You are here:
METHODS OF EXPLORING METABOLIC STRUCTURE AND TAXONOMIC DIVERSITY RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BACTERIOPLANKTON AND PHYTOPLANKTON IN SALT MARSH TIDAL CREEKS
Citation:
SchubauerBerigan, J, E. T. Koepfler, AND A. J. Lewitus. METHODS OF EXPLORING METABOLIC STRUCTURE AND TAXONOMIC DIVERSITY RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BACTERIOPLANKTON AND PHYTOPLANKTON IN SALT MARSH TIDAL CREEKS. Presented at Ninth International Symposium on Microbial Ecology, Amsterdam, 8/2001.
Description:
Bacterial metabolic diversity and phytoplankton community diversity were examined in eight shallow tidal creeks over a two-year period (1997-1998) within North Inlet estuary, South Carolina. The BIOLOG 96-well microplate method was used to assess metabolic diversity of bacteria, while HPLC pigment analysis was used to assess phytoplankton toxonomic structure. Of interest in this study was whether significant spatial or temporal differences in microbial diversity could be related to; creek morphology, landscape setting, seasonal changes, or interannual changes in weather patterns related to El Nino/La Nina cycles. These variables were related to bacterial metabolic structure and phytoplankton community diversity by a series of increasingly refined modeling, statistical analyses, and neural computing approaches. Results indicated strong temporal but weak spatial bariability in bacterial metabolic structure, as well as in HPLC-determined phytoplankton structure. BIOLOG and HPLC were characterized by a series of highly significant statistical relationships indicating the mutual interactions and development of unique consortia among these planktonic components.