Preliminary evidence for the organisation of a bacterial community by zooplanktivores at the top of an estuarine planktonic food web

Wasserman, Ryan J; Matcher, Gwynneth F; Vink, Tim J F; Froneman, P William

Title: Preliminary evidence for the organisation of a bacterial community by zooplanktivores at the top of an estuarine planktonic food web
Creator: Wasserman, Ryan J
Creator: Matcher, Gwynneth F
Creator: Vink, Tim J F
Creator: Froneman, P William
Date Issued: 2015
Date: 2015
Type: text
Type: article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68237
Identifier: vital:29222
Identifier: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-014-0505-3
Description: Publisher version
Description: As part of a larger investigation, the effect of apex predation on estuarine bacterial community structure, through trophic cascading, was investigated using experimental in situ mesocosms. Through either the removal (filtration) or addition of specific size classes of planktonic groups, four different trophic scenarios were established using estuarine water and its associated plankton. One such treatment represented a “natural” scenario in which stable apex predatory pressure was qualified. Water samples were collected over time from each of the treatments for bacterial community evaluation. These samples were assessed through pyrosequencing of the variable regions 4 and 5 of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene and analysed at the species operational taxonomic unit (OTU) level using a community procedure. The blue-green group dominated the samples, followed by Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Samples were the most similar among treatments at the commencement of the experiment. While the bacterial communities sampled within each treatment changed over time, the deviation from initial appeared to be linked to the treatment trophic scenarios. The least temporal deviation-from-initial in bacterial community was found within the stable apex predatory pressure treatment. These findings are consistent with trophic cascade theory, whereby predators mediate interactions at multiple lower trophic levels with consequent repercussions for diversity.
Format: 9 pages
Format: pdf
Publisher: Springer US
Language: English
Relation: Microbial Ecology
Relation: Wasserman, R.J., Matcher, G.F., Vink, T.J.F. and Froneman, P.W. (2015) Preliminary evidence for the organisation of a bacterial community by zooplanktivores at the top of an estuarine planktonic food web. Microbial Ecology, 69: 245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-014-0505-3
Relation: Microbial Ecology volume 69 number 2 245 253 2015 1432-184X
Rights: Springer Science+Business Media
Rights: Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the National Library of South Africa Copyright Act (http://www.nlsa.ac.za/downloads/Copyright Act.pdf)

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Matcher, Gwynneth (Dr)

Wasserman, Ryan J (Assoc Prof)

Froneman, Pierre William (Prof)

RU South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB)

RU Department of Zoology and Entomology

SDG 14. Life Below Water

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