The effect of rapid environmental fluctuations on benthic microbial mats in the Wolastoq
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Date
2025-10
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University of New Brunswick
Abstract
In the Wolastoq, benthic mats containing Microcoleus capable of producing anatoxin-a, a potent neurotoxin, were identified following the death of 4 dogs between 2018 and 2019. These toxic benthic mats proliferate in the region below the Mactaquac Hydrogeneration Station which causes rapid, drastic changes in water flow and fluctuations in water levels (circa 1.5m). This presumably causes stress to benthic communities. Transcriptomic analysis was used to examine gene expression change moving from the submerged condition to the exposed condition. The bacterial community showed evidence of oxidative and UV stress resulting in decreased metabolic activity in the mats sampled. Cyanobacteria were seen to increase activity in energy costly metabolic pathways as a response to this stress. These findings allow us to better understand how the smallest organisms in the Wolastoq respond and adapt to environment fluctuation, something that has been lacking from previous analyses.