Stability of stream biofilm community composition to transient shifts in dissolved organic carbon characteristics

Abstract. Microbial communities within biofilms are widely recognised as important contributors to ecological food webs and elemental cycles within stream systems. Yet, little is known about how these biofilm communities respond compositionally to storm-event-driven changes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) characteristics. Alpine headwater peatland-draining streams offer a unique opportunity to investigate this response as these systems are known to export high loads of DOC during storm events, with little further upstream input. This study investigated how sub-alpine peatland-draining stream biofilm composition changed in response to storm-event-driven pulses of DOC. It was found that during the peak of the DOC pulses, the composition of DOC changed to include increased contributions of organic acids, protein-like substances and microbially derived DOC. Despite this change in DOC composition, the composition of most biofilm microbial communities did not significantly shift following each pulse; rather, differences in biofilm community composition appeared to be more closely linked to peatland stream site. The findings of this study suggest biofilm microbial communities maintain compositional stability following short-term rapid changes in stream water chemistry, and that site-specific environmental factors may be more important in determining biofilm microbial community composition in sub-alpine headwater peatland-draining streams.