Premium
Distribution, abundance, and metabolic states of microorganisms in the water column and sediments of the Black Sea 1
Author(s) -
Karl David M.
Publication year - 1978
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.1978.23.5.0936
Subject(s) - water column , anoxic waters , sediment , sediment–water interface , sulfide , environmental chemistry , biomass (ecology) , diagenesis , oceanography , geology , chemistry , mineralogy , geomorphology , organic chemistry
The vertical distribution, abundance, and metabolic states of microorganisms have been measured within the water column of the Black Sea. Samples collected from the O 2 –HS − interface revealed a vertically restricted layer (<20–30 m) of metabolically active cells. Within the anoxic portion of the water column (200–2,100 m), ATP concentrations were 5–10 times greater than in oxygenated environments of comparable depth; biomass and various metabolic activities increased with increasing water depth, implying a vertical gradient in specific organic substrates required for bacterial growth and metabolism. The vertical distribution of ATP was also measured in two sediment cores raised from the western basin of the Black Sea. The ATP concentration within the uppermost sediment layer (0–10 cm) was 4 orders of magnitude greater than in the overlying water column, on a per volume basis (150 ng ATP · cm −3 for the sediments, vs. 10 ng ATP · liter −1 for the water column). Scanning electron micrographs are presented depicting early stages in the diagenesis of framboidal iron sulfide.