Metabolic activity of Planktothrix rubescens and its consequences on oxygen dynamics in laboratory experiment: A stable isotope study.

Fluctuations in dissolved oxygen (DO) contents in natural waters can become intense during cyanobacteria blooms. In a reconnaissance study, we investigated DO concentrations and stable isotope dynamics during a laboratory experiment with the cyanobacterium Planktothrix rubescens in order to obtain insights into primary production under specific conditions. This observation was extended to sub-daily timescales with alternating light and dark phases. Dissolved oxygen concentrations and its isotopes (δ18ODO) ranged from 0.02 to 0.06 mmol · L-1 and from +9.6‰ to +23.4‰. The δ18ODO proved to be more sensitive than concentration measurements in response to metabolic variation and registered earlier shifts to dominance by respiration. Oxygen (O2) contents in the headspace and its isotopes (δ18OO2) ranged from 2.62 to 3.20 mmol · L-1 and from +9.8‰ to +21.9‰. Headspace samples showed less fluctuations in concentration and isotope trends because aquatic processes were hardly able to alter signals once the gas had reached the headspace. Headspace δ18OO2 values were corrected for gas-water equilibration and were determined to be higher than the mean δ18OH2O of -8.7‰. This finding suggests that counteracting respiration was important even during the highest photosynthetic activity. Additionally, headspace analyses led to the definition of a fractionation factor for respiration (αR) of this cyanobacterium with a value of 0.980. This value confirms the one commonly used for cyanobacteria. Our findings may become important for the management of water bodies where decreases in DO are caused by cyanobacteria.

Unexpected release of phosphate and organic carbon to streams linked to declining nitrogen depositions.

Reductions in emissions have successfully led to a regional decline in atmospheric nitrogen depositions over the past 20 years. By analyzing long-term data from 110 mountainous streams draining into German drinking water reservoirs, nitrate concentrations indeed declined in the majority of catchments. Furthermore, our meta-analysis indicates that the declining nitrate levels are linked to the release of dissolved iron to streams likely due to a reductive dissolution of iron(III) minerals in riparian wetland soils. This dissolution process mobilized adsorbed compounds, such as phosphate, dissolved organic carbon and arsenic, resulting in concentration increases in the streams and higher inputs to receiving drinking water reservoirs. Reductive mobilization was most significant in catchments with stream nitrate concentrations <6 mg L-1 . Here, nitrate, as a competing electron acceptor, was too low in concentration to inhibit microbial iron(III) reduction. Consequently, observed trends were strongest in forested catchments, where nitrate concentrations were unaffected by agricultural and urban sources and which were therefore sensitive to reductions of atmospheric nitrogen depositions. We conclude that there is strong evidence that the decline in nitrogen deposition toward pre-industrial conditions lowers the redox buffer in riparian soils, destabilizing formerly fixed problematic compounds, and results in serious implications for water quality.

Does iron reduction control the release of dissolved organic carbon and phosphate at catchment scales? Need for a joint research effort.

Increasing concentrations of dissolved iron and DOC are likely linked to decreasing nitrogen depositon.

Tracing Aquatic Priming Effect During Microbial Decomposition of Terrestrial Dissolved Organic Carbon in Chemostat Experiments.

Microbial decomposition of terrestrial carbon may be enhanced by the addition of easily decomposable compounds, a phenomenon referred to as priming effect. We investigated the microbial decomposition of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in one-stage and two-stage flow-through cultures (chemostats) in the absence and presence of growing phytoplankton as phytoplankton-derived organic matter might facilitate the mineralization of more refractory terrestrial compounds. Peat water and soil leachate were used as terrestrial substrates, and only slight DOC decomposition was observed in the absence of phytoplankton for both substrates. A priming effect was revealed via 14C data. Priming was more pronounced for the peat water substrate than for the soil leachate. The total DOC concentrations increased for both substrates in the presence of phytoplankton due to exudation and cell lysis. Samples from the soil leachate experiments were analyzed using ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). Predominantly, the same saturated, aliphatic molecules with H/C ratios >1.5 were completely decomposed in the absence and in the presence of phytoplankton. The decomposition of more stable molecules differed in their intensity. Oxidized and unsaturated molecules with H/C ratios <1.0 and O/C ratios >0.4 were more strongly decomposed in phytoplankton presence (i.e., under priming). We conclude that an aquatic priming effect is not easily detectable via net concentration changes alone, and that qualitative investigations of the DOC processed by bacterial decomposition are necessary to detect aquatic priming.

