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Bacterial growth rate and the relative abundance of bacteria to heterotrophic nanoflagellates in the euphotic and disphotic layers in temperate coastal waters of Sagami Bay, Japan

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Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the vertical differences in bacterial growth and grazing pressure on bacteria by heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) and to identify the controlling factors of bacterial growth in temperate coastal waters of Sagami Bay, Japan. In addition to environmental factors, the annual monthly variations in bacterial growth rate (BGR) and the relative abundance of bacteria to HNF (BA/HNFA) were investigated in the euphotic and disphotic layers between May 2012 and May 2013. Significant vertical differences in BGR and BA/HNFA were evident between the two layers during the thermal stratification times of May to October 2012 and April to May 2013. BGR indicated significantly stronger limitation of bacterial growth in the euphotic layer compared to the disphotic layer. In contrast, significantly lower BA/HNFA was observed in the euphotic layer, suggesting significantly higher grazing pressure on bacteria by HNF. However, significant differences in BGR and BA/HNFA were not observed between the two layers from November 2012 to Match 2013, when the water column was well-mixed vertically due to the cooling and wind-induced mixing of surface water. This study indicates that bacteria in the euphotic layer grow less actively and are more vulnerable to predatory grazing by HNF relative to the disphotic layer during the stratification period. Further, multiple regression analyses indicate that bacterial growth was most controlled by the concentrations of chlorophyll a and dissolved organic carbon in the euphotic and disphotic layers, respectively.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to T. Kikuchi (Yokohama National University) for his support in field sampling. We also express our gratitude to K. Hamasaki (The University of Tokyo) and Y. Tada (Hokkaido University) for their support in sample analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Engineering, Soka University, 1-236 Tangi-cho, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-8577, Japan

    Youta Sugai, Kenji Tsuchiya, Victor S. Kuwahara & Tatsuki Toda

  2. Graduate School of Environment and Information Science, Yokohama National University, 79-7 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-Ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 240-8501, Japan

    Shinji Shimode

  3. National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

    Kazuhiro Komatsu & Akio Imai

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  1. Youta Sugai
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  2. Kenji Tsuchiya
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  4. Shinji Shimode
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Correspondence to Youta Sugai.

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Sugai, Y., Tsuchiya, K., Kuwahara, V.S. et al. Bacterial growth rate and the relative abundance of bacteria to heterotrophic nanoflagellates in the euphotic and disphotic layers in temperate coastal waters of Sagami Bay, Japan. J Oceanogr 72, 577–587 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-016-0352-6

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