Assessing microbial community responses to high organic enrichment in salmon aquaculture-impacted marine sediments

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Thorsten Stoeck
• Subject Area: Microbial Ecology and Applied Microbiology ; Bioinformatics and Theoretical Biology ; Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 432977076

Marine finfish aquaculture, a rapidly growing sector in the food industry, significantly impacts coastal sediment ecosystems. The enrichment of organic material from feed and fish feces in the benthic environment of finfish aquaculture installations leads to environmental degradation, including anoxia and toxic substance production through bacteria. This makes the seafloor inhospitable to most multicellular organisms. Understanding how microbial communities respond to these impacts, particular to organic enrichment, is crucial for monitoring and managing aquaculture sites. This project aims to enhance our knowledge of microbial ecology in organically enriched sediments affected by salmon aquaculture. By studying the bacterial and viral (bacteriophage) communities present, the project will generate fundamental scientific knowledge that will improve methods and refine models predicting environmental impacts and seafloor recovery processes. The three main objectives are: (i) Investigate sulfur metabolism pathways in bacterial communities within organically enriched sediments from salmon aquaculture sites and their connections to other metabolic processes. (ii) Assess how microbial communities and their metabolic pathways in salmon farm sediments respond and adapt to various disturbances that may compromise organic matter degradation and ecosystem recovery. And (iii) reveal the diversity and role of viruses (bacteriophages) in these sediments and their influence on microbial community metabolism. These goals will be achieved through analyses of data (metagenomes and metatranscriptomes) generated in a previous DFG-funded project. The proposed project is purely analytical, leveraging existing data to enhance our understanding of microbial ecology in aquaculture-impacted sediments, ultimately contributing to improved environmental management and predictive modeling.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants