Effects of temperature and ultraviolet radiation on microbial foodweb structure: potential responses to global change

Abstract

Summary1. A series of growth experiments were conducted with natural plankton communities from a lake and river in northern Quebec, to evaluate the response of microbial foodweb structure to changes in ambient temperature and solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR).2. Bioassays were incubated for 6 days at two temperatures (10 and 20 °C) and three near‐surface irradiance conditions [photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) + UVA + UVB, PAR + UVA, and PAR only).3. The concentration of total bacteria showed no net response to temperature, but the percentage of actively respiring bacteria, as measured with the cellular redox probe5‐cyano‐2,3‐ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC), was up to 57% higher at 20 °C relative to 10 °C. Chlorophyll a concentrations in the < 2 μm size fraction also reacted strongly to temperature, with a net increase of up to 61% over the temperature range of 10–20 °C.4. The UVR effects were small or undetectable for most of the measured variables; however, the percentage of actively respiring bacteria was significantly inhibited in the presence of UVR at 20 °C, decreasing by 29–48% on day 6 in the lake experiments and by 59% on day 2 in one river experiment.5. The results show differential sensitivity to temperature among organisms of microbial communities in subarctic freshwaters, and a resilience by the majority of micro‐organisms to their present UVR conditions. Microbial foodwebs in northern freshwaters appear to be relatively unresponsive to short‐term (days) changes in UVR. However, the observed responses to temperature suggest that climate change could influence community structure, with warmer temperatures favouring picoplanktonic phototrophs and heterotrophs, and a shift in nanoplankton species composition and size structure.