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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1983 June; 45(6): 1709-1721
Copyright © 1983, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Estimating Bacterioplankton Production by Measuring [³H]thymidine Incorporation in a Eutrophic Swedish Lake

Institute of Limnology, Uppsala University, S-751 22 Uppsala, Sweden

ABSTRACT

Bacterioplankton abundance, [³H]thymidine incorporation, ¹⁴CO₂ uptake in the dark, and fractionated primary production were measured on several occasions between June and August 1982 in eutrophic Lake Norrviken, Sweden. Bacterioplankton abundance and carbon biomass ranged from 0.5 x 10⁹ to 2.4 x 10⁹ cells liter^–1 and 7 to 47 µg of C liter^–1, respectively. The average bacterial cell volume was 0.185 µm³. [³H]thymidine incorporation into cold-trichloroacetic acid-insoluble material ranged from 12 x 10^–12 to 200 x 10^–12 mol liter^–1 h^–1. Bacterial carbon production rates were estimated to be 0.2 to 7.1 µg of C liter^–1 h^–1. Bacterial production estimates from [³H]thymidine incorporation and ¹⁴CO₂ uptake in the dark agreed when activity was high but diverged when activity was low and when blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) dominated the phytoplankton. Size fractionation indicated negligible uptake of [³H]thymidine in the >3-µm fraction during a chrysophycean bloom in early June. We found that >50% of the ³H activity was in the >3-µm fraction in late August; this phenomenon was most likely due to Microcystis spp., their associated bacteria, or both. Over 60% of the ¹⁴CO₂ uptake in the dark was attributed to algae on each sampling occasion. Algal exudate was an important carbon source for planktonic bacteria. Bacterial production was roughly 50% of primary production.

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