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An annual survey of bacterial production, respiration and ectoenzyme activity in coastal NW Mediterranean waters: temperature and resource controls

  • Microbial Ecology of the Continental and Coastal Environments
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Abstract

We simultaneously measured bacterial production (BP), bacterial respiration (BR), alkaline phosphatase activity (phos) and ectoaminopeptidase activity (prot) in relation to biogeochemical parameters, nutritive resources and in situ temperature over a 1-year survey at the long-term observatory the SOLEMIO station (Marseille bay, NW Mediterranean Sea). Despite its proximity to the coast, oligotrophic conditions prevailed at this station (yearly mean of Chl a = 0.43 μg dm−3, NO3 = 0.55 μmol dm−3 and PO4 = 0.04 μmol dm−3). Episodic meteorological events (dominant winds, inputs from the Rhone River) induced rapid oscillations (within 15 days) in temperature and sometimes salinity that resulted in rapid changes in phytoplankton succession and a high variability in C/P ratios within the particulate and dissolved organic matter. Throughout the year, BP ranged from 0.01 to 0.82 μg C dm−3 h−1 and bacterial growth efficiency varied from 1 to 39 %, with higher values in summer. Enrichment experiments showed that BP was limited most of the year by phosphorus availability (except in winter). A significant positive correlation was found between in situ temperature, BP, BR and phos. Finally, we found that temperature and phosphate availability were the main factors driving heterotrophic bacterial activity and thus play a fundamental role in carbon fluxes within the marine ecosystem.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the EC2CO (Ecosphère Continentale et Cotière) program and DEMO2 (Dégradation de la Matière Organique) project. We are very grateful to the crew of the R/V Antedon II for their excellent service at sea and the SOMLIT staff for providing CTD data from SOLEMIO. Ph.D. scholarship to B. Céa was provided by the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region. We also wish to thank Beatrice Beker for her data of the microphytoplankton and Christophe Yohia for his wind direction compass. Special thanks go to Karine Le Blanc, Bernard Queguiner the CYBELE team from MIO for their helpful comments. We are grateful to Dr. Philippe Garrigues for helpful comments on the manuscript and to the reviewer for their useful criticisms. This is a contribution to the SOMLIT network.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) UMR 7294, Aix-Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, IRD, CNRS, Marseille, France

    B. Céa, D. Lefèvre, L. Chirurgien, P. Raimbault, N. Garcia, B. Charrière, G. Grégori, A. Barani, M. Lafont & F. Van Wambeke

  2. Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens, University Perpignan Via Domitia, UMR5110, Perpignan, France

    B. Charrière & G. Grégori

  3. Laboratoire d’Océanographie Biologique de Banyuls, CNRS, UMR 7621, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France

    G. Grégori & J. F. Ghiglione

  4. Laboratoire d’Océanographie Microbienne, Observatoire Océanologique, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR 7621, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France

    G. Grégori & J. F. Ghiglione

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  1. B. Céa
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  2. D. Lefèvre
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  3. L. Chirurgien
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  4. P. Raimbault
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  5. N. Garcia
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  7. G. Grégori
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  8. J. F. Ghiglione
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  9. A. Barani
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  10. M. Lafont
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  11. F. Van Wambeke
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Correspondence to B. Céa.

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Céa, B., Lefèvre, D., Chirurgien, L. et al. An annual survey of bacterial production, respiration and ectoenzyme activity in coastal NW Mediterranean waters: temperature and resource controls. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 13654–13668 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3500-9

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