Effect of suspended mineral matter on production characteristics of bacterio- and phytoplankton

The effect was determined of organo-mineral detritus (OMD), one of the components of suspended mineral matter in aquatic ecosystems, on the production characteristics of bacterioplankton (bacterial production P _b and destruction of organic matter R _b, as well as bacterial growth efficiency BGE). The relation was determined between these parameters and the ratio of the content of suspended mineral matter M to the total organic carbon content (M/TOC). More active utilization of organic matter by bacterioplankton in the presence of OMD resulted in its positive effect on specific production characteristics of the phytoplankton.     

Climate‐related changes of soil characteristics affect bacterial community composition and function of high altitude and latitude lakes

Lakes at high altitude and latitude are typically unproductive ecosystems where external factors outweigh the relative importance of in‐lake processes, making them ideal sentinels of climate change. Climate change is inducing upward vegetation shifts at high altitude and latitude regions that translate into changes in the pools of soil organic matter. Upon mobilization, this allochthonous organic matter may rapidly alter the composition and function of lake bacterial communities. Here, we experimentally simulate this potential climate‐change effect by exposing bacterioplankton of two lakes located above the treeline, one in the Alps and one in the subarctic region, to soil organic matter from below and above the treeline. Changes in bacterial community composition, diversity and function were followed for 72 h. In the subarctic lake, soil organic matter from below the treeline reduced bulk and taxon‐specific phosphorus uptake, indicating that bacterial phosphorus limitation was alleviated compared to organic matter from above the treeline. These effects were less pronounced in the alpine lake, suggesting that soil properties (phosphorus and dissolved organic carbon availability) and water temperature further shaped the magnitude of response. The rapid bacterial succession observed in both lakes indicates that certain taxa directly benefited from soil sources. Accordingly, the substrate uptake profiles of initially rare bacteria (copiotrophs) indicated that they are one of the main actors cycling soil‐derived carbon and phosphorus. Our work suggests that climate‐induced changes in soil characteristics affect bacterioplankton community structure and function, and in turn, the cycling of carbon and phosphorus in high altitude and latitude aquatic ecosystems.     

Extracellular dissolved organic carbon released from phytoplankton as a source of carbon for heterotrophic bacteria in lakes of different humic content

The quantitative importance of photosynthetically produced dissolved organic carbon (PDOC) released from phytoplankton as a source of carbon for pelagic, heterotrophic bacteria was investigated in four temperate Swedish lakes, of which two had low (≈20 mg Pt 1⁻¹), and two moderately high (60–80 mg Pt 1⁻¹) humic content. The bacterial assimilation of PDOC was estimated with the ¹⁴C method, and the total production of the heterotrophic bacteria was estimated with the [3H]thymidine incorporation method. The release of PDOC from natural communities of phytoplankton was not restricted to periods of photosynthesis, but often continued during periods of darkness. Heterotrophic bacteria often assimilated the labile components of the PDOC at high rates (up to 73% of the released PDOC was assimilated during the incubation in our experiments). The contribution of PDOC to bacterial production exhibited large within-lake seasonal variations, but PDOC was at certain times, both in humic and non-humic lakes, a quantitatively very important carbon source for the heterotrophic bacteria. Under periods of comparatively low primary production, heterotrophic bacteria in humic lakes appear to utilize allochthonous, humic substances as a substrate.     

Terrestrial export of highly bioavailable carbon from small boreal catchments in spring floods

1. We assessed the terrestrial export of organic carbon, which effectively supported aquatic bacterial production (BP), from small boreal catchments during spring flood. We analysed stream runoff from nine small catchments with different proportions of peat mires and coniferous forests by monitoring the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) flux in combination with conducting bacterial bioassays.
2. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that BP during 7-day-dark bioassays (BP₇; μg C L⁻¹day⁻¹) was explained by both the quantity and quality (low-molecular weight fractions) of the DOC. BP₇ can be used as a measure of export of terrestrial organic carbon that is highly bioavailable.
3. Total export of DOC during spring flood from the different catchments ranged from 20 to 27 kg ha⁻¹ and was negatively correlated to forest cover (%). However, the export of BP₇ carbon was positively correlated to forest cover and varied from about 0.1 kg ha⁻¹ in mire-dominated streams to about 0.2 kg ha⁻¹ in forest-dominated streams.
4. The high bioavailability of forest carbon suggests that forests are the main contributors of BP-supporting carbon in boreal streams although mires have higher area-specific export of DOC.     

