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Yalçın G, Yıldız D, Calderó-Pascual M, Yetim S, Şahin Y, Parakatselaki ME, Avcı F, Karakaya N, Ladoukakis ED, Berger SA, Ger KA, Jeppesen E, Beklioğlu M. Quality matters: Response of bacteria and ciliates to different allochthonous dissolved organic matter sources as a pulsed disturbance in shallow lakes. Sci Total Environ 2024; 916:170140. [PMID: 38244618 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
Shallow lake ecosystems are particularly prone to disturbances such as pulsed dissolved organic matter (allochthonous-DOM; hereafter allo-DOM) loadings from catchments. However, the effects of allo-DOM with contrasting quality (in addition to quantity) on the planktonic communities of microbial loop are poorly understood. To determine the impact of different qualities of pulsed allo-DOM disturbance on the coupling between bacteria and ciliates, we conducted a mesocosm experiment with two different allo-DOM sources added to mesocosms in a single-pulse disturbance event: Alder tree leaf extract, a more labile (L) source and HuminFeed® (HF), a more recalcitrant source. Allo-DOM sources were used as separate treatments and in combination (HFL) relative to the control without allo-DOM additions (C). Our results indicate that the quality of allo-DOM was a major regulator of planktonic microbial community biomass and/or composition through which both bottom-up and top-down forces were involved. Bacteria biomass showed significant nonlinear responses in L and HFL with initial increases followed by decreases to pre-pulse conditions. Ciliate biomass was significantly higher in L compared to all other treatments. In terms of composition, bacterivore ciliate abundance was significantly higher in both L and HFL treatments, mainly driven by the bacterial biomass increase in the same treatments. GAMM models showed negative interaction between metazoan zooplankton biomass and ciliates, but only in the L treatment, indicating top-down control on ciliates. Ecosystem stability analyses revealed overperformance, high resilience and full recovery of bacteria in the HFL and L treatments, while ciliates showed significant shift in compositional stability in HFL and L with incomplete taxonomic recovery. Our study highlights the importance of allo-DOM quality shaping the response within the microbial loop not only through triggering different scenarios in biomass, but also the community composition, stability, and species interactions (top-down and bottom-up) in bacteria and plankton.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gülce Yalçın
- Limnology Laboratory, Biological Sciences Department, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey; Ecosystem Research and Implementation Center, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
| | - Dilvin Yıldız
- Limnology Laboratory, Biological Sciences Department, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey; Earth System Sciences, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Science, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.
| | - Maria Calderó-Pascual
- Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dundalk, Marshes Upper, Co. Louth A91 K584, Ireland..
| | - Sinem Yetim
- Limnology Laboratory, Biological Sciences Department, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey
| | - Yiğit Şahin
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Ege University, 35100 Izmir, Turkey; Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, 35100, Izmir, Turkey
| | | | - Feride Avcı
- Limnology Laboratory, Biological Sciences Department, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
| | | | - Emmanuel D Ladoukakis
- Department of Biology, University of Crete, Voutes University Campus, 70013 Heraklion, Greece.
| | - Stella A Berger
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Department of Plankton and Microbial Ecology, Zur alten Fischerhuette 2, 16775 Stechlin, Germany.
| | - Kemal Ali Ger
- Department of Ecology (DECOL), Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN 59078-970, Brazil..
| | - Erik Jeppesen
- Limnology Laboratory, Biological Sciences Department, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey; Ecosystem Research and Implementation Center, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey; Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, 8000C Aarhus, Denmark; Sino-Danish Centre for Education and Research (SDC), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Meryem Beklioğlu
- Limnology Laboratory, Biological Sciences Department, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey; Ecosystem Research and Implementation Center, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey.
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Rangel LM, Silva LHS, Faassen EJ, Lürling M, Ger KA. Copepod Prey Selection and Grazing Efficiency Mediated by Chemical and Morphological Defensive Traits of Cyanobacteria. Toxins (Basel) 2020; 12:toxins12070465. [PMID: 32708114 PMCID: PMC7404970 DOI: 10.3390/toxins12070465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Phytoplankton anti-grazer traits control zooplankton grazing and are associated with harmful blooms. Yet, how morphological versus chemical phytoplankton defenses regulate zooplankton grazing is poorly understood. We compared zooplankton grazing and prey selection by contrasting morphological (filament length: short vs. long) and chemical (saxitoxin: STX- vs. STX+) traits of a bloom-forming cyanobacterium (Raphidiopsis) offered at different concentrations in mixed diets with an edible phytoplankton to a copepod grazer. The copepod selectively grazed on the edible prey (avoidance of cyanobacteria) even when the cyanobacterium was dominant. Avoidance of the cyanobacterium was weakest for the “short STX-” filaments and strongest for the other three strains. Hence, filament size had an effect on cyanobacterial avoidance only in the STX- treatments, while toxin production significantly increased cyanobacterial avoidance regardless of filament size. Moreover, cyanobacterial dominance reduced grazing on the edible prey by almost 50%. Results emphasize that the dominance of filamentous cyanobacteria such as Raphidiopsis can interfere with copepod grazing in a trait specific manner. For cyanobacteria, toxin production may be more effective than filament size as an anti-grazer defense against selectively grazing zooplankton such as copepods. Our results highlight how multiple phytoplankton defensive traits interact to regulate the producer-consumer link in plankton ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luciana M. Rangel
- Laboratório de Ficologia, Museu Nacional, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 20940-040 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; (L.M.R.); (L.H.S.S.)