Effects of light and autochthonous carbon additions on microbial turnover of allochthonous organic carbon and community composition.

The fate of allochthonous dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in aquatic systems is primarily controlled by the turnover of heterotrophic bacteria. However, the roles that abiotic and biotic factors such as light and DOC release by aquatic primary producers play in the microbial decomposition of allochthonous DOC is not well understood. We therefore tested if light and autochthonous DOC additions would increase allochthonous DOC decomposition rates and change bacterial growth efficiencies and community composition (BCC). We established continuous growth cultures with different inocula of natural bacterial communities and alder leaf leachates (DOCleaf) with and without light exposure before amendment. Furthermore, we incubated DOCleaf together with autochthonous DOC from lysed phytoplankton cultures (DOCphyto). Our results revealed that pretreatments of DOCleaf with light resulted in a doubling of bacterial growth efficiency (BGE), whereas additions of DOCphyto or combined additions of DOCphyto and light had no effect on BGE. The change in BGE was not accompanied by shifts in the phylogenetic structure of the BCC, but BCC was influenced by the DOC source. Our results highlight that a doubling of BGE is not necessarily accompanied by a shift in BCC and that BCC is more strongly affected by resource properties.

Lagrangian profiles of riverine autotrophy, organic matter transformation, and micropollutants at extreme drought.

On their way from inland to the ocean, flowing water bodies, their constituents and their biotic communities are exposed to complex transport and transformation processes. However, detailed process knowledge as revealed by Lagrangian measurements adjusted to travel time is rare in large rivers, in particular at hydrological extremes. To fill this gap, we investigated autotrophic processes, heterotrophic carbon utilization, and micropollutant concentrations applying a Lagrangian sampling design in a 600 km section of the River Elbe (Germany) at historically low discharge. Under base flow conditions, we expect the maximum intensity of instream processes and of point source impacts. Phytoplankton biomass and photosynthesis increased from upstream to downstream sites but maximum chlorophyll concentration was lower than at mean discharge. Concentrations of dissolved macronutrients decreased to almost complete phosphate depletion and low nitrate values. The longitudinal increase of bacterial abundance and production was less pronounced than in wetter years and bacterial community composition changed downstream. Molecular analyses revealed a longitudinal increase of many DOM components due to microbial production, whereas saturated lipid-like DOM, unsaturated aromatics and polyphenols, and some CHOS surfactants declined. In decomposition experiments, DOM components with high O/C ratios and high masses decreased whereas those with low O/C ratios, low masses, and high nitrogen content increased at all sites. Radiocarbon age analyses showed that DOC was relatively old (890-1870 years B.P.), whereas the mineralized fraction was much younger suggesting predominant oxidation of algal lysis products and exudates particularly at downstream sites. Micropollutants determining toxicity for algae (terbuthylazine, terbutryn, isoproturon and lenacil), hexachlorocyclohexanes and DDTs showed higher concentrations from the middle towards the downstream part but calculated toxicity was not negatively correlated to phytoplankton. Overall, autotrophic and heterotrophic process rates and micropollutant concentrations increased from up- to downstream reaches, but their magnitudes were not distinctly different to conditions at medium discharges.

Terrestrial Vegetation Drives Methane Production in the Sediments of two German Reservoirs.

Inland waters and reservoirs in particular are significant sources of methane to the atmosphere. However, little information is available on the extent to which organic carbon from terrestrial vegetation or from internal photosynthesis fuels the methane production. This limits our ability to constrain methane emissions efficiently. We studied the isotopic composition (13C, 14C) of pelagic and sedimentary carbon sources in two small German reservoirs. The methane was enriched by radiocarbon with isotopic ranges (∆14C 5‰ to 31‰) near to fresh terrestrial organic carbon (OC, 17‰ to 26‰). In contrast, potential source OC produced by internal photosynthesis was characterized by negative ∆14C values (-30‰ and -25‰) as derived from signatures of inorganic carbon in the reservoirs. The particulate OC in stream supplies (terrestrial OC) was also 14C depleted in almost all cases, but highly variable in ∆14C (-131‰ to 42‰). Although the import of terrestrial OC was lower than the amount of OC produced by reservoir-internal photosynthesis, we conclude that the methane production was predominantly fuelled by catchment vegetation. The utilized terrestrial OC was of contemporary origin, fixed within years to decades before sampling and supplemented with reservoir-internal or aged terrestrial OC. Our results indicate that terrestrial biomass is an important driver of methane production in reservoirs receiving significant imports of terrestrial OC.

