Trophic links in the lowland River Meuse (Belgium): assessing the role of bacteria and protozoans in planktonic food webs

Trophic interactions within the plankton of the lowland River Meuse (Belgium) were measured in spring and summer 2001. Consumption of bacteria by protozoa was measured by monitoring the disappearance of 3H-thymidine-labelled bacteria. Metazooplankton bacterivory was assessed using 0.5-µm fluorescent microparticles (FMPs), and predation of metazooplankton on ciliates was measured using natural ciliate assemblages labelled with FMPs as tracer food. Grazing of metazooplankton on flagellates was determined through in situ incubations with manipulated metazooplankton densities. Protozooplankton bac... Mehr ...