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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2002, p. 3996-4006, Vol. 68, No. 8
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.8.3996-4006.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Mechanisms and Rates of Bacterial Colonization of Sinking Aggregates

Thomas Kiørboe,1* Hans-Peter Grossart,2 Helle Ploug,3,{dagger} and Kam Tang1

Danish Institute for Fisheries Research, DK-2920 Charlottenlund,1 Marine Biological Laboratory, DK-3000 Helsingør, Denmark,3 Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany2

Received 4 March 2002/ Accepted 23 May 2002

Quantifying the rate at which bacteria colonize aggregates is a key to understanding microbial turnover of aggregates. We used encounter models based on random walk and advection-diffusion considerations to predict colonization rates from the bacteria's motility patterns (swimming speed, tumbling frequency, and turn angles) and the hydrodynamic environment (stationary versus sinking aggregates). We then experimentally tested the models with 10 strains of bacteria isolated from marine particles: two strains were nonmotile; the rest were swimming at 20 to 60 µm s-1 with different tumbling frequency (0 to 2 s-1). The rates at which these bacteria colonized artificial aggregates (stationary and sinking) largely agreed with model predictions. We report several findings. (i) Motile bacteria rapidly colonize aggregates, whereas nonmotile bacteria do not. (ii) Flow enhances colonization rates. (iii) Tumbling strains colonize aggregates enriched with organic substrates faster than unenriched aggregates, while a nontumbling strain did not. (iv) Once on the aggregates, the bacteria may detach and typical residence time is about 3 h. Thus, there is a rapid exchange between attached and free bacteria. (v) With the motility patterns observed, freely swimming bacteria will encounter an aggregate in <1 day at typical upper-ocean aggregate concentrations. This is faster than even starving bacteria burn up their reserves, and bacteria may therefore rely solely on aggregates for food. (vi) The net result of colonization and detachment leads to a predicted equilibrium abundance of attached bacteria as a function of aggregate size, which is markedly different from field observations. This discrepancy suggests that inter- and intraspecific interactions among bacteria and between bacteria and their predators may be more important than colonization in governing the population dynamics of bacteria on natural aggregates.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Danish Institute for Fisheries Research, Kavalergården 6, DK-2920 Charlottenlund, Denmark. Phone: 45-33963401. Fax: 45-33963434. E-mail: tk{at}dfu.min.dk.

{dagger} Present address: Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, D-28359 Bremen, Germany.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2002, p. 3996-4006, Vol. 68, No. 8
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.8.3996-4006.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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