The main aim of the BaltVib sampling campaign was to analyse the microbial community composition in pelagic and benthic habitats with special focus on Vibrio spp. bacteria inside and outside of eelgrass meadows (Zostera marina), and selected macroalgae populations (Fucus spp.) in the salinity gradient of shallow coastal waters of the Baltic Sea.
The temporal extent of the dataset is 25.07.2021 to 02.09.2021. The geographic extent of the dataset is spanning from 9°52,655 E to 25°00,698 W and 60°06,547 N to 54°00,8666 S. The measurement depth ranges from 0.2 meters to 7 meters. Salinity ranges from 4 to 14. Environmental parameters measured are: conductivity, temperature, pH, Secchi depth, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, silicate, grain size, dissolved organic carbon, dissolved nitrogen, particulate organic nitrogen, particulate organic carbon. Vibrio spp. colony forming units were counted using TCBS agar plates. Abundance of Vibrio vulnificus was determined by ddPCR in water and sediment samples as well as in Zostera marina surface biofilm. Cell counts by flow cytometry contain: Synechococcus, Picoeukaryota, Nanoeukaryota, high-nucleic acid bacteria, low-nucleic acid bacteria. Macrophyte abundance was measured for Zostera marina and Fucus spp..
This publication provides a database on metal contamination of sediments collected along seven rivers draining Western Europe (French Rhône, Garonne-Lot, Loire, Meuse, Rhine, Scheldt and Seine Rivers). This dataset is based on both long-term monitoring and scientific research (see column sources). It presents major (Al, Fe) and trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn) coming from various solid matrices, such as suspended particulate matter (SPM), dated sediment cores (DSC), and bed and flood deposits (BFD). It also provides information about the extraction procedure, grain-size (expressed as a percentage of the fine particle [silts and clays < 63 µm] proportion in the samples) and total organic carbon (TOC) contents when available. It could be use to assess the level of metal contamination along the river since 1945 and to decipher the key factors influencing metal concentrations in river sediments over space and time.
EMMA – End Member Modelling Analysis of grain-size data is a technique to unmix multimodal grain-size data sets, i.e., to decompose the data into the underlying grain-size distributions (loadings) and their contributions to each sample (scores). The R package EMMAgeo contains a series of functions to perform EMMA based on eigenspace decomposition. The data are rescaled and transformed to receive results in meaningful units, i.e., volume percentage. EMMA can be performed in a deterministic and two robust ways, the latter taking into account incomplete knowledge about model parameters. The model outputs can be interpreted in terms of sediment sources, transport pathways and transport regimes (loadings) as well as their relative importance throughout the sample space (scores).
Vibrio – microbes that are part of the natural bacterioplankton in temperate marine waters – have in recent years flourished in the Baltic Sea, probably stimulated by elevated surface water temperatures. Several Vibrio species are human pathogens. It is hence of great concern that Vibrio-related wound infections and fatalities have increased dramatically along the Baltic coasts. Future climate change is predicted to escalate this problem, posing a significant threat to human health and the Baltic tourism industry. However, the projections do not yet take into account the influence of ‘ecosystem engineers’ such as mussels and macrophytes on Vibrio diversity and abundance. Recent data indicate that in some of the ‘ecosystem engineers’ habitats the abundance of pathogenic Vibrio spp. is reduced. This opens up the option for nature-based solution (NbS) strategies to control pathogenic vibrios in the nearshore habitat where humans interact with the sea. However, climate change will also affect the structure and functioning of the ecosystem engineers, with as yet unknown consequences for the Vibrio populations in the Baltic Sea. BaltVib aims to delineate the current and future Vibrio status, determine biotic and abiotic key factors regulating Vibrio prevalence, and identify NbSs to mitigate the problem. This will be accomplished through interdisciplinary integration of marine, microbiological, molecular and socio-ecological expertise carried by partners from seven Baltic nations.