兽舍绿化在松鼠猴馆、环尾狐猴馆的应用

要创建一流水平的动物园,使动物的生活环境趋于生态化、行为自然化、福利提高至关重要。通过对松鼠猴及环尾狐猴馆舍的绿化配置,达到了增加动物活动量、改善动物福利、提高动物繁殖和增强游客观赏性的目的。     

Biomass and standing stock on sublittoral hard substrates in the Oosterschelde estuary (SW Netherlands)

From 1979 to 1991 the species composition of communities living on hard substrata (hardsub) in the Oosterschelde has been studied — in both the littoral and sublittoral zones. From 1984 onwards, biomass was also measured. This paper deals mainly with the distribution and the development of biomass on sublittoral hardsub in the Oosterschelde. Analysis has shown that the most important abiotic factors regulating the flora and fauna are: quantity and nature of the substrate; sedimentation; exposure to water movement (mainly currents); and light. The construction of the storm-surge barrier has influenced those factors. The main consequences for the flora and fauna on sublittoral hard substrata have been through the increased amount of available hard substratum by about 10% until 1984 and a further 20% from 1984 to 1987, the main barrier construction period). Within the same period (until 1987) the biomass per square metre also increased. This caused a net increase of hardsub biomass — in the sublittoral — of about 35%.After the barrier was completed sedimentation increased; in some parts of the basin hardsub organisms were covered by sediment and have not recovered; the total quantity of available hard substratum decreased by an amount yet to be established. For the purpose of this paper it is tentatively estimated at 20%, but the process is still going on.Tidal current velocities are smaller in the post-barrier situation, which caused a shift from more passive suspension feeders to more actively filtering species. The relative importance of suspension feeders on hard substrata has decreased by about 20% after the building of the storm-surge barrier. In 1990 and 1991 it increased again.Overall water transparency increased, but the lower limit of macroalgal growth has not gone deeper, as nearshore turbulence and turbidity did not change significantly.Effects on hardsub were small in the beginning. During the construction period (1985–1987) no clear effects were registered. After the completion of the barrier total species diversity increased at first, followed by a decrease from the second half of 1988 onwards. Biomass increased rather sharply, at first, but decreased very sharply in 1989. In 1990 a recovery in biomass became apparent. Developments in biomass and species composition differed per sampling location. An attempt is made to explain some of those developments, in relation to the abiotic changes brought about by the storm-surge barrier. This appeared difficult, because climatic influences obscured the effects of the barrier. The most explicit of those masking effects was brought about by a temporary, huge increase of the brittlestar (Ophiothrix fragilis). This animal covered the substratum in relatively thick layers (up to 5 cm) and more or less suffocated the other fauna. It was therefore difficult to quantify the effect of increased sedimentation on the fauna. The increase of Ophiothrix is probably not caused by the storm-surge barrier, but by a succession of several mild winters.It is clear that a new equilibrium in the basin is still to be reached. Total effects in terms of species richness and of biomass will continue to be monitored, and the results used to advise the water authorities as to management and nature friendly dike building methods.     

Original Articles: Sources of Dissolved Organic Carbon Supporting Planktonic Bacterial Production in the Tidal Freshwater Hudson River

Planktonic bacterial production in the tidal freshwater Hudson River is a major component of secondary productivity and is uncoupled from planktonic primary productivity. There are several major sources of allochthonous dissolved organic carbon (DOC) whose potential contribution to heterotrophic bacterial growth was examined with bioassays. Supply of DOC from the upper Hudson drainage basin and a large tributary in the mid-Hudson together comprise 70 kT DOC/year, which is the bulk of the DOC load to the tidal freshwater Hudson River. Two contrasting tidal wetlands contribute DOC to the main-stem river but were only a few percent of the tributary load even during summer low-flow conditions. The quantity of DOC released from fine sediments was intermediate to the other two loadings considered. Bacterial growth in bioassays receiving water from the sources varied, but differences in thymidine incorporation between reference and DOC sources were small, usually less than 2 nmol/L/h. Similarity in thymidine incorporation suggests that all sources of DOC were capable of supporting bacterial growth at approximately equal rates. Seasonal shifts in carbon availability were clear in several cases, for example, greater growth on wetland-derived DOC at times of peak plant productivity. Seasonal differences in tributary DOC bioavailability were not large despite the well-known seasonality of tributary inputs. Activities of a suite of extracellular enzymes were used as a biologically based characterization of DOC from the various sources. Shifts in allocation among enzymes were apparent, indicating that there are biologically relevant differences in composition among the sources. Fluorescence characteristics and absorbance per unit carbon also varied among sources, providing an independent confirmation of compositional differences among sources. The absence of large differences in bacterial productivity among sources suggests that growth is supported by a wide range of DOC, and the relative importance of the sources is probably related to the quantitative differences in inputs. Efforts to classify carbon supplies to ecosystems must recognize that organism plasticity in carbon use and physical mixing processes will both act to homogenize what might initially appear to be quite distinctive carbon inputs. Received 15 April 1997; accepted 17 February 1998     

