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Bacterivory by microheterotrophic flagellates in seawater samples
Author(s) -
Andersen P.,
Fenchel T.
Publication year - 1985
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.1985.30.1.0198
Subject(s) - flagellate , seawater , water column , protozoa , biology , heterotroph , bacterivore , bacteria , population , environmental chemistry , bacterial growth , ecology , chemistry , abundance (ecology) , microbiology and biotechnology , botany , genetics , demography , sociology
Changes in the population sizes of bacteria and of heterotrophic microflagellates in seawater during the first 30–60 h after sampling indicate that these protozoa control bacterial numbers in situ. The observations allow crude estimates of in situ grazing rates and of the minimum bacterial concentration which sustains protozoan growth. In the water samples studied, an average flagellate will clear 1–2 × 10 −5 ml h −1 (15°C). If this result is extrapolated to other areas, typical concentrations of microflagellates in the sea suggest that between 5 and 250% of the water column is cleared of bacteria per day. Bacterial numbers above about 10 6 ml −1 will sustain flagellate growth.