Dynamics of virus abundance in coastal seawater

Abstract

The short term dynamics of virus abundance in coastal sea water was investigated by frequent sampling of open ecosystems and of water incubated in bottles in situ. Sampling intervals were 6-10 min. The viral abundance showed significant temporal fluctuations both in situ and in the bottles and it changed in some cases by a factor of 2-4 within 10-20 min. Laboratory incubations showed that production and release of viruses were not induced or stimulated by nutrient addition, high light intensities or transient increase in temperatures ca. 10°C. Our interpretation of these results is that they result from synchronous lysis and release of virus particles from bacterial hosts and a rapid disintegration of these particles when released in sea water.