Abundance, production and extracellular enzymatic activity of free-living and attached bacteria were measured during the development and collapse of a spring bloom in a eutrophic lake. Free-living bacteria accounted for most of the total bacterial production during the first part of the bloom. Their production had a significant positive correlation to chlorophyll (P < .01) and polysaccharide concentration (P < .02) and to potential β-glucosidase and aminopeptidase activity (P < .05), suggesting that algal release of dissolved polymeric compounds provided an important carbon source for bacterial production. As the bloom collapsed, we observed a change in the activity and structure of the microbial community. The mean contribution of attached bacteria to total bacterial production increased from 12% during the first part of the bloom to 26% at the end. Also, the extracellular enzymatic activity of attached bacteria increased as the bloom collapsed and constituted up to 75% of the total hydrolytic activity. An estimated disparity between hydrolytic activity and the corresponding carbon demand of attached bacteria suggested a net release of dissolved organic compounds from organic particles via polymer hydrolysis by attached bacteria.
With data from eight Canadian and eight Danish lakes, we used bacterioplankton production ([3H]thymidine incorporation) in multiple regression analyses to determine to which variable it is best related. We studied two size classes: < 1 µm and 1–3 µm. For the large bacteria (1–3 µm), primary production was the only statistically significant variable. For the small bacteria (<1 µm) abundance came first, followed by chlorophyll. Small bacteria have a more uniform reproductive rate. It is suggested that phytoplankton exudates are better substrates for large than for small bacteria. Temperature is not useful for predicting bacterial production, nor are concentrations of total organic C or dissolved organic C. Bacterial abundance increase with trophic status seems to be the cause of the correlation between bacterial production and the eutrophication gradient. The turnover time of large cells was shorter than that of small cells in 30 of 37 cases. A large bacterium represents ∼10–100 times more biomass per cell, so large bacteria are often the main source of organic matter synthesis.
Bacterioplankton abundance (AB), heterotrophic production (PB) (thymidine incorporation) and renewal time (tr = AB/PB) were determined in eight Canadian Shield lakes in two size classes of bacteria (< 1 μm and > 1 μm). Although large bacteria (> 1 μm) were often less than 50% in numbers, they produced most of the new cells in 20 out of 21 trials. Large bacteria had a tr shorter than that of small ones (< 1 μm). Large bacteria not only represent much of the biomass, but seem to be the principal site of carbon and energy flow within the bacterial community. There was a significant positive correlation between PB of the whole bacterial community and primary production (PP), but we found no correlation between PB and chlorophyll a concentration (CHL). Similar results were obtained for the large bacteria. On the opposite, we found no correlation between PB of the small bacteria and PP, but a significant positive correlation between PB and CHL. Only the small bacteria showed a significant correlation between PB and AB, as well as a more constant rate of reproduction. Our results modify the importance of AB values found in the literature, give a good reason for the weak correlation between PB and AB found in other studies, and change the generally accepted scheme of organic and energy flow in planktonic systems. Key words: bacterioplankton, size class, productivity, correlation.
We followed the diel and summer variations of bacterioplankton production (estimated from [3H] thymidine incorporation) and abundance (direct count with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining) at four depths in a Canadian Shield humic lake. We found production to be highest and most variable in the epilimnion, but the differences between production estimates made at different times were statistically significant in only 5 out of 16 cases. Production differed significantly among depths in 14 out of 18 trials. The renewal time of the bacterial community varied between 1 and 20 days. Bacterioplankton production and primary production were uncorrelated (r = 0.225; p > 0.2), but bacterial production and chlorophyll a concentration were positively correlated (r = 0.816; p < 0.005). Small coccis (~0.3 – ~0.8 μm) represented between 52 and 80% of the bacterial cells in all the samples. There was no correspondence between bacterial production and frequency of dividing cells. Bacterial production and abundance varied inversely throughout the season, bacteria being two to three times less concentrated in the spring, whereas production was two to three times higher. We found no correlation between bacterioplankton production and abundance (r = 0.012; p > 0.5). Our results demonstrate the importance of small-scale sampling and the difficulty with which bacterioplankton production, its spatiotemporal variations, and the relationships between bacteria and phytoplankton can be predicted. Key words: bacterioplankton, abundance, production, spatiotemporal variations, bacterioplankton–phytoplankton relationships.
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