Depth profiles of spectral and hydrological characteristics of water and their relation to abundances of green sulfur bacteria in the stratified lakes of the White Sea

Abstract

We analyze the results received from two expeditions performed in August-September 2013, August-September 2014 and February 2015 in the Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea. Depth profiles of hydrological characteristics and optical properties of water were recorded for five marine lakes being on different stages of isolation from the White Sea. Those relic lakes demonstrate a tendency to meromixis and are characterized by apparent stratification of the water bodies from the brackish top layer to the bottom salt water. Maximal concentrations of anoxygenic phototrophs (green sulfur bacteria) were found at depths close to the redox interface in all the studied lakes. To discriminate differently pigmented groups of microorganisms the fluorescence emission spectra of bacteriochlorophylls from the living cells were used. We puzzle out the data on light spectrum propagation through the water body in each lake using optical properties of water (attenuation spectra) in the UV, visible and NIR ranges, as well as direct measurements of the total irradiances at various depths. The changes in optical characteristics of water in the stratified reservoirs due to cromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and microbial pigments affect the light intensity and its spectral distribution at each water layer thus influencing the living conditions for differently pigmented phototrophic microorganisms and determining the composition of microbial community.