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Top-down control on plankton components in an Antarctic pond: experimental approach to the study of low-complexity food webs

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Abstract

In order to address the top-down effect on the different phytoplankton size-fractions and ciliates, a survey at microcosm scale was conducted in a hypertrophic Antarctic pond, testing the hypotheses that (1) the picophytoplankton is regulated by a top-down control exerted by organisms of the bigger size-fractions, and (2) the nanoplankton fraction (algae and ciliates) is not regulated by a top-down control exerted by the microplankton. The treatments enclosed pond water that was filtered to obtain the different plankton sizes: (a) through 55 μm, (b) 20 μm, and (c) 3 μm pore size filters. The variation in the net growth rate (k′) of the phytoplankton size-fractions and ciliates was analysed after 4 days. The results determined a significant difference (P<0.011) in the k′ value of the picophytoplankton when nano and micro-sized fractions where removed. Conversely, nanophytoplankton and nanociliates were not affected by the removal of bigger size-fractions. We suggest that in this pond the top-down control of the picophytoplankton is relevant, and that the grazing impact is not a key factor in the regulation of the nano-sized (algae and ciliates) plankton components.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the Instituto Antártico Argentino, the University of Buenos Aires and a grant from the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica ANPCYT (BID 802/OC-AR-PICT 04540). We are grateful to the members of Esperanza Station (CAV 2002) for the logistic support, and to Dr. E. Ermolin and Mr. L. Cataldo for their cooperation in the field tasks. Thanks are due to Dr. I. Izaguirre and to two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Luz Allende & Haydée Pizarro

  2. CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Luz Allende & Haydée Pizarro

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  1. Luz Allende
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  2. Haydée Pizarro
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Correspondence to Luz Allende.

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Allende, L., Pizarro, H. Top-down control on plankton components in an Antarctic pond: experimental approach to the study of low-complexity food webs. Polar Biol 29, 893–901 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0129-2

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