Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

The Role of Microorganisms in a Planktonic Food Web of a Floodplain Lake

  • Microbiology of Aquatic Systems
  • Published:
Microbial Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Food webs include complex ecological interactions that define the flow of matter and energy, and are fundamental in understanding the functioning of an ecosystem. Temporal variations in the densities of communities belonging to the planktonic food web (i.e., microbial: bacteria, flagellate, and ciliate; and grazing: zooplankton and phytoplankton) were investigated, aiming to clarify the interactions between these organisms and the dynamics of the planktonic food web in a floodplain lake. We hypothesized that hydrological pulse determines the path of matter and energy flow through the planktonic food web of this floodplain lake. Data were collected monthly from March 2007 to February 2008 at three different sites in Guaraná Lake (Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil). The path analysis provided evidence that the dynamics of the planktonic food web was strongly influenced by the hydrological pulse. The high-water period favored interactions among the organisms of the microbial loop, rather than their relationships with zooplankton and phytoplankton. Therefore, in this period, the strong interaction among the organisms of the grazing food chain suggests that the microbial loop functions as a sink of matter and energy. In turn, in the low-water period, higher primary productivity appeared to favor different interactions between the components of the grazing food chain and microorganisms, which would function as a link to the higher trophic levels.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from $39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, books and news in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lindeman R (1942) The tropho-dynamic aspect of ecology. Ecology 23:399–418

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Porter KG, FEIG YS (1980) The use of DAPI for identifying and counting aquatic microflora. Limnol Oceanogr 25:943–948

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Fenchel T (2008) The microbial loop—25 years later. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 366:99–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Sherr EB, Sherr BF (1988) Role of microbes in pelagic food webs: a revised concept. Limnol Oceanogr 33:1225–1227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Legendre L, Rassoulzadegan F (1995) Plankton and nutrient dynamics in coastal waters. Ophelia 41:153–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Nielsen TG, Richardson K (1989) Food chain structure of the North Sea plankton communities: seasonal variations of the role of the microbial loop. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 56:75–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. De Wever A (2006) Spatio-temporal dynamics in the microbial food web in Lake Tanganyika. PhD Thesis, University of Ghent.

  10. Shinada A, Ban S, Ikeda T (2008) Seasonal changes in the planktonic food web off Cape Esan, southwestern Hokkaido, Japan. Plankon Benthos Res 3:18–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Junk WJ, Bayley PB, Sparks RE (1989) The flood pulse concept in river-floodplain systems. Can Spec Public Fish Aquat Sci 106:110–127

    Google Scholar 

  12. Neiff JJ (1990) Ideas para la interpretación ecológica del Paraná. Interciencia 15:424–441

    Google Scholar 

  13. Thomaz SM, Pagioro TA, Bini LM, Roberto MC, Rocha RRA (2004) Limnology of the Upper Paraná Floodplain habitats: patterns of spatio-temporal variations and influence of the water levels. In: Agostinho AA, Rodrigues L, Gomes LC, Thomaz SM, Miranda LE (eds) Structure and functioning of the Paraná River and its floodplain. Maringá, EDUEM, pp 37–42

    Google Scholar 

  14. Train S, Rodrigues LC (2004) Phytoplankton assemblages. In: Thomaz SM, Agostinho AA, Hahn NS (eds) The upper Paraná river and its floodplain. Backhuys, Leiden, The Netherlands, pp 103–124

    Google Scholar 

  15. Teixeira MC, Santana NF, Azevedo JCR, Pagioro TA (2008) Padrões de variação do carbono orgânico na planície de inundação do alto rio Paraná. Oecologia Bras 12:57–65

    Google Scholar 

  16. Thomaz SM, Roberto MC, Bini LM (1997) Caracterização limnológica dos ambientes aquáticos e influência dos níveis fluviométricos. In: Vazzoler AEAM, Agostinho AA, Hahn NS (eds) A planície de inundação do alto Rio Paraná: aspectos físicos, biológicos e socioeconômicos. Maringá, EDUEM, pp 73–102

    Google Scholar 

  17. Carvalho P, Thomaz SM, Bini LM (2003) Effects of water level, abiotic and biotic factors on bacterioplankton abundance in lagoons of a tropical floodplain (Paraná River, Brazil). Hydrobiologia 510:67–74

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Arvola L, Salonen K, Rask M (1999) Trophic interactions. In: Keskitalo J, Eloranta P (eds) Limnology of humic waters. Backhuys, Leiden, pp 265–279

    Google Scholar 

  19. Thomaz SM, Lansac-Tôha FA, Roberto MC, Esteves FA, Lima AF (1992) Seasonal variation of some limnological factors of lagoa do Guaraná, a várzea lake of the high Paraná river, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Rev Hydrobiol Trop 25:269–276

    Google Scholar 

  20. Souza-Filho E, Comunello E, Petry AC, Russo MR, Santos AM, Rocha RRA, Leimig RA (2000) Descrição dos locais de amostragem: a planície de inundação do Alto Rio Paraná. Programa PELD/CNPq sítio 6 – Relatório Anual. Available on:< http://www.peld.uem.br/Relat2000/2_2_CompBioticoDesLocAmost.PDF>. Accessed 17 July 2013.

  21. Sherr EB, Sherr BF (1993) Preservation and storage of samples for enumeration of heterotrophic protists. In: Kemp P, Sherr B, Sherr E, Cole J (eds) Current methods in aquatic microbial ecology. Lewis, New York, pp 207–212

    Google Scholar 

  22. Teixeira C, Tundisi JG, Kutner MB (1965) Plankton studies in a mangrove. II: the standing-stock and some ecological factors. Bol Inst Oceanogr 24:23–41

    Google Scholar 

  23. Goltermam HL, Clymo RS, Ohnstad MAM (1978) Methods for physical and chemical analysis of freshwater. Blackwell Scientia, London

    Google Scholar 

  24. Mackereth JFH, Heron J, Talling JF (1978) Water analysis: some revised methods for limnologists. Freshw Biol Assoc Sci Publ 36:121

    Google Scholar 

  25. Weisse T (1991) The annual cycle of heterotrophic freshwater nanoflagellates: role of bottom-up versus top-down control. J Plankton Res 13:167–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Bottrell HH, Duncan A, Gliwicz ZM, Grygierek E, Herzig A, Hillbricht-Ilkowska A, Kurosawa H, Larsson P, Weglenska T (1976) A review of some problems in zooplankton production studies. Norw J Zool 24:419–456

    Google Scholar 

  27. American Public Health Association (1995) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. APHA/WEF/AWWA, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  28. Reynolds CS (2006) The ecology of phytoplankton. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  29. Vasseur DA, Gaedke U, McCann KS (2005) A seasonal alternation of coherent and compensatory dynamics occurs in phytoplankton. Oikos 110:507–514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Manly BFJ (1994) Multivariate statistical methods: a primer. Chapman & Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  31. Jackson DA (1993) Stopping rules in principal component analyses: a comparison of heuristical and statistical approaches. Ecology 74:2204–2214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Borenstein M, Hedges LV, Higgins JPT, Rothstein HR (2009) Introduction to meta-analysis. Wiley, West Sussex, UK

    Book  Google Scholar 

  33. Legendre P, Legendre L (2012) Numerical ecology. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  34. Whittingham MJ, Stephens PA, Bradbury RB, Freckleton RP (2006) Why do we still use stepwise modelling in ecology and behaviour? J Anim Ecol 75:1182–1189

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research. W. H. Freeman, New York

    Google Scholar 

  36. Shipley B (2002) Cause and correlation in biology. A user’s guide to path analysis, structural equations and causal inference. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  37. Wilkinson L (2010) SYSTAT. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Comput Stat 2:256–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Vrede K (2005) Nutrient and temperature limitation of bacterioplankton growth in temperate lakes. Microb Ecol 49:245–56

