Phylogeny-based analysis of chitinase and 16S rRNA genes from metagenomic data suggests that salinity is a major driver for the distribution of both chitinolytic and total bacterial communities in aquatic systems. Additionally, more acidic chitinase proteins were observed with increasing salinity. Congruent habitat separation was further observed for both genes according to latitude and proximity to the coastline. However, comparison of chitinase and 16S rRNA genes extracted from different geographic locations showed little congruence in distribution. There was no indication that dispersal limited the global distribution of either gene.