Abundance Of Heterotrophic Nanoflagellates Research Articles

The contribution of heterotrophic nanoflagellate grazing towards bacterial mortality in tropical waters: comparing estuaries and coastal ecosystems

Heterotrophic nanoflagellate (HNF) grazing depends on both temperature and trophic status of an ecosystem. As most microbes already function at their temperature optimum in tropical waters, we hypothesised that HNF grazing rates would be higher in more productive sites such as estuaries than in less productive areas such as coastal waters. We sampled two estuaries and three coastal sites along the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea near the Malaysia Peninsula. Bacterial abundance ranged 0.9–6.3 × 106 cells mL–1, whereas HNF abundance ranged 1.8–10.1 ×103 cells mL–1. Bacterial production ranged 1.1–12.7 × 105 cells mL–1 h–1, whereas HNF grazing rates were an order of magnitude lower at 1.0–78.5 × 104 cells mL–1 h–1. Bacterial abundance, net bacterial production and HNF grazing rates were higher in estuaries than coastal waters but HNF abundance did not differ between the two areas. Across all stations, HNF grazing rates increased with bacterial production, and accounted for ~33% of bacterial production. Our results suggest that in the tropical waters studied, there was a bacterial production–grazing imbalance. Other loss factors such as viral lysis, sedimentation or the presence of benthic filter feeders could account for this imbalance.

Microbial dynamics in an oligotrophic bay of the western subtropical Pacific: Impact of short-term heavy freshwater runoff and upwelling

This two-year study investigates the possible factors that determine spatial and temporal dynamics of picoplankton (heterotrophic bacteria, autotrophic picoplankton—Synechococcus spp., Prochlorococcus, and picoeukaryotes) and nanoflagellate abundance in the subtropical Ilan Bay, Taiwan, where the inner bay is affected by freshwater run-off from the Lanyang River and the eastern outer bay by the Kuroshio Current. In the inner bay, there was more rain and freshwater discharge in 2005 than in 2004 during the warm season (>24° C, June–September). The abundance of bacteria, Synechococcus spp., Prochlorococcus, and picoeukaryotes and the percentage contributions of pigmented nanoflagellate (PNF %) were two- to eight-fold greater during this period (July in 2005) than for other sampling periods. Relatively low abundance of heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) in the presence of abundant picoplankton prey suggests that top-down control determined HNF abundance in the Ilan Bay, Taiwan.

Community heterogeneity and single‐cell digestive activity of estuarine heterotrophic nanoflagellates assessed using lysotracker and flow cytometry

Heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNFs) are an essential component of all aquatic microbial food webs, and yet the exploration of the numerical and single-cell responses of these organisms in mixed assemblages still represents a major technical challenge. LysoTracker Green staining combined with flow cytometry was recently proposed for the enumeration of aquatic HNFs. Here we show that LysoTracker Green not only allows the enumeration of HNFs in estuarine samples with a wide range of HNF abundances, but also allows the discrimination of distinct HNF populations in mixed assemblages. In addition, the resulting cytometric parameters can be used to characterize cell size and the level of activity of the cells in the different populations that are detected. LysoTracker Green accumulates preferentially in lysosomes, and we demonstrate that the green fluorescence emission from HNF cells stained with LysoTracker strongly correlates with cell-specific beta-glucosaminidase (beta-Gam) activity, a key digestive enzyme of lysosomal origin in eukaryotic cells. Our results further show that different populations that develop in estuarine regrowth cultures are characterized by different intrinsic ranges of size and of feeding activity, and that there is a wide range of single-cell responses within these HNF populations. We found a large degree of uncoupling between cell size and feeding activity, both between and within HNF populations, and there appears to be no clear allometric scaling of feeding activity. We were able to reconstruct the succession of distinct HNF populations that developed during the regrowth experiments, and explore the complex interactions that occurred between numerical (change in abundance of the cytometric populations) and single-cell HNF responses.

