.36 Chlorophyll-a 137.01 2.207 n.s. - - Phaeopigments 74.69 1.884 n.s. - - TOM 2620.76 13.82 *** 33.05 38.41 Biopolymeric Carbon 859.13 13.22 *** 10.83 49.24 Protein:Carbohydrate 2761.38 29.26 *** 34.82 84.06 Viral abundance 330.76 7.502 *** 4.17 88.23 Vegetated sediments Temperature 10 11 12 13 14 15 13 1 Table S4. Environmental and biotic drivers of β-diversity patterns in the sediments from the two 2 habitats, based on DISTLM analysis outputs. Data are from the forward selection procedure with 3 the conditional tests (i.e. fitting each variable one at a time, conditional on the variables that are 4 already included in the model). SS: Sum of square. p-F: pseudo-F. Prop %: percentage of variance 5 explained by each variable. The cumulative percentage of variance is also reported. P value is 6 expressed as * (statistical significance at p<0.05 in the marginal test), ** (p<0.01) and *** 7 (p<0.001). n.s.: not significant. 8 9 Non vegetated sediments Variable SS p-F P prop % cumulative % Temperature 2070.3 0.807 n.s. - - Water Content 2221.7 0.895 n.s. - - Chlorophyll-a 1369.0 0.431 n.s. - - Phaeopigments 2864.5 0.861 n.s. - - TOM 3408.4 1.402 n.s. - - Biopolymeric Carbon 1932.9 0.710 n.s. - - Protein:Carbohydrate 2331.5 0.954 n.s. - - Viral abundance 5031.9 1.982 ** 18.04 18.04 6010.1 1.731 ** 17.79 17.79 Water Content 5601.7 1.589 ** 16.58 34.37 Chlorophyll-a 3605.1 0.955 n.s. - - Phaeopigments 5064.6 1.411 n.s. - - TOM 5914.9 1.698 * 17.51 51.88 Biopolymeric Carbon 4501.1 1.229 n.s. - - Protein:Carbohydrate 4534.4 1.239 n.s. - - Viral abundance 4003.7 1.075 n.s. - - Vegetated sediments Temperature 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 14