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Temporal Evolution Of Methane Cycling And Phylogenetic Diversity Of Archaea In Sediments From A Deep-Sea Whale Fall In Monterey Canyon (Ca), Shana K. Goffredi, Regina Wilpiszeski, Ray Lee, Victoria J. Orphan

Shana Goffredi

Whale-falls represent localized areas of extreme organic enrichment in an otherwise oligotrophic deep-sea environment. Anaerobic remineralization within these habitats is typically portrayed as sulfidogenic; however, we demonstrate that these systems are also favorable for diverse methane-producing archaeal assemblages, representing up to 40% of total cell counts. Chemical analyses revealed elevated methane and depleted sulfate concentrations in sediments under the whale-fall, as compared to surrounding sediments. Carbon was enriched (up to 3.5%) in whale-fall sediments, as well as the surrounding sea floor to at least 10 m, forming a ‘bulls eye’ of elevated carbon. The diversity of sedimentary archaea associated with …