Changes in microbial food web structure in response to changed environmental trophic status: A case study of the Vranjic Basin (Adriatic Sea)

Vranjic Basin, in the eastern part of KaštelaBay (middle Adriatic Sea), received municipal wastewater until offshore submarine outfalls were finished in November 2004. To identify the responses of the microbial community to changes in the trophic status of the marine environment, two 4-year periods were compared: a eutrophic period (2001–2004) when the sewage waters entered the Basin and an oligotrophic period (2005–2008) after the outfalls were completed. The switch from eutrophic to oligotrophic conditions was accompanied by decreases in bacterial abundance, bacterial production and chlorophyll a, and increase in heterotrophic nanoflagellate (HNF) abundance and bacterial specific growth rate. Qualitative changes in the phytoplankton community manifested through dramatically decreased abundance of the diatom species Skeletonema costatum and Euglenophyta Eutreptiella spp. during the oligotrophic period. Furthermore, the percent contribution of pico–nano phytoplankton chlorophyll to total chlorophyll increased from less than 40% during the eutrophic period to more than 60% during the oligotrophic period. Changes in seasonal patterns of phytoplankton, bacteria and HNF abundance were also observed, with summer maxima during the eutrophic period and spring and autumn maxima during the oligotrophic period. Significant changes in the microbial food web were also identified. During eutrophic conditions, bacteria were dominantly under the phytoplankton-mediated bottom-up control whereas HNF were dominantly controlled by ciliate grazing (top-down control). In contrast, during the oligotrophic period, predominantly top-down control of bacteria by strong HNF grazing was observed. At the same time, HNF were spared from strong ciliate predation pressure because the ciliates apparently switched their dominant prey from HNF to the pico-nano phytoplankton fraction during that period.

Emerging concepts on microbial processes in the bathypelagic ocean – ecology, biogeochemistry, and genomics

This paper synthesizes recent findings regarding microbial distributions and processes in the bathypelagic ocean (depth >1000 m). Abundance, production and respiration of prokaryotes reflect supplies of particulate and dissolved organic matter to the bathypelagic zone. Better resolution of carbon fluxes mediated by deep microbes requires further testing on the validity of conversion factors. Archaea, especially marine Crenarchaeota Group I, are abundant in deep waters where they can fix dissolved inorganic carbon. Viruses appear to be important in the microbial loop in deep waters, displaying remarkably high virus to prokaryote abundance ratios in some oceanic regions. Sequencing of 18S rRNA genes revealed a tremendous diversity of small-sized protists in bathypelagic waters. Abundances of heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) and ciliates decrease with depth more steeply than prokaryotes; nonetheless, data indicated that HNF consumed half of prokaryote production in the bathypelagic zone. Aggregates are important habitats for deep-water microbes, which produce more extracellular enzymes (on a per-cell basis) than surface communities. The theory of marine gel formation provides a framework to unravel complex interactions between microbes and organic polymers. Recent data on the effects of hydrostatic pressure on microbial activities indicate that bathypelagic microbial activity is generally higher under in situ pressure conditions than at atmospheric pressures. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes revealed a remarkable diversity of Bacteria in the bathypelagic ocean. Metagenomics and comparative genomics of piezophiles reveal not only the high diversity of deep sea microbes but also specific functional attributes of these piezophilic microbes, interpreted as an adaptation to the deep water environment. Taken together, the data compiled on bathypelagic microbes indicate that, despite high-pressure and low-temperature conditions, microbes in the bathypelagic ocean dynamically interact with complex mixtures of organic matter, responding to changes in the ocean’s biogeochemical state.

Full-depth profiles of prokaryotes, heterotrophic nanoflagellates, and ciliates along a transect from the equatorial to the subarctic central Pacific Ocean

Studies in epipelagic waters report higher heterotrophic microbial biomass in the productive high latitudes than in the oligotrophic low latitudes; however, biogeographical data are scarce in the deep ocean. To examine the hypothesis that the observed latitudinal differences in heterotrophic microbial biomass in the epipelagic zone also occur at depth, abundance and biomass of heterotrophic prokaryotes, nanoflagellates (HNF), and ciliates were determined at depths of 5-5000 m in the central Pacific between August and September of 2005. Heterotrophic microbial biomass increased from the tropical to the subarctic region over the full water column, with latitudinal differences in prokaryotic biomass increasing from 2.3-fold in the epipelagic zone to 4.4-fold in the bathypelagic zone. However, the latitudinal difference in HNF and ciliate biomass decreased with depth. In the mesopelagic zone, the vertical attenuation rate of prokaryotic abundance, which was calculated as the linear regression slope of log-log plot of abundance versus depth, ranged from -0.55 to -1.26 and was more pronounced (steeper slope) in the lower latitudes. In contrast, the vertical attenuation rate of HNF in the mesopelagic zone (-1.06 to -1.27) did not differ with latitude. In the subarctic, the attenuation rate of HNF was 1.7 times steeper than for prokaryotes. These results suggest the accumulation of prokaryotes in the deep subarctic Pacific, possibly due to low grazing pressure. Although the vertical attenuation rate of ciliates was steepest in the bathypelagic zone, HNF abundance did not further decrease at depths below 1000 m, except for at 2000 m where HNF was lowest across the study area. Ciliate abundance ranged 0.3-0.8 cells l -1 at 4000 m, and were below the detection limit ( < 0.1 cells l -1 ) at 5000 m. To our knowledge, this study presents the first data for ciliates below 2000 m.

