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Ciliates are the Dominant Grazers on Pico- and Nanoplankton in a Shallow, Naturally Highly Eutrophic Lake

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Abstract

Abundance and biomass of the microbial loop members [bacteria, heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF), and ciliates] were seasonally measured in the naturally eutrophic and shallow (2.8 mean depth) Lake Võrtsjärv, which has a large open surface area (average 270 km2) and highly turbid water (Secchi depth <1 m). Grazing rates (filter feeding rates) on 0.5-, 3-, and 6-μm-diameter particles were measured to estimate pico- and nanoplankton grazing (filter feeding) by micro- and metazooplankton. Among grazers, HNF had a low abundance (<50 cells mL−1) and, due to their low specific filtering rates, they only grazed a minor fraction of the bacterioplankton (≤4.2% of total grazing). Ciliates were relatively abundant (≤158 cells mL−1) and, considering their high specific feeding rates, were able to graze more than 100% of the bacterial biomass production in the open part of the lake, whereas the average daily grazing accounted for 9.3% of the bacterial standing stock. Ciliates were potentially important grazers of nanoplanktonic organisms (on average, approximately 20% of the standing stock of 3-μm-size particles was grazed daily). Metazooplankton grazed a minor part of the bacterioplankton, accounting for only 0.1% of standing stock of bacteria. Grazing on nanoplankton (3–6 μm) by metazooplankton was higher (0.4% of standing stock). The hypothesis is proposed that ciliates dominate due to a lack of top–down regulation by predators, and HNF have a low abundance due to strong grazing pressure by ciliates.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. Mark Dopson who made valuable language revision on the manuscript. This study was funded by grants to Tiina Nõges from the Estonian Ministry of Education (0362480s03) and by Estonian Science Foundation grants 4080 and 5738, and to Veljo Kisand from the Hanse Advanced Institute and EU Marie Curie MERG-CT-6-2005-014873. Data collection in state monitoring program was supported by Estonian Ministry of Environment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Võrtsjärv Centre for Limnology, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Rannu, 61101, Tartu County, Estonia

    Priit Zingel, Helen Agasild, Tiina Nõges & Veljo Kisand

  2. Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 1 Kreutzwaldi St., 51014, Tartu, Estonia

    Priit Zingel

  3. Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Nooruse 1, Tartu, 50411, Estonia

    Veljo Kisand

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  1. Priit Zingel
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Correspondence to Veljo Kisand.

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Zingel, P., Agasild, H., Nõges, T. et al. Ciliates are the Dominant Grazers on Pico- and Nanoplankton in a Shallow, Naturally Highly Eutrophic Lake. Microb Ecol 53, 134–142 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-006-9155-4

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