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Carbon flow dynamics in the pelagic community of the Sau Reservoir (Catalonia, NE Spain)

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Abstract

Changes in the pelagic community structure and activity along the longitudinal axis of the eutrophic Sau Reservoir (Catalonia, NE Spain) were studied between 1996 and 1999. Samples were taken from several transects from river to dam, measuring dissolved organic carbon (DOC), bacterial abundance and production, chlorophyll a concentration, heterotrophic nanoflagelate (HNF) and ciliate abundances and their grazing rates, and zooplankton density. The role of microbial and classical food chains (i.e., based directly on phytoplankon) were compared in the Sau Reservoir by analysing river-to-dam gradients in biomass and carbon and their temporal changes. The detritic metabolic pathway was more important near to the inflow, due to high allochthonous organic matter loads allowing the rapid development of the microbial food web. Protozoans (HNF and ciliates) consumed most of the bacterial production (i.e., >50%) in the reservoir. As opposed to the systems of lower trophic status ciliate carbon biomass and bacterivory contributions were larger than those of the HNF. We estimated species-specific ciliate growing rates on bacteria and distinguished several periods with high importance of distinct ciliate communities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departament of Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, E-08028, Barcelona, Spain

    M. Comerma, M. Romero & J. Armengol

  2. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Biology, 4 Aigües Ter-Llobregat, Planta del Llobregat, Ctra. Mortorell-Olesa, km 4–6, E-08630, Abrera, Spain E-mail

    J.C. García

  3. Hydrobiological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Na sádkách 7, CZ-37005, Česke Budějovice, Czech Republic

    K. Šimek

  4. Faculty of Biological Sciences, The University of South Bohemia, Na sádkaacute;ch 7, CZ-37005, Česke Budějovice, Czech Republic

    K. Šimek

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Comerma, M., García, J., Romero, M. et al. Carbon flow dynamics in the pelagic community of the Sau Reservoir (Catalonia, NE Spain). Hydrobiologia 504, 87–98 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HYDR.0000008511.45153.aa

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