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JPR Advance Access published online on May 25, 2006
Journal of Plankton Research, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbl010
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received March 13, 2006
Accepted May 9, 2006

Article

Variability in microbial population dynamics between similarly perturbed mesocosms

J. Martínez-Martínez 1, S. Norland 2, T.F. Thingstad 2, D.C. Schroeder 3, G. Bratbak 2, W.H. Wilson 1, and A. Larsen 2 *

1 Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3DH, UK
2 Department of Biology, Jahnebakken 5, University of Bergen, P. Box 7800, N-5020 Bergen, Norway
3 Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
A. Larsen, E-mail: aud.larsen{at}bio.uib.no


  Abstract

Mesocosm experiments are important for studies of the pelagic ecosystem; and reproducibility of population dynamics and the effect of enclosing the water mass are essential aspects of such experiments. Nine mesocosms manipulated with daily nutrient additions were divided in three treatment groups, each of three units. All units were filled on the same day, but the three treatment groups differed in the timing of the start of nutrient additions. Abundance of phytoplankton, viruses and bacteria were followed for 12 days after filling, and 80% of the variance was ascribed to the population dynamics initiated by the nutrient perturbation, only 3% to the difference in the starting time of the perturbation, and 1 % to the placement of individual mesocosms at the raft. Although within-groups variance of nutrient perturbation was small, there was a continuous increase over time, demonstrating a tendency for mesocosms to slowly diverge. We conclude that the transient response induced by the experimental perturbation strongly dominate the observed abundance variations, and that, although present, the effects of delaying the onset of nutrient perturbation and of differences in along-raft position of the mesocosms were comparatively much smaller. Consequences for design of numerical models of microbial population dynamics are discussed.

Communicating Editor: KJ Flynn


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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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