The role of microzooplankton grazing in the microbial food web of a tropical mangrove estuary
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-30-2022
Abstract
In the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve (MMFR), the role of microzooplankton (20-200 mu m) grazing on phytoplankton as a channel for carbon transfer to higher trophic levels was investigated. Our results showed that primary production was higher during the southwest monsoon (SWM) (1905 +/- 1478 mu gCl(-1)d(-1)) than in the northeast monsoon (NEM) (708 +/- 474 mu gCl(-1)d(-1)). Microzooplankton grazing was tightly coupled to primary production in both SWM and NEM, accounting for 97% and 68% of primary production, respectively. Both primary production (activation energy: 1.29 +/- 0.54 eV) and microzooplankton grazing (2.05 +/- 0.63 eV) showed temperature dependency, and revealed a shift towards heterotrophy with seawater warming, specifically at temperatures above 32 degrees C. As a conclusion, the microbial food web in MMFR is characterised by high primary production that was efficiently grazed by microzooplankton.
Keywords
Tintinnids, Aloricate ciliates, Tropical estuary, Peninsular Malaysia, Primary production, Microbial loop
Divisions
InstituteofBiologicalSciences,ocean
Funders
Ministry of Education, Malaysia (Grant No: IOES-2014D & FP017- 2012A),Asia -Pacific Network for Global Change Research (Grant No: CRRP2020-06MY-Loh)
Publication Title
Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science
Volume
275
Publisher
Academic Press Ltd-Elsevier Science Ltd
Publisher Location
24-28 OVAL RD, LONDON NW1 7DX, ENGLAND