Trophic links in the lowland River Meuse (Belgium): assessing the role of bacteria and protozoans in planktonic food webs | Zendy

Célia JoaquimJusto | Zendy; Samuel Pirlot | Zendy; Laurent Viroux | Zendy; Pierre Servais | Zendy; JeanPierre Thomé | Zendy; JeanPierre Descy | Zendy

Open Access

Trophic links in the lowland River Meuse (Belgium): assessing the role of bacteria and protozoans in planktonic food webs

Author(s) -

Célia JoaquimJusto,

Samuel Pirlot,

Laurent Viroux,

Pierre Servais,

JeanPierre Thomé,

JeanPierre Descy

Publication year - 2006

Publication title -

journal of plankton research

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.87

H-Index - 93

eISSN - 1464-3774

pISSN - 0142-7873

DOI - 10.1093/plankt/fbl021

Subject(s) - biology , protozoa , bacterivore , trophic level , plankton , ciliate , grazing , microbial food web , bacteria , predation , flagellate , phytoplankton , heterotroph , algae , zoology , ecology , botany , food web , nutrient , genetics

30 of rotifers was low compared with that of phytoplankton (<30% of total carbon ingestion) except when phytoplankton biomass decreased below the incipient limiting level (ILL) of the main metazooplantonic species. In such conditions, protozoa (mainly ciliates) constituted 50% of total rotifer diet. These results give evidence that microbial organisms play a significant role within the planktonic food web of a eutrophic lowland river, ciliates providing an alternative food for 35 metazooplankton when phytoplankton becomes scarce.

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