Estuarine microbial community characteristics as indicators of human-induced changes (Senegal River, West Africa)

Understanding how human-induced management interacts with and affects the structure and functioning of large estuarine ecosystems is a major research challenge. In West Africa, human intervention on the Senegal River Estuary was intended to reduce the impact of major flooding by opening a new mouth in October 2003, 25 km to the north of the existing mouth. This study describes the effects of the new environmental conditions on the physical and biochemical characteristics of the water column and on microbial communities (bacteria, phytoplankton by size class and heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF)) in comparison with the situation in 2002. In 2006, seventeen stations were sampled, during both neap and spring tides, at a depth of 0.5 m along a salinity gradient from freshwater to marine conditions. Inorganic nutrient levels were often low but there were high levels of chlorophyll a in the estuarine area (mean of 13.7–20.7 μg L −1 in spring and neap tide conditions, respectively) producing a eutrophic status in this estuary. Average HNF abundances were lower (mean of 108 and 174 cells l −1 during neap and spring tides, respectively) compared to the situation in 2002 (mean between 2.5 and 6.7 × 10 4 cells l −1). Three biological indicators for assessing environmental changes are discussed: ratio of bacteria to heterotrophic flagellate abundances, ratio of picophytoplankton to nanophytoplankton, and the density of thermo-tolerant coliforms (TTC) and faecal streptococci. It is demonstrated that man-made alteration of the hydrologic regime can modify the microbial community structure and cause the health status of the estuary to deteriorate.

Seasonal variation in viral-induced mortality of bacterioplankton in the water column of a large mesotrophic lake (Lake Biwa, Japan)

Viruses are ubiquitous and abundant in aquatic systems, yet knowledge of virus-bacteria interactions in thermally stratified water columns of large lakes is limited. We explored the possible factors that affect viral abundance, infection rate, and the relative importance of viral lysis to heterotrophic nanoflagellate (HNF) grazing as a mortality factor of bacterioplankton in the upper (euphotic zone, 5 m) and deeper (aphotic zone, 50 m) layers of the large mesotrophic Lake Biwa,Japan. Data obtained for a full seasonal cycle indicated that bacterial abundance was the best predictor (r2 = 0.85) of viral abundance (range 1.0 × 1010 to 4.1 × 1010 viruses l-1), yielding an average virus:bacteria ratio of 8.2 ± 1.3 (SD). Variation in the frequency of visibly infected cells (range 1.8 to 4.1%) was largely accounted for by the linear combination of bacterial production and HNF abundance (r2 = 0.81, p < 0.001, n = 24). The percentage of daily bacterial production destroyed by viruses was estimated to be high (52.7 ± 16.2%) in the upper layer during the stratification period, which was on average 3.0-fold greater than the percentage of bacterial production consumed by HNF in that layer. In contrast, the corresponding value in the deeper layer was moderate (13.6 ± 5.2%), being 0.6- fold lower than the percentage of bacterial production consumed by HNF. Our data suggest that carbon and nutrient flux patterns controlled by viruses and HNF vary with depth in thermally stratified water columns of Lake Biwa.

