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Bacterioneuston Abundance and Physicochemical Properties of the Surface Microlayer of Lake Baikal

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Abstract—The aquatic surface microlayer at the interface between the atmosphere and the hydrosphere occupies 70% of the Earth’s surface, covering all water bodies. The surface microlayer is about 50 μm thick. The special microbial community formed here is referred to as neuston. The total bacterial abundance in the surface microlayer (SML) and underlying waters (UW) of Lake Baikal was studied by epifluorescence microscopy. The physicochemical features of the surface microlayer of Lake Baikal have been established for the first time. SML was sampled throughout all of Lake Baikal in May–June of 2013–2016 and in August of 2013, 2015, and 2016. SML samples were taken from a boat with Garret’s metal mesh screen (26.5 cm in diameter) mostly in calm weather. The average values of total bacterial abundance in SML varied from year to year within the range of (0.93–1.49) × 106 cells/mL in May–June and (1.73–2.24) × 106 cells/mL in August; in the UW (at a depth of about 15–20 cm), these values were 0.79–0.89 × 106 cells/mL in May–June and 1.15–1.4 × 106 cells/mL in August. There was a significant difference and direct relationship between the total abundances of neuston and plankton bacteria of Lake Baikal in the summer period. The differences in chemical composition between the surface microlayer and the subsurface water layer were revealed in all the seasons under study. The surface microlayer was enriched in \({\text{PO}}_{4}^{{3 - }}\), total organic carbon, and suspended particulate matter compared to the underlying water layers. There was a direct relationship between bacterial numbers in the surface microlayer and the concentration of suspended particulate matter.

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Funding

This work was carried out in the framework of State Assignment no. 0345-2016-0003 (AAAA-A16-116122110061-6) “Microbial and Viral Communities in the Biofilms of Freshwater Ecosystems…” (sampling, counting the number of cultivated heterotrophic bacteria), project no. 0345-2016-0008 (AAAA-A16-116122110065-4) “Assessment of the Ecological State of Lake Baikal…” (analysis of the chemical composition of water), and supported in part by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 18-34-00309) (counting the total number of bacteria).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Limnological Institute, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 664033, Irkutsk, Russia

    A. D. Galachyants, I. V. Tomberg, Yu. R. Shtykova, E. V. Sukhanova, M. Yu. Suslova, E. A. Zimens, V. V. Blinov, M. V. Sakirko, V. M. Domysheva & O. I. Belykh

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  1. A. D. Galachyants
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  2. I. V. Tomberg
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  3. Yu. R. Shtykova
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  4. E. V. Sukhanova
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  5. M. Yu. Suslova
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  6. E. A. Zimens
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  7. V. V. Blinov
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  8. M. V. Sakirko
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  9. V. M. Domysheva
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Correspondence to A. D. Galachyants.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies involving animals or human participants performed by any of the authors.

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Translated by E. Makeeva

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Galachyants, A.D., Tomberg, I.V., Shtykova, Y.R. et al. Bacterioneuston Abundance and Physicochemical Properties of the Surface Microlayer of Lake Baikal. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 46, 1377–1381 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359019100108

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