Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
2006
Journal
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
Volume
325
First Page
15
Last Page
27
Abstract
The goal of this study was to attain an integrated understanding of the dynamics of attached microbial communities in nature as governed by the component processes of particle formation, colonization, detachment, growth and interspecific interactions among the microbes. The study was conducted in mesocosms in a Danish fjord over a 2 wk period in April to May 2005. Despite nutrient additions, chlorophyll and particle concentrations were low and no distinct phytoplankton blooms were observed. Particle volume concentration was dominated by particles > 100 Pm. The abundance of attached bacteria was weakly but positively correlated with total particle volume. Phylogenetic composition of attached bacteria became increasingly different from that of free bacteria through time. Growth rates of free and attached bacteria were 0.31 and 0.023 d(-1), respectively. Colonization experiments with model agar aggregates showed that the bacterial community had limited apparent diffusivity but strong chemotaxis, which resulted in an up to 8-fold increase in bacterial colonization rates with organic-enriched aggregates. Estimated residence time of attached bacteria on aggregates was 21 min or less. Grazing mortality derived from temporal changes in attached bacterial abundance in the presence or absence of grazing activities ranged from 0 to 9.8 d(-1). In comparison, grazing mortality of free bacteria was 0.06 to 0.91 d(-1), suggesting that the bacterivorous flagellates were more adapted to grazing on surfaces than in free suspension. Very few attached flagellates were observed in the experiments, and microscopic observations revealed that many flagellates were attached only temporarily to surfaces. Our study showed that grazing mortality is a critical but often underappreciated factor in regulating marine snow bacterial population abundance. The loose association of bacterivorous flagellates with aggregates requires that their role be evaluated by direct grazing measurements instead of simple quantification of attached flagellate abundance.
DOI
10.3354/meps325015
Keywords
marine snow; aggregation; colonization; grazing mortality; bacteria; flagellates; chemotaxis
Recommended Citation
Tang, Kam W.; Grossart, Hans-Peter; Yam, Emily M.; and Jackson, George A., Mesocosm study of particle dynamics and control of particle-associated bacteria by flagellate grazing (2006). MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES, 325, 15-27.
10.3354/meps325015