The significance of transparent exopolymeric particles in the vertical distribution of bacteria and heterotrophic nanoflagellates in Lake Pavin

The abundance, size distribution, and bacterial colonization of Transparent Exopolymeric Particles (TEP) were examined in two consecutive years during the spring diatom development throughout the water column of the deep meromictic Lake Pavin, France. TEP concentrations ranged from 1.9 to 13.4 × 105 particles l−1 and their distribution and size spectra indicated that these particles are the main factor in governing the transport of diatoms to the deep hypolimnion of the lake. The majority of TEP was colonized by bacteria that constituted 0.4–8.9% of total DAPI-stained bacteria. The intensity of bacterial colonization was strongly related to temperature and decreased with particle size. A more important colonization of small particles in the hypolimnion during thermal stratification suggested that bacterial colonisation also increased with the age of the particle. The abundance of heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) was more significantly related to the density of particles than to the density of total bacteria and the intensity of bacterial colonization of TEP. Our results therefore suggest that TEP are a more important factor for HNF development than attached and free bacteria. We conclude that TEP are involved not only in sedimentation processes but also in the dynamics of bacteria and protozoa in freshwater pelagic environments.

Distribution and abundance of marine microbes in the Southern Ocean between 30 and 80°E

Our study, as part of the Baseline Research on Oceanography, Krill and the Environment, West (BROKE-West) survey, emphasised the vital role of sea-ice retreat and upwelling in controlling the distribution, abundance and composition of marine microbial communities in the seasonal ice zone (SIZ). Autofluorescence or stains were used to detect the abundance of nanophytoplankton, heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF), virus like particles (VLP) and bacteria by flow cytometry. Correlations among microbial concentrations were determined and cluster analysis was performed to group sites of similar microbial composition and abundance. Distance to sea ice was the primary determinant of nanophytoplankton abundance and nanophytoplankton contributed up to 84% of the phytoplankton carbon biomass where melting sea ice caused shallow summer mixed layer depths. To the north, nanophytoplankton abundance was generally low except adjacent to the Southern Boundary (SB). HNF and bacterial abundance was positively correlated with the abundance of nanophytoplankton. Cluster analysis identified 5 groups of sites over the BROKE-West survey area. Clusters 1-4 grouped sites of different successional maturity of the microbial community along the continuum between bloom formation and senescence. Maturity increased with distance from the sea ice and, in areas of upwelling, with time since the development of phytoplankton blooms. Sites in cluster 5 occurred at the northernmost extreme of the survey area and were typical of communities in high nutrient low chlorophyll (HNLC) waters of the permanent open-ocean zone (POOZ) where phytoplankton growth was matched by mortality and decomposition. Synoptic-scale studies in Antarctic waters are rare but provide vital information about the control of microbial productivity, abundance and distribution in the Southern Ocean. Our study, covering over 40% of the SIZ off East Antarctica, enhances our understanding of the synoptic-scale factors that determine the structure and function of the microbial loop.

Seasonal variability in bacterial abundance, production and protistan bacterivory in the lower Urdaibai estuary, Bay of Biscay

Seasonal variations in abundance of heterotrophic bacteria, small (1-8 µm) heterotro- phic nanoflagellates (HNF), and ciliates, as well as bacterial production (BP) and bacterivory (PB) rates were investigated from May 1998 to May 1999 in the lower Urdaibai estuary (Bay of Biscay). Abundances ranged from 2.6 × 10 8 to 1.3 × 10 9 cells l -1 , 0.65 × 10 6 to 3.00 × 10 6 cells l -1 , and 12 to 436 cells l -1 for bacteria, HNF and ciliates, respectively. BP varied between 0.9 and 18.5 × 10 8 cells l -1 d -1 . Bacteria seemed to be more limited by food supply than by temperature. The major bacterivores were small HNF, but they could not satisfy their carbon demand only through bacterivory. Bacterivory rate per small HNF varied between 2.7 and 28.2 bacteria flagellate -1 h -1 . This rate showed seasonal vari- ations and was higher during late winter/early spring than during summer/early autumn. This pat- tern is probably due to the greater dependence of small HNF on bacteria during late winter/early spring, when the availability of food sources other than bacteria, e.g. autotrophic picoplankton, was low. This led to seasonal variations in the degree of grazing control on the bacterial standing stock, this control being tighter during late winter/early spring. Bacterivory rate was substantially higher than BP in many months, i.e. bacteria showed a negative growth, and this was paralleled by reduc- tion in bacterial abundance. The relationship between log bacterial abundance and log small HNF abundance suggested that small HNF were largely under a substrate supply (bottom-up) control.

