Abundance and bacterivory of heterotrophic nanoflagellates in the meromictic Lake Suigetsu, Japan

Abstract

AME Aquatic Microbial Ecology Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials AME 66:149-158 (2012) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ame01565 Abundance and bacterivory of heterotrophic nanoflagellates in the meromictic Lake Suigetsu, Japan Takahiko Okamura1,*, Yumi Mori1, Shin-ichi Nakano2, Ryuji Kondo3,* 1Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology and 3Department of Marine Bioscience, Fukui Prefectural University, Obama, Fukui 917-0003, Japan 2Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan *Emails: ‑s1194001@fpu.ac.jp (T. Okamura), rykondo@fpu.ac.jp (R. Kondo) ABSTRACT: The abundance and bacterivory of heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) were seasonally followed in the oxic and anoxic layers of the meromictic Lake Suigetsu between May 2008 and November 2010. The HNF abundance in the anoxic layer was always lower than in the oxic layer during the study period. Ingestion of fluorescently labeled 0.5 µm diameter beads by the anaerobic HNF in the anoxic layer indicated bacterivory by HNF. The specific ingestion rates in the anoxic layers were generally similar to those taken from the oxic layer, with some exceptions. Our data thus suggested that anaerobic HNF were bacterial consumers with high potential bacterivory comparable to that of aerobic HNF in Lake Suigetsu. Bacterial turnover rates by HNF grazing in the oxic layer were estimated to be as high as ~10% d−1 of the bacterial standing stock. In contrast, the rates in the anoxic layer were <1% d−1 due to the low density of HNF in the anoxic layer. Our data thus provide a valuable contribution to understanding the structure and function of microbial food webs in anoxic aquatic environments. KEY WORDS: Anoxic environments · Grazing rate · Heterotrophic nanoflagellates · Meromictic lake Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Okamura T, Mori Y, Nakano Si, Kondo R (2012) Abundance and bacterivory of heterotrophic nanoflagellates in the meromictic Lake Suigetsu, Japan. Aquat Microb Ecol 66:149-158. https://doi.org/10.3354/ame01565 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AME Vol. 66, No. 2. Online publication date: May 25, 2012 Print ISSN: 0948-3055; Online ISSN: 1616-1564 Copyright © 2012 Inter-Research.