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Appl Environ Microbiol, January 1998, p. 287-293, Vol. 64, No. 1
Department of Biology, University of
Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677
Received 24 January 1997/Accepted 28 October 1997
In the open ocean, where turbidity is very low, UV radiation may be
an important factor regulating interactions among planktonic microorganisms. The effect of exposure to UV radiation on grazing by a
commonly isolated marine heterotrophic nanoflagellate,
Paraphysomonas bandaiensis, on two strains of the
cyanobacteria Synechococcus spp. was investigated.
Laboratory cultures were exposed to a range of irradiances of
artificially produced UV-B (290 to 319 nm) and UV-A (320 to 399 nm) for
up to 10 h. At a UV-B irradiance of 0.19 W m
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Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Effects of UV-A (320 to 399 Nanometers) on Grazing
Pressure of a Marine Heterotrophic Nanoflagellate on Strains of the
Unicellular Cyanobacteria Synechococcus spp.
2, but
not 0.12 W m
2, grazing mortality of
Synechococcus spp. and nanoflagellate-specific grazing
rates were reduced compared to mortality and grazing rates with UV-A
treatment. Within 6 h of exposure, UV-A alone suppressed grazing
mortality at irradiances as low as 3.02 W m
2. The extent
to which grazing mortality and nanoflagellate-specific grazing rates
were suppressed by UV-A increased with both irradiance and duration of
exposure. Over a 6-h exposure period, differences in grazing mortality
were largely attributable to differential survival of nanoflagellates.
Over a longer period of exposure, there was impairment by UV-A alone of
nanoflagellate-specific grazing rates. Rates of primary productivity of
Synechococcus spp. were also reduced by UV-A. The extent to
which Synechococcus productivity was reduced, compared to
the reduction in Synechococcus grazing mortality, depended
on the duration of UV-A exposure. These results support the hypothesis
that UV-A alone influences the composition and biomass of marine
microbial communities by affecting predator-prey interactions and
primary production.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Biology, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677. Phone: (601) 232-7562. Fax: (601) 232-5144. E-mail: byochs{at}olemiss.edu.
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