短期牦牛放牧强度对川西北高原高寒草甸土壤细菌群落的影响

气候变化和人类干扰使青藏高原的草地退化日趋严重,特别是过度放牧导致的草地退化现象尤为突出;然而,牦牛作为青藏高原分布广且数量多的重要家畜,其不同放牧强度对高寒草甸土壤理化性质与细菌群落的影响仍不明晰。在川西北高原典型高寒草甸开展牦牛放牧强度试验,设置了对照组(禁牧)、轻度放牧(1头牦牛/hm~2)、中度放牧(2头牦牛/hm~2)和重度放牧(3头牦牛/hm~2)4个放牧强度,每个强度设置3个重复。两年放牧实验后的结果表明：短期的重度放牧导致土壤有效磷显著增加,而其它土壤性质在各放牧强度变化不显著;随着放牧强度的增加,土壤细菌α多样性呈先增加后减少的趋势,其主要原因是牦牛活动为细菌的生长繁殖提供了有利的营养条件,但由于放牧的持续时间较短,变化不显著;就优势菌而言,土壤绿弯菌门中存在光合自养细菌,在重度放牧下显著高于对照组,其它各菌门在不同放牧强度下无显著差异;土壤氮与硝化螺旋菌门呈正相关,速效磷与酸杆菌门也呈显著正相关,均说明放牧强度对土壤细菌类群的影响是通过土壤性质间接实现的。本实验通过研究不同牦牛放牧强度下的土壤细菌群落结构,为放牧策略的制定提供了基础数据支持,为草地退化的防治提供理论...     

禁牧封育对黄河源高寒草甸植被群落结构及土壤水分特征的影响

为探讨禁牧封育对黄河源高寒草甸生态系统的影响,研究选取玛沁高寒草甸作为对象,通过野外调查和室内试验,分析了禁牧封育对黄河源高寒草甸植被结构和土壤水分特征在不同禁牧封育条件下的变化情况。结果表明:(1)随着禁牧封育年限的延长,植被盖度和高度均呈增加趋势,物种多样性指数、丰富度指数和物种数呈先增加后稳定趋势,优势度指数先下降后稳定,均匀度指数变化不显著。就功能群而言,随封育年限增加,禾本科、豆科植物重要值占比呈逐步增加趋势,莎草类植物重要值占比呈先快速增加后趋于稳定的趋势,杂类草重要值占比明显下降。(2)随禁牧封育年限增加,地上生物量逐步增加,地下生物量和地上地下总生物量呈先增加后稳定趋势,禁牧封育对地下生物量的影响主要集中在0-20 cm。(3)禁牧封育对黄河源高寒草甸土壤容重、持水量及孔隙度的影响主要集中在表层(0-5 cm),随封育年限的增加,表层土壤容重呈先下降后稳定趋势,土壤饱和持水量、毛管持水量和田间持水量呈增加趋势,土壤毛管孔隙度和总孔隙度先增加后稳定,非毛管孔隙度无显著变化。与重度退化相比,封育5年样地0-5 cm土壤容重显著下降30.25%(P<0.05),饱和持水量、毛管持水量、田间持水量、毛管孔隙度和总孔隙度分别显著增加14.44%、18.36%、28.19%、18.36%、12.09%(P<0.05)。表明短期禁牧封育不仅有利于改善黄河源高寒草甸植被群落结构,而且能够增强该地区土壤水源涵养功能。     

细菌降解双酚类化合物的分子机制研究进展

双酚类化合物(bisphenols,BPs)作为工业原料及药物和个人护理品的重要成分之一,在自然界中广泛分布。BPs作为类雌性激素造成的生态风险已成为全球备受关注的环境问题之一。研究人员使用不同方式分离得到菌株或菌群,尝试对BPs进行无害化降解,目前已取得了一些重要的研究进展。本文对近年来细菌降解BPs的相关研究进行了系统梳理,重点关注以双酚A(bisphenol A,BPA)为典型BPs的细菌降解,总结不同路径中的关键作用基因,讨论相同路径中酶的差异及作用方式,并分析其对BPA的降解效果。本文也简要总结了双酚S(bisphenolS,BPS)和其他BPs的细菌降解研究情况。通过总结讨论现有成果,分析细菌降解BPs中尚需深入研究的内容,探寻未来BPs细菌降解机理及应用的研究方向。     

