Biogeochemistry and hydrography shape microbial community assembly and activity in the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean oxygen minimum zone

Abstract

Oceanic oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) play a pivotal role in biogeochemical cycles due to extensive microbial activity. How OMZ microbial communities assemble and respond to environmental variation is therefore essential to understanding OMZ functioning and ocean biogeochemistry. Sampling along depth profiles at five stations in the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean (ETNP), we captured systematic variations in dissolved oxygen (DO) and associated variables (nitrite, chlorophyll, and ammonium) with depth and between stations. We quantitatively analysed relationships between oceanographic gradients and microbial community assembly and activity based on paired 16S rDNA and 16S rRNA sequencing. Overall microbial community composition and diversity were strongly related to regional variations in density, DO, and other variables (regression and redundancy analysis r² = 0.68-0.82), displaying predictable patterns with depth and between stations. Although similar factors influenced the active community, diversity was substantially lower within the OMZ. We also identified multiple active microbiological networks that tracked specific gradients or features - particularly subsurface ammonium and nitrite maxima. Our findings indicate that overall microbial community assembly is consistently shaped by hydrography and biogeochemistry, while active segments of the community form discrete networks inhabiting distinct portions of the water column, and that both are tightly tuned to environmental conditions in the ETNP.