Grazing and virus-induced mortality of microbial populations before and during the onset of annual hypoxia in Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the most productive of the North American Great Lakes and experiences annual periods of hypolimnetic hypoxia with unknown consequences for the microbial food web. We established the abundances and mortality rates of microbes in Lake Erie during thermal stratification and determined how they varied with changes in bottom-water dissolved oxygen concentrations. The microbial plankton community (heterotrophic bacteria, Cyanobacteria, eukaryotic phytoplankton, nanozooplankton, microzooplankton) was quantified in surface and bottom waters along with mea- surements of herbivory and bacterivory rates on eukaryotic and prokaryotic picoplankton and rates of viral lysis of bacteria. High rates of grazing mortality of prokaryotic picoplankton (1.4 ± 0.6 d -1 ) and eukaryotic algae (0.66 ± 0.27 d -1 ) and significant correlations between microzooplankton abundances and all picoplankton populations quantified demonstrated the strong impacts of grazing on Lake Erie picoplanktonic communities. Microbial herbivory accounted for half of total phytoplankton mortality per day. Bacterivory and viral lysis turned over 85% of the heterotrophic bacterial community each day. During the onset of hypolimnetic hypoxia, abundances of ciliates and rotifers decreased signifi- cantly and herbivory was undetectable. Concurrently, bacterivory persisted at rates equal to those found in shallower oxygenated waters, and abundances of heterotrophic nanoflagellates did not change significantly. These results suggest that, during hypoxia events in Lake Erie, herbivory by microzooplankton is disrupted, but bacterivory by heterotrophic nanoflagellates persists. Finally, rates of viral lysis of heterotrophic bacteria were higher in the hypolimnion than in surface waters, suggesting that increased viral lysis may enhance regeneration of organic matter in bottom waters during hypoxic events.

The role of water mass dynamics in controlling bacterial abundance and production in the middle Adriatic Sea

Month-to-month fluctuations in the abundance of bacteria and heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) and bacterial production, as well as various chemical (nutrients, oxygen) and physical (salinity, temperature) parameters were analysed at a station located in the open middle Adriatic Sea during one decade (1997-2006). Being influenced by both coastal waters and open Adriatic circulation in the surface layer, and by the deep Adriatic water masses in the deep layers (100 m), this station is quite suitable for detecting the environmental changes occurring in the open Adriatic Sea with respect to the circulation of its water masses and their long-term changes and anomalies. Multivariate methods were used to identify seasonal and inter-annual changes of the investigated parameters, associating observed changes to the changes in Adriatic water masses and circulation regimes. The analyses showed that bacterial abundance and production were controlled by different water mass dynamics during 1997-2001 compared to 2002-2006 period, particularly noticeable in different seasonal patterns of biological parameters. The interplay between North Adriatic Dense Water (NAdDW) and Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) resulted in a change in the available nutrients (NAdDW is poor in orthophosphates), and as a consequence different bacterial abundance and production. A few periods were examined in detail, such as 2004, when LIW inflow was particularly strong and was accompanied by an increase of bacterial and HNF abundances, as well as of bacterial production.

Effects of Deposit-Feeding Macrofauna on Benthic Bacteria, Viruses, and Protozoa in a Silty Freshwater Sediment

In microcosm experiments, we simultaneously tested the effects of increased numbers of deposit-feeding macrofauna (chironomids, oligochaetes and cladocerans) on the standing stock, activities and interactions of heterotrophic bacteria, viruses, and bacterivorous protozoa (heterotrophic nanoflagellates and ciliates) in the aerobic layer of a silty littoral freshwater sediment. On average, bacterial secondary production was stimulated between 11 and 29% by all macrofaunal groups compared to control experiments without macrofauna addition. Bacterial standing stock increased significantly by 8 and 13% in case of chironomids and cladocerans, respectively. Oligochaetes and chironomids produced significant negative effects on viral abundance while the results with cladocerans were inconsistent. The addition of oligochaetes and chironomids resulted in a significant decrease by on average 68 and 32% of viral decay rates, respectively, used as a measure of viral production. The calculated contribution of virus-induced lysis to benthic bacterial mortality was low, with 2.8 to 11.8% of bacterial secondary production, and decreased by 39 to 81% after the addition of macrofauna compared to the control. The abundances of heterotrophic nanoflagellates were significantly reduced by 20% by all tested macrofauna groups, while ciliates showed inconsistent results. The importance of heterotrophic nanoflagellate grazing on benthic bacteria was very low (<1% of bacterial secondary production) and was further reduced by elevated numbers of macrofauna. Thus, the selected deposit feeding macrofauna groups seem to have several direct and indirect and partly antagonistic effects on the benthic bacterial compartment through the enhancement of bacterial production and the reduction of virus-induced cell lysis and protozoan grazing.

