FIGURE 13.

Ecological dynamics of the seagrass microbiomes. Distinct microbial communities live in association with disparate sections of the plant (i.e., upper leaf, lower leaf, sheath, and roots and rhizomes) and its surroundings (i.e., surficial sediment and adjacent seawater). Their composition and structure are strongly shaped by the varying conditions offered within each microenvironment and also influenced by the environment. Therefore, specific bacterial (full color) and microalgal (gray) members make up core microbiomes that are different from each other and constitute up to 4% of the entire microbiome. This variability at the microscale is well conserved within each site, and despite the biogeographical changes of microbial communities, there are some microorganisms that consistently occur within microenvironment types. Numbers in the middle represent total number of core members.