Polymerized coumaric acid as a model substrate for terrestrial-derived dissolved organic carbon utilized by aquatic microorganisms.

It is now widely accepted that many surface waters receive more terrestrial carbon than assumed in the past, and that aquatic food webs are largely based on the supply of external dissolved organic carbon. However, very little information is available on how efficiently external carbon is utilized by microorganisms and transported to consumers of higher trophic levels. To address this issue, we prepared and tested polymers of 14C-p-coumaric acid (PCA) as a model substrate for terrestrial organic carbon. Photodegradation products that can be considered potential substrates for microorganisms were identified using hyphenated techniques, including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and ion chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (IC/MS). Photolysis of PCA released monomeric phenol derivatives, e.g. 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde. The photolysis products observed were similar to those characteristic for natural organic carbon. Both a heterotrophic bacteria assemblage and a cultured algae strain exhibiting heterotrophic capabilities proved capable of utilizing the model substrate. Irradiation of PCA increased the uptake rate approximately eight times for the bacteria, but no significant increase was observed for the algae. Potential sources of interferences, e.g. the uptake of 14CO2 released by photolysis, were addressed. It was concluded that PCA is a suitable substrate to study the metabolism of terrestrial DOC within aquatic communities.

Natural alkalinity generation in neutral lakes affected by acid mine drainage.

Lakes in surface mining areas are often subject to continuous loads of acid mine drainage. The knowledge of internal alkalinity generation in a lake is necessary to predict if the lake will stay circumneutral or may acidify. The most important processes of alkalinity production in lakes are sulfate reduction, denitrification, and the burial of N in the sediment. By summarizing data from the literature, we present probable rates of these different processes in circumneutral mining lakes. The critical acidity load that can probably be compensated for by internal processes, is 5.09 mmol(-) m(-2) d(-1) in productive lakes and 0.50 mmol(-) m(-2) d(-1) in less productive lakes. Under the assumption that methanogenesis is inhibited by high sulfate concentrations, the highest probable acidity loads in such lakes are 6.85 mmol(-) m(-2) d(-1) and 1.06 mmol(-) m(-2) d(-1), respectively. Denitrification, sulfate reduction, and N burial contributed significantly to total alkalinity production. Sulfate reduction had the largest potential. However, existing models cannot predict alkalinity generation from sulfate concentrations alone because the long-term stability of reduced S compounds in the sediment is crucial for a sustainable biological alkalinity generation. The larger acid-neutralizing potential of higher trophic lakes is caused both by higher rates of microbial activity and by a greater stability of reduced reaction products in the sediment. The largest uncertainties in our knowledge with respect to the total alkalinity budget are related to microbial processes in sulfate-rich freshwater lakes and the long-term stability of reduced reaction products in the sediment.

Linking the mobilization of dissolved organic matter in catchments and its removal in drinking water treatment to its molecular characteristics.

Drinking water reservoirs in the Northern Hemisphere are largely affected by the decadal-long increase in riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. The removal of DOC in drinking water treatment is costly and predictions are needed to link DOC removal efficiency to its mobilization in catchments, both of which are determined by the molecular composition. To study the effect of hydrological events and land use on the molecular characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM), 36 samples from three different catchment areas in the German low mountain ranges, with DOC concentrations ranging from 3 to 32 mg L-1, were examined. Additionally, nine pairs of samples from downstream drinking water reservoirs were analyzed before and after flocculation. The molecular composition and the age of DOM were analyzed using ultrahigh resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) and radiocarbon (14C) analysis. At elevated discharge in a forested catchment comparatively younger, more oxygenated and unsaturated molecules of higher molecular weight were preferentially mobilized, likely linked to the reductive mobilization of iron. DOM with highly similar molecular characteristics (O/C ratio > 0.5, m/z > 500) could also be efficiently removed through flocculation in drinking water treatment. The proportion of DOM removed through flocculation ranged between 43% and 73% of DOC and was highest at elevated discharge. In catchment areas with a higher percentage of grassland and agriculture a higher proportion of DOM molecules containing sulfur and nitrogen was detected, which in turn could be less efficiently flocculated. Altogether, it was shown that DOM that is released during large hydrological events can be efficiently flocculated again, suggesting a reversal of similar chemical mechanisms in both processes. Since the occurrence of heavy rainfall events is predicted to increase in the future, event-driven mobilization of DOC may continue to challenge drinking water production.

A simplified method of recovering CO2 from bacterioplankton respiration for isotopic analysis.

A method for recovering CO2 respired by bacterioplankton for analysis of carbon isotopes was adapted for use with standard laboratory equipment without a technically demanding harvest line. The recovered CO2 was more depleted in (14)C than the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) source, which suggests a selective respiration of older carbon.

Bacterial production and their role in the removal of dissolved organic matter from tributaries of drinking water reservoirs.

Enhanced concentrations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in freshwaters are an increasing problem in drinking water reservoirs. In this study we investigated bacterial DOM degradation rates in the tributaries of the reservoirs and tested the hypotheses that (1) DOM degradation is high enough to decrease DOM loads to reservoirs considerably, (2) DOM degradation is affected by stream hydrology, and (3) phosphorus addition may stimulate bacterial DOM degradation. Bacterial biomass production, which was used as a measure of DOM degradation, was highest in summer, and was usually lower at upstream than at downstream sites. An important proportion of bacterial production was realized in epilithic biofilms. Production of planktonic and biofilm bacteria was related to water temperature. Planktonic production weakly correlated to DOM quality and to total phosphorus concentration. Addition of soluble reactive phosphorus did not stimulate bacterial DOM degradation. Overall, DOM was considerably degraded in summer at low discharge levels, whereas degradation was negligible during flood events (when DOM load in reservoirs was high). The ratio of DOM degradation to total DOM release was negatively related to discharge. On annual average, only 0.6-12% of total DOM released by the catchments was degraded within the tributaries.

Inorganic carbon limitation and mixotrophic growth in Chlamydomonas from an acidic mining lake.

Plankton communities in acidic mining lakes (pH 2.5-3.3) are species-poor because they face extreme environmental conditions, e.g. 150mg l(-1) Fe2+ +Fe3+. We investigated the growth characteristics of the dominant pigmented species, the flagellate Chlamydomonas acidophila, in semi-continuous culture experiments under in situ conditions. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) Low inorganic carbon (IC) concentrations in the epilimnion (e.g. 0.3 mg l(-1)) arising from the low pH limit phototrophic growth (H-1); (2) the additional use of dissolved organic carbon (mixotrophy) leads to higher growth rates under IC-limitation (H-2), and (3) phagotrophy is not relevant (H-3). H-1 was supported as the culture experiments, in situ PAR and IC concentrations indicated that IC potentially limited phototrophic growth in the mixed surface layers. H-2 was also supported: mixotrophic growth always exceeded pure phototrophic growth even when photosynthesis was saturated. Dark growth in filtered lake water illuminated prior to inoculation provided evidence that Chlamydomonas was able to use the natural DOC. The alga did not grow on bacteria, thus confirming H-3. Chlamydomonas exhibited a remarkable resistance to starvation in the dark. The compensation light intensity (ca. 20 micromol photons m(-2) s(-1)) and the maximum phototrophic growth (1.50 d(-1)) fell within the range of algae from non-acidic waters. Overall, Chlamydomonas, a typical r-strategist in circum-neutral systems, showed characteristics of a K-strategist in the stable, acidic lake environment in achieving moderate growth rates and minimizing metabolic losses.

MIXOTROPHIC ALGAE CONSTRAIN THE LOSS OF ORGANIC CARBON BY EXUDATION(1).

