Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Bacterial Influence on the Variability in the Ocean’s Biogeochemical State: A Mechanistic View

  • Chapter
Particle Analysis in Oceanography

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIG,volume 27))

Abstract

Traditionally, the only component of the microbial communities studied seriously by biological oceanographers was phytoplankton. Bacteria, protozoa, viruses and fungi were relegated to “specialists” and it was implicitly assumed that, by and large, the ocean’s productivity mechanisms and biogeochemical dynamics could be understood and modelled without taking into account the activities of these other components of the pelagic microbiota. This view was challenged by the seminal paper of Pomeroy (1974) and by quantitative studies inspired by it, leading up to the discovery that the pathway DOM -- > bacteria -- > protozoa -- > metazoa (microbial loop; Azam et al., 1983) is a major route for the flows of material and energy in pelagic marine ecosystems. Further, very recently it has been suggested that viruses may also play important ecological roles (Bergh et al., 1989; Proctor and Fuhrman, 1990; Suttle et al., 1990), including a role in the mortality of bacteria and phytoplankton.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Alldredge AL, Youngbluth MJ (1985) The significance of macroscopic aggregates (marine snow) as sites for heterotrophic bacterial production in the mesopelagic zone of the subtropical Atlantic. Deep-Sea Res 32:1445–1456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ammerman JW, Azam F (1985) Bacterial 5′-nucleotidase in aquatic ecosystems: a novel mechanism of phosphorus regeneration. Science 227:1338–1340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Azam, F (1984) The radioecological role of marine bacterioplankton In: Bonnyns-Van Gelder E, Kirchmann R (eds), Role of microorganisms on the behaviour of radionuclides in aquatic and terrestrial systems and their transfer to man. Int. Union Radioecologists, Brussels pp 2–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Azam F, Ammerman JW (1984) Cycling of organic matter by bacterioplankton in pelagic marine ecosystems: microenvironmental considerations., pp. 345–360 In: Fasham MJR (eds) Flows of energy and materials in marine ecosystems. Plenum Publishing

    Google Scholar 

  • Azam F, Cho BC (1987) Bacterial utilization of organic matter in the sea., pp. 261–281 In: (eds) Ecology of microbial communities. Cambridge University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Azam F, Fenchel T, Field JG, Gray JS, Meyer-Reil L A, Thingstad F (1983) The ecological role of water-column microbes in the sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 10:257–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belas R, Simon M, Silverman M (1986) Regulation of lateral flagella gene transcription in Vibrio parahaemolyticus. J Bacteriol 167:210–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergh φ, Bφrsheim KY, Bratbak G, Heldal M (1989) High abundance of viruses found in aquatic environments. Nature 340:467–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biddanda BA, Pomeroy LR (1988) Microbial aggregation and degradation of phytoplankton-derived detritus in seawater. I. Microbial succession. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 42:79–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bjφrnsen PK (1988) Phytoplankton exudation of organic matter: Why do healthy cells do it? Limnol Oceanogr 33:151–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bratbak G, Thingstad TF (1985) Phytoplankton — bacteria interactions: an apparent paradox? Analysis of a model system with both competition and commensalism. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 25:23–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chett I, Mitchell R (1976) Ecological aspects of microbial chemotactic behavior. Ann Rev Microbiol 30:221–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho BC (1988) Significance of bacteria in biogeochemical fluxes in the pelagic ocean. Ph. D. thesis, University of California, San Diego.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho BC, Azam F (1990) Biogeochemical significance of bacterial biomass in the oceans euphotic zone. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 63:253–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson MP, Humphrey B, Marshall KC (1981) Adhesion: a tactic in the survival strategy of a marine vibrio during starvation. Curr Microbiol 6:195–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ducklow HW, Hill SW, Gardner WD (1985) Bacterial growth and the decomposition of particulate organic carbon collected in sediment traps. Cont Shelf Res 4: 445–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuhrman JA, Sleeter TD, Carlson C, Proctor LM (1989) Dominance of bacterial biomass in the Sargasso Sea and its ecological implications. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 57:207–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldman JC (1984) Conceptual role for microaggregates in pelagic waters. Bull Mar Sci 35:462–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottschalk G (ed) (1986) Bacterial Metabolism. Springer-Verlag New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollibaugh JT, Azam F (1983) Microbial degradation of dissolved proteins in seawater. Limnol Oceanogr 28:1104–1116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoppe H-G (1984) Attachment of bacteria: advantage or disadvantage for survival in the aquatic environment., pp. 283–301 In: Marshall KC (ed) Microbial adhesion and aggregation. Springer

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Iturriaga R, Mitchell BG (1986) Chroococcoid cyanobacteria: a significant component in the food web dynamics of the open ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 28:291–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson GA (1989) Simulation of bacterial attraction and adhesion to falling particles in an aquatic environment. Limnol Oceanogr 34:514–530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen JT, Azam F (1984) Role of bacteria in copepod fecal pellet decomposition: colonization, growth rates and mineralization. Bull Mar Sci 35:495–502

