Table 5. Pairwise comparisons between consecutive days for RAS and AS replicate systems separately.

Statistical test		Groups (dates)	AS					RAS
			AS1	AS2	AS3	AS4	AS5	Ra	Rb
			P (MC)	P (MC)	P (MC)	P (MC)	P (MC)	(P)	(P)
PERMANOVA	GUT	00, 07	0.010	0.001	0.005	0.010	0.003	0.002	0.006
		07, 14	0.009	0.013	0.002	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.010
		14, 28	0.008	0.006	0.015	0.001	0.003	0.002	0.002
		28, 42	0.010	0.005	0.033	0.008	0.005	0.005	0.004
ANOSIM		Global R (all groups)	R:1	R:0.997	R:0.833	R:1	R:1	R:0.906 P:0.001	R:0.938 P:0.001
PERMANOVA	WATER	Groups (dates)	AS					Ra	Rb
		00, 07	0.0079					0.0003	0.0017
		07, 14	0.0041					0.0006	0.0009
		14, 28	0.0028					0.0001	0.0001
		28, 42	0.0091					0.0003	0.0004
ANOSIM		Global R (all groups)	R:0.788/P: 0.0001					R:0.999 P:0.0001	R:0.989 P:0.0001

Analysis is based on DGGE data sets. Tests were performed by sample type, with P values for each comparison from two different statistical tests (PERMANOVA and ANOSIM). ANOSIM results are complementary to the PERMANOVA as they provide information on the degree of separation between groups, suggested by R statistic. D00, 07, 14, 28, 42: sampling day 0, 7, 14, 28 & 42 respectively, AS1-5: replicate active suspension system 1 till 5, Ra & Rb: replicate recirculating system a & b. P values are based on 9999 Monte Carlo permutations.