Regulation of annual variation in heterotrophic bacterial production in the Schelde estuary (SW Netherlands)

Heterotrophic bacterioplankton production (H-3-thymidine incorporation rate) and abundance in the surface water of the Schelde estuary (The Netherlands) were studied during an annual cycle in 1991 along the salinity gradient (0.8 to 33 psu). Bacterial production and numbers increased from the lower to the upper estuary. This spatial variability of bacterial production was positively correlated with concentrations of dissolved and particulate organic carbon and negatively correlated with the oxygen concentration. On an annual scale the ratio gross bacterial production:net primary production was... Mehr ...