Bacteria dispersal by hitchhiking on zooplankton.

ABSTRACT: Microorganisms and zooplankton are both important components of aquatic food webs. Although both inhabit the same environment, they are often regarded as separate functional units that are indirectly connected through nutrient cycling and trophic cascade. However, research on pathogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria has shown that direct association with zooplankton has significant influences on the bacteria's physiology and ecology. We used stratified migration columns to study vertical dispersal of hitchhiking bacteria through migrating zooplankton across a density gradient that was otherwise impenetrable for bacteria in both upward and downward directions (conveyor-belt hypothesis). The strength of our experiments is to permit quantitative estimation of transport and release of associated

SUBMITTER: Grossart HP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2900670 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature