Nanoflagellates in the Gdańsk Basin: coexistence between forms belonging to different trophic types

Nanoflagellates are important bacterivores, but their role isoften underestimated because forms capable of phagotrophy andcontaining chlorophyll (mixotrophs) are excluded from analyses.Research conducted in the coastal zone of the Gdańsk Basin (BalticSea) revealed seasonal changes in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Krzysztof Rychert
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences 2006-06-01
Series:Oceanologia
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Online Access:http://www.iopan.gda.pl/oceanologia/48_2.html#A10
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Summary:Nanoflagellates are important bacterivores, but their role isoften underestimated because forms capable of phagotrophy andcontaining chlorophyll (mixotrophs) are excluded from analyses.Research conducted in the coastal zone of the Gdańsk Basin (BalticSea) revealed seasonal changes in the relationship between thebiomasses of small (1-8 µm) nanoflagellates with (NFChl+)and without chlorophyll (NFChl-). Three distinct patterns weredistinguished: (i) spring, when the biomass of NFChl+ was lowerthan that of NFChl-, (ii) summer and autumn, when NFChl+ weredominant (about 90%), and (iii) late autumn and winter, whenthe prevalence of NFChl+ was lower (71-79\%). Additional studiesshowed the existence of spatial differences in the compositionof the nanoflagellate community. These spatial differences werenot shaped by freshwater input. The possible importance of mixotrophicforms in the Gdańsk Basin is discussed.
ISSN:0078-3234