Microbial community structure and function in the Levantine Basin of the eastern Mediterranean

During May 2001 and May 2002, the structure and function of the microbial community within and outside the Cyprus quasi-stationary warm-core eddy in the Levantine Basin of the eastern Mediterranean was studied down to the depth of the bathypelagic layer. We present here the detailed description of the microbial food web in one of the most oligotrophic and P-starved marine systems on earth. The isothermal layer was at the depth between 20 and 260/300 m at the core of the eddy, and between 20 and 100/110 m outside. Nitrate and phosphate were found at higher concentration between 100 and 500/800 m outside the eddy compared within the core of the eddy, but the vertical diffusive flux of nitrate and phosphate across the pycnocline was higher within the core of the eddy. There were only minor differences in microbial abundance in the euphotic layers of the two sites. It is suggested that the differences in the areal supply of nutrients to the isothermal layer, between the two sites, resulted in essentially a similar volumetric supply of nutrients to the euphotic layer. This suggests that the results of this study can be applied to describe the microbial food web within the euphotic layer over the larger area of the Levantine Basin, which exhibits ultra-oligotrophic and P-starved conditions. Primary production and abundances of the microbial community were somewhat higher in May 2001 than in May 2002, possibly because of higher nutrient fluxes in the euphotic layer, which are probably the result of deeper winter mixing in 2001, although a later onset of winter mixing or increased dust supply could not be discounted. In the euphotic layer, heterotrophs (bacteria, heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF), and ciliates) dominated (60–70%) the microbial carbon biomass. Heterotrophic ciliates were found to be much more abundant in the upper 50 m of the water column, while no consistent pattern was found for bacteria and HNF throughout the euphotic layer. Autotrophs showed a maximum distribution at the deep chlorophyll maximum found between 100 and 130 m. In the euphotic layer, the relationships between biomass and production for phytoplankton and bacteria suggested a higher top-down control on the phytoplankton in the upper ∼50 m and a consistently tight top-down control on the bacterial biomass throughout the euphotic layer. The phosphate addition experiment in the Cyprus Eddy suggests that the close predator–prey relationships within the microbial heterotrophic community were required for the rapid transfer of a limiting element to higher trophic levels without biomass oscillations in the P-fertilized surface mixed layers (0–20 m). The results from the unmodified system in this study suggested that the rapid P transfer mechanisms would function only in the upper ∼50 m, while the element transfer would be based on a predator–prey relationship with more conceivable biomass oscillations in the deeper waters (∼100–160 m) of the euphotic layer. In the Mediterranean Sea, nutrient concentrations, POC export, and integrated chlorophyll and primary production all tend to decrease toward the east. Our results together with a literature survey showed that abundances of the microbial components in the euphotic layer were not consistently lower in the study area than in the northwestern Mediterranean and that abundances of bacteria and HNF found in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic layers of the study area were within the reported ranges and quite similar to those found in the northwestern Mediterranean. This suggests that the oligotrophic status and the low export production are not reflected in the abundance of the microbial components down to the bathypelagic layer of the eastern Mediterranean.

Experimental study of the zooplankton impact on the trophic structure of phytoplankton and the microbial assemblages in a temperate wetland (Argentina)

