The role of microzooplankton grazing in the microbial food web of a tropical mangrove estuary

• Main Authors: Yong, Yu Lin, Lee, Choon Weng, Bong, Chui Wei, Chew, Li Lee, Chong, Ving Ching
• Format: Article
• Published: Academic Press Ltd-Elsevier Science Ltd 2022
• Subjects: GC Oceanography
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/41617/
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

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.