| 1. |
- Besemer, Katharina, et al.
(author)
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Unraveling assembly of stream biofilm communities
- 2012
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In: The ISME Journal: multidisciplinary journal of microbial ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1751-7362. ; 6:8, s. 1459-1468
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Microbial biofilms assemble from cells that attach to a surface, where they develop into matrix-enclosed communities. Mechanistic insights into community assembly are crucial to better understand the functioning of natural biofilms, which drive key ecosystem processes in numerous aquatic habitats. We studied the role of the suspended microbial community as the source of the biofilm community in three streams using terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism and 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and the 16S rRNA gene (as a measure for the active and the bulk community, respectively). Diversity was consistently lower in the biofilm communities than in the suspended stream water communities. We propose that the higher diversity in the suspended communities is supported by continuous inflow from various sources within the catchment. Community composition clearly differed between biofilms and suspended communities, whereas biofilm communities were similar in all three streams. This suggests that biofilm assembly did not simply reflect differences in the source communities, but that certain microbial groups from the source community proliferate in the biofilm. We compared the biofilm communities with random samples of the respective community suspended in the stream water. This analysis confirmed that stochastic dispersal from the source community was unlikely to shape the observed community composition of the biofilms, in support of species sorting as a major biofilm assembly mechanism. Bulk and active populations generated comparable patterns of community composition in the biofilms and the suspended communities, which suggests similar assembly controls on these populations.
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| 2. |
- Scharnweber, Kristin, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Comprehensive analysis of chemical and biological problems associated with browning agents used in aquatic studies
- 2021
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In: Limnology and Oceanography. - : Wiley. - 1541-5856. ; 19:12, s. 818-835
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Inland waters receive and process large amounts of colored organic matter from the terrestrial surroundings. These inputs dramatically affect the chemical, physical, and biological properties of water bodies, as well as their roles as global carbon sinks and sources. However, manipulative studies, especially at ecosystem scale, require large amounts of dissolved organic matter with optical and chemical properties resembling indigenous organic matter. Here, we compared the impacts of two leonardite products (HuminFeed and SuperHume) and a freshly derived reverse osmosis concentrate of organic matter in a set of comprehensive mesocosm- and laboratory-scale experiments and analyses. The chemical properties of the reverse osmosis concentrate and the leonardite products were very different, with leonardite products being low and the reverse osmosis concentrate being high in carboxylic functional groups. Light had a strong impact on the properties of leonardite products, including loss of color and increased particle formation. HuminFeed presented a substantial impact on microbial communities under light conditions, where bacterial production was stimulated and community composition modified, while in dark potential inhibition of bacterial processes was detected. While none of the browning agents inhibited the growth of the tested phytoplankton Gonyostomum semen, HuminFeed had detrimental effects on zooplankton abundance and Daphnia reproduction. We conclude that the effects of browning agents extracted from leonardite, particularly HuminFeed, are in sharp contrast to those originating from terrestrially derived dissolved organic matter. Hence, they should be used with great caution in experimental studies on the consequences of terrestrial carbon for aquatic systems.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Martin G. I., et al.
(author)
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Effects of sterilization on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) composition and bacterial utilization of DOC from lakes
- 2018
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In: Aquatic Microbial Ecology. - : Inter-Research Science Center. - 0948-3055 .- 1616-1564. ; 82:2, s. 199-208
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sterilization of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is an essential step in research on interactions between DOC and organisms, for example where the effect of different microbial communities on DOC is studied or vice versa. However, few studies have gone beyond acknowledging that sterilization of DOC influences its characteristics. Here, we aimed to provide further knowledge that enables scientists to better tailor their sterilization methods to their research question. To meet this aim, we conducted a sterilization experiment with DOC from 4 boreal lakes treated with 4 sterilization methods, i.e. 2 filtrations (0.2 µm, 0.1 µm) and 2 autoclaving approaches (single and double autoclaving with a single pH adjustment). Quantity and spectroscopic properties of DOC, before and after sterilization, were studied, and DOC was further tested as a substrate for bacterial growth. We found that the filtration methods better preserved the different DOC measures. In contrast, autoclaving caused major inconsistent shifts in both qualitative and quantitative measures of DOC, as well as an increase of the maximum abundance of bacteria in growth experiments. Nonetheless, there remains a trade-off between retaining the quality of DOC and achieving sterile conditions. Therefore, the sterilization method of choice should be guided by the scientific question at hand.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Langenheder, Silke, et al.
(author)
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Growth dynamics within bacterial communities in riverine and estuarine batch cultures
- 2004
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In: Aquatic Microbial Ecology. - : Inter-Research Science Center. - 0948-3055 .- 1616-1564. ; 37, s. 137-148
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We investigated temporal changes in community composition of bacteria growing on riverine dissolved organic carbon. Batch cultures were adjusted to riverine or estuarine salinity levels and inoculated with bacteria from these 2 environments to test whether growth patterns of bacterial taxa are influenced by salinity and/or the source of the inoculum. Changes in bacterial community composition at different stages of the growth phase were studied by 16S rDNA denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Furthermore, the growth dynamics of 7 bacteria previously isolated from the estuary were followed by quantitative DNA-DNA hybridization. Growth dynamics within bacterial communities were significantly influenced by the source of the inoculum but not by salinity, suggesting that slight changes in salinity, to which riverine bacteria are exposed when discharged into the Northern Baltic Sea, are not a major regulating factor of community dynamics. Additionally, our results indicated only minor differences in the appearance and growth of bacteria when examined by quantitative DNA-DNA hybridization, whereas DGGE banding patterns suggested that there were fast- and slow-growing types of bacteria.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Langenheder, Silke, et al.
(author)
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Weak coupling between community composition and functioning of aquatic bacteria
- 2005
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In: Limnology and Oceanography. - : Wiley. - 0024-3590 .- 1939-5590. ; 50:3, s. 957-967
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We performed a batch culture experiment with a factorial design in which sterile water from four lakes and bacterial assemblages (size-fractionated lake water) from the same lakes were set up in all possible combinations. The functional performance (biomass yield, respiration, growth rates, and growth efficiency) of bacterial communities growing in the cultures depended primarily on the type of the medium and to a much lesser extent on the origin of the bacterial assemblage. Functional changes were only partly paralleled by changes in community composition, as indicated by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Similar bacterial communities developed in different cultures as a result of receiving either the same medium or the same inoculum, indicating that bacterial communities are comprised of populations of generalists that can grow under most conditions as well as populations with the life strategy of specialists. However, bacteria originating from a slightly acidic polyhumic lake failed to grow, grew unsteadily, or exhibited an extended lag phase when exposed to media originating from other lakes, indicating that the bacterial community in the polyhumic lake was not able to adapt rapidly to changes in environmental conditions.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Münzner, Karla, 1989-
(author)
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Causes and consequences of Gonyostomum semen blooms
- 2022
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Aquatic ecosystems provide essential ecosystem services, but are also highly vulnerable to global change. Climate change, eutrophication and browning, for example, collectively drive the increase of harmful algal blooms in freshwaters. While cyanobacterial blooms have been intensively studied, blooms caused by other algal species have received far less attention.The aim of my thesis was to increase our understanding of the causes and consequences of the freshwater raphidophyte Gonyostomum semen (Ehrenberg) Diesing, which forms high biomass blooms in lakes all over the world. I used laboratory experiments, field studies and lake monitoring data to investigate how G. semen growth is affected by environmental factors related to water color, and how G. semen blooms affect carbon cycling in lakes.High iron concentration (>200 µg L-1) was found to be a requirement for G. semen growth, but not for bloom formation. Rather, increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration may drive bloom formation, possibly by a combination of providing additional nutrients to lakes as DOC is imported from terrestrial sources, and by reducing light availability for other competing phytoplankton species. Gonyostomum semen can possibly avoid light limitation and form blooms over a wide range of DOC concentration (8 – 20 mg L-1) due to its diel vertical migration and special pigment composition, although there likely exists a DOC threshold at which also G. semen growth becomes light limited.By fixing CO2 through photosynthesis, G. semen did considerably reduce the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in the studied lakes. Furthermore, the relationship between pCO2 and G. semen became stronger with decreasing DOC concentration, suggesting that reduction in pCO2 caused by G. semen is highest in moderately colored lakes (8 – 12 mg DOC L-1). This resulted in temporary reduction in CO2 emission to the atmosphere during summer, though it is unlikely that it changes annual carbon emissions. Organic matter (OM) generated by G. semen was transported to the sediments, though this did not appear to affect carbon burial rates. However, G. semen increased the fraction of autochthonous OM that sank to the sediment, which may result in altered CO2 and methane (CH4) production on a short-term basis.In summary, G. semen growth is dependent on sufficient iron concentrations, while bloom formation is likely controlled by DOC. Blooms temporarily affect in-lake carbon dynamics through increased rates of CO2 fixation via photosynthesis, transport of autochthonous OM to the sediment and subsequent changes in CO2 and CH4 production. Thus, G. semen may contribute to changes in ecosystem functioning in lakes experiencing browning.
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| 10. |
- Münzner, Karla, et al.
(author)
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Effects of a dominant algal species (Gonyostomum semen) on the carbon balance of brown water lakes
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Boreal brown water lakes are typically highly supersaturated with carbon dioxide (CO2) and the role of heterotrophic processes have received intense scientific interest. However, there is an increased occurrence of high biomass algal blooms caused by the raphidophyte Gonyostomum semen in such lakes across Europe. These blooms may counteract CO2 supersaturation and, hence, possibly reduce CO2 emissions. They may even temporarily turn those lakes into carbon sinks, if the produced organic matter (OM) is buried in the sediments. To shed light on this matter, we investigated autochthony and sedimentation rates of OM, greenhouse gas concentrations (CO2, CH4) and G. semen abundances in two brown water lakes during summer. We found that G. semen made considerable contributions to the autochthony of the OM settling to the sediment in both lakes. However, this only led to a decrease of CO2 concentrations in the epilimnion in one of the two lakes, and to no changes in the methane concentrations in the hypolimnion. This is likely because the brown color limits G. semen growth via shading, so that primary production levels rarely become high enough to offset high CO2 concentrations caused by heterotrophy and import. Still, our results indicate that allochthony can be partly counteracted in lakes with high G. semen abundances and sufficient light conditions.
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