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Unimodal patterns of microbial communities with eutrophication in Mediterranean shallow lakes

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Abstract

The role of the microbial communities in the classical planktonic food web and its response to eutrophication in shallow lakes is still contradictory. Mediterranean shallow lakes with different eutrophication levels were sampled to study the influence of eutrophication on the microbial food web (MFW) and their contribution to the planktonic food web. Percentage of ciliate biomass in the metazooplankton (MZP) showed a U-shaped trend with eutrophication, with maximum at both ends of the chlorophyll-a (Chla) gradient. The MZP to phytoplankton ratio demonstrated a unimodal pattern with minimum values at the two ends of the Chla gradient and maximum values in the Chla range 5-10 μg l−1. In contrast, the MFW to phytoplankton ratio reached its minimum in the central part of the Chla gradient and maximum values at the extremes of the gradient. These patterns support the hypothesis that the relative importance of bacteria and ciliates is lowest in mesotrophic shallow lakes, and highest in oligotrophic and hypereutrophic systems. These results stress the importance of protozoan in the trophic web, and indicate it is essential to include this group, especially ciliates, when quantifying zooplankton in warm shallow lakes.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our thanks to Cristina Trigal, Saúl Blanco, Celia de la Vega, Joan Gomá, and all the other members of the limnology group at the University of Leon. We also thank Phaedra Budy for critical reading of the manuscript and valuable comments. This research was funded by the University of León, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (REN2003-03718/HID), and the Castilla y León Government.

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  1. Ecology Section, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of León, 24071, León, Spain

    Ana Conty & Eloy Bécares

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  1. Ana Conty
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Conty, A., Bécares, E. Unimodal patterns of microbial communities with eutrophication in Mediterranean shallow lakes. Hydrobiologia 700, 257–265 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1235-5

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