Evidence for regional aeolian transport of freshwater micrometazoans in arid regions

While separated by large expanses of dry terrain unsuitable for aquatic biota, aridland waters possess high biodiversity. How aquatic micrometazoans disperse to, and colonize, these isolated ephemeral habitats are not well understood. We used a multi‐faceted approach including wind tunnel and rehydr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Limnology and oceanography letters Vol. 3; no. 4; pp. 320 - 330
Main Authors:	Rivas, J. A., Mohl, J. E., Van Pelt, R. S., Leung, M.‐Y., Wallace, R. L., Gill, T. E., Walsh, E. J.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-08-2018 Wiley
Subjects:	Aquatic animals Aquatic organisms Arid zones Bacteria Biodiversity Biota Community development Deoxyribonucleic acid Deserts DNA Dust Experiments Fungi Invertebrates Saltation Sediments Wind Wind tunnels anemochory dispersal sediment rehydration desert next-generation sequencing dust
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Summary:	While separated by large expanses of dry terrain unsuitable for aquatic biota, aridland waters possess high biodiversity. How aquatic micrometazoans disperse to, and colonize, these isolated ephemeral habitats are not well understood. We used a multi‐faceted approach including wind tunnel and rehydration experiments, and next‐generation sequencing to assess potential movement of diapausing propagules of aquatic invertebrates by anemochory across regional scales (102–105 km). Wind tunnel experiments using dry playa sediments with added micrometazoan propagules demonstrated that after entrainment by saltation and downwind transport, propagules could be subsequently rehydrated and were viable. Further, rehydration of fallen natural dust yielded micrometazoans, including rotifers, gastrotrichs, microcrustaceans, and nematodes. Using conserved DNA primers, we identified > 3300 eukaryotic Operational Taxonomic Units (excluding fungi) in the dust including some taxa found in rehydration experiments. Thus, we provide strong evidence that anemochory can disperse micrometazoans among isolated, ephemeral ecosystems in North American deserts and likely elsewhere.
Bibliography:	Author Contribution Statement JAR collected dust samples from UTEP and Hueco Tanks, analyzed and rehydrated all dust samples, co‐designed and implemented the wind tunnel experiments, created HYSPLIT trajectories and GIS image, and helped draft and edit the manuscript. JEM performed sequencing and community analyses including preparation of figures, and helped write those portions of the manuscript. RSVP provided use of wind tunnel and ancillary materials, co‐designed wind tunnel experiments, interpreted findings, and edited the manuscript. M‐YL provided input into the original experimental design and bioinformatics support, and edited the manuscript. RLW contributed to the conceptual model, aided in the design of the rehydration experiments, helped to draft and edit the manuscript, and developed the artwork. TEG helped conceptualize and design the overall study, developed protocols for and oversaw the dust sampling and particle size analysis protocols, obtained dust samples, helped interpret the findings, and helped draft and edit the manuscript. EJW helped conceptualize and design the overall study including the model, collected dust samples, prepared samples for next‐generation sequencing, helped interpret the findings, and helped in drafting and editing the manuscript. Data Availability Statement http://datarepo.bioinformatics.utep.edu/getdata?acc=ACIEJDV41U1ZN5I All the data used to analyze the data for this paper are available at the UTEP Bioinformatics Data Repository at . ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 M.-Y. Leung provided input into the original experimental design and bioinformatics support, and edited the manuscript. T.E. Gill helped conceptualize and design the overall study, developed protocols for and oversaw the dust sampling and particle size analysis protocols, obtained dust samples, helped interpret the findings, and helped draft and edit the manuscript. J.A. Rivas, Jr. collected dust samples from UTEP and Hueco Tanks, analyzed and rehydrated all dust samples, co-designed and implemented the wind tunnel experiments, created HYSPLIT trajectories and GIS image, and helped draft and edit the manuscript. R.S. Van Pelt provided use of wind tunnel and ancillary materials, co-designed wind tunnel experiments, interpreted findings, and edited the manuscript. R.L. Wallace contributed to the conceptual model, aided in the design of the rehydration experiments, and helped to draft and edit the manuscript, and develop the artwork. E.J. Walsh helped conceptualize and design the overall study including the model, collected dust samples, prepared samples for next-generation sequencing, helped interpret the findings, and helped in drafting and editing the manuscript. J. Mohl performed sequencing and community analyses including preparation of figures, and helped write those portions of the manuscript.
ISSN:	2378-2242 2378-2242
DOI:	10.1002/lol2.10072