Spatial Variation and Environmental Parameters Affecting the Abundant and Rare Communities of Bacteria and Archaea in the Sediments of Tropical Urban Reservoirs

Microbial communities in freshwater sediments play an important role in organic matter remineralization, contributing to biogeochemical cycles, nutrient release, and greenhouse gases emissions. Bacterial and archaeal communities might show spatial or seasonal patterns and were shown to be influenced by distinct environmental parameters and anthropogenic activities, including pollution and damming. Here, we determined the spatial variation and the environmental variables influencing the abundant and rare bacterial and archaeal communities in the sediments of eutrophic-hypereutrophic reservoirs from a tropical urban area in Brazil. The most abundant microbes included mainly Anaerolineae and Deltaproteobacteria genera from the Bacteria domain, and Methanomicrobia genera from the Archaea domain. Microbial communities differed spatially in each reservoir, reflecting the establishment of specific environmental conditions. Locations with better or worst water quality, or close to a dam, showed more distinct microbial communities. Besides the water column depth, microbial communities were affected by some pollution indicators, including total phosphorus, orthophosphate, electrical conductivity, and biochemical oxygen demand. Distinct proportions of variation were explained by spatial and environmental parameters for each microbial community. Furthermore, spatial variations in environmental parameters affecting these communities, especially the most distinct ones, contributed to microbial variations mediated by spatial and environmental properties together. Finally, our study showed that different pressures in each reservoir affected the sediment microbiota, promoting different responses and possible adaptations of abundant and rare bacterial and archaeal communities.