MDS (multidimensional scaling) ordination of bacterial communities amongst samples as derived from 16S rRNA-DGGE profiles.

<p>Banding patterns were transformed into a presence (scored as 1)/absence (scored as 0) matrix. MDS plots were generated using distance matrices to represent the relative distance between individual samples. Colours represent nutrient treatments: blue = control, green = ambient, yellow = low and red = medium nutrient level exposure. Crosses represent 27°C-exposed sponges and squares represent 31°C-exposed sponges. T = day of sampling and REC = recovery period (ambient nutrient levels and seawater temperatures). The final stress value of the plot was 0.21. Cluster analyses for similarity are indicated by colored contours at 80–85% similarity.