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Carlsson P, Granéli E, Tester P, Boni L (1995) Influences of riverine humic substances on bacteria, protozoa, phytoplankton, and copepods in a coastal plankton community. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 127:213–321

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Sarvala J, Kankaala P, Zingel P, Arvola L (1999) Zooplankton. In: Keskitalo J, Eloranta P (eds) Limnology of humic waters. Backhuys, Leiden, pp 173–188

    Google Scholar 

  41. Kalinowska K (2004) Bacteria, nanoflagellates and ciliates as components of the microbial loop in three lakes of different trophic status. Pol J Ecol 52:19–34

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Kent AD, Jones SE, Yannarell AC, Graham JM, Lauster GH, Kratz TK, Triplett EW (2004) Annual patterns in bacterioplankton community variability in a humic lake. Microb Ecol 48:550–560

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Sleigh MA (2000) Trophic strategies. In: Leadbeater BSC, Green J (eds) The flagellates. Taylor & Francis, London, pp 147–166

    Google Scholar 

  44. Salonen K, Jokinen S (1988) Flagellate grazing on bacteria in a small dystrophic lake. Hydrobiologia 161:203–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Foissner W, Berger H, Schaumburg J (1999) Identification and ecology of limnetic plankton ciliates. Informationsberichte des Bayerischen Landesamtes für Wasserwirtschaft.

  46. Jack JD, Gilbert JJ (1993) The effect of suspended clay on ciliate population growth rates. Freshw Biol 29:385–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Boenigk J, Novarino G (2004) Effect of suspended clay on the feeding and growth of bacterivorous flagellates and ciliates. Aquat Microb Ecol 34:181–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Muylaert K, Vyverman W (2006) Impact of a flood event on the planktonic food web of the Schelde estuary (Belgium) in spring 1998. Hydrobiologia 559:385–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Cuker BE, Hudson L (1992) Type of suspended clay influences zooplankton response to phosphorus loading. Limnol Oceanogr 37:566–576

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Jones RI (1992) The influence of humic substances on lacustrine planktonic food chains. Hydrobiologia 229:73–91

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Arvola L, Eloranta P, Järvinen M, Keskitalo J, Holopainen AL (1999) Phytoplankton. In: Keskitalo J, Eloranta P (eds) Limnology of humic waters. Backhuys, Leiden, pp 137–171

    Google Scholar 

  52. Smolander U, Arvola L (1988) Seasonal variation in the diel vertical distribution of the migratory alga Cryptomonas marssonii (Cryptophyceae) in a small, highly humic lake. Hydrobiologia 161:89–98

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Rodriguéz P, Pizarro H (2007) Phytoplankton productivity in a highly colored shallow lake of a South American floodplain. Wetlands 27:1153–1160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Jones RI (1988) Vertical distribution and diel migration of flagellated phytoplankton in a small humic lake. Hydrobiologia 161:75–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Joniak T (2007) Seasonal variations of dominant phytoplankton in humic forest lakes. Oceanol Hydrobiol Stud 36:49–59

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Gliwicz M. Zooplankton. In: O´Sullivan PE, Reynolds CS (eds.) The lakes handbook: limnology and limnetic ecology. Oxford: Blackwell; 2004. pp. 461–516.

  57. Lazzaro X (1997) Do the trophic cascade hypothesis and classical biomanipulation approaches apply to tropical lakes and reservoirs? Verh Internat Verein Limnol 26:719–730

    Google Scholar 

  58. Sherr EB, Sherr BF (1994) Bacterivory and herbivory: key roles of phagotrophic protists in pelagic food webs. Microb Ecol 28:223–235

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Sherr EB, Sherr BF (2002) Significant of predation by protists in aquatic microbial food webs. Anton Leeuw Int J G 81:293–308

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Tillmann U (2004) Interactions between planktonic microalgae and protozoan grazers. J Eukaryot Microbiol 51:156–168

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Putland JN, Iverson RL (2007) Microzooplankton: major herbivores in an estuarine planktonic food web. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 345:63–73

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. Sommer U, Stibor H (2002) Copepoda-Cladocera-Tunicata: the role of three major mesozooplankton groups in pelagic food webs. Ecol Res 17:161–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Berman T, Stone L (1994) Musings on the microbial loop: twenty years after. Microb Ecol 28:251–253

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Samuelsson K, Berglund J, Haecky P, Andersson A (2002) Structural changes in an aquatic microbial food web caused by inorganic nutrient addition. Aquat Microb Ecol 29:29–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Hart D, Stone L, Berman T (2000) Seasonal dynamics of the Lake Kinneret food web: the importance of the microbial loop. Limnol Oceanogr 45:350–361

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Laybourn-Parry JEM, Parry JD (2000) Flagellates and the microbial loop. In: Leadbeater BSC, Green J (eds) The flagellates. Taylor & Francis, London, pp 216–239

    Google Scholar 

  67. Järvinen M (2002) Control of plankton and nutrient limitation in small boreal brown-water lakes: evidence from small- and large-scale manipulation experiments. Dissertation, University of Helsinki, Finland.

  68. Hessen DO (1998) Food webs and carbon cycling in humic lakes. In: Hessen DO, Tranvik LJ (eds) Aquatic humic substances. Springer, New York, pp 285–315

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  69. Segovia BT, Pereira DG, Bini LM, Velho LFM (2014) Effects of bottom-up and top-down controls on the temporal distribution of planktonic heterotrophic nanoflagellates are dependent on water depth. Hydrobiologia 736:155–164

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. Gasol JM, Vaqué D (1993) Lack of coupling between heterotrophic nanoflagellates and bacteria: a general phenomenon across aquatic systems? Limnol Oceanogr 38:665–670

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Cole JJ, Carpenter SR, Pace ML, Bogert MCV, Kitchell JL, Hodgson JR (2006) Differential support of lake food webs by three types of terrestrial organic carbon. Ecol Lett 9:558–568

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Ducklow HW, Purdie DA, Williams PJL, Davies JM (1996) Bacterioplankton: a sink for carbon in a coastal plankton community. Science 232:865–867

    Article  Google Scholar 

  73. Cole JJ, Carpenter SR, Kitchell JL, Pace ML (2002) Pathways of organic carbon utilization in small lakes: results from a whole-lake 13C addition and coupled model. Limnol Oceanogr 47:1664–1675

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  74. McManus GB (1991) Flow analysis of a planktonic microbial food web model. Mar Microb Food Webs 5:145–160

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura (Nupelia) and the Graduate Program in Continental Aquatic Environments for logistical support. This project is linked to the Long-Term Ecological Project (LTER)—The Upper Paraná River floodplain: structure and environmental processes were supported by the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq), 230/98. BTS thanks the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for Master Scholarships granted during the development of this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Nupelia, Av. Colombo, 5790-Bloco G90, CEP 87020-900, Maringá, PR, Brazil

    Bianca Trevizan Segovia, Danielle Goeldner Pereira, Bianca Ramos de Meira, Verônica Sayuri Nishida, Fabio Amodêo Lansac-Tôha & Luiz Felipe Machado Velho

  2. Universidade Federal de Goiás, ICB, DE, CEP 74001-970, Goiânia, GO, Brazil

    Luis Mauricio Bini

Authors
  1. Bianca Trevizan Segovia
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Danielle Goeldner Pereira
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Luis Mauricio Bini
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bianca Ramos de Meira
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Verônica Sayuri Nishida
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Fabio Amodêo Lansac-Tôha
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Luiz Felipe Machado Velho
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bianca Trevizan Segovia.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Appendix A

Ciliate species abundance during the potamophase and limnophase, calculated as the mean over the months. (PDF 9 kb)

Appendix B

Phytoplankton species abundance in the potamophase and limnophase, calculated as the mean over the months. (PDF 14 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Segovia, B.T., Pereira, D.G., Bini, L.M. et al. The Role of Microorganisms in a Planktonic Food Web of a Floodplain Lake. Microb Ecol 69, 225–233 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-014-0486-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-014-0486-2

Keywords