Moderate grazing increased alpine meadow soils bacterial abundance and diversity index on the Tibetan Plateau

The response of grassland soil bacterial community characteristics to different grazing intensities is central ecological topics. However, the underlying mechanisms between bacterial abundance, diversity index, and grazing intensity remain unclear. We measured alpine meadow soil bacterial gene richness and diversity index under four grazing intensities using 16S rDNA sequence analysis on the Tibetan Plateau. The results suggest that extreme grazing significantly decreased alpine meadow both bacterial gene abundance and diversity index (p < .05). The lowest operational taxonomic unit numbers were 3,012 ± 447 copies under heavy grazing in the growing season. It was significantly lower than heavy grazing with approximately 3,958 ± 119 copies (p < .05). The Shannon index for medium and high grazing grassland bacterial diversity was slightly higher than for light grazing in the growing season. Furthermore, the lowest index was approximately 9.20 ± 0.50 for extreme grazing of grassland in the growing season. The average bacterial gene abundance and diversity index in the dormancy period were slightly higher than that in the growing season. Soil bulk density, pH, ammonium, and nitrate nitrogen were the main positive factors driving grazed grassland bacterial communities. Our study provides insight into the response of alpine meadows to grazing intensity, demonstrating that moderate grazing increases bacterial community diversity in grazed grasslands.     

Response of soil bacterial communities to moisture and grazing in the Tibetan alpine steppes on a small spatial scale

As the Third Pole of the world, the Tibetan Plateau provides a typical alpine grassland environment for soil bacteria with its unique frigid and arid climate. Owing to clear changes in spatial moisture and increased grazing intensity, moisture and livestock grazing have become key factors influencing the microbial communities. Accordingly, we investigated the diversity and composition of soil bacteria in a selected alpine grassland within the dual gradients of moisture and grazing using high-throughput sequencing. Our results showed that grazing changed the soil bacterial diversity and composition, whereas moisture only influenced the relative abundance of the segmental community at the small spatial scale. Species richness was found to be increased by moderate grazing compared with that by high or low-grazing intensity. The relative abundance of dominant species and β-diversity of soil bacteria both showed differences with heavy, moderate, and low grazing. Some dominant bacteria were altered with the moisture content. However, there were no significant differences according to the moisture gradient in terms of the overall bacterial β diversity and composition. These results might be taken account into the small spatial scale as well as the compensation of grazing to moisture on this scale. This work provides new insights into the soil bacterial response to moisture gradients and grazing intensity in alpine steppe habitat.     

Impacts of elevated terrestrial nutrient loads and temperature on pelagic food‐web efficiency and fish production

Both temperature and terrestrial organic matter have strong impacts on aquatic food‐web dynamics and production. Temperature affects vital rates of all organisms, and terrestrial organic matter can act both as an energy source for lower trophic levels, while simultaneously reducing light availability for autotrophic production. As climate change predictions for the Baltic Sea and elsewhere suggest increases in both terrestrial matter runoff and increases in temperature, we studied the effects on pelagic food‐web dynamics and food‐web efficiency in a plausible future scenario with respect to these abiotic variables in a large‐scale mesocosm experiment. Total basal (phytoplankton plus bacterial) production was slightly reduced when only increasing temperatures, but was otherwise similar across all other treatments. Separate increases in nutrient loads and temperature decreased the ratio of autotrophic:heterotrophic production, but the combined treatment of elevated temperature and terrestrial nutrient loads increased both fish production and food‐web efficiency. CDOM: Chl a ratios strongly indicated that terrestrial and not autotrophic carbon was the main energy source in these food webs and our results also showed that zooplankton biomass was positively correlated with increased bacterial production. Concomitantly, biomass of the dominant calanoid copepod Acartia sp. increased as an effect of increased temperature. As the combined effects of increased temperature and terrestrial organic nutrient loads were required to increase zooplankton abundance and fish production, conclusions about effects of climate change on food‐web dynamics and fish production must be based on realistic combinations of several abiotic factors. Moreover, our results question established notions on the net inefficiency of heterotrophic carbon transfer to the top of the food web.     

