[The distribution of bacterioplankton and mesozooplankton biomass in the White and Barents Seas coastal water].
The total population density and the biomass of bacterioplankton, mesozooplankton, and phosphate-accumulating bacteria (PAB) were estimated during the 2000-2001 summer-autumn seasons in the coastal waters of the White and Barents Seas, which are subjects to the action of tidal and sea currents, the inflow of riverine waters, and anthropogenic impact. In the shallow estuarine waters with salinities of 6.5-32@1000 near the Chernaya, Pesha, and Pechora River mouths, the population of PAB fluctuated from 0.1 to 9.1 million cells/ml (0-36% of the total bacterial population). In pelagic seawaters, which are low in phosphates (12-50 micrograms/l) and are characterized by an increased iron/phosphorus ratio (2.0-3.6), bacterioplankton amounted to 0.1-1.6 million cells/ml and was mainly represented by small organisms with a volume of 0.08-0.15 micron 3, commonly lacking intracellular polyphosphates. In the pelagic zone of the Barents Sea, the biomass of mesozooplankton (Bz) was comparable with that of bacterioplankton (Bb = 39-175 mg/m3), the Bb/Bz ratio being 1.4-4.6. Off the Varandeiskii, Pechora, and Kolguyev oil terminals, Bb increased to 155-300 mg/m3 and the Bb/Bz ratio rose to 1.4 to 50.3 (with an average value of 20.9), presumably due to the severe anthropogenic impact on these waters. In this case, the dense population of bacterioplankton (0.9-7.6 million cells/ml) was mainly represented by large cells (0.12-0.76 micron 3 in volume), most of which (3-43% of the total bacterioplankton population) contained polyphosphates. The chemical composition of these waters was characterized by an elevated content of the total phosphorus (65-128 micrograms/l) and by a low iron/phosphorus ratio (0.9-1.2).
Chikin
S M
SM
Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms, Ural Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Goleva 13, Perm, 614081 Russia. sergch@ecology.psu.ru
Tarasova
N A
NA
Saralov
A I
AI
Bannikova
O M
OM
D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D018533:Biomass; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005068:Eutrophication; D010710:Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism; D010933:Plankton / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012426:Russia; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D014871:Water Microbiology; D015048:Zooplankton / Q000302:isolation & purification
D010710:Phosphates