Algae of various taxonomic groups are capable of assimilating dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from their environments (mixotrophy). Recently, we reported that, with increasing biomass of mixotrophs, heterotrophic bacteria did not increase. We hypothesized that algal uptake of external DOC may outweigh their release of DOC by exudation (H1). Here, we addressed an alternative hypothesis that algae did not assimilate external DOC but constrained the release of DOC (H2). In chemostat experiments, we cultured the mixotrophic Chlamydomonas acidophila Negoro together with heterotrophic bacteria. As external substrates, we used glucose, which was potentially available for both bacteria and algae, or fructose, which was available only for bacteria. We increased the biomass of algae by the stepwise addition of phosphorus. Bacterial biomass did not increase in experiments using glucose or when fructose was offered, suggesting that mechanisms other than algal mixotrophy (H1) kept concentrations of bacteria low. Measured exudation rates (percent extracellular release, PER) of mixotrophic algae (Cd. acidophila, Chlorella protothecoides W. Krüger) were very low and ranged between 1.0% and 3.5% at low and moderately high phosphorus concentrations. In contrast, an obligately phototrophic alga (Chlamydomonas segnis H. Ettl) showed higher exudation rates, particularly under phosphorus limitation (70%). The results support H2. If mixotrophy is considered as a mechanism to recycle organic exudates from near the cell surface, this would explain why algae retained mixotrophic capabilities although they cannot compete with bacteria for external organic carbon.

ALGAE AS COMPETITORS FOR GLUCOSE WITH HETEROTROPHIC BACTERIA(1).

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) constitutes the bulk of organic carbon in aquatic environments. The importance of DOC utilization by mixotrophic algae is unclear since heterotrophic bacteria are regarded as more efficient users. We tested the hypothesis that algae decrease the DOC concentration in the light to lower levels than in darkness resulting in competitive exclusion of heterotrophic bacteria according to the mechanistic competition theory. We investigated (a) the uptake kinetics of glucose as a model substrate by two cultured algae and mixed bacteria populations, (b) the competition for glucose between algae and bacteria in chemostats, (c) the effect of discontinuous glucose supply in chemostats, and (d) the minimum glucose concentrations achieved in cultures of algae and bacteria. Bacteria showed higher specific-glucose-uptake rates than algae. In chemostats, algae became extinct in the dark and coexisted in the light where they decreased bacteria to lower densities. Discontinuous glucose supply promoted the algae compared to continuous substrate addition. Several algae consumed glucose to lower concentrations in the dark than in the light and showed lower or equal residual glucose concentrations than bacteria. Residual concentrations were not related to allometric traits (cell volume) and photosynthetic potential (chl content). Overall, the hypothesis was not supported, and mechanisms of competition for DOC obviously differed from those for particulate prey. However, since some algae showed lower or equal residual glucose concentrations than bacteria, algal dark uptake of DOC may be important in deep layers of many waters.

Mixotrophs combine resource use to outcompete specialists: implications for aquatic food webs.

The majority of organisms can be grouped into those relying solely on photosynthesis (phototrophy) or those relying solely on the assimilation of organic substances (heterotrophy) to meet their requirements for energy and carbon. However, a special life history trait exists in which organisms combine both phototrophy and heterotrophy. Such "mixotrophy" is a widespread phenomenon in aquatic habitats and is observed in many protozoan and metazoan organisms. The strategy requires investment in both photosynthetic and heterotrophic cellular apparatus, and the benefits must outweigh these costs. In accordance with mechanistic resource competition theory, laboratory experiments revealed that pigmented mixotrophs combined light, mineral nutrients, and prey as substitutable resources. Thereby, they reduced prey abundance below the critical food concentration of competing specialist grazers [Rothhaupt, K. O. (1996) Ecology 77, 716-724]. Here, we demonstrate the important consequences of this strategy for an aquatic community. In the illuminated surface strata of a lake, mixotrophs reduced prey abundance steeply. The data suggest that, as a consequence, grazers from higher trophic levels, consuming both the mixotrophs and their prey, could not persist. Thus, the mixotrophs escaped from competition with and losses to higher grazers. Furthermore, the mixotrophs structured prey abundance along the vertical light gradient, creating low densities near the surface and a pronounced maximum of their algal prey at depth. Such deep algal accumulations are typical features of nutrient-poor aquatic habitats, previously explained by resource availability. We hypothesize instead that the mixotrophic grazing strategy is responsible for deep algal accumulations in many aquatic environments.