An experimental study using mesocosms was conducted in the main shallow lake of a temperate wetland (Otamendi Natural Reserve, Argentina) to analyse the impact of zooplankton on phytoplankton and the microbial assemblages. The lake is characterised by the presence of a fluctuating cover of floating macrophytes, whose shading effects shape the phytoplakton community and the ecosystem functioning, which was absent during the study period. The experiment was run in situ using polyethylene bags, comparing treatments with and without zooplankton. The cascade effect of zooplankton on phytoplankton and the lower levels of the microbial food web (ciliates, heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) and picoplankton) were analysed. A significant zooplankton grazing on the nano-phytoplankton fraction (3–30 μm) was observed. Conversely, large algae (filamentous cyanobacteria, colonial chlorophytes and large diatoms) increased in all mesocosms until day 10, suggesting that they were not actively grazed by zooplankton during this period. However, from day 10 until day 17 this fraction decreased in the enclosures with mesozooplankton, probably due to an increase in the abundance of large herbivores. The results of the experiment would also indicate a trophic cascade effect on the lower levels of the microbial community. In the treatment where zooplankton was removed, the abundance of ciliates followed the same increasing pattern as the abundance of HNF, but with a time lag in its response. In the enclosures without zooplankton, HNF remained relatively constant throughout the experiment, whereas ciliates strongly decrease during the last week. Total picoplankton abundance increased in the enclosures with mesozooplankton, thus supporting the existence of a four-link trophic cascade (copepods–microzooplankton–HNF–picoplankton). Zooplankton composition changed significantly from the beginning until the end of the experiment; cyclopoid nauplii and rotifers were notoriously dominant at t 0, whereas 10 days later the community showed a more equitable proportion of cyclopoids, calanoids, nauplii, cladocerans and rotifers.

The role of ciliates within the microbial food web in the eutrophicated part of Kaštela Bay (Middle Adriatic Sea)

Interactions among phytoplankton, bacterioplankton, heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF), ciliated protozoa and copepod nauplii were studied in the eutrophicated part of Kas?tela Bay from May 1998 to November 1999. Special emphasis was placed on relationships between size categories of nonloricate ciliates (NLC) and other microbial food web components. Biomasses of phytoplankton and bacteria were primarily influenced by abiotic parameters. Temperature indirectly controlled variation in HNF biomass through the changes in biomass of bacteria and the smaller phytoplankton fraction. Besides HNF, bacterial biomass was affected by the NLC 3 (Cell Length 3 , CL 104 µm 3 (CL >40 µm) had a strong mutual correlation and they seemed to be controlling the microphytoplankton fraction. During the colder part of the year, HNF abundance was regulated by ciliate grazing. The high impact of ciliates in summer 1998 could have been influenced by the taxonomic composition of the phytoplankton community changing, as well as the higher eutrophication level in the study area. Predation by copepod nauplii on ciliates and carbon transfer to higher trophic levels appear to be of relative importance only in the period when they are most abundant. This paper outlines the dominant relationships within the microbial food web and suggests that a significant amount of bacterial production, phytoplankton and HNF biomass could be transferred to higher trophic levels through the microbial food web.

Effect of the water-soluble fraction of diesel oil on bacterial and primary production and the trophic transfer to mesozooplankton through a microbial food web in Yangtze estuary, China

We studied the influence of the water-soluble fraction (WSF) of diesel fuel oil on bacterial and photosynthetic producers and on carbon transfer to higher trophic organisms in an aquatic plankton ecosystem by means of a mesocosm experiment in the Yangtze estuary, China. In the oil-enriched mesocosm, average bacterial production increased 3.9 times compared with that in the control mesocosm. WSF addition also increased the abundance of bacterivorous heterotrophic nanoflagellates, but it decreased the abundance of other higher trophic organisms (micro- and mesozooplankton) due to the toxic effects of the WSF. The amount of carbon transfer from bacterial production to mesozooplankton was of nearly similar magnitude in the oil-enriched and control mesocosms, though bacterial production was much larger in the former. The relative reachable efficiency of bacterial production to mesozooplankton in the oil-enriched mesocosm was only about 36% of that in the control. This lower efficiency in the oil-enriched mesocosm was attributed to decreased mesozooplankton abundance rather than decreased abundance of trophic intermediates in microbial food webs. We found only a slight difference between photosynthetic production in the oil-enriched and control mesocosms. A complementary batch-incubation experiment showed that the WSF may have considerably decreased the photosynthetic activity of an algal assemblage, however, so the photosynthetic production in mesocosms was regulated by nutrient-limitation rather than by the toxic effect of WSF. The carbon transfer from photosynthetic production to mesozooplankton in the oil-enriched mesocosm was comparable to that in the control, though WSF addition decreased the abundance of mesozooplankton in the oil-enriched mesocosm. This may have resulted from the occurrence of the diatom Skeletonema costatum, which is much preferred by mesozooplankton (copepods) as prey, in the oil-enriched mesocosm, whereas the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum dentatum was overwhelmingly dominant in the control mesocosm.

