Fronts at the surface ocean can shape distinct regions of microbial activity and community assemblages down to the bathypelagic zone: The Azores front as a case study

Abstract

Oceanic fronts are widespread features which separate distinct water masses. They are well known to control the distribution of microbial communities in surface waters, although there is scarce information on their role in delimiting critical functions that microbes perform, and on whether their effects can be translated down into the dark ocean. Here we carried out the first study on the variability of hydrolysis of organic matter (extracellular enzymatic activity; EEA) across a permanent front (the Azores Front), coupled with changes in microbial assemblage composition, from the surface down to the bathypelagic zone.