| | - Lúcia H. S. Silva
- Laboratório de Ficologia, Museu Nacional, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 20940-040 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; (L.M.R.); (L.H.S.S.)
| | - Elisabeth J. Faassen
- Wageningen Food Safety Research, Wageningen Research, Akkermaalsbos 2, 6708 WB Wageningen, The Netherlands;
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Miquel Lürling
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Correspondence: (M.L.); (K.A.G.)
| | - Kemal Ali Ger
- Center for Coastal Limnological and Marine Studies (CECLIMAR), Campus Litoral Norte, Universidade Federal de Rio Grande de Sul, 95625-000 Imbé, Brazil
- Correspondence: (M.L.); (K.A.G.)
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Ger KA, Urrutia-Cordero P, Frost PC, Hansson LA, Sarnelle O, Wilson AE, Lürling M. The interaction between cyanobacteria and zooplankton in a more eutrophic world. Harmful Algae 2016; 54:128-144. [PMID: 28073472 DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2015.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2015] [Revised: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 12/13/2015] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
As blooms of cyanobacteria expand and intensify in freshwater systems globally, there is increasing interest in their ecological effects. In addition to being public health hazards, cyanobacteria have long been considered a poor quality food for key zooplankton grazers that link phytoplankton to higher trophic levels. While past laboratory studies have found negative effects of nutritional constraints and defensive traits (i.e., toxicity and colonial or filamentous morphology) on the fitness of large generalist grazers (i.e., Daphnia), cyanobacterial blooms often co-exist with high biomass of small-bodied zooplankton in nature. Indeed, recent studies highlight the remarkable diversity and flexibility in zooplankton responses to cyanobacterial prey. Reviewed here are results from a wide range of laboratory and field experiments examining the interaction of cyanobacteria and a diverse zooplankton taxa including cladocerans, copepods, and heterotrophic protists from temperate to tropical freshwater systems. This synthesis shows that longer exposure to cyanobacteria can shift zooplankton communities toward better-adapted species, select for more tolerant genotypes within a species, and induce traits within the lifetime of individual zooplankton. In turn, the function of bloom-dominated plankton ecosystems, the coupling between primary producers and grazers, the stability of blooms, and the potential to use top down biomanipulation for controlling cyanobacteria depend largely on the species, abundance, and traits of interacting cyanobacteria and zooplankton. Understanding the drivers and consequences of zooplankton traits, such as physiological detoxification and selective vs. generalist grazing behavior, are therefore of major importance for future studies. Ultimately, co-evolutionary dynamics between cyanobacteria and their grazers may emerge as a critical regulator of blooms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kemal Ali Ger
- Department of Ecology, Center for Biosciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, RN, Brazil.
| | - Pablo Urrutia-Cordero
- Center for Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Paul C Frost
- Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Orlando Sarnelle
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, 163A Natural Resources Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Alan E Wilson
- School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Miquel Lürling
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands; Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology - Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Ger KA, Faassen EJ, Pennino MG, Lürling M. Effect of the toxin (microcystin) content of Microcystis on copepod grazing. Harmful Algae 2016; 52:34-45. [PMID: 28073469 DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2015.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Revised: 12/22/2015] [Accepted: 12/22/2015] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Although phytoplankton chemical defense may regulate plankton dynamics, demonstrating an ecologically relevant anti-grazer cue is challenging. Presented here is a novel approach to evaluate the quantitative effect of microcystin (MC), the most studied group of cyanobacterial metabolites, on grazing by the common copepod Eudiaptomus gracilis. A temperature-induced gradient in the intracellular MC concentration of three different Microcystis strains enabled the comparison of grazing pressure on cells of the same cyanobacterial strain producing different amounts of MC, in a diet with alternative food (Chlamydomonas). In all treatments, grazing pressure on Microcystis was inversely related to its MC-LR content, while selection for alternative prey was positively related to the MC-LR content of Microcystis. Moreover, grazing on Chlamydomonas also declined with increasing Microcystis MC-LR content, suggesting toxicity related inhibition of E. gracilis. The negative relation between cellular MC-LR concentration and feeding responses supported the anti-grazer hypothesis. Not all MC variants responded to temperature, and some were therefore not associated to grazing responses. Using an induced gradient in the concentration of a suspected phytoplankton defense metabolite to evaluate its quantitative relationship with grazing pressure offers an improved inference on the ecological roles of toxins. Results suggest that either MC-LR or a correlating trait may be inversely linked to the grazer pressure on Microcystis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kemal Ali Ger
- Department of Ecology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Lagoa Nova, Natal, RN, Brazil; Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Lagoa Nova, Natal, RN, Brazil.
| | - Elisabeth J Faassen
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Maria Grazia Pennino
- Department of Ecology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Lagoa Nova, Natal, RN, Brazil
| | - Miquel Lürling
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands; Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology - Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Ursem C, Evans CS, Ger KA, Richards JR, Derlet RW. Surface Water Quality along the Central John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains: Coliforms and Algae. High Alt Med Biol 2009; 10:349-55. [PMID: 20039816 DOI: 10.1089/ham.2009.1037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Carling Ursem
- Columbia University School of Medicine, New York, NY
| | | | | | | | - Robert W. Derlet
- University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
- John Muir Institute of the Environment, Davis, CA
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