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The role of planktonic bacteria in phosphorus cycling in lakes ‐ Sink and link
Author(s) -
Vadstein Olav,
Olsen Yngvar,
Reinertsen Helge,
Jensen Arne
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.1993.38.7.1539
Subject(s) - bacteria , plankton , algae , heterotroph , sink (geography) , phosphate , cycling , phosphorus , environmental chemistry , biology , ecology , botany , environmental science , chemistry , biochemistry , history , genetics , cartography , archaeology , organic chemistry , geography
Due to their high P content (~10 times that of the algae), the bacteria in Lake Nesjøvatn were responsible for 80% of the net uptake of this element in summer. Thus, the heterotrophic bacteria acted as a sink and competed for inorganic phosphate with the algae, but the bacteria were unable to achieve physiological P saturation. Heterotrophic flagellates feeding on P‐rich bacteria regenerated two‐thirds of the P released by grazers. Therefore the role of bacteria is not as mineralizers but as net consumers of phosphate, and, because of their high requirement for P, they are a key factor in regulating the P flux in lakes. The main importance of bacteria in regeneration of P is as P‐rich food particles.