Linkage between microzooplankton grazing and phytoplankton growth in a Gulf of Mexico estuary |
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Authors: | M C Murrell R S Stanley E M Lores G T DiDonato D A Flemer |
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Institution: | 1. National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine Island Drive, 32561, Gulf Breeze, Florida
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Abstract: | Microzooplankton dilution grazing experiments were conducted with water collected from Pensacola Bay, Florida (USA) on 12
dates at 2 sites. Statistically significant grazing rates were observed in 22 of 24 experiments. Grazing rates in Upper Bay
and Lower Bay were similar averaging 0.54 and 0.51 d−1, respectively. Phytoplankton growth rates were also similar at the two sites, averaging 1.02 and 1.00 d−1 at Upper Bay and Lower Bay, respectively. Phytoplankton growth rates usually exceeded grazing rates by about a factor of
two, though microzooplankton grazing represented a significant mortality for phytoplankton. The literature suggests a linkage
between phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing that spans a wide variety of aquatic environments. While individual
growth and grazing rates were variable, growth frequently exceeded grazing by about two-fold. This implies that the role of
microzooplankton is similar across a wide variety of aquatic systems. |
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