1. Bacterial growth efficiency in natural aquatic systems
- Author
-
del Giorgio, Paul A. and Cole, Jonathan J.
- Subjects
Plankton -- Environmental aspects ,Bacteria, Heterotrophic -- Environmental aspects ,Marine ecology -- Research ,Microbiological synthesis -- Environmental aspects ,Biological sciences ,Environmental issues - Abstract
Lack of knowledge about bacterial respiration (BR) limits ability to understand the role of bacteria in the carbon cycle of aquatic ecosystems. In the transformation of organic matter, heterotrophic bacteria have two major roles, that of making new bacterial biomass, bacterial secondary production (BP), and that of respiring organic carbon (C) to inorganic, that is BR. A lot has been learned about BP for planktonic bacteria, but little is known about BR. The ecological and physiological bases of the regulation of BGE have been reviewed (BGE = (BP)/(BP + BR)). BGE varies systematically with BP and ecosystem trophic richness. Planktonic bacteria seem to maximize carbon utilization rather than BGE. Maintenance energy costs seem to be highest in oligotrophic systems in consequence.
- Published
- 1998