Spatial variability in bacterial abundance and other microbial components in the NW Iberian margin during relaxation of a spring upwelling event

AME Aquatic Microbial Ecology Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials AME 43:255-266 (2006) - doi:10.3354/ame043255 Spatial variability in bacterial abundance and other microbial components in the NW Iberian margin during relaxation of a spring upwelling event F. G. Figueiras1,*, M. K. Zdanowski2, B. G. Crespo1 1Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas (CSIC), Eduardo Cabello 6, 36208 Vigo, Spain 2Department of Antarctic Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-141 Warsaw, Ustrzycka 10, Poland *Email: paco@iim.csic.es ABSTRACT: The spatial distribution of heterotrophic bacterioplankton abundance (BA) and bacterial colony forming units (CFU) plus additional biological (abundance of autotrophic and heterotrophic pico- and nanoplankton, diatoms and chlorophyll a concentration), physical (temperature and salinity) and chemical (nutrient concentrations) variables were investigated along the Galician coast (NW Iberia) after the cessation of a strong spring upwelling event. BA and abundance of autotrophic and heterotrophic pico- and nanoplankton tended to increase with distance from the coast, while diatoms were more abundant near to the coast. Over 70% of the variance in BA could be explained by a regression equation with 3 variables, in which abundance of autotrophic nanoflagellates (61%) and abundance of heterotrophic nanoflagellates (7%) accounted for 68% of the total explained variability. The remaining 2% was related to chlorophyll a variations. Variability in CFU abundance (67%) was attributable to a negative relationship with salinity and to a lesser but significant degree by a positive relationship with diatom abundance. These data suggest that a number of mechanisms regulated bacterial abundance in the NW Iberian margin after spring upwelling: CFU was related to continental influence and diatoms, and BA was associated with the biomass of autotrophic nanoflagellates. The relationships between BA, autotrophic nanoflagellates (ANF) and chlorophyll a (Chl) in the oceanic samples suggest that a change from bottom-up to top-down control of BA would occur at concentrations higher than 2500 ANF ml–1 and 1.72 mg Chl m–3. KEY WORDS: Bacterial abundance · Phytoplankton · Upwelling relaxation · NW Iberia Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AME Vol. 43, No. 3. Online publication date: July 19, 2006 Print ISSN: 0948-3055; Online ISSN: 1616-1564 Copyright © 2006 Inter-Research.

Implications of Climate-enforced Temperature Increases on Freshwater Pico- and Nanoplankton Populations Studied in Artificial Ponds During 16 Months

Global warming scenarios foresee increases in air temperatures of 3–5 °C in Northern European regions within the next 70 years. To evaluate the potential effects of global warming on shallow eutrophic lakes, a flow-through experiment combining three temperature scenarios and two nutrient levels was conducted in 24 outdoor mesocosms. Eight mesocosms were unheated and acted as controls, while sixteen were heated – eight according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) climate scenario A2 down-scaled to regional level (2.5–4.4 °C, depending on season) and eight according to scenario A2+ with an additional 50% temperature increase. Half of the mesocosms were enriched with nitrogen and phosphorus to simulate increased runoff from terrestrial sources due to the increased precipitation predicted by the A2 scenario. The other half were un-enriched and received only natural nutrient input from the groundwater that fed all the mesocosms. The abundance and development pattern of the microbial communities within the mesocosms were tracked during a 16-month period. Generally, the results showed that the abundances of picoalgae, bacteria and heterotrophic nanoflagellates changed in a similar manner over time; abundances being lower in winter than in summer. Warming in itself had no effect on abundance, albeit it significantly modified the positive effect of the nutrients. Only at ambient temperatures did the whole microbial assemblage respond positively to nutrients. In the A2 scenario, only picoalgae responded to nutrients, while in the A2+ scenario all but the heterotrophic nanoflagellates showed a response. Elevated winter temperatures seemed not to be more important for the microbial assemblage than elevated summer temperatures. Our results demonstrate that the direct effects of warming were far less important than the nutrient effect. The results furthermore reveal that warming and nutrients in combination set off complex interactions. In consequence, global warming may possibly have pronounced effects on aquatic ecosystems if accompanied by increased nutrient loading.