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Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology
Changing Bacterial Growth Efficiencies Across A Natural Nutrient Gradient In An Oligotrophic Estuary, Amber A. Kiger
Changing Bacterial Growth Efficiencies Across A Natural Nutrient Gradient In An Oligotrophic Estuary, Amber A. Kiger
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Recent studies have characterized coastal estuarine systems as important components of the global carbon cycle. This study investigated carbon cycling through the microbial loop of Florida Bay by use of bacterial growth efficiency calculations. Bacterial production, bacterial respiration, and other environmental parameters were measured at three sites located along a historic phosphorus-limitation gradient in Florida Bay and compared to a relatively nutrient enriched site in Biscayne Bay. A new method for measuring bacterial respiration in oligotrophic waters involving tracing respiration of 13C-glucose was developed. The results of the study indicate that 13C tracer assays may provide a better …