Seasonal coupling between ciliate and phytoplankton standing stocks in the South Slough of Coos Bay,Oregon |
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| Authors: | Richard J Cowlishaw |
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| Institution: | (1) Institute for Limnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Mondseestr. 9, A-5310 Mondsee, Austria |
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| Abstract: | The standing stocks of ciliates and phytoplankton together with physical variables (temperature and density) were measured
biweekly from March 6, 1999, to March 22, 2000, in the marine-dominated region of the South Slough, the southern arm of the
Coos Bay estuary (Oregon, United States). The abundance and biomass of naked ciliates correlated significantly with phytoplankton
<5 μm (ultraphytoplankton) biomass throughout the sampling periods and with total phytoplankton biomass between October and
march; possibly due to a compositional shift in the >5 μm phytoplankton fraction from diatoms in the spring-summer period
to flagellates during this fall-winter period. Temperature could explain 49% of the variation of ultraphytoplankton and naked
ciliate biomass across seasons and may be important in determining the rate of the ciliate numerical response to increases
in ultraphytoplankton and its assimilation into ciliate biomass. High standing stocks of ciliates, their strong coupling with
ultraphytoplankton across seasons, and the relatively higher contribution of ciliate carbon to the ciliate and >5 μm phytoplankton
carbon pool in the October–March period suggest that ciliates are a significant component to the South Slough food web and
may be particularly important during seasons of reduced phytoplankton biomass. |
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