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Size distribution and activity of marine microheterotrophs 1
Author(s) -
Azam F.,
Hodson R. E.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1977.22.3.0492
Subject(s) - seawater , heterotroph , microorganism , assimilation (phonology) , environmental chemistry , bacteria , chemistry , biology , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , genetics
Natural populations of marine heterotrophic microorganisms in a variety of water masses were size fractionated with Nuclepore filters in a range of pore diameters of 0.1–8 µ m. About 90% of the heterotrophic assimilation of 3 H‐labeled substrates ( d ‐glucose, acetate, and l ‐serine) was by organisms that pass through 1‐ µ m filters; essentially all heterotrophic activity was by organisms passing through 5‐ µ m filters. The 1‐ µ m filterable fraction contained bacteria and, in some seawater samples, microflagellates. About 90% of the microbial heterotrophic activity in the seawater samples examined was due to those microorganisms (presumably bacteria) that arc unattached to larger particulate material.