engleski

Changes in particulate and dissolved organic matter in nutrient-enriched enclosures from an area influenced by mucilage: the northern Adriatic Sea

Our study examined the partitioning of organic matter into particulate organic carbon (POC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pools in nutrient enriched enclosures containing natural plankton from the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic), area affected by mucilage phenomenon. Maximal bacterial biomass attained roughly double the initial value, while autotrophic carbon increased by nearly an order of magnitude. The microflagellate-dominated community released more organic carbon per unit biomass than diatom-dominated phytoplankton. Organic carbon partitioning during two experiments in which diatoms prevailed was dominated by POC (>800 mgC l-1) in the exponential growth phase with an increasing contribution of particulate carbohydrates that paralleled gradual nutrient depletion. Transition to the stationary phase and the decay of autotrophic communities was accompanied by the net accumulation of a carbohydrate-rich dissolved organic carbon pool.

phytoplankton; organic matter; mucilage; Adriatic Sea

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