Abstract
This study investigated the spatial variation in the components of a microbial food web (viruses, picoplankton, nanoflagellates, and ciliates) in different hydrographic environments in the Taiwan Strait during winter. Water temperature and salinity varied spatially, with lower temperatures (15.3–22.8 °C) and salinities (32.2–33.4 psu) in the northern part of the Taiwan Strait, largely affected by runoff from the coast of China. Concentrations of nutrients and Chl a were significantly higher in the northern part than that in the southern part of the study area. Synechococcus spp., nanoflagellate, and ciliate abundance also varied significantly, with the northern strait having higher abundances of these communities. In contrast, a higher abundance of bacteria was found in the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. The results of this study, which describes two different ecosystems in the Taiwan Strait, suggest that during winter, a “viral loop” might play an important role in controlling bacterial production in the southern part of the Taiwan Strait, while nanofalgellate grazing of picophytoplankton may contribute mainly to the flux of energy in the northern part.
Highlights
The microbial community, which consists of bacteria, nanoflagellates, and microzooplankton, plays an important role in the life of aquatic environments [1]
Viral lysis is reported to be the main cause of bacterial mortality during the winter, and a “viral loop” might serve as an important control mechanism for bacterial production in colder seasons, while grazing can be the cause of most bacterial mortality during warmer seasons [5]
To the best of our knowledge, there are no previous studies of aquatic–microbial community dynamics in the Taiwan Strait, and so this study represents the first to investigate aquatic microbial ecology in this region
Summary
The microbial community, which consists of bacteria, nanoflagellates, and microzooplankton, plays an important role in the life of aquatic environments [1]. Bacteria are able to use dissolved organic matter and incorporate it into their own biomass. Their biomass may be reduced in several ways, with the important one being grazing by phagotrophic protists (nano- and microzooplankton) and viral lysis [2,3,4,5]. These studies showed that both viral lysis and grazing can cause significant mortality, but that the impact of each varies by season, host organism, and environmental conditions. Viral lysis is reported to be the main cause of bacterial mortality during the winter, and a “viral loop” might serve as an important control mechanism for bacterial production in colder seasons, while grazing can be the cause of most bacterial mortality during warmer seasons [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
