Heterotrophic utilization of extracellular products of phytoplankton in a tropical estuary

Abstract

Bacterial uptake of algal exudates has been estimated in a tropical estuary, Dona Paula, where the seasonal fluctuations in hydrographic and nutrient parameters as well as dissolved organic matter concentrations and phytoplankton species composition are dominated by the monsoon regime. A close coupling existed between algal and bacterial trophic levels. Algal exudation products were rapidly assimilated with short turnover times. An average 80% of the excreted material was removed by heterotrophic bacteria and there was a significant correlation between algal extracellular production and net bacterial uptake of algal exudates. © 1991 Oxford University Press.