BACTERIAL PRODUCTION IN NORTH-SEA SEDIMENTS - CLUES TO SEASONAL AND SPATIAL VARIATIONS

Authors
Citation
Fc. Vanduyl et Aj. Kop, BACTERIAL PRODUCTION IN NORTH-SEA SEDIMENTS - CLUES TO SEASONAL AND SPATIAL VARIATIONS, Marine Biology, 120(2), 1994, pp. 323-337
Citations number
66
Categorie Soggetti
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Journal title
ISSN journal
00253162
Volume
120
Issue
2
Year of publication
1994
Pages
323 - 337
Database
ISI
SICI code
0025-3162(1994)120:2<323:BPINS->2.0.ZU;2-Z
Abstract
Benthic bacterial production and biomass were measured at 16 stations in the North Sea covering a wide range of sediment types from the Sout hern Bight and the English coast to the Skagerrak. Stations were sampl ed in August 1991 and February 1992. The best predictor for summer/win ter and spatial variations in benthic bacterial production in North Se a sediments was temperature. In winter the ranges in temperature were too small to account for the spatial variations in benthic bacterial p roduction. The direct effect of temperature alone on bacterial product ion could not explain the variations. The apparent Q(10)-values derive d from the relations between bacterial growth and temperature exceeded the range in Q(10)-values generally accepted for bacterial growth (be tween 2 and 3). Temperature was assumed to covary closely with substra te availability for bacteria. Due to its significant seasonality phyto pigment content of the sediment (chlorophyll a and pheopigment) was fo und to be a better indicator of substrate availability than sediment o rganic matter, which did not demonstrate seasonality. Temperature and phytopigment accounted for up to 88% of the seasonal and spatial varia tions in bacterial production. The significant relations between bacte rial production and biomass in summer coinciding with significant rela tions between bacterial biomass and phytopigments suggest that variati ons in phytopigments in the sediment may be indicators of the variabil ity of labile components regulating bacterial production in sediments.