Contrasting effects of solar UV radiation on dissolved organic sources for bacterial growth

The photochemical transformation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in lakes and oceans has been shown to either reduce or enhance bacterial utilization. We compared the effects of UV radiation on the bacterial use of DOM in a wide range of lakes. Although complex DOM was converted in all irradiated samples into carboxylic acids that are readily utilized by bacteria, irradiation in several lakes resulted in a decreased ability of DOM to support bacterial growth. The effect of irradiation on the ability of DOM to promote bacterial growth was a positive function of the terrestrial humic matter, and a negative function of indigenous algal production. We suggest that the net effect of irradiation is a result of counteracting but concurrent processes rendering DOM either labile or recalcitrant. Humic DOM is predominantly transformed into forms of increased lability, whereas photochemical transformation into compounds of decreased bacterial substrate quality dominates in algal-derived DOM. Hence, solar-induced photochemical reactions interact with microbial degraders in different ways, depending on the origin and nature of the organic matter, affecting the transfer of energy within aquatic food webs, as well as the degradation and preservation of detrital organic matter, in different directions.     

A simple method to control the bacterial production of cellulosic films in order to obtain dried pellicles presenting a desired average thickness

During the bacterial production of cellulosic films on non-agitated liquid media, the mass of the system does not change. An equation is therefore proposed to evaluate the volume of inoculated medium to be placed in a given tray so that, when no more free aqueous medium may be detected under the wet pellicle produced, a dried film of a desired average thickness is produced.     

Planktonic bacterial biomass and seasonal pattern of the heterotrophic uptake and respiration of glucose and amino acids in the shallow sandpit lake of Créteil (Paris Suburb,France)

Biomass and activity of planktonic bacteria were investigated during a one year study in a shallow sandpit lake. The shallowness of the lake helped keep the water column homogeneous regarding bacterioplankton. Small free-living bacteria (0.03 µm³ cell^–1) dominated the populations throughout the period studied. Bacterial abundances varied from 1 to 11 × 10⁶ cells ml^–1. Kinetic parameters (V _max, K + S and T) were determined with ¹⁴C labelled compounds (glucose and amino acids mixture). V _max values were high and averaged 0.056 and 0.050 µgCl^–1 h^–1 for glucose and amino acids respectively. Maximal V _max values were observed in summer at the highest temperatures, but also in early spring. T values were much greater in winter. K + S values were significantly higher for amino acids (3 µg Cl^–1) than for glucose (1 µg Cl^–1). A low percentage of mineralization (about 25% for both tracers) could be the expression of the high growth efficiency expected when bacteria are growing at the expense of low molecular weight compounds as phytoplankton exudates.     

The Effect of Mineral Particulate Matter on the Productive Characteristics of Bacterioplankton and the Degradation of Labile Organic Material

The effect of mineral particulate matter on the population of bacterioplankton, its aggregation, and productive characteristics was studied in model experiments with different concentrations of particulate kaolin and the same concentration of organic substance (sodium humate). It was found that the presence of mineral particulate matter stimulated the aggregation of bacterioplankton, improved bacterial production, and extended the productive period of bacterioplankton. The integral specific production of aggregated bacterioplankton was higher than that of free-swimming bacterioplankton. The energy metabolic coefficient K ₂ of bacterioplankton in the presence of mineral particulate matter was higher than in its absence.     

Genomic perspectives on the evolution and spread of bacterial pathogens

Since the first complete sequencing of a free-living organism, Haemophilus influenzae, genomics has been used to probe both the biology of bacterial pathogens and their evolution. Single-genome approaches provided information on the repertoire of virulence determinants and host-interaction factors, and, along with comparative analyses, allowed the proposal of hypotheses to explain the evolution of many of these traits. These analyses suggested many bacterial pathogens to be of relatively recent origin and identified genome degradation as a key aspect of host adaptation. The advent of very-high-throughput sequencing has allowed for detailed phylogenetic analysis of many important pathogens, revealing patterns of global and local spread, and recent evolution in response to pressure from therapeutics and the human immune system. Such analyses have shown that bacteria can evolve and transmit very rapidly, with emerging clones showing adaptation and global spread over years or decades. The resolution achieved with whole-genome sequencing has shown considerable benefits in clinical microbiology, enabling accurate outbreak tracking within hospitals and across continents. Continued large-scale sequencing promises many further insights into genetic determinants of drug resistance, virulence and transmission in bacterial pathogens.