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson PW, Xu H-S, Sieburth JMcN (1982) The utilization of chroococcoid cyanobacteria by marine protozooplankters but not by calanoid copepods. Ann Inst Oceanogr Paris 58:297–308

    Google Scholar 

  • Karl DM, Knauer GA, Martin JH (1988) Downward flux of particulate organic matter in the ocean: a particle decomposition paradox. Nature 332:438–441

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirchman DL (1983) The production of bacteria attached to particles suspended in a freshwater pond. Limnol. Oceanogr. 28:858–872

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koike I, Shigemitsu H, Kazuki T, Kogure K (1990) Role of sub-micrometre particles in the ocean. Nature 345:242–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laws EA, Redalje DG, Haas LW, Bienfang PK, Eppley RW, Harrison WG, Karl DM, Marra J (1984) High phytoplankton growth rates in oligotrophic Hawaiian coastal waters. Limnol Oceanogr 29:1161–1169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy JJ, Goldman JC (1979) Nitrogenous nutrition of marine phytoplankton in nutrient-depleted waters. Science 203:670–672

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell JG, Okubo A, Fuhrman JA (1985) Microzones surrounding phytoplankton form the basis for a stratified marine microbial ecosystem. Nature 316:58–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell JG, Okubo A, Fuhrman JA (1990) Gyrotaxis as a new mechanism for generating spatial heterogeneity and migration in microplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 35:123–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mykelstad S (1977) Production of carbohydrates by marine planktonic diatoms. II. Influence of the N/P ratio n the growth medium on the assimilation ratio, growth rate, and production of cellular and extracellular carbohydrates by Chaetoceros affinis var. willei (Gran) Hustedt and Skeletonema costatum (Grev.) Cleve. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 29:161–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paerl HW, Gallucci KK (1985) Role of Chemotaxis in establishing a specific nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial-bacterial association. Science 227:647–649

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul JH, DeFlaun MF, Jeffrey WH (1988) Mechanisms of DNA utilization by estuarine microbial populations. Appl Environ Microbiol 54:1682–1688

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedrós-Alió C, Brock TD (1983) The importance of attachment to particles for planktonic bacteria. Arch Hydrobiol 98:354–379

    Google Scholar 

  • Phinney DA, Yentsch CS (1986) The relationship between phytoplankton and light attenuation in ocean waters. SPIE 637 Ocean Optics VIII:321–327

    Google Scholar 

  • Pomeroy LR (1974) The ocean’s food web, a changing paradigm. BioScience 24:499–504

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pomeroy LR, Wiebe WJ (1988) Energetics of microbial food webs. Hydrobiologia 159:7–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Priest FG (ed) (1984) Extracellular enzymes. Van Nostrand Reinhold Wokingham, U.K.

    Google Scholar 

  • Proctor LM, Fuhrman JA (1990) Viral mortality of marine bacteria and cyanobacteria. Nature 343:60–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silver MW, Alldredge AL (1981) Bathypelagic marine snow: deep-sea algal and detrital community. J. Mar. Res. 39:501–530

    Google Scholar 

  • Silver MW, Bruland KW (1981) Differential feeding and fecal pellet composition of salps and pteropods, and the possible origin of deep water flora and olive-green “cells”. Mar Biol 62:263–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon M, Alldredge AL, Azam F (1990) Bacterial carbon dynamics on marine snow. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 65:205–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smetacek V (1985) Role of sinking in diatom life-history cycles: ecological, evolutionary and geological significance. Mar Biol 84:239–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Somville M, Billen G (1983) A method for determining exoproteolytic activity in natural waters. Limnol Oceanogr 28:190–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strickler JR (1982) Calanoid copepods, feeding currents, and the role of gravity. Science 218:158–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suttle CA, Chan AM, Cottrell MT (1990) Infection of phytoplankton by viruses and reduction of primary productivity. Nature 347:467–469

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tupas L, Koike I (1990) Amino acid and ammonium utilization by heterotrophic marine bacteria grown in enriched sea water. Limnol Oceanogr 35:1146–1155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler PA, Kirchman DL (1986) Utilization of inorganic and organic nitrogen by bacteria in marine systems. Limnol Oceanogr 31:998–1009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams PJLeB (1990) The importance of losses during microbial growth: commentary on the physiology, measurement and ecology of the release of dissolved organic material. Mar Microbial Food Webs 4:141–256

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Biology Research Division Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA

    F. Azam & D. C. Smith

Authors
  1. F. Azam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. D. C. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Maurice-Lamontagne, Ministère des Pêches et des Ocèans Canada, 850 Route de la Mer, Mont-Joli, Québec, G5H 3Z4, Canada

    Serge Demers

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1991 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Azam, F., Smith, D.C. (1991). Bacterial Influence on the Variability in the Ocean’s Biogeochemical State: A Mechanistic View. In: Demers, S. (eds) Particle Analysis in Oceanography. NATO ASI Series, vol 27. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75121-9_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75121-9_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-75123-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-75121-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation