Table 3.
Statistical analysis of correspondence between bacterioplankton community structure and environmental parameters.
| Environmental subgroup | Tested variables | No. | ρ | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physicochemical | Depth, pH, alkalinity, temperature, salinity | 131 | 0.75 | >0.001 |
| Depth, pH | 139 | 0.82 | >0.001 | |
| Depth | 296 | 0.67 | >0.001 | |
| Biogeochemical | PO4, NO2/NO3, sil, pP, pN, pSi, pC, pC:pN, pSi:sil, pC:pSi | 45 | 0.49 | >0.001 |
| NO2/NO3, pC | 98 | 0.65 | >0.010 | |
| Biological | Heterotrophic prokaryotes, Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, chlorophyll a, various pigments | 137 | 0.46 | >0.001 |
The best matching variables in each category (physiochemical, biogeochemical, and biological) resulting from BIOENV procedures are given. These variables were then analyzed by RELATE test to increase the number of samples since the initial data sheet including all variables contained only a limited number of samples (n < 50). The ρ and p-values from the RELATE analyses are shown. Sample size (n) indicates the number of samples that were used for each analysis. A p < 0.05 denotes a significant correspondence between environmental and community dynamics.