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Bacterial growth efficiency on natural dissolved organic matter
Author(s) -
Kroer Niels
Publication year - 1993
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.1993.38.6.1282
Subject(s) - dissolved organic carbon , bacterial growth , substrate (aquarium) , ammonium , environmental chemistry , biomass (ecology) , organic matter , bacterioplankton , chemistry , carbon fibers , total organic carbon , bacteria , environmental science , biology , ecology , nutrient , phytoplankton , materials science , organic chemistry , composite number , composite material , genetics
Bacterial growth efficiency was examined in batch cultures and continuous flow cultures by inoculating natural assemblages of pelagic bacteria from different localities into particle‐free water. Growth efficiencies were determined from direct measurements of particulate organic carbon (POC) produced and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) used. On average, 6% of the DOC was consumed during growth in batch cultures. Depending on sampling locality, the DOC consumed was converted to bacterial biomass with efficiencies ranging from 26 to 61%. The efficiency did not correlate with either concentration of DOC or temperature. In continuous flow cultures, growth efficiency increased progressively with increasing ammonium concentration but decreased with increasing substrate C : N ratio. These results suggest that the C : N ratio of the bacterial substrate can be a major determinant of bacterial growth efficiency and that differences in growth efficiency between sampling stations can be attributed to differences in the concentration of usable N in the substrate.