The role of microzooplankton grazing in the microbial food web of a tropical mangrove estuary
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...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Academic Press Ltd-Elsevier Science Ltd
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/41617/ |
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| Summary: | 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. |
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