Zooplankton carcasses stimulate microbial turnover of allochthonous particulate organic matter.

ABSTRACT: Carbon turnover in aquatic environments is dependent on biochemical properties of organic matter (OM) and its degradability by the surrounding microbial community. Non-additive interactive effects represent a mechanism where the degradation of biochemically persistent OM is stimulated by the provision of bioavailable OM to the degrading microbial community. Whilst this is well established in terrestrial systems, whether it occurs in aquatic ecosystems remains subject to debate. We hypothesised that OM from zooplankton carcasses can stimulate the degradation of biochemically persistent leaf material, and that this effect is influenced by the daphnia:leaf OM ratio and the complexity of the degrading microbial community. Fresh Daphnia magna carcasses and ¹³C-labelled maize leaves (

SUBMITTER: Neubauer D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8163850 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature