The ecological significance of sinking to planktonic bacteria.
Morphological and density measurements were made on planktonic bacteria from a subalpine lake. The observations were then used to predict in situ sinking rates from certain theoretical considerations. The predicted rates agreed well with observed sinking rates (on the order of 1 mm day-1). A simple analysis showed that sinking terms can be neglected in explaining distributions of unattached bacteria, except perhaps in relation to the presence of "bacterial plates."
D001419:Bacteria / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D002140:California; D002499:Centrifugation, Density Gradient; D004463:Ecology; D005618:Fresh Water; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; D008954:Models, Biological; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000254:growth & development*; D010933:Plankton / Q000254:growth & development*; D012621:Seasons; D014871:Water Microbiology