Recent studies have characterized coastal estuarine systems as important components of the global carbon cycle. This study investigated carbon cycling through the microbial loop of Florida Bay by use of bacterial growth efficiency calculations. Bacterial production, bacterial respiration, and other environmental parameters were measured at three sites located along a historic phosphorus-limitation gradient in Florida Bay and compared to a relatively nutrient enriched site in Biscayne Bay. A new method for measuring bacterial respiration in oligotrophic waters involving tracing respiration of 13C-glucose was developed. The results of the study indicate that 13C tracer assays may provide a better means of measuring bacterial respiration in low nutrient environments than traditional dissolved oxygen consumption-based methods due to strong correlations between incubation length and δ13C values. Results also suggest that overall bacterial growth efficiency may be lower at the most nutrient limited sites.

Aquatic systems worldwide receive large amounts of organic carbon from terrestrial sources. This ‘allochthonous’ organic carbon (AlloOC) affects critical physical and chemical properties of freshwater ecosystems, with consequences for food web structures and exchange of greenhouse gases with the atmosphere. In the boreal region, loadings of AlloOC are particularly high due to leaching from huge organic deposits in boreal forest, mire and tundra soils. A main process of AlloOC turnover in aquatic systems is its use by heterotrophic bacteria. Applying a bioassay approach, I measured the respiration and growth (production) of bacteria in northern Sweden, in streams and lakes almost totally dominated by AlloOC. The objective was to elucidate how variations in AlloOC source, age, composition and concentration impact on its use by aquatic bacteria, and how AlloOC properties, in turn, are regulated by landscape composition and by hydrology. The bacterial respiration (30-309 µg C L-1 d-1) was roughly proportional to the concentration of AlloOC (7-47 mg C L-1), but not significantly related to AlloOC source or character. Bacterial production (4-94 µg C L-1 d-1), on the other hand, was coupled to the AlloOC character, rather than concentration. A strong coupling to AlloOC character was also found for bacterial growth efficiency (0.06-0.51), i.e. production per unit of assimilated carbon. Bacterial production and growth efficiency increased with rising concentrations of low molecular weight AlloOC (carboxylic acids, free amino acids and simple carbohydrates). While the total AlloOC concentrations generally were the highest in mire-dominated catchments, low molecular weight AlloOC concentrations were much higher in forested catchments, compared to mire-dominated. These patterns were reflected in a strong landscape control of aquatic bacterial metabolism. Moreover, high flow episodes increased the export of organic carbon from forests, in relation to the export from mires, stimulating the bacterial production and growth efficiency in streams with mixed (forest and mire) catchments. The potential of AlloOC to support efficient bacterial growth decreased on time-scales of weeks to months, as the AlloOC was aged in laboratory or lake in situ conditions. To conclude, landscape, hydrology and conditions which determine AlloOC age have large influence on bacterial metabolism in boreal aquatic systems. Considering the role of bacteria in heterotrophic food chains, these factors can have spin-off effects on the structure and function of boreal aquatic ecosystems.

Bacterio-phytoplanktonic coupling and bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) measurements were used to analyze microbial trophic dynamics and the influence of environmental factors in Florida Bay, Florida. Phytoplankton gross primary productivity (GPP) was measured using 24-hour in situ oxygen incubations; bacterial productivity (BP) was measured using 3H- thymidine incorporation. Weak bacterio-phytoplanktonic coupling was observed over the sampling period. BP was more influenced by local total nitrogen concentrations while GPP was more evenly distributed. BGE rates were low but consistent with marine and estuarine ecosystems worldwide. Results suggest that bacterioplankton growth in Florida Bay is relatively uncoupled from phytoplankton production, which may be due in part to the low levels of phytoplankton biomass in the water column, the large amount of seagrass-derived DOM production in this shallow lagoon, the loading of nitrogen and organic matter associated with terrestrial runoff, and/or their combination.

Submitted by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-22T13:00:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRMFS.pdf: 2091397 bytes, checksum: 9416d9552b0e519672969fe9b02432ff (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-22T13:01:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRMFS.pdf: 2091397 bytes, checksum: 9416d9552b0e519672969fe9b02432ff (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-22T13:01:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRMFS.pdf: 2091397 bytes, checksum: 9416d9552b0e519672969fe9b02432ff (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-22T13:01:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRMFS.pdf: 2091397 bytes, checksum: 9416d9552b0e519672969fe9b02432ff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-10 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Reservoirs located in tropical regions are main carbon (C) sources to the atmosphere, and bacterial metabolism is a key process that regulates those emissions. However, studies on the environmental drivers of bacterial metabolism in tropical reservoirs are scarce. By measuring metabolic rates and the limnological parameters in four cascading reservoirs that form a trophic state gradient, we determined the environmental drivers of bacterial metabolism in a tropical region, and compared them with those found in the literature (mainly from temperate regions). Our multiple regression models selected variables related to the trophic state as the main drivers of bacterial production (BP) and bacterial growth efficiency (BGE). On the other hand, bacterial respiration (BR), and consequently bacterial carbon demand (BCD), were weakly and negatively correlated to dissolved organic carbon (DOC), contrasting with the literature data. BR was always high, especially in less productive reservoirs where planktonic communities were limited by phosphorus. Nutrient limitation, high temperatures and high incident light intensity increased the environmental hostility, and cells must invest more energy in maintenance mechanisms, which directs the metabolism towards BR. This was observed in the reservoirs studied, especially in the more oligotrophic environments (Nova Avanhandava and Três Irmãos) where BR was higher and ECB lower. Our results indicate that the regulatory mechanisms of bacterial metabolism may vary according to latitude. / Reservatórios de regiões tropicais são fontes de carbono (C) para a atmosfera e o metabolismo bacteriano é um processo fundamental na regulação dessas emissões. No entanto, estudos que elucidem os fatores ambientais que determinam o metabolismo bacteriano em reservatórios tropicais são ainda escassos. Neste estudo foram medidas taxas metabólicas e parâmetros limnológicos em quatro reservatórios em cascata que formam um gradiente de estado trófico, com o intuito de determinar os reguladores do metabolismo bacteriano em uma região tropical e compará-los com dados obtidos a partir da literatura disponível (principalmente de regiões temperadas). Nossos modelos de regressão múltipla selecionaram variáveis relacionadas ao estado trófico como os principais reguladores da produção bacteriana (PB) e da eficiência de crescimento bacteriano (ECB). Foi encontrada uma relação fraca e negativa entre a respiração bacteriana (RB) e o carbono orgânico dissolvido (COD), diferente dos dados da literatura. As taxas de RB foram sempre elevadas, especialmente em reservatórios menos produtivos, nos quais as comunidades planctônicas estavam limitadas por fósforo. A escassez de nutrientes, as elevadas temperaturas e a alta intensidade de luz incidente aumentam o grau de hostilidade, e as células devem investir mais energia em mecanismos de reparação, o que direciona o metabolismo para a RB. Isso foi observado nos reservatórios estudados, especialmente, nos ambientes mais oligotróficos (Nova Avanhandava e Três Irmãos) nos quais a RB foi mais elevada e a ECB mais baixa. Nossos resultados indicam que os mecanismos reguladores do metabolismo bacteriano podem variar de acordo com a latitude. / FAPESP: 14/14139-3 / FAPESP: 11/50054-4

No description available.